Snow!

I know, I live in Alaska, there should be snow. And that is exactly why this is a happy exclamation point after the word Snow in the title.

I mentioned we were not. done. skiing. YET! and all of our trails were icy and rocks were starting to poke through and there were huge mucky puddles in the streets from our 50+ inches that were melting.

But this morning, it is coming down again!

We are also at just over 10 hours of daylight.

Sunrise: 8:12 AM.
Sunset: 6:14 PM

more than crafty...

What I am about to show you is way beyond "crafty." This is serious.

I MADE THIS BAG!!!

with my $50 sewing machine from Wally World! And it only took about 4 hours today. I know, I can't believe it either. I can't wait for my mother to see it. I once sewed the pockets closed on a pair of shorts she tried to help me make.

PLAY!

PS- I DID NOT MAKE THE COSTUMES! I just told everyone what to wear...



Carter had his first 2 performances of the play. It is so funny! We have 3 more performances later this week. Friday at 7 and Saturday at 2 and 7. COME!!

There is a contest between the boys and girls dressing rooms to see who keeps them cleaner. Right now the boys seem to be winning although a couple of the girls are doing a tremendous job cleaning up after everyone in their dressing room. Some of the kids think I sewed all these costumes!! I had a lady at church tell me she heard I was quite the sewer. I thought she was talking about the quilt I made for Katie. Turns out her daughter told her I MADE all the costumes for the play.

Carter has also been in ski club these last Saturdays. Alyeska Resort has a bus that picks up all the kids in the area (who fork out the $200) and takes them down for lessons and a day of skiing. Carter has been skiing only Black Diamond trails this year and even landed a Daffy on the Terrain Park jumps.

Some friends of his saw him doing jumps and told their mom, "Wow. Carter is really good." These boys just started skiing this year so their mom reminded them that Carter has been skiing since he was 4!! So he should be good!

Olivia and Ethan have been skiing a bit this year too. Olivia can turn all over the mountain. She can aim for things and likes to run over snowballs on the trails. If you have ever seen her swim, she skis which just as much grace and ability.

Ethan started indoor soccer this year and scored his first goal on Saturday! He is such a good team player and is always the first to remind the other players that this is FUN and it doesn't matter what the score is. They have won some and lost some and Ethan's only care is what the snack is at the end.

JaDee is gearing up for another Iditarod turn. He will be at the Rainey Pass checkpoint from March 5-11.

Then we head to New Jersey March 17!

Oh and our snow is melting! Just like the Wicked Witch of the West, our 50+ inches is turning into a puddle. A rather large, messy puddle. But since it won't get green until the end of May, I would just as soon have the snow to play in!

We aren't done skiing yet!

Duh, Mom

"Olivia, what are you doing?"

"Playing a game."

"What game is it?"

"Oh. its called Pull a Jar of Peaches with a Purple String."

Duh, Mom.

May be a downer

My mother sent me a card for my birthday. It is one I will probably cherish forever. She told me all the things that I needed to hear from my mother. All those words of praise, hope, and love.

My mother and I have had a somewhat rocky relationship the past 12 years.

See this weekend would have been my parents 35th wedding anniversary.

And when their marriage ended 12 years ago, our family and its dynamics were rocked. One such relationship that took a huge hit was mine with my mothers as I became the parent to her. As I fielded broken hearted late night phone calls, had her and the siblings at home move in with me until she found a place to start over, I was also trying to balance my own way to deal with what just shook us all to the very core. Combine that with the fact that my own marriage and new child were in its infancy at the time, and it was a very tumultuous time.

For the most part I would say that I have dealt with it.

But right now listening to Josh Groban (mom's favorite and who we saw together in concert around this time several years ago in the venue that was called the Delta Center at the time) it hit me that as siblings, we aren't planning a surprise trip to send them on. We aren't texting to make sure dad has a gift ready or a dinner reservation made.

We could have been doing all that. Part of me wants to scream that we SHOULD be doing all of that.

But we ARE coordinating hotel rooms to Ben and Katie's wedding. We are getting together very soon in my old stomping grounds of the East and where Carter was born (Delaware). We are buying dresses and finding lavender ties, and figuring out who gets the window seat on the *gulp* 10+ hours on the plane it is going to take to get us there.

So I will brush my tears, for they are there, and once again say good bye to the "might have beens" that crop up once in awhile, and focus on moving forward and being grateful for my own marriage, children, new sister in law and family that ALL love each other very much.

Still.

Always.

Forever.

A few notes of concern...

Dear Bath and Body works,

Please figure out how to come to Alaska. I would love to participate in your 6 for $20 antibacterial foaming hand soap sale, but alas, you don't know that flat rate boxes exist and charge too much for shipping.

Sincerely,
Nicole

Dear Wal-Mart,
Please make your shower gels foam better, smell better and cheaper. The same goes for your soft soap pumps. Bath and Body works does all of that. In fact they have grapefruit, nectarine mint, warm vanilla sugar and apple hand soaps! Its the least you could do for us poor souls in Alaska!

Sincerely,
Nicole

Dear Anybody Who I will See in New York, New Jersey or Pennsylvania in March,
If you pass a Bath and Body Works this week, please think of me and the 6 for $20 foaming anti bacterial hand soap sale. I am sure I have room in my suitcase.

Sincerely,

Nicole

Dear Dinosaur BBQ,
Don't worry. I will leave room to pack some of your sauce too.

Sincerely,
Nicole

And last but not least:

Dear Taco I Found in the Car,
I am sorry you were left alone for so long in the cubbie of the center console. I swear I would have fed you to the dog sooner if I knew that was where you were hiding. But at least today you can feel good that your hard, petrified edges did their job by scraping the tartar off of Champ's back teeth.

Sincerely,
Nicole

A field trip adventure

I went on a field trip yesterday. I got to ride the bus and everything. The sad thing is I am so short that I can sit straight ahead in an elementary school bus seat and my knees just barely touch the seat in front of me. All the other adults had to sit sideways.

But the real blog worthy event of the day was the woman I met. It was another mom on the trip and the first thing I noticed about her (besides the fur coat she was wearing on the school bus, probably safe to say that was the first time that driver had anyone wearing mink on his ride) was the capris she sported with tall pointy boots.

It was 5 degrees yesterday.

And we were on a bus.

I don't care if you did have boots with your capris, and I do think that is a cute look in some cases, it was too cold not to have layers of fabric on. I myself had a turtleneck, a sweater and a down coat.

The next thing I noticed about her was her breath.

Out of no where this hand grabs my arm and a face inches from mine whispers, "I just love your hat!"

Whoa! How many pretzels did you eat with the kids for our snack? Because I think I feel a crumb sticking to my chin and I only had carrots and I for sure see that you are not done chewing.

She was that close.

"Oh." I reply. "Thank you. My husband got it for me for Christmas."

"I am a designer and I would love to make a pattern from your hat. You could come over to my house or I could come to yours and we could make them different colors or maybe add fur..."

"What did you say your name was?"

"I am (insert the name of a Scooby Doo character here and you will have a 1 in 5 chance of getting it right and I don't feel bad for bad mouthing someone by name on my blog)."

"Nice to meet you. I am Nicole." I say. And to myself I think, "And I will plead the witness protection program as the reason you may NOT have my phone number or ever come to my house."

Thankfully it was time to get on the bus and I was saved from pretzel breath who rushed of to sit with her child for the ride.

And I didn't even mention the gigantic hooters that most certainly were not what she was born with or the lips that had 2 mounds of what I think were silicone as well, shifting under the skin like marbles in a bag as the pretzel crumbs sprayed.

The End.


Field trips are dangerous.

Settling down??

After the excitement of January (car accidents, quilts, school play costumes, etc) i think my schedule this week has settled down. I was sick this weekend and spent a day home from church in bed. I seriously slept all day. While I did feel like crap, I can't help but feel a little relieved to have been able to stay home.

We saw Avatar on Friday. In like uber cool super de dooper 3D extravaganza. A very imaginative movie, predictable plot, and a go green subliminal message. Glad I saw it, but it won't make my all time favorites list any time soon.

So what's up for February?

Well I started Cross Country Skiing and am hopefully going to buy a set tomorrow. We have amazing trails here in Alaska, one set of which if right by Ethan's school. They are lit at night and very well groomed. It is so fun! I went 3 times last week and I am hooked. Second to swimming it is the exercise with the most calories burned in an hour. Seeing as how I don't put my face in the water, X country is a great choice for me.

I am working on a table runner in the quilt department. It is almost done, but it was supposed to be for Fall. At least that was when I started it, so I will just be early for next year.

Our Relief Society is having a service auction next week. I knitted a dish rag and am baking cupcakes for it.

Cupcakes are also being made for the Winter Fun Day bake sale at Ethan's school and the bake sale that co-exists with the school play.

School play up date: Everyone has their costumes. I organized the girls dressing room and shouldn't have too much to do until dress rehearsals in 2 weeks. Performances are Feb 18, 19, 26, and 27 with a matinee on the 27th as well as a PM performance.

So barring any more garage doors jumping in front of me, I should have a fairly easy month.

Except, I can't find my AmEx/Costco card...

Enjoy these pics of Ethan passing off his subtraction and Carter earning his Life rank in Boy Scouts.



PS my boys need haircuts...