Merry Christmas

We are one week into our Christmas vacation and have had a lovely relaxing time.  I thought I would share with you a few of the things we have been up to.  

Milo was my first model after I unwrapped my new camera lens!  Isn't he handsome! Also check out our completed Advent calendar.  One of the day boxes fell off and Milo chewed it up before we could put it back, besides that, I have to say it turned out pretty adorable.  

For Christmas Eve and Christmas day our friend Brittany stayed at our house and enjoyed the holidays with us.  She is wearing the scarf I made her for Christmas.  Not too shabby, huh?

Edna found the boys some fun beer toys for Christmas.  Here they were trying to figure out how to use their new beer belts.  Uncle Ryan thought maybe he could use his as a kid carrier.  

This is Arabella.  She is just too cute not to share. 

Also too funny not to share...Ryan also got a pair of onion goggles for Christmas.
What a hunk! 

Our break has been filled with relaxation, friends, and way too much food! Here are a few things we have accomplished with our time off from work.  We spent some time reading/napping. 

I washed and organized all the baby's clothes.  Now I just have to find a space for them all!  I never realized how much space such a little baby could take up! 

 Ryan built his new toy.  It is a salt water fuel cell car.  Then he let it ride around the floor and Milo chased it, while barking loudly, for as long as we could stand it!

Yesterday I hemmed all my maternity pants, so I can finally stop wearing them with 4 inch cuffs.  While I had my machine dug out, I decided to try my hand at an applique.  I added the tie to the tiny onsie you can see below.  I think Baby Howe is going to be one styling little guy.

Lastly, I added the picture of Baby Howe and I at 30 weeks.  This was taken on Christmas day.  It is hard to believe that in only 10 more weeks we will get to meet our little man!

Snow, Snow, and More Snow!

For a little over a week we have been getting snow almost everyday.  Wrangell is so beautiful covered in white.  The green from the trees peaks through and the occasional sun shines brightly off the snowy mountain tops.  The weather has been pretty mild most days too.  This weekend we were able to get outside and do some snowshoeing.  Below are some photos from our adventure.  

Milo loves pouncing in the snow. 

He kept sticking his head down into the snow. 

Thanks to AJ's awesome Christmas gift,
our car has been transformed into Rudolph!

Tonight we went to the Chorale's Christmas Concert.  Our friend, Brittany met us there and we throughly enjoyed the music.  Afterwards we were headed to the car and I excitedly told Brittany she needed to take a look at our awesome Christmas car! Unfortunately, when we got to the car, it was missing an antler!  As you can imagine I was extremely bummed, especially because I had only put the decorations onto the car yesterday.  Immediately Ryan blamed it on some youngster, but then he remembered what really happened... 

On the way to the concert, Ryan farted and quickly opened the car window to try to let out the stink!  At the time neither of us thought about the poor antler that had fallen into the road.  

Despite knowing that it was probably lost forever or broken, we drove home super slow with the bright lights on to try to find the missing antler.  Just as we were about to admit defeat, I spotted a little brown antler lying in the road.  Much to our surprise it was still intact and didn't seem to have been ran over!  It was a Christmas Miracle!  When we got home we moved the antlers to the back windows and put on the child lock so we don't have another case of the missing antler on our hands! 

"Midnight" Madness

Wrangell holds an annual festivities they call "Midnight Madness" in which the stores have sales and they stay open late, all they way until 8PM.  The high school choir sings Christmas songs, Santa comes to visit, and they light up a big tree downtown.  Ryan and I moseyed on down and joined in the fun.

We made some purchases at the craft sale.  Milo got a stocking stuffer, some homemade doggie treats.  I bought some yummy Filipino food.  Ryan picked out a nutcracker.  It is pretty great!

Also I wanted to post a picture of Ryan's Christmas snacks as proof that I did in fact bake for him. 

December in Alaska

Hi!  I am sitting in school super early on a saturday morning administering the SATs.  So I thought what better way to use my time than to write a blog post for my friends and family!  Christmas is in full swing at the Howe household.  Decorations are up, we have a cozy fire every night, and delightful music is often filling the room!  Oh and check out our tree... it is so beautiful!  Last year I decided to be Martha Stewart-like and decorated our tree in silvers and blues, but Ryan HATED it!  He made such a stink about having a traditional tree with gaudy decorations and the color red.  So I after Christmas last year, we picked up a bunch of cheap ornaments everywhere we went.  I have to admit I can't stop getting lost in our tree this year, it is so much better and Ryan was right!

At the beginning of the week we took our Christmas card  photos and our cards are being processed now, so you can look for those in the mail in the next few weeks!  When I was picking out the best photos and doing some editing, I couldn't believe how big my belly has gotten!  I want to share a picture, but you'll have to wait to get our card!

We have been watching the snow line creep down the mountains around us for weeks and for the last few days we finally have snow!  In fact when I look out the window right now there are fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky.  Of course the snow here is nothing compared to what I grew up with; as soon as it hits the ground it turns to slush and yuck.  But it is pretty when it is coming down!

For other news, I am almost done with my multicultural education course.  I just finished my last lesson and have two weeks to turn in my final project.  I cannot explain how good it will feel to be done with that!

For now that is all I can think of.  We love you all very much!