Boys Being Boys

Yesterday after we came back from Fairbanks, the boys decided to play in the basement. Whcih is fine because all of their toys are down there. Only this time they didn't playw ith their toys, they were playing with my laundry baskets.For some reason they get the biggest kick out of playing with them, had I known they could spend hours playing with them, I would have bought them their own baskets instead of spending money on all the toys they seem bored with. So Bryan and I were up in the living room and we could hear them laughing and some banging going on and next thing you know Brady comes up crying, and then went back down again. We went to the door to see what they were doing and they were sitting in the baskets on the landing and sliding down the steps in them. Only my boys would come up with an idea like that, they have some good imaginations. So Brady finally came upstairs and I noticed his eye and he told me he did that sliding down the steps. This is his second time having a shiner, Brett popped him in the eye when he was a year old.Needless to say they won't learn their lesson and will keep on doing the things they always do and not care if they get hurt.

Our New Edition

Well we finally did it, we got ourselves another truck.It is a 2004 Ford F-150 extended cab pick up. It has a topper and a liner. It is winterized Alaska style, so that saved us some money, I guess. Unfortunately now we have a truck payment again,alittle higher than we wanted. It is for 6 years, which means that we won't be retiring any time soon.So after we leave here in 2011, it will be on to another base, hopefully one where we want to be so we can stay there and retire out. That way the government can help make some house payments with the BAH. This truck will be mainly for Bryan to drive, don't know if I want to try out the man size rig, it is alot bigger than our Explorer, which I am comfortable driving. The boys really like the truck, it's a pretty nice ride, with a ton of leg room up front. We are happy with it, but sad about the payment and the fact that retirement got pushed back a few more years. Guess we were meant to stay in and try to make it to Chief!

Sunrise

I wanted to share this beautiful Alaskan sunrise with everyone. I thought is was beautiful. I love to take pictures of the sunrises and sets. That to me is the most beautiful time of day. Brady even enjoyed the sunrise. Brett was in school so he missed it, otherwise he likes to see them too. Enjoy!

Unexpected Guests

I have had a cold the past few days and didn't sleep much Monday night, so I was dozing in the rocking chair Tuesday morning. Brady was playing nice and quiet in the dining room with his garbage truck, so I was nice and relaxed and fell asleep. I woke up for osme reason and looked out the front window. I thoguht I saw a shadow or something in the front yard. It was hard to tell because the sun wasn't up yet. I thought it was the neighbors pine tree, I looked again and thought I think that is a moose. I got up and called Brady and we went into the mudroom and saw not only one moose by 2 moose. There was a mamma and her baby eating branches off our Birch tree. They had no care in the world, it was so neat to watch them.I wanted to take pictures but the digital need to be recharged, I had to use the film camera. The flash didn't seem to bother them. The baby took off after awhile, never leaving mamma's sight, it went by the neighbors house on our side street. Eventually the baby came back and ate more off the tree, and just like that mamma had enough and they both tramped off down the side of the house through the backyard and onto wherever. It was so cool to watch them,Brady and I both enjoyed oursleves. I wish I could have posted a picture along with this. One doesn't realize how big they are until you are that close to them.

Kids!

I will never understand my children, especially Brett. It has been very, very cold here lately. We have to wait outside for the bus to come in the morning. We get ready about 8 minutes before the bus comes, getting on our outside gear.I time it so that we have to only stand outside for about 5 minutes . Some times it is alot longer depending on when the driver feels like getting to us, we are the first stop on the route. So we wait out there all bundled up and Brett is complaining the whoel time of being cold and it's freezing out here and on and on. He comes home every day and asks if he can play outside. It's just as cold as it was in the morning, but the sun is out, so he figures it's not as cold. I just shake my head in amazement, how fast he changes his mind about the cold.

A Mom's Wish Come True

Last night I helped both boys with their shower and I came down to relax in the recliner. Brett was chilly from his shower and a little tired from lack of sleep the night before because of wrestling. He asked if I could warm him up, and he crawled up by me and had me hold him like I did when he was a baby. We got comfy with tummies touching and next thing you know he fell alsleep on me. It was so nice to be able to cuddle with him. Brett is not one to be cuddled unless he is sick, so it was special treat for me. Bryan was going to put him up in bed but I put him off on doing that, because I enjoyed having Brett sleep on me. Then just at 6:30 their snack time, he woke up and that was the end of that wonderful moment we shared and it was back to our every day normal activities of hearing the boys fighting over whatever they feel they need to at the moment. It wasa great while it lasted!

Alaska Weather

Well, what can I say about the weather here this past week or so. We have had near record low temps. The lows were -46, and the highs in the -25 range! Talk about cold. Along with that came the ice fog. It looks like the fog is finally behind us, thankfully. It was getting a little annoying having to deal with the fog. Most of the fog comes from the heat plant on base and the refinery down in North Pole. Not to mention all the wood burning stoves in the houses off base. It makes it hard to drive at night, obviously. You never know if you are going to come across a moose on the highway, and hope no one is right behind you if you do. For now it looks like things are clearing up, hope it stays that way. The fog and extreme cold are getting old. Guess Cabin Fever is sneaking up on us and we are anxiously awaiting the return of Spring/Summer!

Brady's Baby

I was checking ourt a friends blog and Brady happened to be standing by me when I was reading. Our friend is pregnant and posted a picture of herself and he thought that was the neatest thing. He got one of his stuffed animals, a fur berry and put it under his shirt so he could pretned ot have a baby in his tummy. He, like his brother, has a very good imagination.

Wrestling Night

Last night we went to see the WWE in Fairbanks. Brett was so excited to go, I think he was in shock. He watched very intently to the action and got a kick out of the crowd. He was just fascinated with everything going on around him. We got to see some great action, we saw Snitskywho is a very big man he went up against Brian Kendrick, who is a small man in comparison. Needless to say that Snitsky beat him without any problem. We saw William Regal take on Ric Flair. The crowd went crazy during that match, it was unreal. Ric Flair won. Bryan enjoyed that match the most, he is a big fan of Flair's. We got to see Mr. Kennedy take on Jeff Hardy, Brett loved this match, they are 2 of his favs. Mr. Kennedy is from our home town of Two Rivers, WI. Jeff Hardy went on to beat him in a pretty even battle. Both guys gave it their all. Last but not least the main event was Randy Orton and Umaga, taking on Chris Jericho and Jon Cena. The crowd went wild for this match too. It was the first time that I ever saw Jon Cena, and I have been to at least 50 matches in my life time. We left mid way through the main event, Brady was getting tired and wanted to go home. It was fine leaving early, we didn't have to fight the crowd getting out the building and parking lot, which was nice, because by the time we left it was 40 below zero! We all had a fun time any way which was the main thing. Hope they come again to Fairbanks in the next 2 to 3 years so we can take the boys again.