After-Christmas Cabin

We stayed at a cabin on Kelly Lake for a few days after Christmas.

Lots of lake skiing.

Late night Ellie walks.

Evening skiis.

CCabin silly (and sleepy) time.

Beautiful sunrises (at 10am).

Rocket launching!

Hanging out in the cabin (and beer thawing). It was cold!

Cross Country Ski

Lovely family ski in Kincaid

Perfect spot for a snack

Christmas Gnomes with Mustaches

Christmas Gnomes

Santa Came

Dear Santa

Christmas Eve

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Bunny Nests

After a long morning of sledding, the girls cozied up on the couch for a movie. My mom used to make these bunny nests for me and the girls love them!

Sadie in the Snow

Sadie willingly ventured out into the snow today. It was warm and not snowing, and there were lots of kids around the sled hill to distract from the fact that she was outside. To her credit she pulled through near disaster when her mother demonstrated poor sled-pulling skills, tipped over the sled and sent her face first into the snow. She stood at the top of the hill and cautiously watched the other slide down the hill. ( Notice the skepticism in her eyes. ) Finally she agreed to a ride down the hill with me. Baby steps- we'll turn her into an Alaskan girl before too long!

Baking

Cranberry Nut Swirls

(with hand-picked crans of course!)

Holiday Gingersnaps

"I eat those?"

Snow Buddies

Christmas Past

Christmas 2002

(Newly pregnant!)

Christmas 2003

Christmas 2004

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2008

Gnome Handiwork

Father Winter and Santa Claus

Gingerbread Madness

The girls and I made gingerbread this afternoon and then all four of us decorated.

It started out sweet, then slipped into madness.

David's lovely men.

Screw the cookie, Sadie licked the bowl.

Maren made a girl- "the only one!"

...and Tito Jackson.

( Notice the T on his chest and his guitar.

I am going to leave the hair alone.)

Christmas Candy Challenge

What Christmasy thing can you make with candy?

Maren made Santa and his sled.

(The three candies up front are reindeer and the tootsie roll Rudolph's nose.)

Sadie ate a tootsie roll.

Jude made presents!

Jonah made Christmas lights!

Refridgerator Art

Sarah in the Snow

I found this on the ski trail last night.

Anchorage just got dumped with days of snow and I had a super fun ski after dark.

Christmas in the Woods

Celebration of Light

Maren's teacher, Ms Marie, planned a lovely celebration for the kids on the last day of school before vacation. At the end of the day, the kids lit candles and did a lantern walk. Each kid made their own lantern.

They talked about light and the hope for the new year and how there is light in each and every one of us.

Outisde the room were gifts Maren made for our family.

The kids finished the celebration with a meal together. Each family contributed an igredient for a soup, which the kids made earlier in the day. The kids acted out a play in which a group of animals came together in friendship on Christmas Eve to make a meal together. Maren got to play the Momma Mouse that made the soup. It was a lovely experience for Maren and for us too.