More Thanksgiving!

Just a couple more photos from Thanksgiving. Abby and Amy visiting. Mark loves his mommy.

"So, Aunt Debbi, you gonna pick me up or what?"

A photo of Mikey that Scott took. It's just too cute.

Thanksgiving

We have spent Thanksgiving at home this
year. Our former neighbors, Amy and Tristan, and their twin sons, Tristan and Mark, came for brunch on their way out of town to visit family in Wisconsin. In this photo, Mark was grabbing at Dad's nose and Dad was "honk"ing. Mark had almost as much fun doing that as Dad did.

Here, Tristan introduces Mark to Mikey, our puppy. Mark was not impressed. He really didn't like it when Mikey licked him. He didn't seem scared, he just didn't like it.

The twins' favorite thing about the puppy and kitten was their toy. Abby bought this string with a bunch of different colored feathers on it. At one point, both twins and both pets were all playing with the feathers at the same time. By the time we grabbed the camera, Molly had run off, and Tristan had moved on to Mark's ear. So cute.

This is one of Mom's favorite moments of the day. Tristan wanted to play with the cat under the coffee table. But he couldn't get to her, because he kept smacking his head on the table. He never did figure out to duck his head. The cat just sat and watched him.

So, we had a big brunch and later a big dinner. We have settled in for the night - playing on the Wii and watching DVDs. We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving as well.

About the Smilebox

We were unable to post the video - Mom isn't that internet able. So, the smilebox we just posted is an attempt to give you an idea of how our house is laid out. Hope it helps. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support as we houseshopped.

We had a housewarming party today - it was very fun. Everyone from church came, and a couple we met when we lived in Kenai. We all had a good time. So good in fact, we forgot to take photos. Stink!!

The House

Make a Smilebox slideshow

So, the cat and dog have acclimated a bit. She is tolerating him. She has tested a couple times to see just how rough she can play with him before she gets in trouble. Poor kitty. she has no idea that in a couple months, he'll be big enough to terrorize her to no end. The other day, Scott said, "Mom, having a puppy is a little bit like having a baby to take care of." Yeah, something like that Scott. Mikey - as he's coming to be called - has been waking up at around 2-3 every morning. Sometimes, he wants to play. Well, it has taken it's toll on Scott. Last night, Mikey didn't even wake him up. Mom woke up to barking and whining. She put Mikey back in his basket on Scott's bed. But even at five weeks, Mikey can escape a laundry basket. A few minutes later, Mikey was curled up in by Scott's neck, sleeping.

All five Harley kids.

So, a week ago, we went to some friends' house and Scott picked out a puppy. They had found a pregnant Springer Spaniel and were giving the seven puppies away. Last week, we were told that the puppies were four weeks old and they wouldn't be able to leave until their mom until the week after Thanksgiving. So, Scott chose a tiny black one and we were scheduled to visit it today.

This morning, Mom got a call from the lady. The puppy had died. They suspect the mom was laying on them because two have died in the last week. That was the bad news. The good news - for Scott - was that he could pick out another puppy and it could go home today. Since mom wasn't taking proper care of them, they had taken the puppies away from her, and he might as well go home. So, Scott brought Michael home this afternoon. Scott and Michael on the ride home.

Molly is less than impressed.

Molly looks on as Michael eats his dinner.

The bad news for Mom is that Michael is not housebroken AT ALL. So far, there have been no accidents, but we are not holding our breath. We'll have to get a good photo of him before he grows into his head - it's huge. If he doesn't stand just right, his hind feet lift off the ground because he is so front heavy.

Other Rooms

This is our crawl space. It is about six feet high, and the floor is dirt. Dad put some
"shelves" along the wall, so we can use it for storage.

This photo is from Abby's room. It was a mess when Mom went to take the photo, so she's posting this one of Abby's first attempt at decor. Abby stole Mom's Christmas lights and placed them on the window sill, then placed her horses among them. She loves this and Mom thinks it's a pretty good first try.

This is the boys' room. The boys wanted the room to be camo and army. Mom thinks it looks more like a war zone - that's been hit. They like it, though. That window treatment is on purpose, by the way. It's camo and rusty barbed wire fence.

And here is Dad in the crawl space. While you folks on the East Coast may not be impressed by this
"basement," it is actually huge by Alaska standards. Most crawl spaces are a maximum of four feet tall. This one is five and a half to six feet tall. The kids actually play down there sometimes. We will never finish it off, but we are pleased with it just the same.

Kitchen and Living Room

Well, for some reason, when Mom loads the photos nowadays, they don't come up in the same order she posts them. But here are some pics anyway.


This was supposed to be the last photo. This arrangement is one of Mom's favorite arrangements in our new house. The windows and the glass insulator are from the remodel job that Dad did in St. George. The sayings were gifts, the books are actually boxes and the candle is a courting candle. A few years ago, Abby told one of her friends, "It's for when a boy corks me."




Scott relaxing in the living room. This is our biggest window, and it really is nice. Mom is seriously thinking of just not putting curtains on it. There are no neighbors, and she likes the view during the day. That little heater does a pretty good job keeping the house warm - when Scott leaves his bedroom window closed at night. The picture hanging on the wall is a puzzle from Ollie's we bought in 2007.

Dad and Abby enjoying the living room.

Breakfast at the Harleys' new house. The living room and kitchen really aren't that big. Brian of course, has plane to add on eventually. But for now, they work and we have figured out how to fit. And Mom really does like the yellow. It's so cheery in the cold, dark winter.

Happy Birthday, Scott!!!

Nine years ago today we were blessed with a little bundle of joy. Whew! He has kept us busy and kept us laughing ever since. Happy Birthday, Scott!!!

So, Abby FINALLY got her kitty. Mollyjoy is her name. She is seven weeks old - the runt of the litter. Abby hasn't left her alone for a minute since we picked her up last night. Even though Molly peed on her on the ride home. Molly seems to like it here, and is not at all pleased that we don't allow her into two rooms of the house.

Dad said Abby could only keep a cat if it liked him. At first, she wouldn't have anything to do with him. She just wanted to explore. But later in the evening, someone laid Molly on Dad, and she curled up and went to sleep. (No, Brian hasn't become a cat person. He still thinks ALF would make the perfect pet, but he definitely wouldn't put up with an ornery cat.)

And the office was finally in order enough that Mom was willing to take a photo of it. This is Dad's room. Scott helped Mom hang the wilderness border. Fifteen feet at a time. On the first one, they got the last foot put up, and the whole thing came down. It stayed up the second time. We have some things to put on the walls still, but for the most part it is done.

Our New Home

Mom is not ready for the inside of the house to be photo- graphed yet. Too many boxes of junk still. And she has a few more things to do. But we thought you'd like to see what the property looks like. This morning, we woke up to the first good, heavy, pretty snow of the season.
So, Mom went outside and snapped some photos. This is our driveway. There are several roads on the Peninsula that are not maintained in the winter. For us, that road is about a hundred feet past our driveway. Whew!


The corral and back fence. The fence butts right up to the house, for a pet, which we are going to get soon. Abby wants a kitten and Scott wants a puppy. Mom has decided we can get both and get it overwith. We looked at puppies yesterday, but the one Scott was interested in isn't available until Thursday. We may also look at some that a friend has. Mom looked at a cat - a big, black, panther-looking thing. Abby was NOT interested.



This is the view out Daddy's office and Abby's bedroom. The driveway you see here is the rest of the one we use - it's a sort of a U-shaped drive going to two different roads. And you can see the road and the neighbor across the street's drive. This drive goes to the road that doesn't get winter maintenance, so we probably won't be using it much.

And Chad took this photo the other day - the sunrise as viewed from our front porch. Not exactly the photo Mom told him to take, but she was in a hurry and didn't take it herself, so she can't complain.

We Won!!!

So, no photos this time, but we just got home from Chad's basketball game and he's impossible to live with right now. Wings beat Cook Inlet. It has been years since any Wings team has beat them. And we did. 31-24. Chad made a few baskets - including both his freethrow shots. He also had some good rebounds and assists. As a team the Jr. High team has come a long way since they started together last year. They really played as a team today and we are so proud of them all. GO EAGLES!!!

Harvest Festival

Once again this year, we went to Immanuel Baptist Church's Harvest Festival. It was so fun. every year is enjoyable, but this year was the best so far. For one thing, they had a jail!! For a dollar, you could write a warrant and have someone arrested. And Mom got us thrown into it. This first photo is of Scott reading the warrant for his arrest. It was for "not doin' his chores." He later had Mom arrested for getting him arrested. But the best arrest story was when Mr. Wood had Mrs. Wood arrested - with money from her own purse. In case you're interested, the guy sitting in jail next to Scott is Joel Conseil, daddy's employee.

This photo is of Heath Boutwell, Dad, and Sam Wood during the pie eating contest. Dad and Sam tied for second. They sure tried their best. Chad entered the Fear Factor contest and did quite well, considering he had to eat some very strange foods. He made it through the first set, and lost in the second set. He was third place, though. Mom was very proud of him.

Some of the teenagers showed up in contumes this year. This one wasn't sure who he was supposed to be, but when we called him Cousin It, he said, "I've been getting that a lot." So, we visited with Alex for a few minutes.

And Abigail found a new friend. One of the young couples had brought their basset puppy, and Abby spent much of her time with the puppy. She also spent a lot of time with a certain boy. We're not totally sure he's truly in love with her, but when she got arrested, he volunteered to bail her out. :)