Easter Morning

It's 53 degrees outside and I'm not staying at this computer for long!

There's dirt to shovel! :)

Here are some quick photos from our morning. Olivia was very excited about the mitt. Not because she knows it's to play catch with....she liked it because it is pink! :)

Lucas showed more excitement than anyone. He loves the surprises!

I even got Elijah to play along although he wasn't quite awake.

The girls are checking out their loot!

Nick definitely wasn't awake!

Sweet Emily.

Yep, he went right for the ears.

Okay...gotta get outside and enjoy the sunshine.

New Year's Eve

The two on the left are Elijah, then Nick, Emily and I have the blue sleeve.

We all wanna be stars! :)


I love these kids so much. I get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I think about my children. I am so lucky to have them. (The Wee People were sleeping with Daddy and my step-kids weren't home).

Emily and I stayed up late watching movies. Wee Two woke up and then fell back asleep in my arms. I love moments like these.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year

to all my Blogger friends (and stalkers).

We are making some changes here at The White House to make damn sure 2009 is a great year. Resolutions? You bet!

1. Work less, play more. That is pretty much self-explanatory....we intend to worry less about "getting things done" and more about "living life to the fullest". There will be an awful lot of camping, fishing, lounging, exploring, playing, hugging, kissing, laughing, maybe even some travelling...it's going to be a great year!

2. Do Away with the Bad. Anything (or anyone) that has previously brought sadness, anger, grief, stress or any of that other icky stuff into our home won't be allowed to anymore. We seem to be the sole focus of some very pathetic people (who really need a life)... they do nothing but spend their time concocting ways to hurt us (I say...get another hobby!), and they will be ignored. That simple. What they say or do or think (or lie about) means nothing. They are insignificant and cannot hurt us. We started clearing out "the bad" yesterday....so much "baggage" will be leaving our home. And man, does it feel good! What a wonderful "first day of the year" it was.

Okay, that's it for the Resolutions.
Having more fun + ignoring the pathetic = a fantastic year!
I don't think it gets any better than that.

So what kind of changes are you making this year?

Happy Birthday Party, Olivia!

Olivia's birthday was earlier this month, but we were finally able to have her party yesterday. Here's her princess cake...
She was so in love with it!

Olivia is shy and she became very uncomfortable when everyone was singing Happy Birthday to her.

Out go the candles!

Lucas, Daddy and Emma helped open the presents.

See her excitement?

She is truly tickled with everything in life!

Here's our precious princess!

Happy Birthday Elijah!

Happy Birthday Elijah!

December 28, 1995

Now he has the "teen" age to go with the "teen" attitude! :)

It's hard to believe that 10lb 1oz baby boy from 13 years ago has become this young man! Elijah is my child of extremes...he has an extremely big heart, he's extremely giving and he lives life to the extreme...laughing, playing, fighting, pouting...you name it, he does it big! Out of all my children he has been by far the most work, the biggest challenge, the most difficult to deal with or please, and yet he is the one I hug the most, miss the most when he isn't around and that I tend to spend the most time with. I guess no matter how big he gets he'll always be my Button Man! Happy Birthday dear Elijah! (Party to follow next week!).

I Got Mail!

I got a package in the mail from Tink in Florida. How cool is that?!


Inside I found seashells, a glass dish and a candle. Oh, and a little bit of sunshine! :)

The intent is to provide a little therapy for the dark and cold days of an Alaskan winter so I lit my candle....

...and took a closer look.

Being the freak I am, I sorted the pebbles from the shells...

...and then lined up the shells by shape.

Look at the array of colors!

I carefully put the shells on the pebbles, and then stirred them up (because I'm weird like that, too!).

Trust me, it was very relaxing. For twenty some minutes I tuned out the chaos around me. Thanks Tink! :)

Happy Birthday Puppies!

December 27, 2008

Happy Birthday Puppies!

Molly, Sally and Ruby turned One on Saturday!

Of course, I missed their birth. Nick and I flew to Arizona on the 26th last year for a hockey tournament. They were a week old by the time I held them! Now they are a lap full.

Christmas Eve

Stockings for the kids (on the air hockey table)...

The tree...

Dad brought home the pool table...best $25 purchase ever!

Christmas Decorations

I put out a few decorations downstairs so it would feel like Christmas.

Santa's

More Santa's

Sledding polar bear

Santa and his sleigh

I used to do a lot of woodworking when I had fewer children and more time. Here's my countdown Snowman. He's about 3 feet tall.

A lazy reindeer

Snow People!

Santa has to work out, too!

Sledding snowmen