Air Force Pilot Wings

Congratulations to Benjamin on his pinning ceremony and officially earning his Air Force pilot wings. Julia traveled to Enterprise, AL, with his aunt and uncle to attend and celebrate. She was the one who pinned him with the wings. :) She also tried the simulator (no crashes!). We're so proud of Benjamin; stay tuned for his next phase of training in New Mexico.

On the home front, DC received its first snow. We attended the George Washington University tree lighting ceremony. The tree was a lot smaller than expected. LOL

Thanksgiving 2025

We packed in a lot of fun and time with family and friends to make this Thanksgiving long weekend special. Best of all—Julia is home! Before heading to Brooklyn, we had dinner with Miriam. Then Laura and Clarkson hosted a fantastic Thanksgiving feast on Thursday. It was great to catch up with the Hines. We visited the Museum of Modern Art on Friday with family and the Austins. Back in DC, we caught up with the Mindels and enjoyed another wonderful turkey dinner with the Sarrges on Sunday. Our hearts and stomachs are full. 

Pre-Thanksgiving Fun

Julia and Megan have been skiing a lot, and when it's too bitterly cold, Julia has been on the treadmill. She's coming home this afternoon!!!

Mom has returned from her trip to Asia. We attended Godspell at American University. It was phenomenal—highly recommend the musical.

Lisa and Kathryn went to Kansas City for the 2025 Women's Club Soccer National Championship. Despite the cold and rainy weather, Syracuse had some great games. 

Parties All Around

Daylight in Fairbanks is starting to fade quickly; today, there are only 6 hours and 8 minutes of daylight. Julia is trying to adjust and get outside to ski whenever she can. She's seen some incredible sunrises and sunsets, and of course, the Northern Lights are on display. Just one more week before she comes home on November 23. 

On the home front, Steven hosted a college football party for coworkers, family, and friends. Lisa and I stopped by for a little while. He didn't get home until 2 am (crazy since he left our house at 9:30 am the previous day!). He's an amazing event planner—definitely enough food—maybe this could be his retirement gig.

Kathryn turned 21! Check out the ice luge for her party. 

Mom shared some great pictures as she continues to travel (Mount Fuji, oyster farm, pictured with apprentice geishas called maikos). 

Sporty Weekend

Julia went cross-country skiing with Megan and Victor and then got lunch. Check out the polar bear in the gym at UAF. She's also found some new friends to jam with on the piano.

We went with the Sarrges to a football game: West Virginia University vs. University of Colorado Boulder. So much school spirit and fun--unfortunately, Boulder didn't win, but the fans were friendly. The game highlight for me was singing John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads, at the end. The big win for the day was meeting a WVU agriculture professor who owns a cattle ranch and agreed to sell me half of a cow. YAY!

Take a look at some of Mom's pictures; she's having a wonderful time.