Baking Day

Nothing like Baking Day to get the creative juices flowing. And to see how much cookie dough you can cram in your mouth before one of the big people notice!

 A work of art!

 The icing is at least as tasty as the dough!

 That snow man doesn't need those buttons! Here, let me help!

 Yum.

 The finished product and the fastest decorated cookies in history! Next time we will watch the time a little better so we aren't so close to nap time.

 A little help from Dad!

Very good!

I Say Brrrrr....It's Cold Up Here!

There are some phrases and words I can't say without stomping my feet and clapping my hands rhythmically and this is one of them. The hazards of being a cheerleader Mom. And I loved it! 

But let's get this over with! Yes we are having record cold and yes we are having record snow. But as soon as this blog post is published I will think of it no more! Except I will still admire the beauty of it all. 

THIS GUY hung around the back yard for about a week or so. Eating and dozing. I guess it's a good place to do those things if you are a moose! 

 The snow is actually much deeper but he is standing on the cleared bike trail.

 Last week I spent three days in Seward with Dick just sewing and avoiding real life and the drive was amazing. There were are no words to describe the beauty of the road. Too bad it was getting dark.

 Alaskans are funny folk!

 Our deck BEFORE the last big snow.

 Our street - sorry it was garbage day.

 Again, the snow berm before the last big snowfall.

 Lovely lights.

I only wish we could share of our abundance with those of you who are without!!!

Watch for Wabbits!

 David and Valli are finally settled in Kenai, Alaska and we are loving having them so close. I hope they love it as well. And David never ceases to amaze us at his interesting adventures. Last week they came for a couple of days to run errands and attend them temple and when Dick and I got up to go to work/gym on Friday morning we found this note on the garage entryway door. 

Seriously!
We weren't sure if we should open the door or not! I cracked the door open and sure enough we saw and heard scurrying in the garage. These adorable creatures were running around and having a ball hiding under the vehicles and all over. As Dick put it, "I guess we'll have to get the Rabbit Master out of bed to assist with this!"

 I don't remember their names or their breeds, but be clear that they are for sure champion bloodline bunnies! The little black one is a boy and the two gray ones are his sister wives, both of whom are "with bunnies". 

 Of course, sweet Madeline loves them and will continue to wonder where the little ones disappear to as soon as they are big enough to be considered a meal.

 Just holding them made me wish I could have some too! But just for pets!

 This bunny gets lots of kisses.

 I'm not sure when they are due but probably soon. It will be fun to see all the little ones!

Happy Birthday Dickie!

We're back to the blogging world! It's been so long I wasn't sure I'd be able to figure out the new format!

Sunday was Dick's 55th birthday and we celebrated in style. After a 6am high council meeting, followed by a wonderful breakfast, we headed to church for meetings and then home to enjoy a a few hours alone celebrating and talking to kids on the phone before an afternoon of meetings.

The birthday boy chose seafood for lunch. We steamed clams in a wonderful broth, followed by steamed shrimp, lobster, and Alaskan (is there anything else?) king crab legs. We had made a Caesar salad and some rice, which we totally forgot about. Obviously we didn't even miss it. Dessert was, you will never guess, chocolate cake with a whipped chocolate frosting and chocolate ice cream. Wow! It was a "sweet" day! Now to the gym to work this off . . .

Alaska State Fair 2011

Welcome to the fair! It's been raining all month and on Thursday afternoon the sun came out and Dick and I took off and headed north. Holiday service stations were running a two-day Buy One Get One Free coupon and we stopped by and grabbed one! I truly love the fair! I'd never heard of the Chocolate Dipped Bacon (on a stick of course) but the kids informed me it was a real thing! 

The prize winning pumpkin weighed in at 1735 pounds - that's a lot of pies!

This lovely llama wasn't too interested in me because I wasn't holding out any food - the animal food vending machine was at the over end of her corral. But she was a sweet thing.

The petting zoo had two adorable calves - this one was more willing to look at the camera. She was so adorable I wanted to bring her home with me.

Other highlights: the quilts, the baked goods - although I think I could make a good show myself there and plan on entering a few things next year - the flowers, 4-H exhibits, pulled pork sandwiches, a gourmet ice cream bar (which we shared) and the gourmet popcorn. This years choice was the Coconut Almond Pecan! Yummy!

The afternoon  turned out to be so sunny and nice that I had to splurge on a pair of $10 designer knock off sunglasses - which is my limit on sunglasses anyway. It's much the same thing every year but I still love it - this year there were two sets of piglets! So cute!

Can't wait for next year!