I'm in Love!

Yes of course with David, but I'm talking about something else...  cross country skiing!  And this is no regular skiing, either.  I had never heard of this before but here in Alaska there's a faster (and some would argue better) way of skiing called "skate skiing."  Simply put, it's awesome!!  And it's hard and I really suck but it's going to be awesome!  A friend I ran into on the trail after seeing my back side covered in snow and my beginner's stance stopped to give me a few pointers and left me with this, "THIS is the reason we live in Alaska."

Bar None

The horrible, awful, dreadful, ridiculous, irritating, demoralizing, and unfortunately necessary test is OVER! 

 

 

It was hard to get a picture of the darling pictures the kids drew, but let's just say our house was a party this weekend.  We're so happy to have our David back!  He's our guy - bar none! 

Snow Buddies

In Alaska, they're not called friends, they're "Snow buddies."  

The Bar

Tomorrow's the big day...  David LITERALLY could not have studied more.  He's going to rock that test tomorrow!!!  (And the next day.  Oh, and the next day.  Yes, it's a three day test.) 

Skipper

This is the best toy ever!  My kids play this every single day, many times a day.  It's awesome - and what a work out!  The pole spins around and you have to jump over it.  It gradually goes faster and faster.  Let me tell you - my kids are developing quite the leg muscles!

Organization

Why does getting organized have to be so messy?!  This is how some of my evenings have been spent without my hubby to keep me company... 

Kiddos

Karsten

My five-year-old Karsten.

Skyla

My eight year old Skyla. 

Sierra

My 11-year-old Sierra. 

Remember this guy?

Yeah, I don't hardly either.  He has been working (studying) SO hard for the Alaska bar.  He gets up in the morning and goes to the library and most nights we don't see him again until 11.  Part learning by osmosis maybe?  (Thank goodness the library closes or he might not come home at all!) 

11 more days to go!!! 

And no, he's not shaving until this ordeal is over!

Bundles of joy

Look what I get to be the aunt to!  

Bathtime

As Karsten hopped in the bath this morning, David and I couldn't help but think about Sara - a friend of the Dullum's.  We've been following her story daily via her blog www.stakerzxposed.blogspot.com.  Start from the bottom, read up and add your prayers to thousands. It's a heart breaking and heart warming story all wrapped up in one.  I want to remember this daily so I'm a little less rushed, and a little more patient with those three little people in my life.  And with my one big person too.  :)  Life is fragile. 

Aaaaa...

It's the (second) most wonderful time of the year...

I love Valentines! 

Overheard

"Sierra, why are you a veterinarian?" (vegetarian)  Karsten

"Because I don't like to eat dead animals."  Sierra

"Dead animals taste yummy."  Karsten

"I would be a vegetarian too except for hot dogs and bacon and hamburgers and salmon.  Oh and pork and chicken nuggets and..."  Skyla

My angels

Best Gifts

This Christmas we received some of the most thoughtful gifts:

Gift of Friendship
These people came to visit us!  All the way from California!  And we love them so much for it.
















Gift of Memories:

My mom gave my girls a binder full of stories from when I was a little girl.  They are priceless!  Sierra and Skyla, ever since they were little, were always asking for stories about when I was little and now they have them recorded forever.  She also made Karsten a bag full of Book of Mormon hero figurines with a handmade book of their stories.  It has transformed our sacrament meetings!  He loves to play with them and I'm thrilled that he's learning about these great men.


Gift of Opportunity:

Hymas' gave us, as well as all of David's brothers and sisters, $100 - but with a catch.  The catch is we have to spend that money on somebody (family NOT included) else.  We get to decide how to help someone!  We are so excited by this.  Next Christmas we have to all report on what we did with this hundred dollars. 

Gift of Culture:
Our dear friends in Berkeley sent us these beautiful Mongolian traditional clothes.  They came to California from Mongolia and we loved so much getting to know them while we lived in Berkeley.  We will treasure these beautiful outfits.

We definitely feel...

Loved

Family Time

I love family time!  I am so so happy that it worked out for this last minute trip to Utah.  

What did we do?  Well, we shot BB's at Christmas ornaments.

We went sledding.  Twice.  My brother and his wife provided some great grub!

 Crafts with Nana (my girls' personal favorite)

And a hundred other things that I couldn't possibly name them all.  Let's just say memories were made.  And that's why we came.  

Nana and Papa with all the grandkids

In-Law Time

I have the best in-laws.  I love that we get to see them every time we go to Utah too!

Spa Day with the aunts

















 Snowball fights with Uncle Geoff
















Wii with Uncle Jayson

 

Bowling with Uncle Korey

And lots of snuggles and story time with Grandma and Grandpa.  No wonder my kids never want to go home!

Sister Time

One of my favorite things about going to Utah is getting time to hang out with this chick...  my sister!!  She is beautiful, funny, organized, crafty, creative, clever, and the cutest mom ever.  And this is the last time I will see her as the mother of two children, because next time I see her she will have 3 kids!  She's due in April with a GIRL!  Yahoo! 

We had so much fun staying up late (or early depending on how you look at it...), getting a pedicure, taking the kids swimming (which meant we had to swim too...), eating yummy food, doing our nails, watching movies, and just being sisters.  
 And just to show the world how creative my sis is, here's what we got for Christmas :

Love this girl!!

Monk

Yep, we're addicted...  You couldn't pry their eyes off the T.V. if you tried.  We can blame this one on Nana.  :)

Funk

I haven't posted about Christmas yet and our the wonderful time we had with our friends visiting. I haven't posted about the great memories we made while visiting family and friends in Utah. I haven't posted about Sierra cross country skiing, the hilarious things Karsten has been saying, Skyla's jazz class, David's library moments, my culinary experiment, or the hundred other things happening in our lives.

Too far behind to try and catch up. Yet unable to blog currently because I need to catch up.

I'm in a funk.