Ice Cream!

For Christmas we received an ice cream maker from Emily and Miran. Here is our first try with the new appliance. I think it turned out delicious, although we will have to test it MANY more times before I am sure :-)

All of the ingredients in the maker

A short video of the action, in case you have ever wondered how an ice cream maker works



The finished product. Matthew gave it the best compliment by saying "this is even better than Publix ice cream!" I would call that success.

Christmas in Charlotte

This year we spent Christmas in Charlotte, NC at Matthew's sister's house. We were also joined by Matthew's Mom and Dad. We had a great time playing games, eating lots of food, and, of course, opening gifts!


The tree with all of the gifts

























A warm fire on Christmas Eve




















Matthew and Lindsay by the fire





















Lindsay decorating cookies




















Emily & Jane decorating cookies




















Jane and Richard opening gifts




















Playing Rummikub




















Playing Settlers of Catan




















Emily & Miran outside on Christmas, in the snow!




















Lindsay & Matthew in the snow




















Matthew trying to catch snowflakes



Matthew making french toast the day after Christmas

























What we woke up to the day after Christmas, 4" of snow!




















Our beautiful new shoe rack/bench all set up at home. We love this gift, Thank you!

Games and Cookies

Matthew and I love to play games and we love to eat cookies, so we decided to combine the two with a touch of holiday spirit! We had a few friends over to decorate some cut-out cookies I made using my secret family recipe and then we played games while we digested (and ate some more!).

Matthew working hard on his master piece

The crew


















A few of the creations




















Matthew's skewered snowman

New Roof

We finally have our much-needed new roof! Now I don't have to worry about falling through when I rake the leaves off. It took the crew 3 days of work in freezing temperatures (highs in the 40s!) but they did a great job and cleaned up very well.

Our 2-year Anniversary

Even though we will soon have a new anniversary, Matthew and I celebrated our 2 years of dating with a delicious chocolate cake! (made by Matthew)

My New Job

In the beginning of December I started my new job as Curator at the Tybee Island Marine Science Center (tybeemarinescience.org). I basically take care of all of the animals--doing things such as feeding, collecting, tank maintenance, any necessary veterinary care, exhibit design and construction, etc. I am really enjoying it, but there is so much to do! Here are a few "before" videos to show what the place looks like right now. I will take another series in a few months after I have had a chance to redo all of the tanks.

The first room with burrfish, stingray, coral, large puffer, and lionfish

The second room with invert tank and touch tank

The third room with box turtle, corn snake, American alligator, and loggerhead sea turtle

The last room with the hatchling turtles, adult terrapins, and marsh tank

Putting up the Tree

Even though we will not be here for Christmas, Matthew and I still got a tree to decorate. It just doesn't feel like the holidays without one!



Decorating

The final product

Thanksgiving

Sorry this took so long, but here are some photos from Thanksgiving at our house. Matthew's Mom & Dad, 2 sisters, 1 brother-in-law, and 2 nephews came to visit for Turkey day and the following weekend. We had a great time visiting and playing with the kids!


Matthew playing with Anthony

Miran and Richard concentrate on their mini golf game

Emily and Anthony going for a hole-in-one

Matthew assisting Anthony with his mini golf technique

Jane and Michael watch the games

An intense game of Carcassone

The New Additions

On our trip to Michigan we brought back two breeding rabbits and cages so that we can start breeding our own meat rabbits. We put them out under the over hang of the new shed where they should stay dry and hopefully cool enough in the summer. We will probably be adding fans to help keep the temperatures down.


The Rabbit Digs


















The male, Bubba


















The female (no name yet)

Our Engagement

Finally, what everyone wants to hear about--our engagement! Matthew proposed to me the day before we left Michigan, Friday November 19th and I said yes, of course! So now we will be busy preparing for our wedding here in Savannah, GA next fall. More details to come.

Michigan Visit

The next part of our marathon journey took us to Kalamazoo, MI by train. My parents picked us up and brought us back to their house where we spent the week visiting with my friends and family, hunting and processing deer, having our family "Christmas", and packing up all the stuff I had left at my parent's house.

My Mom and my best friend Julie's daughter, Kloe


















Julie and I with Kloe (2 months old)

























My Dad and I with our deer

























Opening gifts


















The Family Portrait

Chicago and Scott's Wedding

At 5:30 a.m. the morning after the Dancing with Savannah Stars performance, Matthew and I were on a plane to Chicago for the start of a marathon vacation. In addition to Scott and Claire's wedding, while we were in Chicago we visited the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum. Luckily the weather was not too cold although it was definitely windy! We stayed from Friday until Sunday morning and then took a train to Kalamazoo, MI where my parents were waiting for us.

Shedd Aquarium

Near the Aquarium and Field Museum

Scott and Claire's Wedding

Matthew as a Groomsmen

Dancing with Savannah Stars

Here are a few photos from this year's Dancing with the Savannah Stars. Matthew and his partner Senea did a great job with the Foxtrot but the judges did not agree (as usual!). The video is from a practice session the week before the competition.

Opening Hat Toss




















Coming back together

























One of the Dips

















The Pirouette


























The Finale Dip (From the Newspaper)



















Recieving the Judge's Remarks




















Practice Session