Christmas Before Thanksgiving?

Liberty has wanted a Christmas tree in her room. She finally got her wish. She was so excited she had to put it up right away!!!

Winter Storm

We had a pretty bad winter storm last week. I know, I know…we live in Alaska. We should be used to winter storms. However, this isn't typical for us. We don't usually have the wind here in the Interior and we don't have ice. At least I don't think we have ice. Perhaps we do. I think we have had an ice storm for the last three years? But trust me, it's not normal. Public school was even cancelled for three days last week. When we lived in AK in 1998-2001 I don't remember school being cancelled at all! That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Anyway, we received snow, ice, more snow, wind, etc. Really strong winds. Somehow, Mike and I slept through the howling wind. We even lost a very large spruce tree in the front yard. Mikayla heard it fall, saying it sounded like a gun shot. No one else heard it. Very strange. We lost power about 11:30 Wednesday night. It came back on about 8pm Thursday. We are very thankful for our wood stove. It kept our house toasty warm. It was relatively warm outside, so we didn't really have to worry about pipes freezing. Some people are still without power, days later. It's also starting to get into below zero temperatures. Not a good mix. I had to work Thursday, and Mike went in for a few hours. The kids played Dominion by candlelight. Fun times!

It's a Winter Wonderland!!!

The snow is finally here to stay!!!! We had an abnormally warm October. We loved it, most definitely. However, we were ready for snow. Who wouldn't be? It's absolutely beautiful!!!!!!

In Which We Lose Our Minds

Just about this time last year, we got a puppy named Marlee. She was total cuteness and devil at the same time. Sadly, she passed away this summer. We decided to wait until Spring to get another puppy. After spending some time this summer with my brother's dog Piper, an Australian Shepherd mix, I thought maybe that should be the kind of dog we should he. That was before I knew how difficult they would be to find up here and how much they would cost!!!! Some have asked us why we even wanted another dog since we already have two. So, I'll spell it out for my many readers. :-)

1. Our current dogs are gettin older. 

2. Mike wants to try ski-jouring. 

3. Liberty is obsessed with dogs and would love to teach a dog tricks!!!

4. Puppies are cute!!!!

Fast forward to Thursday. I had just clocked off work and checked Facebook on my phone as I was walking through the store. Someone (or a couple of someones) had posted a picture of a couple of adorable Golden Retriever mix puppies at the local animal shelter. I've always loved Goldens. I took a screenshot of the Facebook posting and called Mike. He was rather surprised at me asking him if he thought we should get one. His initial response was no. Then he called me back and asked for a picture. Conveniently, I had taken a screenshot and could send it swiftly. Which I did. :-). After he viewed it, he called me back and said they are awfully cute. So, off I went, to the shelter to meet these puppies!!! There were three, but only two were left. Liberty and I were able to meet both of them. We chose the one we wanted and filled out the adoption paperwork. He needed to be neutered before we could bring him home. We were finally able to pick him up last night. He is so sweet!!!! The shelter guessed he's about 10 weeks old. Someone had dropped them in the overnight box at the shelter on the coldest night of the year. It was about fifteen below zero that night. Breaks my heart that those puppies were outside that night!!!  Some might not think we were the smartest people to get another dog, and maybe they are right. But for now, I'm going to enjoy the ute puppiness. We've had him for a little over 24 hours now and I still think he's cute. Blog friends, meet Yukon!!!!

Coziness

The new furniture upstairs means we were able to put the old love seat downstairs. Now I can nap on said love seat and enjoy the warmth from the woodstove. Cozy. Very, very cozy. 

Great Find!!!!

WWe've been looking for new furniture for a few months, at least. I did find a chair and a half to put downstairs for free on Craigslist a couple of months ago. That was the ultimate find. However, free living room furniture that is nice is really hard to come by. There was this one living room set...it was free...or maybe it was $50. I can't remember. In excellent condition. Except it smelled.  Bad. I'm not too upset that we didn't end up getting that one. :-). So, we've been looking. On Craigslist. Multiple for sale boards on Facebook. It's not that we couldn't find anything that we liked, because we did. We liked lots of sets that people were selling. Here's the deal...people ask too much money for used stuff!!! I mean, if it will only cost us a couple of hundred dollars more to get brand new, I would rather have brand new! We still have 4 kids at home...and currently two dogs. We are rough on furniture. I didn't want brand new because it's likely it'll only last us a couple of years. So, we looked.  And looked. And looked some more. Last night, someone posted a sectional couch. For a very reasonable price. We went and looked at it today. It is in grey condition, doesn't smell, and the price was right!!! It does look a little awkward in our living room. I think it's because we aren't used to it. Hopefully we will grow to love it. Both ends recline, there are two storage compartments AND four cup holders. It remains to be seen if the cup holders are a good idea though. :-)

Bad Blogger

I'm such a terrible blogger. I've been meaning to blog for a long time now. Months. A lot has happened since I last blogged. I don't have many readers, so I doubt anyone actually noticed I haven't blogged. But you know what? I don't blog for other people. I should really be blogging so I have memories written down. I've forgotten so many details of my kids lives when they were little, so many details of a lot of my life. Age does that to a person I guess. If I were a better blogger, I would be able to go back through and read the details of my life that I may have forgotten. Perhaps I should endeavor to be a better blogger!!!! I need to make it a routine. There's no excuse. I have a blogging app on my phone and Ipad. It really only takes a few minutes. Here's hoping I become a better blogger!!!!