Stay Tuned...

Nope, I didn't get a chance to stop and post new pictures... We leave town at 8 am tomorrow if all goes to plan... let's just say I am *mostly* packed. We return at the end of the week and then I will have pics of Valdez to post, too! See you all in a week!

Getting Ready To GO!

We get to go to Valdez for about a week; we leave on Sunday... yippee! So we've been prepping, cooking, tomorrow we pack... hopefully I will get a chance to stop and post some new pics of Mia's adorable red rainboots and the golf tournament that Jason got to play in last night! The course was all along the river and we drove around and saw them play at several points. Lyle, Joe, Rocky, Chris and Jason had an awesome time.

Our Own Private Beach

We had so much fun playing in our new kiddie pool yesterday. Oma and our friends Dan, Anjee and Lucas came to play. The weather has been amazing, and for anyone who knows Alaska, you know you have to take advantage of gorgeous days like the ones we've been having this week. I actually got a little sunburned yesterday. A dear friend of ours bought the kiddie pool for her little doggy and the doggy didn't want the pool, so we inherited it! Hooray! Thank you Linda and Princess Lola!!!
























































Yes the beer bottle is empty... =)

Breakfast and Ponytails

I've really been enjoying breakfast lately and my favorite breakfast to make is a scrambled egg concoction that goes like this:

Saute one chopped zucchini and several sliced mushrooms in about 1 TBS of butter til soft, then season to taste with granulated garlic and salt. Pour your whisked eggs over this, then add cubed turkey ham and grated cheddar cheese to taste... when the eggs are cooked top with a little more grated cheese, a dollop of sour cream and some dried chopped chives (fresh would be even better) for aesthetic appeal. Serve with some chopped fruit and wala... you have my Sunshine Platter (Plateau Soleil if you would like to get fancy) and from a person who has eaten this about a billion times in the last couple of weeks, it does not get old. Here is a picture of the breakfast:















Yes the backdrop is butcher paper taped to our kitchen table that Mia had been coloring on, but I don't think it changed the taste. And it was... delicious! Drop a line or give me a call if you are in the area and want me to make some for you. It. Is. SO. Good.

After breakfast yesterday I finally caught Mia and put a ponytail in her hair; it's just long enough to almost get it all back with help from a couple clips. I wouldn't even bother for everyday, but her bangs get in her eyes if I don't do something with it and we don't want to cut her hair. The results are pretty fun:















Today Oma came over and brought pink ribbon for Mia's hair so we can switch it out with the purple. I am having a lot of fun with her hair these days; I just play with her's while I wait for mine to grow out! My goal is to have it looking as long and lustrous as the oldest sister in Pride & Prejudice (the one with Kiera Knightly). That should only take, oh, about three more years or so.

Frosting Cupcakes

I've always thought that kids and cake decorating are a great mix. Messy but totally worth it.














I love the chubby little hands pouring sugar on, well, more sugar!














The beautiful end product.














Yum!

Project Braids

The other night I put Mia's hair in braids for the first time. It took about 10 minutes plus due to lots of wiggling... then getting a picture of them took another 15 minutes. She likes to move! Anyway I thought they were pretty adorable. Then in the morning we had to wake her up early to go to Grandma's and only one braid was still in. I took a picture of her sleeping before I woke her up since we don't really see her sleeping all that much anymore now that she's in her own room. These days the first thing she says in the morning is "Melmo?" (It used to be "Ba" for bottle but it has recently switched.) I now know why parents shell out for Elmo DVD's.... =) I think there should be a movie made of adults doing their Elmo impersonations. I think mine is pretty good and would like to win some sort of prize for it. Also a drawing contest of who can draw him the best; I would definitely not win that one, especially since we lost our red crayon. I really never saw the appeal before Mia, in fact I found him annoying, but not anymore. Elmo is definitely an aquired taste. I have succumbed.

Smoky Morning

This morning we woke up to a lot of smoke in our house, we had left the windows open overnight and we have been experiencing smoke from wildfires about 120 miles south of Fairbanks. (See a story on it here: http://newsminer.com/news/2009/jul/15/wind-blows-smoke-wildfires-fairbanks/) So we got up and shut all the windows and went downstairs to eat eggs and watch Sesame Street. The Elmo segment was on bugs and butterflies so we got to hear "butterby!" several times. So cute! Here is Mia entranced by Sesame Street:

Photo Booth Fun

Almost nap time...














But first let's be wild!

Mia at Chena Lakes

Memorial Day 2009

Butterby Baby

Butterby is Mia's word for butterfly. And it is also used to describe flowers, snowflakes, and anything else organically beautiful. It is so cute to hear she is now in possession of several butterfly shirts/sweatshirts. Too bad she will eventually say it right!