Thanks, Son!

So here's a conversation that took place last night at dinner:

Marc: So kids, who knows how old Mom will be on her birthday?
Olivia: Thirty-three!
Marc: No, that's how old I am, but how old will Mom be?
Bryce: uh, fifteen? yeah, fifteen?

Poor kid, being raised by a "fifteen" year old...I'm in more over my head than I thought. Actually, it was kind of funny because the kids know how old Marc is, and I thought they'd remember I'm just a year younger. On the other hand, somedays I still feel like I haven't aged past 20, except adding the extra pounds and the decrease in my ability to handle life well on 3-4 hours of sleep at night.

I do get more sleep than that, most nights anyway, and hopefully I've grown a little wiser from what I was when I was 15. However, I find myself feeling very young mentally on many days as I realize how much there is to learn in life and how many different perspectives exist on those many things to learn. Although I've learned tons in my short life span, there are so many things that I have yet to learn and many topics that I've only begun to skim the surface on. Yea for each new day to try to learn more and realize I may need to "re-learn" a few things I thought I knew! And how thankful I am for kids who ask questions and want to know the whys and hows of all aspects of things on the earth!

How fun and challenging to be part of a world in which there are things to learn and principles to understand and live by, and billions of individuals, all unique, yet very similar!

ALASKA!

Here are a few pictures taken in Fairbanks, Alaska! Yes, Marc and I had the opportunity to fly out there where he had a job interview, and since Carter can fly for free, he came along! We were there for about 3.5 days and got to experience the great people, the great town, and the chilly weather. One day the high was -30 and one day the high warmed up to -12! Quite an experience and worth every minute. While Marc was in interviews, I was able to spend a couple hours with the mother of one of the elders serving in our stake at home. It is amazing that we truly have "brothers and sisters" everywhere we go!

Anyhow, I could ramble on for a long time, so I'll spare you. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights while in town there, but didn't have any luck until, as we were flying home, we had left Fairbanks at 1:30 am local time and 10 minutes after taking off, Marc says, "Marie, I think I see the Northern Lights!" Sure enough, as we were high in the sky, above the clouds, you could see the beautiful "dancing" of the Northern Lights -- Amazing! If only we could have captured it on our camera...

Enjoy the pictures!



Driving the streets of Fairbanks







The Alaska Pipeline










Ice Sculpture of Al Gore (taken from the car, while driving)







An Ice House/Chapel outside our hotel












Carter and Marc standing inside, Carter sitting on the "altar"










Ice Sculpture of Nativity







Marie & Carter in front of the statue at Golden Heart Plaza, by the Courthouse in downtown Fairbanks

Kicking off the New Year -- Highlights From January!

Holy cow, this new year is off to a fast start...I'm a little behind, but let's try to catch you up!

We started off the New Year by playing and having fun w/family. We all (except Carter, I think) managed to stay up til after Midnight and enjoyed spending time at Scott & Danette's house! Thanks to Russ & Aspen for the new fun game "Swap!", the kids and adults alike all had fun in an almost 24 hour "Swap!" marathon. Literally, I think there was a game of Swap or Sneaks going on all day and well into the night, only to pick back up the next morning!

Now on to the biggest and best highlight of January -- Marc's birthday! (Along with countless others that first week of January -- happy belated birthday to you all!) We had fun spending the day w/Marc and he actually had the kids convinced that his birthday was a national holiday. He kept telling them, "There's no school, the banks are closed, there's no mail that day, and people all over are gathering in congregations..."

Hopefully Marc enjoyed his "holiday" at our house! The day started of w/ me going to a 7 am meeting, so he didn't even get to sleep in. Plus, since it was Fast Sunday, no big Birthday breakfast, but hopefully the roast and mashed potatoes, etc. made up for it. Finished the evening off with a yummy, homemade carrot cake topped with cream cheese frosting! What would life be like with out the hero in our home? Thanks Marc for having a birthday and for being such a stellar husband and father!













Also, Carter had his first real hands-on experience in the snow...it seems like it's always too windy or way too cold...but he loved it and was rather mad when we had him come inside!