The Capital Christmas Tree

The 2015 Capital Christmas Tree was chosen from Alaska!  The tree was cut down near Seward.  On it's way to the "lower 48" it made a stop in Anchorage.  We had the pleasure of seeing it at Cabela's, while shopping for a new dog bed for Tisuk.

 There were windows on the truck and you could see in to the top half that was lit up!

 A reindeer was there to greet you.  No antlers, they were removed so he can safely visit kids. 

 And we got to sign the poster on the side of the truck.  

Inside of Cabela's we met the driver, John, and his wife.  We wished him a safe journey as he drives this 90 year old, 74 foot Lutz spruce to our Nation's capital.  Read more about it here.  

Holidaze…...

It seemed as though it took forever for Christmas Eve to come this year.  I spent from before Thanksgiving until December 23, shopping and preparing for Christmas Eve.  Christmas Eve was when my parents and sister arrived.  That was the deadline in my head…… by the time they got here, the Christmas season was in full swing. My program at school happened a week earlier so we had time to be organized and relaxed.  i vowed to not be wrapping gifts when they were here and did not want to be baking either :)

 We had a wonderful dinner on Wednesday night with Zeb's family.  Then right on schedule, Santa arrived the next morning……..

 A wonderful surprise awaited the girls outside.  A new wagon and a beautiful new sled built by their grandpa.  It even used a piece from Zeb's sled when he was little.  How special!

We have been very blessed this year with many things to be thankful for.  

We hope 2015 continues to be amazing.  

A Home For the Holidays....

We officially moved into our new home on December 18.  Our goal was to be able to sleep there that night and we did.  On Wednesday, December 19, Zeb went out to search for a Christmas tree.  By December 20...... it was beginning to feel like Christmas.  Lara arrived from Wisconsin on December 23.  Perfect timing for emptying a few more boxes while the kiddos could be entertained by the Amazing Lara!

 We had Christmas Day at the house, Zeb's parents and sister came over.  It was a wonderful time.  We even found the box with the candle sticks and crystal glasses........so we could have a nice "fancy" Christmas dinner. 

 This was V's first Christmas where she new what was going on!  She loved carrying around the wrapped presents....... and then the opened ones.  I can't say she loved the opening process to much.  But I am sure next year will be crazy!

New Year's was rung in at the house as well.  When the children were nestled, all snug in their beds..... Zeb and I took a dip in the hot tub and watched the sky light up with dozens of illegal fireworks.  

What an exciting way to ring in the New Year in our new home!

Thank you to our family that helped us move in and get settled.  This is making for a nice start to 2013 with many more exciting adventures to come. 

Visiting Santa......

One would like to think that a visit to see Santa for your first time is an enjoyable experience.  

We got to meet Mr. Claus after he landed in a 737 at the Alaska Airlines Christmas Party for kids.  We waited in line for over a half hour to see the jolly old elf......

 The whole experience may have been too much for V.  But she did allow us to take a classic Christmas photo that will be remembered for years to come!

Personally I like photo number two. It really captures the whole event.  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for going with us and capturing the memories!

A New Tradition...

With V getting older, I am trying to establish lots of meaningful activities into her routine.  Before A came into the picture V and I would go to the zoo and the library.  More of our activities will be homebound for now, which is fine.  Until we can take A out to other events, home activities are best.

As a child I remember our family buying gifts for other children at Christmas time.  There was a tree in the church that had the names of children on it with their ages.  You could select a card and then buy a present appropriate for that child.  Well, I am sure that exists here in Anchorage, since we did this in Nome as well.  But this year, V and I participated in a different event:  Operation Christmas Child.  We headed off to Walmart and purchased items to fill our container.  We chose a 2-4 year old girl.

 Going around the store, we tried to find things to put in the bin. V would say, "ohhh" as we went down the isles, which gave me a good indication that we were making good choices.

At the very end V chose some bows off a shelf.  They will probably be enjoyed by a young girl, especially since our little girl picked them and really liked them!  We ended up with lots of good items including, a Play Dough set, socks, toothbrushes, an Ariel doll, crayons, paints and hair bows.  Hopefully through the years, V will realize that at Christmas time it is nice to do something for others and we can start a new tradition.