-A New Life in Alaska-

June in Unalakleet

2011-06-27T14:42:00.000-08:00

Got Crab?

Fresh crab is one of my favorite things about Unalakleet!

Very fresh... notice how he's holding a pencil in his claw.... he's still got some fight in him!

Crab vs. Faith.... crab wins every time. She runs away from them screaming!

Log wars at the beach

playing at the beach

time out at the beach

pouting at the beach

getting hugs at the beach

getting over it at the beach

Something else I'll never see anywhere but Unalakleet.

Notice the little Eskimo boy riding in the boat, on the tractor, down the street.

Brent wants you to think this was a terrible day fishing (like 24 trout or something)

Really they had a good time fishing with our friends the Egli's. We do realize that this would be the worlds best fishing day in Utah. But they really are junk fish here in Unalakleet. Why eat trout when you can have salmon?

Mmmmm..... pizza sandwiches

I've been trying to let the kids to be a little more independent. Faith was hungry so I told her to get a piece of bread and the jam and I would come help her.

I go in and she has not jam but pizza sauce. Brent thought it was funny and opened it up so she could smell that "yummy jam" surprisingly she said "mmmm! that smells good!" I told her it was pizza sauce not jam.... but she still wanted it. Now she has a new favorite sandwich.... pizza sauce sandwich. That's one way to show your independence sweetie!

The house that Brent built...

Well it's a little log fort really. He built it last year, but now the roof is missing. So he's been taking his ax out and building it up again. The kids think it's good fun.

This is what happens when Gracie watches Ninja Warrior....

Almost there baby girl!

Happy Fathers Day!

On Father's Day we headed back out to work on the fort and spend some time at the beach.

Then we headed up into the hills to enjoy a world that is finally green and starting to flower.

Unalakleet really is a beautiful place.

And I really have some beautiful girls. Here they are getting flowers in their hair so they can look pretty for a picture. (never mind the soot on their faces)

Awww. They're adorable and the soot is oh so charming.

This is one of my favorites!

TJ is such a free spirit. He's so uniquely expressive and full of life!

I love this picture of Brent and me. Father's Day isn't the only day I'm thankful for him. I still remember that 13 year old girl who was so madly in love with him, Now we've been married for almost 13 years and I love him so much more than I ever did! He's such a wonderful husband and father.

Brent took these pictures of me and the girls and his future daughter. Boy that's a whole lot of women in his life!

King Salmon! Brent is so excited to have caught his 1st King this year.... he's having a good year! He went fishing with a buddy and they got these.

The next day he and TJ got this one.

Brent hooked this King and TJ reeled it in. TJ informed me that Dad's the best hooker ever.... in any other situation that comment would be offensive but in this case it's true. TJ makes me laugh.

Brown bears in Unalakleet... (5/25/11)

2011-06-26T21:41:00.001-08:00

Grrr...

One thing Brent really wanted to do before we leave Alaska, is get a brown bear. He and TJ took the boat up river hunting and wouldn't you know....

Brent was floating down the river, the bear was headed away up over the hill and Brent shot it from behind.

Brent told TJ to stay in the boat while he tracked the bear that had run off into the trees. About 5 minutes later Brent turns around and sees TJ standing in the trees looking lost... "What are you doing!!?" Brent asked, "I thought you I heard you call me." TJ says... (Mom says YIKES! I may never let TJ go bear hunting again!)

Luckily Brent found the bear before the bear found TJ and they ended up having a pretty good camping trip together.

TJ had a blast too, he was really excited about getting to drive the boat.

Brent called me and told me to bring the 4-wheeler and pick them up. When I got there he said, "Well I got a beaver!".....

Then he asked me to grab the bag under the tarp.... I picked up the tarp and see a bear looking at me.... I screamed. ha ha ha he's so funny!

Well actually it was pretty funny once I recovered from my heart failure. I thought this picture was funny too. The Flying Wild Alaska crew was still renting our truck so we took the bear and camping gear home via 4-wheeler.

You just wouldn't see this driving down the street in Vernal.... but that's Unalakleet for you.

May in Unkalakleet

2011-06-06T21:40:00.001-08:00

Poor little Faith. I wasn't home for this one, I was in Kenai at a Dr. appointment. Brent told me a neighbor boy came in and said "Faith fell and she's crying!" Brent asked if she was hurt and the boys said, "I don't think so." So Brent told him to have her come in.

Apparently when she got in the house she was bleeding all over the place and had this huge goose egg. Brent felt this qualified as being hurt, but I guess the neighbor boy didn't think it was so bad. Poor baby had a huge goose egg and ended up with black eyes before the swelling went away. (On a side note, how awesome is it that I'm out of town and Faith's hair is in a cute little pony tail. My husband ROCKS!)

Flying Wild Alaska.... Flying wild kites that is...

The kids got kites for Easter and while I was gone Brent took them out to fly.

Early May, and we were still waiting for the sea ice to break up.

She's pretty cute even with a huge sore on her forehead (or her brain as she calls it)

Last Day of School!!!

On the last day of school here in Unalakleet the kids walk across the street to the beach for a school sponsored picnic.

The Kindergarten and Pre-School classes invite the parents to attend, so I got to go with the girls. Even Brent stopped by on his lunch break.

This was a pretty big day for me and Brent. We finally told the kids that we are going to be moving to Hawaii. Faith looks pretty excited! But they'll be so sad to leave their friends in Unalakleet.

Isn't this the cutest trooper picture you've ever seen? He's such a good daddy!

There are a lot of good things about moving, but we sure will miss the school up here. The kids love their classes and their teachers are so nice. They sure have a lot of big changes in their future!

The Belly... So in May we found out that we would be having another little girl. (The girls are sooo excited!) We think we'll call her Hope Lela. I think it's a pretty name and she'll fit right in with Gracie and Faith. I don't think this picture shows my proper hugeness, believe it or not I think this photo might be slimming. I need to be sure to get a few more belly shots, so I never forget why Brent refers to me as "The Belly"

Matt & Lauren are our good friends who where teachers in the village of Stebbins and would stay with us when they came to Unalakleet for School District meetings. We were privileged to meet them through our church which has a phone branch for all the members in remote villages. Most of the members of our branch we only get to speak to on the phone, so Matt and Lauren were really special friends and my kids love them like an Auntie and Uncle.

We're here at the Era Hanger, visiting with them while they wait for their plane. We're sad that their moving out of our branch. But so happy that we were able to have such special friends in our lives while living out here.

Lauren, taking TJ's bike for a spin... it's almost the right size. :)

More head injuries... We've been talking to our kids a lot about the value of common sense. Brent has tons of it, me well... that's another story. But it's important to try to teach the kids. Brent has a friend who says "If you're gonna be dumb you gotta be tough" Which actually has a lot of merit if you think about it.

TJ learned a valuable lesson about why it's not so smart to throw rocks straight up in the air. He managed to hit himself in the head and it bled quit a bit.

I have to hand it to him though... He was pretty stinking tough!

The good neighbor... So the kids were playing with the neighbors the other day, and TJ found these dead mice that their cat had left in the yard. TJ asked our neighbor Carl if he could have the mice "to use to build a transforming machine". Of course Carl let him have them and told him to run show his Mom & Dad.... thanks Carl! It was pretty funny, although Faith wasn't nearly as excited about the dead mice as TJ was. You can never underestimate the value of a thoughtful and sharing neighbor. :)

What happens in April.... get's blogged in May.

2011-05-26T19:04:00.002-08:00

4/6/11

Just out on a little snow machine ride in April at 5 months pregnant. As you can see we still had PLENTY of snow!

04/07/11

April Showers bring May flowers.... I don't think so...

I went to check TJ's teeth after brushing and I notice that he's got a couple of new little teeth poking up... TJ how did you miss that buddy? 4/11/11

I've never seen a little kid just not touch a loose tooth. But TJ didn't want to have anything to do with trying to get his baby teeth out. I checked them again on 4/19/11 and instead of being looser, they actually felt tighter. I told Brent they had to come out, so he spent the night working on them and out they came. His adult teeth are almost completely grown in already! Here comes the tooth Fairy!

Unalakleet hills 4/19/11

Ready for Easter

Can we paint the eggs yet? no. Can we paint the eggs yet? no. Can we paint the eggs yet? no Finally Brent got home and the kids were able to paint their Easter eggs!

Gracie looks pretty stinking excited!

Easter Morning finally arrives. Brent always has to work on Easter so we get up super early so to find eggs and baskets before he has to leave to work...

TJ got this Ripley's Believe it or Not boook. He LOVED it, he didn't want to put it down to find eggs!

Almost there Faithy keep reaching!

Dad was really energetic, he nestled right down for a pre-work nap while the kids investigated their Easter bounty.

Aloha Hawaii.... Maui Trip March 3/24/11 - 3/31/11

2011-05-16T18:59:00.064-08:00

Well if you know me, you know I LOVE Hawaii.

Brent and I were so excited to get to go on a trip to Maui with our good friends Brand & Jen.

The last time we went to Hawaii with them, Jen was pregnant.

This time it was my turn. I thought my belly was huge... but now that it's almost 2 months later I realize I was still pretty tiny.

We had an awesome trip and had so much fun with Brant & Jen!

Don't you just love beaches where you can actually go swimming?

I'm posting this on May 16, and our beach is covered in sea ice. We were so excited to be in the sun!

Welcome to the Jungle!

...that is a big belly!

A Room with a View
Our hotel room in Lahaina was awesome! We were right on the beach and
snorkeling was awesome!

The Sea turtles were one of our favorite things about this trip.
We saw so many of them! And the whales were breeding in the protected
water between Maui, Molokai and Lanai. So when you snorkel and free
dive you can hear the whales so loudly it sounds like they're right behind you. It's amazing!

Jen got this awesome picture of a naturally occurring heart by the blow hole.
How cool is that?

Aww! Hawaii is very important to Brent and I because we spent the first happy years of our marriage there. It's always fun for us to go back!

Brent and I loved this little local beach. It really looks like the kind of place we would have frequented when we lived on Oahu. Hopefully we'll be able to bring the kids here and just let them play to their hearts content!

Golfing 101...

Jen and I were very brave and went golfing with the guys.

Honestly, I thought I would hate it... but I actually had a really good time even though I showed the least aptitude for it by far.

I would actually love to go again sometime!

And afterward we enjoyed the hot tub and ping pong table back at our hotel... What a life! :)

Okay, I love this hat of Brant's! He's been bald for as long as I've known him, but he got this awesome hat with spiky hair included. It was awesomely hilarious! He even got some laughs on the street. For a tall guy, he's kind of hard to spot without his trademark bald head... we kept loosing him in the hair hat.

I love everything about snorkeling. Jen was able to take these awesome underwater picture... so beautiful!

See the turtle hanging out below the shelf?

Aww... Sweet!

Oh Hawaii!... What's not to love?

Brant's other cool hat.... He surprised us at the airport by pulling this shower cap out of his pocket and putting it on his head. "It was complimentary" he said... How could he not take it? I was rolling, and so were the other people sitting around us in the airport. It was a pretty sweet hat!

Brent and I getting in a few more laughs, and a few more pics with the airport statues.... Brent doesn't look like he's in the greatest mood. I don't blame you Babe, I didn't want to leave Hawaii either!

My Mommy is my Favorite friend.... March 18,2011

2011-05-07T16:22:00.001-08:00

I don't get to see my mom very often. So in honor of Mother's Day I'm posting these pictures of my Mom's visit to Unalakleet in March.
She spent almost 3 weeks here. One of them baby sitting the kids while Brent & I went on a long awaited trip to Maui.

Gracie wanted Grandma to be here for her real Birthday Party so we celebrated the day after Grandma arrived.

Brent used the air compressor to blow up balloons... and sometimes the kids.

Gracie and her friend Sonja from Kindergarten.

Gracie & Grandma looking pretty and ready to party!

Gracie with some of her classmates from Unalakleet Kindergarten. And of course Grandma to make the day complete.

Happy Birthday Grace!

We were really excited that it had warmed up to 30 degrees when Mom was here.

Brent was really excited to get everyone out of the house and go walking on the frozen ocean.
Mom thought it was funny that at 30 degrees we thought it was "warm out" and time for a walk.

Awww... Me and my Mommy.
If you know me, you know there's no one in this world who I love and respect as much as my dear sweet mother. I know Brent feels exactly the same way. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

One of Mom's many great qualities is that she loves to spend time with the kids. While she was here they baked, played games, did puzzles, and read stories to their hearts content.

Cooking of course is another one of my Mom's many great qualities, mmm.... pie!

Unalakleet Sunsets... Now the sun doesn't set till midnight. But in March it was between 9:30 and 9:45 pretty late for my little Momma to be out on the sea ice.

But she's very brave and we got these beautiful pictures of the sun setting behind the frozen ocean.

Lena, Gracie, Faith, Breanna

For Gracie's Birthday Grandma helped Gracie sew this darling little Dress for her doll.

We sure loved having my Mom here for a visit. Kids who get to live by their Grandma's are so lucky!

Speaking of Mom's... I think this is the 1st picture I've posted where you can see my belly. In this picture I am a whopping 18 weeks, and showing a round little belly.

(Brent likes to say "It's So Fluffy!")

How do you get to the airport? Here's mom all loaded up on the snow machine to head to the airport. That's life in Unalakleet.

The Joys of Sea Ice... (March)

2011-04-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of things I got to do as a kid that my children never get to do ie: swimming pools, running through the sprinkler, going to a McDonalds.

But I never got to play on the sea ice when I was a kid.

My kids sure seem to enjoy it.... even my biggest kid Brent trying out his best ice Kung Fu. :)

Just another March day in Unalakleet

Happy 6th Birthday Gracie!

2011-04-19T12:49:00.002-08:00

Last Month little Gracie turned 6 years old.

We got up early and made her a Happy Face pancakes for breakfast. (With candles and everything!)

She Sure loves her Daddy!

She even got to open 1 present before school. A new Belle doll! She told me she was very excited about this doll, because Faith had ripped the head off of her old one. :) There's a bright side for you!

Daddy and I sure LOVE her too!

Gracie wanted to wait 8 days until Grandma came to have her big birthday party. So we kept it simple with cupcakes instead of a big cake.

Candles are fun to blow out no matter what size of cake it is!

Apparently Faith has inherited her cupcake eating skills from me. I usually don't get this messy, but I do prefer to eat the top half of the cupcake with the frosting. Then I usually just throw the bottom half away. I can't really get mad at her... she learned it from watching me.

I didn't make her wait until Grandma came to open her presents she was sure excited!!!

Birthday Birthay Birthday!

Happy Birthday Gracie Girl! We love you!

Riding the Iditarod Trail (March)

2011-04-12T22:05:00.001-08:00

So this is Brent's new snow machine, and a very me nervous me riding it for the first time.

It mostly went okay except for when I accidentally spun out on the ice on the river and made the snow machine do a 360. I'm VERY afraid of being on frozen bodies of water -due to falling through the ice once as a child. So brave person that I am, I started to cry and told Brent I didn't want to drive on the ice anymore.

He kindly took over and I wasn't nearly as frightened when he was driving and I just had to hold on and pray. :)

It actually turned out to be a lot of fun. We rode on the trail used for the Iditarod and Iron Dog races. How many women do you know who can say they've ridden on the iditarod trail when they were 4 months pregnant? I can. :)

Here's a picture of Brent helping some ladies from the village use their ice drill so they could do some ice fishing. I didn't get a good picture of it, but the drill went all the way into the ice past the handles.... And I was scared of falling through?

Brent's Birthday...33 isn't that old! (February)

2011-04-09T23:09:00.000-08:00

It's starting too look like a lot of candles on the cake...

But he's got a lot to show for all those years.

He's one handsome guy, a wonderful father and amazing husband!
Here's to many many more Happy Birthdays Baby!

Ho ho ho! Celebrating Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T19:59:00.000-09:00

Coming down the steps bright and early to see their presents... notice the varying levels of excitement.

"It's what I always wanted in my whole life!" Faith exclaimed about her Princess castle kitchen that she originally thought was a doll house and she was a little confused about where the barbies were actually supposed to go.
She was pretty excited once she figured it out though!... awww she made plastic muffins and cookies!

Gracie asked Santa for a doll as big as her... wish granted! (nearly) This doll about freaked Brent out when he came home from dumping the trash and found it staring at him this doll is called Barbie Godzilla. (Just kidding I couldn't get Gracie to go for it. Her name is Alice... which is also applicable if you're thinking of Alice in Wonderland super huge Barbie)

Santa gives TJ another go with a remote control truck. (The last one didn't last very long) Honestly he was more excited about his new Calvin and Hobbes book and his Dad's DSI.

My Favorite Presents: It's hard to pick a favorite, but these are some of mine. My Mom made these beautiful stick horses for the kids. Even if it seems like Barbie Godzilla and the princess kitchen are this years winners, the hand made horses for Grandma are the gifts that will never be thrown out, but will be handled gingerly, repaired if needed, and saved for the next generation. Trust me, I know because my girls have spent many hours playing tenderly with my cherished handmade cabbage patch doll that my mommy made.... Thanks Mom! I love you!

Local Flavor The kids made handmade cards and letters for our friend and surrogate Auntie from the branch Colleen Deighton. She sent them back these beautiful little hand carved Eskimo decorations carved from walrus tusks and polar bear fur. (I think Colleen correct me if I'm wrong) And the big face carved from Bone for me and Brent. (Colleen I felt the package and I seriously thought you had wrapped a large cookie... it doesn't taste like a cookie) We were so touched by these sweet gifts, this is a gift that will be kept forever. Thank you!


Mittens, mittens, mittens, for one of my Christmas presents Brent let me have these beaver mitts custom made by a high school student. They all learn how to sew in the bi-lingual/cultural class here. I know it's not popular to wear fur... But I haven't had warm hands since I moved to Unalakleet. It sounds like a joke but it's not. I'm don't like killing things either, but I'm thankful to this little beaver every time I go out in this arctic climate. I'm not talking a little shiver kind of cold I'm talking brain freeze painful cold after being outside for only a few minutes. I didn't know you could have warm hands up here. Brent also got me a knee length parka, and it's amazing the difference and these are gifts I'm so grateful for. The hand knitted mittens were a gift from my friend April, they were also made locally by one of the Native Inupiaq women. This picture doesn't do them justice, they're very beautiful.

I was thrilled to get this book from my friend and author Sara Donkersloot from Naknek, AK. It's an adorable little story about animal families that live on the tundra, my kids were so excited to get a book with a personal note from the author. And I was touched that she would think of us and send this wonderful little gift. (You can find this and other books by Sara on Amazon.com and bn.com)


M&M's and Mystery M&M's If you've never lived in a bush village in Alaska unconnected to any road system, you might not be able to appreciate the true value of mint m&m's. But to me this year mint m&m's have become a symbol of love and giving. people who love me... ALOT! Our branch relief society did a question of the week email where we were asked to share our favorite holiday food. Mine was mint m&m's which we can't get up here and I miss very much from my days in Utah. I was truly astounded in the following week as I opened package after package of mint m&m's from people who wanted to share their love with me. Some of the packages I received had names, and some I will probably never know. This truly was a Christmas miracle for me, not because I was able to make my Christmas treats with mint m&m's just like the old days... but because I was able to experience the true love of so many caring and generous people. Many of whom I've never met face to face. I'm thankful to be having this experience up here in the bush, I'm thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ that blesses my life daily, and I'm so thankful for the gift of a loving Heavenly Father, and his son Jesus Christ who was sent to this world to give the gift of his life. Merry Christmas!

Count Down till Christmas...

2010-12-26T18:28:00.001-09:00

My most treasured advent wreath. I won this wreath at a white elephant party, I know it looks plane... but the treasure is the 18ish Christmas's that I shared with my brothers and sisters excitedly counting down the days to Christmas using this wreath. It is a handmade gift from my Dad's niece Keri and her family, oh so many years ago. The felt ornaments are hand stitched. My mom did some surgery on it, since it was showing it's age and now... my kids are experiencing the joy's of this same wreathe! Merry Christmas!

Just one more day!
Getting our Christmas Eve party on.

Unalakleet Schools Christmas Concert 2010. The kids sang with their little classes and boy were they cute!

Happy Thanksgiving!.... bring on the bird!

2010-12-23T20:44:00.000-09:00

Okay so this was a monumental year for me.

For the first time (ever) I had to actually cook my own turkey and prepare an entire Thanksgiving feast.

This might be the scariest purchase I have ever made.

One of the many things I'm grateful for is a wonderful mommy who has cooked so many fabulous turkeys for our family.
I'm also thankful for the tips and advice from mom and others that helped me with my first bird.
Doesn't it look pretty?

The list of things we're thankful for is actually to big to count. But a few are my family, faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, Brent's fabulous job, good friends (the list is endless.) Let me sum up by saying I'm very grateful to a loving father in Heaven for the multitude of tender mercies he has bestowed upon me and my family.
Happy Thanksgiving!

(Trying) to get the perect picture....

2010-12-05T22:21:00.000-09:00

Okay so I was pretty underwhelmed by the school photos this year.... as much by the price as the quality of the photo.

I thought I can take a picture that good and it would be a heck of a lot cheaper... So after getting the kids all cute for church I made them stand and take photo after photo.

...The results are a whole bunch of silly pictures and a few really cute ones!

Sure the background isn't exquisite (the bare wall in the front room) But with a girl that cute who's looking at the background?

Pretty Little Faith 4 years old ECE-4 (Early Childhood Education)

Okay Gracie... is it really so hard to stand still and take a seriously cute picture.

She's kind of a ham... a dang cute ham... but still a ham

When it's all said and done I think my favorites are the one's where she's being goofy, because that's just so Gracie.

Beautiful Gracie 5 years old Kindergarten

For once TJ was the easiest to shoot. Gone is the Calvin and Hobbes painful looking grimace that he's been using for the last year.

The trick... video games... "TJ, tell me about your favorite video games..." Off he goes with a million adorable smiles.

Handsome TJ 7 years old this counts as his 1st and 2nd grade picture because they moved his home room up a grade this year.

What a loving siblings! They don't act like this all the time... but they act like this a lot.

Kind of makes me think we're doing something right.

PS. Leaca I miss you and your fabulous photography (sigh) :)

Happy 7th Birthday TJ .... (November 1st)

2010-12-04T21:15:00.012-09:00

Okay, I'm ALMOST caught up....

TJ turned 7 years old on November 1st. He asked if he could have pancakes for breakfast...

The problem was that I have to get ready to go to work and get all the kids ready and cold cereal is much more likely to happen.

Brent was so sweet, he actually got up early so he could make TJ pancakes for breakfast.

And look! It's smiling at him. What a great Dad! Happy Birthday TJ!

TJ's birthday party we had a lot of kids, but we had a lot of fun too!

There were so many kids invited that we decided to have it at the auditorium. (So no this isn't our house) The kids loved all the room to run around and scream.... it really was a fun party! :)

Once upon a Halloween....

2010-11-30T19:41:00.001-09:00

Ok, I'm finally getting our Halloween pictures put up.
Here's Faith, she wanted to be "A bear named Sleeping Beauty"
Her Fried Autumn is Snow White.

The only thing Gracie wanted to be was Natiri from Avatar. We were excited to find these costumes online in August... What I didn't expect was for Gracie to grow so much that her costume gave her high waters by Halloween!

TJ LOVED his Harry Potter costume! He just finished reading the last book in the Harry Potter series, and he's a pretty big fan. I think he looks absolutely ADORABLE!

Halloween Night... Dad sure did a good job with the make-up didn't he?

Expelliarmus!

October...

2010-11-28T21:45:00.001-09:00

Brent coached the 1st through 3rd graders wrestling club this year. He's never coached before, but he was willing to do it. He did a great job!

Here's TJ practicing with Chala

TJ wrestled Colton at the wrestling Exhibition. Sadly Colton scored more points. You can see the tears in TJ's eyes. Wrestling takes a lot of heart, and it breaks your heart when you loose.
You did a good job buddy!

Brent helping the kids with their teeny tiny .22 cricket. (cute huh!?)

10/19/19 This was our 1st day of snow up here.
Brent was still able to get some pic's for the Christmas card. Good job babe!

Stuff that happened in September...

2010-11-27T16:01:00.001-09:00

Gracie in her Dad's trooper hat. Pretty stinkin cute! She lost her first tooth in August... she was SOOOO excited!

"Mooah Tea Deaaa?" Faith and her friend Autumn having the cutest little tea party you've ever seen, complete with rich sounding accents.

TJ and Gracie went hiking with Brent. I think they were trying to find a brown bear.

Gracie learned that she can do a lot of pull ups... and climb just about anything!

On Sept. 11, 2010 TJ participated in his 1st cross country race.
Here are the little kids waiting to run the last mile of the community race which was 3 miles I believe. TJ was sooooo excited!

His Dad told him he could have 2,000 points toward his wii if he ran the whole mile without stopping. (He has to earn 300,00 points to get his wii.)

He did such a good job! He wasn't 1st place out of the little guys but he beat a lot of kids that were older than him. His number 32 is overall the adults and kids all came in and got numbered together.

This is TJ with his friend Kanai (orange shirt) he was in TJ's 1st grade class. In the blue shirt is Challa he is Kanai's brother and is in the 2nd grade class TJ is in now that he got moved up into 2nd grade homeroom.

Brent's Moose with a 62" rack... (Sept 10, 2010)

2010-11-27T14:43:00.001-09:00

A dream come true for Brent, there's a limit on moose here in Unalakleet and he had already helped a friend get one.

He was out hunting with his friend Allen and they were just about to call it a night when Brent spotted two bulls fighting.

He watched them fight for a long time before they stopped to rest, that's when he shot this one.

It's so big he couldn't get his legs around the midsection, he's actually straddling the neck. We only kept the neck and one quarter. Allen and his wife Myrna were able to give the rest to elders and single wives in the village. One moose feeds a lot of people up here, and beef is too expensive.
This moose was a blessing in a lot of ways and we're very thankful for it.

Brent's friend from the village mounted the moose rack for Brent, he's really excited.

How would you like to be attacked by one of those things...? Yikes!

The Bohan's visit from the Lower 48

2010-11-27T11:55:00.000-09:00

In August we were so EXCITED to have Brent's sister Patty and her little family visit us in Unalakleet. This was a big deal to us because it was the first time we met the girls Emerson and Carson.
Here's a proud Uncle Brent with little baby Carson.

All the cousins trying to get a really great picture together. :)

In the log house that Brent built.
This is one Brent's creations he built over the summer. The kids wanted to go to the play house and show Brad and Patty.

Emerson loved it, she played and played in there.

Brent helping TJ, hold Carson... look at that little baby's smile. What a doll!

Yea! girl cousins!

Playing Settler's. We spent a lot of time playing family games. I loved it!

"Smile Carson!" says TJ.
Brad really is a good Dad he took great care of his little girls.

Patty and with baby Carson, a happy mom and a happy baby.

Carson with Gracie... what beautiful girls!

A view of the cemetery from our house.

A view of the bear skull Brent buried in the field by our house.... so nature could take it's course. When it was finished er, decomposing. He brought it in and bleached it. Then he wanted it to look shiny so I introduced him to mod podge... now we have a bear skull in the house. That's called crafting Alaska style.

I sure loved spending time with my little nieces. I got to watch them while Brad and Patty went fishing and exploring with Brent. I LOVED it! There's just never enough time to spend with them.

Brent used his days off to grow a long beard. Patty's a hair dresser so we found a funny facial due and Patty went to work. Isn't it fun to have sisters around so we can play dress up?

Nice hair Em!

Thanks to Brad and Patty for making the trip up to see us! We had such an awesome time and the memories will be ones we cherish.

Remember July.... when it was warmish...

2010-09-05T22:50:00.002-08:00

And we could wear t-shirts outside (some days)

And the wild iris's were blooming in the field by our house.... (yes that's an old airplane, now it's used for storage I believe.)

And the crab was plentiful .... very plentiful.

And we saved the world one beached starfish at a time...

And Brent said there were so many beached starfish that we couldn't make a difference.

But we said, "It made a difference to that one" as we through it into the sea.

And we sailed under the ship that got beached in a storm,

And we caught big humpy salmon, that were too foul to eat,

And for our 12th Wedding Anniversary Brent made me take the kids fishing for the humpy derby because he was at work.

And I was mad because I've never had to go fishing by myself, and taking fish off the hooks is scary.

But I managed to get a nice big fish for each of the kids, and nobody ended up getting hooked.

And Faith's fish took 4th place so she won a fishing pole, and I decided it was OK.

And Gracie decided she wanted her training wheels off (7/21/10)

So Dad made TJ take his off too, and TJ was surprised to find that he really didn't need them anymore just like Dad said.

And Faith said she wasn't ready to ride without her training wheels

And we told her she was right, so she got to keep hers on till next year.

And Faith left the land of 3 yr olds forever and said hello to the big 4.

And she had a fun party with all of her friends.

And when we celebrated with the family, she got even more presents.

And that made her really happy!

And she wore her birthday nightgown, and birthday hat and gloves.

And she looked into the camera and did all her best moves. (see her face, she takes her princess moves very seriously)

And those were the fun things that we did, when it was still July.

The warmest day of summer...

2010-09-04T13:57:00.002-08:00

Ready, Set...

JUMP!!!

Submersion

Get me outta here!

Holy Crap that's Cold!!!

Gracie going for her little swim.. they only last in the water for abut 20 seconds but they sure think it's exciting!

Faith also loves the water, though not quite as much as Gracie.

Poor TJ, if you look close you can see the horror on his face that says it all.... I'm with you buddy.

TJ was the only kid smart enough to just stay out of the water, Brent (encouraged) him to take a little dip. But like me, he really didn't want anything to do with it.

My best guess is that this was the warmest day of summer here in Unalakleet. (July 8th) We went to the river to have a picnic and the approximation of some swimming.

This proves that everyone in my family is tougher than me, cause I went in to my knees and it was so painfully cold that I ran right out.

Gracie and Faith go in till they can't stand any more (20 seconds) then they would get out and stand on the beach till they dared get in again.

Nothing like a warm summer day. :)

Oh What Do We Do In The Summer Time... (In Unalakleet Alaska)...

2010-08-23T18:25:00.000-08:00

Gracie

Where the heck are all the fish?

Brent absolutely loves it here!

Fishing with friends is a great thing to do in the summer time!

The North River Bridge

Getting a boat is a good thing to do in the summertime! I want to call it The Pirate Ship Revenge, TJ wants to call it the King Killer (does that work if we didn't get a king salmon this year?... I guess we didn't kill any pirates either...) We mostly just call it boat, this particular dispute has yet to be settled.

Captain Brent

Riding a boat on the Unalakleet River is fun to do in the summer time...

Wearing coats and winter hats in July is a good thing to do in the summer time... (what?)

Catching fish is a good thing to do in the summer time!

Catching fish with friends is another good thing to do during the summertime.

Catching salmon is even better to do during the summer time. (Because we actually eat the salmon!)

View of Unalakleet from the river.

Aww... catching fish with Daddy!

Faith

Gracie

Taking a nap is a good thing to do in the summer time!

Spending time with your Dad is a GREAT way to spend the summer time...

It's good to be Faith in the summer time... (eventually I will post more of our summer time pictures... maybe that's a good thing to do in the winter time. :)

What a dead bear taught me about true love....

2010-08-15T19:21:00.000-08:00

About 1:30 in the morning on June 14 Brent shot his very 1st bear.

He then had to drag it over hills and valleys to get it to the truck. (Those are not red gloves he's wearing)... (And those are not snowflakes, they're flash lit mosquito's)

He comes into my room at about 3:30 in the morning and tells me he got a bear... then he disappears.

Finally I got dressed and I went out to look for him, when he said he got a bear he meant he just barely got it! It was almost 4:00 A.M., he had to be to work at 8:00 and he hadn't even skinned it yet.

At first, I did everything I possibly could to help without getting dirty.

The thing that stunk was that I really don't like to touch raw meat, and I was really tired. But I knew that Brent had less sleep than me, and he had to be to work at 8:00.

So what else could I do but get a knife and help him skin it? Brent wanted to make a bear skin rug out of it. (ghastly I know but it's a big deal to him) at 7:55 we finally finished skinning it. He put down his knife and said,

"You clean this up I'm going to go get into the shower and go to work."

When it got turned right side out is when I started to cry... poor bear (it looks a lot sadder when it's fur is on the outside.)

As horrifying as the whole experience was for me, I don't know if I've ever loved my husband more than when I was standing there in the pre-dawn, back aching, covered in yuckiness, working hard with him to try and make his "Alaska Dream" come true in time, so that he could get off to work. I guess there's something to be said about the whole showing your love through service thing.

I'm not thrilled about the bear skin rug that will probably be hanging in our bedroom soon. But I sure do love my husband, and I imagine that's enough to help me deal with anything else.

Hanging out at the beach in June...

2010-07-17T00:09:00.003-08:00

Dad & TJ June 13, 2010 The sea ice has almost melted. We can't wait for it to melt off enough that the waves can come back!

It's so nice to be outside!

Kisses for Daddy

Brent's a crazy good at skipping rocks!

Beautiful sea and sky... even with huge ice chunks floating in it.

Beautiful Little Faith, even with a tear in her eye.

All sorts of sea treasures...

But these kids are the greatest treasure of all!

Ohhhh Faith, she's so expressive, she makes me laugh.

Brent likes to take the chain saw down to the beach and build stuff out of the drift wood. This is a little bench he mad for us to use as we cook hot dogs.

Don't you think he's just so handsome?

Bella, our pretty little blue eyed dog.

2010-07-05T23:41:00.000-08:00

Unalakleet fishing and stuff.... 5/26/10

2010-07-05T22:42:00.001-08:00

They're so cute running up the hill together, I have the sweetest kids.

Faith's first fish in UnalakleetYikes! Brent scares me sometimes... but he got the hook unsnagged!

The dog who wouldn't die. So Bella got sick... and was supposed to die. But she just keeps being fine. Heavenly Father must even love dogs enough to spare them sometimes, because the kids sure prayed hard!

Everyone loves a Barbie pole...

No I'm not kidding... EVERYONE loves the Barbie pole. Brent even told me he wanted one, they're just so easy to fish with. We catch tons of fish with them and both Brent and I love them... well I like the Princess pole better than Barbie but that's just me

Faith caught it... but she didn't want to hold it.

Unalakleet and the Sea Ice May 26, we were soooo ready for it to melt!

Brent doesn't know I'm blogging this.... (pics from 5/22/10)

2010-07-05T21:43:00.002-08:00

Ok ... Yes I was the one who put it on him... but he let me take the picture!

Gracie actually owns the headband... she put it on herself. :)

I have Hives on my Eyes... 5/25/10

2010-06-16T00:10:00.001-08:00

I Don't know what happened, when he woke up he was fine. But by breakfast he had huge hives on his eyes. Poor baby, he's trying to be tough.

Brent's pretty good at making the kids feel better. It's always nice to know that Dad is there to make sure you're OK.

Temple Trip To Anchorage

2010-06-15T23:52:00.000-08:00

In May I was able to fly to Anchorage for a few nights for a wonderful temple trip. Brent took the kids so I could go. I miss being able to go once a month, so this was a huge blessing and a great gift from Brent!

Jen & Brant

Brant and Jen were able to drive up from Kenai for an overnight visit and do a couple of sessions with me.

It was so wonderful to be with such wonderful caring friends again. Jen got my camera working and left me some fun pictures.... They also left me with some wonderful memories. That's what friends are for!

A (Hot?) Date In Unalakleet....

2010-06-13T21:51:00.002-08:00

Unalakleet on the left, sea ice on the right, snow covered beach in the middle, and storm coming in quickly.

It's hard to get a good perspective. But we're walking on an dirt crusted snow bank that's about four feet thick... in April. I remember this seemed like a warm day.

Awww! YOU make make Me feel like I'm on top of the world BABY!

While the kids were in school Brent and I would go on "dates" during the 2 hours that we were childless. This is a date we took in April. I know it was a long time ago, but this is the kind of thing I'll want to remember when I'm old and gray.

My man can walk on water... frozen water. But he's still amazing to me.

We're still waiting for the sea ice to completely melt off. This is what it looked like 2 months ago in April.

Hills and tundra, starting to think it might melt sometime... in the next month and a half... Pretty isn't it?

Some natives taking their snow machines out on the sea ice. Most likely headed out to seal hunt or check crab pots. The locals said they had more sea ice this year than they've had in the last 10 years.

March Madness Unalakleet Style

2010-04-11T20:48:00.001-08:00

Spring comes at last to Unalakleet.... in theory at least.

3 kids and a dog riding on the back of a 4-wheeler.

I had no idea how handy this 4-wheeler would be, but it's taken the place of the mini van nicely. :) Faith fell asleep on the ride home, and she we just laid her down in the back and she slept all the way back. (I have no clue how it was FREEZING)

Here I am in Brent's seal and mink hat. (If your offended, imagine walking to school in -20 degree weather with 40 mile winds blasting snow in your face...) yes we've found we need warmer clothes up here. The locals make a hats, gloves, and parkas, and the teach the kids how in their bilinqual class at school. Never in my life did I believe I would live in a place where they would be necessary... Welcome to Unalakleet!

Poor Gracie's feet got so cold she ended upcrying! (Time to get better boots) It looks like fun but it's really cold up here, and the wind.! It blows so hard. You really can't dress warm enough.

Look at those blue eyes!

TJ and our little Bella

Brent looking handsome in his cold gear.

Ptarmagin ... alaska's chicken... that tastes like steak. TJ holding up some of the birds from the days hunting trip.

This isn't pretty, but Brent is so excited that the kids aren't sqeamish and they take interest in hunting like he does. This is a happy picture for him. (I always cry when he shoots things I'm such a softy)

Happy Birthday Sweet Gracie! 5yrs Old...

2010-03-14T19:46:00.003-08:00

Here's the Birthday Girl with her Blueberry Muffin Birthday cake. Happy Birthday little girl!

EVERYONE was excited about the presents (Thank goodness we can order gifts online!)

The goods... We had a little family party on her Birthday. We went to Peace On Earth (the local pizza place) then we had cake and presents.

Yikes! Happy Birthday Gracie!

"The Friend Party" ...Gracie was dead set on having a party with her friends. (I tried to talk her into having a sleep over with TJ in their room and watching movies... no good.) Notice the disproportionate number of boys to girls. Apparently Gracie is popular with the little boys in her class.

This is Gracie's little friend Antoinette. I think she is one of the most adorable little girls I've ever seen. I've been dying to get a picture of her in her little coat to put on my blog. She's just too cute!

(When Brent takes pictures) Overall I'd say she had a very happy birthday. What more can a mom ask for?

Bella isn't actually blind... To answer a few questions about UNK...

2010-03-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

My last post may have been a little misleading. Our puppy isn't actually blind. She was just so little when we got her that her eyes were barely open, they looked cloudy and she was wall eyed. Now she's an adorable, frisky little puppy, who is 3/4's potty trained and likes to try to bite EVERYTHING! I have a fun video of Brent dragging her around the floor by her chew toy but I don't know how to post videos anymore... also what happened to spell check? These are tools I need! :)
I don't usually do much writing, (since I'm someone who prefers to look at pictures) But to answer some of the questions I've received...

There isn't an LDS church in Unalakleet, but I'm blessed to be a member of the Anchorage Alaska Bush Branch. We listen to our church services via conference call on speakerphone. It was hard at first, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. We aren't able to take the sacrament, since there are no priesthood bretheren in the village. (Although rumor has it that an active LDS family will be moving in next year to work for the school. HALLELUJAH!) Our Relief Society President and her husband were in town for work today. He was able to bless the sacrament for us, which was an answer to our prayers. Such is proof that Heavenly Father is aware of even the least of us, and if we're patient he'll reveal his plan for us, and his blessings.

Unalakleet, population 757 in 2008 -currently 762

Yes we do have a school, elementary & highschool all in the same small building. Actually all three of our kids go to school here, they have an Early Childhood Education program for the 3 & 4 year olds, so the girls are now in school too. It's a good opportunity for them to get out of the house and make friends. We don't really have many places to go up here. TJ is in the Kindergarten for his homeroom, but he is in the 2nd grade reading class and the 1st grade math. He seems to have adjusted pretty well, even to having to do homework every night.

Brent really likes his job. Yesterday he flew to Nome to pick up his trooper snow machine. Today he's riding it home from Nome.... He'll be here in a few days. He's riding with some other Troopers, they'll be doing some Iditarod trail patrolling on the way back. I've been a little worried about this particular trip. (It was 28 below this morning.) Brent keeps reminding me that he and the other troopers are the guys who get sent out to save people if they get into trouble. I suppose that's comforting, it'll be even more comforting when he's home. :)

Life in U-to-the-N-to-the-A-to-the... just kidding, here in Unalakleet. ;)

2010-03-10T14:25:00.002-09:00

Gracie in her little firefighter hat from pre-school. I think she's pretty cute! Looks cold though!

I finally live somewhere cold enough to wear my fox fur hat that Brent gave me. (I always felt a little silly before. But here it's a way of life. People make their own fur coats and gloves. It's so cold that you need them. Sometimes it's so cold that it gives me a brain freeze headache from being out side, with the wind blowing so hard, it really hurts. (like when you eat ice cream too fast only worse) It really makes you appreciate warm clothes.

It took me a while to do any posting. 1st we didn't have internet. Then I had to get up the gumption to take pic's in the FREEZING cold.
But here it is, Unalakleet. You can see our appartment behind the snow hill Gracie is playing on.

Brent missed the kids so much when we were in Vernal that he bought them this little .22 rifle. He was so EXCITED about it.... the kids liked it too! :)

We got home from our trip to Vernal just in time to celebrate Brents 32 Birthday. :) Happy Birthday Baby!

Puppy Power

2010-03-10T11:40:00.003-09:00

Brent brought this poor blind, toothless little puppy home with him on one of his flights to Stebbins.
After some discussion (and bribery) we named her Bella.
We fed her with a medicine dripper since she was still blind. The kids LOVE her. We think she'll be a good dog.

Christmas at Temple Square... in Utah... Woohoo!

2009-12-12T21:05:00.002-09:00

The kids and I were so excited to finally get to Utah. We had a good flight (except for a few escalator episodes one resulting in Faith falling and cutting her head... sad. )
My Mom & Dad, brother Aaron with his family, and my little sister Moriann all met us at the airport.
Then we went to Temple Square to see the lights, the temple and of course the Christas.

This was the 1st time the kids have seen the Salt Lake Temple and temple square. It's the 1st time I've been able to come and see the Christmas lights. Of course it was a beautiful at night.

This is Carly's favorite tree on temple square. Isn't my family lovely?!!!

The Joseph Smith Memorial building. People who live in Utah are so lucky. So much heritage so close. It was so wonderful to go and see everything.

Adon, Grandpa and of course my little Faith.

A beautiful nativity on the reflecting pool outside the temple.

My little brother Aaron, with his wife Carly, Adon & Collin.

We had such a wonderful time, and it was such a blessing to be here. I just wish Brent could have been with us. We miss him so much already!

The 1st of 2 Christmas's

2009-12-12T20:31:00.002-09:00

We're celebrating Christmas twice this year. The 1st with Dad before we go to Utah to visit family.

The kids thought they were getting a pretty sweet deal... Can't say that I blame them. There's just something so nice about celebrating the birth of the Jesus with the people you love best.

Sledding Pajamas

2009-12-12T20:26:00.001-09:00

My girls love Pajamas that zip, so they can go sledding down the stairs. Here they are ready to go sledding! Hope they have a fun ride.

Life is just so hard...

2009-11-29T19:21:00.010-09:00

Isn't life so hard when the whole world conspires against you with horrible things like buttons and big heads?

At least she can still smile amidst all of that trauma!

TJ's No Name Creek Kindergarten Play...

2009-11-28T21:10:00.002-09:00

It was so fun to go to TJ's school and see this little play the Kindergartner's put on. I know all parents probably feel the same way, but we thought TJ stole the show.
This is TJ's I'm in front of an audience and I feel silly face.

This is another silly face he does in front of crowds, some of the people from our ward might recognize it. He's awfully cute.

We were so excited that Brent got to come in on his lunch break and see the play. He's such a good dad!

Gracie LOVES to take pictures... they're not very flattering, but she loves to take them. :)

Here are a couple of clips from the play, He's kind of cute!

Halloween Night....

2009-11-09T17:11:00.004-09:00

TJ rocking his Optimus Prime costume. (Thanks for the pictures Leaca!)

Gracie LOVED her angel costume. She's asked me a million questions about angels, and wanted to know if people would think she was a REAL angel. I sure think she is.

Faith was a beautiful little lady bug. (Though she's missing her wings) It's hard to stop for pictures when you're tearing into a piece of candy!

We didn't go to very many houses, but we made it to the Brenners. (They've been so good to us and to the kids.)

And of course we had to stop by the Youngs!

I love Halloween!

TJ's 6th Birthday!

2009-11-09T15:42:00.005-09:00

TJ had his best 6th Birthday ever! His friends Garrett and Gabe came for a sleep over. TJ was SO excited!
Everyone enjoyed the the yummy Halloween cup cakes I... bought. (It's been a busy week.)
I tried really hard to dunk TJ's face in his, but he bested me. The other kids thought it was funny though, and after a series of monkey see monkey do events... We got these funny pictures.

Gabe

Faith

Garrett

TJ is the only one who wouldn't go for it. He's getting wise in his old age.

TJ tearing into his presents.

Dad missed most of the party, but we waited till he could come home to open presents and have cake. It was worth the wait to have him there.

Some cute stories about Gracie....

2009-10-25T16:22:00.005-08:00

It's going to be hard to leave some of our friends in Kenai. When Becky told Gracie's best friend Morgyn that we will be leaving, Morgyn got really sad and asked if we were taking Gracie too.... Sorry Morgyn, we do want Gracie to come with us.

What does this look like too you? What would it look like if you were 4 years old? Watch the video below.

What TJ's been up to...

2009-10-25T15:30:00.005-08:00

In August right before starting Kindergarten, TJ tripped and hit his head on an open drawer, resulting in his first stitches.
I know he looks sad, I kept trying to get him to smile. But he said this is how people look when they have to get stitches.

He's smiling here, because this is how people look when they get balloons from the Dr. in the E.R.

TJ was a trooper, he didn't cry in the E.R. or at home when Dad removed the stitches. (He's such a good boy!)

Here's TJ on his long awaited 1st day of school. He could not have been more excited!

TJ in Mrs. Bryson's Kindergarten class.

Work can be tiring. TJ earns 2 cents a page for reading chapter books. He dozed off while working his way through this one.

Playing hide-and-go-seek with Dad.

Looking forward to Halloween....

2009-10-25T14:57:00.004-08:00

The kids are so excited for Halloween this year. I've had their costumes for a month, but they don't get to wear them until Halloween. I think they look pretty cute. Gracie is an Angel.

Faith is a little lady bug.... and she's speeding! Or "peeding" if you listen closely. We're still working on those S's.

Unalakleet, Why we're moving & How I feel about it.

2009-10-08T11:19:00.003-08:00

We've just found out that we're going to be moving to Unalakleet AK. A little bush village with a population of 747 people.
(This is a picture I found online. The photographer has pictures of the landscape and the community. They are reassuring and make me feel happier about the move. You can follow this link to see more. http://www.flickr.com/photos/56355285@N00/page4/)

Even when we were kids riding on the school bus together, Brent would tell me how awesome he thought it would be to live in a remote cabin in Alaska and have groceries flown in once a month. I've always thought it was a terrifying idea and have told him that on countless occasions.

I definitely haven't changed my mind, I still think he's crazy. But I'm finding, the older I get the less willing I am to allow my selfish fears to crush his hopes and dreams. So when he told me about Unalakleet, and said he wanted to put in for a transfer. I told him I would pray about it. The answer came, a quiet calming yes.

So he put in his bid, and we settled down to wait. For the past two months as I've studied the scriptures and attended to my church callings, I have felt impressed by stories of those early saints who packed what they could into a handcart and walked 1,000 miles to the Salt Lake Valley. I've also been struck by the lessons in 1st Nephi, showing how Lehi and his family were blessed in their journey to the promised land only as long as they were righteous and refrained from murmuring. It is a testament to a loving Heavenly Father, that he would have provided me with these examples of strength and guidance before I even found out that I was in need of them.

Normally I know I would complain. I would think it much too hard to leave this place that has become my home, and these friends that have become my family. I would go, to please Brent, but it would have seemed much too hard. But how can I doubt, or think my lot is hard? Tis not so all is right. ;)

I'm very Thankful for the guidance of a loving Heavenly Father, through HIM all things are possible.

Holy Sink full of Salmon Batman!!!

2009-09-27T22:15:00.003-08:00

Ok, once again I'm excruciatingly late getting this done, so I thought I would do all of our good salmon pictures in one fell swoop.

This year was definitely more productive salmon fishing than last year.

Brent was quite happy when the fishing was like this!

The kids wanted to go soooo bad... but combat fishing is a little intense for kiddos.

I wanted to go really bad too... but unfortunately someone still has to stay with the kiddos...
This was an even better fishing day. Brent caught our family limit of salmon by dip net in one day. 65 salmon total. That's a lot of fish...

Next year I'm going to demand that I get to go at least once before he catches our entire allotment by boat. I know there's a salmon out there with my name on it!... Next year I guess

Brent and my Dad makeing our salmon eggs into next years bait... Yummy!

I love to see the Temple -A dream come true.

2009-09-27T18:38:00.005-08:00

I'm very far behind in my blogging, but I've been wanting to finish a few highlights from my parents trip in July.
The crowning moment for me was having my parents there at the temple with me when I was able to go through and receive my endowment.
I've been waiting my entire life to be able to go. And the time finally seemed right for me.
My Dad barely made it, due to heavy construction on the way to Anchorage from Kenai. Miraculously, and very unusually, the temple session was late getting started. My Dad just barely made in time. It was a sweet example of Heavenly Father's tender mercies, as he answered our heart felt prayers that Dad could be there with us.

Brent who is always so supportive, had the kids dressed in their church clothes and waited outside with them during the session.

Bishop Ellis is one of Brent's best friends, it was a blessing that he and Jen could be their with us.

Rusty Young and Sydney Prinz were so sweet to drive all the way out from Kenai, so they could take care of Jen and Adelle's babies while they went through the temple with me.

I was very touched by their sweet sacrifice.

This is my good friend Adelle who came to be with me.

I'm still looking forward with hope to the day that Brent and the kids will be able to go to the temple with me and our family will be sealed for time and all eternity.

I'm very blessed to have him, he's been so supportive and loving. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

The kids really want to go into the temple also. They can't wait till they're big enough to go.

I remember waiting on the temple grounds in Salt Lake while my parents went to the temple. There's such a strong spirit even just sitting outside. It truly is the house of the Lord.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Ice and Sea Animals...

2009-08-17T10:08:00.009-08:00

We took a day trip with Mom & Dad to Seward to visit the Sea Life Center and Exit Glacier. The kids enjoyed going last year, they were thrilled to get to go again.

The Puffins were really funny to watch. This little guy let Dad and the girls get right up close.

It just looks like blue sky...

It wasn't very warm, but it was nice to have the sun peek through the clouds. On the observation deck of the Sea Life Center.

Lot's of neat things to see.

This huge octopus was really active this visit. I think that means he was hungry, there's a video of him moving at the bottom.

Sea Lions are pretty flipping awesome. I think he might like looking at the kids, he would get really close each time he would swim by.

Aren't my parents cute! I caught them smooching just a little bit. They're still adorable after all these years!

After the SeaLife Center, we stopped and hiked up to Exit Glacier.

It is pretty neat to see a Glacier up close, and the hear the loud river of water running off of it.... pretty amazing.

So Much to see, so little time.

Doing The Tourist Thing in Kenai...

2009-08-16T19:04:00.009-08:00

We got to take Mom and Dad to do some of the touristy things around Kenai. Our kids have been begging to come to this little wood carving place since we moved here. We figured this would be the perfect time to check it out.

I'm not sure if this chair is quite big enough...

Like two little growling bear cubs.

This is a real salmon!.... carving. :)

I know it looks sad... She REALLY wanted to ride on the little merry-go-round... over and over and over...

She could have gone all day!

He isn't nearly as handsome as my Dad.

Is it supposed to be biting him or kissing him...?

I wonder how many tourists have this exact same picture?

Visiting the Soldotna Visitors Center.

The stairway that leads down to the Kenai River.

Gracie with her little monkey on her back.

Swimming at the beach.... or as close as we get.

This summer has been really warm compared to last year. It's been nice.

Just for the Halibut....

2009-08-11T19:32:00.011-08:00

Mom took the kids so that Dad, Brent and I could take a Halibut Fishing Charter that our friends Hooky Charters booked for us.

Here's Dad checking out Homer, and the Captain Cook Inlet.

It was really foggy and Cloudy in Kenai. We were so excited to see a little bit of sunshine when we finally got into Homer.

Brent is READY to go fishing!

I just thought they were kind of cute checking out the docks together.

Inside the cabin of the Sizzler!, our illustrious fishing boat.

We really enjoyed the boat ride, we're all avid ocean lovers. (with just a little help from some Dramamine for me and Dad.)

Here they are again, looking so cute together. You'd almost think they were related. :)

My Dad with his perfect little dimple, and isn't the fishing hat so appropriate?

Getting ready to catch some Halibut!

Here you can see the 1st one my Dad brought up.

Reel Daddy Reel!

You can only keep 2 Halibut per day. But both Dad and Brent reeled in quite a few. I don't have great fishing skills, I definitely had the worst luck. I only threw one back. But they were so hard to reel in, by the time I would get one up to the boat I really felt like I deserved to keep it.

All of the Halibut were pretty small, only 12-15 lbs. Apparently we went to what they call a little "chicken hole" (You'd think it would be a halibut hole.... right?) So no trophy's but man it was fun. Everyone on the boat went home with 2. And they do taste better when they're a little smaller.

You've got to admit, that's a lot of Halibut.

We sure had a good time!

Camping at Bishop's Cabin

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Our Bishop is good friends with Brent, and he was nice enough to let us spend a few nights at their family cabin. Their family was able to come up and spend some time together and we had a great time.

Here's Brent working his salmon magic on the grill. (Believe it or not, he's actually been able to turn some fish haters into fish lovers with his mad cooking skills.)
Family home evening with the Ellis's

Faith with her best friend.

Gracie spent hours playing with the Ellis kids out on the little docks.

Hey Faith, you've got a little dirt on your nose...

TJ getting some one on one time with his Dad.

I think we named him Freddie the frog... the kids had fun playing with him.

...time to sleep...

It's hard not to love Grandpa!

Brent looking a little like a male model...(but don't tell him that)

A summertime midnight in Alaska...

A little after midnight.

Around 1:00 AM this is about as dark as it gets this time of year.

It was around 72 degrees. That's swimsuit weather in Alaska folks. (Mom & Dad didn't think so.)

Another obligatory self portrait... (actually my Dad might have taken this one.)

Who wouldn't want to be best friends with my mommy?

....................................................................It's not dark yet... but she's getting tired.

.......................................................................................................Some kids are adorable even when their filthy.

TJ LOVED playing pokemon with the Ellis boys.

It takes a brave Grandma to let the kids play the way we let them in these next pictures....

................................................................................(oops I wasn't actually talking about this one. :) I think she's cute no matter what her hair looks like!

We found some great critters to play with. Gracie and Faith played with them the whole trip....

Beware of toes and small bodies wading in the water...

Because here come the Leeches!... Oh lovely.

Eeewww! :)

Celebrating the 4th of July!

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This is the 1st parade we've been to since we moved to Kenai. It was so fun to go with Mom & Dad!

Up here they're still allowed to throw candy at the parade. This was a new experience for the kids and they LOVED it!

The kids were handed these little flags, which they waved fertively. They thought that was pretty neat.

Don't they are looking so patriotic!

I didn't get a flag, but I managed to get hit in the head by a flying news paper, and some kind of plastic blow up toy. My head must look like a good target. ;O)

We wanted to meet Brent for lunch after the parade since he had to work,... but he was busy with some sort of foot pursuit, so we went to the beach instead.

We saw several seals out in the water... fishing for salmon I presume.

It's not a good picture, but you can tell what it is.

Isn't my mom pretty?

It didn't take her long to become Faith's new best friend.

My Dad is digging in the sand, to see if there are sand crabs. Just another one of the kids. :)

........................................................................................................................I didn't get a picture, but TJ kept hitting me in the head with rocks. He was trying to skip them, but he wasn't watching where they were going. A rock would hit me, and I'd look around to see where it came from. But he would already be looking for another rock to throw. It took me forever to finally figure out what was going on!

I told her not to get wet, but she's soaked as usual.

.......................................................................................................................................................................... Faith and Gracie love the water this year. TJ doesn't really want anything to do with it, he just likes to play in the sand. They're all their own little people.

If your beach was fed by Glacial rivers and streams you'd run away screaming too!

We've Been Waiting For a Year & They're Finally Here!

2009-07-14T15:59:00.010-08:00

My parents arrived for their 3 week visit on July 3rd.
That's one day before our 1 year anniversary of moving Kenai.
A whole year is too long to go without seeing my Mommy and Daddy it was so nice to have them here.

My Angel Mother.

We stopped to check out Portage Glacier on the way home from the airport, in Anchorage.

Faith was a little bit shy around Grandma & Grandpa at first, it's been 1/3rd of her life since she's even seen them. But it didn't take her long to fall in love with them again.

Gracie didn't want to let go of Grandma's hand... I kind of felt the same way.

The water fall from the Glacier in Whittier, AK.

Making up for all of those missed kisses.

An obligatory picture of me, stepping out from behind the camera to prove I really do exist. :P