Winter Break

Winter break is coming to an end... only one more day before I go back to the reality of alarm clocks and my work routine. My break has been great - a good mix of friends, family time, and relaxation. Without any snow on the ground (until today) I've been able to run outside with my dad 3 mornings. Pretty strange for winter break... usually I've been relegated to the treadmill by now.

Tracy had the St. Anthony girls (and families) over for a pizza dinner early in the week, I got to see some teacher friends for lunch at Panera, had a movie afternoon and dinner with Jess, Jess and Sarah, met Tom for lunch in Uptown, and rang in the new year at home with some of Tom's friends and a huge pot of homemade pheasant wild rice soup last night. 

 Huck likes to keep me company while I work. He also helps me keep up on my magazine reading :)

 Huck got some Bark'n Boots for Christmas. They're a little too big for him right now, and he's not too sure about them. He high-steps with them on, picking his feet up one at a time, trying to figure out what's on them. Funny boy.

 We took the dogs to Lake Calhoun yesterday to check out the ice. Huck likes it. He does not, however, like car rides. He gets sick nearly every trip we take. Good thing I opted for the 'all-weather' package which includes a rubberized mat in the back of my car!

He also got a Gentle Leader head collar, like Ry has. Riley's never minded hers, but Huck will run and hide when we get it out. He does fine once we're out walking, but it's clearly not his favorite.

We went to the store after our walk, and Tom left his blue jacket in the car. We didn't realize, until it was pointed out by the cashier, that we were totally matching, in black shirts and green hats. Gosh we're lame! Needless to say, Tom went back to the car to get his coat, and I ditched my hat before we ran any more errands!

Tom's buddy Tim brought over his collection of animal hats for New Year's Eve. :)

 

Dom brought over his dog, Minnie, which made for a full house of dogs! They got along great, and took turns laying on the ottoman, right in the middle of the action.

 Riley was so tired from our Calhoun adventure that she let Minnie sit ON her. 

My niece, Erin, was joining in on our animal hat new year's... maybe not actually last night, but I got her this owl hat for Christmas. Pretty cute, huh? I can't quite imagine how people kept in touch before the days of email and text and picture messages. As much as I hate having my nieces so far away in Seattle, it's awesome to be able to get photos on my phone and email, and to video chat with them on FaceTime. I'm reminded of how lucky we are to live in a time where technology makes all of this possible, and how lucky I am to be able to own the contraptions that have these capabilities. 

Happy New Year!