Surprising Three

The biggest surprise of all was opening the garage and seeing this...  

Or rather NOT seeing David's beloved (new) (well, used, but new to us) 

FJ sitting in the garage.  

It's not in the garage because he DROVE it.  

To work.  All by himself.  

After 106 days of not driving.  

It was scary, but he did it!

Please don't mock us for a messy garage.  

So nothing was quite as surprising as David driving, but the kids had "June in January" at school so they got to wear shorts and t-shirts.  Except, SURPRISE! - they still had to go outside for recess.  Even though they were wearing shorts.  I guess this is how we raise tough kids in Alaska.   It's been in the 20's so I guess that is pretty warm for around here!                                             

I love this picture.  I went to go do the dishes and found them just like this.  A hidden heart.  In the chocolate sauce pan.  Just for me.  You can find love anywhere if you'll just look!  :)

Good Threes

Three wonderful and amazing things happened this week.  

First, I got some new shoes.  Finding new shoes is hard because I do not like shopping.  (I know, it's not very womanly of me...)

Second, my children finally like REAL old fashioned oatmeal.  No more of that instant crap!

Third, David and I were able to go on our second date of 2011.  This is my best New Year's Resolution ever! (And if you want to do something really really REALLY scary on your date nights, write down the ages of your children and the ages they will be in the the next five years while you discuss things like finances and vacations and goals.  AUGH!) 

Day Off

This is my first day off in working 8 days straight.  Working?  That's right.  I am an employee of ASD, Anchorage school district.  The new politically correct term for my position is "Guest Teacher" although that hasn't really caught on with the kids and they still call me the substitute teacher.  It's an awesome gig!  I spend most of my time teaching 1st graders.  First graders are adorable although you have to repeat everything you say 9 times.  And even then there will always be one kid who says, "I don't know what I'm suppose to do here."  But many are missing those two front teeth which of course I LOVE so I can't stay irritated at them for very long.  

I also got to teach Skyla's class which is a 4/5 grade combo.  That was awesome too because they are independent workers and laugh at my jokes.  Except that they are growing terrariums on their desks and within the first 5 minutes of me being there I found 2 of the crickets had escaped.  I was VERY proud of myself for not screaming.  I would have lost all credibility if that would have happened.  So disaster averted thank goodness!

Back to my day off.  I have quickly discovered that when you work, the work at the house waits for you.  I have piles and piles of laundry.  And errands.  And clutter.  And messy bathrooms (remember that is David's GOAL which means he is still working to achieve such things...)  And things I absolutely need to get done.

But it just snowed. 

And my friend texted.  

So I'm going skiing. 

And my husband is so awesome that he supports me in that decision.  Even if it means he has to eat left-overs.  (Which he didn't - I made chicken and artichoke heart crepes which were SO delicious!) 

All eyes on...

David as he had to give a talk in church.  Well, I guess he didn't HAVE to because it is something he hasn't done in 10 years.  But he agreed to.  I wish I had a picture.  My husband is an amazing speaker (if I do say so myself!)  He gets up in front of a crowd and he's not nervous, he doesn't have to read his notes, he says funny things and makes everyone laugh, and then brings in the spirit and makes everyone cry.  Not bad for being out of practice for 10 years!  This was his opening joke that brought down the house:

"The topic for my talk is "Righteous Goal-Setting."  I am not sure why the Bishop picked me.  Since my broken neck three months ago, my goals have been pretty modest:  trying to regain strength and use of my left arm, starting to drive again, and since I can't look down with my neck brace, trying to improve my aim so I can keep the toilet seat dry.  I'll let you guess which goal my wife likes the best.  By the way, it has been 10 years since I gave a talk in sacrament meeting, so if it is another 10 years before I give another one, I guess we'll know that joke made it all the way to Salt Lake."

TMI for most people, but this is my life...

Sometimes I look back on my planner and wonder where the time went.  Now I will remember!  At least this week.  Or at least part of it...

Monday -

Our neighbor brought the kids home from the bus stop.  They were really late getting home.  I asked them what took so long.  Apparently Karsten wouldn't get into Paul's car.  The girls said they bribed and threatened and nothing worked.  Karsten would NOT get in.  Finally Sierra tricked him into the car by saying one of the other girls (still walking) was a murderer and he better get in.  This worked.  I'm thinking I must have some details of this wrong because that all seems very weird...  Anyway, when I talked to Karsten about why he wouldn't get in the car, Karsten said Paul's car smells like smoke (Paul smokes a pipe but only when the kids are not in the car but the smell is still there I guess) and on the radio he heard if he breathes smoke it will kill him and he doesn't want to die.  Which makes perfect sense why the whole murder thing worked on getting him into the car because if he has to choose death now or a lingering death from the "smoke", death by smoke must have seemed the better option.

Missionaries came to dinner.  Karsten was very happy to announce ALL of our ages starting with mine.  I never feel old until I hear how old I am.  Out loud.  

Tuesday -
Discovered something like vomit or possibly diarrhea in my bathroom trash first thing this morning.  Turns out it was spit up chocolate.  Karsten had to clean the trash can out and chose to fill the trash with water BEFORE he emptied out all the toilet paper in it.  Utterly disgusting.  And then he had tantrum because he found it disgusting too.  This is all before school.  Five minutes before we're leaving I check Karsten's backpack and find a special project DUE TODAY.  Panic moment but we did it and the kids didn't miss the bus.

I got a quick run in!  I always feel so tough running in the snow...

In the afternoon I subbed some very darling 1st graders.  They corrected my pronunciation of "measure."  I apparently say it funny.  I did not like being corrected by 1st graders.

Skyla had jazz, I picked up David (who is now working full time again!) and we went to REI to pick up his brand new skate skis!  Not that he'll be able to use them this year, but now he HAS them and we're that much closer to being able to go together!  But going to REI made us late picking Skyla back up from jazz.  Which made us late eating dinner.  Which made us late for finishing homework.  Which made us late for going to bed.  Our life is a domino!  

Wednesday
Church meeting to noon duty at the school to a quick run outside to one lengthy doctor's appointment for David (3 hours!) to volleyball meeting for Sierra to DONE!  This was literally my entire day.  But then David and I watched Inception (his first time, my second) and I love it when we have a good movie to watch.  And the second time seeing this one was even better because I could actually follow the storyline this time.  And I finally got the ending because it doesn't matter if the token stops spinning...  It doesn't even matter! 

Thursday
My case in point - If I don't write it down after it happens, when I look back on my planner none of the details will be remembered! I know what we did on Thursday, but the details are gone...

Friday we went out with friends to dinner.  Everyone had horrible luck and did not like what they ordered.  Except for David and I.  Our food was so delicious!  Of course we rubbed it in.  

All eyes on...

SKYLA as she was her class winner for the spelling bee.  She had to go in front of half the school, lots of parents and teachers, and judges to compete for the school title against other 4th graders, as well as 5th, and 6th graders!  And guess what - she did awesome!  She made it to the third round where there were only 8 people left!  

 The word to get her out?  Celery.  I think it should be spelled with an "A" Skyla!  It definitely sounds like an A to me! 

We're so proud of our little bee!!

Third Birthday

Aspen as a puppy

Our little puppy is now three!  Or really 21 if you want to be technical.  My girls couldn't let the day go without a celebration.   Unbeknownst to me, they planned a party, created the invitations on evite being sent to 8 families, worked out the details such as refreshments and party bags and they were just waiting for the ok from me to press send.  How could I resist that!  

You know you have really good friends when they show up to your doggie's birthday party at the park on a cold, January day in Alaska!!  David built an amazing fire in our portable fire pit which helped; we had hot chocolate which was a necessity; and some really crazy dogs the kids had fun chasing around.  The party was a success!  It was so cold I neglected my camera duty and did not get pictures of hardly any of this!  I hate it when that happens...

Now the cutest smile really, truly EVER

The Cutest Smile Ever!

Karsten lost his top tooth!  

I could only love it more if both of his top teeth were gone.  And guess what, it's loose! 

Happy Day

I've been waiting for this day for a long, long time.  And with a very generous gift from Grandma and Grandpa we were finally able to make this happen.  

My kids are skiers!

We signed them up for an all day lesson and by the end of the day they were going down intermediate runs.  More importantly, THEY LOVED IT!   They have their daddy's blood running through them.  And the best news is that this small resort is 9 minutes from our house.  Joy!!  We are one step closer to being a skiing family. 

Winter fashion

Why yes, we are so cute in our new knit handbands.  Thanks Jyl!

http://yourgrannycalled.blogspot.com/

Here's to the new!

Happy New Year!  2010 threw us for a few loops so I was wanting to say "Good Riddance!"  But then I remembered so many good memories and so many good things that happened during the year!  So while we're in a hard spot right now, I can't throw all of our year into this moment.  

HOWEVER, here is to a happier and healthier new year!!!  We had so much fun bringing in the new year with the Noble family and friends.  The talking and laughing never stop!  We finally realized we needed to go home around 1:30 when Karsten laid down on the floor because he was so tired.  He ran into the house and straight into his bed without stopping once and without a single word.  Poor baby!