Skiing December 22-23, 2012

Last year Quent bought me some skis and I was only able to use them one time because of circumstances (such as having my appendectomy).  I don't feel comfortable on skis as I don't really know how to ski.  So Quent is slowly helping me learn how to use my skis.  It will probably be awhile before I'm ready for the big hills.  So far I've been using skins on the skis, which help get good a good grip.  So we ski around muskegs. It's like snow-shoeing, but with skis.  I'm finding I have a love for muskegs.  The land has it's own personality and I just enjoy the adventure of not knowing what comes next in the winter wonderland.  There are bumps and dips (which I found myself in once), and it's just so beautiful!  So for my birthday (December 23rd) and the day before, we skied.

These first few photos are from the 22nd.  Both times Jeralyn was in a backpack on Quent's back.  She loved it!  We took some video which I will have to upload soon.  She loved going down the little hills with her daddy.  We bundled her up nice and warm!  She had mittens on, and then over the mittens we put some of Quent's socks to help her stay extra warm.  She was nice and toasty!

We had to go up an incline that was steeper than I was used to on skis, so Quent had to show me how to get up it.  I was making a dorky face as I was working my way up.

And then I got too warm and had to take off my hat and unzip my jacket. It's a good workout!

December 23rd (aka, my 31st birthday):

Apparently, I liked it!

We were in the same area as the day before, but across the road on an old ski slope that's no longer maintained.  The slope is probably more like a bunny hill in most places, but it was scary looking for me.  Ha!  We went up it and then down.  When we were going down there were some snowmobiles (known as "snow machines" in Alaska) coming up the hill, which made me a little nervous.

Sweet girl getting ready to go down a more exciting slope with Daddy.  Video to come soon!

And here's a picture I took with my phone.  It was gorgeous!

A ski day 12.21.12

Quent went skiing with some friends on Brown/Dude Mountain.  It was a gorgeous day!

His friend Shawn.

And then there was some pretty light on the mountains as the last rays of sun said their goodbye.

12.20.12

She likes to come up to us when we are sitting on the couch, and then she pats the couch, lifts an arm and says, "Bah!" (which means "help").  I'm trying to teach her that the furniture is for sitting on...not a jungle gym.  Ha!  She must save her jungle gym antics for her crib because it sounds like she's having a party in there with Shelly. Silly girl!  She was so cute sitting on the couch this day, so I captured some precious expressions:

These are the last photos I took on my Canon Rebel XTi...happy birthday to me!  I'll post about that later!

Harbor 12.15.12

Stuck 12.12.12

She's learning how to climb over things; which is what she did to get underneath this bar stool.  And then she got stuck and she didn't like that.

Determination 12.12.12

This little tyke who has been walking for a few weeks now is finally able to maneuver up the stairs.  The deal was that she could go up the stairs by herself (with us close behind) once she started walking.  And here she is doing just that:

Sunrise 12.12.12

We had a beautiful sunrise!  Just gorgeous!  I also figured out around this time that we have about 7 hours between sunrise and sunset...short days!

Playing outside 12.11.12

It was a pretty mild day with the temperature around 50 degrees, so we played out on the deck after lunch.  It's fun to watch her walk/run around and play with her ball and car.

Pretty girl 12.8.12

Jeralyn has a lot of summer dresses for this stage (18 month clothes) since most of her clothes right now were hand-me-downs.  Because she was crawling up until 4 weeks ago, I didn't put her in dresses because she would get her knees caught on them while crawling and then would bump her head on the floor.  It wasn't fun for her, so I had to wait until she walked to put her in a dress again.  So we "winterize" the dresses by putting a long-sleeved onesie underneath and make it a complete outfit.

She's eating a cracker, sitting on her push cart, and holding a toy.  Multi-tasking at it's best.

Something about her face and expression in this picture makes me think of her Aunt Natasha.

Snow! 12.7.12

We finally got some snow!  Snow to eat!

Mmmm... 12.6.12

I made peppermint chocolate chip cookies and Jeralyn was sampling some after for lunch or a snack.  She liked it!  She says, "Coo-kah!"

Slide 12.5.12

My friend is letting us borrow her indoor play slide.  Jeralyn doesn't use it yet to it's full capacity, but she's getting close.  So far she likes to put toys down the slide.  It's cute!

Tears & Smiles 12.5.12

I'm not sure what she was upset about, but here's a little of what happens when she does get upset:

1. Crying!

2. Mommy makes her laugh.

3. Wait!  I'm still upset.

4. Okay, I guess I'm ready to be silly again.

Essential Oils 12.4.12

Jeralyn had a little cold, so we used some of the essential oils Grandma Smith gave us to rub on her feet and chest.  During a diaper change, I let her hold the two bottles to give her something to occupy her while on the changing table.  She liked them and wanted to hold them for a long time.  So that's what she did.  She walked around with them, played with them, and even colored with them.  She just didn't want to let them out of her sight.  She was not too pleased when I finally took them away from her.

Towel 12.3.12

Jeralyn likes to steal my hand towel from the kitchen and walk around the house with it on her head.  Sometimes she plays "peek-a-boo" with it.  She's hilarious!

Charlie Brown 12.2.12

I was working on something on the computer (probably trying to finish up designing Christmas cards), so I set up my phone so Jeralyn could watch the Charlie Brown Chrismas special.  It's very rare that she watches a movie, so this was a special treat.  She thought it was great!

Blue Lake 9.16.12

This post is totally out of order, but Quent has had some time to edit his recent/past photos, so I thought I would post these.  These are pictures he took when he went on a hike with a friend to Blue Lake on our beautiful island.  Thought some of you folks who want to see pictures of Alaska, mountains, snow, etc. would enjoy these:

I wanted to mention that a week after we misplaced Quent's camera, we went on a hike up Dude Mountain...with no camera (we didn't realize it was lost at this point).  It was a hike up into the alpine on a very beautiful day.  I kick myself for not bringing a camera (we were running out of time to get up the mountain at a decent time for Jeralyn's nap)...even my iPhone would have made for a great camera.  It was a hike I will never forget.  Even though Quent captures such beauty with his camera, being up on the mountains and seeing what it's really like first-hand is NOTHING to compare to photos.  It's incredibly amazing to be up there.  You feel as though you are a bird.  You feel this immense freedom and joy!  We walked along and I felt like a little kid again, just exploring the terrain.  Jeralyn loved it too!  She spotted all of the flowers (and there weren't that many).  I can't wait until we can go up again...maybe when the snow is gone.  Ha!