Stirber Christmas Vacay: The First Third

Greetings from Alaska! It's warming right up so the snow is kind of melting, making all kinds of nice slick spots. We like to keep it interesting for our visitors anyway, so what the heck!!! We're having a really great time with the grandparents. We've gone all kinds of places, had all kinds of adventures. Let the photo documentation begin...

Clay had a Christmas performance at his little preschool church on Sunday... here's a short clip

We have also had a lot of snow (that is melting today... UGH! I hate melting snow.. it makes ice and ice makes driving difficult). Clayton made the kids some snow caves, a little talent he picked up last year at Arctic Survival. They loved them!!

Grandma and Grandpa are being very sporting about Alaska in the winter. We went skiing on Sunday. Grandpa had a tough time but Grandma picked it right back up. The kids were LOVING having her on the slopes. As for Grandpa, well, it didn't go so well. He even had a lesson which also didn't go well. Actually, it went poorly. He got fired from the lesson by an old-time ski instructor. Sad. Embarrassing. Not entirely surprising... He was a good sport about it (ultimately) and when Sports Authority refunded 100% of his ski rental fee for the week, he got over it.

Now, as for Michael. For those of you who don't know, he had been growing his hair out since his retirement from the Guard. He didn't cut it but once in over a year. It was getting a little out of hand... in fact, his kids were sort of giving him a hard time about it (just a little). SO, Michael and I had a little trip to the salon. He ended up getting a really professional looking hair cut but retained some of the length in the front. It looks better.. but I think he's going to forget to get it cut in a few weeks.

Before.

During.

After. So dapper, so professional!

So, needless to say, we're having a great time with the Stirbers. Today has been a baking day. Tomorrow we're headed to Girdwood for a day of skiing (all of us but you-know-who). Will take the camera and post pictures later :) Oh, and Miss Karen is coming for Christmas (did I already say that??) and comes tomorrow night. Good times at the Johnson compound!

CrAzY MoMmY!!!!

I thought I'd drop in and do a quick post before life gets even more crazy around here. We had a really busy week last week.. a really snowy week so far this week. And tonight, Grandma and Grandpa come for the next 12 days!! I am not quite ready but I have until 7:00 tonight :) I do better under pressure (at least that's what I keep telling myself). Yesterday, if you will allow me to vent (but it's my blog, I can vent if I want to!), was one of those days. We've probably had a good 2 feet of snow over the last 48 hours in Eagle River. If you're like me (prior to living here), you think "Get a grip, April. It's Alaska! What do you expect?" Well, actually, it's Alaska, you are correct on that point. However, we generally don't get dumped on like that so the city and the snowplowers can't keep up with the snow when it comes in buckets. That means driving conditions, even for here, are poor at best. I got stuck yesterday taking Clay to school. I knew enough to know that I wasn't going to get myself out so Clay and I ended up walking the last .5 mile (uphill, in the dark, while snowing) to his school. We were both a mess when we got there. Fortunately, the pastor and another dad took it upon themselves to extricate the Tahoe without calling the tow truck (my idea). I was thankful God provided them. It saved me some $$ for sure. But my pride took a nice beating in the process :) Once I finally got home, I stayed home! Oh, and before you ask, NO! OUR TAHOE IS NOT 4WD! We bought it in Texas before AK was even a blip on the radar. And, NO! We're not buying another car right now. We are enjoying not having car payments.. I now have a tow strap and chains in the car so I'm pretty much ready for the next time. And YES! I know how to put the chains on. OH! One more thing, AT&T cell customers (of which I am one) had no cell service in the state of AK yesterday, to answer any lingering questions you might have had :)

I actually feel better after the rant. If I learned one thing, it's that God is indeed faithful in the small details and that he provides in His own way (my idea was for him to pick my car up and plop it at the top of the hill in a miraculous fashion..) and it met and exceeded my needs for yesterday, like always. BUT, if you are feeling sorry for me, remember it when you see a mom out by herself who needs an extra hand.. at the airport, the grocery store (shoveling snow for the 6th time in 48 hours..)! Even if her husband is in the state, if he's not there and she needs help, give it! I have had so much help from people the last few days with this weather and Clayton being away.

I digress... We are really looking forward to Anne and Mike being here this Christmas. My good friend Karen from Denver will also be with us on Christmas and we're happy to provide a White Christmas for the visitors. My kids have been counting down days since December 1. They are excited for an audience while skiing and sledding. I'm excited for some extra hands as I have done very little wrapping of gifts and no baking :) This is not my Christmas letter post so I'll shut up for now.

Here's a photo journal of what we've been up to the last week or so :)

Us before the first of 2 Christmas parties..

Kara and I going to a tea at church on Saturday morning. Clay was clearly going to enjoy his lounging morning at home with Dad (they went skiing later).

Clay and Kara watching Christmas movies. A rare moment of close-quartered seating without hitting, kicking, whining and tattling.

Our backyard after big snow #1.

Our back deck 8 hours later, the next morning.

The Johnsons (Griswolds) Go Skiing

So we went skiing for the first time this season yesterday afternoon. We love, and by we, I mean Clayton, to go skiing at Hillberg (on Emlendorf AFB) after 4:00pm because it's half price. Seemed like a good call for our first go of the season.. our kids did really well last season but I was kind of expecting some backsliding this year so if it was half-price (even though it's pitch black outside at 4:00pm), we could get over it if it was a complete FAIL. I should have known things weren't going to go smoothly simply based on the fact that it took me an hour to get the kids' season rental skis at Sports Authority. That should take about 20 minutes..and no one else was in line. Hmmm. BUT, I didn't let that daunt me. NO WAY! I'm an Alaska MOM! We're going skiing! Second road block: Kara left her snow pants at home. The ONE thing she was responsible for. OK, I'm cool (well, if a raging lunatic is cool, I'm cool). I run into the BX to buy another snow suit (multiples are a good thing). Guess what?? The stupid BX is OUT of snow suits and pants. Figures. What to do?? By now, it's darn near 4:00, dark and cold. Clayton is working (on Sunday, yes) and meeting us at the hill at 4:00. He NEVER answers his cell phone.. What to do? Go to Target, off base, and buy said snowsuit. So, Alaska Mom that I am, I drive off base, go to Target and find a snow suit in record time . Yay me! I drive BACK ON the base and trek out to Elmendorf. By now, It's about 4:30.. Not only are we meeting Clayton, we're meeting our neighbors. We're late. OH, and did I mention?? Driving on base while talking on cell phones is frowned upon mightily. I did not make or receive any calls while driving (Why? Because not only am I an Alaska Mom, I follow rules like any good firstborn!). FINALLY, we get to Hillberg and on the lift by 4:40. Kids do well getting on the lift and, not only that, they make it down the hill without any trouble. JOY! BLISS! All the drama was worth it!! (insert screeching brake noise HERE) Not so fast... after a few runs, our friends leave to go home so we decide it is a good time for a potty break. And maybe a snack because I, naturally, forgot to bring any snacks with me (still Alaska Mom). I order some food, the Claytons get a table but where is Kara?? Clayton goes looking for her and he hears her in the bathroom. She's screaming. Hysterically. Saying "APRIL! APRIL JOHNSON!". What does Clayton do? Well, he does what Dads do.. he got me. I go into the bathroom and find poor Kara has had an "accident". She didn't quite make it to the potty, poor sugar. And she is a disaster! Granted, everything from her snowsuit to her ski boots are soaking wet.. we did the best we could but, suffice it to say, her skiing was over for the day. That's when I started to get the hint that maybe skiing wasn't the best plan for Kara.. I had the "signs" but I chose to ignore them. Oh well, not the first and certainly not the last time that will happen (well, at least we hope it's the last time Kara has that kind of accident).

Nonetheless, we had a grand time skiing (except for the obvious). The kids did AWESOME! Clay was "yee-haw'ing" all the way down the hill.. in between his famous "Winner, winner, chicken dinner" calls :) I got to try out my brand new skis and they were awesome, too. I have learned to love the snow and I love that our kids are growing up skiing. You would love it, too, if you came to visit :)

That little blob in the middle of the photo is Clay coming down his last run of the day.

Here he is a little closer.

Thanksgiving Recap

We had a lovely Thanksgiving here in Eagle River, Alaska. There were 19 at our house for the meal! No one no-showed and no one straggled in. Success!! There was too much food and lots of fun. If I may say, this was my best turkey EVER! Same darn recipe since 2000 and I finally mastered it (of course, will have to change completely next year because simply saying this, I have jinxed myself). Turkey is the one thing we came close to running out of. The kids LOVED having big kids around to play hide-n-seek and other games.

Amy stayed until late last night. I managed to get most of my Christmas shopping done, but only sent a few things back to AZ with her.. that means I get to brave the post office multiple times yet again this year..JOY!!!! We got some tubing in on Saturday night as well. It has been snowing a lot..until last night when the rain came. Rain + Snow = SUCKAGE! The roads are like ice skating rinks now.. and the snow is no good for skiing. BOO!!!

Oh well, it means that I must begin decorating for Christmas, I guess. Here's hoping everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for despite any errant circumstances. Our pastor at church on Sunday mentioned 2 Corinthians 4:17 where Paul writes about our light and momentary troubles.. It challenged me to look at all my "issues" in a different way, that's for sure. SO, I will resume my chorus of "this is the day that the Lord has made.. I will rejoice and be glad in it!"... (even if occasionally with gritted teeth)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the North Pole!! We have so much to be thankful for at the Johnson Casa.. My sister is flying up tonight to spend Thanksgiving with us.. we have a friend from Bethel, AK, in town as well. Tomorrow is Linner (lunch-dinner) with the Sutterfields, the Finchers and the Lands (Finchers are Jim and Carol, Anne Stirber's (Clayton's mom) first cousins. The Lands are the Fincher's good friends, he did our landscaping this summer). I am praying that it is a great afternoon/evening. I think the food is going to be yummy and plentiful.

Things I am thankful for:

* God's provision and grace to us this last year

* Safe flights for Clayton

* Healthy kids

* A beautiful home, food in the fridge, lights turned "on"

* Fabulous friends in AK (an unexpected blessing with this move)

* Healthy family members outside AK

* many, many more....

If you are reading this blog, I am thankful for you!!!! We're going to miss our AZ family and the annual celebration and the Woods' house as well as the mega-family gathering in Duncan. We love you guys in AZ and we're with you in our thoughts tomorrow (and all the other days as well). Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

A Presidential Visit, A Sledding Misadventure and Other Randomness

Sorry to say that this post will be without pictures (insert big sigh here). Clayton took the camera to work last week and he went to Vegas this morning for this week and I still don't know where my camera is.. He took it to work last week to get a picture of Air Force One on the tarmac at Elmendorf. Yep, you guessed who our mystery guest was last week in AK. Mr Prez himself. It was his first trip to Alaska and he got off AFO during a refueling stop to "rally the troops". A two hour stop apparently constitutes a visit to a state even though those Facebook quizzes say you can't count a state as visited if you just were in the airport for a layover... anyway, I guess when you're the president, you get to make your own rules.. Anyway, there was much pomp and circumstance at EAFB concerning this visit, you can imagine. It turns out, they actually used the 525 (Clayton's flying squadron) hangar for the staging for the speech. Maybe you all didn't know, Clayton flies F22's so the 525 hanger actually stores F22 jets (weird, I know).. which the President's advisors promptly had removed (insert sound of a record being scratched and brakes being applied squeakily). Oh, and the president also wouldn't sign anything that had an F22 logo on it. So all those pictures, t-shirts, hats that had F22s on them, right, his aides informed the pilots he wouldn't sign them. Oh, and the F22s that they made the maintainers move from the hangar, they replaced with an F15 that is headed to the bone yard. And let me also add that Clayton's butt was in the alert shack (F22s on 24 hour alert to keep the Russians in check).. and there were 2 F22s flying air-support during Barack's (I'm going to call him by his first name, we're all equals here in AK) visit.. BUT, by all means, make sure the man isn't photographed with one. WHAT?!?! I digress.. He said some nice words about military families and blew other assorted smoke up people's hind-ends. I think people enjoyed lining up for his kool-aid. I mean, it was a historical event and I'm sure my kids would have appreciated the opportunity to see a real live president had I not had other plans that day. (I guess the logic for the advisors, let's lay blame where it is due (snicker, snicker), is that one of Barack's first acts as president was to effectively kill the F22 program. Forget about the billions already spent on the program that he wasted signing off on the bill...again, I digress. I guess he wouldn't want to appear hypocritical being photographed with or around an F22).

UGH!! I thought I'd feel better after the rant but I don't. Now I'm going to post a picture of us as a family.. we're not ashamed to be photographed with an F22.

And here's another one of Clayton who is not ashamed to FLY and F22 let alone be photographed in one.

(please don't let my irritation offend those of you who are big fans of his.. really, I respect the office and all that.. I do. I was just (and am obviously still) VERY ANNOYED by the behavior of his advisors..who speak for him)

********onwards and upwards*********

So we've got some snow.. and we're sledding. Clayton took the kids one evening last week and they had a great time. So good, in fact, that Kara's dinner prayer went something like this: "Dear God, thank you for this wonderful day. Thank you for my friends and my good day at school. Thank you for our food. Oh! And thank you for my awesome crash. Amen." I guess when Clayton was "launching" Kara down the hill, he ended up launching her off the sidewalk and she ended up sailing off a 6 foot "cliff"/retaining wall onto our street. Sweet! NOT!! We're thankful she wasn't hurt and we've spent much time reviewing how that is not awesome... My sweet little adrenaline junky.

Clay-Clay is good, too.. he's a hoot. He found out his friend Ryan's mom is pregnant and asked us how you get pregnant. I told him that God gives you babies. Fortunately, it satisfied him (for now). UGH!!!!

The kids and I are on our own this week, as mentioned above. Sadly, it's been below zero and is predicted to remain that way for the week. I'm sorry, but just like 115 is hot, anything below zero is cold. We've got the proper cold-weather gear but it just doesn't cut it when it's that cold. I went for a walk this morning and I forgot how unforgiving frost on the upper-lip can be.. in other words, I will be waxing my lip tonight or I will never live it down once Clayton gets home. Ah, the joys of arctic living. Wish you were here :)

Snow!!!!

We had our first "measurable" snow last night.. it was a winter wonderland (or horrorland, depending on the person/driver) this morning. I was patting myself on the back having gotten all the appropriate snow gear together for the kids. Sadly, however, I didn't bother to see if Clay-Clay's snowboots still fit. They don't. Not even close. Ooops. At least he had his snowsuit, jacket, gloves and hat. I'll find some boots before Wednesday (unless there's been a run on size 12 kids snowboots..which there probably has been).

Here are some pics of this morning.

Clay getting carried into school..no snowboots.

Kara on her way into the school.. see how dark it still is at 9:00??

IDK.. I think we got like 6"?

My personal sidewalk-shoveler. Thankfully he was going to work later today and shoveled for me.

See... I told you!!!

Visual proof that Kara got an award at school. My neighbor, who is a tuned-in, good mother, took the picture because she noted that I was, in fact, absent :)

Mother of the Year.. It's locked in.

I know all of you out there who thought you had a good shot at mother-of-the-year are going to be severely disappointed to hear that it's officially mine. Yep, that's right. You all lose and I win! Why? you ask.. well, for starters, we arrived at Clay's school this morning, on time, only to find everyone wearing their pajamas. WHAT!? How did I miss that memo?? Oh, it was in a note in the backpack that I kept forgetting in the back of Kamdon's car. Easy mistake to make. So, I'm looking at Clay who is losing his composure by the second.. I can see that my suggestion of "Who cares! You can just wear your regular clothes" was the wrong thing to say.. So, I say the next best thing "I'll go to Walmart and buy you a pair. I'll be right back". Also the wrong thing to say. Clay is MELTING DOWN, his teacher is looking at me like I'm, in fact, mother-of-the-year already.. so I grab him.. we run to our friendly neighborhood Walmart and promptly buy the first over-priced pair of Spiderman PJs we see. We changed his clothes in the car in record time and got him to circle-time just in the nick of time... disaster averted?! (but judgement NOT averted as several mothers asked me how I could have forgotten (I didn't have it in me to tell them it's impossible to forget something you NEVER KNEW!!!!) the PJs).

NOT SO FAST! So I go pick Kara up at school.. she comes running out of the building waving around an 8x11 piece of paper that looks suspiciously like an award certificate with a big smile on her face. "What have you got, Kara?", I ask. Says Kara "Remember that award ceremony I wanted to you to come to?? I got the award for Art in first grade". WTH? I remember her saying something about an award ceremony but there was nothing from her teacher or the school on this one... but seriously, feeling like a giant jackass nonetheless. Again, wondering how it is possible to forget something I was never actually informed of. Oh, and yes, there were other parents there.. just not me (and CERTAINLY not Clayton).

Considering we have 2 squadron functions this weekend and Clay having his first sleepover with Ryan tonight, I fear that I have more than ample opportunities remaining to cement in my award for the year, if not mother-of-the-DECADE, the rate things are going.

Needless to say, I am very proud of Kara for her art award and I am sufficiently repentant for making Clay forget (his words.. how I can make him forget something is beyond me) his PJ day at PRESCHOOL! Any chance I'll be able to just escape to a spa tomorrow? NONE!

Trick or Treating Fun!!

(What Halloween night looked like when we headed out trick-or-treating.. COLD!!)

We've had a fun and busy Halloween weekend up north. First and foremost, there is no snow (yet)! Some of my more faithful readers may recall my "slip" on the ice last year. At least I didn't have to worry about that whilst trick-or-treating with the kiddies. However, it was still COLD! We did our street and 2 others before we called it off. This year we had a neighborhood party at our house. Lots of families on our street have kids our age so it was fun to hang out, have chili and drink yummy fall sangria. I think fun was had by all (except for the resident grinch, Fokker.. he says no more parties.. I've heard that before).

On Friday night, we went to the ubiquitous "Fall Festival" at Clay-Clay's school (i.e., Peace Lutheran). Peace is a small little church with billion dollar views of Anchorage, the inlet and the Alaska Range. The pastor and his wife are so sweet and their little church puts on a really fun night of games, candy and hotdogs. They had been building it up all week at school so Clay was primed to go. We brought Ainsley, Chase and Ryan along for good measure. Lots of fun. Both Friday and Saturday nights make us thankful for the good friends we have in Alaska.

Candy, games and face-painting galore on Friday night.

Kara and Ainsley... Ainsley came as Ariel, Kara as a movie star (fancy).

For this party, Clay came as Jeff Gordon. He didn't enjoy the homemade mac-n-cheese. It's powdered cheese all the way for this discriminating palate.

Our spooky music and black cat deco. (Clayton made me change the channel from Sounds of the Season because he thought the pictures of skeletons were too scary.)

Monster eyeballs. Actually, they didn't turn out like the pictures I originally saw but they were tasty.

Mummy dogs. YUM!

Most of the kids who partied at our house on Saturday.

The movie star and the pirate. Clay HATED his "fake boots". I thought he looked so cute. And Kara, of course, was fancy.

Post trick-or-treating coloring and sorting of candy.

Clay-Clay just observing the rest of the kids.. he was tired and his hands were still cold from trick-or-treating. He swore he wouldn't want his gloves. He was wrong.

Thankful

I have been thinking a lot about thankfulness lately. Without a doubt, I (we, my family) have much to be thankful for. Really, as much as I gripe, I realize my life is a walk in the park compared to lots of families out there. This last weekend, a friend of mine in Italy (they're stationed at Aviano) had a friend die right after she gave birth to her baby boy. She was healthy. Her baby is healthy. But she still died. Her husband now has a 1 year old son and a newborn son to raise on his own. I can't get this family out of my mind!! My friend Laurie always talks about how giving birth is dangerous business even though American MDs are good at heading off most catastrophes (I said most, I realize someone out there has a horror story to share). But I never for one second imagined any other outcome after my kids were born other than the one I had: some pain and sleepless nights. I can't get it out of my head how this family's life changed in the blink of an eye. I get that we're not guaranteed tomorrow. I do get that. I just have been thinking about how fragile life is. I have had a husband go into combat 3 separate times. I know what it's like to watch the news and hold your breath when they talk about plane crashes; how it feels to feel lightheaded when the doorbell rings at odd times during the day/evening. By the grace of God, there haven't been any catastrophes for us and, for that, I am grateful. At any rate, I'm going to link you guys over to a blog by a dad (also AF) who recently lost his wife after a battle with breast cancer. His blog is amazing. Even more amazing is the post he posted about the family in Italy. I guess I'd ask you to join with the many praying for these military families. Maybe you'll feel more thankful with me. http://bandssullivan.blogspot.com

Avoiding Craft Show Terrorism and a trip to Arizona

I'd apologize for being a blogging slacker but why?? This is something you already know about me so it can't possibly be a surprise anymore :)

So Kamdon and I survived the crap show at Elmendorf... we took about 60 canvases, sold about 12 and have orders for another 20 or so more... We had hoped to sell more of the canvases that we painted but oh well. We did actually clear a profit so that is something to be proud of! However, we don't think we'll be doing anymore crap shows in the near future. For one thing, these crap show organizers charge anywhere from $120-500 to rent a 10x10 spot. That's a lot of crap to sell just to break even on the "show". For another, there are a lot of interesting folks on the craft-show-circuit. As you can see, our booth had some gorgeous black and white fabric.. however, before we had even hung our canvases, several other craftonistas were complaining that the fabric was going to make them dizzy if they stared at it all day.. being the mom of 2 small children that I am, I said "Well, then don't stare at it" before I could even bite my tongue. Other people would walk past and make strange comments about our booth (how else were we supposed to display 60 canvases in 10x10 space, I'd like to know!!).. so I got to thinking that we might be victims of craft show terrorism (because our stuff was clearly NOT crap and it was cooler than their moose poop-on-a-stick magnets). There wasn't any police tape for us to wrap around our booth so we just had to put chairs in the entry way and ask a prayer for protection. Fortunately, everything was in tact on Saturday morning (except for a few canvases on the floor due to the mean Christmas-wreath ladies next door whacking on our "wall" with their chairs..but I digress) and we had a nice day people watching at the craft show. (Sutterfield update for Pat!!!!!)

Meanwhile, as I was at the crap show, the Claytons were wrapping up a week long Arizona Extravaganza. I'll hijack a few pictures from my sisters-in-law to share with you. Clay-Clay had an excellent time hanging out with "all my cousins". He had a few sleepovers, a movie, park trips, and much much spoiling. Kara and I had a good (albeit quiet) week with the menfolk away. We were both ready for the Claytons to return home.

This is the most precious picture of Clay, TJ and Eli being spies at Melissa and Troy's. Check out Melissa's blog (to the right on my blog) for a fun post and more pictures.

Clay and Davis at the triple P. Good times. Always.

Sleepover fun at my brother and Michelle's (check out her blog, link on the right for a sweet post and pictures). Yes.. the boys were eating graham crackers w/frosting.. what a genius combination that is. Timeless.

Fun with the Johnsons (Troy and Melissa). Rootbeer floats. Super yum.

So that's about it on this end. We still have no snow! I was looking back at my blogs from last October and we had plenty of standing snow by this point last year. It has been a fabulous fall!! Clayton is wishing for snow already and we're buying ski gear in preparation for the white stuff. We welcome visitors at any time during the year.. so if you're a fan of winter sports, our guest room calendar is pretty empty!!

While the Cat's Away....

It's girl week at our house! Clayton took little Clay to AZ with him for the whole week!! I know, it's mind-boggling for me to think about having no Clay-Clay at home.. And Kara in school during the day. Lest you think I'll be twiddling my thumbs, Kamdon and I have the crap show on Saturday and there is NO shortage of work to be done. Nonetheless, Kara and I have had a good girls' weekend already. I had a girls' get-together with other squadron wives yesterday (poor me, bellini, lunch and movie/shopping.. it was torture) and Kara hung out with a babysitter. We made brownies on Saturday night and watched a movie. Sunday found us at church, doing a little shopping and seeing "Cloudy, With a Chance of Meatballs" which was hilarious! (quite unlike the last kids' movie I saw: "G-Force"..horrible). She had pancakes for dinner and has been doing "art" a lot of the day. Suffice it to say, it is VERY quiet around here without the little guy (and the big guy, I guess). I think Kara is looking forward to school tomorrow!!

I haven't talked to either Clayton for any length of time since they left although Clayton called mat at 9:45pm AZ time and Clay was still up playing the Wii at Grandma's.... uh, really?? I won't get the whole story of this trip until I hear from any of my sisters-in-law or my sister.... maybe I don't even want to know!! At any rate, Clay was VERY much looking forward to his solo vacay to AZ. I know for sure Clayton isn't taking pictures so I'll have to relay on my sisters-in-law for photo documentation (hint, hint). :)

These Are the (Random) Days of Our Lives

As I sit here typing this blog update, I want to start by tooting my own horn saying that there are three sleeping kids in my house right now. Ah, bliss!! Kara has been sick for the last 3 days.. some mystery virus "that's going around" according to the Pediatrician. She spiked fevers almost to 104 two days in a row so I'm very thankful that it looks like we've rounded the corner. I wouldn't mind any additional prayers for the rest of us staying well, however.... So, it's Kara, Clay and Chase sleeping soundly for a few more minutes. This will never happen again, tho :)

So we've turned our basement into an art studio of sorts... why is that, you ask? Well, on October 10th, my friend Kamdon and I will be selling art on canvas at the annual base craft (crap) fair thingy. Now, get up off the floor or stop laughing.. it's true! Kamdon is a gifted artist, gifted enough that she can put me to work on these canvases in a productive manner! Our goal is to have 50 completed.. I am biased but they are really turning out nicely. We've even given ourselves the name "Plane Janes". You know, like airplane.. plane?!? We take custom orders, too, FYI :)

I also wanted to post a picture of the new window coverings.. the picture isn't great, mainly due to the cluttered living room but my friend Laura requested..

Lastly, the end this random, rambling, nonsensical post, I want to leave you with a funny picture of my Gram eating shrimp tempura at a sushi place on my birthday! This trip included lots of first for Gram not limited to eating dinner at a BAR! Next time she's in AK, she'll be drinking beer and bear hunting :)

PS.. not 2 minutes after typing that all 3 kids were sleeping, Chase woke up. Figures, right?! :)

Long time, no blog!

It's been a while since my last blog.. in order to avoid boring everyone to tears with a narrative of what we've been doing, I thought I'd just post a bunch of pictures of what we did while my parents and Gram were in town.

Kara and Clay on their first night of AWANA this year. Clay is a Cubbie..he looks like such a little goober in his vest but he LOVES it and Kara was excited about him going with her.

My parents biking in our neighborhood. I think Kara was the photographer. They actually went on some gnarly rides with Clayton... and survived!

Kara and Gram Boyd crocheting.. Kara has her own skein of yarn and crochet hook now! I want her to make me a sweater and some scarves....

I celebrated yet another anniversary of my 29th birthday with everyone in town. My Gram and mom made me an Italian Creme cake, my favorite! We had dinner out and it was a great day.

Clay-Clay doing his "Clay-Clay thing".

Buzz and Denali. We are about 20o miles away from Mount McKinnley but you can get a good view on a clear day. If you make this picture bigger, you can see it to the right of the photograph. Blogger loses a lot of the detail sometimes.. this is one of them.

Kara and Gram Boyd making apple crisp. YUM! I think I gained 5# during their visit.

Again with the crocheting. I didn't get any shots of the Johnson Family Sweat Shop in business again this year.. we redid the curtains in the living room. They are AWESOME!

Eagle River in the Fall.. again, Blogger is not doing the colors justice. We're all red and gold leaves around here.....

Billie and Clay hiking down to Eagle River which is just below our house.

Good times were had by all, I think.. Of course, my kids are in the throws of their grandparent hangover so it's interesting around here for sure...