End of February already?!?!

Hello Family!

I do believe, with the exception of one picture, that this will be a "Caleb Blog"

He is so hard to pin down for a photo or to find him doing anything but school, sleeping and hockey. Fortunately, this was a month for hockey and we got a lot of it :)

Caleb facing off against Juneau - they won 8-1

another action shot

The game against Juneau was also "Senior Night".

My friend and fellow hockey mom, Kelly, and I put this event together. It's tradition that Junior parents do most of the work so the senior parents can enjoy the night along with their players.

We had posters and balloons, gift bags, flowers, cake and lots of pizza!

Here are the seniors minus 3

Ok, Emily's token picture is of her tricking Stephen.

She lured him over to the house under the false pretense that she needed his help with a science fair project - something to do with your sense of smell. The poor guy didn't know what hit him! We came to later find out that he had had a really bad day. We felt horrible, but he said it actually cheered him up.

Caleb asked Leah to the Senior Ball one night after a hockey game. He used whipped cream on her car and made a cute sign so she couldn't refuse :)

The night of the Ball all the girls got ready at Jenna's house and the boys scurried over after a game to beautify themselves as well. 

The gang... that's Caleb in the middle. Leah is really tiny. 

I think it's adorable how most of the girls are still taller than their dates :)

After ball, they all went to Denny's. Caleb asked Leah to be his sweetie and she said yes!

Gabe, Keal (goalie), Caleb and Marcus

Holding the High School MAC Regional Conference championship plaque!

Way to go Wolfpack!

Winning the MAC brought us to the state championship in Wasilla. 

We were joined by Rodd's parents  (Wayne and Cindy) and sister (Bunny).

After 2 amazing games, the boys entered the Championship game against West Anchorage.

Sadly, they lost 4-3.

This is their 2nd place photo - no smiles there...

Hockey banquet party a few days later.

Caleb got two awards...

(Those are his coaches behind him)

One for "Best GPA" and one for "Unsung Hero"

So proud of this boy!

Hockey is over and he doesn't know what to do with himself. 

He's looking forward to baseball, but that's still a few weeks away.

Emily is healing from her slight concussion after being dropped out of a stunt in cheer practice. 

Her squad will compete in March in Anchorage at the state cheer competition, then cheer on the boys and girls basketball clubs as they battle to win their state tournaments as well. Our girls are undefeated, but the boys have their work cut out for them. GO PACK!

Love you all

(Is it July yet?)

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MY WONDERFUL FAMILY!

2014

Emily cheering for West Valley Basketball team

Go Wolfpack!

(she's in the middle, second row, underneath the "A")

She made a beautiful cake with fondant for the top.

It looked great, but not the greatest flavor.

We peeled back the top and ate the cake!

Cooper made sure NOTHING happened to it.

Gave Stormy a Christmas bath...

She was not happy, but smells less like a letterbox now!

Our Christmas Eve Dinner.

I destroyed the turkey so we had swedish meatballs instead!

Caleb says, "Thank you for all my stuff!"

Emily says, "Thank you for all my stuff!"

Chillin' on her phone.

After the storm :)

Cooper's very happy with his new chewies.

Stormy got a catnip mouse. She sleeps with it.

I babysat these two little nuggets on Christmas Day while the kids were at their dad's.

Gidgit and Gabby belong to a co-worker - quite the entertainment!

We got a bit more snow. 

Christmas cleanup came earlier this year.

I was just ready to get back to normal and really needed something to do!

I'd like to say "thank you for all my stuff" as well.

We are so very blessed in so many ways... 

I love you all and look forward to next summer when we can be together again!

Have a Happy New Year - may it be the best one yet!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I am so very thankful to have this family! 

I couldn't have picked a better one if I tried :)

Love you all

So, I'm at Laura's and I see this beautiful, hand-crafted tree decoration in a frame on her wall. 

She says her grandmother made it.  Doesn't it look just like that package ornament that was passed around forever (and, apparently, I lost). From Noni, I think?

Our Thanksgiving dinner at the DuPonts:

Me, Caleb, Wyatt, Morgan, Emily and Tim

(Laura on camera)

Em and Morgan twinning and being goofy.

That's better :)

One attempt for a Christmas picture.  There were several others.

The Christmas card will sport a slightly different version.

Christmas Tree:  Start!

Christmas Tree: Finish!

My favorite part!

 Now I can say, 

"The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care..." 

and mean it :)

Tis the Season...

Hello everyone!

Winter is slowly creeping up on us.

It's been a pretty good fall, so far.

A little bit of snow and not yet frighteningly cold!

You'll see lots of Emily pictures in this blog.

Caleb is just not into getting his picture taken.

For their 4 month anniversary Stephen surprises Emily 

with this ridiculously gigantic teddy bear. 

Pretty sweet, though.

What High School is really about...

Caleb snuggling with the pets.

Emily, too.

Our pumpkin family. 

Emily, Stephen and I carved a few, but never took pictures.

I know, bad me.

They dressed up as a crayon and telatubby for trick-or-treating.

Road trip to Anchorage last weekend.

Took the girls (and myself) out of school on Friday.

Drove to Anchorage to watch Lathrop and West Valley hockey and do some shopping.

After his game - all dressed up!

Dinner at TGI Friday's

The balloon guy made Channing Tatum for Emily :)

My students at the Westmark Hotel Veteran's Day Ceremony.

This is Tayton doing the opening.

And the kids after while we listened to a few songs.

Carol grabbed my phone and took a few pictures. 

I liked Brianna's salute :)

And the cute couple after his first home high school game.

Thanksgiving will be early for us this year as our good friends will be in Anchorage again for more hockey.  We'll head out to their house next Saturday for the big feast and hot tub soak!!

The kids will be with Rodd on Thanksgiving day, so I'm planning to help out with dinner at my church.

They plan to have football on the 3 big screens!! Should be cool :)

Love you all and miss you tons!