Christmas Eve

I'm hoping for those interested, that when you click on the collage it gets bigger and you're better able to see all the pictures. Christmas Eve was very relaxing - we had our prime rib/king crab dinner and then the kids opened their pjs and their present from their great grandpa and grandma Dahlstrom. They LOVE the monkey game and played several rounds...the goal was to beat uncle Cody. We usually go for a walk and look at lights on Christmas Eve, but this year the roads were so icy we stayed inside...we didn't want any concussions! After we got home from grandpa and grandma's the kids set out the cookies and milk for Santa, carrots for his reindeer, and hung their stockings. Then we read the Christmas story in Luke before bed. We also had to have a discussion with Corey about how it's okay to get up to go potty in the night because Santa does not want to be seen so if he hears you getting up - he'll hurry out of the house! My kids are so funny about strangers (even Santa and the Easter Bunny) being in their house at night! ;)

Making Cookies with Grandma

The kids had a lot of fun making cookies with grandma! Even Kyle got in on the action - he was so proud when he put that little red cookie cutter on the pile of dough!

December 15, 2009

These are the apartments we manage and this is what happens when snow falls five inches an hour for a night...the roof shed is amazingly efficient (which is good - I for one do not want to be shoveling roofs) but that means 5 inches an hour times the square footage of the roof was shedding in front of the buildings. It was about 1 AM when I saw the snow fall and cover up the last sliver of exposed window (we live in a lower-level unit).

The first two photos and the last were from the night the major storm hit. The rest were the next day. The top right photo is the one single story building we have. The first and Last photos are from inside the entry door looking out. And the last is a mini-van that was not moved during the whole storm. When we finally received word that the loaders were coming to move snow from the parking lot and in front/back of the buildings we knew the van needed to move but the owner was not able...it took Dave and I working together, 2 HOURS to clear around the van and the van itself. I worked with the shovel knocking down the snow so he could get to it with the tractor.

It's times like these we question if we're still up for apartment management but then a few days go by and everything has been cleaned up and we settle back into our routine and things are going well.

My Little Gamers

Corey LOVES Mariokart and Kyle loves sitting next to him pointing at the screen thinking he's the one playing. Neither Dave or I were ever much into video games but we've really enjoyed the Wii. I'm a mean mom- they only get a half hour a day and have to choose between Wii, computer, or DS and no games on Sundays...they don't complain though.

Decorating our "perfect" tree!

Getting our Christmas tree

According to Corey we foung "the most perfect tree in the forest."

Kyle

Playing with Dad's safety glasses...crazy kid!

Kali's Christmas Concert

I didn't get any good shots of the actual program due to poor gym lighting but did get this one of her in her classroom before the show. This was cropped out of a picture of her and one of her classmates that had the same dress...figured I better not post the whole thing without permission from her mom. The concert was cute - it's always entertaining when the kintergarden classes perform. We pulled her out of the group after they sang and left early since Kyle stayed home sick with my dad.

Corey's Birthday

I was informed today that I needed to update my blog...it's true, I'm way behind...I've wanted to update for awhile now but the thought of how long it was going to take to upload all our pictures was a bit overwhelming. I've decided on a new approach thanks to my new friend Picasa - I'll be trying collages to see if that speeds up the process!

We planned on celebrating Corey's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese when we went to Anchorage for Thanksgiving...but since he's old enough to know when his actual birthday is it was important for him to open a few gifts that night. Dave and I gave him this awesome Dinosaur pop-up book we found at our local health food store of all places - it was and still is a big hit; and Moon Sand. Kali gave him Sea Monkeys and Kyle a Hex bug.

The next week we partied at Chuck E. Cheese! Our good friends the Leishmans and Banners were able to join us and all the kids (young and old) had a great time! Everyone 'donated' their tickets to Corey so he could choose a prize from the 'store' at the end of the night. He chose the stuffed snake, of course!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Yay! Hopefully we'll be seeing more and more of this each day (this is a sunny day for us right now - I almost caught it before it dipped back behind the mountain at 2:30ish PM).

Anxious

Corey: Tomorrow is it time to open those presents under the Christmas Tree?

Me: Nope, Christmas is in 18 more days.

Corey: Is it 18 more days tomorrow?

Me: Nope it's in 18 days.

Corey: So 18 more days is the same as regular Christmas?

Me: Yes.

Corey: Is tomorrow regular Christmas?

Halloween!

We didn't do Halloween very wholeheartedly around here this year. Kali was a super cute witch for her class party/costume parade at school. Corey chose to reuse an old costume and go to her party as a pirate (I don't know why I don't have any pictures). We did trick or treating to the businesses after school that Friday. For about 20 minutes - the wind was blowing between 50-75 mph. The weather is insane. I can't remember a time that we didn't have snow on the ground for Halloween. Halloween day I cleaned out the kid's room and Dave worked on the shed he's expanding for the property we manage. We carved pumpkins and watched 'Race to Witch Mountain' that night and all turned in early.

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara was as beautiful and relaxing as ever. I very much enjoyed reading at the beach and lounging by the pool while Dave was in his meetings. We enjoyed the shopping and yummy food at our favorite Italian resteraunt in the evenings. I'm glad to have these few days for just 'us' every year.

California

Dave and I were very lucky to spend a week away at the end of October. He humored me by taking me to Dinseyland and California Adventure - I love Disneyland! Can you tell in the last picture that we had been flying all the night before...we were a bit tired (and worried about sick kids back at home), but couldn't waste the day! The rides were fun, the food delicious, the sun WONDERFUL!

Something new.

Other than PJ bottoms this is my first attempt at sewing clothing. The pattern was very basic but I was still stoked about how it came together. I even made the piping...who knew?! Of course I don't have a serger so first washing it will probably fray apart, but it was a fun experiment!

Free pattern found HERE! She has great stuff/ideas!

Just because...

...I never manage to get good shots of the eyelashes. This one was an accident, but I love it.

My kids.

Okay, back to September...

Camping over Labor Day weekend. It was surprisingly warm for that time of year in Alaska. We were originally going to camp at our favorite little campground but it was closed. However, on one particularly warm day we broke in to play at the lake. The kids spent hours looking for snails. Kyle even tasted one. The trip was the first time we were really able to get out and enjoy the new 4-wheelers. We had a great time taking long rides as a family up in the mountains and along the pipeline. Already can't wait for more camping next year!

To back up even further...

My sister got married in July!

Campfire

After a fun day exploring Chitna we stopped at one of our favorite camping places to roast hot dogs and marshmallows.