thanksgiving break, part 2

my very first night home, the wb girls captured me for a night out in norfolk. we started off the evening by meeting at jess's house, as per usual, then carpooled over to norfolk. this particular saturday night was the grand illumination in norfolk, the night where they turn on all the christmas lights in the city and light the center christmas tree. after a long drive with lots of traffic (welcome back to the 757!), we arrived at scope and parked our car. then all the girls ran in our heels (this was also a sight!) down to watch the christmas parade. enormous, macy's-like, floats filled the streets as well as the sound of marching bands and christmas music. it was so fun!

jess, lil a and db

the enormous frosty

jess and me, looking for a hole in the crowd to see the parade

i apologize, my pictures are awful.
we were so far back, i couldn't get many pictures!

THE field hockey girls :)

after this we went to california pizza kitchen for yummy pizzas and drinks. then we met up with some more girlfriends from high school & went to waterside to hang out before heading home. what a fun night to catch up with old friends and reminisce!

adrienne & jess at cpk

and the other side of the table, dana and me

the nuts of our crew

thanksgiving break, part 1

so this afternoon at 12:00 started my thanksgiving break! to start it off right, john took me to his mom and stepdad's house to visit the new lil puppy, sweet bo! what an adorable little lab-- the epitome of what every puppy should be. his little wagging tail, clumsy feet and innocent bark stole my heart. here are lots of pictures for you to "ohh!" and "ahhh!" over. enjoy!

john, lil bo and sadie bat!

and another

puppy teeth!

squirmy-wormy bo

laughing :)

giving bo kisses (& making ash jealous!) hehe


i love this one


simba!


looks like something out of a ducks unlimited magazine

precious!

john and the crazies ;)

gettin' rowdy!

a little blurry, but still super cute

such a beautiful sky

this is john's frontyard.
yeah, i'm jealous too.

beauty, in a nutshell

german club fall privates

john & myself, karen & quinton

last night was john's fall formals for german club, gc privates. it was such a fun time! my date was beyond amazing, the food was yummy (and filling!) and the dancing was so fun. i could not have asked for a more wonderful evening. it was like something out of a dream. :) thank you john!

i'm going to let the pictures talk instead of my words: enjoy!

rob & mary

john & me

trey & laura

me & laura

michael & his date

my favorite picture, ever :)

melissa & travis

lindsay & will

sitting at dinner

amanda & alex

paul & the lil shultz

some of the boys

i love this one!

rob & fife


gc dudes


one more time, just because it's so great!

my first hunting trip

so today john was a trooper and took me hunting with him!!! i always worry so much when he goes by himself. so...while expressing my concern over and over again at dinner on tuesday ;) he asked if i wanted to join him. i jumped at the opportunity and am so glad that i did.



we went to one of john's dads properties where jp set up the tree stands. what an amazing view we had! the leaves are certainly in their prime, or just a litte past, but it was still such a beautiful morning to withhold.



we heard a turkey or two and saw where they had been feeding, but did not get a chance to see the actual birds themselves. we did however see two big doe and a young buck! the doe walked right beneath our tree and looked straight up at john! my heart was racing a mile a minute, let me tell you! he got one of the girls while the other ran off. the buck stomped and snorted for a minute before running off. we sat in the stands for a while longer but didn't see anything else apart from a few little birdies.





we went down to get the deer and take her back to the car-- this was a handful too, with a 130+ pound deer! i got a great anatomy lesson and loved every minute of it. although i don't have the "fever" you boys get, i certainly see how exciting yet peaceful this pasttime is.





what a great start to a wonderful saturday! despite temperatures in the low 20s all morning, i was well-equipped with lots of layers (thanks!) and a wonderful hunting partner. a great first hunting experience and hopefully not my last. :)