within 72 hours

this post has everything you could ever want! this post contains a TON of pictures, which include the beach, the snow, and the dogs. what else could you want? so, as the title gives away, jay and i have been on the beach, walking in the sand and playing in about 4 inches of snow within the last 3 days. insane, yes? it is hard to believe. we spent thanksgiving in hilton head with jay's family (his dad, larry and his wife mitos, uncle kenneth, aunt brenda, and cousin brian) and had a great time relaxing and listening to the ocean, watching some football, and enjoying good company. so, without further delay, pictures from the beach...

porpoises in the ocean

sunlight breaking through

perfect sand dollar... he didn't survive the trip home

brian, jay, and kenneth on our friday morning walk

"big waves" breaking with high tide

my feet in the ocean (yes, it was cold)

it did rain and was cloudy most of the weekend, but it was nice to get away. the upper 60 degree weather was nice, too. :) in fact, when we departed on sunday morning, it was 65 degrees. when we got home sunday afternoon, it was 39 here in asheville. cold! so where was all the snow? well, it was NOT here in fletcher at our house. but it was up about 30 minutes north in madison county. we took the dogs and drove up the interstate in search of the snow. the elevation is much higher and the snow was definitely falling up there. we stopped at the rest area that is just south of the nc/tn border. the dogs, well, we all, had a great time and were even able to get the perfect picture for our christmas card. (that will still be a surprise, but you can get a good idea from these pictures.) so, without further hesitation, here are some pictures of snow!

winter wonderland

this beautiful picture was at the rest stop (before the girls played!)

they loved chasing snowballs and not being able to find them!

me and the girls (getting ready to pose, maybe!)

cotton took "stay" so seriously, we got a great picture of her.

"yummy! snow tastes good. barley, where is your face?"

barley bounding in the snow (look at those ears)

"see cotton, it is fun to stick your face in it."

beautiful snowfall

my feet in the snow (yes, it was definitely colder than the ocean)

sweet barley's portrait time

so that is the fun and the sites we have seen in the last 3 days. i don't go back to work until thursday (nice, yeah?) and am planning to do some decorating for christmas. we are planning to get a live tree this year and might possibly get that this week! we listened to christmas music on the radio while driving in the snow yesterday, and it definitely got me in the christmas spirit.

i am going to make this post interactive... comment back and tell me what gets you most in the christmas spirit!