So far this decade...

Well, January saw Lem back off to school (and back to playing hockey on Friday nights) and the girls and I back into our normal swing of things during the week. Winter Break wrapped up and now Special O is back on the ice, I'm back to my workout routine and going to Mom's Club on Fridays, Sycely's back to ballet school (they're working on their dance for their spring recital) and Pre-school, and as usual, Ella's along for the ride most of the time :) January also brought along Nanny and Uncle Ian's birthdays so there were extra family dinners and no shortage of desserts! In addition to that, I'm on my sixth round of delicious cinnamon Frienship Bread. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, each "starter" you receive makes two loaves of bread and gives you 4 more "starters" to share with friends, or in my case, friends, family, or anyone else who I can possibly pawn them off on. Ella has become very involved in the project too, playing the role of Mommy's little mixer. Anyway, it's been a fun and very yummy project. I've also got some sewing projects in the works. Ella got herself a new blanket (we need a back-up we do have to wash that thing SOMETIME!) and I have 3 friends whose little ones will be getting their own pretty soon.

High School hockey was back on and Dimond has had a rollercoaster of a season, starting off strong and looking promising, dropping several games in a row, then swinging back up to finish off the season with a strong showing and 2nd place finish at Regions and State. Sycely is becoming quite the cheerleader and she's not shy about it either! Her new favorite is "Dimond Lynx what time is it? Time to get loud, time to represent!" Ella chimes in with her own fave, "DHS!" sometimes at very unexpected times, expecially in the car.

We've finally gotten to put our backyard sledding hill to use and the girls have LOVED it. Lem carved us out two tracks which were in really great shape until we got another 8 inches of snow and then encountered a fake spring warming trend. Lem's re-groomed them a little and they're back in action again now. Sycely and Ella both squeal with joyful delight on the way down and it's a sound that warms your heart, no matter the chilly temperatures. Our girls have such a fun time together and are so loving toward each other. I'm so blessed by their sibling-ship.

Sycely's gotten to go on some dates with her Uncle Ian lately and she's so proud to be such a big girl that she gets to do fun things with him like going to paint pottery at Color Me Mine or going on an ice cream date (the secret's out, he lets her get TWO scoops!) Sycely went on a Nanny date to a carnival they were having a Dimond as a fundraiser. They played lots of fun games (including Duck Hunt-who knew?!) and Sycely was decked out in her stash of prizes when she got home. She had a great time and was so excited to tell us all about it.

Sycely's flair for performing continues and we're still being offered daily shows, most recently, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty "on ice" all of which involve the creation of show specific scenery. Most of her day is filled with making costumes, preparing scenery and practicing for her shows, but, hey, she's engaged and content so I can't complain too much.

Ella cracks us up pretty much constantly. Her giggle is so infectious and so prevalent. She's just a silly girl and loves playing tag with her sister, Mommy "getting her gizzard" and anything related to puppies. She's a bumbling bundle of joy for sure, but she's also a little snugglebug. Every morning I start my day with a good, hour long snuggle with her and some blankies on the couch. She's recently fallen in love with Elmo, too, so though Sycely's out of that phase, Ella's just moving into it...here we go again :) Ella has so many new phrases I can't even keep track of them all, but she's pretty cute singing happy birthday and pretty much anything that sweet little voice says melts my heart. Some of my current favorites are: princess, I see it!, no thank-you, ladybug (which comes out bakey bug) fire-on (first thing in the mornings) and okee dokee. She's very generous with her hugs, kisses and "pats" on the back and she lavishes those not only on us, but on all her babies too. She's very dedicated to making sure they are adequately snuggled and tucked in when she puts them in "bed, go night night."

This month also brought about an exciting decision for me. I submitted my official application and paid my first fee to compete for the title of Mrs. Alaska United States 2010. I had such a rewarding experience and did so well last year that I've decided to use all the experience I gained this year. Because I have most of the required wardrobe from last year and can use much of it again for this year's competition, I won't be encountering quite so many expenses, but my search for sponsors has already started. If you or someone you know might be interested in sponsoring me a service or through a monetary donation, please let me know. I appreciated all the people and businesses God has nurtured relationships with through this experience and look forward to competing on May 26th and 27th!

Lem and I went on a (supposed to be) surprise date to Suite 100, a local restaurant for a special Alaska Aces fundraiser called Tips for Kids. The players work as the servers for the night and all the tips go to help fund the Aces' summer camp for kids. We had a yummy dinner and it was nice to know our money was going to a good cause, too. Speaking of hockey, there's been some major changes (not for the better!) around our rink as well. Recently a new mall manager was hired and so far she hasn't made a single good business decision regarding the rink. Her first act was to fire the manager who's been running the rink quite successfully for the last 15 years, and her loyal staff all turned in their two weeks notice on one piece of paper. So, the rink is now using a shared staff with the bowling alley, including the manager, who has no knowledge about bowling alleys, let along skating rinks! So, needless to say, things have been a mess. New policies are flying around, offending and soliciting protest from the coaches and families, just to be retracted a few days later. The doors may or may not be open during regular business and ice hours. Two days this week they had to hand out free passes because they couldn't open the rink beause they didn't have anyone who could zam the ice or work the cash register-seriously!!! When we got to freestyle ice this weekend to coach, there was a hockey team (who did not reserve or pay for the ice) practicing on our ice! We're doing our best to help the new rink manager transition and learn about how things run at the rink, but the mall manager keeps throwing a wrench in his efforts to do his job, so it may be a while before things are running smoothly again and something tells me it'll never be quite the same.

So far February has brought more snow and lots of overtime for Papa. The state Model UN conference is coming up for Lem. Aunti Eris and Papa both had birthdays this month, too. We're all enjoying lost of family fun this winter, but are definitely looking forward to spring. It'll be our first sunshiney season in our new house! Hope you have all had a joyous January and that your February is Fabulous!