MERRY CHRISTMAS 2009!!!

Our Pre-Christmas photos!

Porter was willing to wear the elf hat but Abbi had some issues with being Mrs. Santa Claws.

Our ornaments. I do think we need some new ones but the old ones hold great memories for the kids and I .... so maybe next year.

Robee decorating "Alfie" the tree. We buy live trees and then plant them in our yard after Christmas. And they all have names too.

Of course, last year "Charlie" didn't go into the ground until about ... September. I was a little lax about planting. Sorry Charlie!

Felix showing off our tree trimming.

And the finished product!! The cat blanket masquerading as a tree skirt really adds a flair, don't you think??

God Bless Us ... Everyone!!

Goodbye Sam the Cat

Samson came to us the summer of 2005 right after we moved to Arlington. He was at the local feed store, stuck in a tiny little cage and he was huge. There was little information on his past; the family was moving and couldn't keep him.

I had lost Houdini during the move in February and wasn't quite sure if I wanted to take on another cat. But the kids were begging me and he did look so forlorn in his tiny cage.

The previous owner thought that he was about four years old but wasn't sure because she got him from a shelter and they weren't sure.

He lived with us since that time. He was a good cat and sometimes very weird.

Unfortunately, he was one of the collaborators who were peeing in my house during the Great Cat Crazy period and to be put in the garage. He lived here with Zeke and Cynammon until their deaths in the summer of 2008. He then moved to the barn because he was tired of raccoons coming in the cat door of the garage.

Grace, our official barn kitty, didn't take to this but he lived with her in peace.

He came up missing last Saturday during the freeze and I had been looking for him and calling trying to find both he and Grace. Grace finally showed up but no sign of Sam.

Then on Saturday, Felix was feeding the animals and found him in the barn, behind the bathroom door. He died sometime last week.

So we're down to one cat, Grace - and honestly, I think she prefers it this way.

Goodbye Samson, 2001? - 2009. I am so sorry I didn't know you were that sick.

Random pics before Christmas

Felix and Leah at their Christmas Choir Concert last night. Great job girls!!

Felix wore her first pair of HIGH heels last night because she's on the last row of the risers and everyone else is wearing heels and so she looks like she's 3 feet tall.

So ... against my better judgement, I bought her some high shoes.

It has nothing to do with not wanting her to be old (although I do miss with a broken heart, my little blonde pigtailed girl) but the fact is that her balance is .... well .... not the best. I don't like to label her, but she's a bit clumsy. Klutzy even.

As she was walking up to her spot, I was repeating under my breath over and over "Please don't fall. Please don't fall." That was my mantra last night. Come to find out, Leah's mom who sat behind me, was saying the exact same thing in Leah's behalf. Us moms.

This is me holding Ivy at Angie's baby shower that Jen had at her new house (which is beautiful I might add) last Saturday afternoon.

I rarely get any photos of me holding the kids unless I stretch my arm and take them myself. But Kathie (Angie's mom-in-law) had her camera ready and got this shot.

I adore this baby. I have the great opportunity of watching her during the week.

This. What can I say?? This is an ornament that is made to look like my favorite Starbucks cup. It's hanging on my rear view mirror. Isn't it wild??

Ah .... I can almost taste the Green Tea Latte now. I'm totally addicted to those things. I crave them sometimes. And since green tea is good for the body, I figure 10,000 years of Japanese folks drinking it cannot be wrong, eh?

Tundra pics

So here are some pics of the frozen tundra I am now calling home.

This is the goats' water trough. That hole I made using a pickax so the poor things could get a drink.














Ice crystals formed a on log. A weeks worth of freezing cold temperatures.



This is my finger (obviously) measuring the ice from the trough. I think that's about 2 1/2 inches in thickness (minus the fingernail).












Yes. I'm living in the Yukon now and I'm not happy about it.

Freezing Cold Weather

Okay. So last year, I was complaining about the snow (see last year's post around this same time for verification).

This year: it's the cold. It has been so cold (HOW COLD WAS IT?) that we didn't need tinsel on the tree; icicles formed completely on their own --- inside!!! My weather phone says it's 18 degrees --- and the sun is up and shining.

Every water trough for my animals as 3 inches of ice. I have to break it and refill with warm water from the barn so it doesn't freeze again. Unbelievable weather.

I thought that I moved to a temperate climate, one that rained throughout the winter - which logically means that the air has to be warm for rain to fall. The kids want snow (surprise surprise) but I keep telling them that it has to be warmer than this to snow.

I feel bad since I haven't posted for weeks but, man; once Thanksgiving passes, time kicks it up about 15 notches. There hasn't been a day for the past two weeks that I haven't been running like a crazy person trying to get stuff done.

Band concerts, parties, school functions - you name it. AND don't forget the lights on the house. I've been trying to do that too but in this weather, yikes.

I told the kids "If you find my cold dead body frozen to the fence when you get home, just remember that I did this ALL for you. No guilt. I'm just your mom, doing mom things, for you. Whilst freezing my keister, for you." They said "Okay Mom. Make sure you put up lots of lights." See? Parasite sweeties.

Actually, it looks as though I have no recent photos to post. Dang. Something else I need to do. Well Angie's baby shower is Saturday so I'll get some of those posted. We had a birthday dinner for Ben but didn't take any pics of him. The only one I got was of the kids in front of the gigantic horse. =[ Sad day when I haven't taken any pictures to document my life and what's going on. Felix had a band concert but my phone camera has stopped working so I need to get that fixed too. *sigh*

Time to get moving. This is the first day I've actually been able to sit for longer than 10 minutes and I believe my time is up.