If I Ran Away and Joined the Circus

as I feel like doing some days..............I would miss conversations such as this one between my children in the backseat of the van as they ate their bowls of icecream I had just gotten them.

Hmmm, this is good, how much do you have left?

I'm not telling. How much do you have left?

I'm not telling.

Just show me!

No.

I bet you don't have much.

I do too. I bet I have more than you have left.

You do not.

I know I do, because I heard you scraping your bowl with your spoon.

HA! I did that just to make you think I was almost done! I have LOTS left!

Then show me.

No.

I bet you don't have more than me, because I have been LICKING instead of biting.

Me too.

I bet you didn't. I bet you ate big bites.

I did not. I have lots left, more than you.

Then show me your bowl.

No. You show me YOUR bowl.

No. Not until you show me yours.

I'm not gonna show you mine, you will just have to guess. Just show me!

Okay, okay, LOOK. See how much I have left?

Oh DARN! You do have more than me. You better eat some right now. I mean it.

No. I am saving mine so I have more than you.

Okay, thats enough. Do you girls know what is really special about having the most icecream and finishing way after your sister?

No Mommy. What is special about it?

It means you have more to share with mommy, because I didn't get any.

That shut them up!

Hee hee. I had to secretly grin at listening to them. I remember the exact same thing in the backseat with my brothers when we were little. We would go to great lengths to hide how much we had left, like holding and concealing part of your lollipop in your hand, to taking our pieces of gum and showing them our empty box, to holding large chunks of candy in the back of our mouth, then spitting them back out and declaring ourselves the winner. Its crazy! Why do kids do that? It must be an unwritten rule of childhood. Do you remember doing it? What was the best trick to "winning" the war?

Deck Those Halls (and long-suffering Labs)

Its so weird, but I am really getting in the mood for Christmas, already! I usually catch the spirit the day after Thanksgiving, when I am caught up in Black Friday shopping, and the decorations go up, etc.

But I'm ready now!

So tell me, what are you most looking forward to during the Christmas season this year?

Twitter Me

My dear bloggy friend talked me into Twittering, and so now I am all atwitter. Not really, I actually forget about it sometimes, but if you want to follow me on Twitter, pls let me know and we can link up. I had a Twitter Widget but it has, alas, given up the ghost and I am too lazy to fix it right now.

I will have a linky later, promise! (not really, but I do have good intentions)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

My Dad turned 72, and we had a big family party. We were actually celebrating birthday's for five family members at the same time! We had a potluck at my folk's house, where we usually gather for these things.

I'm so thankful for my big family, and for all the love that fills the room. The cousins enjoy each other so much, even with an age difference from 5 weeks to 15 yrs. I always get a kick out of how excited they are to see each other, even if its only been a day since they were last hanging out!

Dad loved the circle scrapbook I made for him, called "Just Like Poppa", where I listed the qualities he shares with each of his grandchildren. I put a picture of each grandchild, along with the way they are "just like Poppa". It was a fun project.

I didn't really mean to make him cry, but he is such a sweet soft-hearted guy, with a tough-guy exterior. I love that about him.

My Dad is a very special man, and the hero every little girl needs. He has always been my hero, and always will be. He isn't just good to me, he is there for me in every big and small way, from helping me go get hay for my horses, to coming over to help with things when Michael is gone, to babysitting, to running errands, to giving me advice, and the list goes on. He has to be extra stubborn, but he gets through to me! I have so much respect for his wisdom and experience.

We go mushroom hunting together every spring, and tree hunting every december! We share a love of fishing too. He still builds race cars, and races them too! I go to his races, and scream "Go Daddy GO!" from the stands. I'm so proud of him, he is just one of those "cool" guys even at this age. Everyone I know has deep respect for him, and not just for his accomplishments, but for the honest and kind man that he is to everyone. He has so many friends, I cannot keep track at all!

He is never predictable, he surprises us all the time. From winning a boat in a pool game with a buddy (yeah, took us days to really believe him, then he brought the boat home!) to challenging the grandkids to a handstand contest (and Dad won!) to climbing straight up a banana tree to grab some bananas. He has no idea of age. He still climbs mountains after the biggest sheep, still skippers a halibut boat (just bought a new one) and has so many projects planned for the future he better live to be over a hundred.

Last summer I rode on the back of his four-wheeler, with him driving, for forty miles up into the mountains of Denali Park! It was grand fun, and I felt so safe, like a little girl being carefully protected by her Daddy. He is a wild driver, but he's just so good at everything he does, (and is the best driver I know!) that as we splashed through rivers and careened along the cliffs, I just smiled and laughed and felt joy at the adventure of it all. He was having so much fun, I could see the corners of his mouth turn up in a forty mile smile!

Here are a just a few more of my favorite pictures of Dad:

Mukluk In the Snow

Oh, what a fun little guy Mukluk is in the snow! He bucks and whirls, and gallops madly around kicking up a ton of white powder behind him.

And of course he would not be nearly the fun if he was on a lead rope, so we just turn him loose. And for a new kid on the block, he does a mighty fine job of not running away...so far.

Dashing through the snow:

Flying Foam Fun!

We sure had a BLAST when we rented River City Cheer and Tumbling and invited all the cousins! The room is huge, and full of all the things kids just love to do!

One side of the room is a long looooong trampoline, where you can run and bounce at the same time.

On another side is an even larger trampoline, near a balance beam. Close to the trampoline is a HUGE pit filled with foam blocks, so you can run and jump off of (yet another) tramp, and go flying through the air and land in a soft pool of foam. Then you can "swim" to get out. You can even take the rope swing, and swing out into the middle, then drop off and go deep down.!

They did lots of flips!

You can use the balance beam to have jousting competitions, and try to knock each other off.

My silly Mom! She wanted to try everything at once, just like the kids!

Swim, Mom, swim!

The whole entire room is wall to wall foam mats, so everyone can go a bit crazy but still stay safe.

I call this one my "Nike Ad" picture. Its my 15 yr old niece, T. Doesn't she look cool?

The cousins! (looking a bit worn out after hours of play)

Watch this video, then tell me who's winning....auntie or kiddos?

Blades of Glory

Our goal today was to get school and lunch finished and head outside. I kept the girls motivated all through their Italian lessons, and we heated up leftovers for lunch. Everyone kept their eye on the clock and could not keep from drifting over to the window, and looking longingly out on the lake. Even mom and dad!

Yes, we were all waiting to go SKATING! Somehow the stars aligned and we didn't get snow before the lake froze, or huge storm and overflow, or rain and sleet after a hurricane or or or. Instead, we had the perfect ice! Windswept, black as night, and smooth as glass.

This is me on skates. Ignore the dusty laces. Doesn't mean I have not skated in awhile. Not at all. (okay, just shut up and hold my hand okay?)

We skated out across our lake and over to the cove. The day was gorgeous, and actually pretty warm.

Handsome hubby in the grass by the shoreline.

Penelope found a frozen sucker fish stuck under the ice. He was about ten inches long, and by the look on his face he was in a very bad mood the day he died. Uppy named him "Frozo" and wanted to cut him out of the ice and take him home to examine him further. She loves science.

The girls pause to switch from figure skates to hockey skates

Michael and Chena had to skate home and take off for basketball practice, but Penelope and I stayed out there a bit longer. It was too beautiful out there, and I didn't want to leave the lake.

But finally we had enough, and we skated home for hot english toffee mocha, and a warm woodstove!