Merry Christmas Eve!

A Morning of Fun

Paul decided that Daniel needed to start practicing target shooting and came up with the brilliant idea to have Daniel shoot at targets with a water gun. The fun that ensued was priceless. They started out shooting at the targets but that quickly went to shooting all over the house. Even Mom joined in at one point. Daniel's laughter was so precious! Of course today he had been driving me crazy wanting to do it again.

I didn't get into the M&M's I promise!

A picture is worth a thousand words. These pics are from a week or two ago but were on Paul's camera so I forgot about them.

Ice Fog?

For the past week we have been socked in with fog and I have seen a phenomenon that I have never seen before. Fog being a cloud, is very moist and as it is so cold here in Alaska the fog actually freezes resulting in this-

This is the airport where Paul works.

Drive Home

Below right behind the road barriers is the ocean. Not that you can see it.

 

This is one of the lights that signals the plane that they can land. Paul said that while he was taking it a huge plane flew in to land directly overhead and he couldn't see it at all. That's how thick the fog is.

Operation Doughnuts

In my family, growing up we made doughnuts every year for Christmas time, New Year's Eve and every time we got snowed in. (If I did that here I would never  lack for doughnuts at least half of the year.) I decided that today was the day for doughnuts. Above is a picture of the fried doughnuts. Below is the finished product with powdered sugar. That is my favorite way to eat these particular doughnuts. Technically these are "spudnuts" not doughnuts as they are made with potatoes. The recipe comes from the town I grew up in, in southern UT and was used at fund raising bazaars and etc. I'm not sure who my Mom had to bribe to get the recipe but I'm glad she did as these are SO good! I made the small recipe here, (the large one makes at least double this amount and I'm kind of wishing I had made the large batch as I have several plates of doughnuts for friends and I'm not sure I have enough for me! :-) I started the dough early this morning and fried them up while the kids were asleep. Hurray for naps as I wasn't sure how I was going to do it if they didn't take naps.

Paul Jumping from an Airplane

Paul coming down

 

Yeah, I try not to think about it too much, but Paul loves jumping out of airplanes and helicopters. This is from his drill weekend last weekend when they were jumping out of a C-23 Sherpa airplane.

Images of Alaska from Paul's drive home today

You really don't see how much snow we have with these (about a foot) but you do see the heavy frost that we have had. This frost hasn't been melting. It looks kind of desolate and cold but Anchorage is really a big city but very close to the wilderness.

Excuses for not going to bed...

Remember how as a kid we invented every reason under the sun not to go to bed? Well we are in that stage with Daniel. The other night it was " I need a drink, I need to go to the bathroom, My finger hurts." You know the drill. He then came up with a new one after coming out of his room for the upteenth time. "I have a toothache." I said "oh?", thinking where did he learn the word toothache and does he even know what it means? He continued, "it's in my nose." Yah, you just don't want to go to bed you funny little boy.
Today at nap time he came out of his room with his eyes screwed shut "I'm so tired!"
"Then why aren't you in your bed?"

Happy Birthday Reagan!

So I am a bit late with this post as Reagan's Birthday was on the 26th, (Thanksgiving) but better late than never I say.  

The Day of her Birth November 26th, 2007

                                      

 The day of her Blessing-

 

Hanging out at home with big smiles for Aunt April

 

The morning after her birthday. P.J.'s she will not take off from Grandma Lois, Snow White DVD (also from Grandma Lois) which I wish I had video of her jumping up and down when she opened ( it was SO cute!) and the stroller from Aunt April that she still a week later will not share with anyone.

Her birthday  present from us was to go to Bouncing Bears where they have lots of Moon Bounces, slides and etc. It's a lot like the Kangaroo Zoo we went to this summer with my cousins. Reagan LOVED it as she LOVES to bounce. One of her favorite things to do is go jump on Daniel's bed. These pictures are video but for some reason they don't seem to be working.

And this is how we found her this morning- With P.J.'s pulled off and all of her short sleeve shirts on. Apparently she slept this way. At least she left the diaper on... Maybe she's improving.

Reagan is a sheer joy to have in our family and brings such sunshine to our lives. We are really grateful to have her a part of our family.

Thanksgiving Blessings

I was driving by a church the other day that had a board outside that  said "Count your Blessings, Recounts are Allowed". As I have been reading other people's blogs as they count their blessings I have been reflecting on ours.
-I am grateful that Paul is home this holiday season and not away in some foreign country without us as he has been so many times before. Thanksgiving morning we turned on the news and they were interviewing soldiers and talking about them not being home this year. I am counting my blessings that Paul is here and that I don't have to hear the song "I'll be Home for Christmas" this year while crying.
-I am grateful that while so many people are out of work that Paul has a good job and that he is happy in it. 
-I am grateful for a scale that says I weigh 112 pounds. I know it is wrong but it still made my day!
-I am grateful for a little girl who brightens every day. It was her birthday on Thanksgiving, and while we didn't get the candles blown out, we did have fun. She is such  a special blessing to our family and we love every minute with her.
-I can't leave out Daniel. His sweet hugs and kisses melt your heart and I am so grateful for him. And his laugh! Oh how I LOVE to listen to him laugh. It is the best!
-I'm grateful that if the Durango has to malfunction and be stuck in 4WD High, that now couldn't be a better time with a foot of snow and about 8 inches of it being laid in the last 2 days. Can't we just wait until spring to have it fixed?
-I'm grateful that when I go out and play in the snow with my kids my pants don't get wet as it's too cold for the snow to melt so you just brush it off.
-I'm grateful for family and friends who have been there for us when we needed them and strangers who have stepped in to fill the gap when you couldn't be there.
-I'm grateful to be here in Alaska. It has been so much fun!
-I'm unbelievably grateful to Heavenly Father who has walked every step of the way of this journey through life with me and I know will continue to do so. Which gives me the courage to face many more years of this journey we call life.

Can't Wait for Breakfast

The other morning I was in my room taking care of some things and apparently two little kids couldn't wait for me to make them breakfast so they helped themselves. Cool Whip and Rice. Something similar to rice pudding? Why the couch had to be the scene of the crime is beyond me. There were foot prints of cool whip everywhere in the house and rice scattered like breadcrumbs.

Budding Photographer

Every time I turn around Daniel is taking pictures with my camera. Here are just a few of the ones he has taken recently. I think we need to find some better subjects. Obviously a camera would be high on his list to Santa.

What is a Kank?

Daniel for the last several weeks has been talking about a "kank". I have been trying to figure out what he's talking about. I thought that since his English isn't always decipherable it must be a word he's mixing up. HE has said, "where is my kank?, I lost my kank!, My kank did this or that." What is a kank??? Today I finally asked him, "What is a Kank?" (Why I didn't just ask him before I don't know.) He snorted with his nose and said that's a Kank. And you know it sounded just like the word he had made up for it.

I have fallen in love with...

Coupons!! I have never been a coupon person as generally I found they were for things I wouldn't normally buy or if I would buy them the off brand would be cheaper. Add to that that for a while the commissary (the military grocery store) wouldn't accept coupons printed off the internet. If I came across a coupon for something I would normally buy I would go ahead and use it but that was far and few between.
Well since moving here I have met a new friend named Nichole and she runs a blog Alaska Coupon Diva with a friend and I have fallen in love with it. She inspired me with her stories of going to Target and buying $100 worth of stuff and only paying $30. Her site focuses on a lot of deals we get here in AK but a lot of them are nationwide. I also found out about Dolly Parton's foundation Imagination Library through this site. Dolly Parton set up a foundation to foster reading in kids that provides children with free books to keep from ages 0-5. Check it out and see if your community has it. I've signed my kids up and I can't wait for the books. Free children's books once a month. What could be better?
Yesterday I went to the commissary and Target. At both places I saved $15 each with coupons, and while I bought more of the items than I would have normally (some of the coupons you had to buy two of the items) it is all stuff I use all the time and would have to buy again anyway. I probably could have saved more at Target if I had spent some more time researching as Target will accept one of their coupons and a manufacture's coupon for the same item. But my favorite thing? I had 2-$2 coupons from Welch's.com for sparkling grape juice and it only cost $1.89 a bottle at the commissary. So I got 2 bottles of Welch's sparkling grape juice for absolutely free and the $.22 that was left over from that went towards my other groceries! Can I tell you that that just makes me really happy?!!
Just wanted to share my happiness!

It Is Officially COLD!

Yesterday when we left at 10am to go to play group the temperature was a whopping 8 degrees. Daniel had complained as I hadn't bothered to put his gloves on him and he wanted to wear them. As we were getting in the car (which is a process with two young children) he of course started playing in the snow, which of course made his hands freezing cold, shich meant that he was screaming all the way to play group. I had dried his hands and pulled his sleeves down over his hands but of course with it being 8 degrees it took them awhile to warm up. Lesson learned yesterday- When Daniel wants to wear his gloves let him. It did warm up that afternoon to 38 degrees for an hour or two but then quickly dropped back down to 28.

Something else I found out yesterday is that instead of using salt to melt the snow here they use gravel to give you traction. This is fine on the roads but have you ever pushed a double shopping cart in a parking lot on snow that has been heavily graveled? Let's just say it was hard work for Mom and a bouncy ride for two kids.

First Snow of the Year

 

We have had a few flurries before now but last night we got our first real snow. It's about 3 inches deep and we were very excited to go out and play in it. 

 

The snow was too powdery to make snowballs but Daniel had a great time trying to and throwing them at Mom. It took Reagan a while to warm up to the snow. She did not like having the snow thrown at her but later decided that walking around in it and climbing in it is kind of fun.

 Here we see Daniel climbing up his "mountain". He was so excited to find this "mountain to climb.

Here we see him falling down the mountain. With Reagan waiting safely below. It kind of reminds me of Jack and Jill. He did make it to the top of his mountain a couple times and he was very happy about that. We were only about about 10-15 minutes as we were waiting for our friends to arrive so that we could start preschool. But that was long enough for hands to get cold, especially when you keep taking off your gloves to see what the snow feels like!

Playtime during Preschool

This is Daniel today. He refused to take his snow suit off after we came in from playing in the snow, and moments before (I couldn't get the camera fast enough.) he had a hanger hooked to the top of him as well. This is what he was doing during preschool today ( a friend and I take turns having preschool at our house with our kids).
There is no picture of Reagan as it would probably have been considered child porn if I posted it. She took all her clothes off and wanted to play dress up. I guess it's time to invest in some dress up clothes. Can we at least get her to leave her underwear on though?

World's Largest Chocolate Fountain

For all you chocolate lovers out there, we took these pictures just for you. This is thought to be the world's largest chocolate fountain and it's right here in Anchorage. My kids wanted to climb right in. Especially Daniel. How Paul got pictures of it without the kids is beyond me as they were both right there trying to reach in as soon as they saw it. We had to get them some chocolate covered marshmallows to allay their disappointment. I myself opted for white chocolate covered pretzels as I am one of those very few who don't enjoy chocolate.

Day at the Park

A couple weeks ago, Paul and I took the kids to the park and I forgot about these pictures. So, just for Aunt April who has been begging for new pictures, here they are.

The life of Parents

Paul had a dinner we were supposed to go to last night, so I arranged for a babysitter, and looked forward to a night out and I got all dressed up. Paul got home about an hour before the dinner was to start and said that he was really tired and that he didn't want to go. I had a babysitter lined up and I was not about to pass up on that opportunity even if I went out by myself. We decided to go just spend some time together, get take out and bring it home. We thought we would stop at Wal-mart really fast so that we could pick up a couple of things.
Well we never got out of there until just before our time was up.
So we got a babysitter and got all dressed up to spend our night at Wal-mart? As I realized that on our way home I couldn't help laughing. So this is what it is like to be a parent. Date night is running errands... We've got to change this scenario.

Encounter with a Moose

I had a bad day yesterday and some very kind people in my ward watched my children. The person who dropped them back off at our house last night said that they had had a lot of fun at the houses they had been to. Little did I know.

A Moose comes to visit...

Also check out youtube to see a little more action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-SiJ7CjI0E

Reagan apparently thought that it was a horse. My friend Amy kept telling her no it's a moose and she would say moose, but a few minutes later she would be back to horse. I wish I could have been there to have seen it. Apparently pumpkins are a real treat to moose and it is a real draw for them to come down and eat them.