final days in Hawaii!

More fun pool time!

 The outdoor shower was a huge hit too!

 Hey look I am actually in a picture!!

 Chloe pulling Maddie on a Boogie board!

 Chloe loved boogie boarding at the beach!  It was super fun to watch!  This was our last day and we had some pretty big waves for her to "surf"

Maddie's selfie

 Final fish feeding day!

Right before heading to the airport (boo hoo) we were lucky enough to attend a wedding on the north shore.  Unfortunately for the couple it rained- and poured!  We couldn't stay through the reception as we had a flight waiting for us but it was so nice to see such a sweet in love couple get married.  Bridgett and Jon were adorable.  

Andrew carried the girls back out to the car...it was super windy and rainy by that time!

Our only family photo from the whole trip was taken by the guy at the front desk as we checked out!  Too much fun to think about taking real family photos this trip! 

 The plane ride home was great.  The girls slept the whole way (it left at 10:30 pm).  Andrew and I were WIDE AWAKE though as the turbulence was insane.  It was the worst I have ever experienced. We made it home safe and sound though!  Believe it or not, it is nice to be back!

Bath is fixed!

We were without a bath tub (correction, without faucet, handles and plumbing) for more than a month and let me tell you the girls are LOVING the bath again.  Thanks to Andrew's handy work, my ability to reluctantly crawl into tight spaces and my Dad's help for the demolition phase we are back up and running.  Last thing on the list, drywall.  

Not only are the girls loving it, but we love seeing them love it.  You forget how special the little things are, until you get them back :)

The warm up!

Until a few days ago it looked like spring up here!  The snow was almost all melted and the roads were dry!  We took the opportunity to go for a lot of walks.  It was pretty awesome.  We are back to a winter wonderland again now, but this was a really nice break!

We even had puddle walks!  The girls were beyond thrilled, and I had to find the rain gear again.  I can not believe this was February in Alaska!!

Skiing

Chloe has a new love.  It is skiing!  We got her ski lessons for Christmas and she loved it so much we keep signing her up for more!  Hilltop Ski area is literally walking distance (maybe a mile, prob less) from our house so it is easy to pop over there for a lesson after work.  It sounds so Alaskan to have a ski mountain right next to our house... And I will add Chloe did see a moose on the slopes a few weeks ago :)  

 She even rides the char lift now!  Here she is with her instructor.  

One night the whole family went out to watch her ski and to play in the snow.  Maddie had a great time too.  We bought skis for her as well but so far she has only used them once, but we are hopeful seeing Chloe might persuade her to gee it another try.  Once she is 3 we can get her lessons too, but until then it is up to us to try to expose her to the sport. 

 Just playing in the snow is fun too!

 This was one of Chloe's final runs of the night.  I couldn't believe how fast she came down the mountain!  Even better she could stop at the bottom!  You can see how happy she is.  I am pretty sure Andrew will keep  signing her up for weekly lessons if it keeps making her this happy!  It is awesome to see the look of pride on her face and hear her talking all about it on the ride home.  

Zoo Lights!

This year we did Zoo lights after New Years and it was awesome!  Every year they add on more lights, and the kids get more and more excited.  We brought sleds, and that turned out to be the best idea all night!

You can see Chloe is too distracted by her drawing in the snow to make an appearance in the photo.

 There were many sledding hill opportunities.  The kids were way more into playing in the snow than the animals.  That worked out great since most of the animals were sleeping :)

 I love that Andrew took on most of the sled duty.  The girls loved it too!

 Another sliding opportunity!

Zoo lights was such a success for the Zoo that it was extended an extra month!  Maybe we will make another appearance before it is over :)

Joy of Christmas!!

On Christmas Eve we have a get together with friends and family.  This year was no different except that there were more kids in the mix!  At the end of the night the kiddos got in their jammies and we took a few pics.  Annabelle was busy running around having fun and didn't make the pic (sorry Annabelle!) Below are Maddie and Chloe with our friends Rylee and baby Corey.  

 Christmas morning!  Yay the stocking are already open and Santa brought Pocky!!  He knows just what they like!

 After stockings were presents :)  

 We tried to break it up this year by playing with each toy as they opened them, and reading new books.  We even had breakfast in the middle.  It was much nicer to take it slow and enjoy each gift.

 Chloe loved the doctor kit!  Both girls did actually!

 Make your own superhero mask kit was a huge hit!

 Christmas night we went over to close-by Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas dinner and a video chat with Aunt Elena and Peter.  

 Yes the girls did get a power wheels.  As you can see it was a huge hit.  They drove back and forth in the living room over and over all night long.  They even switched driver and passenger.  

 They did take a break after gifts to have some desert, but then it was back to playing.  

This Christmas was a lot of fun, but we are all still recovering from all of the activities (Mom especially!)  Next up---New Years!!