Winter so far...

Donald:
Unfotunately this year we did not have a white Christmas. Somedays I miss living back home in Colorado. This winter has been the second warmest in recorded history for DC. We have had numerous days in the 70s. However, this warm climate has not been so bad. For instance, this year we went to a tree farm and cut down our own tree. There is nothing like the smell of a fresh-cut tree in your home. Another first for this Christmas was attending church at the National Cathedral. Troy, Paula, and Malin invited us to the cathedral this year for Christmas service and it was a great experience, especially the music.

With our mild winter, I've had the opportunity to run outside a lot more than the usual winter. For a Christmas I got the Nike+ apparatus for my Ipod. It is a great tool that measures my distance and speed through a little electronic chip hooked onto my shoe. If you are a runner or walker I definitely recommend this device. I have gone through a few pedometers and none were able to accurately track my run distance. However, the Nike+ has been accurate to within 0.01 of a mile. As an added bonus, the pedometer will vocally give you an update on your run progression.

Besides running, the weather has allowed us to do other outdoor activites like visiting the zoo. We recently took a trip to the National Zoo to see the new baby panda and baby tiger cubs. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the red pandas, gorillas, pygmy hippopotamus, Asian elephants, and numerous monkey species. We even got to tour the reptile house, which is very rare and generous on Erika's part because she hates snakes. I think she enjoyed it, though!! (Erika: No, not really.)

I need to get as much running and playing done before my six-week break from school will be over. I have one week left. Fortunatley, I only have six more classes to complete before I am finished with my degree. So even though this upcoming year will be real intense with two classes every semester for the rest of the year, I will be done by the beginning of 2008.

Erika:

You recall our friends Carlyn and Chris right? Well, they are now engaged, and Carlyn asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. Their wedding is this June, and I have an old high school friend getting married in July in Texas. Weddings and more weddings!

As you know, we married in 2004 at South Padre Island. So in keeping with that tradition, we have celebrated each of our wedding anniversaries on beaches (the first being Virginia Beach, VA and second being Ocean City, MD). This year we thought we'd head south in order to fully enjoy our mild winter. More specifically, on New Year's Eve, we loaded up the truck and headed five hours south to North Carolina's Outer Banks. We stayed at a wonderful bed-and-breakfast, the First Colony Inn. Since we were there during the off-season, we received a lot of personal attention. On Sunday night we planned an outline of our week. Each day was packed with hikes, sightseeing, and more. Although it was the off-season, the Outer Banks has a lot of historical sights, allowing us to enjoy off-season activities. One of our favorites was the Wright Brothers Memorial and learning about the Lost Colony, British's first and failed attempt to colonize the Americas. Below is our web album of our trip. Just click and enjoy!

Outer Banks, NC

We did celebrate the Christmas holiday, but we also celebrated the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day. Many countries, particularly in Latin America, celebrate el Dia de los Magos by exchanging gifts on January 5th or 6th. The Epiphany means "to be revealed" and is when many celebrate when Jesus was revealed as King and the Savior. Many exchange gifts on Three Kings Day because that's when the wise men delivered gifts. I liked celebrating it this year because on December 26th, I didn't feel like the Christmas holiday finished abruptly. I had a transition period, still enjoying Christmas music, baking, etc. after Christmas day.

On the afternoon of the Epiphany, January 6th, we baked Mexican cookies and prepared coffee. The Thomas Family and Carl came over to celebrate together. We gave them their gifts and also played a gift game, which we played in CO with the Pittz family and boy are they competetive. I wrapped a gift several times with packaging tape. Then we gather in a circle and roll a pair of dice. If you roll doubles, you must put on the gloves, and attempt to open the gift. If you get your hands on the gift, you win the prize. The thing is that while you're trying to open the gift, others are rolling in an attempt to get a turn at the gift. It's a fast moving game that can even get Paula really excited. At one point, when it wasn't her turn, she unknowingly grabbed the gift and started to try to open it with her bare hands. She caught herself and apologized knowing what she was doing wasn't allowed. We had a wonderful time but poor Malin became frightened each time someone would shout for the gloves because they got doubles. Play this game; it is so much fun!



Metiche: I too have been enjoying the warm weather. They open the windows for me everytime it is warm out, and that's often. I hear that in two weeks I have an exam! Something about dropping me off! We'll see about that!