shiny, happy people

I rotate which adorable kids greet me each day.... Louis and Nelson currently have the coveted place on the desktop. A few more pictures to show you how quickly winter comes to Fairbanks. Before I went to the East Coast, there was still yellow and orange on the trees. Temps were mild. And now, it's about 25 degrees with freezing rain. That makes it really fun to drive my truck in 4-wheel drive, though. ; ) Things are going good back in the 'Banks. I am taking a class this semester to finish out an Associates of General Studies back at Northern Virginia. The course is in computers. I couldn't work out a way to test out of it. I've been using a computer every day of my professional life, really. Nonetheless, the credit will complete my requirements.
This weekend I'll be spending most of my time catching up on the work I haven't done so far! Hoping to take a few weekend trips after that- I want to go to the Arctic Circle before it gets too cold and dangerous. On a seemingly random note, my pal Jen and I were talking today about the places we've been. She said she's always intrigued by the different trees. Having grown up in Anchorage, she didn't understand how kids could climb the trees as she heard about in stories. Here, the trees are super skinny and the branches are high. When she traveled to the South and saw an Oak...well, she got it. Reminded me of when I was in Atlanta and was helping my nieces (Katie, Heather and, Jennifer) climb a tree at Stone Mountain. I've been sending samples of different trees and other foilage to my niece, Bailey, who is also intrigued by the different kinds of plant life. That's all for now. The big news in F'banks today.... (don't read this part to the kids) Troopers found a head in the back of a car they were searching for drugs or something. Yikes. You can get the full story at webcenter11.com or check out the site if you want to see my hairstyle for the day or something ; )