The kind of family you want to belong to

is the kind of family who realizes the necessity of keeping a spoon in the jug of cookie dough.

A Cabin Luxury

Okay, so in most cases an outhouse does not seem like a luxury.

But when they're decked out like this one...

The inside is painted.  

There's a propane light which lights it up as well as keeping it toasty.  

There are lovely smelling candles. 

 A padded potty seat that's usually not frozen.  

A urinal for those who had too many "bud burgers" while riding. 

 And most of all, a really cool walkway to get there.

Apparently We All Needed a Turn

Uncle James couldn't resist the temptation.

Probably has something to do with his compulsion toward things with throttles.

I do have to say that as he gets older he spends more time on things that require man-power, bikes, kayaks and his VW van until he had the engine replaced.

Jack opted to ride with Gramma.  

Gotta Teach Jack

Okay Jack, it's really easy.  You hold on to these two things.  You push that one to go.  Grandad keeps saying something about steering, I have no idea what he's talking about.  If you think you might run into something, or want to stop you just hit that little red button.  I use it all the time on the way to the cabin and the machine stops every time!  

(We're talking about the "kill" switch)
Ready??

A Little Fun

No, this is not in my backyard.  This is the backyard at the Petersville Cabin.  We go up nearly every New Years Eve.  This year we were fortunate to have warm, snowy weather (yes, those two things do go together) and so we sent Emma out on her new sled.  For those of you who are not with the snowmachine lingo, sled is the much cooler way to say snowmachine.  Alaskans DO NOT ride snowmobiles.
The belove-ed Uncle James and Grandad went out to supervise.

So did Jack.  

With a little help from Gramma.

My Silly Girl

Apparently you can't ride a snowmachine without a Dora.  It's probably best that Dora can't see where they're going since Emma doesn't steer...at all.  

Thanks for the box!

Presents arrived from out of state and I was all worried about Emma wanting to open them right away, it obviously wasn't a problem. This box will last until Christmas Day when they'll open all sorts of fabulous gifts that will bring them even more boxes to play with...

It's not like it's heroine...

This is Mike's nightly routine. A chocolate shake. Most people think I mean some sort of health shake when I say that. But no, it's a good old ice cream, milk and chocolate syrup kind of shake. This particular night we were running a little short on milk so he had all containers on the counter to make the proper "balance."
This has little habit has just been an eye-roll from the wife kind of thing until this happened...





I guess the need for chocolate is genetic.


This means neither of our children has a chance.

Thanksgiving

Here is Emma helping "doc" cousin Kim. Apparently we can't officially her dr for another year and a half but we've never been a family to follow silly rules like that. Aside from being a med student she is also sought after for her pie making skills. We stole her from our family in Kingston and enjoyed every minute of it.


Now, you're probably looking at this picture going "what the heck??" Let me explain. Our POWER went out. And it went out at the worst possible time, about 45 minutes before dinner hit the table. No whipped potatoes. The turkey was finished in the bbq, the greenbean casserole was cooked on the stove top (we have gas), food was warmed one at a time on the stovetop, no one cared.


It was actually very beautiful. We put out candles thinking the power may still be out when we sit down for dinner.

It was.
After the pie was started in the bbq and dinner was finishing up, the power came back on.
Every year that I have power for the cooking of our Thanksgiving dinner, it will be on my "things I'm thankful for" list.
But I have to say it certainly created a holiday we'll remember.

Cinderella Cleans

So, Emma is still at the age where helping mom is cool. I try to be grateful and have her help, even though it generally takes longer. When she starts cleaning the floor she sings like Cinderella and everyone knows you can't sing like Cinderella unless you're dressed like Cinderella.

After cleaning the playroom floor, it was time (Cinderella announced) to make chocolate chip cookies. Apparently milk is one of the main ingredients in chocolate chip cookies. Fortunately most of the cookies were already in the oven when the last, crucial ingredient was added.
Then Cinderella kindly asked, "Stepmother (I guess this is me) what do you want me to do now?"
I'm thinking, "Are you kidding??" So I tell her to clean the bathroom.

I have to admit that the meticulousness of this four year old can be unnerving. I don't think I want that many eyes on me while in the bathroom...even if they are plastic.