Flashback Friday : Weekend Update Edition

I know Friday is a weird day for a weekend update but my posts have been scarce lately.

Two Weekends Ago: A Visit from Home
Nathanial's mom arrived in Anchorage Friday afternoon.  We took her to an Italian restaurant in town for dinner.  Houston spoiled us by have so  many wonderful choices for places to eat and we're having a hard time finding places around town that we want to frequent.  This Italian place was no different; mediocre food with high end prices.  When we find restaurants we like, we hang on to them, so I'll probably post about the same places over and over (i.e. Double Musky.)   She was worn out from the time difference and a long day of traveling and encouraged Nathanial and me to attend our Sunday School class game night.  We were so glad we did.  We played two games we hadn't played before - HeadBandz and Game of Things.  I haven't laughed that long in a while.  My face hurt from all the chuckling.

Saturday morning we took her to Gwennie's (a local old greasy spoon) for breakfast.

Leaving breakfast we passed the Fur Exchange and decided to stop in.  That was an experience to say the least.

Fur rose anyone?

Animal pelts everywhere

The rest of the weekend was pretty low key (nothing could really be more unique than the Fur Exchange).

I take that back! I almost forgot about the most exciting thing of all.  I finally saw the elusive Alaskan moose!

 We've been hearing about moose running all over town since we moved. I had yet to see one for myself. I was beginning to think a moose was the Alaskan version of the unicorn.

On Monday, Pam and I went to REI before she headed back to Oklahoma. I was hoping to stock up on some winter gear but left feeling really overwhelmed. I plan on doing a post soon about my winter wardrobe and sleeping bag skirts.

Last Weekend: Hockey Fights and Mashed Potatoes

Last Friday, my sweet husband planned a surprise date. It was exactly what we both needed after a long week.  We went to the season opener of the Alaska Aces hockey team. 

I was pleased with the first attempt of this picture.  That NEVER happens.

The crowd was rowdy and there was a fight on the ice within the first minute of the game.  It was such a fun night!  Next time we go, we want to have the obligatory cowbell with us so we can make noise with the best of them.

My tweet made it on the screen!

The starting line up.  Our seats were right behind the penalty box. So awesome!

The best concession stand idea; a caramel apple bar.  Mine was topped with Oreos and coconut.

Saturday was dedicated to football. Sadly both of our teams lost.

I made the Spiced Pumpkin Bread from Williams Sonoma.  It was the perfect fall breakfast for a day of football.

Saturday evening Nathanial attended the men's wild game dinner at our church. Since he didn't have any moose or bear to contribute he volunteered me to make mashed potatoes.

Making enough mashed potatoes for 30 people means 3 batches and 15 pounds of potatoes.

Nathanial got to the dinner at 7. Only to find out the dinner started an hour earlier...

Thank goodness for friends with kids who were happy to get the potatoes - all 15 pounds.

It was a great weekend; the kind that both relaxes and reenergizes you. Good thing, because Monday morning we woke up to:

Three inches of snow in our front yard.  I've been around snow before but never in that quantity and never in October.  I was surprised at how soft the snow was. 

I had "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" from Frozen in my head ALL day, so as soon as N got home from work, we went outside.

We worked with what we had to build a snowman.  I know to keep carrots in our fridge from now on.

Then we threw snowballs and even had a jumping contest.  Being married to your best friend is pretty fun. :)

Boot prints in the snow.