Christiansen Family

Oberg Pond

2010-11-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

Gwen and Frank visit & Daisy's 3rd B-Day

2010-11-21T15:01:00.001-08:00

These pictures are all the way back from July...

2010-09-12T23:07:00.000-07:00

Friday was a sad day for the Oberg family. Our oldest cousin Jared passed away. I was at Granny's house that day, and it was beautiful outside. My sisters and I were watching our kids play around the barn and on the tire swing and remembering all the times we did the same with our cousins. This picture (taken at Granny's- probably almost 30 yrs. ago) was posted later that night.

(From left to right - Eric, Melissa, Lori, Scott, Jared, Rita)

Last days of summer

2010-09-12T23:05:00.003-07:00

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. For now here is a cute picture of Daisy picking raspberries.

Lake Louise

2010-07-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

Half Marathon

2010-06-23T20:24:00.001-07:00

This last saturday was the 1/2 marathon race. We had seven runners from our little running club- and it was sooo much fun! Lila actually kicked some butt and won second in her age group for women. (She only lost by 5 seconds!)

2010-06-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

These are some cute little picnic tables that Lori, Amy, Emily and I made for the kids

My daughter

2010-06-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

Running Club

2010-05-25T01:25:00.001-07:00

This last Saturday our little running club participated in a local 5k/10k. It was a beautiful morning and so much fun!!!

2010-05-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

I'm not posting anymore because no one comments :(
(Come on - no comments about the giant raw shrimp in Richard's mouth??!!)

Boy's Trip to Whittier

2010-05-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

Little devil

2010-04-04T23:20:00.000-07:00

I had to write down a few things Andy told me today before I forget.

I know it's hard to tell from this sweet little face, but sometimes Andy has quite the temper. This morning, after the third or fourth squabble with Daisy, he was in his room for a long time out. I went in to talk to him about it. He said it was really hard for him to be good when Daisy just kept doing naughty things, like taking his toys or scratching him. We talked about how it was the right thing to come and get me when things like that happen. It turns out he does know that's what he's supposed to do.

But, sometimes, he says "Satan, like... controls my mind."

I had to stop myself from laughing because he was so serious about it. I told him that it happens to everyone, and that we all make mistakes sometimes.

"But it happens to me all the time!" he says.

Later in the day at my mom's, he had a fight with Avery over something stupid, and he couldn't compose himself. He ended up in trouble again. After he decided to be nice, we were leaving my mom's room and he turns to me and says, in a very exasperated tone-

"This is exactly why I need a CTR ring!!!"

Running Club!

2010-04-03T10:21:00.001-07:00

Our running club, Heart and Sole Runners began this morning. It was a gorgeous morning and we had so much fun! Visit the blog for more information, and we hope more people join us next Saturday!!

http://www.heartnsolerunners.blogspot.com/

Wedding

2010-03-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend my little brother Calvin got married! We are all sooo excited for him and glad to have Natalie as part of our family.

Pictures from Christmas

2010-03-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

Pictures from our Utah trip (Thanksgiving)

2010-02-14T16:35:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving, we took a trip to Utah! It was a lot of fun. We got to see all of Kevin's family. We played lots of games together, did a LOT of eating out, watched movies, and just had fun spending time together. The kids absolutely loved spending time with their Christiansen cousins. They got along so well! We can't wait for our next visit!

(I'm trying to get caught up on posts here... be patient! I may be the worst blogger in the world.)

Some late Halloween Pictures

2010-01-31T00:07:00.000-08:00

Sorry so late in posting - I have a lot of catching up to do!

2009-11-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks Lori!

2009-11-04T00:09:00.000-08:00

Just because they are cute...

2009-10-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

Front Lawn

2009-10-21T23:41:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics of the hard work Kevin did this summer- our retaining wall and front lawn. We still have a lot of trees & shrubs to plant, and the entire back yard to tackle, but it's a start!

2009-10-04T00:04:00.000-07:00

The play room before a day with the cousins......

And after.

Pictures from the Fair

2009-10-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

We had great weather for the fair this year. The kids had a lot of fun. Daisy was big enough to go on at least a few rides this year, so that saved us a few tears. Highlights of the fair included:

-My Mom/Dad & Granny/Grampy getting honored as Farm Family of the Year

-Rachel selling her steer in our family's very last livestock auction

-A really cool reptile exhibit that Daisy and Andy just loved

-The Lumberjack show

-Yummy food!

Lake Louise with the Palenskes

2009-10-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a late fall trip to the cabin, and invited our friends/neighbors to go up with us. The weather was pretty cold, but we had fun huddled up in the cabin making yummy food and playing lots of games. The kids did get in the water for a bit, then we spent an afternoon at the beach skipping rocks and making smores. It was so much fun!

Melissa and James came to visit...

2009-10-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

In August we were lucky enough to have Melissa, James, Louis, and Baby Elsie come visit! It was so much fun. The cousins were so excited to see Louis and Elsie. That baby got soooo much attention, especially from Daisy. She followed her around everywhere Melissa would take her. We tried to cram in as much fun as we could in a short visit, including another trip to Lake Louise, Bouncin Bears, 4-wheeling, and several family get-togethers. Heather and Tina came to visit too. One afternoon while Melissa and James were at his uncles, my grandma watched the kids and Heather, Lori, Amy, Tina and I got to spend the entire afternoon in Anchorage with no kids! What a treat! We went biking on the coastal trail, went shopping, and went out to dinner. I was an idiot and didn't take any pictures, but Tina posted some.

Louis is the cutest little kid. He loves balls and rocks, or "rockies" as he calls them. I was still finding little rockies all over my house a week after they had left. He and Daisy didn't really know what to think of each other. Elsie is the sweetest, cutest little baby. It gave everyone up here baby fever and we really wish they were still here. We miss them so much all the way in Boston.

Along with Melissa and James leaving, Rachel , Calvin and Keith all left to go back to Utah, so things are getting quieter here. Also, Lori and Richard are in Japan for a few months, so it's just us and Amy's fam left.

The Lion King

2009-09-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend my mom took my sisters and I to see the Lion King in Anchorage. It was amazing! Incredible! I can't say enough about it. If anyone ever has a chance to see it, do not miss it!!

Andy's Birthday

2009-08-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

I have put off posting for so long... I am just dreading it now. But a lot has gone on this last month or so, starting with Andy's 5th birthday. We had Melissa, James, Elsie and Louis here to visit, along with Heather and Tina, so his birthday party got sort of squished into a family dinner. I did manage to get some Superman cupcakes made, and he seemed happy enough with that. He wore his Superman shirt, superman jacket, superman cape, and his Clark Kent glasses for good measure. The blue frosting was such a mess! But I have decided cupcakes are the way to go! For those of us who live here - Go to Verdas Cakes and Things!! They have millions of cute, cheap little cupcake toppers.

Daisy and Kevin's Birthday

2009-07-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Kevin turned 29, and Daisy turned 2 yesterday. We had a little combined birthday party, with just a few family and friends and some cake and ice cream. For the past few weeks, Daisy has been deciding between a puppy cake and a flower cake, so I made a cute little pink daisy cake. Andy wanted his dad to have a special cake too, so we made him a Jeep cake. His looks extra "special" because Andy helped a lot. For her birthday, Daisy got a little red kitchen set from her mom, dad and Andy. She also got a thumbelina doll, some books, and a tinkerbell blanket. She was in heaven knowing it was all about her. All of the kids went absolutely crazy over the kitchen set, and played with it for almost two hours straight. I didn't get very good pictures because none of the kids would hold still.

She got some birthday money from her Grandma Christiansen, so this afternoon we are going to buy some more toy food for her kitchen. Thanks Grandma!!

Fishing Trip

2009-07-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my dad took us all fishing in Prince William Sound. I decided to take Daisy and Andy without Kevin, which was kind of a mistake. But they had a lot of fun. We caught a lot of halibut, on huge link cod, and a red snapper. Oh, and some shrimp. The new boat is very comfortable. My dad is having a hard time naming his boat. Some suggestions from the kids included "The Boat Sailor", or "One Money Money" (Avery's suggestion).

Andy and Daisy wanted to sit on my dad's lap and drive the boat the entire time.

Fourth of July

2009-07-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

We spent the Fourth of July weekend up at Lake Louise. We had unbelievably beautiful weather. The kids played in the sand all day. Daisy and Andy both went for rides on the tube and loved it. We ate a lot of delicious food. The trip was much too short this year, but we are hoping to go back up when Melissa and James come to visit in August.

Half Marathon..

2009-07-09T15:32:00.000-07:00

The half marathon was a couple weeks ago. It was one of the funnest things I have ever done! Amy, Lori, my aunt Marci, and our friend Amy ran it together. Lori stuck to her word and stayed with me the entire time instead of leaving me in the dust. I finished in 2hrs 4 min., and came in 202 out of 963 women.
I can't wait for the next one!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

Our Yard!

2009-06-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

For the past month and a half, our (and by "our" I mostly mean Kevin's) big project has been trying to get the front yard in. He built a retaining wall all the way around the front, put in his flagpole, and spent countless hours evening out the yard with the skid steer, bringing in topsoil, and raking it smooth. Some might say he's been a little obsessed with getting it as smooth as possible, but I'm not complaining - it's turning out great! We finally have seed down, so I'll post another picture when we have a nice green lawn. And I have to plant all of our trees, shrubs, and flowers so I'd better get to work.

Soccer

2009-06-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

This summer we signed Andy up for a little soccer league. It's very informal, and Andy is on the 3-4 yr. old team with his cousins Ty and Avery. They have a lot of fun - that's all that matters! Andy really likes being the goalie. Daisy was very sad that she didn't get a uniform and didn't get to play. It was hard to keep her from running onto the field. She hates being left out.

(Andy's uniform is sooo big on him. I don't know when that kid is going to start growing.)

My new niece

2009-06-05T22:58:00.001-07:00

Elsie June Tehani Faustino

A little skateboarding accident

2009-05-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

The kids were outside playing at my parent's house yesterday and apparently Andy thought he could skateboard. Now he agrees that he needs to stick to scooters.

Don't teach a four year old about recycling unless you want him to take you VERY seriously...

2009-05-27T00:11:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, it was my turn to teach our preschool group. It happened to fall on the day before Earth Day, so we learned about recycling. Andy has really taken it to heart. He calls himself "The Recycler"(some sort of superhero?). He brings home milk jugs and other garbage from my sisters' houses. I've always wanted to start recycling, but I was too lazy to do it. There is no getting out of it now though. Luckily the recycling center is just down the road from our house!

Going for a little ride

2009-05-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

My very first 10K

2009-05-19T17:11:00.001-07:00

I ran my first 10K on Saturday with Lori, Amy, and my aunt Marci. It was a gorgeous morning, and we had a lot of fun! Five more weeks until the half marathon. (Yikes)

Puzzling

2009-05-13T01:22:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken at the NEW cabin up at Lake Louise! My dad finally got tired of climbing that hill, and bought a new cabin on flatter ground. It is so great! The entire family went up last month on snowmobiles and we had a blast. Andy brought his little snowmobile and wanted to drive it all the way across the lake to the cabin. It is much too slow to keep up, so we usually haul it over on a sled, but he thinks he's as big as anyone. It was too cute. On the ride back, we finally convinced him to put it in the sled, and he rode with Grandpa. So he hopped on in front of Grandpa, wouldn't let him touch the handles, and drove his back across.

The weather was gorgeous, and we played outside all day. We found some pretty hard packed snow and we tried to build a big igloo. We got pretty far on it, but we couldn't figure out how to close up the top. I think Amy has some picture on her camera, maybe she'll post them if she ever updates her blog.

So the picture above is Lori, putting together Andy's 60-piece John Deere puzzle. I brought it over to keep Andy entertained because he loves puzzles. But Lori came up with the brilliant idea to see how fast we could put it together. Lori and I started trying to beat each other, then Mom and Amy got in on the action. Richard and Kevin tried, but the boys were all painfully slower than the girls, so Dad and Lee refused to try. (Richard says girls are better at puzzles because we have a larger corpus callosum in our brain).

Ultimately Amy was the champion puzzler, beating Lori by almost a full minute. We became a little obsessed with trying to beat each other- but we have never laughed so hard in our lives. It was so funny. If you ever need a fun family home evening game, try it!

So this picture is Lori, speed puzzling, with Andy holding the timer. And Daisy looking on.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

Fun in the snow

2009-04-10T00:07:00.000-07:00

Just Daisy... Looking cute

2009-04-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

This wins the prize....

2009-03-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

Worst movie I have seen in a really, really long time.

Bad Idea

2009-03-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

It is actually not a good idea to buy your 4 yr. old his very own pair of scissors. ( I don't think you can see it well in the picture, but Andy decided to snip up the pants he was wearing - don't ask me why)

A bit of a problem...

2009-02-16T01:14:00.000-08:00

The trouble with going on a trip is getting the kids re-adjusted to normal life. Daisy slept with me for two and a half weeks, and when we got home she wasn't at ALL happy about being in her crib again. So she has just done what any rational person would do, and refuses to lay down. She has slept standing up in her crib for over four weeks now. Obviously she doesn't get much rest like this, so she is crying off and on through the night. At some point, either Kevin or I usually give in and bring her in bed with us. But if I try to lay her down in her crib, she wakes up and stands right back up. I took a picture because Calvin wouldn't believe me. He always tells me my kids are going to need therapy. He may be right on this one...

Christmas Vacation

2009-02-16T00:39:00.001-08:00

We had a great time over Christmas visiting Kevin's family in Logan. The kids had a great time visiting their grandparents, and got sufficiently spoiled Christmas morning. Daisy got a few dolls and a stroller, Andy got cars, a superman cape, and various superhero toys. The week after Christmas we flew over to California to meet up with the rest of my family. We all stayed in a big house together right next to Disneyland. The kids loved playing in the pool everyday, and they could usually convince Calvin, Keith or Rachel to take them swimming. We went to Disneyland, Sea World, the Wild Animal Park, and Universal Studios. Every day was sooo much fun and Andy keeps asking me when we are going back. The only sad part of the trip was when the ticket-taker told Andy he wasn't tall enough to ride with me on Splash Mountain. Oh- the look on his face was heartbreaking!! Daisy couldn't get enough of the rides - she is fearless! I loved getting to spend time with my brothers and sisters, playing lots of games and talking and laughing a lot. Here are a few pictures from the trip, in no particular order. As usual, I am not a great photographer so there weren't too many great ones to choose from.

Overdue Post

2008-12-11T00:28:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture from Halloween- I know, over a month ago. I don't think I'm alone here- everyone I talk to agrees with me. They LOVE checking other peoples blogs, but HATE having to post on their own. I am absolutely forcing myself to put a new post up tonight because it's been a really long time.

So Andy was Batman for Halloween. Please excuse the poor excuse for a batsuit. I felt somehow it was my motherly duty to make his costume instead of buying it. So I did... and the results were less than spectacular. But he loved it and that's all that mattered. Never mind that I saw a batsuit at Target the day before Halloween for only $10 - it's the principle of it. I guess.

Daisy was a giraffe (Andy's old costume). I guess I needed to dress her up as a princess because everyone was calling her a boy. At the town Halloween party we went to a lady even told me Daisy was sure to be a 'lady-killer' when he grew up.

The kids had a fun time. Andy was really looking forward to having trick-or-treaters come to our door, but we only had two. It was a cold night. So this is a pretty bad picture of the kids, but somehow it's the only one I got. I'm really bad about remembering the camera.

The other pictures are just random - Andy with his buddy Xander, and Daisy eating a snack, looking cute.

My sister and her family made it up to Alaska. We are really happy to have them here! The kids have been having a blast - sledding, making gingerbread houses, and playing with all of each other's toys.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

North to Alaska

2008-11-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

My sister Amy and her family are driving up to Alaska right now! I'm so excited that they are moving here! Let's all pray they get up here safely and without too much hassle!!

My Post on Politics....

2008-10-19T23:14:00.000-07:00

Just kidding!

Instead I'll just post a cute picture of Daisy.

Andy's John Deere Birthday Party

2008-10-19T22:59:00.001-07:00

Andy had his 4th birthday party (2 months ago!) I know, I'm a bit slow.

He wanted John Deere party, so we decorated with green balloons, and I did my best effort at a tractor cake. He and several friends went to Bouncing Bears first. It is a giant warehouse filled with blow-up bouncy slides, etc. They had a blast. Daisy kept Kevin busy taking her down the tallest and fastest slides. Then we had family and friends to our house for lots of food and noise.

He got way too many presents - his pride and joy being a little battery-operated John Deere 'Gator' from his dad. He had to promise not to drive it

down any window wells!

My baby girl turned one!

2008-07-24T00:23:00.001-07:00

Daisy turned one year old on July 15th. We celebrated she and Kevin's birthdays with a delicious dinner of tortilla soup with my family. I made pink cupcakes and Andy and I decorated the house with pink balloons (I used to swear I would stay away from pink when I had a girl! Guess things change...)

Daisy loved her first cupcake. But she really hated the cute pink tennis shoes I bought her. I mean REALLY hated them. She just hates shoes and I don't know why. She also got a little toy phone that makes lots of noise and some cute babylegs from Mom and Rachel.

Happy Birthday to Daisy and Kevin!

We finally got our house painted!

2008-07-11T01:22:00.000-07:00

Back from Utah

2008-07-11T00:53:00.001-07:00

We had a fun trip to Utah to visit Kevin's family. The sunshine felt so good! I also got to spend time with Lori and Amy and their kids, which was so fun!

Sunday we had a big birthday party for Kevin's Dad, who was turning 70 this month. It was a surprise birthday party, and it's a good thing he can't understand Andy too well because he almost gave it away several times! Kevin's parents bought a trampoline for the party and it was a big hit with Andy and Daisy for the rest of the visit.

Some other highlights of the trip included:

- Trip to the Logan Aquatic Center. The kids loved playing in the water. Andy went down the big waterslide with Kevin and was disappointed that it didn't shoot him up into the air at the end. The kids were taking turns jumping off the side of the pool and into our arms. Lori's daughter Avery was standing behind Andy and I guess he was taking too long, so she booted him right in the rear end and into the pool. We couldn't stop laughing!

- We took the kids to Wall-E (wierd movie!) and then to an adorable little ice cream shop afterwards. They made a big mess but loved it.

- A trip to Bear Lake! Bear Lake is one of my favorite memories from visiting Utah as a kid, so I'm so glad we got to go. The kids loved playing in the sand and chasing the seagulls.

- Playing the marble game with Kevin's family. We have a long-running feud between the men and women and I'm pretty sure the women came out victorious last week.

-Fourth of July Fireworks and parade. I love the Fourth of July! It was a little hot that day, but still fun!

-On a visit to Kevin's brothers house, Andy and his cousins were driving around in their little battery-operated jeeps. Andy took a turn driving, and nose-dived the jeep down an open window well! It was so funny. I wish we'd gotten a picture, but at the time, they were stuck in a window well screaming so we had to get them out first and make sure they were ok!

2008-06-19T00:41:00.000-07:00

At the Friday Market - the best picture I could get (Daisy wouldn't cooperate)

2008-06-19T00:36:00.000-07:00

I caught Daisy making out with Curious George

The King of Kong

2008-06-19T00:32:00.001-07:00

My brother was bothering me forever to watch this documentary. He finally convinced me - and he was SO right! It is awesome. I know it looks crazy, but go rent it - you won't be sorry, I promise!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

2008-06-13T00:38:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine did a blog with some of her favorite things, and I thought it was so fun... so I thought I'd share a few of mine -

1. Babylegs
They are adorable little legwarmers in every color and pattern you can imagine. They are perfect for throwing on when your baby is in a cute little dress but it starts to get cold outside. Or I put them on Daisy under her pants if we go for a walk because her little pant legs always hike up and part of her legs get cold. I love the story behind them too - A stay-at-home mom invented them! I love these soooo much I want them in every color.

2. House, M.D.
This is the BEST show on T.V. - Kevin and I love it! I usually hate medical dramas (E.R. is the worst!) This is a can't miss. I have certain sisters who refuse to watch this show , and they are seriously missing out.

3. Chutney
Ok, don't laugh at this one. Maybe everyone already knows about this but it's a recent discovery of mine. It's sort of an Indian relish, I guess. It's just the right combination of sweet and spicy and it goes great on everything!

4. Josh Ritter
Really great singer/songwriter. Traditional, kind of folk music I guess. I really like him

That's all for now because it's getting late. I'd love to see everyone else's favorites!

Sleepy Kids

2008-06-12T00:33:00.001-07:00

It was a long day...

2008-06-10T00:30:00.000-07:00

I was at the park the other day with one of my friends and she got this cute picture of Daisy in the swing. I found a picture of Andy at the same age - so I thought it would be fun to put them side by side. I think they look nothing alike! Both adorable though, if you ask me!!

Long Time Gone

2008-04-03T23:55:00.000-07:00

I doubt anyone checks this blog anymore because I never update! I've been meaning to - but I have been seriously busy! I hate moving! But I love my new house. We are finally in. Aside from the exterior painting (which will have to wait until spring) - the house is finally, finally finished. I didn't believe the day would ever come. We are loving it so far - but it's quite a task to get everything unpacked. The garage is still compeltely full of stuff but I think we have lost all motivation for a week or so. I'll get to it eventually. Aside from that, not much has been going on - which is why I never update. I don't want to bore people to death. But I love checking everyone else's blogs - it's so fun to get updated on people's lives and see pictures. Daisy is growing so fast - I can't believe she's almost nine months. She's been crawling since January and is now walking around all of the furniture. And the best of all , she is finally, FINALLY sleeping in her own crib! And sleeping through the night! (Most of the time...) Andy just wants to be outside all of the time. He wants to go ride bikes, walking, whatever. Unfortunately , although we've had some sunny days it's still pretty cold here. And he's sick today, which never happens, so I think we're going to have to wait for some warmer weather. He got a brand new game the other day - Go Fish. He loves it. He makes us play it all the time. He doesn't understand the rules 100%, but he is so cute playing it I just love it. He is obsessed with anything to do with transportation. Motorcycles, snowmobiles, bikes, 4-wheelers, trucks, trains... you name it. But his latest obsession is airplanes. He flies around the house all day with his arms out and his motor running. Yesterday morning I asked him "Are you an airplane today Andy?" And he just looked at me and said "All the time I am!" - Like I should just assume. My dad brought him back a toy bi-plane from their trip to Washington D.C. and now he's learning about all of the different types of planes. He even watches some old show called Sky King with my dad. It's not a cartoon or anything.. it just has airplanes in it.

Well I'm going to attempt to post a few pics now... they never go where I want them to, but here goes. I hope someone (or two!) leaves me a comment so I know if anyone even reads this darn thing or not.

Music Video

2008-01-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

My little brother Calvin has his music video up on Youtube. If you want to see what he did all last semester instead of studying....search for "Calvin Smooth Peach Fuzz"

It's about time..

2008-01-21T23:50:00.000-08:00

I haven't written for a while - but I have a good reason! Kevin and I have been trying frantically to get our house finished. We are mere weeks away but it's been a lot of work and there is a lot left to do!
But in the meantime, here's an update of the past month...
Christmas was great. Melissa and James came up from Boston so we finally got to meet little Louis. He was so cute! Although he's almost two months younger than Daisy, he's already taller and heavier than she is. Andy gave him a lot of hugs and kisses (he loves babies), and Louis put up with it pretty well. Andy got everything he ever wanted for Christmas , and more. He got a tool bench with lots of tools, Lincoln Logs, cars, trains, etc. Grandpa Chuck got him a camo hunting shirt and is now promising to take him moose hunting. That will have to wait ten years or so. Kevin bought me a new digital video camera called a Flip Video. It's great - it holds 60 minutes of video and plugs right into the computer to download. As soon as I have more time I will try to post some videos of the kids. Calvin and Keith were also home - that was so much fun and it was great to have so much help with the kids. When I told Andy his uncles were coming home for a visit, he thought for a few minutes and said "Mom.... an uncle is kind of like a friend!"
So over at the house we have been painting and painting, tiling, wiring, etc.. The cabinets are going in this week, then all the doors and trim - and we should be done soon! I will post some pictures of the final product. I am so excited - mostly to have my own washer and dryer and a dishwasher!
This week Lori and Avery are visiting. She is such a funny girl! She loves to sing and dance and run around. Andy is so excited to have a friend around, although he still calls her "Baby Avery" and talks to her in a soft, high-pitched baby voice. He hugs and kisses her constantly and I'm not sure she appreciates it all that much, but they seem to be getting along quite well! I can't wait until they move up here this summer.
Well it is late at night, and I'd better get to bed. I'll post pictures soon hopefully.

Santa Claus

2007-12-15T16:21:00.001-08:00

This week Andy got to go to the library and see Santa Claus. There is a great guy here who makes these wooden toys and brings them for the kids every year. This year he made a beautiful rocking horse. Andy was so excited to meet Santa. On the way to the library, I was feeling very festive, so I was singing all sorts of Christmas songs (I'm turning into my mom!) I asked Andy which song he'd like me to sing next, and he told me "That's pretty much enough singing." I can't really blame him- I'm not much of a singer! Friday we went with my mom and did our Sub for Santa shopping. It was so much fun. We picked a boy Andy's age so he could get excited about picking things out. Andy really wanted to know what the little boy's name was, so finally we told him his name was "Bob". He had a great time picking out toys for Bob, and now he really wants to meet this boy and be his friend. He was such a good boy about it - I was surprised that a three year old could go toy shopping all day and not complain that none of it was for him. We also bought things for a large family here who needed some help, so we had a great day - my mom and i decided that just that day made our whole Christmas. Today we picked out our Christmas tree. Sadly, Kevin had to work, but my dad took us and Andy picked out a cute little Alaskan style tree. I can't wait to decorate it!

2007-12-12T00:05:00.000-08:00

On saturday Andy attended his first birthday party for his friend Xander. He was so excited - he had carried around his Spiderman birthday invitation the entire week. There were a lot of kids there - mostly kids of people who I went to preschool with when I was his age. It was fun. They had a pinate and cake, etc. They went sledding outside, which Andy was so happy about. The bad thing is, we haven't had snow in a really long time, so what they were sledding on was really old, hard, crusty snow. Andy took a little tumble and scratched the heck out of his poor little face. It didn't really phase him- he just kept on sledding. He didn't really get sad about it until he looked in the mirror later.
That night was the Colony Christmas parade. It was short and sweet because it was cold outside, but Andy was excited to see Santa Claus, and one float even had two baby moose!
This weekend was also the famous nativity display at the church. Mom did a great job as usual - it was very beautiful and a huge success.
Tomorrow I'm planning on getting out my box of meager Christmas decorations. I think it is past time. The thing is, I kind of hate decorating for the holidays. I think it's because we are always moving around from apartment to apartment, so I don't feel like I'm decorating my home. I don't know - I just kind of hate it, but I know I need to do it for the kids sake now that Andy is getting old enough to care. On Saturday we are going to get our tree, and Sunday we are going to make some gingerbread houses. Now those things I do like!

2007-12-07T01:02:00.000-08:00

So it's pretty rare to get a picture of Daisy without her fists crammed into her mouth. And here's a picture of the kids in my bed, where they both usually end up before the night is over. The sheetrockers will be done at our house by Monday! So now I have to pick out paint colors. It's a good thing both of my brothers are coming home for Christmas so I can have some help painting (and tiling). Andy really wants me to paint Daisy's room pink, but I don't think I could stomach that.

Andy wrote his first letter to Santa Claus. He was wondering why we couldn't just call him on the phone and tell him what he wanted. Seriously though, the last thing this kid needs is new toys! I don't even know what to get him because he has everything. He asked Santa for pirate toys (he is obsessed with being pirate these days), a scooter (still a little too young for that one), and of course more trains and cars. I got him some good old fashioned Lincoln Logs, which I think he'll love because he is really into puzzles and things that get put together.
The other day I was getting so sick of all the toys being a big jumbled mess, so I bought some clear plastic storage containers to organize them in. While I was making dinner, Andy hauled them all into the living room, layed them out on the floor, and proceeded to sort and organize all of his toys into the appropriate categories! I couldn't have done it better myself. I've never seen a three year old who is a neat freak before, but he totally is. He will get the vacuum out himself to vacuum crumbs on the floor. And he gets really upset if the wrong color hangers are in his closet (white go in his closet, blue are for mine). He even puts away his own laundry (no joke! in the right drawers too!) I am one of those people who is really organized in theory, but not so much in practice. I have a goal though when we get into our new house, I'm going to be super organized and clean. Does anyone else love the show Clean Sweep? I'm obsessed!
Right now I am also loving: Iron Chef America, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, House, and Jon & Kate Plus 8.
P.S. Does anyone know what happened to Lost?

My cute kids

2007-12-02T23:18:00.000-08:00

Andy was so tired he just fell asleep on the floor while he was playing!

2007-11-30T18:24:00.001-08:00

Okay, I'm just figuring this thing out. So apparently this is like some kind of online journal - I don't really know how this is going to go over- even writing this right now, I am boring myself, so I'm not sure who is going to come here and read this. Anyway....
Here is a quick update of our lives in the last year or two. Last June Kevin and I packed up all of our things and drove up the Alcan highway with Andy. We moved into my granny's basement and Kevin quickly found a new job. We've had two very exciting things since we moved here - first, we had a daughter named Daisy Leah. She was born on July 15th, just days after all of my sisters left from their visit here. She's a very adorable little girl! She has no hair (and no eyebrows, as my dad loves to point out. He thinks it's really wierd). Andy , who is 3 years old now, loves his baby sister. And he LOVES his grandpa Chuck. Don't get me wrong, he loves Grandma, Rachel, Granny, Grampy, etc.. But everyone knows Grandpa is his favorite. It is very cute to see them together. And since he and Daisy are the only grandkids that live up here, they get a lot of attention.
The other exciting thing is that for the last six months we have been building our new house!Kevin (and I) have been the general contractors on it, so it's been very time consuming. But so far everything has gone pretty smoothly. Right now the drywall is going up, so we're hoping to be in sometime after Christmas. Kevin and I designed the house ourselves, so it's pretty exciting to see it all coming together!

2007-11-30T18:11:00.000-08:00

Here's my first entry into the world of blogging. I didn't really want to create one because I hate the word "blog", but I love reading everyone else's .... so here I am!