Our Taste of Spring

It is cruel....Jacob really did think it was spring. But no, we still have at least 3 more months. And I am sorry to rub it in your faces, but the weather here has been absolutely beautiful. It will be hard to say goodbye to the warmth but the time is coming. But in our little "chinook" we have been at 55 degrees for a few days and have actually seen a little of what Alaska looks like under all of the snow. We now have a little lake in our driveway. When it ices over again, we will charge admission to get into our own private skating rink.

In the backyard(where the moose were) we have a little pond, I knew it was supposed to be there(it has been on all the maps) and now I get to see it. I worry what Caleb will do this summer when he realizes it is there. Not a good thing!Here are some of the mountains off in the distance, but still on base. And we were able to see what the trees looked like without frosty snow cover on them. I am sure it will be even more breathtaking in the summer...I can hardly wait!

Moose in the Backyard

Yesterday we looked out back and saw some moose in the back of our yard. It was actually right outside our fence. It looked like a mama and some babies. This view is from Megan's upstairs window.

Curtis stood at the window dreaming of getting his bow out! But he said they were too small. It would only be a couple hundred pounds for our freezer. He'll wait for the big daddy!They ran out from behind our house and ran for the road. They caused a little traffic jam. I hope I never get used to seeing the wild animals; it is too amazing to find it normal!

Pictures of the House

Well, I have had a couple of people request pictures of the house. So I have been waiting to get it all in order before I take pictures. But I have given up. So you can see pictures of how far we have gotten.This is the living room, right off the front entry. Notice Meg(barely visible on the couch) after falling asleep in the car while picking up the boys from school. We got busy and forgot to nap!

This is the family room. A computer desk(whenever it gets made) is going where the blue table leg and comp chair is. The boys are playing the Wii after school.Here is the kitchen and dining room. Caleb is drinking someone's hot chocolate, good thing they are busy playing the Wii and haven't noticed yet!This is between the living and family room. I am standing right in front of the entry to the kitchen. The stairs go up on the one side and down on the other. I hope this makes sense!Caleb and Nick's room. Right now until Nick works up the courage to sleep downstair with Jake in the basement.

Megan's room. She moved into a big girl bed when we got up here. So far so good. She has only gotten out once! As long as the door is open, she will stay in her bed!Our room. The bath is off the wall with the window. It is big enough for our stuff but still tight! But we can't be too picky! It is free and we don't have to pay to heat it about -50!!

I didn't get down and take any pics of the basement. Not too much there anyways. If you want to see it, you will have to come up and see for yourself!!

-40

We took a little video of what happens to water at this temperature. At that moment it was -38. We are going to have to do it again when it is light, to see if you can see it better.

Here are also some pictures of some of the ice fog. If there is any moisture in the air, it freezes into a fog. Some days you can't see far at all, but mainly it just looks hazy out.

The forecast for Friday calls for -50! What an adventure!

North Pole

We went to North Pole, Alaska the other day. We went to the Santa Claus house and the Christmas In Ice.The city hosts a ice sculpture "contest". People come from all around the US to carve where their creation can last for months.

There are reindeer at Santa's house. The boys wondered why Rudolph was not there.

The kids were sitting in a sleigh of ice. It was -10 that day. The kids were all bundled up for the weather but Curtis and I were not. We couldn't even make it through the whole park. I honestly felt like my fingers were getting frostbite.

Shortest Daylight of the Year

We decided to show you all what the shortest "day" in Alaska looks like. I must admit that the camera did not take the best pictures of the amount of light. The dark is not as dark as it should be, and the light parts of day should turn out brighter. But at least it can give you an idea of how it is.
9 A.M. 10 A.M.

11 A.M.
12 P.M. 1 P.M.
2 P.M.
3 P.M.

Kid's Christmas Party

On Saturday we went to our squadron's Children's party. Some of the helpers f0r the party were out with a stomach bug going around(we had it last weekend) so I got roped into helping as an elf. But the kids had fun and had a chance to run around out of our little hotel room.

They made crafts and ate dinner and jumped in the bouncy castle. Then of course, Santa came. He was the old style Santa. All of the children got gifts. Jake was near the last to be called up to see Santa. He was worried out of his mind. It didn't help that we were teasing him that he must not have been good enough this year; he was almost in tears by the time they called his name! Megan had no desire to see Santa this year. She did like his gift and candy cane though!

A LIttle Spark of Excitement

Today we went to Nick's Holiday Concert. He was a good little singer. His cute little shy personality on stage reminds me of his daddy. It is cute to see.

After the concert we picked up Caleb from preschool. Right after we walked out, we saw a mama moose and her babies walked up to the school. We've been told that it is never wise to get between a mama and her babies, so we quickly got to the car.

We had the camera handy cause we'd just left the concert so we got some lucky pictures. I am glad that we can remind Caleb of the time that the moose walked right past his school!

Nothing New

I wish I had something important or interesting to post, but I do not. Not too much has changed since last time, no house, still cold, and still snowy.

Caleb did start back to preschool last week. He loves to go and we LOVE for him to go. He does well with it and enjoys the new experiences that school brings. He is ready to start Kindergarten and be with his brothers. I am excited too, but it is hard for me to bring myself to realize that I will soon have 3 in school. Wow. Where has time gone?

Megan goes back tomorrow to the Oral Surgeon for hopefully the last check up. She seems totally healed to me. No more bruise and she doesn't cry if you touch her chin. She eats completely normal and is still as sassy as ever.

Jake and Nick are enjoying school. Nick's Christmas program is Thursday. They will be singing some songs. He has been practicing and excited for it. They both can't wait to get into a house where they will have a basement to play in. I suppose that they feel just as cramped as I do.

Sorry, life is so boring, even though I kind of like it that way!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of good food and friends. We wish we were with family, but were in great company anyways. We have much to be thankful for and are grateful for all of you in our lives.

So on that thankful note, we are thankful that Megan is healing quickly. We took her back to the oral surgeon and he said that all looks well and she should be fully healed in a couple more weeks. We just have to watch her in the next few years to make sure that her jaw is growing evenly.

And we are thankful to have shelter, even if it is this miserable TLF. We thought that we would add a little clip of what Caleb does for a large part of the day. I guess it is his form of exercise in this place!

We hope you all had a good Thanksgiving too!