Best of 2009

10. Winter camping off Archangel Road in Hatcher Pass--even though it was super cold (for Neil, not me. You have to pick the right side of the tent), it was absolutely gorgeous the next day. We skiied, sledded and snow shoed around.



9. Sarah visiting Alaska--Sarah spent her mid-winter break with us. We kept busy by skiing, snow shoeing, and other Alaskan adventures.




8. Trip to Hawaii with the Kari and Jarred--the warm sunny weather was just the way to transition from the winter snow to spring in Anchorage. We soaked up the rays, played on the beach, snorkeled, hiked, and ate shave ice. Mmmm...


7. Poker parties--Neil continued to play poker every other Thursday with his man friends. I think he won once or maybe twice.




6. Visiting TeTe, Elliot and Jude--After my conference in Buffalo I got to go meet little baby Jude. It was great seeing tessa and elliot, plus I got a crash course on babies. Who knew their poops were so loud?




5. Moving into our new house--although the home isn't much of a highlight (it has been likened to a trailer) it was nice to finally be on our own without border Matt.




4. Taking the Dood to his park--Banjo really got into playing Chuck-it at the dog park this year. And he wouldn't be the dood if he didn't run down into the lake to cool off after each throw.





3. Finishing my fellowship--I wrapped up my CSTE fellowship in August. Now, where's my fatty 15 hour/week job?




2. Start on case work--After 6 months of training Neil finally started on actual criminal cases!




1. The addition of Abram SaanZai!--After much anticipation, Abe was born on August 26, 2009. He is a sweet, happy and interactive little baby who--after a rather slow start--loves to eat! He fits into this family quite nicely.

What a great year!