toothless grin [growl]

For days Hyrum would say, "I think my tooth is going to come out tomorrow."

Last week he lost the second of his two front teeth. The school nurse
gave him a little tooth container and he was thrilled when the tooth
fairy brought him a gold dollar.

Hyrum's forced smile, the growl, makes me giggle. He looks like he's
about ready to eat something (but without those two teeth is better be
soft and squishy).

king sized

Four little reasons why we have a king sized bed.

[one morning we brought Eric breakfast in bed. i think he was hoping
for a quiet meal, the boys had something else in mind. this is what i
found five minutes later.]

Brrr

It has been one of the coldest and snowiest winters in Alaska history.

I was hoping to capture the ice crystals on my eyelashes after a
morning walk with Megan at -15. Boy Howdy is that cold. Yo ustart
to wonder if your cheeks will ever be the same. One morning I even
broke out the robber [looking] face mask.

This morning it was 0 outside. I didn't even zip up my jacket and
quickly became so warm that I took off my gloves.

Our answering machine mesage currently includes Hyrum singing,
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, Please shine down on me!!!

We cannot wait!

Christian

Christian gave his first talk on Sunday. I was more nervous than he
was and kept pestering Eric, "You read through it, right? It is
doctrinally sound, right? He isn't going to ramble on and on and on
or embarrass the family, right?" Eric just rolled his eyes and told
me he had "taken care of it." [what kind of comfort is that?]

But to my astonishment, Christian did a fabulous job. He definitely
inherited some of his father's talent. I can think of ONCE that he
looked down at his paper. He was articulate, and funny, and enjoyable
to listen to.

Zip Line

We went on a zipline adventure through the jungle of Mexico. 14 zip
lines. We were at the end of the group and our guides were gracious
to let us ride upside down and spinning whenever we wanted.

yoga poses

Bucerias

On Monday we enjoyed a 4.5 mile stroll along the beach to a quaint
town called Bucerias. There we enjoyed empanadas, shopping, eat
lunch, and simply being silly and carefree.

Releasing Turtles

Tiffany perfectly timed our Sunday sunset walk to coordinate with the
turtle release. The local college sponsors a program to relacate
turtle nests to a safe location and then allows guests to help release
the baby turtles each evening. It was incredible to hold those little
ones in our hands and see them take the first of many steps towards
the beginning of a lifeteime of adventures.

Grocery Shopping

I have to admit, I was a smidge horrified at our shopping experience.
All that Meat sitting around. . .

However, there is a beauty to grocery shopping without children. We
bought all sorts of goodness. . . fresh tortillas, avacados, and lots
and lots of LIMES.

Fajitas!!

Mexico Day 1

After unpacking and walking along the beach, we headed across the
street to get Fajitas. Yum!!! The guacamole in the spoon was a extra
fun treat and my veggie fajitas were delicious topped with fresh pico,
guacamole, beans, and rice.

Oh Mexico. . .

I love the James Taylor song, "Oh Mexico, never really been, but I'd
sure like to go. . . Ohhhh Mexico."

I spent the last week with five girlfriends in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico.

Day 1: 11 PM drive to airport. 12:55 AM red eye. De-ice the plane
in Anchorage for an hour. Barely make my connection in Portland.
Stop in San Diego. Arrive in Puerto Vallarta. Make my way through
immigration and customs then wait, and wait, and wait. 18 hours from
the time I left my home in Alaska, I meet up with my girlfriends and
the fun begins.

This is what awaited us in Neuvo Vallarta. . .