Snow!

We finally got enough snow to get out the snow machines!!!  Going towing behind snow machines has to be one of the best parts of winter.  It finally started snowing last Saturday so we got the Bravo out and spent a couple hours out on the lake towing.

You can really get some air!

The best part though is knocking other people off their ropes so you can get the longest one.

It ends in lots of pileups.  Why go down peacefully when you can take everyone with you? =)

And if you do get your sled knocked out from underneath you that's no reason to let go of the rope.

This is Caleb while he was supposed to be taking it easy and making sure not to open
 his cut back up because he just got his stitches out.  Yeah...

Sorry for the terrible quality pictures. =P

Birthdays

Lavonne loves birthdays.  It makes it lots of fun to throw her a party.

Her Aunt Dorothy and Alex along with her Mom and Cheda Mary came over for her party.

The kids are eagerly waiting for her to blow out her candles.

Lee turned 16 and my older kids along with Josh A. got to go down to Iliamna to help him celebrate.  They went snow boarding and had a blast.  Below Anna is contemplating the hill.

Quentin heading down the hill.

 Quentin after a fall, he got a huge egg on the top of his head.

A neighbors big dog joined in the fun and kept getting in the way.

Lee blowing out the candles.

Lee's mom made a delicious birthday supper and they had a wonderful time.

Super Bowl Sunday

For the Super Bowl yesterday Claudine (Lavonne's mom) invited us to her house.  She bought a lot of pizza's, chips, soda and other good junk food for us to eat.  It was a lot of fun.  A couple people were going for the Patriots but most of us were going for the Giants so it was a good game:)

All the dogs became dad's best buddy.

The end of the game was exciting.

After the game the boys were sliding down the hill on their bellies it was so slippery.

Quentin and Sarah

Family Camp at Tanalian Bible Camp

Back in April, just before Passover, we spent the weekend at Tanalian Bible Camp in Port Alsworth. Every spring they host a family camp. It is always a good time of fellowship and good Bible teaching.

It always falls during spring thaw so there is lots of mud and snow. The little boys love it!

David swinging...

Paul and I along with Lavonne and our kids Joshua on down, decided to take a hike toward the falls. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for a hike. It didn't take us long to wish we'd brought a sled for Sarah.

The boys could have used a sled for sliding too, but they are very creative. They made do with what we had. Sarah's mud boots kept falling off. By this time she was asleep in Paul's arms.
Benjamin's raincoat worked the best. He was like a little otter sliding down the hills.

Lavonne took a picture of the rest of us resting alongside the trail.

Caleb found a fun tree to climb.

Remember the post about the guys that came up from Iliamna to snowboard with our kids in Nondalton? While on our walk we found some graffiti that one of the guys, Lee to be specific, left behind on a walk he took with his family about an hour previous to our walk. At least this graffiti will clean up very nicely all on its own.
Lake Clark Air and a few of their planes lined up alongside the runway. The plane to the far left is one that Paul flies a lot.
Lavonne, Josh, Tia, Caleb and Sarah are stuffed in the plane for the short ride home. They got to hold their pillows:)
We love Family Camp, so much so that we are planning a trip down the Alcan to a week long family camp in Canada this June. Paul's Mom is going to drive up from North Dakota and meet us there for the week. We are all getting excited for another motor home adventure. We love traveling in our motor home. Even though the quarters are tight, it is always a special time that produces lasting memories.

Spring on the Lake

When the sun is shining, the lake is a beautiful place in the Spring. Ice fishing really kicks into gear in the Spring as the fish start biting. On this day, the kids really worked hard to chip out their ice holes as the ice was about three feet thick.

Several of the kids decided they wanted their own ice hole so they passed the two ice chippers around. Only once did one of the chippers slide to the bottom of the lake. They were able to fish it out and were much more careful after that.

Joshua broke through first.

The little boys had fun pulling each other around in their make believe boat.

All the fresh air gave Sarah the perfect opportunity to nap in the sun.

God never ceases to amaze me at the beauty He has given us in the mountains all around us.

I suppose if Caleb runs fast enough his feet won't get cold? He didn't bother to find matching gloves either!
It's time to get all the towing behind the snowmachine they can before the ice gets bad.

Abigail and Deborah

Quentin

The biggest kid in the family had time for a few minutes of fun towing with his kids.

Mountain Sledding

Since we have had very little snow this year, Paul and most of the big kids headed up the mountain to find snow to sled on. They ended up going all the way up to the base of Castle Rock that we climbed last fall http://quiverfullofkids.blogspot.com/2009/10/climbing-castle-rock.html and sledding all the way back down the trail.

Everybody jumped off the Honda while Abigail took it up a steep hill.

They had to help push a little because it was so icy.

Caleb was the youngest to get to go.

Joshua getting a running start.

They left the Honda's a little past halfway and hiked to the base of Castle Rock.

Snowball fight!

Paul watching the snowball fight from a safe distance.

Josh A. giving Abigail a push.