Spring Break '09 vs. Spring Break '10

Last year for spring break we took a trip to Ed's family down in Alabama. While we were there we went down to the Florida panhandle for a couple of days. It was so nice. Warm and Sunshine!! Katie loved the beach and she always asks when we can go back to Florida.All of our kids love playing in the water. But, Austin really loves it. He could spend all day at the beach or in a pool.

This year was a little different. At the beginning of spring break we got a lot of new snow. Ed had delayed reporting to work for two days and if that happens in Alaska you know the weather is bad. We decided to take the kids up the mountain and go sledding. This picture was taken a couple days before we got the big snowfall.
This picture was taken the day after the snow stopped falling. It is a beautiful picture of the sunset taken from our church parking lot.

Austin's 11th Birthday

For Austin's 11th birthday, Ed and I didn't get much input into what he wanted to do. It ended up just being some friends over to our house for food and fun. We had pizza and wings for dinner. Austin is really into chess, so there was a chess tournament also. At the end of the party they had an hour long nerf gun fight. Let me tell you that 6 11-year old boys in a confined area does not smell very well, but they had a lot of fun. I forgot that they also played the Wii. Here they are receiving instructions from Ed. Austin opening his presents. He loved the football that he got. I think this makes football number 4. You can't have too many, right?
Blowing out the candles on the cake. His first attempt did not go as planned and that is why he is laughing so hard.

Boy Scouts here we come

Last night was the Cub Scout blue and gold banquet. Since Austin will be 11 on Saturday they decided to advance him to boy scouts last night. Austin received his Webelo's patch, his Arrow of Light, and his religious knot last night. We are so proud of him and he is so excited that he gets to be in boy scouts now.

Cheerleading Clinic #2

Katie went to another cheerleading clinic the other day. She wasn't feeling very well but that wasn't going to stop her. She really loves doing the whole cheerleader thing. Two of the girls knelt down while Katie stood on their knees. I couldn't get my camera to work for that part though. Ed couldn't make it to her little routine but she showed him some of her moves when he got home.

Sleeping Beauty

Katie went over to a friend's house the other day and she decided to give Katie a sleeping mask and some slippers because she had some extra ones. Katie now sleeps with the mask on every night and she has a meltdown if she can't find her mask before bedtime.

Ice Fishing Derby

Yesterday we took all the kids to an ice fishing derby out on Knik Lake. We got out there at about 11:30 and some of our friends joined us about an hour later. We brought out the campstove and cooked hotdogs and hot chocolate. The kids didn't catch anything but I think we all had a good time. All of the kids got prizes at the end of the day. They got buckets to keep their catches in the next time they go fishing. Austin got a new sleeping bag, Logan got a t-shirt and popcorn with a free DVD rental, and Katelynn got a stuffed bunny with a marshmallow sucker. Here's a picture of the boys fishing. I want everyone to notice where the car is parked in association to where the boys are fishing. Isn't that crazy? We are parked on the lake!

This is Logan when we first got out there. It was pretty cold, but luckily the car isn't far away if you get too cold. This was Katie's first time ice fishing. She was so excited. She actually stuck it out the longest.
This is a picture of everyone fishing and parked on the lake. That whole open area is where the lake is located. People had shelters set up, bonfires going, and some actually brought homemade ice shelters out onto the lake.
Katie really wanted to catch a fish. She had one on her line earlier but it got away and she started crying. The boy that was fishing next to us caught a fish and was very nice to let Katie reel the fish in. She was so happy.
This is what happens after a long day of fishing. We weren't even off the lake yet and Katie had fallen asleep. Unfortunately, we had to wake her up again so she could get her prize. She told me she had a good dream though.

January Pack Meeting

This month's pack meeting was a special one for our family. Logan received his Wolf badge and this was Austin's last pack meeting as a cub scout. Actually he will be advancing at the March pack meeting because he turns 11 three days after the February pack meeting which will be the Blue and Gold Banquent. Next month he will be advancing to Boy Scouts. I can't believe that. Sorry for the blurry pictures. I forgot my camera and these were taken with my cell phone.

Here Logan is pinning his wolf pin on Ed. It was nice that Ed was there to get this from Logan.
Austin received some belt loops and achievement awards that are going to help him receive his Arrow of Light at the March pack meeting. They always want to have a parent go up there with the boys and of course Katie had to go with me.