Cedric gets an award and loses another tooth

Cedric loves to read and it shows.  Cedric got a 2nd quarter award for reading above grade level.  Lots of his classmates got awards too, which really motivates the competitor in Cedric.  If there is anyone in front of him, he'll work hard to reach and/or pass them.  

Here Cedric is looking to see if we are in the audience before the ceremony began. 

I got an award.  I really got an award.  :-)

Hi Mom...you see this?  I got an award.  I am so proud of myself.  I'm glad you and Dad were here to watch. 

Cedric had a wiggly tooth.  We tried the dental floss trick.  The tooth didn't come out at that time, but when he was in the bath....voila!  The tooth came out!  Woo hoo!  Tooth number 3!  Bring on the tooth fairy!

Can you see the space where my tooth was? Cedric and Blake mug for the camera.  

Sledding fun at Kinkaid Park

Woo Hoo!  Yee Haw!  Yippeeee! 

  Fresh snow on Christmas produced fabulous sledding conditions a couple of days later. 

Here Blake pauses at the bottom of the hill. 

Both boys get on the sled and really rocket down. Look out below! Yikes...that was close! Airplane on approach to Anchorage International Airport: Mt. Foraker glowing pink in the low angle sunlight. Just beautiful!

My Favorite snow pictures so far this year.

It has been a spectacular winter for photography.  Lots of freezing fog and various clouds have brought fantastic colors and nuances.  Each and every day, I marvel at the beauty right outside our backdoor.  In fact, all but one of these pictures was taken from the backdoor.  This is not to say there haven't been other spectacular views around the city.  I just have my camera readily available at home.  I really should carry a camera with me all the time.  Last week, ice coated trees were tinged pink at the top and sillouetted by a strikingly dark blue sky as the sun sank towards the horizon.  

This one, I'm calling, "Pre-Dawn Beauty".  Notice the hoar frost on the tree in the forefront.   Hoar frost is deposited on the trees by freezing fog.  

I took this picture late in the day at Kinkaid Park. 

This is midday in December.  The sun barely skirts the tops of the trees.  

More wintery scenes in the backyard.  

Nelson Family does the elf boogy

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

My friend just "tagged" me. I was instructed to open my 6th picture file, post the 6th picture from that file on our blog, and share the details with you!

Since I don't have all my pictures on this computer...some were lost...some are on Fliker...some I have only in print now. What I did was go to 2007 since I started taking digital pictures when Cedric was born in 2002. I then went to my 6th file under 2007, which was a folder "December 2007", I then went to the first thing in that folder, which was another folder "Cedric's Christmas Creations". This is the photo that came up. It is a milk carton made into a candy house.

This picture is the actual 6th picture in the 6th file...well 7th file because the 6th file only had 4 images in it. This is the 4th image in the actual 6th file currently on my computer: Ok...I'm now tagging Andy, Lisa, Rie, Tiffanie, and Beth.

7 Bookish Things

Kristina Riggle http://www.redroom.com/blog/kristina-riggle/7-bookish-things-meme "tagged" all of her facebook friends. I accept the challenge! The rules are: Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.Share seven random and/or weird book facts about yourself.Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Ok...I'll give this a whirl: When I was in 9th grade, I was so engrossed in a book that I didn't notice that the school bus had reached school and everyone, except me, had exited the bus. 2. I read every single Walter Farley book in the Black Stallion series when I was a young girl. I really wanted a horse and the books let me experience horses in a virtual way. 3. The first book I remember reading was Dr. Seus's book about Sneetches "The stars on thars..." I don't remember the title. 4. Now that I have children, it can take me a year to read a long book even if I really like it. 5. I love true life adventures. Real stories about real adventures just seem so much more compeling to me than a fictional story. Although, I do enjoy a good fictional story filled with historical facts. 6. I have no qualms about not finishing a story if I lose interest. My reading time is precious to me. 7. I once rapped a "Where The Sidewalk Ends" poem while reading it to a bunch of children. They loved it!

Halloween 2008

Halloween.

Candy....$20

Decorations...$50

Costumes....$100.

Allowed to be totally silly and any character you want...priceless!

The week before Halloween, the Parks and Rec dept held a Halloween festival at Russian Jack Park. There was trick or treating and lots of exhibits...some of which were a little too spooky for Blake. Cedric got the joke, though. There was a headless horseman (on a real horse), an "escaped" gorilla who ran around trying to get kids to chase him, and a carriage ride. We took a ride on the carriage and screamed when the headless horseman came "after" us. Lots of fun. All bundled up...

Really big Duck!

These teeth are better than any of the other "treats". "Grrrrrr....look at how scary we are!"

Knight Blake and Darth Vader Cedric get ready for a night on the "town". Having fun at the Zoo Boo... Ooooo large glowing spiders....Oh My! There were a whole bunch of these bigger than life creepy crawlers. And why should the kids have all the fun! Fred and Wilma join in the fun!