Christmas Day

Look who loves the big animals Santa brought them. Perfect to snuggle on while watching movies (which they happen to be doing while I make this post).

We were waiting for some of the kids to arrive so I made eggs, potatoes and bacon for breakfast.

There was a pretty big delay in their arrival so after several hours we started opening stockings. The kids were patient for so long.



Little tiny miss chewing on treats from Granma Claudia. No name yet. I need to give this some thought.

Cody arrived and we had less than an hour before Emily had to leave so we started opening presents. About ten minutes later Andrew got her with Sydney. It was a frantic time (normally we take turns opening presents) so we could get done before Emily had to leave. She was so sad to go, but did get to come back after eating with the WSM’s family. She was so happy to be back home, but of course, it was too brief for us all.






He was so excited he tore the box open. Elijah was so excited he wanted one, too.


The puppy thought Cody’s feet were a good place to lay during the festivities.

Look at the smiles… our house isn’t perfect, but my children are truly happy here.

Yes, he got one, too.


He was actually excited to get clothes!




Stoked about his new gun cleaning kit.

It’s a fish kind of year. Elijah and Emily asked for fish (so they got tanks) and we thought Olivia and Lucas would have fun with a little tank, too. Now the work begins setting them up….


Emily is in love with the puppy. Her and I are saving our pennies to get her one, too.



Olivia and I are going to be sewing together. I bet Emily ends up using her machine and learning as well. I love teaching my girls (and boys) things I know.

Nick was surprised…. we got him the laptop he’s been wanting. It’s a win-win…. he gets something portable with enough memory to hold all his music and Emily is going to get a new-to-her computer in her room. Both were happy!

Cody went out and made jumps for the snow machines. We found that they aren’t as powerful as we hoped so they raced on a track.


Yep, it was cold and snowing and my son was wearing shorts. That’s Alaskans for you.

These two will be 40 and still playing with finger boards.

We took our first whole family photo. Homer, myself and our eight children as well as Cody’s girlfriend Trudy (who is due with our first grandchild in March). I can even express the love I have for each of those kids.

After family photos it was time for my man Aaron to throw the ball for another big W.

I think we did this a few years back so we decided rather than Mom slave in the kitchen over dinner we would make individual homemade pizzas. Homer and I got together the toppings…. pepperoni, sausage, anchovies, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, garlic, sundried tomatoes and cheese….the kids each made their own dough and put it together. It was a lot of fun. (I think I accidently changed the setting on the camera because a few photos were really blurry).


Cody and Homer also cooked up the caribou heart. Yes, I tasted it. (First heart I’ve eaten in my 44 years in Alaska). It tasted just like the meat with a bit of a spongy texture.




We ended the evening with some fire works that Emily got to share with the family.


Oh, and we took one more family photo because the house was full of smoke in the first one (little wood stove mishap).

Before bed our neighbor stopped in with his music, tree and moving reindeer.

Behind that he pulled his son, Dawson, and his girlfriend. Crazy Alaskans!!

The time we spent  together opening presents, making pizza, playing games…. were the best ever. Homer and I have eight of the most awesome kids (who think we’re pretty cool, too). Hope you had a Merry Christmas, too.
(Christmas Eve posted below).