Happy holidays!!!

Much love and best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season!

Ice Skating

Funnily enough, Kodiak didn't have an ice rink until just a few years ago. It is outdoors and I hear we may even have a hockey team soon. Over Thanksgiving break I took Albert to the rink and he learned to skate all on his own. He loves it! He is deffinety an outdoor boy! He would have stayed longer if I let him but I was freezing. After Christmas we are planning to go again. Thomas is already a great skater going backwards and doing turns. I have to find a pair of skates for me now. I think this may be a new family favorite activity.

The Holidays

We had a funtabulous Thanksgiving! We shared our day with our dearest friend Amy ( she stayed with the boys while we were in Homer) Ruth Ann, our relief society pres. and Dan a new teacher in the Kodiak district. I made a huge turkey and pumpkin cheesecake, two of my favorite foods ever! Tony tried shopping the next day at walmart but didn't do so hot. It was funny listening to his stories. Tony wanted a few towels but there was a lady laying on them yelling at her friends for a cart. I think next year we'll just shop on line. All we have here is a walmart. Albert found a good sale on hats, at a different time and suggusted we buy one for everyone in the family. Albert chose 4 cowboy hats at $1.00 a piece. Thomas looks really good in his! It just fits his personality. After the turkey was done it was time to put up the tree and haul out the stockings. Albert insisted we put the tree up before Thanksgiving. I wouldn't let him decorate it until after dinner though. We are now in a high speed deep clean before Santa comes. Thomas shampooed all the carpets and Tony did little fix it jobs everywhere. Albert cleaned his room and organized it, and I made new stocking for everyone this year. I will post some photos and a new blog in the coming week. After Christmas I'm sure there will be lots to share.

Weekend trip to Homer

Me and Tony on the balcony at out hotel. I love being by the ocean . Wherever life takes me in the future, I will have to be by the ocean. I can't live without it. Maybe I feel this way because I grew up in Fairbanks.

The Homer sunrise over the ocean was breathtaking. I think I took half a dozen photos.

Tony and I went to Homer for a weekend without the kids. I was really going for work, It was a Paul Mitchell hair show. We stayed in the nicest hotel right on the ocean. We drove to Soldotna and did some Christmas shopping and decided we need to get away more often. We have never gone away before, but now there is a wonderful lady in our ward that can stay with the boys whenever I ask. Thank you Heavenly Father for sending Amy to us!!!

Happy Halloween

Albert had a friend from class come visit on Halloween after school. They made candy topiaries and chocolate ghosts. They trick or treated at WalMart played Star Wars.

Albert was a Star Wars storm trooper general. His school has a parade for all the student to participate in. Its fun as a mom to see how creative people are at Halloween.

Thomas decorated our trunk for Trunk or Treating. The ward party was fun. The kids played musical chairs, fished, had face painting and ate donughts on a string! Thanks Kodiak youth for all your help;-)

Thomas is a chef and his beehive friends are a vampire and model I think. These girls love to see Thomas!!! They will all be in the High School with him next year!

Every year the boys trick or treat downtown Kodiak then go around the block at our house. Two years ago I wouldn't let them go because there was a bear in the neighborhood. This year we had some friends over and sat around the fire. The kids had a blast. I was so happy Halloween was on a weekend this year.

Albert Ray Cavan

Portrait of Albert

For Kyndra who is so far away...
This portrait was my final in my oil painting class. My teacher and now friend, Bruce Nelson helped guide me. Bruce is a very famous Alaskan artist and I am fortunate to know him and learn from him.
The photo I used was taken by Thomas and the squares around the portrait are Albert's baby blanket. I asked him to choose his favorite squares and I painted them on. His baby blanket was made by his great grandma Lena Gregory. She is my mom's mom.
This semester I am in a watercolor class. My instructors name is Debby Stenberg. She is a new member to our ward, from Oklahoma. She has published 5 books on tole painting and loves to do portrait work. She will be helping me paint a portrait of Thomas in watercolor.
Currently my project is the San Diego Temple. I am having a difficult time to say the least. I don't think I will be posting that one.

more pics of our trip

I'm adding a few of the chainsaw carving photos. We also went to Seward's Sea Life Center. We saw water birds, seals, and played with the learning toys. It's a great spot for families to visit if they are passing through. The train depot shares a parking lot with the Sea Life Center.

Valdez and Seldovia

We went to Valdez for 2 days with my mom and aunt. They fished on a charter while the boys and I played at museums and parks. The waterfalls into Valdez are amazing. I couldn't get enough pictures of them. While in Homer we ferried to Seldovia. It is a very, very small town. Too small for me. They have an annual chainsaw carving contest and we spent our time finding them and taking pictures. We all have our favorites.

more family summer fun

The Alaska Wildberry store is in Homer. They make Alaskan berry and wildflower jams, honey and chocolates. While in Homer we watched an Eagle fly into the water and pick up a salmon then sit on the beach 5 feet away and eat it. We found beautiful starfish of many colors and watched seals and otters play in the distance. Tony and I will be going back to Homer in a few weeks for a hair show/ weekend getaway. We have never left the kids and are very interested to see how it all goes. My work is paying for everything but I am sad we can't make it to the temple. The roads will be too bad to drive. We might be able to go as far as Soldotna. They have a Fred Meyer! Woo Hoo!

Photos

I'm trying to figure out how to add photos. Be patient. Thanks

Family Vacation 2008

I'm starting our family blog with our summer trip north. We saw all of our extended family in Fairbanks and North Pole. We went to Valdez, Homer, Seldovia, Seward, and took loooooots of pics. I loved spending the one on one time with my boys.

Greetings from Kodiak

I think I am living in the dark ages. I got an A in my computer class last year but I still am so uncomfortable using computers. I would rather write a letter or make a phone call to communicate, but time is precious and chatting on the phone takes too many hands. I need them all to do my 20thousand tasks. We'll see how I do with this blog site. xoxo Silvia