Ba Ba Lamb Takes a Bath

Ah, Evelyn discovers that her favorite stuffed animal, "Ba ba Lamb", is getting a bath today. Methinks she's not going to take this very well.

And the anticipated result. Poor Evie! Apparently, pink bunny just doesn't cut it.

Hannah's 7th Birthday

Hannah woke up Saturday December 15 to find herself 7 years old (well, technically it wasn't until 1:19 pm, which her dad reminded her of all day long!). She opened up her cards and presents from family as soon as she got up.
Ah yes, look who's quick to show up. She's like a prairie dog poking her head up out of a hole sometimes. Pop! There she is! Wherever there's something going on, you can be sure that Ev will soon make an appearance, especially when her big sister is involved.



While Hannah is busy, Evelyn is planning her next move. Note that she is rarely without her "Ba ba lamb".

How does she always end up on the table???
Hannah in her new inline roller skates, her present from Mom and Dad. She's so far worn them every morning and afternoon around the house.


The next day, Sunday, we had Hannah's kid party at Hamme Pool, where she takes her swimming lessons. All the kids and most of the adults went swimming, and daddy came late with Evelyn after she woke up from her nap. The two of them joined the others swimming for a little while, until Ev started getting cold.

Hannah doesn't really like regular cake with frosting (she says the frosting is just too sweet - the little weirdo!). So, Mary Ann made a bunch of brownies and everybody enjoyed sundaes with ice cream, chocolate syrup and whipped cream, instead. There were no complaints!


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Daddy was on Evie duty ... a full time job.

A gaggle of girls (and, oh yeah, and couple of boys, too)!

Gingerbread House

Gingerbread House competition 2007 occurred last Saturday. Hannah, Robin and I worked diligently on a rocket ship. The theme was "Mars Rovers gets visit from Santa". We worked on the project when Evelyn was asleep. She is too much of a trouble maker to be involved in gingerbread creations.










Evelyn views the finished project after the competition. Notice how she has climbed up on the chair. This is her newest trick along with climbing up on the table. Naughty girl. She has a nice bruise above her eye from a fall from the chair a few days ago. This one will have us in the emergency room....

Daily Scenes Around the House

Hannah enjoying some blueberry pancakes. She helped pick the blueberries this past fall.

... and Evelyn enjoying her pancakes, too!

Look Dad, no diapers! Ha ha!!

Evelyn, introduced to the potty.

Are you looking at my bum??

Big Sister getting ready to read to her baby sister. Note Evelyn's favorite stuffed animal in this and the next photo: a lamb.

Mmmmm.... someplace new to sit. Note the scatter of detritus that used to be in the drawer.

Evelyn was a little too quite in the kitchen, so we came to investigate. The entrepid explorer strikes again!

Flashback

A flash back to green landscapes and mild temperatures....

A first grade field trip back in September to Creamers. Hannah enjoys the rare trip in the school bus.

Staff from the Alaska Bird Observatory gave the kids a tour, lecturing about how they catch migratory birds in nets and tag them. Hannah correctly identified a chickadee and was allowed to release one of the newly tagged birds. Quite the thrill for her.

Evelyn taking a break during cranberry picking and having a snack. She didn't remain on that blanket for long but crawled along eating cranberries. This is way back in September.

We berried with a bunch of moms and kids on a wonderful Friday afternoon. This was a great year for blueberries and cranberries.

Hodge Podge

An afternoon playdate with a dear friend this past weekend resulted in a masterpiece of a mudpie. These two play together so well, they 'disappear' into the back yard and are very very busy. I'll spy on them and see them digging, mixing and foraging. I'll ask Hannah what did you two do? "PLAY!" She answers. This photo does not illustrate how dirty they actually got. Filthy..

Evelyn is a tad bit upset here, we don't know why. Perhaps she is tired from standing. She doesn't always know how to get down. Note that a molar is erupted. I love the anguish.

This past weekend during a classic Fairbanks fall day we visited Creamers to view the cranes and geese before they migrate. Meg and Phinn joined us. I imagine that this is the view Evelyn has from the backpack as she peeks over my shoulder.

Everyday more and more yellow leaves fall on the lawn. Those cranes are circling every evening and I am waiting for the day when they have departed.

Standing Tall

Yep, Miss Evelyn can pull herself up. After a while she cries because she doesn't quite know how to get down. We keep on showing her and reminding her that she has a nice soft cloth diaper on so just plop down on your butt.

She also climbs.

School is in Session

First day of school was Monday, August 20th. We attended the Woodriver School Hot Dog Feed the Friday before, where we reconnected with friends and checked out Hannah's first grade classroom and teacher (Ms. Leonard). Hannah was a little dismayed that her classroom was 'different'. On the first day of classes the weather was fine so we biked to school. Evelyn rides in her bike carriage that I pull along behind me.

After finding the classroom, unpacking the backpack, and finding her name at her spot at a table Hannah got to 'work' with a puzzle from the 'quiet activity shelf'. She was so excited. I had a little knot in my stomach since I wouldn't pick her up until 3:30!. Kindergarten was only 1/2 day. Hannah's comment regarding the first day of school was "We had recess three times!" Yes, all is well.

Blueberry Muffins

The Blueberry Muffins won the Kohl Cup Tournament last Saturday beating out ten other teams. They are the champions! The girls worked hard beating a team that was undefeated during the regular season and tournament. The Blueberry Muffins wanted to take those Pink Koolaids down and they did by playing their best.

Here is the victorious team. Their tournament record: Wins 4, Loses 1, and Ties 0. Points scored: 8 and points allowed 5. The Blueberries have an excellent defense. Season record is wins 5, loses 2, and ties 1. The season was a great experience for the kids and parents thanks to excellent coaching by Coach Roy.

One...

Evelyn's first birthday...what a lovely year we have had.

Evelyn examines her birthday cupcake. She has no idea what cake is, this is her first experience.

It didn't take long for her to realize that cake is a good thing.

Golden Days Parade

This past Saturday was the Golden Days Parade, that's the largest parade in the state, folks. We always sit in the same spot year after year to watch the same old cars, the fire trucks and the floats roll on by. Our prime location is across the street from St. Matt's, you can see the log church in the photo above. Why sit across from our church? Well for BOOYAH of course. Booyah is the huge pot of stew the men cook all night long. A breakfast of champions.

Waiting for the show to begin.

A parade is not complete without bagpipes.

Sweet Corn and Sweet Baby

Thanks to Margaret and Glenn we feasted on sweet fresh Wisconsin corn. Margaret and Glenn are in Fairbanks visiting their lovely daughter Meg, but lucky for us not only are they generous they have a large suitcase which they apparently stuff with delicious corn and Wisconsin cheese. Evelyn's first experience with 'real corn' (vs that corn stuff they sell at Fred Meyer) was a site to see. She loved it.

Taking the corn cob away from Evelyn resulted in yelling and crying. She was MAD. Look at her! She is a filthy baby.

Blue... blue....blueberries

The middle of July; time to pick blueberries.
Lynne and her boys joined us on the first picking expedition of the season. First stop... somewhere in Goldstream Valley.










Hannah and Caleb are busy picking those berries, or are they eating them?












Is Hannah looking for the largest blueberry? Every year the winner of the largest blueberry competition gets a treat at Hot Licks. Of course, we all go to Hot Licks with the winner and eat ice cream. A win-win situation.










Picnic lunch on Pedro Dome. The blueberries on Pedro Dome were sweeter then those in Goldstream Valley. We picked enough for a nice batch of blueberry muffins. This trip was just the beginning of blueberry picking season.

Farewell to Royalty

For a couple of years in Hannah's bedroom this princess poster has hung in the place of honor over the bed. Occasionally in the past, I have gently tried to recommend a change venue, but Hannah has always refused. Until today that is!!

Goodbye Princesses!!!!

Hello, tigers. Thank goodness we are leaving the princess phase behind.

July 9-13 - Hannah attends Camp Habitat

During the week of July 9-13, Hannah attended "Camp Habitat", an all-day camp associated with Creamer's Field Wildlife Refuge, a large tract of land near Fairbanks used primarily as rest stop for migratory birds. Camp Habitat aims to teach kids early about the environment, animals, and the ecosystem. This photo shows the four wall tents used as a basecamp to do crafts, when the kids (arranged in different age groups) aren't out on a trail or doing something else in the refuge. We came at the end of the last day, Friday, for a 15 minute end-of-camp celebration.

Here's Hannah's group finishing up their animal masks prior to the "closing ceremony"!

Hannah's group sang a couple of songs prior to the big "parade", where all the campers walk in a big circle and sing the "Camp Habitat" song. Let me tell you, the excitement was almost most than a person could bear! [Hannah's counselor was Scott, the young guy in black shirt and green bandana. He was great!].

Evelyn is being introduced to the trail system in the boreal forest behind the Creamer's Dairy. Little does she know, but this is the beginning of a long, long relationship she will have with this place!!