November 2023

November flew by for us! Between going to Disneyland at the beginning of the month, coming home to an epic snowfall & multiple snow days, and Thanksgiving, the month went by in a flash!

The Arts & Crafts Center hosted a free Pick & Paint event one day this month that these two got to enjoy while Shelby was at school.

The Anchorage Parks Department offers free archery classes, and we were able to take advantage of this and attend two of the classes! All three kids really enjoyed it.

This was the first "real" snow of the season, and these two immediately went outside! 

{waiting to pick up Shelby from school in what looked like the most picturesque winter wonderland}

{throwing snowballs waiting for Shelby at piano}

{Brady's first library card!}

{reading blog books from years past}

 

{working on their annual Christmas craft project for BooBoo while Derek put up our Christmas card tree}

Derek had an abrupt TDY that he had to leave for the night of Shelby's birthday, so she and I never got to take her annual birthday trip to Barnes & Noble. Two months later, we finally made up for it! We also did a little Christmas shopping while we were at it--we had so much fun!

The next pictures are all out of order, but we had the most delightful Thanksgiving weekend! Our school district only has off for Thursday & Friday, so it's short & sweet for sure. This is the first Thanksgiving in our entire marriage where we have stayed home and celebrated just us. Every other Thanksgiving we have either celebrated with friends/family or traveled to a new city. This year we had a traditional Thanksgiving meal at home and then did a few fun local outings. After our Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday, we went to see the new Trolls movie! We visited Santa on Friday, on Saturday we had our second archery class & made glass fusion Christmas ornaments at the Arts & Crafts Center on base, and on Sunday we went to see the Nutcracker! Derek & I even squeezed in a quick dinner date together on Sunday night while the kids enjoyed a movie together. 

{seeing the new Trolls movie on Thanksgiving!}

{the kids & I played Cover Your Assets while Derek prepped our Thanksgiving lunch}

{Hadley made our pumpkin pie!}

{Nutcracker!}

{Shelby did "dramatic" readings of a few books, and the three of them laughed & laughed together}

{looks like the dead of night, but this picture was taken around 8am watching the snow removal from our street}

{scenes from school: Brady exploring a STEM kit from the library while Hadley was making a poster for a handicraft fair she was participating in}

{Remember that culdesac at the beginning of this post where Hadley & Brady were throwing snowballs? This is what it looks like now. All the snow gets plowed to the middle of the culdesac & waits for removal. In the meantime, it's the perfect playground!}

{finished products for BooBoo!}

Derek & Brady went camping in a cabin in the Eagle River Nature Center together. They had to hike about a mile to their cabin and pulled all of their supplies with them by sled. There is no water or electricity, but the cabin does have a wood stove. It was definitely a memorable experience for them!

And last but not least, Hadley & Brady made little thankful turkeys over the course of the month by adding a feather with something they are thankful for each day. I want to remember these! In no particular order, Hadley is thankful for: our house, Daddy, snowplows & Disneyland, fireplaces, friends & blankets (can you tell it was full-on winter in Alaska when these were written?!), guitars, gymnastics, siblings, free time, yarn, Christmas, cinnamon muffins, Mary Rose, Dancing with the Stars, and teatime. Brady is thankful for: Mama, God, beds, food, toys, Powerade, books, cookies, TV, Georgia Bulldogs, heating, snow, Daddy, and Cover Your Assets (card game).

We are ready for the magic of Christmastime!