Wad'in Warner

Here's a few pictures of Warner taking a dip in the kitchen sink.

The Weird Ways of Warner

Warner loves to hold onto things when he's having his bottle. A hand. A finger. Today it was . . . my nose.

One Stitch at a Time

We have the most amazing quilt group here in Alaska. Here are a few squares from our most recent project which is a lap quilt of sorts (but if my little ones think are going to be throwing this around the living room, they are dead wrong).

To be honest I went to the quilt group to meet a friend there. She had said she was interested in going and I was just going to introduce her to the women and then bail. Of course, she didn't show and I was hooked. We have a phenomenal teacher who makes it a lot of fun and some of my dearest friends here also go. . . so it is an all around good time.

Snuffy

Snuffy The Moose (as we call him) has been lingering around the neighborhood today. We got a call around 3:40 today informing us of the Moose and asking that as a precaution we come and pick up the boys from school. Snuffy is about 8 feet tall and missing the right rack. He loves the bushes in the front of our yard and didn't even seemed phased by the neighbors oohing and aahing. I'm sure we'll see more of Snuffy and his friends in the next several weeks. We hear that May is calving season and can be pretty exciting. Our neighbors had a Mother Moose calve in their backyard last year. We'll be sure to send a long pictures if we happen upon that educational experience.

Dissertation Disco

All night are hearts have been doing the "dissertation disco" We are thrilled to announce that Eric will be defending his dissertation on April 25th!!!!!!!!!! Wahoo! Wahoo! Wahoo!

Alpenglow Biggest Loser

Last week our group participating in ABL lost 126 lbs!!! Wahoo!!! The biggest losers were down 14 pounds from last week. It is amazing. I was beyond thrilled to lose 7 pounds. Earlier in the week I bumped it up to two workouts a day because I started to panic thinking, "I'm in charge of this, how embarrassing would it be to show up and not lose a pound!" So all the sweat paid off!! I just need to keep the momentum and drive to workout! (not to mention I have officially said goodbye to sweets 6/7 days a week)

Dog EAT Dog World

In my pretend world (Mr. Roger's gets one. . .why don't I), I think I would set it up to be a Dog Eat Dog World. Literally. I don't care for dogs. Here are my top 3 reasons why:

1. Dogs are messy. Like every other creature in the world, dogs poop. That in and of itself is disgusting but natural. . . and i can accept it. Well sometimes. At a distance. A long, long, out of sight out of smell distance.

I think the experience that reaffirmed in our hearts and minds that we would never be dog owners is when we moved into our Deer Crossing home in Arizona. We bought the house from not just any ordinary dog lovers. . . but dog hoarders. They had 7, SEVEN, yes VII dogs in their backyard. Naively we thought they had cleaned up after their dogs until the first monsoon rain storm hit and suddenly our entire backyard wafted the noxious odor of dog poop. It was foul. It was disgusting. It was THREE, 3, III garbage bags full of someone elses dogs disgusting dodo.

2. Dogs are expensive. I always thought that dogs, like handguns, cost about $80. I was wrong. And as it turns out dogs, like handguns, cost hundreds of dollars. Then after the initial investment you have to pay for food, for the vet, for the "we-don't-want-millions-of-puppies-everywhere" surgery, for collars, and leashes, and dog sweaters . . .

On one occasion while on visiting my parents in Utah, we got into the routine of giving the boys nightly baths. It was probably night four or five into our vacation that my dad came into the dining room and asked, "So who has been bathing the boys?" I quickly claimed ownership of that ritual. Then with a twinkle in his eye he said, "Well, I just thought I'd let you know that you've been using dog shampoo." Oh brother.

3. Dogs are smelly & messy & noisy.

I have FIVE, 5, V boys. I know all about smelly and messy and noisy.

This summer I tarred our driveway. The neighbor come over to say hi. When I opened the door in bolted her two dogs WITH TAR on their feet. You know those moments when you are smiling and trying to be friendly while inside your head your are just screaming and grumbling and going crazy. That was one of those moments. Doggie footprints everywhere. (I should pause here and say that the other neighbors dogs did the same thing all over the garage and patio the next day--so i got the double whammy). I have a million messes of my own to clean up everyday. . . I definitely am not looking for more.

So I had sworn off dogs. Forever. For Always. I would tolerate them out of kindness to others. I know that people love their dogs like family. I can respect. But in all honesty, I do not want any part in it at all.

So what happens? A good, true, wonderful friend here does what? Yup, she asked me to watch her dog. And what do I say? Yes. Miracle. Miracle. Miracle.

Now before you sign me up for Saint-hood. . . I must admit that the conditions warranted such action. My friends father had passed away and out of love for her I simply said yes. To keep it short, we loved, loved, LOVED having the dog. Pula was incredible--obedient, clean, quiet. The kids loved taking her for walks and feeding her. And I liked it a lot more than I ever anticipated. To be honest, for me, it was like having a two year old who (like all my 2-year-olds) constantly stayed within a 10 foot radius of me, was underfoot, and was always begging for food.

Another friend, who owns a dog, found out that I was watching Pula. Before she got too excited I quickly included, "I'm a bereavement dog watcher. . . a bereavement dog watcher ONLY."

I gotta keep up my non-dog loving image. . . I'd hate for people to get the wrong idea.

Favorite Friend

Warner has a favorite friend. His name is Johnny. Johnny Jumpup to be exact. I waltzed upon this find at the Salvation Army while I was waiting for a floral arrangement to receive its finishing touches. It has become gold at our house and has bounced its $3.50 worth all ready. Ready, Set, Jump!

check out that bald spot. i was always thrilled that my tummy sleeping baby never had the bald spot. . . but this tummy sleeper does. hmmm.

Biggest Loser

Eric & I have spear headed the Alpenglow's Biggest Loser. It has been so much fun. Here are some pictures from Saturdays weigh in and 1st challenge.


A Can Relay Race of sorts. If you had 2 towers built in front of your team's rug you were out. Last one still in the race won!

We have 23 couples, 44 people participating!!!!

1st weeks winners.

A Few of ABL faces.

Pinewood Derby Spectators

Pinewood Derby

I was SOOO impressed with the Pinewood Derby this year. With four wards combined, I was blown away by their organization. WOW!!! They did 60 heats on 2 different tracks simultaneously. The boys raced SEVERAL times and hooped and hollered with every win. (i have to confess that the making of the derby cars was easier than i anticipated. . . the boys wanted to do them all by themselves. . . but that in and of itself was the hard part . . . i wanted the racing stripes to be straight, the colors to coordinate, everything to line up. . . but do little boys ever care about that kind of stuff? i doubt it.)


Tanner

Christian

Christian & Tanner

Another Freak'in Genius

Another Freak'in Genuis in the family. Last week Sam received an award at the Elementary's Recognition Assembly. He's the second one from the right (horrible picture, i know).

Hard White Wheat

My mom left a great comment on the Wheat Bread Recipe. . . Using Hard White Wheat makes a HUMONGOUS different.

Whole Wheat Bread (100%)

Whole Wheat Bread/mom’s k-tec recipe

5 cups hot water
3 T. lemon juice
2/3 c. sugar
4 t. salt
5 cups whole wheat flour
2 ½ T. yeast
½ c. vital wheat gluten
6 cups whole wheat flour


Combine water, lemon juice, sugar, and salt in mixer (like a bosch or k-tec). Mix. Add 5 cups whole wheat flour, yeast, and vital wheat gluten. Mix until yeast is moistened. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add more flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Put on lid and mix for 10 minutes. Take out and shape into bread pans, let rise 20-30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Makes five loaves.

(this is a super easy bread recipe that only has to rise once!! wahoo. wahoo. a perk to this recipe is that it doesn't call for any oil. add flour (you don't even need to measure) until the dough leaves the side of the mixing bowl clean while mixing. the best way to preserve is to put loaves in freezer. loaves do well for about 2 days on the counter. . . otherwise keep frozen. if in a rush i'll throw a frozen loaf in the microwave for 2 minutes.)

Tanner's Message

I came home from playgroup this morning and this message was waiting for me. Aside from the quiver in his voice. . . I thought the whole thing to be hilarious.

(to my credit i did tell him to go and get dressed this morning. . . which he obviously forgot to do before putting on his snow clothing)

if you can't understand the message this is what it says: "um mom, i accidentally forgot my um pants, so can you um mean i accidentally left my pjs on, so can you come and bring me some pants so i can wear them at school. bye this is tanner. bye."

No Gluten vs. Gluten

Many of you have asked why I put gluten in my bread. . .

I unintentionally did a batch of bread without vital wheat gluten on Monday. I remembered to throw it in during the second batch. I was amazed at the difference it made in the two batches. Here are the pictures. With the exception of the gluten, I made the bread the exact same way, cooked it for the same time, etc.

No Gluten


Gluten


The bread with gluten baked up so much prettier. . . less cracking, a more even golden coloring.

May the Luck 'O The Irish Be With Ya

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Merry Go Round. . . Ice Version

Slide Video Clip

BYOEC

Can you tell what this is?


I believe the UAF is a BYOEC (Bring Your Own Extension Chord) campus.
Here in the good state of Alaska they encourage you to plug in your car at 20 degrees (or lower) so the parking lots in Fairbanks are filled with these great little boxes.

Hyrum

Look what I found? I did have pictures of Hyrum on the sled after all.
(note to self: always take an uncharged camera to Fairbanks. I did just that and our friend Todd took all of the pictures of our trip for us. He graduated in photography. Nothing like having your own personal photographer!!! I did manage to take a few. . . like five before my battery completely died).

More than Capable. . .

. . . but overwhelmingly stubborn.
Hyrum has about 35 days until he is THREE! I know what my birthday wish is for him!