Wasilla library

Kyla and I have been started going to the library every Friday either before or after her gymnastics class. She didn't have a library card until now and we only would go to the library occasionally for story time, so Kyla was super excited to get her own library card and even signed it herself. She has a special wallet that she has been keeping the card in and has been taking good care of it so far. She also takes a backpack to load up with books to check out. She is really enjoying are weekly library trips. She does not put a lot of thought into the books she chooses because she is so overwhelmed by how many books there are. She is really liking reading beginner chapter books and has really enjoyed some chapter books about a pig named Mercy, so each time we go she has picked out more Mercy the Pig books. She also really enjoys reading a few stories there and playing with the puzzles they have and coloring in coloring books. We unfortunately can't attend their story time for preschools because it is Thursday mornings when Kyla is in preschool, but she likes watching the babies and toddlers in their lap sit story time when we are there.

Build-a-Bear

Today my mom, Kyla and I all went to build a bear for Kyla's Valentines Day present. She immediately decided she had to have an orange Hello Kitty until she saw the puppy that her friend Ella has, then she had her heart set on having matching puppy dogs. She loved that the dog had a magnet in its paw and on its snout where it could blow a kiss. She liked filling the puppy full of stuffing and adding the heart, and the guy working there had her do all kinds of things with the heart before putting it in the puppy, like rubbing it on her cheeks to give it a pretty smile, on her head to make it smart...

After washing and brushing her puppy she picked out a cute little outfit with a cupcake shirt and a terry jacket and skirt. She also had to get her puppy a cell phone, of course. She loves going to build-a-bear, this was her third time we have gone. Her puppy is named Sweetheart, and I am sure it will be sleeping in her bed each night too alongside her other two.

Winter Play

Kyla and Ethan have been having a great time playing in his backyard on the playground. They have been swinging, sliding and climbing and enjoying every second that we can be outside. Unfortunately, Ella is not as big of a fan of the cold and snow, so we are having to go out while she is napping most of the time.

Happy Valentines Day!

We had a very good Valentines Day! It was my day to be the parent helper at Kyla's Preschool and she got to be the line leader and provide snack, she chose to bring smoothies, grapes and cheese to share with the class. She is always so excited to have me be the helper and has been counting down the weeks until it was my turn again. All of the kids brought valentines for each other and passed them out at school. The two classes met up and they learned a very cute Valentines song and square dance. It was cute to see Kyla dancing with her friends Joshua, Ethan and Tilly. They also made two different Valentine art projects, it was a very fun day and I enjoyed helping out on such an exciting day for the kids.

After school Kyla and I made a stop at the candy shop to get chocolates for daddy (and us). Jon got Kyla two balloons and me roses and we enjoyed a nice steak dinner and strawberry shortcake and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.

Kyla enjoyed all of her Valentine gifts. She received some candy, nail polish, lip gloss and stickers from Grandma Mary and Grandad Brian and a Valentine dress, valentine puppy, chocolate and valentine cookie cutters from Grandma Karen and Papa. I promised her another trip to build a bear as a Valentine present from us, so she is counting the days until Sunday when we are in Anchorage to go build a bear.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Grandma came over to help Kyla make chocolate covered strawberries for me and Jon for Valentines Day. Kyla had a great time dipping the strawberries in chocolate, as well as eating them and licking all of the chocolate off the spoons. They turned out delicious!

Hatchers Pass with Daddy

Jon was planning to go skiing with a friend and then Kyla made him feel guilty saying "I really want to go skiing with you." So instead of heading to Alyeska, Jon took us up to Hatcher's Pass, which is the mountains just behind are house. There are no chair lifts, it is popular for back country skiing. Jon knew of a fun little area that is groomed for sledding, so we took the sled and Kyla's skis and hiked up to get a few runs in. Kyla had not skied yet this winter and she was not too happy getting ski boots on, they are not comfortable and she loves to be comfortable. She finally was comfortable enough in them to do a little skiing. At first Jon was pulling her up in the sled, then she started getting shoulder rides up and loved that, plus that made it so she didn't have to even take her skis off. She did a few runs and then fell and got snow in her face and that was it. She absolutely hates getting her face wet. We did a couple runs down the hill on the sled after skiing and then headed home. It got a little windy up there and was just a bit too cold for her be outside. I loved the area we went and we will definitely head up there more this winter for more fun in the snow sledding and skiing.

Backyard Sledding

The temperatures have finally warmed up into the 30's these past two weeks and we have been so happy to get outside and play. It is crazy to think that 30 degrees could feel so good, but after having the majority of the winter so far below zero, it really feels great. It is 60 degrees warmer then the -30 we had for awhile just a couple of weeks ago. Kyla has an igloo and a little sledding hill in the backyard, and we have been going out and playing for an hour or so whenever we can. Her sledding hill is nothing special, our backyard is flat so we just piled snow up and made her a little sledding hill, but since it is also icy her hill is actually pretty fast and she goes a long ways. She thinks it is fun and it keeps her entertained for a long time.

Playing outside in -10 degrees with Daddy

We have had such a cold winter in Alaska this year. Ever since November we have been having so many below zero temperature days and have barley even played outside this winter. We have only taken Kyla sledding one time this winter, we have not taken her skiing yet and she has been wanting to try ice skating so bad, and we have not yet done that either. She loves to be outside, so it has been hard for her to be couped up indoors all winter while it is so cold. At Preschool they do almost always go outside to play, even if only for a few minutes, but that is only two days a week so it still is not very much time being outside. Last weekend she was really wanting to get out and play and the highest temperature we saw was -10, so one day we made a quick trip outside and blew some bubbles and then the next day Kyla and Jon built an igloo in the back yard to play in. I'm sure she will have lots of fun in it once the weather gets a little nicer. I was suprised how long she stayed out in such cold weather, and I had a great time watching them out playing from inside under my heated blanket.

Blog Updates!

As you have probably noticed I have not blogged forever. My last post was mid September. We got really busy with buying are new house and getting all settled. We have not had internet at our house until now, except for on Jon's ipad, but I can't upload pictures from it. And since sharing pictures is the main reason I blog I had to take a break until we had interent. For some reason trying to get Dish and internet required being put on huge waiting lists, so we have been waiting a long time. So I am very excited that we finally got interent yesterday and now I have a ton of blog posts to share with you on what we have been up to the past few months! Enjoy!