Open House for Rachelle and Scott

After Rachelle and Scott's wedding in May, his parents wanted to host an Open House in Alaska.  However, work and school commitments didn't allow the newlyweds to travel to Alaska until Christmas.  So, during the Christmas break, the Pessettos held an Open House in their home.

Scott's sister made a pretty bouquet for Rachelle. 

 There was lots of good food.

 

 We had a good time with family and friends.

 A big thank you to Scott's parents.

We had a great time celebrating the marriage of two wonderful people.

Band Concerts

 Before school let out for Christmas break, we attended the school's Winter Concerts.  Jacob played in both the jazz band and the Intermediate Band.

During the week, the jazz band also played in the Multi-Purpose Room before school started.  It was fun to see students stop what they were doing and walk over to listen.

Considering most of these students have played their instruments for just over a year, I think they do quite well.

Temple Nativity

The Anchorage Alaska temple has a beautiful nativity outside.

 It is so beautiful and peaceful.

Tonight we drove to the temple and parked the car so we had a good view of the nativity.  (It was 4 degrees outside so we stayed in our heated car.)

We read from Luke 2 about the birth of the Savior.  We talked and contemplated what a wonderful gift His birth is.  This was a perfect way to get ready for Christmas Day.

Getting Ready for Christmas

We are enjoying spending time with Rachelle and Scott during the Christmas season.  Since the temperature is below zero outside, we are mostly doing indoor activities.

Yesterday, Rachelle, Scott, and Jacob had a wonderful time making a gingerbread house.

 

We did have trouble making the gingerbread house stand upright, but we found that a hot glue gun works wonders.

 

 Just don't plan on eating the gingerbread afterward.

 It was a messy project, but fun.

 Along with the gingerbread house, we have the Christmas decorations up and the house feels so festive.

 The stockings are hung by the fireplace.

The nativities are set out to remind us of Christ's birth. 

 

 

 

The tree is decorated and presents wrapped.

 My favorite decoration is the "Tree of Life". 

It is decorated in white and silver.

During the Christmas season we read about Lehi's dream of the tree of life.

 "I beheld a tree, whose fruit  was desirable to make one happy...and I beheld that the fruit was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.  And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy....and I beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God."  (see 1 Nephi chapters 8 and 11.)

 That is what Christmas is about -- the love of God -- Jesus Christ!

12-12-12 --and 12

For weeks Jacob had been looking forward to the date 12-12-12.  He wanted to know what I would do that was special that day.  I hadn't thought of anything, but Mother Nature did.

Last week our backyard looked like this:

 We just didn't have any snow.  But on 12-12-12, (December 12, 2012), it snowed and snowed and snowed.  We got nearly 12 inches of snow in one day!  This broke the record for the amount of snowfall in one day.  Our backyard now looks like this:

At 6:30 a.m. Brent spent an hour shoveling the driveway, so I could take Jacob to school.  The snow continued to fall.  At noon, I needed to run errands and Brent had to shovel the driveway again so I could get the car out of the garage.   The snow plow came the next day and this is how much snow they plowed off our little cul-de-sac.

Thank you Mother Nature for giving us something memorable for 12-12-12.

Ice Fishing

Last week, the Young Men and Young Women at church (boys and girls ages 12 to 18) went ice fishing for their weeknight activity.

They cut a small hole in the ice and put in a short fishing line.

Jacob sipped on hot chocolate as he watched his friend pull in a fish.

 

The fish were small.  You can see two of them on the ice by the fishing hole.

Most of the kids caught a fish that night.

When they weren't fishing, they were keeping warm by the fire and drinking hot chocolate.

Jacob and all his friends had a great time.

Where is the Snow?

Last year in December, our backyard looked like this:

 We had enough snow to make a quinzee (snow cave) that was big enough to stand up once you were inside.

 Rachelle and Jacob had a great time going inside the quinzee.  Of course, last year we had a record amount of snowfall.

This year our backyard looks like this.  The temperature is COLD (average temperature 0 to 10 degrees.)  We just haven't had much snow.  In fact, the cross-country ski trails have had to make snow.  What a difference a year makes!

Winter Camping

One of the great things about Alaska is that you don't let cold weather stop you from having fun outside.  The scouts regularly go camping during the winter.

This past week Jacob's scout troop went camping and Brent went along as an adult leader.  We have not had very much snow this year so far, so you notice how patchy the snow is on the ground.

The boys kept warm by the fire at night as they roasted marshmallows.

They then all snuggled down into their tents.  Most boys used two sleeping bags put inside each other and slept in their warm clothes.  The weather forecast had predicted temperatures below zero, but the scouts were fortunate.  It was only about 20 degrees that night.

The next morning, the boys helped cook a meal of pancakes and peach cobbler.

It really is morning in these pictures, but it doesn't get light until around 10:00  a.m.   However, they use headlamps so they are able to see wherever they go.

After eating a good breakfast, the boys went ice fishing.  They cut a hole in the lake and caught four fish.  They were small fish, so they tossed the fish to a bald eagle who was nearby watching the boys.  The eagle gladly ate the fish.

The great thing about winter camping in Alaska is that you don't have to worry about bears.  They are sleeping soundly.  The only challenge is keeping warm.

Winter Clothes

In order to keep warm in Alaska, you have to be covered from head to foot in warm clothes.  That can be bad if you have on a cute outfit because no one can see it.  Then again, it can be good if you don't want people to see what you are wearing.

The other morning I took Jacob to school early for his jazz band practice.  I didn't have time to get dressed, so I put on my coat, boots, and skhoop skirt over my pajamas.

On the way home, I needed to stop at the grocery store and get a couple of items.  I went into the store and did my shopping, and no one ever knew I was wearing my pajamas!  Shhh...don't tell!

Thanksgiving 2012

We are so thankful for cousins that live close by.  The Bacon's are so kind to invite us to their Thanksgiving feast.  This year there were 36 people.  They had invited four other families besides our family.  The 12 adults ate in one room.  (Not everyone was in the pictures. Some people were still dishing up food.)

 It was all very delicious.

The Bacons did a great job finding enough places for 24 children to eat.  Some of the children ate downstairs and some ate upstairs in the play room.

After dinner, we enjoyed visiting and playing games.  It was a great day!