2009!

Happy 2009!!
Blessings on you this New Year!

We're headed over to Clayton's mom's first cousin's house for a New Year get together.. April will be skipping the champagne in favor of Percocet. 2008's ending will forever be linked with the incomplete root canal that got infected on December 30th. (ugh...)

...more pictures of Santa Fokker

Clayton's glasses weren't frosted...they were fogging up from his profuse sweating!!  What's funny is that Clay has no idea it was Clayton.. Kara figured it out because Clayton was wearing his regular shoes.  She kind of went back and forth on it but I've been laughing about it all day with my friends on the phone so she's fairly convinced it was Clayton.  Funny.

Here He Comes to Save the Day!!!!

So, yesterday afternoon (on the shortest day of the year, we're getting about 5 minutes of sunlight from here on until 6/21) the 477 FS had the kid's Christmas party at the base bowling alley.  As is tradition with these affairs, there is a Santa... only, the guy who was going to be Santa was a no-show.

Who you gonna call?

Call Fokker!!!

Yep.  In the suit.  Sweating his butt off.

Enjoy.

(I apologize for the poor video quality.... obviously, bowling alleys are dark.  However, I knew that certain people in AZ, would LOVE this so I put it up, bad quality and all!)

Lights, Camera, Action!

Kara had a little sing-along at school last week.  The kid in the front kind of gets in the way.. and the silver-hat-boy, but she's in the back cheesing at the camera :)

TAG! I'm it :) 7 Random Things About Me :)

My sister-in-law Michelle tagged me.. now, you may be thinking to yourself:  "Hmmmm, April must have a lot of free time on her hands to always be doing these weird tag things".  You thought wrong :)  I have PLENTY of things I should be doing (like mailing my last box to AZ, bathing my kids, cleaning my house.. you get the picture) but I LIKE to read these things from other people. And it's my blog, I can tag if I want to!!

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1.   My first job was a grocery bagger in my grandparents' grocery store in Duncan, AZ.  I did this in the summers.  My next first job that lasted all through college was a front-office girl at a busy podiatry practice in Tempe.

2.  I won a car on The Price Is Right when I was 18.  Yes, I had to pay taxes.. about $1800.  It was a Mitsubishi Mirage.  I drove it for 6 years.  Yes, I kissed Bob Barker.  Yes, he was old. (these are the typical questions I'm asked when people hear this info for the first time)

3.  I have only been to Canada and Mexico as my foreign country visits though I have resided in Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas and now Alaska (Please, Lord, let Alaska be the last new state for us!!!).

4.  I have big food-texture issues.  I HATE super creamy foods that include: cheese cake, yogurt, pudding, cream cheese, whipped cream, pudding, yogurt, pudding, yogurt.... Those bad boys trigger my gag reflex in a MIGHTY way.

5.  I can quote virtually every line from every episode of the Brady Bunch.  It's stupid, I know.. but I LOVED that show.  My friend's ex-husband and I could also sing most of their stupid songs they sang as a "group" on the show.  Fun.  "When it's time to change, you've got to rearrange who you are into what you're gonna be!  Sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na!!! "

6.  In high school I had my ears double pierced which made my dad mad.  When I got a single third hole in my left ear, he told me I looked like a prostitute which is funnier today than it was then (my friend Holly and I rolled when he said that even though he was TOTALLY serious..that is the biggest reason I never got the tattoo I always wanted! ).

7.  I played the violin reasonably well from about 4th grade through high school.  I didn't practice nearly as often as I should have,  but I did enjoy it.  And here's the kicker, I'm "friends" with my childhood violin teacher on facebook (possibly the single most genius ways to keep in touch with old friends!).

I think I'll tag Suzanne and Susan.. big surprise but they always fill theirs out and, as said above, I like reading them :)

April + Post Office (@ Christmas) = Bad Attitude!!!

Yesterday I had to go to the post office to mail a package and to pick up a package (which is in itself a whole other post on WHY they won't leave my packages in the mail box things!!!!).. if you've never had the opportunity to visit the Eagle River PO in December, count yourself as lucky.  It's a ZOO!!!  Obviously, most of us in Alaska are mailing gifts to the lower 48....at the exact minute as one another, apparently.  I had about 30 minutes before picking Kara up at school and the line was L-O-N-G.  And the postal workers are sort of slow... and the people who dressed for -1 F weather are overheating in the 75F room so they're getting grouchy.. and Clay is whining...  you can see that this may turn out to be a perfect storm.  Actually, it ended up OK because I was able to use the kiosk to mail my package and they opened up a line to just pick up packages so we were in and out in about 15 minutes.  Whew :)

But, it got me thinking.. my friend Kamdon was telling me how her mom started every morning at their house with the vintage Sunday School classic  "This is the Day that the Lord Has Made".  She said that she tries to remember that when her own mommy days get long.. That sounded like a good idea to me so I have been singing the little song trying to focus on the good things instead of the "bad" or the downright irritating (and often singing through clenched teeth).   I started to think of all the things that had irritated me yesterday and looked for the good.. I came up with the following:

1.  Post Office Nightmare:  better to wait in line at USPS than to be waiting at a Dr. appt with a sick baby (or sick self!!).

2.  Lots of slipping and sliding while driving:  I never skidded into the intersection when stopping and I slid only in my lane.

3.  Nearly falling flat on my face NUMEROUS times walking through the parking lot:  NOT falling, only coming close.

4.  Whiney son:  Having a son who can speak and communicate his "needs" :)

My new little exercise has actually turned my frown upside down.   Anybody want to join  me in a rousing rendition of "This is the Day"??  All together now!!!!!!

A Christmas Letter

(sometimes I write a Christmas letter and sometimes I don't.. I compromised this year and am posting on the blog)

Merry Christmas to our friends and family (all 5 of you faithful readers!)..

2008 has been a crazy year for our family! Besides the obvious move to Alaska, it's been a doozy. We've said many good-byes starting last January when we bid farewell to the Spads. I was really sad to leave the F16 (well, not the jet so much but the squadron). I knew of F16s before I knew of the Air Force having been around the Naylors for so long :) Clayton left for F22 training in January and did not return to TX except for the odd weekend here and there. Our sweet friends really circled the wagons 'round the kids and I while Clayton was gone.. they and their families exemplified friendship to us and saved me more than one nervous breakdown in the process!!! I said the long-goodbye to our friends and adopted family (you know who you are!) for the last time at the end of May. What a bittersweet time the winter and spring were for me. We lived a lot of life in TX in the short 6 years we were there and there's a hole in our hearts for having left.
In between saying good-bye and moving across the world, we had some really fun family trips that included (but were certainly not limited to..) a week at Disneyworld with Grandma and Grandpa; a week at St Joe's beach with Troy, Melissa and fam; nearly a month of FUN with our Phoenix extended family that included a side-trip to Sedona for Aunt Cindy's beautiful wedding to Uncle Daniel (welcome to the family..ha ha), swimming lessons and endless fun with all of our precious nephews. We miss our family! Most of the time it doesn't feel so far away being in Alaska until a baby is born (welcome Grayson and Hugh!!!!) or holidays roll around and we know you all are together without us (sniff).

I think, though, that if I had to sum up our year in a word, I'd have to say: blessed. God has been so good to us this year!! There were plenty of times I wondered if we'd make it to Alaska in once piece but we did.. and not only that, we had fun getting here! We've made new friends and found a church. The kids are learning to sled and ski. We love our house. We're healthy!! God is good.

Merry Christmas and we hope that 2009 is one of your best years yet!

PS. Obviously I have to shamelessly plug our new home state of Alaska.. it's lovely here and we have some extra room for you to come and stay. I'd like to lie and say that rooms are booking fast but they aren't (yet) :)

"Russ, we checked every light bulb didn't we?"

I harbor a secret desire to one day have a Griswold-like light display.. until I convince Clayton to put up thousands of twinkling lights, the simple lawn deer and trees will have to do :)

Mommy, I went Skedding! Like a big boy!

Clayton took Clay-Clay skiing yesterday afternoon (yes, this picture is about 4:00pm).  Clay's version of the events is a little different from his Daddy's but he has nothing but fun memories today (Clay didn't know how to turn so he just plowed down the mountain and crash-landed at the bottom...many tears and asking to go home until he got back to the top to do it all again).  There's a little ski hill on base here and it's cheapo for little guys.  They were gone for about 3 hours and Clayton got a great workout dragging Clay up the hill after skiing down... he's too little for the tow rope!  We've decided against snowboarding for the kids based on some APA recommendations (thanks Jackie!) to hold off until after 7 yrs old (Clayton has a lot of crow to eat because he said his kids weren't going to ski!).  I think the kids and I will find ourselves in ski school soon...    

Friends

I wanted to post a picture of Clay and one of his little friends making/"helping" with chocolate chip cookies.  They were pretty funny.. definitely enjoyed eating more than helping me make them!  

Better Late than Never??

Here are some pictures of what we've been doing the last week or so :)

The Thanksgiving turkey.. it was 25#! Way too big but I think it was good even though the gravy was way too salty (and I didn't add any salt!).

Kara & I went to the Nutcracker the night after T-day.  She LOVED it.  We went with some friends and Kara had a great time.  She's holding a "Clara" ornament.  I loved watching her watch the ballet even though she asked why they weren't talking!

Gingerbread Mansion building at the Sutterfields!  Kamdon is VERY creative and she invited me and the kids over one night when Clayton was gone to construct these masterpieces.  Obviously, there was as much sugar consumed as went on the chateaus.

Last night we had Clayton's reserve Christmas party.. it was bad timing in that Clayton flew in from Fairbanks at 4:00, party at 6:00!  I forgot my camera so no pics (figures).  Obviously, Clayton survived survival no worse for the wear.  He was STARVING by the time we had dinner and he entertained our table eating 2 huge plates of food... he only had 1 MRE for ~48 hours.

Merry Christmas.. Don't be a Grinch... Put this on your blog, too :)

Merry Christmas
I stalk my sisters-in-law's blogs (is that a word??) and Michelle and Melissa both had this on their blogs. So, tonight, as I wait for Kara to come home from AWANA, I give you this:

1. Wrapping paper or bags? Paper.. I'm a hideous wrapper of gifts and I think wrapping paper is a waste of money yet I continue to wrap presents badly. It's a special tradition.
2. Real or artificial tree? Fake. I grew up with real trees and they are beautiful and they smell delicious. However, they are expensive and died so fast in the AZ dry weather.. what sealed the deal was Troy becoming a fireman.. Clayton refused to buy real ones after some of Troy's war stories.
3. When do you put of the tree? The weekend after Thanksgiving.. we were raised that it was punishable by law to do ANYTHING Christmas before Thanksgiving. Like it matters... but I still follow that rule.
4. When do you take the tree down? Ha. Ha.. for sure after New Year's.
5. Do you like Eggnog? Considering my issues with food consistency, I will NEVER get egg nog near my mouth. I hate really creamy things (besides ice cream). Even if they're laced with booze.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? One year I got a Barbie townhouse, the one with the elevator and I LOVED it!! Another year, right after we were married, Clayton got me a Kitchen Aid Mixer.. also loved it.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Troy is hard to buy for, but I always pass that along to Clayton... it's his brother after all. I will say that Clayton is hard to buy for. Really hard.
8. Easiest person to buy for? My mom or my mother-in-law.
9. Do you have a nativity? Yes. Several.. like 5. I love them all and I'm always looking for more if you see any after Christmas that are practically free :)
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Funny you should ask.. I mail cards but this year I'm skipping the Christmas Letter and I put my blog address on the photo card. LAME! but kind of smart.. you have to admit.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Melissa hit the nail on the head. Hands down.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? It's a tie between Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation. Who can resist the fragile leg lamp or Cousin Eddie in his blue leisure suit?
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometimes the day after Christmas but often, I lose those gifts and forget about them for years... usually in October officially.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not yet.. but that's an interesting idea.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Anne's toffee and caramel chex mix (I have all the ingredients to make my own..)
16. Lights on the tree? Yes. Our fake tree is pre-lit with white lights.
17. Favorite Christmas song? "Oh Holy Night" and pretty much anything from Handel's "Messiah".
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Until this year, we've ALWAYS traveled to AZ for Christmas... however, due to high ticket prices at Christmas, we're having our first Christmas as a family at our home in Alaska. It's going to be fun but a little sad at the same time.
19. Can you name all of Santa's Reindeer? Not only can I name them all, I can recite "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" in its entirety.
20. Angel on the tree top or star? Star. My darling children have both noted that our star this year is crooked. A move to AK was hard on our fake tree but we kept it because the lights still work. This is not surprising to anyone who knows Clayton.
21. Open present on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? It's driving me crazy how my kids are constantly whining about what they want for Christmas.. when they have too much already! Like they need more... I think the consumerism of Christmas makes me the most nuts.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Airplanes are becoming a real traditional ornament but my favorite are the Pottery Barn frame ornaments I've been buying every year since we've been married. They have the year engraved and it's fun to look at them every year and see all the changes...
24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? I love Christmas breakfasts of cinnamon rolls and egg dishes (Michelle.. can you send me one of your delicious egg dishes, please?)
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? World Peace.. oh, wait, that's what I'm going to say at Mrs. America. I don't want anything. I'm just happy Clayton's not in Iraq.
26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Sweet Susan Miller.
27. Who is least likely to respond? I would have said Adriane but I think Michelle threw down the gauntlet and she might do it :)

Below I posted a link to the 10 day forecast for Eilson AFB where Clayton will be this week. I promise not to whine about being cold until he comes home :) (BTW, his birthday is 12/2!!)

10 Day Weather Forecast for Fairbanks/Eielson AFB, AK - weather.com

10 Day Weather Forecast for Fairbanks/Eielson AFB, AK - weather.com

Last Day of November

Where has the month gone?? Where have the last 6 months gone, to be exact? I was thinking the other day that it's been 6 months exactly since we left TX! I can hardly believe that. Time has really flown by (with the exception of living in TLF). In fact, Clayton and I were discussing today how it will have been 2 years in January since we found out we were coming to Alaska.. crazy.

We had a nice Thanksgiving. My sister Amy and cousin Erin came up for the week and we had a lot of fun with them. Turkey day brought lots of food and a houseful: my cousin Monty and our friends the Sutterfields all ate with us. We had WAY TOO MUCH FOOD!! But lots of fun :)

This is going to be a nutty week at the Johnson crib. Clayton is going to Fairbanks for Arctic Survival.. read: living in the ice and snow and surviving. For those of you who don't know (and why would you?!), Fairbanks is WAY colder than Anchorage. It's going to be in the -20s while Clayton's up there surviving.. they'll cancel the class if it gets colder than -50F which happens from time to time. Good times. Oh.. and it's his birthday this week on top of it all :) He'll be home Friday night just in time for the 302d Christmas party. I don't know how it always happens that he leaves almost immediately after we have company....

I'll post some pictures of the T-day turkey and Amy and Erin's visit. Hope you all found much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We count our friends and family among God's many gracious gifts to us.

Sledding

So the snow is here to stay... at least until April or May, is what they say.  We're taking the advice of those who have wintered Alaska ahead of us and we're finding fun things to do outside to pass the short days.  Thus far, our sled count is 3.  We have 1 speed sled, 1 jet sled (that's what I drag Clay to Kara's school in) and 1 random Wal-Mart cheapo sled.  The kids are enjoying sledding more every time but they're not so sure about sled safety (obviously, they get their cautiousness from me).  Today, I walked to Kara's school w/Clay in the jet sled for the first time.  He threw himself out of it 3 times and was quite proud.  Believe me, pulling a sled in the snow beats pushing my *$&%^$ stroller in the snow any day!!  

I think Clayton is going to go to Alyeska to snowboard on Friday.  He checks the snow report every day to see how much they have.. I think their base is up to 85".  Last year it was over 900". I am a horrific skier so we'll see how that evolves living here :)

Here are some recent pics of Clayton and the kids sledding on the hill in front of our house.  By the way, these pics were taken at about 4:45pm.. we're good and dark now by 5:00pm.

I got Tagged by Melissa Johnson

I got tagged by my sister-in-law Melissa. Apparently, I'm supposed to post the 6th picture off my 6th Album.... here goes nothing:

Here's Clay-Clay when he was almost 18 months old. Ironically, this picture is exactly 2 years old! It was taken in 11/06, right before my Boyd grandparents joined us in TX for Thanksgiving. We had such a fun time with them and my Aunt Becky. I was pretty nervous cooking for my Granddaddy because he LOVED my Gram's cooking above all other cooking! He told me at the end of Thanksgiving Day "With a little more practice, your cooking will turn out all right". We couldn't have guessed that he would die within a month following a GI bleed and broken hip. We miss him and his death on Christmas Eve has made subsequent holidays somewhat bitter-sweet. However, I digress... I miss my kids in their footed PJs. I think that kids wearing those are so snuggly!! And when I look at this picture, it makes me miss my big eat-in kitchen in TX! We certainly wouldn't have imagined that in 2 Thanksgivings, we'd be living in Alaska.

I'm tagging Susan Miller and Suzanne King :)

Kids Say the Darndest Things.. Part Deux

Overheard 2 minutes ago...

Daddy: Clay-Clay, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Clay: A fighter pilot (no prompting there), a husband, a spanker and a daddy.

(Author's note: Clay struggles with Clayton and I and our authority as his parents. He wishes he was on the giving rather than the receiving end of discipline!)

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

Kara:  Mom, I don't like it when you wear those jeans-suit things.

Mom:  What?

Kara:  Those jeans suit things.  They don't look so good.

Mom:  What are you talking about? (I am wearing yoga pants and t-shirts like always!)

Kara:  (picking up a picture of Tawnya and I that is 9 yrs old.. where, in fact, I am wearing overalls)  This, Mommy.  These jean-suit things.  Don't wear them anymore.

Mom:  Uh.. OK.  That was a long time ago...

Kara:  (disgusted sigh)

Funny Things

My kids are always saying random things and I forget them too quickly. Forgive me if I start posting random things that they've said or done.. someday I'm going to have this blog made into book form to substitute for scrapbooking :)
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We were driving in the car not too long ago and I hear Kara and Clay arguing about who's going to do something first.

Clay: NO KARA!! I'm going to go first!! (scream this in your head for a more realistic experience)

Kara: Well, Clay-Clay you can be first but then I will really be first because God tells us in His Word that the first will be last and the last will be first. So now I'm first and you're last because that's what Jesus says. (say this in a very snooty first-born-girl kind of way)

Clay: silence.

Kara: Right, mom?

Mom: silence

Clay: I'm going to go first, Kara.

Halloween Antics

I'm finally getting around to posting our Halloween pictures.  I put some up on Facebook and kept putting off blogging... so, a few days late but here they are!  Initially, we had intended to take the kids to a carnival thing at church but we had a last minute change of plans.  We went over to some friends' who were having a get-together and the kids decided they wanted to trick-or-treat with their buds instead.  Sadly, however, I didn't anticipate this and did not dress my kids very warmly for the 9 degree conditions!!  We had jackets (well, everyone but me) but that didn't count for very much once we hit the street.  Clay-Clay was the first casualty of the night.. he fell once on the ice and was OK but the second tumble was the deal breaker.  Clayton took him back to the Feucht's and they handed out candy while the rest of us soldiered on. Kara did great until the other kids started to crumble.  Another dad ran home and got a car to pick up the big kids who were troopers until their gloves got wet, etc..  The moms walked home and I managed to wipe out on the ice myself... not so gracefully either!  Fortunately, I avoided any serious injuries thanks to my excessive body fat!  I knew it would come in handy someday :)

I'm also sticking in a picture taken at Kara's Halloween Party in class.  Alaska still celebrates the holidays in the classrooms.  Like when we were kids!  That is a good thing about being up here, so much drama stays in the lower 48 schools (where they NEVER mention holidays, only seasons).    We had a great first Halloween in Alaska!!!!

Kara is right in the middle of the picture.  I actually got to go to this party as Clay-Clay went to a friend's house to play!

Trick-or-treaters before the cold really set in....

Cheese!  A Snow Princess, Jeff Gordon and the Burger King King (ha ha)..and Mommy.

Alaska the Beautiful (and cold...and getting darker)

Baby, it's cold outside!  It was 2 degrees when I took Kara to school yesterday morning.  It's been sunny and clear, not snowing for the last few days.  I got a glimpse of my favorite Alaska sight, the Sleeping Lady.  There is cool mythology behind this mountain that looks like a lady laying down. We can see her on a clear day, coming down one of the roads here in Eagle River. I'm going to attempt to paste in a fabulous picture:

I hope you can kind of see her.  It's very cool.

We have lots of crunchy snow in our yard and I think it's here to stay because we are no longer getting direct sun in our front yard.  As long as there are no clouds, I have direct sun coming in through the windows in the back of the house (my bedroom, kitchen, dining room, family room) from about 10:00AM until almost 3:00PM.  They say it won't be long until we're not getting any direct sun!  Obviously, this is something I never thought about until we moved here. In fact, I spent most of my time keeping direct sun OUT of my windows to keep the temperatures more bearable!!  The sun isn't up in the morning until 9:00AM and it sets about 6:00PM.  Our shortest day, and I'm told as light as it gets is like twilight, will be about 6 hours on December 21.  After that, we gain a few minutes of daylight every day until June 21.  

We're nearly knee-deep in Halloween preparations.  I think I'm going to be on my own with the pumpkin carving because Clayton is working late this week and pulling a 24hr shift on Thursday.  I may just let the jack-o-lantern slide this year if my kids don't ask about it! (another point towards "mother of the year")

Our New Nephew!!!

Congratulations to Aunt Jennie and Uncle Jake on the birth of their brand new baby boy, Hugh Saylor!  We were kept up to the minute on details by Melissa (THANKS!!!!) and heard about his grand entrance into the world just a few seconds after he arrived.  We wish we could see him but are happy to see pictures of the newly expanded Saylor clan.  God is good!!!  (by the way, for those of you keeping, track, that's 7 nephews for Clayton and I!!  So exciting.)

My New Exercise Plan

This is what our driveway looked like after a couple hours of snow.. I think we got maybe 2 inches??  Anyway, I thought to myself  "Self, you should shovel the driveway for Clayton before he comes home.. what a good wife you are, self!".  So, I took the shovel after the snow, light dusting that it was, and I managed to clear off the top layer.  I scraped at the icy layer underneath but didn't make very much of a difference.  Meanwhile, I'm a little tight across the shoulders and back as well as my abs.  Forget Slim in Six.  I'm shoveling snow (at least one or two more times...then I'm going to insist on a snow blower).

Before....

After!!!!

(I know.... you can hardly tell a difference... humor me, folks)

Randomness

We've been enjoying life up here in Alaska lately so thought we'd share some snapshots of daily life with you.

Here's Kara and a friend performing their first set as a newly formed band :)

Here's one of Clay and his and Daddy's second attempt at hiking to the river... their plans were thwarted by both fresh moose and bear tracks!

And for anyone who ever doubted the sheer size of little Clay's noodle, I give you this:

Clayton had to order Clay a youth size medium because of his head size.. he's 3 people! (oh, in case you're wondering, this is a helmet Clay-Clay will be wearing when he's snowboarding)

The First 5 Target Purchases (for Laura)

1.  Mittens, scarf and hat set for $5.88

2.  Pink suede-y looking boots for Kara

3.  2 $5.50 movies for the kids' stockings at Christmas (look at me planning ahead!)

4.  Long johns for the kids and me

5.  Fake Uggs (I tried them out to prove a point to my dear husband.  They are a mere shadow of the real thing.  I even got blisters from them!  They are cute, though.)

I've been 3 times in a week.  I'm over it for now ;)

Snow Fun

Clayton had an unexpected 24h alert shift today so that meant it was just the kids and I at home tonight.  It's been snowing all day but it's not super cold so I turned them out after dinner. They made snow angels and snowballs on our deck for a little while.   After they were done outside, we made snow cones out of (clean) snow from the deck.  It actually tasted pretty good :)

Getting to Know You

OK.. got this off of Michelle's blog.  They're always kind of fun.  If you want, copy and paste this into a post on your own blog and then come and comment on my blog and leave a link so we can all be entertained. It's ok to embellish or omit... it makes the reading more interesting.  I however, told the whole truth :)

WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?   No... you'd think with a flower-child name like "April Dawn" my parents were hippies.. they're not :)  And yes, I realize that my name is April Dawn Johnson (think Miami Vice, Clayton thinks this is hilarious)
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?  Last night watching "Little People Big World".  Stop laughing.  The dad went to Iraq and I saw all these kids/troops on the C130s going into Iraq and thought of my husband and my friends' husbands making that trip several times.  It's too much for me to wrap my brain around today.  Catch it on rerun and send up a prayer for all the kids making that trip today.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?  It's legible.  I guess I like it.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?  Boar's Head Ovengold Turkey is the best.  The BH roast beef is also super.
DO YOU HAVE KIDS?  If you're reading this blog, you know about my son and my daughter.  They're pretty cute.
IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?  Interesting question.. probably.  I think I'm a pretty good friend most of the time.  We all have our moments.  I'd probably drive myself crazy half the time.
DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?  Uh, never.  Right.  (ha ha)
DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?   As far as I know.. unless the aliens took them out that one time...
WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?  I'm not planning on it but I might.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?  Raisin Nut Bran (with milk)
DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?    Rarely.  Now it's boot season and they all zip.  And yes, I unzip them to take them off.
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?  Yes.  I can move furniture and boxes with the best of them.  Our latest movers were WEAK.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?  Butter Pecan..  That black chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins.  I love the stuff.
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?   Their hair (women).. I'm always looking for a new style which is surprising considering I think my hair ALWAYS LOOKS THE SAME.

RED OR PINK?   Pink.
WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?  My bad attitude.  The list is long.
WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?   Just having moved to Alaska,  I miss my friends in TX, particularly the moms I hung out with who had kids my age (BJ, Shelli, Sheri, Jane, Beth, Sam, Dianna, Lauri, Laura....)
WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?  White furry slippers.  It's snowing and I'm freezing!!!!
WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?  Honey nut cheerios.
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?  Our very loud washing machine and strange clicking noises from Clay downstairs. 
IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?  Purple.  Don't ask me why...I have no idea.
FAVORITE SMELLS?   Mulled apple cider!  Reminds me of Christmastime, shopping at the malls (in AZ) and of Wiliams-Sonoma, another thing I miss (good malls!).
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?  Kamdon S.
FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?   The Olympics: gymnastics, especially the men.
HAIR COLOR?   Ha ha... blonde.  Ha ha.
EYE COLOR?  Brown.
DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?   Not yet...
FAVORITE FOOD?   Mexican food, especially Mi Patio in Phoenix, my gram's enchiladas, good salsa and Margaritas!!!
SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?  I do like a happy ending.  I'm not a fan of scary movies (horror) but I like suspense.
LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?   Coming to America.  That movie is so funny, I forgot.  We have free HBO right now.
WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?  Purple.. which may explain the crayon answer.
SUMMER OR WINTER?   Summer!! I don't mind the heat and  I love being outside and in or near the water.
HUGS OR KISSES?   Hugs.  
FAVORITE DESSERT?  Right now I have a thing for apple pies, specifically the ones from Costco.  They're yummy.
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?   I'm reading a chronological bible-in-a-year and I just finished a novel called "The Historian" which I don't really reocmmend.   Am planning on starting a new fun read today.. I'll take any suggestions you might have.
WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?  An F16. Go Spads.
WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?   I watched all the schmultzy shows on TLC: 17 kids and counting, Little People Big World (again, watch Matt go to Iraq and think of Clayton or whomever it is you know that's gone over...chances are excellent you all know at least one person who has flown into the desert on a C130).
FAVORITE SOUND?  I love the sound of spa music, waterfalls and the steam machine while receiving a facial :)
ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?  I have Beatles on my ipod but I think I like the sound of the Stones better.
WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME???   Anchorage, AK (or is Hawaii farther??) ... 
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?   Oh.. I have several.  I'm 3 belts away from a black belt in Tae Kwon Do (that's about a year's worth of work, give or take).
WHERE WERE YOU BORN?  Flagstaff, AZ
*** take the time and fill this out.  It's fun :)

...and snow it goes!

We woke up this morning to a few inches of snow everywhere!  I think it has officially arrived. Naturally, Clayton is painting the garage floor so our cars are parked in the driveway for the next 4 days?!?! (I have questioned his timing on this repeatedly)  Clayton was supposed to have today off (it's Columbus Day) but he ended up having to go into work (of course he did!).  We only have one car right now, the Tahoe is at the dealer.  SO, getting to the point of this post, I had my first experience driving on the icy roads after I dropped him off at the squadron!  This is something I learned about the roads in Alaska once the weather arrives... the road crews only clear off the top layer of snow from the roads so what we end up driving on is a layer of ice, sand, salt.. whatever. Who knew?  Another thing that I learned: once the snow comes and stays, we all say good-bye to lane markings until the big thaw (break-up in the Spring).  Anyway, they're always going to be fairly treacherous and I'm driving like an old lady.  My new motto is "45, stay alive".   Fortunately, however, I made it home safely and without incident this morning.  We are waiting on our studded tires to come in.  Once we get those on the cars, I think driving won't be so bad. My learning curve is turning out to be pretty steep as it turns out :)  

Free Bag?!

My sister-in-law Michelle posted about this website that was giving away a purse an hour.  I'm always up for something free and some of the bags looked pretty cool.  Click here and sign up for the contest.  At least it's not some weird scheme telling you Bill Gates is giving away his money!

Shhhhhh...

So I was reading the news online yesterday and I saw a little article saying that Target was opening TODAY.  They called it a "quiet opening" with the grand party on Sunday.  Obviously I had to go down there this morning.  It was kind of crowded but not too bad.  I've been keeping a list of things that I wanted to buy there for a while so I was a man on a mission.  I found everything I was looking for and a few more things.  There was one major disappointment: the prices!!  They have special Alaska price tags that they put on top of the lovely Target price tags. I'd say stuff is between 10-25% higher here.  Sure, there is no tax, but that is only an 8% savings.  I know, everything is more expensive in AK.  I get that.  But there is one exception: Nordstrom. Same prices as in the lower 48...and no tax.  So guess what that means?  I'm actually SAVING money by shopping there.  :)   I digress... yea for Target!

T minus 6 and counting....

Only 6 days until the Target in Anchorage opens.  I've been counting down since we moved here.  I can hardly wait.

Fabulous Fall Firsts

We've had a lot of "firsts" around here the last week or so.. 

Kara learning to ride her bike with no training wheels!! She's doing great.  She's definitely inherited the Johnson gene for adventure and adrenaline rushes.  Daddy is expecting great things for her on the snow this winter (snowboarding chick!).

Clay-Clay is not quite ready for no training wheels.  He has trouble steering his bike at this point.

Kara all geared up for her first field trip to an outdoor science center where they dug for fossils and found dinosaur foot prints (!?).  We broke the rules by not sending her in a coat on top of the sweatshirt on top of her long sleeved tee-shirt.  My kids are cold blooded and get hot easily (which is a good thing since Clayton thinks we should keep the house at 60F during the day and then warm it up to 65F when he gets home).

And as of this weekend, first snow!  We had some snow showers on Friday but the snow wasn't fluffy or sticking.  This afternoon, the flakes are big and fluffy and are sticking to things on our deck.  Aaarrggghhh!  My car still doesn't have snow tires... the good news is that we are now parking both cars in our heated garage (40F).  

So, happy Fall to you all.  I keep having to think "fall" because this weather is really like our bitter winters from TX and AZ.  Ah, I have much to learn! :)

Bad Kitty

So, what are the odds that a cat who has been indoors for 7 years will run away when Clayton is out of town? If you answered 100%, you're correct! I think everyone knows we have 2 cats: Snackie and Abby. We put Harry down before we moved to AK. He was sick. Clayton always says that I'm a hairbreadth away from being the "crazy catlady". I don't know about that... We do love our kitties and we assumed (incorrectly, pridefully, arrogantly) that they loved us back. Well, yesterday morning, I realized I had not seen Snackie, our gray cat, the nice one everyone loves, for a while.. like since the night before. Where could he be? I looked for him periodically throughout the day but I figured he had gone under deep cover because Clay can be a little much to handle. By late afternoon/early evening, I realized he was gone. I suspect he made his mad dash for freedom on Tuesday night when Clayton was in and out of the house about a million times. By the time it got dark last night, Wednesday, I was in crisis mode. The kids and I drove around looking for him. We put up signs "Lost Cat: 9/24/08. Gray and white. Fat and declawed. Please help!!". It's cold at night right now but it's not quite freezing. Nevertheless, I worried about "The Little Prince" being outside in the wilderness with the bears, lynx and eagles. Seriously. I did put a beach towel out front and some cat food. When I got up this morning, something had tapped the cat food and left little muddy footprints all over the towel but Snackie was nowhere to be found. I called local vets, I called the pound. Nothing. No calls on our answering machine saying they had our darling boy (cough, cough). I was feeling grim... then Clayton called from Atlanta wondering the status and lo and behold, that dumb a@# cat was eating the cat food IN FRONT OF OUR FRONT DOOR! I opened the door and he looked at me like I was the crazy one as he sauntered in and upstairs. He's now bathing himself on my brand new bedding and he STINKS! UGH!!! My sweet nephew Davis told me he thought Snackie might need a few swats... I think he's right! Anyway, I can't wait to tell Kara when we pick her up from school.... Although, she did say to me this morning: "Hey Mom. If Snackie's gone can we get a dog"? HA!

How Buzz and Billie spent their Alaskan Vacation!

Other projects that occurred at our new digs while my mom and dad were around included, but were certainly not limited to: hanging of ceiling fans (raise your hand if you've ever had my dad wire and/or hang something in your home), wiring new outlets, installing dimmer switches, converting garage crawl space in our basement to storage rooms with floors, sewing curtains and hanging them, recovering couches. I actually do feel a little guilty about not getting out and about more when my mom and dad were here. I'd blame it on the weather but that's ridiculous when you think of what's in store for us in a few weeks!!! We did get out, however.. we went to Girdwood and rode the tram to the top of Alyeska (ski resort), went glacier sightseeing and salmon watching. We also saw a pod of Beluga whales in the inlet on our way home from Girdwood! My dad has some fantastic pictures if you're interested (he should start a blog). My cousin Monty, who is stationed at Elmendorf and is the air field manager, gave them a tour of the flight line as well. So, it was not all work...there was some play. We enjoyed having them (obviously) and it's a lot quieter now that it's just me and the kids for a few days.

This really is a bad picture of my dad.. but it was the end of a very long day for him and Clayton. They left the house at 6:15am to buy lumber and other stuff to make that storage room.

An action shot of the couch recovering that occurred at midnight 2 nights in a row.

Lovely family room curtains.

Riding the tram. It was FREEZING! But beautiful.

Four Generations

The last 10 days we've had my mom, dad and grandmother visiting us in Texas. My grandmother Helen has always wanted to visit Alaska and now she had the perfect excuse: us! Gram Boyd (say this fast, like one word, and that is how my children call her name) is 79 years young so this big trip was no small feat :) Considering her age and her ailments, I wanted to make this visit easy on her... So naturally, I put her to work sewing curtains, mending backpacks and ill stuffed animals, and cooking chocolate chip pancakes every morning for my children. She was a great sport and worked enough to earn her gruel and water every night :)

At Ship Creek (say that 3 times fast).

Four generations! What a blessing!!!

Making apple crisp. Yum! Also on the menu besides this and chocolate chip pancakes: sour cream enchiladas, float "fruit beer" (root beer floats but you try getting Clay to say it right), baked apples and more.

Mending teddy bears and recovering couch cushions at midnight.

A Day in the Life

Clay has adjusted to Kara being gone all day to school. He does in fact drive me crazy at times because he misses his sister. However, he has also become a total bum in her absence. Getting him to change out of his pj's is a major feat. My grandmother remarked that he stayed in his pajamas for 3 days straight (he managed to do this by convincing someone to stay at home with him whenever there was a planned outing). It's kind of funny but now I'm just a little worried about his home-bodyness. Here are some pictures of Clay, aka "the lounger" hard at work.

Watching TV (big surprise) and eating his ramen noodles. Ha! You though it was breakfast b/c of the pajamas :)

Thank you, Clay, for taking time out of your busy day to smile for this picture.

Not a proud shot for me, but funny enough so that I posted.. this is Clay LICKING syrup from his plate while attempting to carry on a conversation w/my parents.

A rare shot of Clay away from the TV :)

Clay in his "scary pig mask" that Grandpa S. bought him.

What a funny kid. We do have some sweet times at home, just the two of us. Occasionally, Clay will scream "Momma!". I'll say "What, Clay?". He'll say "I love you, Mommy". It ALMOST makes up for when he's driving me nuts.