March Week 3:

We made these plastic balloons. It was neat - put a glob of goo on the end of a straw, blow real hard (kids did not have enough breath, so momma stepped in), and out comes this big bubble looking thing, that on the package says is supposed to be a balloon. Of course the kids popped them and squished all the blown plastic together making little balls (Noah is squishing in the pic above). Be forewarned - this plastic goo gives off some strong fumes, much like that of epoxy. Fun idea, I hope the package is true is stating that it is non-toxic...hmmmmm
I also grew up a year this week in March - here is my bday cake. Individual Angel Food Cakes with blueberries, strawberries, and kiwi. Cool whip is optional....

Our skiing trip to Girdwood, Alaska and stay at the Alyeska Hotel

After a great day of skiing together at Alyeska!

Here is KJ, working his moves. Future X-Games?

Librarian in the Light

Have you ever wondered what is ok for your child to read? I am getting more into this predicament as Noah is getting older and wanting to read, and me read with him age appropriate books. We are nowhere near the likes of Harry Potter, etc. I was skeptical of reading Magic Treehouse books with Noah. By the way, which we love and would reccommend to any parent. We have only read one - Magic Treehouse #28, High Tide in Hawaii - but Noah loved it! It has chapters which is very rewarding for him to be able to read or me read with him a chapter. Today we read the last three chapters and it was great finishing it together! I think we both were so excited at finishing and being able to go pick out another together!

I hope all parents pre-read books for their children. I feel like if I don't know what the book is about, thoroughly, I don't want Noah to know until I do. The book may sound great on the cover - but what language or content is within those pages that is not hinted at on the cover? Especially secular books.

Voila! Here is help for us parents wondering the aisles of bookstores, adding children's books to the piles of books we ourselves would like to read!

My friend Elizabeth has known since the age of 9 (I think that is right) that she has wanted to be a librarian. She grew up, went to college and is a local librarian here in Alaska. She travels all over the country attending library and reading conferences. Not only is she a librarian, her speciality is that of childhood. Whenever I see a movie based on a children's book - I ask her. A new child's book comes out that I might like to get for the kids - I ask her opinion. She is a christian woman trying to shed some light on secular books for us parents who have children who are avid readers and would like to protect our children from some of the more mature content that is becoming more prevelant in books approved for younger ages. She provides an overview of a book, the age(s) it is intended for, and more. I have a lot of respect for Elizabeth's opinion and believe her reviews are great for Christian parents.

I hope you visit her site. She is just starting up so if a particular book is not listed I am sure you can email her - and also get some great ideas for books from her already reviewed books. Click HERE or check out my blog roll. Tell your friends - this is not limited to toddler reading!!!

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March: Week 2

The second Saturday of the month we welcomed back home Kevin! He had spent the last three weeks in Thailand. Here to welcome him home was about 2-2.5ft of new snow! The snow banks to the side of our driveway are now taller than me!

Noah sitting almost atop of one of the snow banks beside the drive way. Yes that is my van beside the snow bank. They are so high that it makes for great fun to dig snow tunnels!
Or, try to snowboard down them!
This is Caleb, eh uhm, I mean this is the grumpy dragon guarding the entrance to the snow fort that me and the boys (no really just me) dug out in our front yard. However, because it does not have a roof Noah got bored very quickly and moved on.
No longer a grumpy dragon, Caleb has become a football player and is leaving the locker room (the big hole I dug a the end of the pathway) through the tunnel (the pathway) to head to the football field! Notice the pathway walls are as tall as Caleb and he is standing at a solid 35in without snowboots!
This snow came right in time for the first part of our week three happenings! YAY!

March: Week 1

First we start with hockey in the kitchen. This is a recurring theme here in Alaska and my tee-tiny kitchen seems to be the rink of choice.

The first week of March was also Dr Seuss' birthday. We celebrated with homemade Dr Seuss hats!

Iditarod Start 2010! This was so much fun to watch!

As of late we have gotten a great abundance of snow. What should we do with all that snow? Eat it of course! Nothing is better than snow topped with chocolate syrup with a side of hot chocolate! YUM!

Alice in Wonderland

This is awesome. You can get a FREE audio download of the book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"! Just click HERE - then look on the right side of the screen for the download.

This would be great for a long drive (which we have one coming up in Aug!).

My kids loved listening to the CS Lewis Narnia Chronicles in the car and I can't wait for this!

Oh and I downloaded the MP3 version then just imported it right into my itunes. So, I can burn it onto CD or put it right onto my ipod. YAY!!

This offer is only good until March 16. HURRY!

So long February.........

Well, for most of you March is marking the start of spring. Warmer temps, flowers blooming, time to ease back into sandals and out of boots. Well, good for you! We are going to go out in the 6ft of snow, speed down the hills on skis, slide through woods on those groomed trails, and slice the ice on the frozen ponds. The olympics just fanned the dimming flames of our love of winter sports!

So, while March is emerging I am posting the rest of our February happenings.........

I made a cover for my kitchen-aid mixer. I wake up, walk in my kitchen and smile happily!

Krista and I ran with the reindeer. Yes we ran while a group of reindeer ran through our run. I did it cause it happens, here in Alaska. And by no means is this comparable to the running with the bulls in Spain...........no way comparable.

Yes, my children will fall asleep in a sled, let us pull them around on a frozen pond and then wake up and be so happy! Wait, did I say children, I meant Caleb!

Then, we introduced our kids to P90X. We are going to have the rippest kids on the block! Seriously, the kids do not do P90X, but they like to play on the pull up bar while mommy and daddy do some P90X!