"If I only had a _____"

Spring? What spring?! Its cold and snowing here!


Yup. That's SNOW on my car...from early this morning.

But snow don't stop us natives from enjoying ourselves. This am, the youngest saw her bike lying on the ground, half covered in snow, and exclaimed, "OH NO! MY BIKE! Better ride it so the snow comes off..."

And ride it she did. Once the bikes come out, its a fight to get them back in the storage spaces until winter.



Today is the second to last day of school. So Happy Its Thursday! Tomorrow's weather is forecasting the same, flurries, cold, snow.

So much for my fantasy about a nice last-day-of-school picnic with all Kaisa's classmates clamoring about their new kites as they "Soar into First grade." (I know, great idea right?!)

Next week, I'll have no kids in school. Well, Max and Maddie, but they don't come for their summer vacation until the end of May. No kids in school here, means they'll be home...ALL DAY...with full access to Cable TV, Nintendo DS, Wii and the Internet. Hmm...

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Eyemunna. Eyemunna who? Eyemunna slowly suck the brain power out of your kids all summer....

Wii know you're all looking for someething to do with your kids that doesn't involve game controllers. I know I am! I mean, the Wii is great when the temperatures hit seventy below for 22 days straight, and the kids are tired of running up and down the hall fetching a ball. Oh, did I say kids?! Momma needs the Wii too. I'm gonna WIN the biggest Loser-Kotzebue, for the prize money of course!

Well...GAME ON with the "Project of the Month Club!" PERFECT for people like us, who live in rural area's because we don't have a lot of craft supplies...things to keep us too busy in the long, cold winter...or the summer, when its time to be inside!


Find it at www.projectofthemonth.com

Sign up for a subscription, monthly, quarterly, etc., and a fully loaded box will arrive at your door, complete with all the supplies needed to make an array of projects. From bridges, to pillows, the possibilities are endless!



For now, we will hope for a break in the snow so the kids at June Nelson Elementary can party on for their last day of school tomorrow. And Soar into the next grade level!

Loot and the fun we had with it...

Even though Kaisa is still (REALLY) a little sick, Strep Throat and Scarlet-ty Fever (from the strep)...a double shot of PCN did the trick, but not until after the screaming and crying ensued at our local (dive) ER. Only bribes of a Slushie and the first to use my present won her over.


She wanted everyone to see her tongue!


THIS is what the body looks like...and its even worse on her palms. Ick.

Aside from the sickness, we had a wonderful day with my new birthday loot! I knew when I married Dean and the first present he gave me was a .357 magnum stainless steel handgun with a nylon body holster and bear slugs that this marriage would last forever and my presents would ALWAYS be practical and EXACTLY what I wanted.

My sisters complain that they don't know what to get me. I constantly tell everyone who asks, "I don't know...just get anything!" Or..."A bottle of red wine." ha... My mom and dad get me whatever I buy myself and they reimburse me for, which works GREAT, because I've gotten a sewing machine, a KitchenAide stand mixer, and other great things like that. My son made me an ulu this year in shop class, and I am so very proud of him! I've been using it to chop onions, ham and whatever box that needs opening, I'm chiming in..."Ohhh, I have an ulu...I'll get it!" Every Christmas, my dad makes us girls an ulu, so I have a lot of them, but my 12 year old son made this, so its special!


Yay for Koy, master ulu maker!


Fits perfectly on my knife magnet! Oh...the tiles, I woke up one day and Dean had tiled our kitchen! Yay for great husbands!

My husband, he gets me the BEST presents though. I actually get giddy when ready to open my presents from him. I do have to admit, I did have to "train" him to be patient. I want to open my present ON my birthday, or ON Christmas, or ON mother's day! He tries and tries to get me to open, or "just take a little look" at things before the big day.

Some past gifts include an iPod, another iPod (because it was cooler than the last one), a "circle camp chair" (a FOLDING papasan for reading at camp...that is a close second to the Wii Fit), a Finnish Witch Drum, that he MADE, Dansko's, Haflingers, camoflauge Rubber Boots and Jacket, and of course, the Eskimo Sled for fishing on the ice. See, I'll survive anywhere. All I need are some books to keep me company!

This year...he got me a Wii Fit, with the yoga and accessory case! Let me just say...the Wii Fit IS. THE. BEST. GIFT. EVER!





We do all enjoy the Wii, but we also usually all put on a little (lot) weight in the winter. After no sun for months, and a hundred below temperatures, all cramped in a small house, its hard to burn more calories than we eat...so Spring is the time everyone comes out of their shells, and is very active. So the Wii Fit...Exactly what we need...all of us. Not just me!



Thank you Deanie for the gift. I REALLY, REALLY love it! And as you can see...so does everyone else!

Heres to another GREAT year above the Arctic Circle. Let the adventure begin!