Black Friday

As we all know, the day after Thanksgiving is a day for many Americans to get up before the crack of dawn and try to get to stores earlier than the early bird to get the best deals. Somehow, I don't think of that as a whole lot of fun. Instead, I joined some of the women on my mother's side of the family for a day in French Lick; where, although we did do some shopping, we didn't have to get up early to do it, and there weren't any crowds to fight either.


When we got hungry, we went to the French Lick Winery for some lunch and wine tasting before hitting a couple more stores.


Making a day of it, we visiting the newly remodeled/restored West Baden hotel, which contains mineral hot springs and a host of other activities. We were there on the day of their tree lighting ceremony, but it wasn't in our plan to stay until it got dark, so we took in the grandeur before the tree was lit. It was beautiful all the same.



After West Baden, we went to the French Lick Resort Casino also newly remodeled and only about a mile down the road. After everyone lost money in the casino, we walked around the hotel to see the new modifications and, unscheduled, ran into Santa Claus. What a great day! Maybe we can do that again next year.

Now I know that several of you may be asking. What?! Where?! If I'm not mistaken, Al Capone hung out in French Lick in the 20s before Larry Bird brought fame to the small town in the late 1900s. So what do you mean..what...where? French Lick, that's what and where.

Thanksgiving

I hadn’t spent Thanksgiving with my family for six years, so I figured I was due. I took some vacation time and decided to have some R and R with the fam. Boy am I glad I did! It was a wonderful trip, although it was definitely busy. With three Thanksgiving celebrations to attend in one day, it was a good thing I rented a car.

Thanksgiving started out at Heather and Ryan’s house, where Donna was hosting my step family.


It was quite a spread, but unfortunately, I soon had to race off to eat again with my mother’s family at my aunt Lori’s house. I arrived there just in time to get in the back of the food line. Right off the bat, while I was still eating, it was time to crown the Cornucopia Queen/King. This is a tradition started by my cousin Laura who thought that we needed a tradition. Each year, someone is crowned with a decorated, wicker cornucopia, and then the next year they get to crown their successor. Thanks for picking me, David!! What an honor!


After all of that, I still had one more family to visit, my dad’s side of the family. We all met up at Susie and Ken’s house, where the theme was babies. There were three approximately one month old little ones to keep everyone entertained. Mark and Jamie brought their twins, Davin and Hayley (hope I spelled those two right), and Kenny and Chris brought their new little one, Kate, whose hair had a way of standing straight up. It was great!


Nothing can beat spending the holidays with family, especially when you get to see them after being away for a while. I definitely treasure the time I spent with them over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Nichols Oil Slick Run

Well, it’s winter, and that means that once again, it’s time to begin our series of fun races. Maybe you remember them from last year. Any non-motorized form of transport is allowed. If you have dogs helping to pull you along the trail, you get a time penalty, but for every drink (alcoholic) you have on the trail, you get a bonus. Our first race was along the oil pipeline and was an out and back seven miles long. I am super slow on cross-country skis and was just trying to finish before it got too dark to see the trail, which thankfully I did.


The funny thing is that this all started out as a few people having a good time, but apparently word has spread about how fun it is because we had 33 people show up for the pipeline race! 33! It was hard to find a place to park.


After the race there is always a pot luck, prizes for the winners, and good times for all. For more pictures from our race series, you can check out our web site www.racehardplayhard.com.

A Baby Shower for Mette

Geez, I haven't updated this thing in a long time. Sorry about that. It's not that nothing has happened; it's just that I've been so darn busy. Anyway, on November 10th, I hosted a baby shower for Mette, who had the fabulous idea of having a dinner party, setting up a burrito bar, and letting everyone have at it.


After eating and socializing, the present opening began. Talk about a lot of packages! There were twenty people at the shower, and several gifts were sent from out of town. It was a presentpalooza, and of course, everything was super-cute.

We played the string game to see who could most accurately guess Mette's circumference...


...and the night was topped off with chocolate fondue. The party ended with many happy but tired guests and tons of new items for the little guy.

The Girls Get Together in Delta

Shiway was in Delta Junction visiting with Ellie while they're husbands were moose hunting, so it seemed like as good a reason as ever to visit. Julie, Mette, and I headed down to Delta Junciton to visit and check on the growth of little Wyatt, which is always a pleasure!


Mette is about ready to pop one out herself, so she took some time out with Ellie's 'Parents' magazine.


It's always fun to hang out with the girls on a cold, snowy day.