Visit with Santa- at the Riverboat

Hailey was not too impressed with Santa. She usually LOVES everyone.

I love how she is keeping her distance and checking him out.

We visited Santa at the Riverboat the weekend before Christmas, but as usual I am just getting a chance to post. I promise to put more pictures on before I go back to work.

Different Kind Of Post

This is going to be really out of character for me. I like to post about my kids, and the things that go on in my little world, but reading msn.com just really ticked me off. Can you believe that some baseball player just signed a 5 year contract for 82.5 million dollars. I think it is absolutely ABSURD, and I have many choice words I would like to say to GREEDY people like him that think playing a professional sport is worth that much money. Don't worrry about what the economy is doing, please, by all means just get the most money you can get for hitting a stupid white ball. As an educator, do you know what 82.5 million dollars can do. I can think of a lot of things, and the number one being lower class size in primary classrooms. My friend teaches first grade with 28 kids. That is tragic!!! Okay, my blood is boiling, and I could go on forever about this, but I want to get back to my job, the kids are returning, and I have social studies to teach. Maybe we are going to have an economics lesson real quick.

Part II of the pictures

I needed to post again to add a few pictures!!! Just to give some background; the group photo is taken at the Wiegand's, they have a pumpkin carving party every year, and for the past 6 years we have taken a picture, the group has grown over the years, kids and adults. It is a lot of fun, and Shirley Rae or Grandma Wiegand makes the best treats for us. For those of you who haven't seen my dad recently, he is the one with the girls :)

New Pictures-Yeah for me!!

I feel like I have accomplished a lot this weekend. We put up the tree, decorated in the house, put up the outside lights and decorations, went out to dinner with a group of friends, went bowling with my parents, I Wii fitted twice and the best part, I got my hair done. The house really didn't get cleaned, and I didn't write my paper yet, put that is what the other days are for! Oh ya, I go to work on those other days. Some day I will have a house cleaner :) For those of you that like pictures you will be glad to know that I downloaded pictures also. The pictures ar random, some of Halloween, some of Zoe at a friend's birthday party, Zoe playing Barbie's, her new found favorite, we save it for after Hailey goes to bed and well I guess I will post again.

My Goodness

Where does time go? It has been over a month since I last posted, and I have not even downloaded pictures from Halloween to my computers. Things have just been a bit crazy. We have been busy with the regular, work, preschool, day care, gymnastics, swimming and hockey. The girls are doing great, getting big and having a great time. Zoe is a bit worried that winter will never end. She was talking to her Grandma and Grandpa on the phone while they were out of town and she always reminded them during the conversation that winter was still here. Hailey is just being 14 months old. She loves to play with Zoe in their bedroom. They play mother and kid, Zoe's favorite game, Hailey is the kid and Zoe is the mother. I do promise to post some pictures soon :) That is when I find some time.

A Few New Pics

Okay, as promised here are a few new pictures of the girls. Hailey loves to wear socks on her hands as puppets, and she always thinks it is pretty funny. I promise the underwear are clean!!! Zoe just put them on and then of course Hailey had to have them on too. It is a bit chilly to play outside right now, these pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, and by weeks end it is supposed to be + 20 again. I have heard that this has been the coldest October in 42 years. I believe it!!!!

A Post About Posting

So I just realized that it has been over a month since I last posted, and I have no idea where the time went. In my crazy mind I really believed that it was just last week, but clearly the date says September 21. Hmm... I guess time flies when you are having fun, yet I can't remember the fun part. Seriously though, we have been getting along fine here. It is WAY too cold for October, and we have 11 inches of snow. Not good news when we aren't leaving the state until the 26th of February. This will be the first year in many that we have not gone to Hawaii in December/January, and I already regret it. We just thought Feb/March would be better. Let me tell you, if it gets colder and stays cold all winter I am going to be pretty depressed if there isn't something good for me on or around the Christmas tree for me. Just kidding!!!! The girl's are getting along well. Zoe just finished her swimming session and is doing great, she will start up again in 2 weeks, and Hailey is weighing in at a hefty 17.3 pounds and is funnier than ever. She really is funny, I know I am just her mom, but really, other people tell me she is funny also. UAF hockey has started so we spend our weekends watching hockey, Zoe LOVES watching it, and Hailey just likes the bears and the people. Not much else to report, I finally went to the doctor after being sick for over two weeks, and I had to do a breathing treatment while there because they made me do this air test where you blow in to the tube, very doctor like I know, and I couldn't even move the little red ball. No wonder I was feeling horrible. I am feeling better tonight and that is a good sign. Well, I promise to post some pictures of the girl's playing outside this weekend, but thought I would update you on our status.

Hailey

Here are some great pictures of Hailey feeding her baby. In the past week she has really taken to Zoe's babies and other animals and loves to carry them around, feed them and put them in stroller. She also got some new shoes recently, Robeez, and I think they are super cute so I thought I would share.

Busy!!

Yummy

Lazy cake eater

The family at the top of Murphy Dome

Sitting on the rocks on Murphy Dome

Gymnastics

Okay, I really feel like I need to keep up with this blog because I know that some of you do cehck to see what we are up to, but I cannot find the time lately :) I hope this satisfies. Let's see, where to begin. Well, Zoe is settling into preschool, she is working on some long term projects, and cannot hardly wait to share all the details with us when we pick her up, she loves the 'jobs" that they have each time she goes, and knows most of the Zoo phonics sounds. That is HUGE for me. We had been practicing, but now she is doing them with someone other than mom, and is really getting it. She can hardly wait for Tuesday's, which happens to be her gymnastics day. She is doing great. I worry about her with sports because she really has to talk herself into things before she wants to participate. She is also taking swimming on Saturday's, and is doing GREAT! She loves the water. She even went down the water slide yesterday. I think she thought the teacher was going to catch her, but she didn't, she was a bit surprised, but was very proud of herself, and I even think she will do it again. Hailey turned one last Saturday, we had a family birthday party for her, and she was so cute. She started walking on the 1st of September, and is pretty quick. She got a little girl rocker/recliner type chair and she loves it!!! She also got a music table and it is going all of the time. Her favorite thing to do is to go after what ever Zoe is doing or sitting in. Zoe is a great big sister and usually gives in. Not sure if that is good or bad. Shannon has been working hard on replacing all of our windows, what a job!!! It will help with the fuel bill, but it is taking them forever and I know they want it to be done. It frosted last night for the first time so I pulled all of my flowers this morning, and got the fall/Halloween decor out. Not sure I am ready for that, but it is on its way! I am going to add some pics because the girls have not woken up yet. Lucky you!!!!

The Regular

Well I am back to my "regular" life. That is the one where I have to work. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE what I do, but I LOVE being at home with the girls more!!! I went back to work last Wednesday and school started for the kiddos yesterday. A lot has happened since I last posted, but I have been to busy to even sort through the photos. Zoe started preschool and I think really likes it. She is a typical kid, and you have to pry information out of her about her day when you pick her up. Status quo in my room, a lot of GREAT kids and a few quirky ones. I have one that already went home early today. I hope that, that is not a sign of things to come. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL, and we are trying to soak up the sun during the day, and do a bit of academic work. This weekend will be a busy one for us, all of our new windows arrived, and we are going to put them in. Oh the joys of owning and old home. Actually we went and looked at a fairly new home last night, but for $465,000 I couldn't believe what it looked like. The view, layout etc was really nice, but a lot of the things inside were not. So, until something comes a long that is worth it, or a piece of property that is not grossly overpriced comes for sale we will gladly live in what we have.

Wedding Time

The girls- Zoe was beautiful, and loved her princess dress.

My best friend/cousin got married this past weekend. Zoe and I were in the wedding. It was beautiful. We had a great time, so I thought I would attach one picture now, and when I sort through the rest I will post some more. There are some really cute ones that I have of Zoe and the other flower girl.

Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head

I HATE rain. I can live with cold, if I get to go on vacation, and can tolerate snow, but I truly hate the rain. It has been raining for what seems like forever and I want it to stop. Yesterday I saw a slight break in the rain and started on a walk, I walk every day, and it started raining like 10 minutes later, but I kept going, and we survived. We even hung out on the Peger bridge checking out all of the logs floating down the river. We were already wet so it didn't really matter. Last night was beautiful and we went kite flying, my spirits were lifted, but then when I awoke this morning it was raining again. It is so bad, that the road down by my parents washed out last night. There is a small slough that goes under the road, and the small slough is not so small anymore. CRAZY!!! And to think all this time I truly believed we lived in an arctic desert. HA!

Pretty Proud

Haiely LOVES to sit in Zoe's pink chair, and thank goodness Zoe shares it with her and concedes the chair to her when need be!

Fun Bath

Zoe got some bubbles for her birthday from her friend Arianna and this is what she did in the bath a few days later. I think she looks pretty cute. She loves for you to take pictures of her while she is in the bath tub.

Great Day For Shannon

My husband LOVES Alpha Bits, but for as long as we have been together you have not been able to buy them here in town. But, we found them at Wal-Mart tonight. I had heard, or actually read on a message board that I am a part of that Wal-Mart had been carrying them, and they really do. Not long after we came home he had his first big bowl. Oh the simple pleasures in life.

Preschool Here We Come

So today I paid the non-refundable $100 deposit for Zoe to attend preschool 2 days per week. I am very excited, but at the same time extremely nervous. I think that kids learn bad habits and catch lots of germs at preschool. Zoe is very reserved for the first few times you meet her, okay first 100 times you meet her, so I know that this is going to be a big adjustment for her, but I think that she needs a little bit more stimulation than the home that she has been going to. She has been there since she was 4 months old, except for a school year when she went to Ramsey's house. And if Ramsey still lived here that is where Zoe would be. She LOVED it there, and out of the blue started talking about it while on our walk this morning. We miss her, I just don't think she knows how much. So, after she starts I will let you know how she is doing, I am sure she will be fine, and I am the one that will need the support.

UAF Botanical Garden

We love going to the Botanical Garden on the UAF campus. I love going to look at all of the flowers and plants. Someday mine will look as nice as theirs do!! I also love walking in the sun. The girl's love going to see the fish in the pond and also the Dr. Babula Children's garden and playhouse. Zoe could play in the house FOREVER!! We go every other week or so and then we always have to look at the reindeer afterwards. Good, cheap entertainment! LOVE IT!

Chena Lakes?!

So I hadn't been to Chena Lakes since my senior year in high school, but thought that it would be fun to take the girl's out there, so Christine, and her 2 girls along with our "token" male, Tyler decided to make the trip. We only got about an hour of sun before it rained but it was fun. We stopped at Santa's house on the way back in to town so that made everyone happy. I did venture back out to the lake a few days later and Zoe had even more fun. You can see that she was enjoying the little floaty toy that she borrowed from her friend Rylee. Zoe even got to go canoeing with her friend Rylee, her first time, and she loved it!!! She even commented to me, "Mom, we're lookin' good in the water." It took all I had in me to not laugh out loud!! Where did she hear that???

Morning Walk

This is what we look like each and every morning as we leave for our walk. I don't get to walk as fast as I would like because Zoe doesn't always bike that fast, but we are working on it. She is definitely a "stop and smell the roses," kind of girl. She loves looking for cats, dogs, jets passing overhead etc.

Hailey's Blue Dress

Hailey's Grandpa Larry picked out this blue dress, sweater and matching socks for her while they were in New Mexico. He bought it because it would match her blue eyes. It does and it looks very pretty on her!!

Zoe's Apron

My mom is a really good seamstress who doesn't sew nearly as much as she should!!! I am hoping that after she retires, or goes part-time at work she will sew more for the girls!!! Here is one of the aprons that she made recently for Zoe, on one side it has all kinds of pictures of dogs, and on the other side it says, arf, bark, ruff etc. It is very cute and she loves it!!!! Thank you mom.

Menus 4 Moms

I was getting really tired of cooking the same old thing for dinner. It seemed like every time I went into the kitchen I was cooking something that I had just cooked and it seemed really boring, that is because it was!! I have begun subscribing to Menus4Moms.com and they send you a weekly menu, a week in advance, for 5 days worth of dinner ideas. Many of the ingredients are already in your kitchen, and they sometimes use left overs. In the email you will get the menu, and then you click on a link towards the bottom of the page to go to the grocery list and recipes. The recipes are EASY-sometimes very simple, I have modified many, and they are also QUICK. Two requirements for all of us!!! Let me know what you think.

Memorial Weekend

It has become kind of a tradition that we drive to Denali Park for the day over Memorial weekend. You can only drive to Savage River, but at this point in our lives, I think that is far enough with the girls. We drove down this year on Sunday, and hiked down to Horseshoe Lake and then drove into Savage River, we saw a momma moose and her two yearling calves right in front of us. It was very nice for Zoe to see something up close. It was a bit chilly and very windy, but we had a good time.

LARS Open House

It has been awhile since my last post so here are some pics of us at the LARS open house. LARS is home to the musk ox and reindeer/caribou for the university. Zoe loves going there. I think her favorite part of the whole thing is riding on the bus from the UAF parking lot. Next year Hailey will have a clue. She has been enjoying visiting the baby chicks at this one place in town, she giggles at them.

I'm going to figure this out...

Hailey is working hard at trying to crawl. She doesn't have it quite figured out yet, and I am selfishly thankful for that. I would like to have the opportunity to set her on the front lawn, or back, and not have her move so I can get my flowers planted. That is in the plans for this week sometime. I better hurry, she is getting realy good!!!

My Big Bike

We bought a big bike for Zoe last weekend. She has been needing one for awhile, but was still enjoying her trike so we let it be, but then some new kids moved into the culdesac and she couldn't really keep up with them on her trike. She does great on her bike, but needs lots of encouragement. She likes to talk herself into things. She does this with anything that is new. She constantly tells herself that she can do it, and then when it is time for the "something" to happen she does quite well at it. Whatever works!!! Hopefully this summer Zoe and her friend Rylee will be able to ride bikes together a couple times a week. Even better, the girls can ride bikes, and Rylee's mom can bring the double stroller and we can put the other two girls in the stroller. Hmm.. I'm going to have to let Becky in on my plan.