Christmas in Ice

I thought this one was so cute!

The winner of the competition. Can you believe the detail inside

Don't you love the bunny hat. The big guy is pretty cute too!

My little Eskimos!

Before going in.

My kids actually tipped over one of the poles holding up a barrier to keep people away from the ice tree. We leave a wake of destruction wherever we go. (Think twice before inviting us over)

This is definitely something that is one of the advantages of living where they know that it is not going to get above freezing for a very long time. North Pole (where we live) has the annual "Christmas in Ice" celebration starting just after Thanksgiving and going until after New Years. I actually drove by there the other day and the sculptures and ice slides are still there (shocking).

We were glad that we held out for a little while, because when we went it was actually warmer than it had been for a long time (only -20!). It was so much fun. The ice slides are the best. They have the little slides all around that the kids can just go on with their snow pants and then the giant ones that you ride on with a sled. I must be getting old because when I went on the little ones I did not find them all that fun. I was wearing snow pants, have plenty of cushy softness for landing and still felt like my tailbone was broken after landing at the bottom. The sculptures were amazing and it was great to see all the wonderful creations that people can make from ice.

The only way we could get the kids to leave was the promise of going to the big ice slides in February. The international ice carving competition has 2 story ice slides and close to a hundred different sculptures. It is something to look forward to after the long winter.

Cheesy girl!

What can I say? Monson chompers and all, the girl is cute. She is giving the cheesiest grins lately whenever you look at her. She is sure a character.

Starting the New Year!

I have decided that no matter how much I give myself a pep talk about what I need to do and should do I really don't do it. Well here are a list of goals I have made for this year and I will keep you posted on my progress.

1. Exercise...not just every once in a while but consistently so when it gets warmer outside I will be in shape to do long runs and not start out will dinky ones. With the summers so short I really want to take advantage of the nice weather when I can.
2. Blogging...I know I am going to have to work at this one. I have gotten out of the habit so now I just need to back into it. That means I need to take pictures (which I should be doing anyway) and putting them onto the computer. I think of all the cute and funny things that my kids have said, but are now lost. With each pregnancy my "momnesia " has gotten worse; in other words my I.Q. has dropped considerably.
3. Being on time...I hate being "that friend" who is consistently 10 minutes late. There are only so many times that you can blame your kids and lost shoes. I have decided that I also become a raging cow when I know that I am going to be late and I turn into "mean mommy". Not something that I am proud of and not something that I like. So I'm trying! (to be on time, not mean)
4. Finishing what I start...I have million projects that are in different phases of completion. I just get bored with something so I start something new without finishing what it was that I was doing. (do you follow?) My friends have told me that I could sell the crocheted booties that I make at craft shows at the end of the year. I thought I might give it a shot. If nothing else I will be ahead for baby gifts.
5. Simplifying....Because we moved up here last year so suddenly, I didn't really get the chance to debulk which I really like to do each time we move. I know I am weird but I really like to throw stuff away (Travis makes sure his stuff is tidy when he leaves on trips). I have a massive amount of boxes that still need to be gone through but I have been too lazy to do so. I lost one of my favorite earrings in the crawls space the other night so I guess it gives me motivation to start.
6. Reading to learn something not just to read....I have come to realize that I am a very superficial reader. I was talking to my friend the other night about a book that I had read and thought was wonderful. I suggested it to her and she thought it was awful. She said that she hated how it depicted this and that (really in depth analysis). I guess I am just a shallow reader. I do not analyze what the author's agenda is, nor any hidden meaning. I guess I just read to read. So here is to a newer, brainier me.

Well, this is what I have so far. Here I come 2011!