Family Photos

 It's that time of year again.  The time of year dreaded by most people especially my family.  It is family picture time.  I only do family pictures about every other year now.  They hate doing them so much and I don't want to put up with the fighting that goes along with it so I have skipped it to every other year.  I do the kids pictures every year though.  Originally we were going to be doing pictures up at an old mine called Hatcher's pass but as it decided to snow that day and it's up a very steep mountain we couldn't make up in our van (believe me we tried but when you are pushing on the gas to go forward and you are still sliding down the mtn anyway it is much safer to just turn back) we had to do them in Wasilla.  We found an old building and since I am so an old building person that is where I got them done at.  I took my friends family photos and she helped me out by doing mine.  I really appreciated it and they turned out pretty good.  I can't wait until I can get them on print.

 The sign says family but you can't really tell.

 Not the most flattering picture of me but everyone else looks good.

 These are my two favorite pictures of my kids.  I love the way they turned out!

 This picture kind of looks old fashion and I really like the feel of it!

Oh Boys!

The other day I had the opportunity to watch these 2 little boys while their dad was having surgery.  On our way into the house from the bus stop the boys found some worms.  I asked them if they wanted to hold one!  Hello, dumb question.  They are boys so of course they wanted to hold one.  As I placed one worm in each of the boys they squealed with delight as the worm as the worms crawled all over their hands. 

After I settled into a routine with them it was time for lunch.  I asked the boys what they wanted to eat/

 They all yelled, "sandwiches".

"Well, what kind of sandwiches?"

The older one replied "Peanut butter and honey."

While the middle boy said " Peanut butter and worms!"

"Okay done," I said with a mischievous chuckle.

"I will eat the worms," said the middle boy.  "If you make it I will eat it!"

Challenge accepted.  I sent the boys downstairs to play while I made lunch.  I started to put together 3 sandwiches.  One with worms, two without. 

I then got into my refrigerator and pulled out one hot dog.  Opened my utensil drawer and took out a straw.  I pushed the straw into the hot dog and pulled out one "worm". 
When it was lunch time I called the boys upstairs to eat. 
I handed the oldest his peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich and I handed the middle boy one of the "worms" that I had made.
It was great he started screaming at me "That's gross.  Ewww, that's gross".
I then told him that he asked for worms for his lunch and I went outside and caught one especially for him to enjoy.
He was getting kind of upset that it was on his plate so I picked it up and started to put it in my mouth.  I got quite the reaction from doing it too.
"Ewww Jessica that's gross.  Ewww stop Jessica.  Stop.  Don't eat the worm".
I told him that someone had to eat it so I asked him if he would.  He told me that he wouldn't.  I tried to convince him that he would really enjoy this worm if he would just give it a try.
I even told him that it wasn't a worm after all that it was just a hot dog.  I showed him the hot dog that I made the worm from.  His response "How did the worm get inside a hot dog".  It was quite classic.
When his mom came and picked him up that day he told her all about the worm that I had made for him at lunch.  He was still convinced that it was a real worm.  I kinda wish I would of ate it.

This and That

This is typical Alaska weather.  At the beginning of this week the weather was chili outside.  It rained a lot and .  By the end of the week it had snowed and stuck around for a while.  This happened before Halloween.  I am kinda sick of snowy Halloweens.  Just snow all together.

I am one lucky mama I get to walk this little girl out to the bus stop every morning.  She holds my hand and even gives me a kiss goodbye. When she gets on the bus she waves at my on the first step and tells me to have a good day.

This was the day of our family pictures.  It snowed just a few inches.  It was the first snow that stayed around. Boo

Ella could play all day in the snow she loves it!

A weeks worth of nothing

I have a few snapshots to share that don't really have to do with anything else.  It has been so cold but oh so sunny outside lately.  In Alaska when the sun is out in the fall/winter/spring time it typically means that it is cold outside because the cloud coverage isn't around to trap in the heat.  Although the winter has been sunny it has been extremely cold outside too.

My friends and I had a girls lunch at a local restaurant here. Quite a few ladies showed up.  I think there were more kids there then there was actual women.  It's always nice to have good friends as company for lunch.

One more picture of the sun through my window.  It was so bright outside that I had to pull the curtain to get a descent picture.  This is kind of a fun perspective anyway.

As some of you know I have been making my own extracts and sugars.  So far I have made vanilla, orange, lime, lemon, coconut, and almond extract.  I have also made vanilla and lemon sugars.  It has been fun making the new extracts.  And seeing how far they have come.  With any luck they will be ready by Christmas time.

Nate has had back problems for many years now.  He has been going to the doctor for several months now trying to get it taken care of.  They have finally decided on a course of action.  They decided to burn the nerve endings off by the muscles that were spasming.  This is the result of the first time.  It is a trial run that only last about a day.  He said it worked and can't wait for the final procedure to be done in a couple of months.

Natalie's first high school band concert

Natalie practiced and practiced and practiced for her first high school band concert. She did an amazing job. She is very talented in music and I love seeing how her music abilities has changed and evolved over the last 4 years. From her first squawks and squeaks to her beautifully flowing tunes that flow through her instrument. She has transformed the notes from the paper to the notes threw her saxophone so effortlessly that she makes it look easy. I thoroughly enjoy listening to her play her saxophone. I can't wait to hear her grow more as she gets older.

Saying goodbye

Saying goodbye is a very hard thing to do. Especially to the sister missionaries. This sister missionary, Sister Peterson is very special to us all. She spent her first 6 months here in Eagle River. And she was at my house at least 2 times a week.
She has left us to go to Fairbanks. We found out that she started training her own little girl 6 weeks after she transferred there. Good bye Sister Peterson! You are missed!

A weekend getaway

I have to start this post by saying what an amazing friend I have that watched my kids so that I could go on this fabulous getaway with Nate.  That being said here I go...

On the 21st of September got to go on a getaway (I know I have know established that....twice) I got the kids ready for school and waited very impatiently for Nate to wake up.  So impatiently in fact I feel asleep on the couch.  Finally Nate got up so I was able to get ready and pack for the weekend.  Our destination was the Alyeska resort in Girdwood, AK.  Which is only 40 mins from Anchorage but, when your kid free it seems a whole country away.

We first stopped in Anchorage at one of our favorite places to eat, Moose's Tooth for lunch.  We love the pizza there and since Nate had a bad experience the last time he went he was looking forward to eating there.  We then went to the bookstore.  Our intentions for the weekend was to relax and that meant read a book if we wanted to.  Plus because we were so anxious to start our weekend we ended up leaving way before we should of and had to stall for time for a bit.  Then we stopped at the herb store to pick up some vanilla beans so that I could make more vanilla.  We then decided that we had stalled long enough that we could head to the resort.  Along the way we stopped at several turn offs to hike around for a little bit.  The fall is so pretty up here in Alaska.  It is full of vibrant yellow and orange hues.  The one color that it is lacking most in red.  But on our hike I found a red bush so I had to get a picture of it.  It is behind Nate and I in the first picture. 

We arrived in Girdwood and went right to The Hotel Alyeska about 15 minutes prior to check in. They were very kind about letting us check in anyway.  We dropped our bags off in the room and went to explore the hotel.  It is quite a nice hotel with some beautiful scenery.  Especially since it is nestled right in the middle of a mountain.  We looked through several gift shops and found where our breakfast would be served.  We then headed back to the room to get ready for our dinner.  I made reservations at 7 Glaciers restaurant which is located on the top of the mountain in Alyeska.  You have to take a tram up there. 

When we were on the tram the operator was very nice to tell us about the area and the different things we saw out the window on the way up to the restaurant.  Which wasn't much because of the fog.  The tram operator and I did see a giant bull moose.  We tried to point it out to Nate, but he never could see it.  I of course embarrassed Nate on the ride up.  The conversation between the tram operator and me went something like this.

Tram guy: Wow that is a big bull moose.

Me: It really is.  This is the first bull I have seen.

Tram guy: What a huge rack!

Me: You are talking about the moose right?

Awkward Silence.  Oh your welcome for that tram guy.  At least something exciting happened that you can go home to the place you share with the 7 other guys and tell them.  Maybe it will be so epic that they will let you sleep in one of the rooms instead of the couch for the night.

 

Our dinner was Amazing.  We got the 5 course chef's meal.  The first thing we got was a coconut curry amuse bouche.  It was very tasty.  They also brought us out bread and crackers with butter.  Our first course was a heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad.  It was topped with some crispy procuto and a calamata olive dressing.  It was so light and fresh.  What a great way to start a meal.

The next course was a lobster and scallop bisque.  With a herb crusted crouton and a basil oil topping.  This bisque was so Delicious.

The third course I forgot to take a picture of was king crab legs with a lemon risotto.  It was really tasty too.

The fourth course was a Wagyu Beef fillet.  It came with a truffle oil infused mashed potato and asparagus.  It was topped with crispy potato fries and a roasted mushroom demo.  This meat was so tender it was cut with a butter knife.  It melted in my mouth.  It was the best steak that I have ever had.  I wasn't a fan of the potato.  I have recently learned that I am not a fan of truffle oil and that is all I could taste.

The last course was a mascarpone cheesecake with a creme brulee topping.  It was also topped with a blueberry compote and a sweet basil reduction.  It was also very yummy.  All in all the meal was divine.  I would definitely eat there although I would only order the steak and soup.  The courses were perfectly spread out with just enough time to want to eat more.

After our dinner we went back to the room and just hung out.  After all the meal took 2 hours to eat.  

The next morning I was awoken because the fan turned off when the power went our.  We have been having power outages at our house off and on all week long so I wasn't really shocked when the power in the hotel went off.  We were still able to use the elevator and the restaurant was still serving most of the breakfast foods.  After breakfast Nate and I went out to explore Girdwood.  It is a very small ski resort town.  It is not what you think a typical ski resort town would be like.   There is not quaint main street or busy coffee shops.  There is 1 gas station and a very yummy bakery.  There are several different restaurants to choose from up there.  We decided to drive up to some hiking places even though we weren't going to hike because of the pouring rain and all.  We were trying to find the old mine that they have up there.  On our way up Nate commented on how cool it would be if we saw a pack of wolves.  Not 5 minutes later up the road from us came some animals.  Nate points and exclaims that he has found a pack of wolves that I need to hurry and get my camera out.  I told him that they were just dogs.  He then argues with me about them being wolves.  As we drove closer to the animal with their tongues hanging out and their funny little smiles you could tell that they were just DOGS!!!  I did tell him that if he happened to be right that they were wolves he really needed to say how cool it would be if we ran into a leprechaun with its pot of gold.

After exploring for a while we stopped at the bakery to get some lunch and then headed back to the hotel where we had a marvelous time hanging out in the room just talking and getting to know each other better.  We haven't been able to do that in such a long time.  It was wonderful!

Look I have host eyes!

Nate with the wild mushroom he was pretending to eat.  He did say that it felt like it stung him when he picked it. 

After dinner.  I know he is photo bombing my picture I had actually planned it that way.  I was so lucky to spend the weekend alone with this guy!  He always laughs at my mustache obsession but now he is just feeding into it!

For dinner that night we went to the Double Musky.  It is a Cajun restaurant in Girdwood.  The Double Musky was voted one of the top 10 restaurants in the nation by food network and also voted the top steak in the nation by the same people.  The top steak is a pepper steak.  It is rolled in a flour batter then deep fried.  Rolled in pepper and then grilled.  It has a Cajun gravy on the top.  That is what Nate got to eat.  It came with some amazing jalapeno rolls to eat.



I ordered  the Cajun shrimp.  It came on a bed of cheesy rice.  The shrimp had cinnamon and maybe honey on it.  It was delicious.  We also got some wonderful desserts to take back to the hotel with us.

The rest of the evening was spent in the room as we debated on if we should watch Men in Black 3 on Pay per View or not.  I am glad we voted not to because we both fell asleep before it would of gotten over.  We watched SNL instead.

 

The next morning we took our time getting up and getting ready.  We once again had breakfast in the hotel.  We walked around the outside.  Of course it was raining some more.  Which really sucks.  Then we packed up and headed home.  We did stop at the bakery on the way our of town and picked up some huge cookies for the kids.

What a breath of fresh air it was to get away.  We really needed that.  I now wish I could do go to a different hotel on a weekly basis.  Too bad I will have to wait so long to do that again.

I can't believe they are 15!!!

Holy Crap I can't believe that it has been 15 years since I gave birth to these bright, spunky girls!  The girls birthday fell on the same night as mutual this year.  I didn't get to see much of them because of sports on their birthday but I did try to make it as special as I could for them.  I asked the girls what they wanted to eat for their birthday.  I try to make my kids their favorites every year.  It is hard with having twins so I do the meals over 2 nights.  Natalie got to pick.  I thought at first that she said that she wanted Mexican Chili Casserole so when I went to the store to buy the ingredients for it.  Because I was making Natalie's dinner I made Nichole's dessert which happened to be Mint Cake Pops.  After I made the meal Natalie informed me that she had originally said that she wanted Mexican Chili Casserole and then changed her mind to Stromboli which I had forgotten.  Oops.  (The next day I made Nichole's meal which was shrimp Alfredo).  Between sports practice and dinner the girls opened their gifts.  Natalie got a dress, a skirt, a book, and a pillow from Nate and I.  She got money from Grandma and Grandpa Musil and a shirt from Grandma and Grandpa Banks.  Her friend Kaitlyn got her a new hat.

Nichole got a dress, a book, make up, and some tights from Nate and I.  She got nail polish from Natalie, money from Grandpa and Grandma Musil, and a new shirt from Grandma and Grandpa Banks.  Her friend Kaitlyn got her nail polish and a kitkat bar.

After presents we had dinner and they headed out the door to Young Women's.  Where they taught the Activity day girls about the pioneer trek.  The Young Women also sang to the girls!  I hope that they had a great birthday.

Natalie is extremely good at math.  She participates in flag football and track.  She is friendly to everyone and is a good friend.  She is funny, spontaneous, and giggly.  She is a great helper around the house and very diligent about her studies.  She has a love for the gospel that is deeply contagious.

Nichole is very creative but only likes to express her creativity through her own unique way she can not be stuffed into a box.  She plays tennis and is catching on to it quite quickly.  She is fun loving and tries to make the best out of every situation.  She likes her space and to be alone.  She is clumsy and spunky and hilarious.  She knows how to bring a smile to peoples faces.  She is willing to accept anyone.  She has a strength in the gospel that is unwavering.

These two girls make me want to be a better person for them.  I love you girls.  You are amazing.

 

 We played a couple jokes on my parents about the girls birthday.  First when my mom called I handed Natalie the phone to answer.  My mom asked for one of the girls not recognizing Natalie's voice. Natalie said just a second and put the phone down and just laughed and laughed.  She then said Hello like she wasn't there the whole time.  My parents then sung to her. 

Next my mom asked to talk to Nichole but before Nichole could get on the phone My mom and dad started to sing to her.  In the middle of the song Nichole said Hello?  When they were done singing Nichole asked them if they started to sing to her before she was even on the phone.  My mom felt bad and had my dad come back in and sing to Nichole even though really she only missed the first two words of the song. 

Next when Natalie's package came from my parents she was at her football game so they had to wait for a response from her.  I thought that it would be funny to send a picture of Nichole in the shirt instead of Natalie.  I of course waited for Natalie to get home to open her present first.  My parents then commented on just how cute Nichole Natalie looked in her shirt. When we told them it was the wrong girl they said that they thought something was wrong with the picture.  Yep wrong kid!