Half Marathon!

OK, I've gone and done something crazy. I am doing a half marathon in less than a month. I've always wanted to try this out, but now I am concerned that I may not make it. I have been training and have been running, a lot. But I would take any advice thay anyone has to offer. Let me know your thoughts on training and making it through 13 miles!

Kayla's Pics

Here are the pictures of Kayla. She definitely knows how to shine for the camera. Everytime the photographer said "cheese", she would sure ham it up. I'm definitely a biased mom, but I think the photos turned out great.

Volcanoes and Earthquakes

So, just when you think it's safe to go outside, the volcano goes off again. Luckily, we have only had ashfall once here in Anchorage. (Yes, Lisa, I am still alive.) Now to make matters worse, we had a 4.7 earthquake. It sounded like someone hit the office building and then the ground began to shake. Just about the time I was thinking about jumping under the desk, it all stopped.
What's next? Pestilence? Famine? At least the sun is out and shining. There is only about a foot of snow left on the ground and my flowers are starting to come out. Yeah!

Little Leprechaun

Kayla had a great day at school on St. Patricks Day. Every holiday they make different costumes in all the classes and then have a parade. Kayla came home wanting to model the latest in pre-school leprechaun wear.

Happy 3rd Birthday Kayla!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Kayla!!

Kayla had a week long celebration for her birthday. She celebrated it with Daddy a couple days early, as he had to go back to work. She then made cupcakes with Mommy to take to school. Then she had a birthday party in her class. And finally, had a birthday dinner with Kimmie and Ashley. Oh, it's good to be 3.

Or, maybe not. 3 means more creative, more interested in the world around, and generally, more into things. This is what happens when you leave a 3-year old in a room by herself for 15 minutes!

Florida

Finally I am getting around to putting some photos up of Florida. We had a great time visiting Grandma and Grandpa. Kayla got sick quite sick while we were there, but she held up like a trooper.

Kayla loved going to the beach and playing in the sand.

Much deserved ice cream on a warm winter day. It was hard to believe that it was still the middle of winter. We enjoyed every moment outside that we could.

At the Tampa Aquarium. Kayla loved looking at all the different fish and birds.

Arctic Standoff

Scott took this picture outside his shop up on the Slope. The Arctic Fox and Raven were staring each other down.

WAAH!!!

In my last post, I blathered on about how cold it was. Well, I want it back!! It's been right around 40 degrees the last couple of days. That's over a 60 degree change in temps. Because it is so warm, it's like an ice skating rink. School has been closed for 2 days now. And if school is closed, so is day care. Kayla and I sit and look at all the cars sliding along the street.
Thank goodness we are going to Florida next week, or I wouldn't make it.
(You will notice there are not pictures this time, it's just too ugly!)

Brrrr! It's only -8 degrees

Happy New Year to All!!

I know this is a little late, but we' ve been hunkered down. It's been very cold here the last week. And when I say cold, I mean down-right beyond frigid. Our high temp yesterday was
-8 and the low was -16. BRRR!!!

But, there does come a time when you have to venture outside. Kayla, Charlie and myself decided today was that day. It took us longer to put on all our gear, than the time we spent outdoors. It is quite beautiful out, if you don't mind a little frost bite. Everything is covered in hoar frost. (That's the thick snow like substance that sticks to anything left outside for more than 3 seconds.)

Kayla & Santa

We finally made it to see Santa. I wasn't sure how Kayla would react. This year she went right to him, climbed up on his lap and gave him a great big hug. I'm not sure whether to be happy she is so outgoing or whether to be worried that she will hug any old perv in a Santa hat. I shouldn't say that, Santa was really good with all the kids.

Kayla had a nice gift from her Grandma Bonnie. She has a beautiful Hanukkah dress to wear to school. She has tried to wear it all weekend. She calls it her "princess" dress.

Winter Madness

It's winter in Alaska. Something that we had not planned on enduring this year. It has been quite cold and dark this year. We had our first snow at the beginning of October, and it hasn't stopped. So, we've had to make our own fun indoors.

Sexy girl all dressed up with no place to go! Kayla came out of her room the other night "ready to go".

Sometimes the best gift of all is the box. Daddy got a new "big" tv from grandma for his old birthday. While Daddy has not been able to enjoy the tv yet, Ashley and Kayla have really enjoyed the box.

Beach Time

One of Kayla's favorite things about our vacation was going to the beach. It had been so hot at Disneyland, that time at the beach sounded just right. However, once we got to the beach, the temperature had dropped quite a bit. This did not deter Kayla, a true Alaskan Child. She loved the water and ran screaming in delight each time a wave came in. She most of all, loved chasing her Grandpa. She would chase him with a handful of sand and when she caught up, she would throw it at him. She thought this was great. I think Grandpa liked it too.

Halloween

Here we are doing Halloween, Alaska Style. Kayla looked real cute in her pirate outfit. She wouldn't sit still for any of the pictures. Unfortunately, these are the 2 best. She either has her eyes closed or is moving towards me. We went trick-or-treating around our block. Kayla was at first a little shy, but she got over that quickly. She held up real well, considering it was only about 15 degrees out! BRR! You' ll notice that Kayla does have on her snowsuit under the costume.

Disneyland Part 1

Here we are at Disneyland.  We had a great time.  Kayla was inseparable from her cousins.  Especially, Jordan and McKenna.  They were the three toddler amigos.  Kayla loved seeing Mickey Mouse.  She was not shy about going up to Mickey and saying "hi."

We did several group shots with all the grandkids.  Notice Grandpa trying to sneak in??  He thought he was one of the kids!

It's Official

If you haven't heard the news... We are selling our house and moving away. After 10 years in Alaska, we have decided that it's time to try something new. We put the house on the market last week and have had a few people already in to look at it. Talk about nerve racking!! All we do is clean, clean and clean again. Our only real timeline is Disneyland in October. We are not sure where we are going, but we'll know it when we either get there or run out of $$. We shall see!

Peterson Bay, Alaska

These pictures are from a friends wedding outside Homer, Alaska in Peterson Bay. The day was one of the few that were warm and sunny. Most of the pictures were taken from the beach were the ceremony was held. Kayla was such a good girl that day. She had a great time playing in the water. She even took her first real boat ride across the bay to get to the wedding.

Alaska Run For Women

This past weekend, I did the Alaska Run for Women. This race is to support Breast Cancer Survivors and Breast Cancer research. You have to either be a female or a survivor of breast cancer to enter the race. The race is 5 miles long and I finished in 50 minutes. So, that's fast enough to win any medals, but I am quite proud of myself. I even beat Kim and Crystal! Yeah Me! I ran the race in honor of Grandma Ruth, Scott's Grandma, who was a breast cancer survivor and who we named Kayla Ruth after. It was a great experience. Especially to have all the other women cheering you on as you ran the race. Makes me want to do it all again. (After my sore muscles heal!)

Memorial Weekend

Imagine a peaceful train ride to the idyllic coastal town of Seward, Alaska. Now imagine taking three 2-year olds on that trip. Not so peacefull now! Over the Memorial Weekend, we decided to take advantage of our free train passes. It sounded like a good idea- not having to drive, spending the afternoon in Seward, and two-year old who haven't had naps. We went down with our friends, Amy and Ryan, and their twins- Rylee and Reese. They had a great time on the train. I'm not sure if the other passengers enjoyed them. The kids all loved the Sealife Center with all the animals.

It was a good time, but I think we'll wait a while before having another adventure.

April Fools x2

So, Mother Nature has decided to mess with us again. Last week we got all relaxed, temperatures were actually into the 50's. Whoa... no more jackets required!! Take off the snow tires, looks like Spring has arrived.

Boy, were we wrong!!

Yesterday, it began to rain. So, when Kayla and I left for work, she had on a rain jacket. 30 minutes later when I arrived at work, it was already snowing. When I left work at 5pm, there was already a foot of snow. By this morining, over 2 feet of snow! GIVE ME A BREAK!!

We could use a little global warming about now.