Chance turns 12!

Chance turned 12 the day after Christmas. We had a little family party. Chance had his choice of supper - he chose Taco Bell. Then, we came home, opened presents and enjoyed a Dairy Queen Reeses Cup Blizzard cake (yum!). Yes, the bad mom that I am forgot to make sure I had the right candles, so we had to settle for 1 candle on one side and a 2 on the other to represent the 12 - adaptation :) The next day was Sunday and Chance was ordained a deacon at church. I cannot believe the years have passed so quickly!

Christmas 2009

We had an amazingly wonderful Christmas this year! We kept it simple, didn't even get out of our pajamas all day, and just enjoyed our time together. We scaled down on gifts to the kids so we could focus all month long on the true meaning of Christmas. Hope everyone had a great Christmas. Here's a slide show of the kids with their Christmas gifts.

Chance's Basketball

Here's Chance with his two coaches: Coach Bui and Coach Mitchell


Chance wrapped up his basketball season with a record of 9-4-1. He had a great time playing guard and learned a lot this year. He was really excited when he got a bloody nose during his last game of the season. Psycho C following in the footsteps of his idol, Psycho T. I wasn't able to get a picture of it (and yes, he wanted a picture for the record). He's hoping to play basketball at the church since he will soon be a deacon.

What a difference a day makes

One day you think you are deploying and 24 hours later you find you have been diagnosed with a 4 cm acoustic neuroma on the left side of your brain that is shifting to the right into your 4th ventricle and brainstem and you will not be deploying after all.

I will have to have surgery to have it removed. I am requesting your faith and prayers.

Thanks,

BJ

P.S. I am not dead nor am I dying so save the sympathy stuff (no flowers)!!!

Bear Hugs

Today we went to Build-A-Bear workshop where each of us (yes, including me!) chose a bear which included a special pre-recorded message from BJ so we can have him close by to cuddle while he's gone. The kids had a blast (although I'm afraid Chance seems to be getting to old for this kind of thing) and I know the kids and I will treasure these while BJ is deployed.

The Difference between Reindeer and Caribou

What do you do on a cold, 15 degree day in Alaska when you're homeschooling. You take a trip to a reindeer farm! At a farm on the "outside" you feed goats, here we get to feed Santa's transportation. It was fun to learn more about these animals - did you know that the only difference in a reindeer and a caribou is a fence? Oh, and of course reindeer fly! We were quite frozen by the end of it, but had a good time.

Chance fed "Rudolph". They keep him here in disguise with a white nose until Christmas Eve when Santa comes to pick him up!

Zombies, Witches, and Jedi, Oh My!

Yes, it's about time I added the Halloween pictures of the kids. Sorry for the delay - we are STILL unpacking! It was fun, cold, and probably a little too chaotic this Halloween. We will definitely be picking only ONE Halloween event to do next year! We have candy coming out of our ears!!!!

The Million Dollar (or at least Thousands of Dollars) Smile

Even though 9-9-09 was my birthday, in Chance's eyes, there was an even bigger reason to celebrate....He finally, after a year, was able to get his braces taken off. He declared it a National Holiday and celebrated by eating all of the junk that he's been deprived of for the past year. Let's just hope filling a cavity won't be the next thing on our list at the dentist visit in October. He's also very excited to be able to eat the Halloween candy he gets this year without having to pass the majority of it along to his siblings :)

Boat Trip to Seward

We were able to go on a boat tour in Seward Saturday in order to support the boy scouts. We rode out to Fox Island for supper and then toured the edges of the bay looking for wildlife. We were able to see Stellar sea lions, sea otters, puffins, mountain goats, jelly fish, and bald eagles. We missed seeing the whales since they are now migrating south. We'll have to come back earlier next year to take a peek at them. It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful this state is!

Chance's Court of Honor

Chance attended his 2nd Court of Honor for scouts last night. He advanced in class, receiving both his Tenderfoot and Second Class ranks. The amazing thing is that he only has one more requirement to meet to get his First Class rank. He also earned 6 merit badges. He's really enjoying scouting and his dad is making sure that he is motivated to reach his Eagle rank.

Colton's 5th Birthday

Yesterday, we celebrated Colton's 5th birthday. We had a party at a place that had a bunch of those blow up trampolines which was a blast! Even the Dads had a good time with the kids playing around. They were also able to get their face painted and have balloon animals/swords as well. It was a really great day. I just can't believe my "Wild Man" is already 5!

Animals and More Glaciers

It's the last full day we get to spend with family, so we drove down to Alaska's Wildlife Conservation Center to see all of the animals they had. It was great. One of the park's workers even had the brown bears doing tricks for us. It was like watching Maximus being trained, complete with the reward of hot dog pieces if they did what they were supposed to. We then drove over to Portage Glacier. The views there were breathtaking and the break up ice in the water was amazing! The beautiful blue color in that glacier ice is just awesome. The kids had a blast throwing rocks into the water. We really enjoyed ourselves. The scenery around here never gets old :)

I'm Trying to be Like Jesus

Savannah was baptized on Saturday, June 20th by her dad. We are so proud of the choice she made.

It's Great to Be 8!

Savannah had her 8th birthday this past Thursday (June 18th). We had a fun family celebration with a yummy cake from Dairy Queen and some presents (which were mainly clothes and accessories for her American Girl Doll, Mia). The girls - Mommy, Grandmom, Savannah, and Addison - went shopping at Toys R Us to spend a little of the birthday money she received. We've promised her a "friend party" in the next couple of weeks but wanted it to be a special time with her Grandparents on the official day.

Trip to Seward and Exit Glacier

We drove down to Seward for the day and visited the Sea Life Center there and hiked around Exit Glacier. The drive down was absolutely stunning! We even saw a brown bear and several bald eagles on the way there and back. It's been great visiting with family and enjoying all of the beauty of nature here in Alaska!

Happy 3rd Birthday Addison!

Addison turned three years old today (May 30th). It's hard to believe she is that old! Time flies by so fast and you just wonder where it went. We started the morning by throwing her pacifiers away - YES, I have prolonged this situation way too long, but with all the stress and moving it was the last thing we wanted to do. We've talked to her about it for a while, telling her that when she is 3, she's a big girl and can't have a paci anymore so she was prepared. She woke up this morning and I sang Happy Birthday to her and she handed me her pacifier. I got all three of them down and had her throw them in the trash can.

We let her open one present this morning which was a "Dorothy" barbie doll from the Wizard of Oz (which she LOVES!) It sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and she loves to sing along so here's a taste of her and Savannah this morning playing together: (And yes, I'm ignoring Colton saying "Mommy...." a million times)

Then we took her to Build a Bear to make an animal to replace her pacifiers and for her to have a buddy to sleep with. She chose a long-eared bunny (since they had retired the koala bear she had wanted) and named her "Princess" although now that we have her home, she calls her "Star" or "Bunny Rabbit" - whatever she's in the mood for. We'll see if Princess makes her happy at bedtime or if the screaming and crying for the pacifier will be unavoidable.

Later that evening we had pizza and a Disney Princess Cake. She got many presents (too many, in BJ's opinion) one of which was a Bus Tent that she and her brothers and sister have enjoyed playing with. Here's some pictures and a video of the "Cake moment".