Dancing Through the Winter

It's been too long since I last updated the blog but I do have an excuse, or rather two.  For those of you with children you know how little time you have for things that don't directly involve your kids.  And, to add to that, Yuri is now spending a lot of time in Juneau for session.  Regardless, we are having fun and have successfully made it out of an extremely cold spell.  We had several weeks of 30 to 50 below weather and are happy to report that we are now experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures of around 20-30 degrees (above zero!).  We're rooting for global warming in a big way here in Fairbanks.


Christmas Continued
Our neighborhood WWWW (Wild Women who Wine in Westgate) celebrated Christmas in January.  Below is a picture of me with my childhood friend, Trina Bailey, who made an appearance at our party. Thanks to Bill for a picture that makes both his sister and me look pretty darned good.

The second Christmas party in January was the Doyon Utilities bash.  Because my father is on the Board, my folks are always in attendance which makes it even more enjoyable.  Below is a picture of my mom and me enjoying the night.

 

Mom and Dad's Birthday

My folks celebrate their birthdays just four days apart in early January.   We always have a get-together and this year we were fortunate to have Sid and Karen in town to celebrate with us.  Below (Clockwise from Left): Massie, Yuri, Martin, Lenka, Andy, Judy, Karen, Sid, Merik and Rory.  By now you know who Martin is - Lenka is his fabulous, rock star, girlfriend and Merik (spelling?) was a visiting glass artist also from the Czech Republic.

Rory got her water served in a "little fancy glass" - aka shot glass.  Here she is with her Grandad Andy doing "Cheers".

Blowing the candles out on the cake that Merik made for my folks.  This is the first time ever that Rory hasn't participated in blowing out the candles.

Future Ballerina?
Rory began her ballet and tap classes last month and she was adorable in her outfit.  Unfortunately, she didn't like the classes and informed me that she "needed more space" to dance.  I'm now convinced that she is more of a free spirit - modern dancer.  We'll see.  Anyways, enjoy the cute ballet pictures because there likely won't be anymore.

Yuri's Last 30's Birthday
It's true, the man who still gets carded is now 39 and as you can see, we had a small get together to help him celebrate.  We Morgans like to party and Rory loves her cupcakes.

Excitement leading up to the blowing of the candles...

Skating
Surprisingly, Rory has enjoyed learning to skate.  I say surprisingly as she is a cautious child that gets scared easily.  She's picking it up quickly and we are enjoying the sport together.  Below is a picture (L to R) of Bruce, Sydney, Rory, Dorothy and Grandma Linda at the rink.

Look at that form - bunny hops here we come!

At Home Dancing
Even though Rory didn't want to continue ballet doesn't mean the girl can't dance.  Almost nightly we plug my iPhone into the docking station, crank the tunes and dance our hearts out.  After we noticed cars slowing down in front of our house we decided to shut the shades :-).  Rory has great rhythm and she can interpretive dance with the best of them. 

On this particular dance night Rory felt like wearing a tutu with no top was appropriate - should I be concerned?  Here she is working the play list.

Grandpa Sid & Grandma Karen Visit
Sid and Karen made their way up north from Juneau to visit the munchkins.  It's always nice to have them visit and the girls had a great time with them. 

Below is the only picture we got of Karen.  Here she is with the kids in their fort - you've got to love Massie's expression - "what kind of shenanigans are going on here?!"

Valentines day
I didn't take pictures of the flowers, candy and cards we all received for Valentine's day but below are pictures of Rory and Massie with the cute dolls Marty and Steve Fisher sent them for Valentines day.  Thanks guys, we miss you! 

Massie's doll tastes great!

Sledding
Now that the unbearably cold weather has passed we can now get outside.   It may look like Rory is pulling a sled of clothing but she is actually pulling Massie.  What a good sister.

Massie enjoying her day out of the house.

Go Red
This year I served on the decorating committee for the Go Red for Women luncheon. This year over 650 people attended.  Our little committed was responsible for decorating the entire Carlson Center for the event.  This was a tall order but in the end it looked great.  Below are just two of the 83 centerpieces we created for the event.

The Many Faces of Rory
Rory has a larger-than-life personality that, although cautious at times, reflects her enjoyment of life.  At Yuri's birthday party Ella got a hold of Bill's camera and took the following shots.  I think you'll all agree that she has a good eye!

 

Once a month Rory is responsible for bringing in a show-and-tell item.  This month she had her first-and-tell and the theme was "my family's food".  Since we have no real ethnic cuisine to share with everyone she brought some of her baby sister's food to show everyone.  She enjoyed herself and the kids got a kick out of trying the baby crackers.  Below is a picture one of her teachers snapped of her while she was giving her presentation.

The kid has a million expressions...

Yummmmmmmmmm....cake batter.

Massie - 8 Months and Growing Like a Weed
As I type this Massie is already up past her bedtime.  She is a child who marches to her own drummer.  Just because her mom says it's time for bed doesn't mean it is so.  She has a sparkle in her eye that indicates to me that once she is mobile life as we knew it will be over.  It's time to start baby proofing (something we didn't have to do with Rory, the child who understood the rules).  Massie is just days away from an official crawl and walking won't be far behind.  She watches her sister closely and it's obvious that she's not willing to wait much longer to grow up.

Massie has her dad's hair - crazy Chia Pet hair.  This mowhawk wasn't created by us...it is a natural phenominum.

Martin explaining the difference between blown and fused glass to a confused little girl.

Asleep at the Super Bowl party.

Another great shot by Ella...we'll have to start paying her for these.

Massie and Rory...two sweet little girls.

Renee's Wedding Reception
Our dear friend, Renee, eloped several months ago and to celebrate, she and her new husband, Michael, threw a wedding reception that will be talked about for years to come.  I got a lot of great pictures but I've talked my friend Bill Bailey into helping me touch them up a bit (I really need to read the manual to my camera so that my shots don't need so much cleaning up) so I don't want to post them quite yet.  Here is a taste of what the night brought - sent from Lanie's cell phone.  The picture includes Dyanne, me and Sara Gill who is strategically located just behind Dy...we sure do love our champagne!

Until next time...

An Adoption, a Birthday and Christmas Fun

The holidays have come and gone.  Our weekends have been filled with parties and a little quiet family time here and there.  The end of November and most of December brought unseasonably warm weather.  We are now experiencing more typical weather for this time of year; as I write this, it's 40 below in Fairbanks. We hope you all enjoyed the holidays and that this new year brings you happiness, health and everything else hoped for.

It's Official -
November brought an exciting addition to our family. Yuri's brother, Nick, and his wife, Shannon, completed the adoption of Bruce.  Bruce has long been a part of our family but now it's legal.  We love this little guy as he brings much joy to our family.

Below is a picture of us at the courthouse on the big day (you'll notice that Yuri and Rory are missing from the picture...have I mentioned before how Yuri struggles to be on time for events?).  L to R - back row: Me, Shannon, Dorothy (Shannon's little sister), Grandpa Bud, Nick, Steve, Georgianne and Randy.  L to R - front row: Bruce and Linda.

Thanksgiving
We had a wonderfully quiet Thanksgiving this year.  Yuri, the girls and I headed over to my folks house to celebrate and Jesse and Petra were able to make it toward the end of dinner for their second Thanksgiving meal.

Grandma Judy and Rory in the kitchen preparing dinner.  Rory is pretty proud of the new apron her grandma gave her.

Massie hanging out at the dinner table with Uncle Jesse and Petra.

Rory Turns Three!
Rory's birthday was a big deal for her this year.  In addition to her big birthday party, we celebrated as a family (on the actual day) and her daycare also had a party for her.  She is one lucky girl and we'll make sure she knows it.

Below is Rory cuddling up with the new blankets she received for her birthday.

Trying to get a picture of a bunch of children at a birthday party is like herding cats...the picture below is most of the kids in attendance. 

Rory and I had a great time planning her party.  She helped make the cupcake toppers, she decorated the beverage containers, and filled the party favor cups.  As you can see in the pictures below, I made Mickey/Minnie Mouse ears for the party goers.  Also pictured below are the kiddie PB&J sandwiches we made.

Christmas 
We are fortunate to have a lot of family in Fairbanks so Christmas is always a time of running around and catching up with everyone.  Christmas Eve consisted of stopping by uncle Bob and aunt Laverna's house for a visit, then up to the Birch Hill cemetary to pay Zach a visit and tell him how much we miss him, then onto my folks' home to start celbrating with champagne, food and gifts.

Christmas day starts with breakfast for my family while Rory opens Santa's gift (yes, there was only one) and we all open our stocking bags (stockings have morphed into large gift bags as my mom has taken to totally spoiling us with the stocking stuffers).  We then head over to Grandma Linda and Grandpa Steve's house where we meet up with Yuri's side of the family to celebrate and open gifts.  Back to our house for Rory to take a nap and then immediately over to Yuri's Uncle Glen's house for Christmas dinner with the family.

In all of the Christmas Eve and Christmas day activities we didn't have a chance to get to the gifts under our tree...so, we started a new tradition, the Morgan family Christmas takes place the day after Christmas.  It's fun to spread the gift giving/receiving over a few days.  We got totally spoiled by all this year - thank you everyone.

We had the opportunity to visit my great-uncle Bob (my father's uncle on his mother's side) and his wife, Laverna.  It was wonderful to catch up with them and to introduce them to Massie.  Below is a picture of Laverna holding Massie.  I'm sorry to use a picture of her with her eyes closed but it was all I had.

My dad and Uncle Bob going through old pictures.  Bob is still as sharp as ever at 93.

Growing up, my mom put together advent calendars for us kids - a gift for every day of December until Christmas.  She has now started the tradition for Rory and although the picture is blurry, below is a shot of Rory's purple sparkle tree and her advent gifts set-up in her room. 

You can imagine our surprise when Santa wrote letters to both Rory and Massie informing them that they made the "nice" list.  Here is Rory reading her letter to confirm the good news.

Christmas Eve at my folks' house is always a great time.  We get started very early in the day and go late into the night (or until the kids can't take anymore).  Below is Martin, Jesse and Blue relaxing until the next round of drinks and gifts begins.

My Uncle, Randy, Aunt, Cheryl, and Cousin, Jeremy (missing from the picture is cousin Philip) always come over on Christmas Eve.  We don't see them nearly enough so this is the one time a year we know we'll be able to catch up.

My uncle Randy with Massie. He looks so much like my dad and his grin reminds me of Grandma Em...he's such a great guy!

Rory was  surprised when she woke up Christmas morning and discovered that Santa took bites out of her cookies and drank all the milk. It's pretty exciting to get confirmation that the "big guy" was at your house.

Santa brought Rory this dollhouse for Christmas...she thinks Santa is a pretty cool guy.

Eating
Massie has finally taken to eating.  Rory and I thought that the prunes on Massie's face looked quite a bit like a moustache...a fact that Rory got a kick out of.

Miscellaneous
Yuri's sister, Geneveive, was in town for the holidays with her daughter, Estelle and husband, Kirill.  Below is a picture of Estelle, Gen, Massie and Rory (the goofball).

My friend Robyn sent matching hats for the girls...aren't' they cute!?  As usual, Rory is clowning around. Dy - please note the "dominoes" in Rory's hand...she wouldn't put them down.

We don't get outside often but one day during the warm weather in December we put on our gear and hiked out (okay, got out of our car) to see Jesse skijor.  On this particular day it started to rain...very unusual for Fairbanks.

Rory
Rory clowning around with a few of the gifts she received throughout her birthday and the holidays.  Our little free-spirited child.

Modeling her new coat from Lanie and Renee and her "fairy skirt" from Betty and Bruce.  This girl loves clothing!

Massie
Massie is doing well standing and balancing for short periods of time on her own.  She is very proud of herself and is expressive when things go downhill (last picture).

Unlike Rory, Massie loves dogs (much to her grandfather's delight).

Reading time with her dad - full of giggles.

Addy in a serene pose with her cousin.  Addy is so good with the girls, we wish she lived closer so that we could take advantage of her skills!

Happy New Year to you all!  Catch you next month with our January blog update.