Friday is made for Fun and Fellowship

I begin my Fridays with a zoom focused on my wellness journey. This month we are discussing character traits needed to follow through on goals and commitments. Today we discussed resilience. I plan to come back to the notes and do some more research on the topic. 

Stacia has a cold. We decided it best to grab breakfast at a drive through and find a pretty place to park for our Bible study.  We hit the sunrise as we drove out of our area....we'll try about 30 minutes earlier next week and see if we can get more spectacular sunrise photos.  A word about the sunrise - for much of the year it happens "in the middle of the night" or very late in the day when one is busy with "life." This seems to be the perfect time of the year to catch sunrise and sunset photos.....

On our way to town we were stopped for moose crossing the "highway." It cracked us up to find two moose at the head of our driveway when we got home. 

We got home just as GG was getting up - so I took over the morning routine before I ran out to grab a blessed 90 minutes with a friend for tea at her house. This time with Brenda was an oasis in the middle of  "rush and responsibility."

Michael and Alex were waiting to go out for their lunch study when I arrived home again. 

Michael spent some time here today....it's nice to have the garage cleared out enough to get a truck into it for maintenance work. 

Stacia baked and froze cakes earlier in the week. She began frosted and decorated them today.

These roses are amazing...and the cake tastes good too. 

Michael and I met up with dear ones for a couple of hours in the afternoon and then we were home to end the week with WandaVision.....

Alex Turns 19

Alex turned 19 today. He's up most days and out of the house at 0440. For the most part, he enjoys his job at McDonalds. He has a great attitude and is usually happy to pitch in with jobs around here.  
 

The Christmas tree was up until March last year....really SHOULD ...

Stacia made him a small cake for "today" - we just can't wrap our hearts around a "monthly celebration"  - so we'll do a few. LOL 

Nolan asked for Enchiladas for his birthday. Alex asked for hamburgers. It was easier to grill for his birthday in TEXAS than it is in ALASKA....but Michael is a great dad - out there grilling in 16* weather. 

Moose 1 and Moose 2

Millie was out this morning and began barking her crazy, fuzzy head off. A little investigating revealed a moose across the yard from her. She was not happen we brought her in. 

 

And then there were two! I have been thinking it's getting light enough and warming up to 20's....maybe it's time to start walking outside again....but then I see all the moose the last week and I think maybe I will wait a bit longer. 

BTW we are gaining 5 min and 40 seconds of light EVERY day now. It's GREAT. It is dawn at 8:00....and the sun rose this a.m. at  8:47.  The sun set at 5:34; dusk until 6:20 p.m.  The sun was up 9 hours and 13 minutes today! Shoot I can plant soon. ::snort:: 

Olivia Turns 8

 I would be remiss not to mention Olivia turned 8 today! How fun it was to see her picture and think of her sweet smile....today would have been Mom's 80th birthday. 

Livie's first fishing pole - picture from Carrie

Josiah Turns 32

 Josiah turned 32 today! He is a property manager in Anchorage and also keeps busy with his rental in Eagle River and volunteering at his church.  He found Carrie and Livie this year - good things DO happen in a pandemic.

I absolutely love this photo and the gift Livie made for Josiah. 

 Thanks to Carrie for sending these photos out.  A fun fact is that Olivia's birthday is tomorrow! 

Nolan Turns 22

 This IS celebration week in our family. Nolan, Josiah, Olivia, Alex and Jamin have birthdays, and there is another birthday and 3 wedding anniversaries on Valentine's Day.  We will have a big party on the 20th to celebrate ALL at once...but  we kicked off the week with a small cake and a few gifts for Nolan. 

There is more smoke every year!

Nolan is working on a business degree and is an assistant general manager at our local McDonald's. He's busy....and we were happy to get to see him on his birthday. 

Non-Super Bowl Party

 Sunday we invited everyone to come to the house for a non-super bowl party. We ate soup, sandwiches and super bowl snacks. We thought we might watch some commercials - but we didn't. Luke and Krista, Carrie, Cy, Livie and Ellie (Carrie's niece), Arielle and the boys, all of us and Jamin came in and out throughout the day. It was a good day. 

Danny, however, seems a bit alarmed by the camera! 

Benny's favorite way to play this game is to put the penquins in alternate locations! Why should they be stuck on a boat? 

Stacia, Livie and Ellie played twister. 

This gives new meaning to "pulling the rug out from under" a person. LOL Benny adds his own touch of excitement. 

I think next year we'll look for kindred spirits and have a bigger non- super bowl party. I actually like super bowl but others are simply tired of all the politics.