Chena 2.0

Last year, we all went up to Chena Hot Springs and Santa Claus' House BEFORE Christmas. When I say ALL, I'm talking George, the kids and I (of course), plus my parents and Scott, Heather, and the boys (all who flew up), and Lizzie, Alan, and their boys (who live in Fairbanks). It was such a blast. We stayed overnight (Except Lizzie and Alan) at Chena, and really wanted to do it again. Unfortunately, Scott, Heather and the boys aren't here anymore (Hello, Spain and New Jersey!), so my parents were going to try and bring my Gma and Gpa Oberg up with them.

So, we waited until 30 days out and went to book a couple rooms at Chena because that's when you can get the resident rate and save a little dough. That is, until it looked completely booked. So instead of trying to pick every possible date, I called and found out that, as of the end of November, Chena was booked solid until the END OF FEBRUARY! So, no overnight there, which made my parents change their mind about going out. My mom hates the drive out there, and really didn't want to make it twice (once out and once back) in one day, so they were out.

George, the kids, and I still wanted to head up to Fairbanks after Christmas to hang with Lizzie and Alan, so we planned on driving up the day after Christmas. We were able to go over to Kenji and Christina's new digs and have dinner one evening. I'm sure that our wild bunch probably solidified the fact that they seem to be stopping at 2 kids. Seriously, Brayden, Kylee, and Koda were WILD over there. We also got to leave ALL the kids (3 of ours plus Lizzie and Alan's 3) at "home" while we went on a triple date with Nichole and Justin, who we hadn't seen since they left Anchorage 2 years ago! We went to Les Miserables (which was wonderful, BTW), and then stopped for dessert afterward.

The kids got a LOT of playtime in with their cousins, and now Koda and Brady are FIXATED on getting Skylander's for the Wii. We had avoided the "trendy" games until they played it in Fairbanks with Tyler and Luke, and it's all they've been talking about since.

We spent the Saturday we were up there at Chena, getting up there about lunch time, eating burgers at the restaurant, and then hitting the pool. The kids aren't allowed in the outdoor natural rock pool, so we took turns watching kids while each couple got to spend some time out there. The indoor pool, however, is pretty darn warm also...I'm talking almost bathwater! They do have a large outdoor jacuzzi that kids CAN go into, so at one point, everyone in the group was out there! Despite trying to get a good picture of both families, as well as a big group shot, and then just all the kids, every shot had a kid (or two. or three) that looked goofy. Such is an outing with 6 kids! Here's come pics for your enjoyment...at least Koda has his two front teeth in these (last year he looked even goofier, as he was missing BOTH front teeth!)

Lizzie, Alan, Tyler, Luke, and Colt

Us. See what I mean about goofy kids. Seriously, if it isn't Brayden, it's Koda. 

Our group picture attempt. 

Total cheezer. She loved the outdoor hot tub!

All 6 cousins. 

Love this little girl!

And SHE really, really loves her daddy!

Troublemakers, pure and simple.

These two are SO stinkin' cute together. I love that they're only a few months apart in age!

My cutie pie. Yes, there's a TON more pics of her than the other kids. I mean, she cooperates AND she's adorable....why not?!

Alan and Colt

See....these are the boys completely consumed in a Skylander's game. 

Cheezer playing the iPad.

This is about the time where we were TRYING to head out of Kenji and Christinas....they wouldn't leave!

We always like teasing Jailynn and Brady about their love for eachother. For the past couple years, they have given hugs and kisses each time they see each other! It's too darn adorable for words!

Goodbye hugs!

We had a blast for the 4-5 days we were up in Fairbanks! Unfortunately, we probably only have one more year of our annual Fairbanks Christmas trip, as Alan applied for Dental School this fall, and I'll apply for Medical School in the spring. Meaning....neither one of our families will be in AK for quite some time! We have to savor our cousin and friend time while we can!

Some catch-up

Well, it's been about 3 months since my last post...which is pathetic, because plenty has happened since then! I finished up the final pre-med class (THANK GOD), and just by the skin of my teeth. Frankly, I was happy just to pass Organic Chemistry 2 and be done with it. On the other hand, my OChem lab was awesome, ended with an A, and was probably one of my most enjoyed classes throughout all my schooling! I ordered an online Kaplan MCAT course right after Christmas and just started it. I've scheduled the MCAT for April 4th, so the countdown is on! I should know my results by the beginning of May, just in time to start my applications in June! So far, we know that I'll apply to the WWAMI program (1st year here in Anchorage, 2nd in Seattle at UW, and 3rd/4th are rotations), USU in Bethesda, MD (the military's med school), and that's about it. I've looked at all the stats for the OTHER TWO HUNDRED med schools, and have narrowed the list down to about 30 or so, excluding any that have low out-of-state acceptance rates, too high GPA or MCAT averages (seriously, when their LOW is a 3.7 GPA, it's a little intimidating!), anything over about 55K per year, and places that are WAAAAAAY too expensive to live (Hello, New York City....we couldn't afford a postage stamp. And with 4 kids, 700 square feet just doesn't cut it!). But, we still have a lot of contenders, and we're hopeful that a decent MCAT score will keep our options open!

On another note, since we hadn't had any real pictures taken since Kylee turned one, my dad graciously froze his tush and snapped a few great family pictures below in November. It was COOOOOLLLLLD, and it was probably the fastest family photo shoot we've ever done!

Kylee turned TWO on November 21st, and we had a little family celebration. I had won a $50 gift certificate to Cakes in Love, a local cake shop, and decided that I'd just have them make Ky's cake this year. While it was nice not spending an entire day (or 2) making a cake, everyone agreed that: 

1) It was WAY too expensive for what it was (who actually pays $110 for the cake below?! I had a hard enough time forking over $60...never again). 

2) It tasted like CRAP! I'm talking to the point of not really wanting to hardly eat it! Not to toot my own horn or anything, but my cakes are much, much tastier! 

Nevertheless, the cake did look pretty cute. Kylee got plenty of gifts, many of which were things to wear-either dress up stuff, hats, hair accessories, jewelry, or clothing! She couldn't have been happier!

Dakota even learned to play "Happy Birthday" on the guitar for Kylee's birthday! He's such a great big bro!

She really is the cutest little light of the house. She's mostly very sweet, but does have a sassy little attitude, and will let you know when she doesn't like something. 

The beginning of December brought on all the fun Christmas festivities, including the traditional gingerbread decorating afternoon! It really is one of the best Oberg traditions, and I remember always getting to decorate a house every year. It was something that I looked forward to most during the holidays. I think it might just be more fun as an adult and watching the kids have fun plastering on candy! As usual, the youngest (this year Kylee) ended up with more candy in her belly than on a house!

We had a pretty low-key Christmas, especially since my bro, Scott, Heather, and the boys weren't up here with us this year! My parents and Dan came over in the morning and got to watch the kiddos open their presents. It was pretty chill, watching some TV, socializing, and making homemade pizzas for dinner. After dinner, we took the kids sledding at Service High School. They got a new, big sledding tube, as well as small single-rider saucer type sleds from Santa, and just HAD to try them out! 

Kylee got a ridiculously expensive imported baby doll for Christmas, and thankfully, she's in love with her. This child carries her baby with her EVERYWHERE, and loves to wrap her in blankies, pretend to feed her from a sippy, and strap her into her doll's carseat! 

The little goober being a goober. 

Kylee LOVED sledding!

The boys in their new cool hats, ready for some action!

I'm finding that this post is getting pretty darned lengthy and the kids are downstairs screaming about god knows what...so I will try to make an attempt later at documenting our trip to up Fairbanks/Chena Hot Springs later!