Enjoying the snow!

We were able to get out and enjoy some warmer winter weather on Saturday. It was beautiful. We snowshoed up the hill behind the Ferry Terminal and enjoyed the view of the ocean on our hike. The kids did really well. Kali was able to go the full hour on her own and Corey did all but a few breaks in the sled. He was so exhausted after hiking up the hill he flopped down in the snow for a rest. Dave pulled Kyle in the sled or had him on his shoulders. We've had an unusual winter so far with sub-zero temperatures, 90 mph winds, and terrible rain so we haven't been out as much as we like. The kids had a great time, we're hoping to get out many more times before Spring!

If Only!

As we were getting out of the car after taking Kali to school:

Corey (while looking at the tag on the seat belt): "Wow! This car sure costed a lot of money. I see the price right here. Seven, zero."

Me: "Yes, son, $70 is a lot to pay for a new car."

Ice caves

We took a break from a hectic day and spent some time with grandpa at the ice caves.

My New Niece

Addison Jane Bartelme

January 3, 2011 at 7:55 PM

Weighed 7lbs 3oz and Measured 19" long

Addison was born after a long and difficult labor. My sister was amazing and she and baby are doing very well. I feel incredibly blessed to have been there. What a miracle!

Happy New Year!

Wishing this new year finds you all healthy and happy!

Building Blocks

The kids were so funny about our schedule while Grandma and Grandpa were visiting. Every morning we ate breakfast, they played blocks, and then to play outside. In that order. Every morning. That was how it was the first time they visited us in Valdez and the kids haven't forgotten!

Mineral Creek waterfall

Flying Kites

10-Year High School Reunion

Some of my bestest friends. Please ignore my goofy smile...pretty sure we were laughing at something while the photo was being taken.

It was fun to catch up with the few that made it back for the reunion.

Memorial Day camping trip.

Our annual camping trip to Squirrel Creek was amazing this year. Nearly eighty degrees every day. The kids lived in the lake. We had a blast relaxing, playing, 4-wheeling, and hiking.

Sprinkler

May was BEAUTIFUL this year! When my kids asked to play in the water one eveing I didn't have the heart to say no even though it wasn't all that warm any more so I let them stay in their clothes...they thought I was a bit crazy but they didn't ask twice!

28th Birthday

I started my birthday the same way I started nearly every other day this year summer with an hour long walk. Since it was a Saturday (I walk early so Dave's home with the kids while they're still sleeping) I was able to wait until Kali was up and she rode her bike and came with me. It was a beautiful day. It was community clean-up day so we then spent a few hours cleaning up the property and then prepared for my birthday picnic at the beach. There we met several families of friends and my parents. Everyone BBQed, we played water balloon volleyball, regular volleyball, and had cake. It was probably one of my favorite birthdays so far.

Working hard.

While Dave was building our shed earlier this summer Corey stayed busy "building" as well. He could hammer away at those pieces of scrap wood all day! I'm sure our tenants loved it!

Kindergarten Graduation

Kind of gives me butterflies seeing her in a cap and gown!

Mother's Day

Love them.

Corey & Kyle's Room

We decided the boys' room need a bit of a makeover. I saw this color scheme on a quilting blog I follow and loved it. I would have never thought I would like grey walls but I do! For now the walls are kind of bare - they need a little more something but I'm just happy they're clean. The room they're in used to be ours so I had painted with a flat paint...not good for kids. I've seen every finger print and smudge for the last few months. So much so that I went overboard the other way and used semi-gloss which we would normally only put in a bathroom or kitchen but seemed the easiest maintenance option for our boys. They stayed the night with grandma last weekend so I got up at six on Saturday morning and CLEANED out their room...six "banker boxes" of toys out of the room. AND they still have plenty! We're planning on rotating them but to be honest I don't think they even miss them and other than making the beds their room hasn't needed to be cleaned since. I think we'll do our first toy rotation on a really rainy day so that it'll give them something new to do inside. So far we've been blessed with BEAUTIFUL weather and have enjoyed long days outside!