Wow! What a week. When it rains, it pours(or snows)! Curtis is in Texas for firefighter training. So I was just me and a very full calendar. We've had three soccer games, ballet lessons, soccer practice, piano lessons, a dental appointment, an eye doctor appointment, 3 school finals for me, tae kwon do lessons and testing, scouts, and three parties. I am glad it is over so we can slow down a bit.
Nick tested for his green belt. He really enjoys tae kwon do. He has a natural ability.
Curtis thought that I should name this post "I once was blind, but now I see." On Sunday Curtis and I went down to Anchorage for me to have LASIK and for a mini-vacation.
This picture is when the doctor is using the laser to build up my cornea. If you look on the right of the screen, you can see the flap of my cornea turned back. It is a little creepy. The fuzzy areas are what I saw during the procedure, but it was green. 
This is where the doctor is using some kind of squeegee device to flap my cornea back on. It was wierd to sit there while the doctor is touching my eye(I couldn't feel anything.)
By the afternoon, I was feeling great and seeing great! 20/15! I couldn't be more happy with it. We got to spend the rest of the trip relaxing and spending our time childless. It was great, but it is always great to come back home!
Our little Megan enjoys spending many afternoons dressed up for her ballet. She puts on quite a show. She is especially fun to watch when she picks out her own outfits and doesn't have her hair done, and has food all around her face! Someday she is going to hate these pictures!
This year for New Year's Eve we rented a cabin at a lake about 35 miles south of the base. It is kind of in the middle of nowhere. The cabin had electricity but no heating. We thought it sounded like a fun little adventure. There were some festivities at the main lodge. Sorry it was dark most of the time that we were there(it is Alaska in the winter!) so the pictures aren't great.
While playing around outside with a bunch of kids, Nick got kicked and lost his very loose tooth. I am glad for the kid that kicked him so that I didn't have to pull it out!
We set off lots of fireworks. The Northern Lights were absolutely amazing that night. I tried and tried to get pictures of them, but I couldn't. It was too dark to see any of the buttons on my camera and too cold to take my gloves off to try to move things around. 
Here is our cabin in the daylight. It was a one room place. Curtis and the boys brought in stacks of wood to keep loading into the woodstove. We stayed toasty warm. It was also unseasonably warm outside as well. It was 11 degrees(ABOVE!!!!) at midnight.
Curtis has a stack of sparklers for all of the kids. And adults.
Caleb writing his name.
The boys playing outside. It felt so good out there compared to what it has been lately.
Megan played outside but when the fireworks started she took off to the lodge to get away from the noise.
Our friends brought up some snowmobiles. We had tons of fun riding around on those. There was a lake that we could drive across. The next day Caleb saw that the ground that we had been on was a lake, and he was a bit freaked out that he had been on top of the water. Our weekend was great. It was definitely our favorite Alaskan New Year's Eve.
We all went ice scating yesterday at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks. I don't know why we haven't gone sooner. The boys loved it. Nick didn't like to leave the wall at first, but finally felt confident to let go.
Caleb's skate had two blades so he was skating like a pro from the start. He still liked to hold my hand every other lap or so. It made him go faster!!
My cute boys. They didn't want to leave and begged to come back. We definitely will.
Jake started trying to do tricks. Whoa! What moves!
Today I made some divinity. Caleb tasted it and said, "Mom, is this manna? Cause it tastes like heaven." Agreed.
Yesterday we visited Santa at his home in North Pole. The boys realized that this was the last time that they would see the REAL Santa and not just one of his "helpers!" How amazing it has been to live here in Alaska!
Today is the shortest day of the year, even though on Christmas break, it somewhat feels like the the longest. The sun came up at 10:53 a.m. and went down at 2:41 pm. But it was warmish...only -22. But on short days like this we stay inside and find something to do. Caleb loves to make music on his computer.
Nick likes to build things. He is quite imaginative.
Jake loves to play games and loves to help his sister. They are playing Guess Who? I think that he lets her win just enough so that she will keep playing with him.
Last Friday we went to our ward Christmas Dinner. Megan and Caleb were very intent on their coloring before dinner.
Megan was down with the junior primary getting ready to sing their Christmas songs.
Nick was Joseph for the Nativity. He would only do it under the condition that he did not have to kiss Mary. We told him that it wasn't that kind of play!
Jake was a shepherd. He loved being in costume.
