Trimming the Tree

We usually wait until the first Saturday of December to decorate for Christmas but we are so excited because the faster Christmas gets here the faster Ed gets home so we decided to decorate today. I picked up an artificial tree this year because I absolutely hate watering the Christmas tree. Having to move the presents and the tree skirt every day drives me crazy. Here is Logan putting on an ornament. Stretch Logan!

I love this picture of Katie. It reminds me of why Christmas is so magical. The kids enjoy decorating so much and I love seeing them so happy.
Austin had to make sure I took the perfect picture so he is actually posing for me. Thanks, Austin.
The finished product. Picture is courtesy of Logan Dean.
We we all are standing in front of the tree. I was actually having a good time even though I don't look like it. The kids were laughing so hard at the blinking light for the timer. I didn't want to be laughing hard in the picture so this is my serious face.

Maybe a Snowbaby

It started snowing really hard today so the boys went outside to play. Logan came in and said the snow was good for making snowballs. We usually have very dry snow so it's hard to make a snowball. Katie wanted to try to make a snowman so I told her I would help her. Here she is starting to roll the snow.

Katie and Austin posing for a picture in the snow.
Logan and his friend playing in the snow. They were having so much fun.
So we ended up getting two really big snowballs to start our snowman. I put one on top of the other but when I did that the one on the bottom collapsed. So this is what we ended up with. Maybe we can call it a snowbaby.

Logan's party

Logan had his birthday party tonight at an ice cream place called Scoops. They have a huge game room with a Wii, a karaoke machine, and air hockey. I hope the kids had fun. All the kids got to build their own ice cream sundaes as well. This is Logan and his friend playing air hockey.

Logan at the karaoke machine. It didn't really work that well but the kids enjoyed the echo feature and talking (yelling) at other kids.
Logan and his group of friends opening his presents. Let me tell you they were all involved in this process. It was so funny.
They had all kinds of funny hats to wear. This is Logan wearing a birthday cake hat.
All the birthday children get to put their handprint on the wall of fame at the end of the party. Logan of course chose green, his favorite color. Happy Birthday, Logan!! I can't believe he's nine already. We all love you so much!!

Movie Day

On November 7th the kids and I went to Anchorage to see A Christmas Carol in 3D. I was a little worried because everything I read said it might be too scary for young children. There were a couple parts that made you jump but it wasn't too bad. We had a great time. The movie had almost started before I realized we didn't have our 3D glasses. I was going to take pictures of all of us with the glasses on but it was too late. I realized later that Logan brought his glasses home instead of turning them back in so I took pictures of the kids with the glasses on. I was going to put the glasses on the dog but that didn't work out too well so we ended up with just a normal picture.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

About a week ago we got our first snowfall of the season. That is pretty late for us, we usually have snow by the middle of October. I'm glad it stayed away for so long because it sticks around until probably March. We haven't had any more snow but now we have the freezing cold temperatures. When the kids went to the bus this morning it was -17 degrees. It is so cold that the inside of your nose freezes. It's the weirdest feeling. I just feel bad for Ed. From his high temps to our low temps there is a over 100 degree difference. Luckily these cold temps don't stick around all winter.

Happy Birthday Logan!!

Today is Logan's 9th birthday. I made this huge cinnamon roll to have for breakfast and I put 9 candles in it(he counted to make sure). We are not planning on having a cake so I thought this would be fun. Needless to say we only ate about 1/4 of the cinnamon roll.

Opening his birthday card. The first thing he did was look for money. Unfortunately Logan, you don't get money and a present.
Holding up the birthday card. As soon as Logan saw the commercial for the double shot Nerf shotgun that was what he wanted for either his birthday or Christmas. As I was walking through the toy aisle the other day I saw this and thought it looked pretty close to the one on the commercial. We had some technical difficulties at first but I think he has the hang of it now.

Happy Halloween 2009

We were so excited for Halloween this year. It was our first Halloween in Alaska without snow, but we did have around 30 mph winds and when we got home that night it was 18 degrees. So of course we had to have hot chocolate. We went trick-or-treating at the church and since it was so windy we ended up doing it inside this year. After that we headed to the fire department. They always have good food and games for the kids. We tried to go trick-or-treating but it was just way to cold.

Katie was a pretty princess.
Logan was a Clone Trooper from Star Wars. I saw a lot of Star Wars costumes this Halloween.

Austin was a NASCAR pit crew member. He wanted me to tear up his costume and put blood on him like he got hit by a car but he told me this the morning of Halloween and I didn't have any makeup for him. Sorry Austin.

Pumpkin Carving

Every year it seems to be the same thing. The kids start out so excited to carve their pumpkins. That lasts about 2 minutes and then mom is left to do the rest. I usually ended up carving five pumpkins. This year they were better and they did a lot of the work themselves. Katie hates the smell of the raw pumpkin so I know I'll always end up finishing her pumpkin. At least she stuck her hand in it this year. Way to go, Katie!!

EEWWWW, GROSS!!!
All the kids insisted on using their hands instead of the spoon. I don't know why. I bought one of those cool carving spoons. It didn't last though.
Showing off their final product. Good job guys. They drew the face they wanted and I carved it out for them.
NICE JACK-O-LANTERNS
By the time I took this picture they had been sitting outside for a couple of days. I think they were frozen solid.