thanks

I feel somehow absent recently from my blogging world, partly due to the fact that for 5 WHOLE days I was without internet connection, and then in some sort of transit for 2 1/2 days after that, wow. My family spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Red River, New Mexico which is one of our favorite vacation spots, summer or winter, due to the fact that the town forces relaxation, with nothing really to do there but to sit back and enjoy the environment. K, Fil (Jana's beau) and I met the rest of the family at the cabin early Thanksgiving day (which is when the pic below was taken). Shortly after that it started to snow and before the next morning there were a couple of inches on the ground. It always amazes me how quiet and crisp the air is when there is snow. Although we had good intentions of taking a family portrait each day, this one of the first day seemed to be the only that we could muster.

After the weekend we were back in lubbock for half a day, and then drove to Dallas to see our friend Whitney play with Deerhunter.... which was AMAZING! ...and so so good to see Whitney, it's probably been more than a year since I have seen her, and it felt good to my soul to be around her again. sidenote: The Deerhunter album, Microcastle, from this year is rapidly moving to the top of my favorite album of the year list which is one of my favorite things to compile and is just almost time to post it!

anyway, I'm back at home base for a while, preparing for the holiday just around the corner, in the mean time, here are some of the things from my thankful list this year { in no particular order }
• every single memory that I was able to create through my entire live, with my grandparents, the ones that have passed on and the ones that are still here, I think of them so often.
• the geography based proximity that I have with my family, I don't know how much longer I will live this close to all of them, but I have enjoyed our time together this last year. Especially my sis & bro that live right here in Lubbock!
• K, who is the best thing to ever happen to my soul. I could fill this page describing his wonderfulness.
• healthy living & vegetables
• courage
• boots
• hot apple cider

My bro, Paxton, was incredibly excited about his leg shot in this pic.

Dad, Paxton, & Jana skied 1 1/2 days... and with no physical injuries!
Every sat night during ski season the locals have a tradition called TORCH LIGHT where they gather and ski down with torches. So fun... and so so so so cold. Good thing we were observing from the bar.