hello? anyone there?

It’s been quite a while – two months to be exact and I’ve missed you guys! It’s been a wild fall for me with the amount of travel I’ve been doing and some things were put on the back burner – but I’m hoping to get back on track now. And, we have loads of updates to share because while it’s been crazy, we’ve had no shortage of house projects!

Thought I’d give you guys a little life update from the last few months. We kicked off the fall with an awesome pig roast at our friends’ house in the mountains. What’s better than a roasting pig, good beer, a bonfire and a hot tub? Really nothing.

We had a little fun on Halloween dressing as Gronkowski and Bill Belichick.

I ran a 10K in November – the longest race I’ve run in 4 years and my first ever 10K, surprisingly! I needed something to get me moving during the week as I’ve been working a lot and a race was just the thing I needed to get me focused and on a training plan. It was 15 degrees on the morning of the race and I kind of wanted to cry, but got my butt out there and actually made really good time. It felt great to be in a race again!

We had our annual Friendsgiving on Thanksgiving. As per usual, it was a great time and it was a beautiful snowy day too! Just a bunch of stuffed faces…

I’m a huge supporter of the community – especially now that we own a house and are really part of a community. So, naturally, we went to the Firehouse Chili Cook Off and tried every chili they had. And then voted. Al took it SO seriously. It was a cook off between the different firehouses and EMT divisions in our town. It was hilarious, but makes me so happy to be a part of a great community.

I decided this year we’d head to the forest to cut down our Christmas tree. So a month ago I drove out and bought a permit for $10. We went out to get our tree last week and, well, we hiked a mile in and a mile out in two feet of snow and it was hilarious. I’m fairly certain we got the largest Charlie Brown Christmas tree ever. But we kind of love it as it was a fun experience. Not sure it’s going to make it til Christmas, but we can hope!

Guess who turned ONE? Yep, baby Claire. I really can’t believe it. There’s one part of me that’s sad that her itty bitty baby days are in the past, but the other part of me, well, I just LOVE this age and seeing her learn and grow and play. She’s so sweet and we were so grateful to celebrate her day with her.

And, while her baby days are behind her, we have a new baby on the way in the family! My brother and his wife are expecting their first and IT’S A GIRL!!!! We had a fun gender reveal while we were home visiting. I’m so thrilled for them. Being an auntie is the coolest job ever.

We spent a weekend back in MA with family since we won’t be there for Christmas this year.  We had so much fun. And we snapped a family photo. #dorks

Now, we’re gearing up for Al’s family to join us in Denver after Christmas and we can’t wait!

PHEW! What a few months it’s been. It truly has been a wild eight weeks, but it’s been really great too.  A decent mix of working, playing and resting. I’m excited to get back to writing, hopefully regularly, but at least a few times a week, enjoying the holidays and kicking off the New Year. Thanks for sticking with me – looking forward to sharing more house updates too!