Well it's been a great winter here in Alaska so far. Winter kicked off with our first snow, November 1st and continued to snow up until Thursday, December 1st. During that month of snow we met record highs since 1946. The temperature never rose above 32. Actually for most of the month the temperature stayed in the single digits and sometimes fell below zero. These conditions offered some great conditions for Cross Country Skiing. Jordan and I bought some Cross Country equipment from the Anchorage Ski Swap so we have been out to some of the local parks and golf course skiing a couple of times.
However, the recent weather conditions have allowed the snow to melt and brought a lot of icy conditions so it isn't safe to ski. The temperature has also been above freezing for the past four days. It has rained a lot so many of the roads are as slick as snot. The city does a pretty good job treating the main roads though so getting around town isn't to difficult.
Jordan and I enjoyed Thanksgiving with our friends Ben and Stephanie and their family. Stephanie's parents came up for the holiday so we joined them for a feast. They also taught us a new game called, Pirate's Booty. It reminds me a lot of the card game we used to play called, BS except you play Pirate's Booty with dice. We'll have to teach you all when we are home for the holidays.
After a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration Jordan and I enjoyed and afternoon ski and then geared up for Black Friday shopping. Yes that's right! You heard correct. Jordan went Black Friday shopping with me. We prepared by getting a traditional newspaper and going through the ads to create our plan. Of course the stores opened before midnight so we had to be strategic in order to maximize our shopping experience. Black Friday shopping offers some new challenges here in Alaska. Not only do you have to fight the lines but you have to endure the snow and single digit temperatures. Shopping was a true labor of love for our families presents this year. I have to give it to Jordan this year he started out a rookie, but he finished strong 10 hours later as a champion Black Friday shopper.
You have probably seen our new fascination, Marge the Moose that lives near our house. She has been visiting our street lately munching on the bushes that have been revealed by the rain and melting snow. We also encountered Marge on the trail behind our house where she was tearing down small trees and munching over fences. You can see pictures of Marge on my facebook page. Hopefully we will be able to share more pictures of Marge the Moose, as she meanders down our street and in our yard.
In other news we hosted Jordan's work team Christmas party this past Friday. We celebrated with a Texas style feast of BBQ brisket, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, and three fruit cobblers. We also had a re gift exchange where each person brought something they had been given or was recycled. They weren't allowed to spend any money on the gift that they brought. I always love to see what people come up with for these type of gift exchanges.
I have also been helping with the 673rd Med Group projects. Our most recent project is the Christmas Cookie Caper. Cookies will be distributed to all the single Airmen and women in the dorms and barracks on base. We coordinate with other groups on base to have enough for all the Airmen. We assembled 120 dozen cookies for the Airmen on Monday. People in the Med Group donated homemade cookies and we bagged them to pass out next week.
That's about all for now so until next time.
Merry Christmas from the Downings
