Alaska Adventures

Superheros

2012-02-05T20:44:00.002-09:00

can I just say that i LOVE having little boys! I love how rough and tough they can be. I love how they want to be like all those amazing superheros...you know Batman, Spiderman, Superman, just to name a few. They amaze me each and every day. Here are few pics I took before bed tonight of Jake and Drew pretending to be Spiderman! I love it!

TONS OF SNOW!!

2012-02-05T20:32:00.002-09:00

We have had SO much snow this year and it has been kinda fun! It has also been very cold which I have NOT enjoyed. I took a few pics of the kids playing on the HUGE mound of snow outside our house! Saying that it is about as tall as our house isn't exaggerating very much!

If only I had my two front teeth

2012-02-05T20:29:00.001-09:00

Carter lost his two front teeth....he lost his last one at school that other day and was thrilled to get a little plastic tooth from the nurse to put it in. He is growing up SO fast!

Love little boys!!

2012-01-16T13:03:00.002-09:00

I just love this picture cause it just shows the personality of little boys....especially MY little boys! There just isn't anything better than army guys, cars and dinosaurs. I love when they stand them all up around the bathtub! So CUTE!

The Visitor

2012-01-16T12:57:00.003-09:00

The other day I was doing my dishes and i looked out to see a moose in my yard. The boys had fun watching him for a half hour. He then wondered right up to my front deck so I could get some pictures of him. This was all happening about the time I was expecting Chris to come home from work and I was so worried that the moose would be standing right there by the deck and Chris wouldn't see him....bad things can happen when you startle a moose!! But he wondered off before Chris made his way home.. Phew!!!!

Holy Snow!

2012-01-01T16:55:00.003-09:00

We woke up to 18 inches of snow one morning last week! It was crazy and can I just tell you how tired I was after plowing our driveway. I had never wished for a snow blower till now!!! The kids have had fun in it!!

Christmas Nativity

2012-01-01T16:34:00.003-09:00

Mary, Joseph and the Donkey

Jake was a Shepard and Deagan was Baby Jesus

The Angels

The Wisemen

We go out to Aunt Robin's every year for Christmas eve. We eats LOTS, play LOTS of games, Play Instruments and the kids act out the Nativity. My Cousin, Tiffany came too so there was lots of kids!!

Christmas festivities

2012-01-01T16:20:00.003-09:00

Jake had a little preschool, Christmas singing concert we went to and it was really cute. I thought he would be really shy, but he sang super loud and did a great job! Then we would downtown to look at this huge gingerbread houses display that I heard about. It was pretty impressive and he kids liked it. It was so funny to watch Drew because the height of the table was right at his mouth and everyone once in a while you would see him stick out his tongue and do a little taste test!! I couldn't help but just giggle!

My Christmas Gift!

2012-01-01T16:13:00.003-09:00

I have always wanted to have fireplace mantel and I have never had one so Chris decided this year that he would make me one. He spent hours and hours out in the cold garage and out of 2x4's that we tore out a wall in our house he made me this gorgeous mantel. Not only did he just make the mantel he put a lot of symbolism in it and wrote me a 2 page letter describing why he made it the way he did. Can I just tell you, that I have NEVER been given a better, thoughtful gift in my entire life. I LOVE it and now I am working on making some things to go on it. I wish you all could see it in person cause it beautiful!! I need to take another picture too cause hanging right above it, is a picture of the Anchorage temple in a beautiful frame my sister, Danny, made and sent me.

Coolest mom on the block

2011-12-03T21:26:00.003-09:00

I think today I became the coolest mom on the street. I was outside watching my kids play in the snow and just taking some pictures of them when a bunch of kids came over and started throwing snowball at them. They really looked like they needed some help so I started throwing snowballs back at them. We ended up having a HUGE snowball fight....I felt like a kid again! It was FUN!! (Oh and I forgot to mention that is has been raining all day, in fact I just got an email that church is canceled for tomorrow!!!) Everything is covered in ICE!

The Carpenter, Brick layer and Roofer

2011-12-03T21:13:00.002-09:00

We built a gingerbread house for FHE last week and it was pretty fun. Chris had the kids pick who wanted to be the Carpenter, the brick layer and the Roofer. They all helped and it turned out quite cute! We tried to teach them a spiritual lesson while we built but I think it went one ear and out the other. (actually I don't even think it made it in the one ear!) It didn't last long before they devoured almost the whole thing!!

Finding joy in.......BOXES??

2011-11-30T14:20:00.002-09:00

Carter asked for some boxes and a knife cause he wanted to recreate a project he did at scouts with his dad. Next thing, before I knew it, all 3 boys were wearing them!! I guess whatever entertains!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-30T14:07:00.002-09:00

This is a Tablecloth I made so all my guests could sign it and say what they are thankful for. I will use it every year I host Thanksgiving till it all full!! I stole the idea from my Aunt!

The Thanksgiving guests minus some kids!!

Happy 7th Birthday Carter

2011-11-13T18:38:00.004-09:00

Carter turned 7 yesterday! We love having him in our family! He has such an excitement for learning and just loves life! I have so much adorable pictures of him that I had a hard time picking but here are a few over the last 7 years! (they are not in order... obviously!)

A few things I love about Carter...

-He is very social...makes friends very easily!

-His Huge, blue eyes!

-His love of learning!

-His sensitivity to others!

-His desire to be good and please everyone!

-He loves to have FUN!! (he gets that from me!!)

-He is very cautious but feels so proud when he accomplishes something!!

-WE love you Carter!!!!

Chris's Gig

2011-11-13T18:31:00.002-09:00

My Uncle Chad invited Chris to play guitar and sing with him at this party! They had SO much fun practicing and playing together. In fact, they were a little giddy at times!! Don't tell him I said that!! If there ever were 2 men that love to play guitar together...it is these two!

Sledding

2011-11-13T18:21:00.005-09:00

Carter caught some sweet air!!

Carter's Birthday was yesterday and one of the things he wanted to do is go sledding. It was great fun! We have tons of snow already and we are loving it. Carter loves to be outside the most!!

Favorite Isle of Walmart

2011-11-06T20:12:00.001-09:00

If I ever lose my boys in Walmart, I think I will know which isle to find them on.

Award Ceremony

2011-11-06T19:41:00.003-09:00

Carter got an award at school for doing BEST on each and every assignment. His teacher at conferences said all she has to do is get Carter excited about whatever they are learning and doing and the whole class will be excited also! He LOVES school and lOVES learning and he always shows his excited by lots of talking so Im really understood when she told me this!! It was fun to see him get the award. It really boosts their confidence!!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-06T16:19:00.002-09:00

Ready to go get some CANDY!

We moved recently so we got to trick or trick on a new street. It was really fun cause our street had lots of little kids and so many of the houses decorated and really got into the holiday. Some homes even had fires outside so the kids could warm up. Another guy strung a ghost across the street and was making eerie sounds in a megaphone! It was quite an entertaining night!

Family Room

2011-10-24T20:14:00.013-08:00

Just a cute one of Carter! This didn't last very long!

The Aquarium Room under construction. Chris laid all the tile!

Get a good look at this one, cause it only lasted about 5 minutes!!

This is a shot from the outside looking in to the family room when Chris was replacing the door.

During Construction

This is my sweet, brand new treadmill I got for my Birthday!! I LOVE IT!!!

Aquarium Room....Chris's favorite part of the house!

Family Room minus the trim....which will get done..sometime!!!

Okay so here is the first of the "before and after" pictures I am going to take of the house. Who knew remodeling could be SO fun!! (Im not joking!)

Crazy Busy!

2011-10-14T20:32:00.006-08:00

Drew waiting at the bar for his breakfast! Don't mind the fact that he is flipping me off!!

Carter made this hat at School! Im not sure what it is exactly!

Drew loves to wear everyone's shoes. He also loves to find everyone's shoes for them when it's time to go somewhere! At least I don't have to do it!!

My blog has kinda gone to the wayside since we moved into our house. (and trust me that is not the only thing that got gone to the wayside...be glad you don't have to eat my cooking!) We have been SO busy with remodeling that there isn't much time for anything else. I am super tired tonight and refuse to paint, clean or move one more thing tonight. Slowly but surely we are getting it to look the way we want and pictures will be coming! Oh the suspense....I know!! But in the meantime, here are a couple cute pictures of kids but mostly Drew!

The new house!

2011-09-22T22:09:00.003-08:00

Here are a couple more pictures of the outside of our new home. I did take a bunch of the inside but I am going to wait and post them as we get the rooms remodeled. We have been working SO HARD to get it ready for move in, which is in 6 days!!! It is amazing how hard you will work when you want something bad enough! I am loving going to Lowe's every other day (at least) and picking all the paint, flooring, lights and everything that goes with it. Im sure Lowe's is loving it too!! :) It is fun to know we will own a little piece of Alaska!

Cross-Country Running Jamboree 2011

2011-09-22T22:00:00.003-08:00

Carter with his good friend, Austin! They are next door neighbors!

Carter ran again in the jamboree and was so excited to get another medal. He was much more confident this year and did a great job! He is so smart and just loves to be around his friends! He LOVES 1st grade and is just doing awesome! We are so proud of him!

We are moving!!

2011-08-30T07:16:00.004-08:00

Chris working hard!

I wish the door was shut so you could see it.

This is the view from the back of the house

We bought a house and we are moving in the next month. We finally found a house here in Eagle River and we are thrilled. Chris has been doing some repairs on the back of the house. He tore down the deck off the back and but up a temporary railing, a new door and new siding. Next summer we are going to built a 2 story deck. We have some plans fun for the house so lots of pictures are to come!!!

Sometimes I wonder if yard sales are a good thing for me??

2011-08-29T21:35:00.003-08:00

Drew got punched in the nose!

The boys saw these boxing gloves at a yard sale and wanted them SO bad. I really didn't want them but it is really hard to say no especially when they are so cheap. They have had fun with them...especially Drew. He quickly learned the word "Punch" and that is all he wanted to do for days and days afterwards. The boys have spent many hours on the trampoline having boxing matches and with no major injuries to report so I guess they were worth it.

Carrot anyone?

2011-08-29T21:33:00.001-08:00

Carter and Jake picked 2 carrots out of the garden and then pretended they were growing out of their mouths. Where do they get such weird ideas??

Back to School

2011-08-29T21:29:00.001-08:00

Carter is starting 1st grade and Jake is starting preschool. 2 very excited boys!!

Why Not Tri 2011

2011-08-07T17:24:00.005-08:00

SWIM

BIKE

RUN

I just completed my 4th Triathlon and let me tell you, the more of them I do the more I am hooked! I love them. Next year my plan is to do the "Tri the Trails" Triathlon which is twice as long as the ones I have done. It think it will be a fun challenge.

Fishing with kids

2011-08-01T14:57:00.003-08:00

We borrowed a canoe a couple Saturday's ago and went to Lake close by we could teach the kids how to cast and get them some fishing practice. We invited some friends from Chris' work. Each kids only got hooked once so I'd say it was a success! There was an island in the middle of the lake that we had fun exploring! We've come to the conclusion after this and dip-netting that we need to buy a canoe!!!

Slippin' Slide

2011-08-01T14:52:00.002-08:00

I bought the kids this slip and slide the other day it was a big hit. They played outside for 6 hours straight without eating or bugging me once! It was wonderful! Don't get me wrong, I love my kids but having a break is the BEST!! Worth every penny!

FHE Hike

2011-07-24T19:25:00.002-08:00

We took a hike last Monday for Family Home Evening. We hiked about 1/2 way up Mount Baldy. It was ALL uphill and I didn't think the kids would do very good but they loved it. They wanted to go all the way to the top but we decided to turn around cause it was getting late. Next time we will make it to the top!

Puddles!

2011-07-24T19:13:00.002-08:00

I thought the kids would have fun splashing through puddles after a rainstorm the other day so I got out their rain boots. After about 5 minutes of splashing I realized the rain boots were pointless since they were wet up to their necks! Oh well, they had a great time!!!

My Athletics

2011-07-09T14:34:00.003-08:00

My Parents Visit

2011-07-04T07:52:00.011-08:00

My parents came to ALAKSA!!!!!! This is what we did!

- T-ball games

-visited Earthquake Park

-visited Anchorage Temple

-ate at the Sourdough Mining Co.

-saw the largest chocolate Fountain

-rode the Alyeska Tram

-they watched me run 1/2 marathon

-rented a cabin in Seward

-Whale watching/Wildlife boat tour w/prime rib

-hiked to Exit Glacier

-Seward Sealife Center

-Fished Kings of the Kenai River

-Swam in Goose Lake

-Hatcher's Pass and Independence Mine

-Iditarod Museum

They saw 4-5 Moose, tons of Bald Eagles, tons Killer Whales, puffins, sea lions but no bears!! Oh well maybe next time. I think they had a good time. The kids are really going to miss them. Thanks for coming!!

Saturday adventures

2011-05-29T15:48:00.003-08:00

jjj

So we set out on an Adventure yesterday without any real set plans other then let the kids throw rocks and play in a river. We ended up at Matanuska Glacier and went on a small hike. We panned for gold a little and found lots of cool rocks and moose bones! It ended up being a fun day....except for how grouchy Drew was! We have forgiven him!!

Trip to Fairbanks

2011-05-22T20:57:00.006-08:00

Eating the peppermint sticks from Santa's House

We went to Fairbanks this weekend for the state track meet. I didn't want to fly up so I decided to take my family with me and make a vacation out of it. It was really fun. The kids LOVED staying in a hotel and LOVED eating out for every meal! We went to North Pole, Alaska which is 15 miles north of Fairbanks. The whole town is decorated like Christmas and we got to see Santa's house and "The" reindeer!! We really wanted to go to Chena Hot Springs but they wouldn't let the kids in. Chris took the boys to Pioneer Park but I didn't get any pictures cause I wasn't with them!! (I heard about a cave and a big boat...you don't get alot of details about things when your talking to a bunch of boys!) Ha Ha!! It was really nice to feel some warm weather!

Ice Skating

2011-05-22T19:20:00.003-08:00

Chris's work reserved an indoor ice skating rink for us to enjoy last weekend and we took advantage. We got a sitter for Drew and took Carter and Jake. At first they both were scared and very frustrated but after they got the hang of it, I couldn't get them off the ice. It was alot of fun and now i'm thinking of putting them in ice skating lessons after baseball is over! Im thinking it would be fun to have a hockey player in the family!

Mosquito Bait

2011-05-22T19:15:00.003-08:00

Poor Drew! A couple days ago Drew went to bed looking normal and woke up looking like this. The pictures doesn't even show half of the bites he had. He had them all over his neck and on his scalp. Luckily they didn't seem to bother him too much! I still cannot figure out why he got so many bites and no one else has any! Must be that sweet tooth!

Cheap Entertainment

2011-05-11T19:27:00.000-08:00

I bought some chalk for the boys for $1.00 today and they spent a really long time coloring this big boulder we have in our front yard. Chris and I was watching them out the window and he looked at me and said "Why didn't we think of this along time ago?" Cheap Entertainment...exactly what I was thinking! AND all 3 boys can do it together at the same time. It doesn't get any better than that!

Go Athletics!

2011-05-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

Carter loves being the catcher!

Carter and Jake had their first T-ball game last night. They looked SO cute in their baseball uniforms I took tons of pictures. They had fun except for the cold! Poor Jake was shivering out there in the field. But he was tough! I will be sure to put jackets under their shirts next week! The joys of living in Alaska!

Happy 30th Birthday Chris

2011-05-06T19:33:00.003-08:00

Does this look like anyone you know?

The kids were SO excited about the aquarium cake!

Chris has made it to his 30's. I think he had a good day and he liked his presents!!! (That is amazing cause I am the worst gift-giver and I actually did a good job this year) Yes that is a rack of ribs sitting if front of him! It is what he requested!

I hope I don't regret this!!

2011-05-06T19:24:00.002-08:00

I saw these really cool water guns at the store and I couldn't resist. I am always looking for things that will make the kids want to be in the backyard. They hold a lot of water and I hope I don't regret getting them. So far they have had fun with them, but it will be better when it gets warmer and they can actually squirt each other.

Sew many ladies!!

2011-05-04T18:58:00.005-08:00

This is my Nancee bag. This was an evening project we started around 7:00 and finished about midnight. We ate lots of food and laughed alot. It was tons of fun. We are doing another night project sewing adorable aprons next month!

My bulls eye quilt

Every Thursday we get together at the church and sew. It is so nice during the dark winters to have somewhere to go and learn the wonderful skill of sewing. I have learned a ton and we have done some great projects. Right now we are working on an Alaska themed quilt where we all pick a subject we want and then make 24 quilt squares that have to do with that topic and then we have a big exchange of the squares (and a yummy potluck) and we make a quilt. Last year we did the same idea only with shoes. It turned out SO cute as you can see. I am not going to tell you what square I did cause its the worst one on there!!! We have started a really cute blog to feature all our sewing projects! the address is http://sewmanychurchladies.blogspot.com/ if you want to take a look!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-24T13:43:00.002-08:00

I planned and organized an easter egg hunt for my kids

and their friends. It turned out great and was tons of fun!!!

Drew cared less about finding eggs. He just wanted to play

on the playground equipment....unless he realized there was

candy on them. Too bad that happened after the hunt was over.

His brothers were good to share with him!

Carter's findings!

Jake and Jayden pigging out on candy!

Jake didn't find the golden egg (which had $5 in it) but he

was thrilled with these yellow eggs which he thought were

golden!

Drew turns 2

2011-04-19T07:10:00.005-08:00

We just had simple Birthday Party for Drew to celebrate his 2nd birthday. Chris left for Omaha on his Birthday so we celebrated early. He got a Thomas the Train and set and cupcakes. I think the older boys were more excited than Drew was. I am so glad that Drew got to come to our family. He has been such a joy and makes us all laugh!

What I have been up to lately!

2011-04-08T06:47:00.005-08:00

I was introduced to Shelf Reliance and THRIVE Foods about 2 months ago and I got SO excited about it that I decided to try being a consultant. Shelf Reliance has been around for awhile but they just introduced THRIVE foods a year ago. Most of it
is freeze dried and they offer everything from all food groups to desserts and drinks. The food is so good and most of it has a 25 year self life. They have a really neat program call "Q" that helps you set up a customized plan to get a month, 3 month or year supply for your family. It is very affordable and I am so excited to be able to earn extra money and build up my food storage at the same time! If your interested at all let me know and I can get you discounted party pricing or even get you started selling it yourself!! www.shelfreliance.com

The boy who LOVES trains!

2011-03-27T11:16:00.002-08:00

Yes, It's Drew! He found a Thomas book in our stash of books about 3 months ago

and now that it all he thinks about is trains. He plays with this little train set we

have all day and asked me about a dozen times a day to watch Thomas. His first

2 words he put together and still the only 2 consecutive words he knows are

"Thomas Train" He has to lay down so he is eye level while he pulls the train along

the track! He turns 2 in a week and guess what he is getting for his birthday???

How do you put a 4 year old to bed?

2011-03-24T14:17:00.002-08:00

You put his toys to bed!

Jake has such a hard time putting down his toys when its time to go to

bed, especially legos. So Chris made a little bunk bed and tucked his

toys in for the night. I thought it was so cute!

Fun with Hair

2011-03-22T07:03:00.002-08:00

Carter had CRAZY hair day at school and wanted

a colored mohawk. I didn't have any hair color so

I used permanent marker! (A little trick I learned

when I was in school) It turned out great and he was

so excited to go to school he sat in the car for 30 mins

before it was time to go!! Maybe I should style his

hair like this everyday!!

Drew got a haircut. He looked so cute and so much

older I had to take some pictures.

He loves so pose for the camera!!

St. Patricks day at the reindeer farm

2011-03-13T16:47:00.003-08:00

We went to a St. Patricks day activity at the Reindeer Farm in Palmer, Ak

and it was a beautiful day and the kids had lots of fun!

The kids rode ponies

Drew just woke up from a nap and was not happy to be set on a pony!

One of the fields of Reindeer we saw. They also a had an Elk,

a Bull Moose and a Buffalo!

They had a scavenger hunt for the kids where they had to find

all the paper punches and then they turned in their paper for a

prize!!

Jake thought these looked like Giant Marshmellows

The reindeer can grow a pair of these in 3 months! Crazy!

My Alaskan Baby!

Drew had NO fear of these reindeer. He would grab their antlers and try to

hug them. He made me very nervous so I didn't get a good picture of him

feeding them.

Carter and Jake both tried to feed them

This is us on the hayride!!

Looks like they had a good time!!

iditarod 2011

2011-03-07T11:41:00.003-09:00

We went to Willow, Alaska yesterday to see the start of

the World Famous sled dog race, Iditarod. We left late so I sped

the whole way there and about 10 from arriving I got pulled

over by the cops. Luckily he let me off on a warning or

else I probably would have had to sleep in the snow tunnel

Chris and the boys made outside. Ha Ha!

Well we finally made it to the race and got to watch the

last guy take off. Very Cool!

There are 62 racers total and they race just over 1000 miles up to Nome, Ak.

The record is 8 days but mostly it takes about to weeks to complete. I am

very excited to watch the finish on T.V.

After wards we drove to Robin and Chad's house for dinner and on the way

we saw her. Mostly we just pass them by but we decided to stop and take

some pictures.

Uh-Oh she spotted us!!

You can't pass up a picture of this!

2011-02-19T09:20:00.000-09:00

The personality of Jake

2011-02-19T09:17:00.002-09:00

This about sums it up. He is the goof of the family.

Especially when there is a camera pointed at him. He

makes us all laugh!

For you Mom

2011-02-19T09:12:00.002-09:00

Just to show ya how much Jake loved his Birthday gift:

Notice the CTR ring on his finger. He was been wanting

one of these ever since Carter brought one home from

Primary. He talked about it all the time and just couldn't

wait to get one. He was SO excited to see it in Grandma's

birthday package.

Drew enjoyed a Fruit roll-up or 2 himself!!

Happy Birthday Jake

2011-02-06T16:30:00.002-09:00

The day Jake joined our family!! Feb. 9, 2007

This is one of my favorite pictures of Jake. Chris was studying for a class and I needed to go

upstairs and take a shower so I set Jake down by Chris and gave him a handful of cheerios. Chris looked down at him at one point and this is what he saw!!

This is his cake. I was going to cut it up and shape it into a number 4 but

it kinda fell apart so I pieced it back together and slapped some frosting on!

He liked it and I guess that is all that matters.

Here is a little glimpse inside of Jake's Birthday party! It was a Buzz Lightyear

party. He loved it and did very well sharing with all his friends.

He is SO excited to be 4!

Dad in Charge

2011-02-06T16:25:00.002-09:00

Drew was coloring and I needed to go downstairs so I asked Chris to

watch him. Chris was busy doing something so I don't know what I

expected but this is what I found when I came upstairs!!

Karate!!

2011-02-04T14:58:00.002-09:00

Carter has been wanting to do Karate for

quite a while. SO when Chris and I joined

The Alaska Club (which is the gym here)

I noticed they offered Karate. He LOVES it

and is pretty good at it too!! There are usually

only 2-3 kids at a time in the class so he get

lots of one on one time. The gym also has an

AWESOME play place for the kids so while

Carter does Karate, Jake and Drew play, Chris

and I get to work out together. It is really fun,

as long as we don't think too long about how much

it all costs!!! :)

Oh Drew we love you!

2011-01-23T13:25:00.003-09:00

Drew is quite the kid! He is almost 2 and just jibbers all day long and knows exactly what he is saying. He loves to copy everything his brothers do and loves to hug! I had to share these photos of him!

His favorite food is spaghetti

I walked into his room the other night while he was sleeping and this is

what I saw! It made me laugh!

Today at church he came out of nursery looking like this!

He has a HUGE goose egg right between his eyes and his

teacher said him and one of the little girls bonked heads.

It literally stuck off his head an inch! Crazy kid!

This is a side shot of his ouchy! It was so Huge I couldn't believe it!

Biggest Loser Material???

2011-01-14T19:42:00.001-09:00

So after the Holidays I have decided that

Chris needs to try out for the Biggest Loser.

Do you think he will qualify???

This about sums it up!!

2011-01-07T07:57:00.002-09:00

I thought this picture was awesome!

I feel this way every winter in Alaska!

New Years Ice

2011-01-02T16:46:00.002-09:00

For New Years Eve we went downtown and saw all the ice sculptures. We got to watch some of them actually being sculpted which was pretty cool. The kids had fun running around on the ice rink, running through the maze of ice, and sitting on some the ice sculptures.

Ice Eskimos

Ice Skating Rink

A donation box made of Ice

An Ice Maze

Drew sitting on an Ice Sculpture

An igloo in progress

An Ice Elephant

After the Ice Sculptures we drove down to Earthquake Park which is right

next to the inlet. It is an awesome place to watch the planes comes in,

cause they fly right over your head, and they come in one after the other.

We also sledded some and soaked up some much needed direct sunlight!!!!

Christmas is finally here!!

2010-12-28T07:26:00.003-09:00

Chris gave these for Christmas. They are the family pictures we took last

fall and he had them stretched over canvas. I love them. He did it totally

in secret and I was really surprised.

The had a great time opening presents. No one seems disappointed expect

they couldn't play their new wii game cause the T.V. is broken. They all got

new jammies to wear! Christmas evening we had Chris' co-worker and his

little family over for dinner and 5 minutes before they arrived, the power

went out. Luckily we had most everything cooked so we ate dinner in front

of the fire and everyone wore headlamps. We joked with them that 5 minutes

after they leave the power will come back on and sure enough, it did!! I was

thankful for that fireplace cause it was below 0 outside and it would have gotten

cold very quickly. We also had a great time making smores!

The problem with bottles

2010-12-28T07:23:00.002-09:00

I kinda wish I had never started Drew on a bottle cause I

am having a heck of a time getting him off it. Sippy cups are

just not cutting it. I think I might have a stubborn little boy

on my hands!!!

FHE

2010-12-28T07:22:00.001-09:00

We played a silly game for FHE the other night and I had to share this

cute picture!!

Homemade gifts

2010-12-28T07:19:00.001-09:00

I made the boys superhero capes this year with the

first letter of their name. Jake especially loved this,

since he is just learning to spell his name and is in LOVE

with the Letter "J"

To my friends

2010-12-28T07:14:00.002-09:00

I made carrot cake jam and cranberry pear jam this year!

I had more fun handing it out for Christmas this year than

eating it, although it was pretty tasty!!

12 days till Christmas

2010-12-14T18:49:00.002-09:00

My adorable friend, Lucy and her family came caroling last night and

presented us with the 12 days till Christmas. Each little box has 3 pieces

of candy and a Scripture in it. This is just the cutest thing ever...and my

kids love it!!

Just a few happenings!

2010-12-14T18:43:00.002-09:00

We went to our neighbors home for dinner a while ago and they are really

into celebrating holidays from other countries. So we had a nice meal and

then they taught us about the Dutch and how they celebrate St. Nickolas'

Birthday. They told the kids to put a carrot on their shoe that night and

then Saint Nick's horse will eat it and leave a treat. She gave me these

Chocolate letters which are the first letter in their name and put them in

their shoes. They kids thought it was the coolest thing ever! They ate the

whole thing before breakfast!

Nancee Bags

2010-12-09T10:13:00.003-09:00

A bunch of us ladies met at the church one night and sewed

these adorable bags. I just love them and have made 3 more

since I learned how. Joann's is my new favorite store...the

possibilities are endless!!

Christmas is for the kids!!!

2010-12-03T12:07:00.003-09:00

Does this look like Trouble??

I decorated our new tree and was so proud

of the way it looked. Well Drew saw it, and

as he was ripping all the ornaments off of it,

I was tempted to get mad and frustrated, but

then I just reminded myself that im doing this

for the kids and if Drew is having fun throwing

all the ornaments, then I was accomplished

what I set out to do!! Someday I will have an

amazing, and beautiful Christmas tree!!

Our new neighbors

2010-11-21T19:20:00.002-09:00

A new family moved right behind us and to our surprise they have 3 little boys that are the same ages as our 3 boys. The oldest is also in Carter's same Kindergarten class. They are also in our ward. The kids all get along really great. Im sure this will call for some great times and lots playing!

Carter Walking Home

2010-11-21T19:15:00.002-09:00

I started giving our next door neighbors a ride to school in the morning. Then Carter started walking home with them after school. It is about 1 mile home through the trails of our neighborhood which are snowy and wooded. I was really nervous to let him walk because of the moose and cold weather but he wanted to so I agreed. He has done it 3 times now and loves it. I am loving it too cause it takes some energy out and keeps him busy. Here are some photos of him coming home the first day!

Happy Birthday Carter

2010-11-17T15:26:00.004-09:00

My sad attempt at making cake legos. Oh well, the boys loved it!!

We started off my splitting into 3 groups and I gave each group a Lego

Race Car kit and they raced to put them together! This was the quietest game!

This is Jake's team assembling their race car!

This is Carter's team. They got a little frustrated (probably cause they

had me as a helper) but they eventually got

it figured out.

I made a pull string lego pinata which was way fun, but I think I prefer the

ones you can wack!! These are great for indoors though.

And of course presents! Carter got lots of Legos and he was SO happy about that!

We had 1/2 hour left over with nothing to do and the kids were wild so I

put on an episode of Clone Wars and they were silent and still for the rest

of the time. My party with 13 little 5 & 6 year olds was a success!!!

first snow 2010

2010-11-14T19:30:00.002-09:00

Jake eating snow

Carter loves to throw snowballs

Drew taking off by himself down our road.

Drew really wasn't sure he liked the snow at first but now he loves it.

The kids eating snow

Carter and Jake

Halloween Party #1

2010-10-27T18:40:00.004-08:00

The sword was not part of his costume,

he stole it from another kid!

I took Jake and Drew to a little Halloween Party at the Church. They sang

songs, made a craft, played games and ate treats. It was fun, although you

wouldn't know it by looking at the last picture of Drew!

Everyone loved Ramen!

2010-10-21T14:23:00.003-08:00

Jake and Drew were eating ramon noodles for lunch and I thought it was

cute with all those noodle hanging out of their mouth so I took some

pictures.

Pumpkins

2010-10-21T14:17:00.002-08:00

I bought one pumpkin this year and decided the boys could all help

carve it. Well, Carter and Jake wanted nothing to do with it. Drew on

the other hand, was in heaven. He loved getting all messy! It was fun

watching him, but not cleaning up the mess!

Jamboree 2010

2010-10-04T07:13:00.009-08:00

Carter signed up to run in the Jamboree this year. He ran with the Kindergarten and 1st grade boys .6 miles. He did AWESOME!!!! He got a medal and powerade, he is already ready to sign up for the next race.

First snow on Sept 26th, 2010

2010-10-01T07:13:00.006-08:00

It snowed on us last Sunday before we left for church and the kids thought it was awesome!! Drew ran outside, raised his hands up just screamed with excitement. He was amazed! Good thing it didn't stick...its much too early!!

Family Pictures Sept 2010

2010-09-26T18:44:00.004-08:00

JAKE

CARTER & JAKE

DREW

CHRIS & KAREN

CARTER

2 teeth gone!!

2010-09-20T20:25:00.003-08:00

Carter lost his 1st tooth about a week ago. His dad helped to pull it alittle and when it was out and he tasted his blood, he started crying and laughing at the same time. It scared him alittle but he was so excited to have the tooth fairy come. The next day at school he told everyone he had lost his tooth whether they cared to hear it or not. He lost a 2nd tooth tonight while eating his sandwich and it was much calmer experience. Now we are trying to teach him how to save his $ and it's a harder task than getting him to let us pull out his tooth.

three boys paradise

2010-09-12T09:08:00.004-08:00

The overlook of the river

The boys checking it out

We spent hours throwing rocks into the river!

I thought these were super cute pictures of Drew

Can you see Chris in this picture? I thought it was funny

Chris' shirt matched the color of all the trees!

We took the kids out on a Fall Drive. They complained

saying it was going to be so boring. We stopped at this river and

let them explore and throw rocks. They left saying it was the best

day EVER!! Boys are sure easy to entertain! Afterwards we stopped

at the U-pick farms and they LOVED picking all the veggies especially

the broccoli. Then we took them to Golden Corral to eat.....then we

stopped at Best Buy and Chris bought me an..........

Ipad!!

Alaska State Fair

2010-09-03T07:48:00.002-08:00

We decided to go to the fair this year! I am glad we did it was a blast. We met my Aunt Robin and her family there. The rides were crazy and the kids loved the animals. It started pouring rain so we had to leave alittle early but it was worth it.

Jake loves these elephants. When we got to the fair he didn't stop looking till he found them.

Jake and I rode the roller coaster.

Robin and I picked the scariest ride we could.

I did it and I will never do it again. I will admit it, I only did it so my kids would think I was cool....and it worked!!

My good lookin' hubby!

Jake's favorite part was the bumper cars. He rode with Uncle Chad.

Carter and Jayden rode together

We had a great time!

Coastal Trail Bike Ride

2010-08-26T13:35:00.002-08:00

My friends Lucy and I took our kids on a bike ride on the Coastal Trail yesterday cause it was a beautiful day. They played in this cute little park for awhile and then we biked. It was so fun!

This is what the kids looked like when we were done!!

Sorry Jake I couldn't resist

Kindergarten Carter

2010-08-26T09:14:00.003-08:00

Carter started Kindergarten so I took a few pictures of him. His teacher's name is Mrs. Newman and he really likes her. He is on day 3 there and he LOVES it. He comes home a little grouchy and tired but he always says he had a great time. He won't me much when I ask him so I wait for him to tell me things. So far I know he loves music class, recess and playtime. Oh and he mentioned the snacks they get too!!

This is Carter after his first day. I him to frown if his day was bad or smile if it was good!!!

It was good!

Big Brother Syndrome

2010-08-20T17:34:00.003-08:00

After Carter lost his spot on the swing set, to try and get it back he said to Jake; "Jacob, swings aren't the awesome-est things in the galaxy, Jesus is."

South Fork Eagle River Falls

2010-08-15T11:33:00.003-08:00

We saw some really cool mushrooms

You gotta love Carter's hood. It looks like a bonnet. Oh well...it was raining and if you know Carter he doesn't like to get wet!!

The kids liked to find trees that were "their age"

We heard about this waterfall that was only 10 minutes from our house so we decided to go! A guy stopped up when we were just starting the short hike and said "Watch out for bears!" That doesn't make make a mom feel very good but we just told the kids to make lots of noise. There is nothing that they are better at than making noise and we didn't see any bears.

Harding Ice Fields

2010-08-11T08:09:00.004-08:00

4 of my girlfriends and I went to Seward for the weekend and hiked up to the harding Ice Fields. I was a very strenuous hike. We gained 1000 ft every mile and went 7.5 miles rounds trip. It was amazing and absolutely gorgeous!! We saw a bear, tons of mountain goats and a cute little marmot that posed for us to take his picture. It took us 8 hours to complete the hike and boy am I sore!! It was so fun spending time with these amazing ladies!!

Erin and I slept in this rooftop tent. These are the coolest things that my friends sells. They come in different sizes and someday we want to get one!!

Erin and I attempting to start a fire with nothing but matches and wood. It took awhile but we did it!

The glacier from the top. I think it looks like a giant frozen waterfall. The views were amazing

Here are the 5 of us that went. Nothing like hiking in the snow in August

Here is one view looking down.

This was just a cute little river and a cute little bridge

Close up of the glacier

Air show

2010-08-11T06:46:00.005-08:00

We took the boys to the air show and Im glad we decided to fight the traffic and people cause it was really cool! The kids got go inside some planes, and other military vehicles (I can't remember any of the names!) We ate hot dogs, pepsi and suckers. The kids loved that part! I didn't get very good pictures, but I will share what I did get!

Jake's Victory Dance

2010-08-10T19:27:00.004-08:00

I took the kids minature golfing and they had a total blast!! Believe me I tried to get them to hold the Club right but they were in such a hurry, they wouldn't listen!! They both improved alot toward the end.

Animal Conservation Center

2010-07-28T08:32:00.012-08:00

Drew

I got to stand 1 foot away from a bear.

These 2 grizzlies were wrestling around in the water. It was so fun to watch them.

Checking out all the people looking at him

Porcupine (Carter's Favorite)

Caribou (Jake's Favorite)

Moose

Elk

My friend, Pam and I went to the Animal Conservation Center which is about 1 hour south of Anchorage. It was cool to see the animals up close. It had just rained and there were HUGE puddles so all the kids ended up soaked and muddy. But we had a good time.

Pan for Gold

2010-07-28T07:43:00.007-08:00

scenery

All the kids at one point ended up falling in the river and little by little stripped all their clothes. They had fun and loved eating outside!!

Drew playing the water.

We had a perfect little opening in the river and a grassy little area of the kids to play. It was so beautiful!!

Chris being silly

We went to Hatcher's pass (the most beautiful place on earth!) to try our hand at Gold Panning. It was a beautiful and everyone had fun. Im not going to tell you about all the gold we found!!!

Goose Lake

2010-07-17T20:43:00.007-08:00

Drew got to play in the water and dirt so he was happy.

I have been wanting to take the kids to Goose Lake forever and I finally went. It was a perfect day and they had so much fun. It's a little lake right in Anchorage, it has a lifeguard and they feed the kids lunch.... AND it's all free!!!!

Bear Paw Festival

2010-07-16T11:10:00.006-08:00

Mom and Jake on the back of the roller coaster

Carter on the Roller Coaster

Carnival Rides

The boys at the carnival. They insisted on taking their trick-or-treat pumpkins to hold their candy in. I got alot of comments!!!

Drew as happy as a clam with his sucker and Balloon.

Every year Eagle River has a week long Festival called "Bear Paw" They have a carnival, Parade, Car shows, cooking contests, ect!! We got in on alittle of the fun!!

fireworks at midnight

2010-07-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

This is Jake seeing fireworks for the 1st time!!

They do a firework show here in Eagle River that starts at midnight. I decided to take Carter and Jake this year. They loved it!! It was overcast which helped it be alittle darker but the fireworks weren't as fascinating as they are against a black sky!!

Imaginarium

2010-07-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

Carter loved this. He pulled himself up in the chair by using the rope.

They had balls that were floating in midair! Drew loved these!

This is a chunk of rock that blew out of Mt Redoubt when it erupted last year!

They also had a chuck of rock that was taken from the moon. It was really cool!!

You stand in front of this screen and jump and it will repeat it in slow motion. It also tells you how many seconds you were airborne. I wish I had a machine like this for coaching high jump!!

They had tank of Jelly Fish! They had just eaten and we could see the food inside their bellies!

This screen shows the temperature of your body. This is Jake's body! There is something wrong with the picture. Can anybody figure it out??? LOL

We took the kids to the new imaginarium here in Anchorage. It was AWESOME. They had some really neat stuff. We could have spent hours and hours there will the exhibits they had.

T-ball

2010-07-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

Carter finished up his 1st year of T-ball. This is his coach and the little trophy he got. He loved every minute of it and can't wait for next year. Jake can play next year too and is SO excited.

1/2 Marathon

2010-07-04T11:59:00.001-08:00

Aunt Robin, Uncle Chad and Me after the race. Sorry I wasn't smiling. I was feeling really bad!

Well I finished the 1/2 marathon but I was SO not happy with how it turned out. I had a terrible time with my knees and ended up having to walk part of it. I was so frustrated cause I trained so hard and really had high expectations. I am going to do another one soon so I can redeem myself. Chris felt really bad and bought me new pair of shoes hoping that would help out my knees. So far so good.

Why Not Tri

2010-06-28T11:24:00.000-08:00

This is me at the end of the Why Not Tri Triathlon that my Aunt Robin organized. She donated all the proceeds to the ALS Foundation. She did an amazing job and the race was so FUN!! Here are 2 links to the utube videos someone made during the race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNiIpIvasRg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twq-13OKv-E

Introducing Ravenwood

2010-06-28T11:03:00.000-08:00

I took Carter and Jake to play at the Playground where Carter will start Kindergarten this Fall. They had fun except Jake fell and got a HUGEST goose egg I have ever seen. He was tough!!