Boat Flares

We didn't have any sparklers for tonight, so 3 boat flares that expired in 1999 were put to good use! At midnight we watched the ball in New York drop on the TV and then proceeded to watch quite the display of fireworks from the window on the stairway landing. Anchorage allows fireworks in the city limits tonight until 1 am. One of the houses in the neighborhood up the hill spend thousands on a private show. Thanks, we really enjoyed it!

Wild & Crazy New Year!!

We had talked about having a New Year's Eve get together at our house.....good thing we didn't plan anything as the house is in construction mode!

Doug and Zach stopped Wednesday on the way home at the flooring store to pick-up our flooring.

I wish we had a forklift at home to UNLOAD this from the back of the truck. A whole pallet!

And a large roll of pad....

We moved both cars from the garage and tried to angle the truck in. No luck, it is too large. So, Doug backed the truck up to the door and we did a quick unload. As it was 10*F out we didn't waste any time getting the pallet unloaded and the garage door back down! Burr!

It is all in and will now sit for a few days to warm to the same temperature as the house.

Friday night!! The first piece is down!

New Year's Eve, Saturday night. Doug has been working pretty much all day on the floor. We had moved the refrigerator....funny how one thing leads to another. Once the refrigerator was moved, it really needed a good vacuum job of the coils and everything else underneath. As we had unloaded it to move it, we could now see the inside. All those little drips and crumbs that are hidden when it is full were now exposed. So, New Year's Eve......washing out the refrigerator and freezer. Do we know how to party!!??

Making good progress!

Lachlan Turns 3

I don't know where Laurie finds the energy....but, with a 4 week old newborn and a house full of people she found the energy to make a cake for Lachlan and have a little party for him.

We were excited to get to see Oliver (Ollie) for the first time. What a cutie!! I had forgotten just how small a newborn is.

Karl and Oliver.

Karl and the birthday boy, Lake.

Laurie had made this great cupcake cake with a Lightening McQueen theme!

Nora, Lake, Zach & Sam.....Sam couldn't wait to get a cupcake!

Sam was pretty impressed with Lake's new toys. Of course, the toys are always better at someone else's house. It was fun to see Karl/Laurie/Nora/Lake & Ollie, Laurie's parents (Bob & Mavis), Karl's sister (Kristy) and nieces (Tatem and Adelle). We hope to see everyone again soon....and Laurie - you are my hero, where do you find the energy?

Floor Art

Our floor art is slowly being covered with beautiful new flooring. A surprise to be found by someone else taking up the floor years from now.....

Special Delivery!

We got home to find that a Christmas package had arrived from Papa and Mema! How fun....thank you!

Sam loves Angry Birds!

Hess truck.....Papa sends one to Zach every year, he is getting quite the collection!

Bradenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany....made from Legos!

Sealife Center

I had received an e-mail that employees/families of Green Star certified companies could enter the Sealife Center in Seward for free on Wednesday's. Well, it turns out that any Alaska resident can enter for free on Wednesday's. We will take it! Free is better than $50 for family admission.

Yeah......I saw Doug licking his lips as he was looking at the shrimp in this tank. A few more months....hang in there....just a few more months until summer.

The touch tank is always a favorite of Zach's.

Giant squid! Doug was on the news story when this was found and brought to the Sealife Center for preservation 10 years ago.

This Christmas tree was so pretty in the entryway with the salmon ornaments on it.

Doug, of course, could not leave Seward without a quick walk of the docks. It was cold and windy!! He pretty much had the docks all to himself!

A quick snack at the Safeway store and it was time to head home. A nice little get away!

Mini Vacation to Seward

The house is in shambles from tearing up the flooring in the kitchen and front room. The new flooring was delayed until later in the week which is just fine with us......a great reason for us to head off on a mini-vacation to Seward.

We like the Hotel Seward downtown. A historic place within walking distance to everything that we want to do. Plus, the rooms have a microwave and refrigerator. We packed the hamburgers Doug grilled up this morning and had a nice dinner in the room!

Zach slept well with his new friend, Red.

Tuesday morning we were up and ready to go to out to explore. It was cold and the wind was blowing pretty good. A trip to look at the water and play on the playground was all we were up to on this venture out. Afterwards we would pick-up a DVD player from the front desk, make some lunch in the room and watch movies for part of the afternoon!

It was icy out! Seward apparently had a warm spell and then froze again!

After our fill of movies in the room, it was time to head to the Apollo Restaurant behind the hotel for a pizza. Seward is a very sleepy place in the winter and the Apollo was quiet tonight. There were 3 other tables occupied when we arrived, but by the time we left it was just us!