Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving you all!
We are spending the holiday at home in Ann Arbor and made our first Thanksgiving Feast for two. It was a lot of fun cooking in the kitchen together. Here's what was on the menu:

Rosemary Garlic Turkey (Our first Turkey)
Gravy
Kris' Mashed Potatoes
My Momma's Stuffing
Green Beans
Cranberry Sauce
Apple Crisp & Vanilla Ice Cream

The turkey was actually much easier than we expected, but I had to do some things to a turkey that I'd not care not to repeat. Despite the less than appetizing prep-work the turkey came out moist and delicious & I think we'll have left overs for a week, but who knows with Kris around. We truly feasted and then immediately fell into a glutenous coma.

Although we are are spending the holiday here in Ann Arbor our thoughts are with our family and friends. We feel so fortunate to have such amazing people in our lives who are so loving and supportive. Thank you thank you thank you! We love you!

When the Leaves Were on the Trees

About a month ago Kris and I wandered down to the Arboretum to take in all of the leaves and their changing colors. It's about a twenty minute walk from our house and has many trails to discover. There is even a place where you can canoe down the river. Since our visit the leaves have fallen and there are fewer colors along the trails, crazy how things can change so quickly.

One of the entrances to the "Arb." Along this path are some gorgeous peony gardens.
Cemetery located at the entrance of the Arb, which also happens to be right next to the freshman dorms. I can see how that might seem kind of creepy, but in this picture and in person it is so beautiful and serene.
This bench looks like the perfect place to take a rest or read a book.
The Arb is also the home of Fairy Woods & Troll Hollow.
We happened across this small fairy house complete with campfire.
What a beautiful place, we can't wait for spring when the leaves return.

Kris is 30, Time for Mustaches!

Kris turned 30 last week so we celebrated by having a Mustache Bash. Our friends Dane and Remy also had nearby birthdays, so we had a joint celebration. We hosted at our house and it was mustache mania, with mustache cupcakes and lip sweaters worn by all.
The birthday guests.
My mustache was crooked all night and I had no idea.
Lot's of people from Kris' class joined in the celebration.
The birthday folks with their birthday party planners.

More Visitors

We were fortunate enough to receive more visitors for Kris pre-birthday celebration, Peggy & Ed. The first night of the visit we all headed to the hockey game where we sat in the student section. The game was against Michigan State, a big rival, so there were some, um... interesting cheers coming from our section, such as, "Can't read, can't write" and "back-up school." And to top it all off, "Ugly Parents!" We lost, which seems to be a common theme at the last few sporting events we've attended. Hopefully things will turn around for us.

We spent one foggy morning walking around the Arboretum, and although the leaves had already fallen off most of the trees it was still a beautiful walk and we had a nice time exploring. Notice Peggy's gorgeous leather bag which she picked up at the local Farmer's Market. So functional, yet so stylish! The craftswoman had her at, "And look at all the different ways you can use it."
We had a great visit and think that it may be our last set of visitors until the weather warms up. We are supposed to get some snow flurries in a few days. Here we go!

Halloween

This is very late, but I wanted to share a few photos from Halloween. The week before Kris & I carved pumpkins and put them up in our window. We also roasted the pumpkin seeds and watched scary movies.

On Halloween Kris & I dressed up as Punky Brewster & her father, Henry. Kris looked especially distinguished with his silver hair. We joined Miley & Billy Ray Cyrus, Tinkerbell & Peter Pan, and a Madmen character for a night out.

A Few More Photos

Here's a few more photos of our visit with Katie & Rich. We had a nice leisurely Sunday filled with Brunch, a tour of Kris' school, wandering downtown and finished it off with an ice cream cone. It was really awesome having them here and we had a great time. We managed to take one photo with all four of us, but on a friend's camera, so hopefully I'll get to post that soon. Stay tuned!

Next week: A Visit with Peggy & Ed... can't wait!

Visitors

Katie and Rich arrived Friday morning after an exhausting red eye. We are so excited to have them here and have tried to share with them all of the things that we love about Ann Arbor. They must have brought the SF weather with them because we suddenly have 65 degree sunny weather, so weird, but very welcome. Michigan lost against Purdue yesterday, but Katie and Rich seemed to enjoy their first visit to the big house anyways. Maybe it was their great seats on the 50 yard line.