LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

Brianna and I are headed to Utah tonight! WAHOO!!! I'm am really nervous how she's going to do on the flight. Oh I'm hoping she'll just zonk out and sleep the whole way, I so don't want to be the one everyone hates on the plane. She just doesn't sleep well unless she's in her crib, every time that we're at friends houses she refuses to go to sleep because she likes to watch everything going on. Cross your fingers for us!

We will be at my parents house visiting my family for 2 fun weeks. And then on the 3rd week Justin will meet us there along with his parents, sister, and brother-in-law for another fun filled week. I'm so excited to see everyone and have everyone see Little Miss Bri. I don't know how much blogging time I will have while I'm there - my parents computer is slower than death, so we'll see. But I'll be sure to post all about it when we get home.

Well I need to go finish packing - I'm such a procrastinator! :) BTW - I sure am going to miss my two bestest friends that won't be in Utah for this trip. Talk about terrible timing, I think we missed Nicole by like 1 week.

ROUND TWO

Well we said goodbye to our Alley dog AGAIN on Saturday. The people who we gave her to called us after 2 weeks and said that Alley and their dog weren't getting along very well. I guess they'd gotten into some good fights, so they felt like they shouldn't keep her. So we had her back at our house for about a week, but luckily we found some new owners for her. They are a retired couple who don't have any kids our other pets so I think it will be good. Hopefully this one works out cause it's killing me to have to say goodbye over and over again. They said that they'd keep in touch and let us know how she's doing, so we'll see in a week or so how things are working out. I think Brianna noticed that we were sad that we only had one dog so she thought she'd help comfort us. :) She's such a goof ball!!!





It's finally warmed up here - it like 25 above today - Hallelujah!!! (That's like a 70-75 degree difference from last week) The bad thing is when this happens here it makes the road conditions terrible. Since Alaska doesn't know how to plow roads (don't ask, they're stupid!) the ice on the roads start to melt and then it re-freezes at night and turns everything into a very slick ice skating rink. But at this point I don't even care, I'm just enjoying the fact that we dare to go outside again.

I went to the doctor on Monday for my neck. I've had on/off neck pain for about 5-6 years, but it's just gotten worse the past 6 months. Even to the point just laying in bed on a pillow hurts. They told me pretty much what I expected it to be, that it's probably muscle issues and I need to go to physical therapy. She told me that when this kind of thing happens it usually has been a long road to get to this point and it's going to be a long road getting it better. I know that I've always had terrible posture and this is probably a big part of the problem. So basically I have to teach myself how to sit/stand/walk properly. Now I know that this can be done, but I'm a bit skeptical. I mean I've been sitting like this for 29 years for goodness sake, so it's going to take a lot of discipline - I guess time will tell.

Brianna has been a sad little grouch the past 3 or 4 days. I know the poor thing doesn't feel good, but I'm not quite sure what's going on. I'm guessing now probably teething - even though she acted totally normal with her first two teeth. She has been really cranky, waking up multiple times screaming uncontrollably at night, pulling at her ear more than normal, very clingy, and then she started running a fever yesterday. So I decided to take her to the doctor and have her checked out, I was pretty sure she had an ear infection. Nope - they said that her ears were a little red and had some fluid in them, but no infection. So we've just been dosing her up with Tylenol and bearing through the bad times. She seems a little better today, so hopefully we're on the mend. It's going to be a long flight to Utah on Saturday if she doesn't start feeling better. Poor little monkey! :(

Speaking of Utah - I'm so EXCITED - I can't wait!!! I'm so looking forward to getting to see ALL my family in one trip!!! YIPPEE!!!

BANANAS, BIRTHDAYS, & BRRR

First off little Brianna started fruits for the first time this weekend. I think we've got her through almost all of the veggies and she's is doing GREAT. She is the best little eater, we haven't had any problems at all. She gives us a big open mouth for every single bite. She actually might be a little too good at eating (I wonder where she got that from??? :)) I think even when she's full she'll still always open her mouth, so I really have to watch her eyes when I feed her. She'll give me this big eyed look like, "Mom, I'm goin' to be sick", and then I know she's had enough. Here's a couple of pictures of her trying her first bananas.

Second, I didn't have time to post this on yesterday's, but I wanted to wish one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world HAPPY BIRTHDAY earlier this week. Nicole (aka: Ginger - really don't remember how that became your nickname???) has been one of my best buds since way back in middle school. Oddly enough I think we were always considered the "weird" girls in our group of friends, because we were the only "normal" ones that didn't get caught up in all that caddy girl drama. We have a pact with each other that when we're old and gray, we're going to live together and be the crazy cat ladies on the block. :) She's a great friend, a great mom, and a great listener and I'm so happy to call her my friend! Here's to "licking your face", guard rails, hiding staplers, New York, solidified organs, stupid boys, and Russian hats!!! (BTW: we are getting so old!)

And lastly, it's still freezing here. I don't think it's got over -45 for over a week now. They've even canceled church the past 2 weeks because it's been so cold. We've been having stupid furnace and car trouble this past week, but I think we've got everything working for now - cross our fingers. Things are just not made to work when it's this cold (including people), I think every thing's protesting that they've just had enough. Here's a couple of pictures of us trying to stay warm. I love her pink little snowsuit - thanks Heizer family - we were headed to the grocery store and she reminded me a little of Ralphy from The Christmas Story. And then one cuddling with her daddy - too cute.

CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON

How cute is this? Nana & Grampie Walker got these beautiful Chinese pajamas for Brianna. She looks adorable in them!

She likes playing with the bottom of the shirt and showing her belly off. The little flasher. :) THANK YOU!!!

READY TO GO AT 50 BELOW

"Dad, do we really have to check the trap line today?"Hope it's warmer where you're at.