Snow!

So, last week winter came to Washington... and is amazingly still here! I feel like we rarely get real snow and, when we do, it tends to disappear quickly. Snow measuring at minimum of 8-10 inches is pretty incredible! We have definitely had fun in it, because we've had the whole week off before Christmas! Talk about good timing! We've been able to enjoy the snow rather than stress about how to get to work. We celebrated Chet's birthday (x3 days) and even built a snow igloo.

On Chet's birthday, we headed over to Leavenworth for our annual engagement trip. There was snow all the way from our house to the door of the hotel... pretty spectacular scenery. We found our new yearly ornament at the ornament shop (this year it is a tractor in honor of my farming grandpa!), ate dinner at the Alley Cafe (an Italian restaurant that is really in the alley), and relaxed at the Enzian (our favorite hotel there thus far). It was a fun relaxing time to just be together and marvel at the beautiful scenery. Leavenworth is so beautiful with snow and lights!

After a night in Leavenworth (and a delicious breakfast), we headed up to Steven's Pass for a little snowboarding! Amazingly, it was only the second day of the season so it was pretty busy and only three lifts were open. We had a great time though. We do love snowboarding!

On Saturday, we celebrated Chet's birthday with my side of the family. Then on Sunday, we had friends over for a holiday party (also to celebrate Chet's birthday)... lots of celebrating, eh? On Sunday, church was cancelled so we spent the day playing in the snow. We went on a walk to find a snow shovel (to no avail) and then came back and made an igloo! I don't know where Chet got the idea for it but it was genius. The snow was perfect and we spent the afternoon packing snow into containers to make blocks. Then, along with our neighbors, Jesse and Deborah, we put together a real igloo. About 2-3 people can sit up in it and it feels pretty solid. We'll have to see how long it lasts this winter... who knows... maybe it will be until March. :) We also sat in the hot tub that night with friends, so overall it was a fun, memorable day!

On Monday, Judy and Skip came out! They spent the night in our house and we celebrated our Christmas together. It was so nice to spend a quiet evening with them. The next day we spent visiting grandparents and had dinner at Chet's aunt and uncle's house! Family gatherings are always so joyful! Lots of food, laughter, family and conversation.

Tonight, on Christmas Eve, despite having a cold and Chet having to go back to work, we had a nice evening with my family. After a traditional Gessaman family Christmas Eve dinner of clam chowder and rolls, we opening presents. One of the best presents was definitely Chet's little helicopter... he still is learning how to fly it though so beware! After Chet had to go to work, the rest of us played Killer Bunnies... what is better than figuring out how to kill bunnies and win magical carrots!?! It was great fun. Now, is the time to catch a little sleep for brunch with the family tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of our holiday adventures!

Thanksgiving!

Out to Montana we went for the long Thanksgiving weekend! We were so happy to get some time off together and to get to spend time with family. With finals looming for Brianne, time in Montana provided an excellent procrastination tool... what is better than getting distracted by hanging out with people we don't see often!

Travel back and forth was excellent... no snow to slow us down and we were able to make the trip in the normal 8 hours. The only concerning thing is that, though it was nice to have good roads, we didn't even seen a hint of snow, which definitely doesn't help the snowboarding prospects anytime soon! Hopefully soon as Chet has a season's pass coming and Brianne wants to use her free time over the break from school making some runs in the mountains.

Back to Thanksgiving... we spent Thanksgiving Day in a cozy cabin with the majority of extended Owings side of the family. Lots of food, lots of people and one very warm wood stove! Our little nephew, Logan, was the center of attention of course with his sweet smiles and cuddly nature. He is sure a precious boy! The only problem was trying to get a chance to hold him. Chet didn't actually get to hold him until the last day of our vacation (which speaks to how popular Logan was!).

Back in Missoula, we spent time with friends catching up and just hanging out. Every time we leave Missoula, we wish we could take our friends Neil & Ember and John with us. It is just so relaxing and fun to hang out with them... it would be nice to see them more often. We will have to try to go out more often now that Neil and Ember are going to have a little one next June!!! Yay!!! We had one hilarious night of playing Wii Fit where we used the new balance board and all looked ridiculous. Not to mention the fun of practicing soccer headers by dodging panda heads and soccer cleats! :)

We also were able to go to a U of M Griz game... something that Chet's wanted to do together since we met! He was so excited! It was a bit drizzly (a bit like Washington, ironically) but it was fun. The Griz won the game and are headed on to the next round of the playoffs. It was also fun because the fans are so excited about their team... lots of cheering and fun fan involvement! Oh, and Brianne enjoyed all the cute kids in Griz clothing...

We included a couple pictures down below of our weekend for viewing pleasure.

Chet and Brianne

Us at the Griz game!

A misty day win for the Griz!"

We were dressed in fall colors for the occasion!

Gram and our nephew Logan!