Big Man Gets His Hair Cut

Ethan got his very first hair cut!

We spared "no expense" and took him to a friend's house for Big Man's first hair cut. (Hey, there isn't much to choose from and this guy does good cuts!)

He was prepped with a red mini-smock around his neck. And never cried or threw a fit. Chris and Ethan went together...male bonding!

His hair is now clean and trim on the sides with a little length on the top. He looks like such a little man.

Here are some pictures from his very first hair cut:

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning Emily came running upstairs to our room; she was so excited about the previous night and all the presents she received that she completely forgot about Santa!! We soon reminded her about Santa, and asked her if Santa came this morning.

She got a big sparkle in her eye, and said "I dunno" while shrugging her shoulders. We all raced downstairs. I went to wake Ethan, and Chris took Emily to inspect the scene. They looked at the cookies and the milk...the cookies had been eaten, and the milk was half-gone. There were presents sticking out of the stockings, and there were new presents under the tree!!

More presents! Emily was SO EXCITED!! Ethan was in a good mood too! We were joined via gmail video for our morning festivities by Papa, Grandma, Lisa, David, as well as Kim & Kaylyn who popped in to say "hello." We hooked them up to the tv, and we were hooked up to their tv...It was a fun interaction.

We had a few presents left over from the previous night; we couldn't get through all of the other presents in one night, the kids were just too tired and cranky. So, there were a few extra presents mixed in with the ones Santa brought. Both kids got some pretty cool stuff...an iXL, which is like a kid palm pilot, princess book/toy, shoes, art kit, a play tent, games, but perhaps the coolest present was the bike and truck!

Santa brought a pink bike for Emily, with a helmet and a bell. Ethan got a big red truck that he can ride. Both the bike & truck were a BIG HIT and the kids spent most of the morning riding them. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been good, so the kids haven't been able to take their toys outside just yet.

Chris and I got a pretty cool gift from mom & dad...a black Wii with Wii Sports and Wii Resort! Lisa even gave us the Wii Fit!! We're SO EXCITED!! We didn't get to play much with our new toy on Christmas because we were too busy taking all the kids' toys out of the boxes...all those damn zip ties...ARG!! (We did have a great time playing the Wii a few days after Christmas...what fun!)

After Christmas presents were all opened we sat down and ate a fantastic breakfast...waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, cinnamon rolls, orange juice...it was yummy! The rest of Christmas weekend was engulfed with taking the toys out of the boxes. I cannot believe HOW HARD some of those toys were to get out of the box! The packaging is incredible! At the end of the day we were left with so much trash & cardboard that we had to do a special dump run that following week. We're limited to the amount of trash we can produce each week, and with Christmas we quadrupled our regular trash disposal...so, Chris just took it directly to the dump himself.

We had a terrific Christmas, considering that we couldn't make it home to be with family. We missed sharing the holidays with you guys, but hopefully we may be able to make it next year...we'll see. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here are some pictures from Christmas Morning...

Christmas Traditions

This was our first year to have Christmas alone, without extended family. I tried very hard to stay true to many traditions, and couldn't keep up with many others. It was a busy & stressful month. It's extremely difficult to have all the festivities when you have two small children running amok nonstop.

I baked countless cookies as my mother did when I was a kid. Emily helped with some of the cookies, but she usually had an ulterior motive...she wanted a taste. Once I completed my last batch I realized...who, in the hell, am I going to give all these cookies to?!?! I gave out as many plates as I could, but we still had leftovers.

With Christmas Eve I felt a large responsibility to uphold the Swedish Traditions. It was rather stressful. We did the best we could, but there were a few Christmas Eve Standards that we missed out on. For dinner we had honey baked ham, green bean casserole, cheesy potato casserole, pickled cucumbers, olives, and rolls. No, there was no lutefisk at our table...we'll have to double-up for next year.

After dinner we opened all of the presents that were sent to us from our families. YOU GUYS ARE WAY TOO GENEROUS! THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR LONELY CHRISTMAS EVE A VERY SPECIAL ONE! We got boxes in the mail nearly every day for the entire month of December! The ladies at the Post Office know us!

Emily was SO EXCITED to open Christmas presents! She not only wanted to unwrap the gifts, she also wanted to open all the toys immediately after they were unwrapped. Once a gift was opened, we kept trying to get her to open something else because she'd be so mesmerized by the previous gift.

Ethan wasn't quite sure what was going on. We urged him to open gifts, and he did a few...but his main interest was to take all the decorations off of the Christmas tree. (That's been his focus all month...and now, with the presents being unwrapped and moved away from the tree, he could now reach the branches. He's a Boy-Destroyer!)

The kids got some awesome gifts: toy laptops, books, little people, clothes, trains, crayons, DVDs, tea parties, games, remote control cars, heated blankets, barbies, stuffed animals, plus much more. The night was a little overwhelming for them. Yes, we did get through everything, but it was rushed toward the end as they were just too fussy!

Chris and I also got some wonderful items...thank you! Oh, and the dogs (mainly Chloe), they Thank You for sending toys for them; which, as of today, Chloe has eaten and torn all of the new dog toys. She's a Dog-Toy-Destroyer!

Thank you for making our holiday special, even though we are 4,000 miles away! We love you all, and we wish you a Very Merry Christmas!!

Here are pictures from the exciting evening!

Snow Angels

The snow has arrived in Kodiak. In fact, as I write this we're in the middle of a blizzard that is supposed to drop about 9 inches this evening. It has been fun this year to play in the snow with Emily. I think Ethan will be more fun next year when he is walking, and he will be able to participate more.

Snow does have it's challenges as well. Today Emily was being a pill, and she refused to get in the car. So, for that brief two minute standoff about an inch of snow blanketed the interior of my car...of course, then she complained that there was snow on her seat!

One weekend we decided to head out to the Ski Chalet, which is about a 20 minute drive on your way toward Anton Larson, which is a bay on the other side of the island. The Ski Chalet, from what I'm told, used to have a ski rope pull lift years ago. Although this "technology" is no longer available in Kodiak, they still maintain a small hill free from bushes and shrubs where kids can go sledding.

After the hour-ordeal of getting everyone dressed and ready, we were good to go! We drove out and, by the time we got there, it was nearly dusk...so we only had a few minutes before night set in. We rushed and each kid got to sled down the hill with Chris, we grabbed some quick shots for the Christmas Cards...and then we were on our way back home.

Yes, it took about an hour to get ready to go...a 20 minute drive...for about 10 minutes of "fun" and by the time we were done, the kids were cold, wet, tired, and fell asleep in the car on the way back home. Mission accomplished.

Here are some fun snow pictures.

Emily making a snow angel...face down!

(Hey, she has her own way of doing things!)

Snow at home!

Trying for a Christmas Card pic.

Fun times in a mound of snow! Ethan just doesn't get it.

It's rare to get a picture of the parents when the kids hoard the attention. :0)

Performance Debut

Emily had her performance debut in this year's Nutcracker Performance! The Nutcracker only premiers in Kodiak once every three years, so this being a Nutcracker-Year it was a HUGE HONOR to participate in such an event!

Emily, and her Dance Class were Baby Arabians in Act I of the Nutcracker Performance. There were about 6 little girls, and 1 little boy in their performance.

They did two shows, one Friday night and the second was a Saturday matinée. She got flowers at the end of her performance, and even went out during curtain call to take a bow at the end of the show.

It was ONE HECTIC SCHEDULE! We attended rehearsal nearly every day. Mom, or dad would need to leave work early to pick Emily up...change her clothes...do her hair and make-up...and then rush to the theater. We didn't do much in the way of "a life" during the week of show-prep.

Emily loved being on stage. She calls it "The Talent Show" and had no stage fright whatsoever. She walked out, did her performance, and walked off...just as practiced. What a Performer!

We were great stage-parents. It was all about her, and she loved it! Yes, her performance was only about two minutes in length, but it was fantastic! (Besides, what do you expect for a bunch of three-year-olds!) I ordered a video, and as soon as I have it I will try to post her performance so you all can see.

Here are some pictures from The Nutcracker:

Welcoming the Holidays

We heard Santa was coming to Kodiak and so we prepared the kids to go pay him a visit. We talked about Santa for a few days prior to visiting him, in an attempt to make sure Emily would be ready to sit and talk with him.

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Santa was coming to visit and take pictures at a local coffee shop. Its rare for Santa to visit Kodiak, so you need to JUMP at the chance to go see him. We waited for about an hour before it was our turn. It was a pleasant wait though, as we just sat a a table with our coffees and a pastry waiting for our number to be called.
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When we finally were called Ethan went up first and immediately started crying. Emily was no different. Eventually Chris and I were talked in to sitting with the kids and Santa, and the four of us got our pictures taken with him. (I'm not sure if we'll use this pic for the Christmas card, so I'll show it to you later.)
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Later that day, and throughout the weekend we decorated the house for Christmas. Emily was SUPER EXCITED about decorating the Christmas Tree! She even helped daddy put up the Christmas lights on the house. Ethan was being his usual "boy self" and took ornaments off the tree, pulled things from boxes, and played with things he shouldn't...there was a lot of corralling going on while we tried to decorate.
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We had a blast decorating this year, and it was fun to share the traditions and explanations of the holidays with Emily. She is definitely looking forward to seeing Santa this year! And, Ethan, well...he has a few more years before he really knows whats going on. In the meantime, he totally LOVES the Christmas Lights!
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By the way, Santa wrote down the presents he's bringing the kids on the blog's home page, in the top left corner. Just in case you're curious. Happy Holidays!

Moose in Kodiak

There are many moose throughout the state of Alaska, but sadly, there are none on Kodiak Island. We are lucky enough to have the Kodiak Bear, but no Kodiak Moose.
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A few months ago one of Chris' friends went hunting near Kotzebue which is near the top of the state and shot an 800 lb moose. When he returned he shared some of the meat with Chris.

At first I was hesitant to try moose, but because meat (in general) is so expensive here you really have no choice but to eat the sustenance from the land.
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My first moose recipe was with meatballs, and it was delicious!! It tastes just like beef, but without the grease and fat! It's wonderful!! When mom and dad were here we let them try a moose roast, and it too was delish!
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I think moose could be my new "beef replacement" - it's fabulous!!

Are There Any Good Restaurants Around Here...?

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Ever wonder what to send your friends or family who live in a remote area? Or, ever want to send something to someone serving overseas? Do they need socks, gum, books, candy, soda...ya, maybe; all these things are good.

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BUT, the BEST care-package EVER is FOOD!

FAMILIAR FOOD!

FOOD FROM HOME!

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We were OVERJOYED and EXCITED to have mom & dad bring a familiar favorite from home. Golden Bowl has the best rice bowl ever! And, their teriyaki sauce is unmatched!! The chicken, steak, green onions were frozen and brought via airplane to our island of Kodiak, Alaska.

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You have NO IDEA what a TREAT a simple rice bowl can be until you've lived without good food for three years. Usually when we come home our visits are planned around restaurants and food locations. Yes, I know that makes us sound like a bunch of fattys, but if you had Russians making Italian Food, and Filipinos making Mexican Food...you'd plan a food'cation as well!

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Its always wonderful to have a little bit of home all the way up here!

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By the way, if you haven't been to Golden Bowl they are located on Rowland and Second Street in Covina. I highly recommend the beef or chicken bowl with a side of teriyaki sauce! YUM! Oh, and you can't go on Sunday because they're "Closed for the Lord's Day" (yep, that's what their sign says on the window)

The Big E Turns 1!

Yep, November 17th the Big Guy turned 1! He has grown (or should I say "overgrown") from his small preemie stature when he was born, and he is becoming a strong and healthy little man.


We celebrated Ethan's birthday with some friends, and then again with family. He wasn't quite sure what to make of his first birthday party, but Emily was really excited! Grandma and Papa brought up all of the party decorations, as we don't have such luxuries on our tiny island. The entire house was decorated with 1st Birthday party decorations.


He didn't know what to do with the birthday cake. At his party he just kind of poked the cake until I finally broke it up a bit and fed it to him...he still wasn't too interested. BUT, on his actual birthday we celebrated again, and this time the kid was loving it! (Maybe he likes chocolate cake better than white cake...?) He tore into the chocolate cake and got it everywhere!!!


He got many presents for his first birthday and I thank everyone for sending something for him. He was excited to open the presents and the boxes, and loved unwrapping everything. All of the trucks and cars are just awesome, and he seems to take a liking to those. Its fun to watch him drive the car across the floor. The clothes were especially great...he's a fastly growing boy and those 18month clothes fit him perfectly! He also got some other cool toys like a helicopter, sensory bouncy balls, a birthday bear, talking dog, and I'm sure there are a few more in there I might have missed. He's just starting to like toys, and these are all a great start for our little man!


We were excited to have Grandma & Papa join us for this special occasion. They flew in and stayed for a total of 10 days. While they were here they were a HUGE help, and made breakfast, lunch, dinner, played with the kids, cleaned, and just hung around. We were spoiled while you guys were here, and you are welcome to come back anytime!!

Here are more pictures from Ethan's 1st Birthday: