bonding with bapak 'n bunnies

I know the title sounds cute and then cruel! But, it was a memorable afternoon with Bapak... full of adventure and gorgeous scenic pix to bring home to show off to Nana and mom!

Parker's perfect snow angel...

This li'l guy tromped through snow for 4 miles and was still grinnin' from ear 2 ear... like father like son (def... not mother!!!)

AMAZING!

This one above will always be one of my fav... the dad, the sparklin' snow, the gun and one of his fav boys!

I don't know how they even spot these perfectly camouflaged BUNNIES, the boys call them "rabbits" but the woman in me... still feels sorry for these "BUNNIES".

merry CHRISTmas!

Our FIRST Christmas in Alaska with Bapak & Nana! AND... we are all having a blast with them! The boys have been JAZZED for 24hrs. straight... ever since their arrival! Even though, Noah was just diagnosed with a double ear infection and pink~eye, this afternoon, he still managed to find the energy to play outside in the snow ALL DAY and help Bapak and Parker build our igloo on the back deck! More pix to come of their finished product ;)

Our first day started with sugar... frosting the cookies (even though most were tossed as we were unaware that Noah and Savannah have...had pink~eye!) ;) AND ended with our first~ever attempt at homemade donuts! mm mmmmmmm This combination of sugar~hype made for an interesting time at our advent devotional, tonight! Looking forward to more "sugar~y" memorable times tomorrow as we eat Jesus' birthday cake and celebrate His birth with family! Thank you Bap 'n Nan for making the trek up here!

AND Merry Christmas to all of YOU!

Here I sit... it's 4 am, I have a whole list of to~dos before my parents come on Wednesday (woohoo!), I have a head cold and body aches (boohoo!), I can't sleep to get rid of my cold AND I can't start crossing off my to~do list b/c all the babes and hubby are fast asleep! hmmm, what to do!?! So, I read today's Proverbs 31 Ministries email and again I was humbled and inspired by today's message:

So, in the midst of this busy week, will you stop? Put down the tinsel; discontinue the decorating; forgo the mending on the pageant costume and cease stirring the cookie batter.

Turn down the yuletide carols and get completely alone and silent.

Can you hear the angels' magnificent melody? Deep within their chorus God is calling out to us; humble, common you and me. He longs to interrupt our daily routine to introduce us to Someone extraordinary; the Christ-child who has a perfect place planned for us in His-story.

Will you pause, ponder, and then, like the shepherds, go tell others about this remarkable Babe? You'll be helping to restate the timeless message: "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" Luke 2:10b-11

Thank you, Lord for your priceless gift... may I remember to make YOU the focus of this Christmas week. AND remember that a "fully checked off to~do list" is not nearly as important as... memorable precious times with family and with YOU!

say "Christmas TREE!"

snow~ snow and some more snow!

GiNgErBrEaD choo~choo

Tonight we opened up our 4th advent book, The Gingerbread Baby, and decorated our gingerbread TRAIN.

This train was much easier than assembling a house and the boys loved having a train! I was just thankful that we got everything put together and cleaned up without last year's Gingerbread Fiasco! ;) The best part was the kit only cost $1 last year... I thought I'd try buying it at Target's 90% off sale and everything lasted, even the frosting! So, I guess I'll be doing that again this year!

going RETRO!

Either I'm getting easier to please (not likely! ;) ) OR our AKan~wilderness~custom~picked~Christmas~trees are "growing" on me because each year they get less Charlie Brownish and I actually think our tree is pretty! Or it could be that I limited the amount of ornaments this year to just the kiddos' collection + my new RETRO ornaments from Target's after Christmas sales.

Parker wears one of our Santa hats all day long~ gotta be in costume!!! Yesterday, he came upstairs with his maroon long johns, red shirt and the Santa hat... he was our clashing Santa!

The kiddos all ready to watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" cartoon. The boys love to decorate the tree but I think their fav part of the Friday after Thanksgiving... is knowing that they get to watch this movie, open new PJs and sleep by the lit tree!

"My friend"

Noah had 2 birthday cakes this year because we wanted to celebrate with his birthday buddy, Thomas! Noah is very possessive of his li'l buddy and he makes sure that ALL of us know that Thomas is "my friend". Our second born is realizing that he has to speak up and claim things or big bro takes over! Usually, we don't use the word "my" or "mine" but I think it's pretty stinkin~cute when Noah is referring to Thomas.

As you can see, both boys are pretty impressed with the train cake made by Thomas' very talented momma! I love all the detail Pam and the girls put into the 3 year old's cake!

Here's to many more parties for these birthday buddies!

catching AIR

Noah flying down Mo~mo and Popeye's hill on his new b~day sled!

2 peas in a pod! They used to scream and flail at the site of a sled and a hill, but now they laugh all the way down! Yippee!

Popeye loves playing with "his boys" on Turkey Day~ always a fun time with him around!

3 cheers 4 Noah!!!

Noah Hatcher is our BIG 3~year~old, well almost! He turns 3 on November 24th but we had an early family party last night with his friend party on his actual bday. This li'l guy is so easy to please... give him a car and he is good for hours. This pack of Hot Wheels was a real thrill for him and I'm sure we've lost him to the "car world" for the next few days!

GUM~ who knew it could be so exciting!?! Parker wanted to buy him a gift with his plow earnings. He was all set to buy him one racecar until we stepped foot in the checkout aisle and he spotted this "green" gum! And, boy was it a hit! All the car gifts suddenly took second string as Noah was enamored with his own package of "BIG gum", not the little tiny white pieces that I regularly give him!

Lightening McQueen was the choice birthday cake. The cake sort~of resembles McQueen... I need to take some cake decorating classes for the upcoming choice bday cakes.

Noah was "beyond" thrilled with his racecar and we are super THRILLED with our 3~year~old son. God made this li'l guy with overflowing personality (and voice) and he continues to keep us entertained on a daily basis!;) We LOVE you, nOaH!