Let's Catch Up!

I can't believe how long it's been since I've last blogged!!  I hope I can remember how to do it. :)  I'd have to blame my absence on the iPad.  It's way too easy to sit on my couch these days looking at my favorite websites, then post to my own (which I can't do from the iPad!)  Hopefully, I'll get back into the groove. :)  It doesn't hurt to be given a push every now and again though (hint hint --- Nannie and Guy! ;) )

December was a WONDERFUL month!!  Not only did we have all the magic Christmas brings, but we got to have some amazing visitors too.  At the beginning of the month, one of my most favorite people came to visit us...Auntie Mary.  The boys and I absolutely LOVED having her here.  It was the perfect way to ring in the Christmas season.  We spent time making cookies, cross country skiing, listening to Christmas music, visiting all the downtown shops on a special Friday night gallery event, sledding, reading stories to the boys, and just spending quality time together drinking tea (or wine -- depending on what time it was!) in our pjs.  It truly was blissful and I was already wanting more the second she got on the plane to head back to California. Actually, I'm getting a wee bit teary eyed right now seeing all of these photos.  Come back Auntie Mary (the house next door is still for sale!)

Here we are out on the trail.

The boys absolutely adored Auntie Mary!

  Making bracelets early one morning.  And sweet Auntie Mary was on her hands and knees picking up every last bead that inevitably dropped out of the container!  (Well, almost every last bead - we did just find one last week!)

And her she is reading the nightly Christmas story to the boys while they indulge in hot chocolate. This was a new tradition that we started this year and one we'll definitely continue to do in future years.  I wrapped 24 Christmas books and put them under the tree on December 1 and each day we opened a new one.  The boys sipped on hot chocolate while we read the stories. They really looked forward to opening up a new book each day.

Making Auntie Mary's Grandma's famous Rooster cookies with Jaeger Ray.

While cross country skiing one morning, we had quite a scare.  Mary was directly under a tree that dumped a ridiculous amount of snow and she was covered in snow.  The scariest part was the sound - it sounded like an avalanche was heading our way!  

More fun pictures below. 

As if having Auntie Mary here wasn't enough, the cherry on top was having my Mom and Mike here for Christmas!  OH...MY....we were in Heaven!!  Our Christmas could not have been any more perfect.  Having Grandma and Grandpa here was so much fun.  It was a Christmas that we will cherish forever.

Jaeger Ray absolutely LOVES Grandpa Mike!  And I think the feeling is pretty mutual. ;)  Here they are giggling after Jaeger played with Grandpa's beard for what seemed like hours.

 Dr. Dane in action.  Anyone need a kidney taken out?  If so, he's your guy. 

(Grandma Heidi was so patient!!! She played doctor, policeman, firefighter, pirates and what ever else the boys could imagine for HOURS!!!  She's amazing! And on top of that, she managed to keep the house clean, do our laundry and make us dinner!)

A beautiful day for a walk on the glacier! 

We went sledding at the glacier one afternoon and I'd have to say that these two youngins' had the best time of all!!!  

The boys loved watching silly videos online with Grandpa and somehow it became our nightly routine.  We'd all pile into Grandma and Grandpa's bed and watch a few videos before sleepytime.  It was a blast and the boys loved doing this.

Here was our all time favorite video that we all loved watching OVER and OVER again.  In fact, I just watched it again and was cracking up!!  

A sweet group picture!  We love you Grandma and Grandpa!  And we want you to come back - like right now!!!! :)

Here are some other fun December pictures.

Jaeger Ray and the big guy! :) 

Here's Jaeger all decked out for his Christmas program at school.  I just love the picture of him dancing on his way up to the stands.  This kid is such a HAM!





 A few Christmas morning shots!

And, lastly, here is Dane's gift from Santa!  I imagine Dane threw good 'Ol Saint Nick for a loop when he asked for pixie dust, but Santa didn't even blink an eye and he managed to make it happen.  :) 

Looks whose smile just got a whole lot cuter!

It's official.....Dane lost his first tooth!  His bottom tooth has been wiggling for weeks now and it finally came loose today.  Unfortunately, it happened to get mixed in with a mouthful of Costco hot dog and is now currently traveling somewhere in his digestive system. 

I'm not sure I'm ready for all this growing up stuff.....it's happening way too fast! Sniff sniff....

So, I figured I should take a few bath pictures tonight because before you know it I won't even be invited in the bathroom at all. 

My Superheros!

We had a wonderful Halloween!  The boys really loved all the anticipation and couldn't wait for all that Halloween brings - parties, dressing up, knocking on neighbors doors and of course, all that candy. :) 

Our festivities started with a Harvest Festival on Friday night.  My little Superheros had a fantastic night filled with bowling,

dart throwing, fishing and of course the favorite of the night........

the cookie on the string!  Jaeger didn't even try to eat the cookie without his hands.  I should have videoed it!  It was so cute - he just grabbed that cookie right off the string.  He's no dummy! ;)

Of course, our sweet rule follower gave it all he had and persevered until the end!  He claimed the prize just as you're supposed to.....

 Our sweet boys.....

 After a wonderful weekend, we were greeted with snow on Tuesday morning!  We were so excited.  I may be in the minority here, but I just love the snow.  It brightens our shortened days and is a great reason to get in jammies the second you get home. ;)  The boys loved it for the snowflakes on their tongues, the snowballs they could mold and the hot chocolate they got to indulge in as soon as they came in from the chilly weather.

Our Halloween day brought on a new Superhero.......

Jaeger Ray woke up and decided he wanted to be a firefighter! (Go figure, Jaeger has wanted to be a "Superhero" for a few months and the actual day he changes his mind.)  Dane learned a good lesson in sharing his coveted fire suit which is quite tough when you're 5!  At the end of the night we were all happy and had had our fill of Milky Ways, Twix and lollipops.  Life is pretty sweet around here.

I've been sentenced to LIFE!

Our resident police officer has sentenced me to life!  Check out my ticket......

Yikes!  So before I pack my bags I thought I'd leave with a few photos of our sunny weekend. 

The boys are taking a soccer class on Tuesday nights and they absolutely love it!!  It was so pretty today we had no choice but to get outside and work on our skills. 

Off to school!

I just love Jaeger Ray's sweet voice!!!! 

First Day of School!

Dane and Jaeger started school today. Sniff sniff..... Okay, so I'm not going to totally lie.....I was a little teared up, but as soon as Daddy and I hit our favorite coffee house I was completely over it and looking forward to a quiet house.  Daddy and I could actually have an entire conversation!  Haven't had one of those in a very long time! ;)

All kidding aside, I can't believe that we officially have both kids in school now.   They both had a great day despite a few tears on behalf of Jaeger Ray when we dropped him off.  :(  Here are a few shots of our BIG BOYS.

Now that school has started for the boys I've been gently reminded that I will have more time to blog.   I'll be spending some quality time going through my zillion pictures of the remainder of our amazing summer trip, Dane's 5th birthday party, life back in Juneau and even an impromptu trip to the Taku Glacier Lodge this weekend. :)  So stay tuned for some great blog entries to catch up on the last few months. :)

Santa Fe

We survived our first camping trip in our Eurovan!  Granted we were pretty spoiled having Nannie and Guy & Auntie Amy and Unk Tim there with us.  They are experts in the camping department and they have all the nice to haves when you're camping!  But we learned a lot from them and now we have a few tricks up our sleeves to use once we hit the road on our own. 

We went to a beautiful campground in Hyde Memorial State Park just north of Santa Fe.  We had a blast relaxing, hiking, playing and just enjoying the natural surroundings.  

Here's Dane getting the Eurovan all ready for the camping trip. 

Hiking to the playground - a great feature of this campground for sure! 

Our site.  Our cute little Eurovan looks so tiny compared to the mansion that Amy and Tim have.  :) I'm not going to lie, it was pretty nice hanging out inside their RV while Tim made us breakfast.  Too bad they can't follow us to Alaska. ;)

The boys getting ready to fight a fire!  Sweet Zach has been such a GREAT sport with Dane.  He's played firefighter and police officer pretty much nonstop since we arrived.

 Going for a swing.

A morning walk. 

 

GOTCHA!  I'll take you down with my marshmallow cooking abilities!

Sadly, we're missing Uncle Tim and Auntie Amy in this family shot.  (They were hiking.) 

We had such a great time and we can't wait to do it again this weekend in Jemez.