Determination...

...gets the job done! Our two determined six year olds both had loose teeth and they both decided they needed to get them out tonight...so they did!!! Watch out world, when these two decide they need to get something done there is no waiting around...they get the job done!! And boy, does this mom know it!! :)

Crazy weather!!

What a whip lash in weather we have gotten the last few weeks! First our thermometer dipped to a bone chilling -20F and we thought we could never warm up. Then after two weeks of freezing cold temps the weather decided to do an abrupt change and rose to over 40F! The clouds let loose a lot of moisture and we were hit with very strong winds. The storm lasted for several days with trees knocked down, electricity out for a few hours, and our snow disappeared! What strange weather for mid-January... Our temps have finally gotten back to a nice normal range between 20-30F...after flooding the pond water receded somewhat and is now frozen and great for skating once again...the green grass is showing, and it looks like spring is just around the corner...but we are not to be fooled. We still have many months of winter ahead of us!

Kailee's Golden Birthday

I'm just a little late in updating my blog, but better late than never! We have been celebrating Kailee's birthday the last few weekends! On her birthday which was the 8th, she celebrated with her friend Emerald and they had a girl party complete with dolls, a girl movie, strawberry cake, painting nails, a tea party, and a sleepover. Oh, we had lots of giggling, but they had so much fun! Those little girls are not so little anymore! Almost every year since they were born we have taken a picture of them together...my, have they grown up!

Since we have lots of family around us our kids get to celebrate their birthdays over and over again! So last weekend was the Veldstra birthday gathering and it also included other cousins and an aunt who were having birthdays this month. This coming weekend will be the other side of the family celebrating January birthdays...the fun just keeps going on and on!

Party time!

What a bunch of goofy kids! It was time for our annual Christmas party with the Beachy, Miller, and Veldstra gang. We take a couch picture every year...it is so fun to see how much the kids have grown...goodness won't be long before we have more than a couch full, but more like a living room full of teenagers!
The kids went sledding and snowmachining despite the really cold temperatures. By the afternoon it had warmed up to just above 0 so they could last outside even longer without freezing fingers and toes! While the kids were playing the moms got a chance to visit for a few hours to catch up! It was declared a fun day by all!

Freezin' cold

and then some! We have been waking to really cold temperatures every morning this week. It has been -15F in the morning and gets up to 0F at the warmest time of the day. We normally don't have temperatures quite this cold, and thankfully it probably won't last too long...but while it is here we are very thankful for a warm house and a furnace that keeps us warm. The sky is a brilliant blue every day and we watch the sun just barely come up over the horizon, make a small arc, and then dip back down again. We are gaining sunlight every day now, but only by small increments. The last two years at this time of year we were packing our bags and heading for a warmer climate, but not yet this year. The winters in Alaska get long and cold, but I guess we will just enjoy it for now anyway!

Christmas morning!

I always feel like a kid again at Christmas time as I am often the one awake early waiting for morning to appear, but apparently I must be finally outgrowing that as my kids are now waking long before me!! Last year they surprised us as waiters and waitresses with coffee in bed and Christmas carols on the piano, so they must have decided that couldn't be out done this year! At 6:30 I could hear rustling downstairs but didn't go in search of the noise and just closed my eyes...found out later they were hiding our(mom and dad's) presents and we had to go find them!

At 7:45 the kids appeared upstairs in our room and crashed on our bed ready for our Christmas morning tradition of digging in our stockings on mom and dad's bed. I love stuffing their stockings with amazing little treasures...it's always a challenge to find little inexpensive things to fill the stockings. Then we ate breakfast before opening the rest of the gifts under the tree......Alyssum was so excited to get her first American Girl doll! She decided to name her Molly and loves to dress her each day and get her ready for bed every night. Grandma also helped out with the dolls wardrobe by making pj's and buying a Christmas dress....Ethan is our tool man...he loves working with his hands and creating things out of wood. This year he got these grommets and a hand drill to use in his many projects!
...Ann Marie enjoys the American Girl dolls as well...she loves to create new hairstyles and sew clothes. The sewing machine has been busy since Christmas with the sounds of making doll clothes. Tyler had also gotten Ann Marie a yard of fabric to make clothes for her doll, so she is making dresses for all the girls! Ann Marie also got LOTS of new books to read, so in between the sewing we can find her curled up with a new book!!
...Tyler has a collection of John Deere equipment and we can often hear his motor running as he drives his treasured equipment, so we added another piece to his collection.
...Kailee also loved her new doll and named her Elizabeth. Along with dressing her doll and combing her hair she is also devouring a new series of books about the historical American dolls.
...And then there is our boy who loves to dress-up! Ethan gave Adams this knight's dress-up set, so now we have a sword bearing boy running around the house everyday! He loves to use his imagination and dress as the part he is playing.

We had a fun Christmas morning with the kids of giving and receiving!

Christmas Eve...

...we spend with the Veldstra gang at Opa and Oma's house. We enjoy getting together with Steve's family and sharing in the Christmas Eve traditions. We were missing a few family members this year, but still enjoyed our time together. Lots of kiddos makes for a very busy house as we eat and open gifts, but it also makes for lots of laughter and fun!
Ann Marie, Ethan, Tyler, and Kailee played Christmas carols for all of us, and then the kids also recited Luke 2:1-20 and A Visit from St. Nicholas. They enjoy being able to share what they have learned in school and gives them an opportunity to get in a recital on the piano.


Kailee loved her new Leatherman knives!! She was so excited because we told her she could have a knife when she turned 8...she will be 8 in a couple weeks!


Alyssum and Anneka are the bestest of cousin friends...they enjoy playing together and often getting the same gifts at Christmas time. They are both 6 and soon to be 7!