Sun, Sand and Rory Turns 4

Life has been a whirlwind over the last month.  Between Rory's multiple birthday parties, Thanksgiving and our family trip to Hawaii, we have been quite busy.  Let's just get to it. 

Rory's Birthday Party - Take 1

We had a Muppets themed party at our house a couple of weeks before Rory actually turned 4.  Activities included Miss Piggy's Makeup Station, Kermit's Art Studio, Animal's Tattoo Parlor and Fozzie's Fart Shoe races (now that self-inflating whoopee cushions are available the shoes can now be a reality).

Below are Martin (L), Marek (R) and Rory.  Rory is holding the two bouquets of flowers that the boys gave her.  So very sweet and cute of them!

Martin braved the tattoo chair and received a balloon for facing his fears.

Marek picked a manly tattoo.

Massie tried on a moustache for size.

Rory's Birthday Party - Take 2

Rory was also able to celebrate her birthday at school.  I was always jealous of kids that had winter birthdays because they got to have parties at school...woe is me (or is that I).  Anyway, below is a picture of Rory (with a turkey hat on her head) passing out birthday cupcakes to her school friends.

A Three Dolla Holla Night with the WWWW Gals

Janet and Theresa hosted a casino night for our November WWWW group.  If you've never played Three Dolla Holla I strongly suggest it...super fun!  Below is our group (minus my mom who is taking the photo)...I'm so lucky to be part of this group with these awesome women.

Thanksgiving
We had a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving at my folks' house this year.  Joining us were my parents, Jesse, Marek, Martin, my great Aunt Laverna and great Uncle Bob.

Below are the girls playing a game with my mom.

Uncle Jesse is great at dodging the camera - here he is teaching Massie to shield herself from the paparazzi.

Massie LOVING on her sister.

Massie beating up her sister.  Look at that little brute!  Even when she's getting beat up Rory still adores her sister.

On my childhood rocking horse.

The Morgans go to Maui

This was the first "vacation" we have taken with both kids.  WOW...vacations are sure a lot different than in the days when a vacation meant lounging all day, reading, and drinking a few too many.  Now a vacation consists of running around after kids, making sure they don't drown or slip near the pool, and calling it an evening at 7:00.  Even with all these seemingly boring or exhausting activities we had a wonderful time with the girls.

 

Rory, the girl who was scared of water, has become a fish.  On her fourth birthday she decided to conquer her fear and headed straight for the water with her floaties.  After that, we couldn't get her out of the water.  Massie on the other hand, suprisingly, didn't think much of the water.  The girls continue to surprise me every day.

 

There are a ton of pictures below but please know that I've spared you most of them; when I returned from the trip I had over 600 pictures on my camera.

One afternoon we visited the Aquarium...the shark kept making passes at Massie; she would have been a perfect meal for this guy.

A slushee fixes anything.  Below is Rory just after taking a particularly nasty fall (notice her bloody knee).  This was the first fall of many as she became extremely accident prone and, not exaggerating, probably fell on that same knee a half dozen times.  It got pretty nasty after a while. 

Rory's Birthday - Take 3

Rory's actual birthday occured while we were in Hawaii.  Here she is posing with her fancy cupcakes and gifts.  She wondered where all the people were - this girl does like a party.

The girls hanging out at the pool.  I envisioned eating nothing but fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables but frankly, the girls ate more goldfish crackers on this trip than they've eaten in their entire lives (see Rory's bag and Massie's snack cup).

Having fun getting sprayed.

Massie watching her dad and sister wade into the ocean.

Sisters finding joy in each other. 

Being sassy at the beach.

This kid LOVES to put on sunscreen.

We were lucky enough to spend some time with Renee, Mike, Ralph and Portia who were all staying at the same hotel. Here is Renee and me on her last day in paradise.

Family picture - this likely would have been our Christmas card if I wasn't against sending out cards with topless family members (Yuri, not me).

The girls in the waterfall cave.  The pools, caves and water sprays at our hotel were smile inducing.

Massie the acrobat.

Rory was upset with us for some reason and put herself into a voluntary time out...not a bad place for that, eh?

It wasn't all beaches and pools...here we are at a playground.

Back at the hotel after a long day of sun and fun. 

Other than goldfish, Bananas were the second food of choice.  Here are the monkeys poolside.

We visited the penguins at the Hyatt Resort where Yuri, Bruce, Betty and I stayed during our 2009 trip to Maui.

 

 

At dinner one night, Hawaiian music was playing in the background, inspiring Massie to do a little interpretive dance.

The flight home, although direct to Anchorage, was a long one.  Here are the girls, exhausted, waiting for our flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks.

Next up...CHRISTMAS!!!!

A Happy Halloween and Goodbye to Ruby

Goodbye Ruby

I like to get the sad news out of the way.  Ms. Southern Ruby, our family friend and yearly HIPOW date, passed away the first of November.  Ruby lived 86 years and her death was extremely quick and likely not too painful.  She had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person on the room when you ran into her at local functions and I always brightened up around her.  We will miss her a lot but we'll have many pictures to remind us of the good times.  Goodbye Ruby - we'll miss you!

Below is a picture taken just a few weeks before her death...she was dressed to the nines as usual.

Sid & Karen Visit the Heartland

Sid and Karen (Yuri's folks) visited from Juneau just as Fairbanks was getting really cold.  We had a wonderful visit with them; they have a way with the girls who just light up around them.  They are easy house guests and we hope they return soon.  Yuri's brother, Dylan, also visited for several days however I didn't manage to get a picture of him with the girls.  Next time Dylan!

Below is a picture of Karen, Sid and Rory during a walk we took at Alaskaland during a Halloween event.  My kids were the only ones not dressed up...bad mom.

Here is Massie being pulled in her sled throughout the park.

Birthday Party
Rory got to celebrate her friend, Angelina's, birthday at a gymnastics studio.  Here are the kids lined up to listen to the rules - yeah, right.

Here is my balanced little girl...she did a great job on the beam.

And, she garnered the courage to do the zipline...turns out it was fun.

Halloween
We were invited to the Bast Halloween bash again this year and had a blast! Below is officer Yuri cuffing Ladybug Rory.

Crazy eye picture of me as Rosie the Riveter.

Just prior to the Bast party we attended Rory's Montessori Halloween Carnival.  For someone who really doesn't get into Halloween (me) it's a little odd that I had two costumes this year.  On my lap is Fozzie Bear.  Rory and I spent weeks trying to teach her to say "Wacka Wacka" but in the end it simply came out as Nacka Nacka.  She was a cute little Fozzie.  As for Rory, I ordered an adorable handmade ladybug costume from Etsy but apparently the US Postal Service treats Alaska as a third world country as the package took a month to get here (not in time for Halloween).  So, we ran to Fred Meyer and got this cute little outfit instead.  

My little ladybug fishing for a prize.

The Burks' annual Halloween pumpkin carving party was a ton of fun again this year.  We got to catch up with friends we hadn't seen for a while, enjoy some grub and get really slimy with all those pumpkin guts.  Here are the kids with their masterpieces.

The children of the original Riverview Gang - it's amazing to see my girls with the children of the friends I grew up with.  The Burks (minus Bentley), the Sadlers and the Morgans (Warwicks).  I hope these kids are all friends as they grow.

After all the Halloween festivities the kids were a little worn out and Rory frankly wasn't super excited about dressing up to go trick-or-treating.  I told her if she wanted candy that she had to put something on (yes, I bribed her) so she chose to put on the butterfly wings that the Tangemans bought her last year.  We then put Rory's ladybug costume over Massie's snowsuit.

Off my winged creatures go to hunt for candy.

And, a final Halloween picture.  We caught Fozzie raiding the fridge...bad bear.

The Girls

Rory and Massie were getting a kick out of pushing each other around in a baby stroller meant for baby dolls. They exceeded the weight restriction by about 30 pounds but it worked out okay in the end (i.e. no one seriously injured).

Rory grabbed my camera and started taking shots...I'd say she has potential.  Look at this beautiful picture she took of Massie.

Hope you all enjoyed the Halloween season and are keeping warm this winter.