Thanksgiving, Rain, and 23rd Birthday

This time of year has always been busy for me in the past: Thanksgiving was a time of being together with family. In college, post-Thanksgiving would consist of extreme stress as the semester wrapped up and everything was due. Marta, my mom, and I have birthdays within ten days of each other, so there would be lots of celebration. While all of this was happening, I was thinking about winter break, people getting together, and traveling. Things are obviously different: but it's been a joy sharing our own traditions and being in community with people here in Tucson.

Here are some highlights from the past few weeks:

Thanksgiving with Cheryl and Nelson

A day of hiking, really really good food, and playing games including Skyjo, which has become a house favorite!

Life in the MVS Household

Days in the house have consisted of me teaching Cade how to knit, us putting up decorations in the house, and making ornaments together. We've also been watching lots of movies and playing games together.

Another update in my life is that Jessie and I have signed up for an ultimate frisbee winter league. I've never played ultimate frisbee before, but Jessie has been trying to convince me for months to play, so I thought now was the chance! We also played pickleball over the weekend, which was so exciting and such a wonderful evening.

Rain and Fall Colors

We had our first winter rain on Saturday. We had over half an inch of rain, over three days which was incredible. For a city that only gets 12 inches a year, it was a treasure to experience. I missed grey cloudy days with scattered rainstorms. Along the creek, the cottonwoods are changing to a golden yellow, which reminds me of fall days in Virginia. Although I have truly enjoyed the consistent sun, I missed these types of days.

23rd Birthday

December 5th was my 23rd birthday: which consisted of a surprise dinner Monday, a fun presentation night, a cake made by Jay Slachbach, and going to Cafe a La Carte for lunch Sunday!