Winter Fun

I have been really bad about posting on here. I take lots of pictures I just never get around to posting them so I thought I'd take a minute this morning and load a few. We went to the Ice Park in North Pole last night for Girl Scouts. I only have pictures of Phia as I never could catch up with Shawn. Also, we had to make the customary visit to Santa to tell him what we wanted for Christmas.

Ice cave.

Bowl O'Phia

Fly By . . .

I went on the coolest ride yesterday in a KC-35 refueling plane with the Air National Guard. In early summer Danny signed me up for an incentive ride and yesterday was my day. We flew around for two hours over the Interior of Alaska from Fairbanks to Denali National Park. The first part of the ride involved watching the F-16's fuel up so we took turns lying on our stomachs in the back of the plane and watched the jets fuel up. After fueling up the pilot thought it would be neat for us to get a close up view of Denali or Mt. McKinley. We flew over the peak at 3,000 feet and then he made a 360 turn around the mountain. Denali is approximately 20,000 feet in height and the tallest peak in North America. Besides a crew of four there were about 11 of us passengers. We were seated for take off and landing but were able to walk around during the duration of the flight.

Sitting in the boom area getting ready to watch the F-16 refuel.

Sitting in the cockpit listening to the Captain speak.

We were so close to Mount McKinley.

Fall Photos

Notice the moose bone at the bottom of the photo??? Only in Alaska!

My Phia and her pose. Notice all the missing front teeth.

Had to throw this photo in.

My favorite kids. I love them.

What's new with us . . . Soccer, Fair, and School

This year marked Phia's first year of soccer. She was very excited to play but apprehensive at the same time.


Shawn just likes soccer and he doesn't care what position he plays. He's kind of like the energizer bunny of soccer on the field.
Here's a cute photo of the kids. This was the cutest picture in a series of many. When I started to take their picture some random kid wanted to be in the photo and wouldn't leave so I gave in and took his picture then told him to go away. The kids posed again and the kid tried getting back in the photo. You can see from Phia's expression that she wasn't too happy about that.


In the 7 years we've been going to the fair we finally won some prizes. Phia won the panda in the fishing game and Shawn won the monkey in darts. The big bear came from my Mom beating me at a ball rolling game.
Danny's flower is finally blooming. Too bad winter is right around the corner.
First day of school for Shawn. Phia starts on Monday.

It's all about Shawn

There once was a little boy who had so much hair. He struggled with it every day . . . combing it, wetting it, and even using gel. Nothing could keep it from sticking up. Finally, his Dad came to his rescue!

Before

DuringAnd After . . . .

Ok, on a serious note, Shawn finally decided it was time to ditch the training wheels. He knew how to ride without them last year but wouldn't let us take them off. New boys moved into the neighborhood and they have no training wheels. Peer pressure is a strong motivator!

Happy Mother's Day!

I haven't posted any pictures in over a month. Since that time the snow has melted, we had a little bit of flooding, and it was even in the 70's. Within that month, Shawn and Danny had birthdays, Shawn finished up indoor soccer, Phia and Danny went to the Father Daughter Ball, and Phia finished up ballet. Summer is right around the corner . . . finally!
Shawn had a science themed birthday. We made a goofy looking scientist cake which didn't turn out the way we had planned. He was happy with the cake.

Danny's finally the same age as me!

Shawn in action during indoor soccer.

Phia had a lot of fun in ballet class. Her teacher spent a lot of time focusing on shapes and creativity. Parents were allowed to watch the last class. They had no planned recital but we were able to watch her perform different movements.

Danny and Phia went to the Father Daughter Ball. As always Phia had a blast. Dinner was a three course meal and the girl received crowns and roses at the end of the night.

Happy Spring!

While everyone else is enjoying the spring weather we've been sledding at the Ice Park.

Winter Fun!!!

We've been pretty busy this winter . . . playing with Roxy, visiting the Ice Park, and Ice Skating. Seems like this year has been a winter of extremes. We started the winter with record low temperatures and now we're having to deal with a lot of snow. Isn't spring supposed to be close by???

Shawn and Dad worked on a hat to celebrate the Cat in the Hat. Here's what they came up with.

Inauguration Time

As most of you already know I went to visit the Nation's capital to attend a seminar on politics and the media and I went to be a part of inaugural history. I didn't see the actual swearing in but was fortunate enough to get tickets to the inaugural parade where I sat across the street from the White House and the President. I did go 10 hours with no food or water but it was worth it . . . the President walked right in front of us. Fortunately, we could hear the swearing in through a microphone but didn't have to battle the millions of people.

This is my friend Maggie and me in at the parade with the White House behind us and the presidential viewing box to the left. Besides the President and Vice President, we saw Al Roker from the Today Show, Jamie Lee Curtis, Howard Dean, and John Kerry.








The first family watching the parade as I watch them.












Bono on the big screen. He performed at the inaugural concert a few days before the inauguration.











Here we are at the Republican National Committee media room pretending to be reporting on important stuff. Didn't find too much important stuff in that building.










Sam Donaldson speaking at our seminar. He is such a great speaker who tells it like it is.

















I hang with important people!













Dumbo at the American History Museum. DC has a little bit of everything in it and if you've never been to the city you need to go. Most museums are free and new museums open every few years. I visited the Newseum and was surprised at how much I enjoyed touring a building that focused solely on the media. From the Pulitzer Prize winning photos to the chunk of metal from the World Trade Center, it was all very moving. I was a serious tourist as I visited a lot of places including the Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson Memorials . . . Arlington National Cemetery, and plenty of museums.
As for the experience, it was incredible and memorable. I've never been around such a diverse group of people who were happy, emotional, hopeful, and just excited to be in D.C. One of the biggest highlights was being able to tell Shawn and Phia about the trip and to see their excitement.