Life Lately December 2024

I'm writing this monthly post a week early bc I'm currently sitting in the airport waiting for our flight and I know I'll be writing some posts about our trip!

I don't know about anyone else, but with Thanksgiving being so late this year - and Thanksgiving weekend not technically ending until December 1! - December was super short and felt incredibly rushed to me. It's my favorite month of the year and I don't feel like I really got to savor it! There were really only three weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and each one was pretty busy.

First weekend of December

C went hiking in the Grand Canyon with B1 and my dad, while I had Avalanche all to myself for four days!

Avalanche got to spend an
afternoon with his
beloved Hayley and his
buddy Finn while I attended
a bridal shower

Second Weekend of December

My best friend Dan visited from Seattle and we went to NYC to see all of the touristy sights! It was really cold, but beautiful blue skies and we had a fun time, despite a terrible hotel and missing our train home because of generally insane traffic and road shut-downs!

we took the train from D.C. to NYC
for a quick 30-hour visit

I absolutely loved the holiday light display here!

we've been friends for
almost a quarter century!

this was the chaotic scene trying to
check in to the hotel when their
"system went down" - it was a complete
nightmare and a thoroughly
frustrating experience!

we asked for our two hotel rooms
to be near each other,
which the hotel did not make happen,
and I had NO HEAT
in my room the entire night
while the outside temperature
was below freezing...
I was NOT a happy hotel guest!

we ate lunch at Papillon,
which was perhaps the most decorated
place I've ever been!

on Dan's last full day, we went to Ford's
Theater in D.C. and it was a pretty cool place

Third Weekend of December

B1, S1, B2, S2, and our niece and nephews spent the weekend at our house so we could celebrate early Christmas all together!

snoozing in front of the tree

the two elderly gentlemen of the family

Max snoozing on his new bed

my nephew and I waited on the deck
to see Santa go by on a fire truck

our baby nephew's first Christmas

C bought me this Lego set
of The Office last year and I hadn't
had time to start on it, but a few months ago,
my seven-year old niece asked if she could build
it - she worked on during each of her
recent visits, and she finished it!

please note that the proposed age
for the set is 18+

I'm super impressed with her
and I love it so much!

this is undoubtedly the best
addressed mail we've ever
received!

On December 23, we drove up to C's parents' house to not only celebrate Christmas together, but to get Avalanche settled for a couple of days because he'll be staying in Canada with C's parents while we travel! Of course, we was as good as gold during the ten-hour car ride, and we saw a little bit of snow at a few rest stops along the way, but when we arrived, it was snowing and there was a good amount of snow at C's parents' house, so Avalanche was in heaven!

the snow at C' parents' house

the sun came out on
Christmas Eve, so we took him to
the park where we used to go as teenagers!

he was not too sure what this snowman was

We've been enjoying the cold temperatures and the Christmas snow here in Canada, but we are super excited to get on this plane and visit some places we've never been!

Happy Tails to you!

Life Lately November 2024

November always feels like a strange month because the school calendar is so choppy and this year it really flew by because we took road trips for the first three weekends: over the first weekend, we went to Canada for a few days to visit C's parents and Avalanche was very happy to spend time with them; the next weekend, we went to Pittsburgh and met my dad for dinner after a failed attempt to take Avalanche on the funicular; and on the third weekend, we went to New York to celebrate my YaYa's 95th birthday with family and then visit Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. On the fourth weekend, it wasn't exactly a road trip, but we did take Avalanche for his first trip to D.C. to hang out with B2, S2, and our new baby nephew, and then it was Thanksgiving break, which was spent with family. Kind of a whirlwind month!

he loves his grandpa

we had been wanting to take Avalanche
on the funicular, but the line was super long
and all of the people and the noise from
the traffic were just too much for him,
so C waited with him while I
went on the funicular by myself

it was an absolutely beautiful day

I spotted them when I was on
my way back down

the car was very cool

Avalanche met Mr. Rogers

a rare instance where he let me
cover him with a blanket

he loved running around outside
when we visited family in NY

another stunning day

he stayed in his fourth hotel
and he never quite knows what
to make of elevators

if you're wondering where I slept,
it was in the other bed LOL

my car turned 17 years old!

after multiple attempts over the past
almost-two-years to take him to D.C.,
Avalanche finally made it to the monuments

we did a LOT of walking, so he
needed to rest at the Washington Monument

the day before Thanksgiving, he had his annual
vet appointment for a check up and vaccinations 

he was not happy to be there and it turned into
quite an ordeal because he became very difficult
and stubbornly refused to cooperate whatsoever

our vet decided to give him a sedative,
so we brought his blanket in from the car

the whole thing was a team effort by
C, the vet tech, and our beloved Dr. T.
and everything went well, although
he was decidedly out of sorts for a few days!

our niece made Avalanche a
Thanksgiving card

"I woof you!"
soooo precious!!!!!

I love the month of December and I can't wait for Winter Break in a few weeks!

Happy Tails to you!