Spring Break

A little of this...

And a little of this...

 Lots of this...

And even some of this! 

Of course a spring break in Alaska wouldn't be complete with out some of this...

Throw in some downhill skiing, movies, one crazy hike, Wii, cookies, and a luau, and Spring Break 2011 was a success!

The FUN has arrived!

Nothing like Uncle Jayson to come 

and make our spring break the funnest! 

Dark Clouds Fade...

Suddenly my step is a little lighter.  

And I'm sure my smile a little more truer.  

And if you look close, there is even a twinkle in my eyes.

Our clouds of darkness have gone away.

It started with a doctor's appointment which 

rid David of his neck brace!

It continued with a mission farewell that we are so thrilled about and get to attend!

It's sprinkled with the news that our friends really are going to come visit us this summer!

And it ended with the purchase of 

two tickets to Paris France.

Oh how I've missed this feeling!  

I do believe it is called HAPPINESS!  

Friday Night Dates

Lately, David and my Friday Night Dates (capitalized on purpose!) have revolved around the exciting sport of volleyball!  And it IS so exciting because we get to see one of our offspring playing!  Being a great volleyball player in middle school, I'm sure that it is my genes that are ruling at the moment.  David claims to overall be a better athlete than I am, so he tries to claim the moments when she scores the game point on her awesome serve  (true story!).  We discuss this at great lengths during our Friday Night Dates.  Here is some documented proof that maybe BOTH of our genes are at play here...

Nice form!  This must be David's

Fancy Footwork!  Probably MY genes

OK.  Probably  mine

Confidence and anticipation.  David's!

We are just so proud of Sierra for trying a new sport!  

And giving us a great, FREE, Friday Night Date.

Vacation

Apparently my kids need a vacation.  Actually we all do.  

The thrill of throwing some outfits and a tooth brush into your suitcase and getting to leave.  

Go.  

Somewhere.  

{Sigh.} 

And since we didn't go anywhere for our four day weekend, Skyla and Karsten took it into their own hands and went somewhere 

all by themselves - 

with their wonderful imaginations!  

I wonder where they went in their bathrobes and winter hats.  

Where ever it was, they had fun! 

Fablehaven Signing

Why yes, that is Brandon Mull, author of Fablehaven series and Candyshop Wars, smiling, signing my children's books.  He was here at our library giving a lecture and signing lots and lots of books.  Did you know it took four years of rejection before he finally found someone to publish his book?  Never give up kids!  How nice (and brave!) that he would come here to Alaska.

Tres Magnifique

I need some motivation to lose this layer of fat that is keeping me warm here in frozen land Alaska. 

I think this may do the trick...

Ice!

Some cool ice structures downtown make 
for fun Sunday afternoon family time!   
And the amazing thing is look how light it is!  
I took these pictures at 5:30 and it's still light outside! 

Welcome back sun!  We've missed you!!! 

What the heck?!!

 

This is how Karsten came down for breakfast this morning.  He was so proud.  He had a zap!  (That's what we call zits at our house.  Somehow it just sounds nicer...)   The girls were busting up laughing.  I was completely clueless.  Here's what happened and why my son is so excited to look like Rudolph: 

Skyla has her first zap.  And it was a dousy.  Big and red right on her nose.  So of course Karsten, being the typical younger brother, wants to be just like his older sister and wishes he could have one too.  Apparently he was doing the "zit dance" the girls taught him because that's how you get them.  He was so proud when he came down for breakfast the next morning and the dance had worked! 

I was worried he was going to go to school like that!  I voiced my concern and heard, in a very disappointed voice, "Don't worry mom, it wasn't real.  It washed off."   Now I just wished I could have somehow gotten video footage of that Zit Dance! 

Love is in the air...

I love this holiday!  Hearts and chocolate and candy and LOVE!  And this year I even found pink heart marshmallows!  Have you ever seen anything so cute? 

So here are some of our Valentine's  happenings:

 

 Skyla's Cookie Party!

All these cute girls rode the bus home with Skyla and came over for our annual cookie party.  They were very good cookie decorators and really great taste testers.  :) 


Karsten's Kindergarten Class Party

 I got to help in Karsten's class for their Valentine centers.  Is there anything cuter than 18 kindergartners painting hearts and making love bug hats?  There is not!  Can you guess what station I was assigned to?  And look at Karsten's valentine's that he wrote all by himself!  And his darling box!  And his dazzling smile!  I sure love this little guy that melts my heart!  

 

Sierra's 6th Grade Dance

I can't believe I just put all those words together in one sentence.  I can't believe Sierra, my little girl, is a 6th grader.  And I can't believe that she is old enough to attend a dance (it was during school), and even more surprised that she was looking forward to it, and the MOST surprised that her and her friends dressed up for it!  (The teachers told them to, but still, she did!)  I'm pretty sure she is not happy that I am the type of mom that is there, everywhere she is, with my camera.  But as spoken in the language of love (since it is Valentine's Day after all), c'est la vie!  

This is what a 6th grade dance in the classroom looks like.  Where are the boys?  On the other side...  Perfect!

Broken Neck Update

If you go to work one day and someone hits you with their car and you break your neck, here are some things you can expect:

You will be in a lot of pain for a long time.  You will not go to work for 7 weeks.  You will not drive for over 100 days.  You will still be in a neck brace 4 months after the accident.  Four times 30 is a lot of days that you have something wrapped around your neck which reminds you of the skiing you're not doing.  Or the ice climbing.  Or the ice skating.  This may all make you feel a little crazy.  And sad.

But if you're this guy, it will not conquer you.  You will find the good in the bad.  You will be touched by the  many people and the kindness and care you're received.  This will change you forever.  You will not give up even though you are still feeling pain and it's been almost 4 months.  And four times 30 is a lot of days.  

I feel so lucky to be married to such an incredible guy.  

Surprise!

I can't wait for my kids to wake up this morning!!!