And here we are yesterday morning in front of the tree...

Sunday night we drove around for a while in the cold and semi-wet, and finally captured a tree in its native habitat - the parking lot. It fills the house a bit more than last year's model. Well, more than any other tree we've ever had - separately or together.

The great white hunters return with their catch:


Rachel and Peanut wrestle for control.

Sorry for this awful picture, but I'm afraid it's the best that we got of our snow. If you can, picture our street as a winter wonderland... all the branches had at least four inches of snow piled on top and the streets were still bright and clean white. The day of this picture, the skies were the blue-est that I had seen in a while.

The office! We love how it turned out. Many thanks and expressions of gratitude to Mom, who helped me paint it these lovely shades of green.

I forgot that mom wanted to see what our dog "sugar" looks like. Or as dad calls her "splenda".

Kari & I on the deck after the frocking ceremony. (ask mom or dad if you have any ?'s with that)

"Presenting Aviation Machinists Mate 2nd Class Gregory R. Smith"..... AD2 Smith, G. R.

I will have better pictures later when I get my blues ready. Much better uniform!

Karissa had lots of fun making Cherry Wink cookies on Sunday with Grandma, Auntie Rachel and her mom. She took some to school to share with her friends for her birthday.