Snow

This morning we woke up to this!

Fresh, fluffy, beautiful snow.
Goodbye fall, hello winter...

Reunion

Monday we had an "island girl reunion". It has been planned for a while now and I couldn't wait to see these girls again. We drove about an hour and a half south of Saginaw to Bloomfield Hills where Chelsea lives. Her husband started rotations there about 2 months ago and after seeing pictures of the adorable house and town in which they live, we just couldn't wait to check it out. Nothing makes me happier than a chatty, girls lunch and some shopping.

It was also great to finally meet these guys (Tuck and Finn). Of course baby Dara, Anna's little girl, was an adorable snow bunny and as smiley as can be.

Till next time ladies, whenever that may be.

Thanksgiving

I made my very first Thanksgiving dinner all on my own!

It was a lot of work, but I think it turned out great. We had very few leftovers (always a good sign). The turkey tasted moist and delicious. Aesthetically it wasn't as great...the skin tore while being turned (courtesy of Kyle) and it broke my heart to ruin my beautiful bird.

We also had mashed potatoes, apple and sausage stuffing, green bean casserole, Pillsbury croissant rolls (courtesy of Chef Luke), and pumpkin chocolate cheesecake pie (recipe here and highly recommended).

Kyle and Luke (as well as the 4 other students not pictured) gobbled it all up.

We finished of the weekend with a little bit of Black Friday shopping and watched the holiday classic Home Alone to get in the Christmas spirit.

Dresser DIY

One of the items on my list of things to do was refinishing a very special piece of furniture.

A dresser.

This dresser belonged to Kyle's father, Ron, who passed away when Kyle was 4. It was used by Ron when he was a young boy growing up in Minnesota and continued on with Kyle's parents as they made the move to Montana and then to Arizona.

After over 50 years of use, being covered in Ninja Turtle sticker, and I'm sure a few dents and dings from hockey sticks...well, it needed a bit of T.L.C.

What we started with (complete with a drawer in 5 pieces)

Sanded and Stripped

Working with my dad, carefully sanding and tightening every piece.

Primed.

The final product!

I'm so thrilled with the outcome. We hope to use this in a nursery, one day.

It was a fun project for me to do with my dad and I couldn't have done it without his help. I learned a great deal about refinishing furniture. I'm already looking for my next project.

Can't Keep Up?

Been trying to figure out where in the world are the Hickman's?
Don't know when they're going to be here, there, or who knows where?
That's ok...neither can they!

I do know that I leave for Michigan to reunite with my love this Sunday. I'm certainly looking forward to being with him again. It's been a long and hard semester being apart, but I've enjoyed working with the munchkins every day. After Kyle takes his final on December 2nd, we'll make the drive to St. Louis on the 3rd where we'll be bunking with my Nana until some time in the spring. (Yes, I'm being vague. We don't know exact dates at this time.)

For now, I just want to thank my parents for letting their 25 year old, married daughter move back home for 3 months and for being so understanding when I took their cars to work every day. I truly have the best Mom and Dad. I love you both!

Uncle Kyle

Our little niece Page seems to have some issues with her Uncle Kyle...

As he says, "She doesn't like me".

I'm pretty sure she's just hungry and you don't have the goods (if you know what i mean).

Pre-Thanksgiving

This year I will be in Michigan for Thanksgiving. This means Kyle and I will be without our families for the first time and we're a little sad about that. Growing up kinda stinks!

I will be making a traditional turkey dinner, in his small Saginaw Apartment, for the two of us and some of the other students. I'm a little nervous to be cooking for all those people all by myself, but very excited at the same time.

To help prepare me, we did a little practice dinner last week with my mom, dad, and grandma. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, pumpkin cake, etc. We had it all! Hopefully my dinner turns out this delicious.

If you don't see any pictures on the blog in a few weeks...I BURNT THE BIRD!

Baptism

Friday evening our beautiful niece Page was baptised and Kyle and I are lucky enough to be her Godparents. I think Kyle really likes that term...it makes him feel like the head honcho in the mob. I'm leaning more towards the Fairy Godmother thing on my part. However Page sees us, Aunt and Uncle, Godmother and Godfather, or crazy family members, I hope we are role models for her and give her guidance. She's a beautiful gift from God and we are so lucky to have her in our lives.