Not Quite Soup

If we'd had soup for dinner Jason would have been face down in his soup. Instead he's laid his little head down on the table during dinner. He didn't get a nap and just couldn't handle it any longer. He looked at me and said "I'm tired," then he put his head down and was out.

We were at AG's house for dinner and since Jason was so soundly sleeping we moved him to the bed and the boys ended up spending the night at AG's house. That kid will sleep anywhere!

Christmas Step 2 - Fairbanks

On Christmas Day, after we made cookies for Santa, the boys got to open one present. My mom had gotten each boy a Pajamagram. The Pajamagram came in a little cardboard dog hose and contained a stuffed puppy, named PJ, and a pair of pajamas. It was so cute! The company does Pajamagrams for everyone and I am definitely considering giving one as a baby gift to a dear friend.

Opening thier gifts. I love the look on Jonathan's face, such a watchful older brother.

All decked out in their matching PJ's sitting in front of AG's (that's what they call my mom) Christmas Tree.

Since we arrived in Alaska on Christmas Day we didn't actually open all our gifts until the day after Christmas. So we got all dressed up in our Christmas best and headed upstairs to see if Santa had come.

Our family coming up to see if Santa had come. We didn't get a picture of Jonathan's face when he realized Santa had come but believe me he was very excited. Jason didn't really care, he was more interested in playing with the sock that he took off coming up the stairs.

Jonathan opening his stocking. That thing was loaded down. He got a Cars flashlight, a paperweight with a moose on it (his half of the boys room is decorated in moose), some candy, a stirring spoon to use when he helps mom in the kitchen, some baseball cards, and a bunch of other stuff that I don't even remember now.

After some convincing we were able to get Jason to stick his arm in his stocking and pull something out. He got silverware that matched a plate, cup and bowl that was under the tree, a little stuffed bear and a bear paperweight (his half of the room is decorated in bear since he is our Baby Bear), some baseball cards, and t-shirt that says "Mischief is my business and business is good".

Honestly we didn't really take a lot of pictures opening presents. Jonathan was going a mile a minute and Jason wasn't that into it. The boys got totally spoiled as did Dan and I. Our big gift this year was matching University of Idaho watches from my parents. We opened gifts in two shifts so that the boys could take a nap and my mom and I could run to the store to get stuff for dinner.

Jonathan got 4 different sandwich cutters from my parents. I think this was his favorite gift of them all, he was so excited that his sandwich in his lunch could be cut into different shapes. Jason just liked the bow and I like his expression.

Just before nap Jonathan started to go a little crazy and started sticking name labels and stickers all over himself. At that point we knew it was time for a little break but he sure was cute!

Jonathan also got a few more cars from the movie Cars. He was really excited about them.

I know there aren't very many pictures of Jason and non of him opening gifts but he's little and wasn't really that into the day. Just wait until next year!

Our day wasn't done when all the gifts were done. My two best friends from high school, who also act like my older brothers since I'm an only child, came over for dinner that night. Chris was leaving for Las Vegas on the 27 so this was our only opportunity to see him. Since we hadn't seen him or Jack in over a year we pulled together a great dinner for everyone. Then after dinner and putting the kids to bed Dan and I went out with Jack and Chris to watch a movie and catch up a little. It was a wonderful day!

Sleepin' on a Jet plane

I had Christmas morning planned perfectly. The boys slept in matching PJ's and we were going to wake them at the last minute and let them sleep as long as possible. Then after we got through security we were going to dress the boys and get on our way. Oh it was a great plan... Jonathan woke up needing to potty and somehow wasn't able to get his PJ's down and ended up having a huge accident. He was very upset and woke up the entire house including is brother at 4am. You can imagine how happy everyone was about that. So we got the boys dressed and headed out. My FIL dropped us off at PDX and in hindsight he really should have come in with us, we needed the help. We had 3 suitcases, 2 carseats, 1 stroller, 4 carry-on bags, 2 adults and 2 kids. We needed more hands. Fortunately, with the exception of one person (who will not be mentioned again) we ran into a lot of really nice people. At PDX after you check in you have to take your bags over to a different line to be x-rayed. Well a boy, maybe 8 0r 9,offered to help as did another gentleman. Then when we got in the line a soldier offered to help Dan move all our luggage while I stayed with the kids. Then a TSA agent came up to Dan with a HUGE cart and took all our stuff.

Remember the weather out in the PNW was terrible back around Christmas. Well it looked like our flight to Seattle was going to be ok. Then just as they were about to close the doors on the 7am to Seattle (ours was for 7:30) the cancelled our flight. Fortunately God was with us. The 7am was pretty empty so almost everyone from the 7:30 got moved to the 7am. From there the rest of our trip was absolutely smooth sailing. The boys did great. Jonathan got a little bored and the toys I thought would be a hit weren't but oh well. We ate breakfast in Seattle and planned on lunch in Anchorage but everything was closed. But I'm a smart mom and I had granola bars and crackers in my carry- on. We snacked and then boarded our flight to Fairbanks. We got into Fairbanks right on time and headed home for dinner.

The boys (including Dan) slept quite a bit on the plane. I slept a little but with Jonathan sweating all over my leg, and not being able to move the leg out of fear of waking Jonathan, I didn't really sleep much.

Jonathan pulling his Lightening McQueen backpack/suitcase (his words not mine) through the Portland Airport. He looks so grown up!

Jason sleeping in Dan's arms from Portland to Seattle. How sweet is that. I coudn't lean back far enough to get Dan in the picture but he's sleeping too.

Jonathan sleeping on the "big airplane" from Seattle to Anchorage. Notice the popped button, I think those pants are getting small.

Jason sleeping again. How can you not love that little face. He just looks so sweet. He totally had the flight attendants wrapped around his finger.

Christmas Step 1 - Portland

The first part of our Christmas trip was going to my in-laws. I've already told the story of our snowy, scary drive through the Columbia River Gorge, no need to revisit that. On Sunday there was supposed to be a baby shower for one of my friends over in Vancouver, Washington, right across the river from Portland. The weather wasn't too bad (remember I'm from Alaska so my perspective a little different) so Dan and I headed over to another friends house where the shower was being held. Sadly the shower had been canceled because of the weather however, Dan and I spent over an hour with our friends Ben and Katie. We hadn't seen them in forever. They have been in Germany for several years with the Army and just separated from the Army and moved to Vancouver. It was wonderful to catch up with them. The friend that the shower was for lived really close to Ben and Katie so we drove over and visited with them for a few too.

The next day we took my MIL shopping. The roads were crummy but I drove and when we got home I was congratulated on knowing how to drive in the snow. I laughed a little inside. I learned to drive in snow and much prefer it to rain.

We did Christmas with my in laws on Christmas Eve since we were jetting off to Alaska on Christmas day. Jason had about as much fun a an 8 month old is going to but Jonathan went wild. He was all over the place he was so excited.


See I told you he was excited. My SIL got Jonathan gloves that have the fingers out for Christmas. He thought those were pretty cool. He also got 3, yes 3, tents. Last year it was play dough, everyone got him play dough. This year we all got him tents. At least play dough can be put in a cupboard. :)


Isn't he cute? Oh goodness those cheeks, that hat, the little curled toes, the baby blue eyes, heavens it's almost more than one person can stand. I love this kid!

After we opened presents we put the boys to bed and then stayed up until 3 in the morning playing games with Dan's family. Then we got 2 hours of sleep and headed to the Airport.

The next part: Alaska!

Merry Chistmas

Merry Christmas!

Praying God's blessings on everyone as you celebrate the birth of our savior.

Christmas Performance

Ok I should have blogged this last week but my hard drive is freaking out and my camera wouldn't upload to my computer. Don't worry Renee I've backed everything up. I downloaded an update and it seems to be working ok but I'm still taking it in to the Apple dealer in Fairbanks when we get there. Anyway back to my point...

Last Wednesday was the annual Christmas presentation for Pullman Christian School (where Dan works) and Pullman Christian Childcare Center (Jonathan and Jason's Preschool). Dan wasn't really involved, except singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" at the end of the show. Mostly he just maintained the Jr. High Students and confiscated cell phones from students who were texting during the program.

The daycare put on a really cute show. This kids sang "Happy Christmas" and "Little Drummer Boy" and it was as cute as you can imagine. Jason just sat there on stage but Jonathan was really into the show. If we get a video after the 1st of the I'll be sure to post it for y'all.


Look at him. He is all boy with his shirttail hanging out and his undershirt showing. After the show he informed me that I forgot to put his belt on so his pants kept falling down. He couldn't have told me that while we were still at home so I could do something about it.

Playing "The Little Drummer Boy." The teachers saved formula cans and they kids used them as drums, so creative. How cute is he! Jonathan had so much fun!

During their performance I was sitting down on the floor right in front of the stage so I could get good pictures. Jonathan saw me and gave me the sign for "I Love You." That kid can be a real pain but I totally love him!

One Long Drive

I posted while we were on the road that the weather was pretty bad but I thought I would expand on that post.

When we woke up Saturday morning the weather in Pullman was foggy but otherwise good so we decided to go ahead and continue with our plans to go for Portland that day. As we left Pullman the weather got better. The roads were good and it was sunny and beautiful. The weather stayed pretty good until we got to Arlington, Oregon. At this point it started to snow a little but the roads were still pretty good. By the time we got to The Dalles, Oregon it was snowing, windy and the roads were terrible. The wind was blowing from all directions and because it was coming in off the Columbia River the wind was very cold. Any moisture on the windshield froze instantly because of how cold the wind was. We had our defrost on full blast and the windshield wipers still weren't really doing enough. Dan could only see out of a little part of the windshield because of the ice buildup. I was reaching out the window breaking ice off the wipers and clearing out what I could and watching the road from my side. A 1.5 hour drive took a little over 3 hours but we did finally make it to my in-laws and off the roads. As it turned out they actually closed I-84 shortly after we made it to Portland and as far as I know the road is still closed.

Here are a few pictures from the drive before it got too dark.

Trucks and cars lined up along the side of the road putting chains on.

This was when the roads were still kinda good. They got a lot worse.

Nothing but taillights.

Christmas Cards

Well thanks to my trusty tripod we were able to get our Christmas picture taken today. I was going to post the picture but I think I'll wait. I know I'm terrible aren't I :) If you want a Christmas card send me an email with your address and I'll get one in the mail to you! acbrough@gmail.com

I'm ready

I know its a little early but I am ready to decorate for Christmas. I want to see my home filled with that beautiful glow of Christmas lights. I want to enjoy my tree and the atmosphere it provides. I love Christmas and all the decorations. I have two big certification tests on Saturday and then the Idaho/Boise State Football game but after that I think I want to start decorating. We leave for Portland December 20 and then on to Alaska December 25 and won't be home until January. If I want to enjoy my tree I need it up. Otherwise if we wait until after Thanksgiving we will only be able to enjoy it for 2 weeks before we leave. Now I just need to convince Dan that this is a good idea.