Christmas Letter 2007

It is Christmas time and I have not gotten our cards out…so this is what everyone is getting! Let's go green this year anyways! We have had an exciting year that started out in Mazatlan Mexico! Viva La Mexico! We had fun swimming, even Alexis, playing in the sand, shopping and eating. Alexis was perfect the whole trip so we decided to take her to Alaska this summer. Even though by the time Alaska came around she was walking, she still did well! Britt hit the Kenai River for fishing the second we got there and fished every night until the wee hours of morning(remember the sun is up for 21 hours of the day and then barely darkens the sky for the other 3) it was crazy to be up at midnight and look out side to see light blue sky! We saw moose and bears, not behind bars, huge salmon jumping up the Russian River. We nearly ran face to face with a Grizzly bear; fortunately he stepped off the trail about 5 minutes before we got there! Wild animals, no thank you. Alexis and I went on the Kenai Fjords boat tour. It was awesome even though it was rainy we still saw puffins and porpoises', sea loins and otters, another bear on the shore and the largest tidal glacier! The glacier was amazing, ice breaking off and waterfalls. There was icebergs floating in the water…titanic did come to mind and I did look for the life boats. Our captain even told us that he had to be careful of the ice. While we were boating so was Britt, he was halibut fishing, catching 30 pounders and up! Alaska is beautiful everyone should go, just be prepared everything really is bigger there, and driving between site-seeing takes so much longer!

We have had so much fun watching Alexis grow up and learn to walk and start to talk. She is doing really good with mommy and no (loves to tell Rudy no). She also knows a secret language that she is keeping to herself; I have asked her to teach me but not getting very far! She walks around jabbering even ordered her own food at McDonald's! She runs and plays hide and seek still working on the hiding part though she just stands in the middle of the room and waits until you turn around.

Britt is still doing the car hauling. He is a nursery leader with me and is actually enjoying himself. He broke his leg in May; of course he was riding a motorcycle! He was running again 6 weeks later; you can't keep him down for anything. He is planning on climbing Mount Rainier this spring and has changed hobbies 6 times.

Alexis loves nursery and will cry if she doesn't get to come in with us. Not sure what our calling will be in the New Year because all of our kids move into the sunbeams class. We are still living in Bonney Lake and happy even though traffic is getting worse everyday. We have spent a lot of time with our family this year and have loved it. Christmas this year will be really fun because Alexis is old enough to open her presents so we got her lots of them! The adoption is almost finalized. It has taken way too long due to a bad lawyer and so the waiting it almost over. We should be done and have her sealed to us in early January. We are very excited.

I am loving being able to stay home with her. She just fills my day with so much joy. I have kept busy playing with her and hanging out with all my sisters. I am still taking piano lessons and am doing really well. I love being able to sit down and play Christmas music, it has really helped me fill the spirit this year, maybe next year I will be able to play while people sing without goofing up too much. We hope that everyone has a great Christmas and that your 2008 will be wonderful! We love and miss you all!