Sunday-Tuesday

We are having an amazing time with MawMaw and papa here!! We sure have missed them. I am just going to highlight different things from the week.

SUNDAY

*Lance's birthday!

*we had a BBQ at a friend's house and went fishing afterwards 

MONDAY 

*I woke up at 12:30 am to head to the airport to pick up my mom & dad

Lance beyond excited when he went up to his room to find MawMaw and papa in his bed

* we celebrated Lance's birthday at lunch time. I made a chocolate cake and he opened all his presents

* we spent most the day driving around and show mom & dad the sights. They got to see several moose so they were pretty excited! One of the kids favorite stores to visit is Sportsman's warehouse so they were super excited when we made the stop to buy MawMaw and Papa's fishing licenses. 

TUESDAY

* MawMaw and Papa went with us to gymnastics class. They loved seeing Lance in action. After class Lance's teach told me that Lance is ready to move up. She said that the class was no longer a challenge and he is breezing through it. I am so excited for him to be moving up with bigger kids and learning tougher things! 

*after gymnastics we made a trip to the reindeer farm. The reindeer farm is always so much fun to visit! They have elk, a moose, a buffalo, baby chicks, baby bunnies, and lots of reindeer.

We picked some grass to feed the elk, but they were being pretty awnry.  One if the put pushed his head through the fence and head butted Lexie. Then is proceeded to follow us along the fence and kept trying to get Lexie. Lexie is just like me when I was little. She loves animals and isn't afraid at all no matter how big they are. She runs rite up and starts petting them immediately. I definitely had my hands full chasing her. She wanted to pet and hold everything!!! At one point she even climbed into the small chick pen to be with the chicks, the bunnies were her favorite even though they scratched her little arms. 

* on the way home I got a call from Andy. He was taking the rest of the week off!! We were super excited!! We were all pretty wore out so we just spent the day relaxing and grilling. 

Happy Birthday, Lance!!!

I can not believe that I am mom to a FOUR year old!! How did this happen! 

Lance, you have been such a joy to have as a son. You are super smart, so caring and just an amazing person. You never cease to amaze me. 

I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with you, September 20,2008. Daddy and I were thrilled. We kept it a secret for a good long while. I knew from that moment on that I wanted to be with you every second and not miss a thing. 

It wasn't long and it was time for you to arrive. We had spent the whole day (memorial day) fishing and walking around Pinedale with PaPa and MawMaw Jordan. I was exhausted from the day and we had just laid down for the night when my contractions started. At 11:30 pm my water broke and we were off to the hospital. The hospital was 95 miles North of Pinedale in Jackson Hole. It was definitely the longest car ride of my life. The drive to Jackson Hole take you up over a mountain pass, through a winding canyon along the Hoback River and then back over the mountains again. We had to break once for some antelope, once for a heard of mule deer and once for some elk, but we made it rite at 1 am to the hospital. A short 12 hours later at 1:17 you arrived. You weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. I was in love from the very start and so was daddy. 

Daddy and I were young and had no experience with babies. I remember daddy changing your very first poopy diaper. It was pretty funny. Mommy was no pro at it either. I had never changed a babies diaper either. We managed though and made it through. We learned lots of lessons that helped us greatly when sissy came along.

Allot has changed in 4 years. Today you are a wonderful big brother and we live in Alaska. 

Here are a few things about yourself rite now.

*You love doing gymnastics and are getting better with each passing week.

*you absolutely love to swim and are very good at it

*you love to help mom and dad out with everything from taking out the trash, doing dishes, washing the cars, vacuuming, etc...

*you love to fish 

* you have a pretty big vocabulary. Here are just a few of the bigger words you use: demolish, predator, defend, embarrassed, emergency, frightened

*you weigh 37 pounds and at the moment I am not sure how tall you are. 

*you love to read. You know most of you alphabet and the sound it makes and you are learning to pick out certain words when we read to you. 

*the past few months after reading your night time books, you love to hear a story. You have such a big imagination and you love to hear mom and dad make up stories. Sometimes you make up stories to tell to us.

* your favorite thing to watch on tv is a PBS program called "Wild Kratts". It is a program about two brothers who are zoologist. You love learning about the different animals and their awesome creature power.

*you love animals! You have lots of books about animals and lately you have been collecting animal cards. You love telling the awesome animals facts you know. Your favorite is the "paragon balcon"(Falcon)!

*lately you are all about collections. You love to collect awesome looking rocks everywhere we go. It started last fall when you found some neat looking rocks at the Matanuska Glacier. You even have a stick collections (that stays outside) and a money collection. 

I could go on forever! Lance, you have brought daddy and I so much joy. I couldn't imagine life without you. You are one awesome little dude!! We love you more than any words could express. I'm so glad God chose us to be your parents!

Ups and downs

This week definitely had its ups and down. I could focus on the fact that our dog is still gone, mine and Lance's close friends moved away, my sinuses have been hurting or the fact that Lexie accidentally chipped my front tooth; but I won't. I'm gonna focus on the beautiful weather, the fun things we did this week and the fact that my parents will be HERE Monday early morning!!!!

Tuesday after gymnastics we met with a photographer at a super cute park for Lance's 4 year birthday pictures. I brought some things that he really loves to play with: A home made cape and mask, his Tonka truck and his bogs (boots) that he wear everywhere. Here is a sneak peak from our photo shoot. I can't wait to see more. 

This week we have gotten to enjoy the outdoors so much. We did a hike to Thunderbird Falls and it was beautiful! The kids hiked the whole 2 mile uphill and downhill trail minus a few uphills on the way back. I was really missing Happy on our hike. The kids were wore out after the hike, but were still up for a trip to Avalanche Frozen Yogurt. 

Yesterday, we enjoyed most of the day at the park then back home to get some things ready for our first round of visitors. Last night we baked some oatmeal cookies. Andrew had to help supervise. Cooking with two sets of grabby hands can be quite tricky so an extra supervisor is a must. The kids love helping mommy cook, but they don't always follow directions or take turns. Our cookies turned out super yummy and we had such a good time. 

This morning we dropped daddy off at the airport to head to Fairbanks to work. He should be back tomorrow evening or Sunday morning at the latest. After dropping him off we stopped at a huge park in Anchorage. The kids had tons of fun. It was kind of hard for mommy to keep up with both kids so we didn't stay too long. Wouldn't you know that on the way back to the truck the ice cream man should show up. The kids enjoyed an ice cream and then we were ready to go.

The weather is amazing here. Today I really dwelled on this verse. 

This is the day the Lord has made;I will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24

I am going to enjoy every minute and not focus on the negatives. I have so much to be thankful for and to look forward to.

Crazy weekend

This weekend was crazy! The weather was crazy and so was everything else. 

Friday evening it started snowing and continued snowing into late Saturday. We accumulated about 4 inches. That's crazy!!! It was so beautiful but it was not a welcome sight. I mean hello it's the end of May!! After taking a bath Lexie decided she wanted to play in the snow. I had to take a picture. She looked so cute on the deck wearing only a towel and her silver glitter shoes. 

Saturday our dog Happy disappeared! We were just outside with her and she was soaking wet playing In The creek behind out house. We went in and got our wet clothes off then called for her and she didn't come. We both took turns calling and still nothing. I had a Pampered Chef show to go to so I left. When I got home still no Happy. Andrew and Lance went down one side of the street and Lexie and I went down the other. We knocked on every single neighbors door asking if they had seen her. Andrew and Lance even checked the woods and nothing. I have called animal control and done every possible tho g I can think of. We are praying she makes it home!! Saturday night both kids cried so much. They miss their dog. Lance even said "maybe she doesn't love us anymore". I can't sleep. I keep dreaming of our poor dog. She's all I can think about. At this point I really think someone has stolen her. It's crazy! She disappeared into thin air in like a 2 minute time span! 

I had a Pampered Chef wedding shower this weekend. It went crazy too! 1st the house was near impossible to find so everyone, including me, was running behind. People kept popping in and out through the whole party. There were so many other events like weddings, graduations, etc... For people to be at. The whole party was crazy! It was fun though just not at all what I had planned. 

Sunday morning the four of us slept in very late! We woke up with enough time to go to church to the 11 o'clock service. Once we arrived to church we found out there isn't an 11 o'clock service but a 10 o'clock service instead. We stood around and talked to some friends for a while anyway. We felt very silly for arriving when it was ending.

Yep, we definitely had a crazy weekend. I am praying our week goes much better. The temperatures are supposed to warm up into the 60's and be sunny. Hopefully some sunshine is just what we need to brighten our moods and make everything better! 

Tomorrow is Lance's birthday pictures and his birthday is next Sunday!! Crazy!! Where has time gone!!

Also one more week and my dad & mom will be here!!! I am so excited!! We have some fun things planned to do with them!! 

Daddy time!

I can't believe it is already Friday!!! We have enjoyed spending time with daddy so much! We have went on lots of hikes, took some naps and just really enjoyed spending time together. We have been doing some research on salmon fishing and buying the fishing gear we will need. My parents will be here in just over a week and we are getting ready for salmon fishing. 

Whale watching is something we have wanted to do for a while so we booked us a trip for Wednesday. The drive down to Seward is so beautiful.

We arrived to Seward pretty early so we found a little park for the kids to play for a while. They were glad to get out of the car and stretch their legs. 

We couldn't wait to get on our boat.

Once on the boat they went over the rules and a few safety guidelines then we were off. Rite off the bat we seen otters floating along the rocks. One otter had a little baby floating on its belly, it was super cute! We stopped for a while and watched 3 humpback whales feeding. It was pretty neat being so close we could hear them blow.

The whales were awesome to watch. We soon left them to go find more animals. We watched some sea lions climbing on some rocks. Lexie didn't really like there loud deep noises they made.

  Next we watched all different kinds of birds that were nesting on the cliffs.

Eagles would swoop down and thousands of birds would disperse in all different directions. We even seen some cute little puffins. I think they were my favorite birds to watch. Some other animals we watched were coastal mountain goats. It was so amazing watching them jump around the cliffs. It really is amazing how they can maneuver all around the steep cliffs. 

We had an awesome day. Lexie didn't quite make the whole 4 hour trip awake. The slight rocking of the boat was enough to rock her rite to sleep. I am looking forward to doing another whale watching tour. I really want to see some orcas!! They are my favorite!

Yesterday, i got a chance to pamper myself a little. my hair is getting longer and i have been wanting to add a little color but not wanting anything that would require any upkeep. It had been almost 1 year since my last hair appointment. I added some streaks of red to the underneath and got my bangs trimmed up some. Lexie really likes the color is Mommy's hair and I think I do too. Just enough change, but nothing drastic.

We also looked at a house for the second time yesterday.We even had a contractor look at it with us. The house has a few unfinished parts that would need to be finished after we bought it. The house is at a great price. We just want to make sure we have plenty of money and know what we are getting ourselves into before we make a decision on the house. I am anxious to see what the contractor says. 

It stinks when daddy has to be out of town but we love when he gets home and has the whole week off. We love exploring Alaska! It is so big and offers so much for outdoor enthusiast like us. God's handy work is really magnified here in Alaska. 

Mother's Day Weekend

Saturday morning was so nice the kids and I slept in till 9!! Momma really needed the extra sleep after being sick all week. I was feeling so refreshed. We spent most the morning playing outside enjoying the beautiful weather. The temperature got up to 60! Later we went to Fred Meyer to buy a birthday gift for Lance's friend, Elana. Lance wanted to pick out the gift all by himself. After some brain storming he decided she needed a swimsuit since she was going to Florida on vacation. He was pretty cute as he looked for the perfect swimsuit. While we were shopping an announcement came over the intercom about a game they were doing in the store for a Mother's Day gift. We quickly made our way to the front of the store where Lance was instructed to stand on a number. He walked around and looked at the numbers and then picked the number 3, "because I'm 3 years old". I told Lance that if they called 3 he should jump up and down because that meant  he had won. Sure enough, the first number called was 3. He jumped and down then turned and looked at me and said, "now what?". Lance got to pick out a beautiful hanging basket for his mother day gift. I was super excited!

Saturday evening was Elana's birthday party. We had been looking forward to it for a while. The party was held when Lance takes gymnastics at. The kids got to play on the gymnastics floor and have so much fun! It was such a good time. Lance and Elana are such good friends. I hate that she is moving away.

Daddy got home yesterday around noon. The kids and I couldn't have been more happy to see him. We have missed him so much. Andrew remembered how much I enjoyed the chocolate covered strawberries that he got me for Valentines day particularly the white chocolate ones. So for Mother's Day he got me a pound of all white chocolate covered strawberries. They were so yummy!! 

We enjoyed our Mother's Day just hanging out and being together as a family. The kids went to bed early last night so Andrew and I got to snuggle on the couch and watch a movie together. It was so nice! I wouldn't have changed a thing. I had the perfect Mother's Day! God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and the privilege to be these two amazing kids momma.  

Just keep swimming

This week was kind of a rough one for me. I was pretty sick and really needing my hubby home to help out. I had a few moments where I didn't feel so bad so I made sure to get the kids out of the house to play in the sunshine. 

The kids have been really good this week and super sweet. I just feel like I really neglected them and let them watch allot more tv then I normally approve of. 

Yesterday I was quite a bit better so we spent almost all day outside. We came in for lunch and we all 3 took a long nap. It was super nice! Momma needed a good nap and some cuddle time with her babies. I hadn't done much of that this week, because I was afraid they would catch this crud. 

Lance is such a sweetie and he knows when momma needs some loving. He made Me a very interesting picture and when I asked him what it was he said, "nothing, it's just splatter". He then said, "momma give me a kiss!" So I gave him and a kiss then he says "O man, you're the best kisser!" I love that little guy so much!!!

Lexie is just like her momma; not afraid of anything and she loves animals. We made a trip to the pet store this week and one of the workers got a python out. Almost everyone was scared and kept their distance. Not Lexie. She ran right up and began petting it. She didn't want its head too close to her, but she seemed to really like petting it. Lance pet it after a bit of coaxing but he wasn't as thrilled at Lexie.

Even last night she was all excited yelling "mom, a bug a bug!" I look down and she has a giant mosquito on her leg. My goofy girl! Today, she found a dead bird and was petting it. I quickly threw it over the fence an ran her in to wash her hands. Crazy girl!

Andy should be home in the morning! He finally got to have some fun while out of town. He visited a fishing village near Nome called White Mountain. The town has about 200 people and no hotels or anything like that. Andrew got to enjoy a nice stay at the town jail and was given a four wheeler to get around. He was there to work but was able to hang out and drive around in the evenings. He even got to go snow mobiling one evening. There are lots of polar bears there but he didn't see any. He did see Lynx and a fox though. 

I can't wait to have daddy home with us!!! 

Latest update

Andrew has been gone since last Monday so the kids and I have been keeping busy. Lance has taken over as man of the house. He is such a big boy! just look at the picture of him bringing in the trashcan from the end of the road.
Saturday was rainy so I looked up some fun indoor things to do. The Anchorage Museum looked like the perfect thing for us to do. They have a whole section just for kids.
The first station we came to was bubbles and the kids absolutely loved it!! They couldn't get enough.
Next we was on to a little fun area that had a treehouse, water table, blocks, a train track and lots more. We played there until it was time for our movie to start.
The movie room was so neat. The seats reclined back and the movie played overhead. Our movie was about Volcanoes. It started out as a pretty picture and Lexie kept saying "look at the pretty colors!" Then when the volcanoes started erupting she said "I'm scared, hold me". It was pretty funny. Lance really enjoyed the movie, but he was having a hard time staying a wake. I think it was a pretty corny made up movie with absolutely no scientific facts. But the kids enjoyed it so that's what matters, rite?
Next we was on to the touch pool. There wasn't a worker there at that time so we were not allowed to touch, but we still got to look.
We had such a fun day. We ended our trip in Anchorage with a stop at the Kastel's Kreations. Kastle's Kreations is a cupcake truck that sales the most amazing gourmet cupcakes. Kastle, the owner, makes frequent stops to different locations in Anchorage, Eagle River and the Valley. Our cupcakes were amazing!!
Sunday we were greeted super early in the morning by the flu bug. Lance started in around 3:30 am and soon was accompanied my mommy. By 10 am Lance was better and back to his normal self. I on the other hand was not. I was not able to leave my bathroom at all. My poor kids were board and left unattended which is not a good combination at all.
Thank God for my wonderful neighbor who I was able to call and have bring my kids in from outside (where they weren't supposed to be). Once she realized what was going on she quickly took action. She fed my hungry kids, put in a movie, and even loaded the dishwasher. Talk about amazing!!! She then realized that a movie was not going to make my kids sit still. They needed to burn off some energy. She took them to the park for a few hours. I was able to get some rest and I woke up at 5pm a brand new person. I am so thankful and forever grateful to her. I seriously couldn't have made it trough the day without her. Her husband brought the kids home and even brought me some chicken noodle soup and Gatorade which was the cure. I was so weak from not eating or drinking all day.
We spent the evening watching tv and relaxing. The kids were nice and wore out and very calm for me, it was great! Mommy loves it when her babies just want to cuddle!
Yesterday we all woke up feeling great so we loaded up the kids' bikes and headed to the park to enjoy the nice weather. Lance was such a hot rod on his bike. He would ride to the top of a long hill and then fly down. I kept thinking he was going to sip out but thankfully he never did. He would fly down yelling "coming through" as moms with strollers would quickly jump out of the way. It was pretty funny! There were quite a few puddle around from all the snow melt so Lance tried to Offroad his bike which he quickly found doesn't work so well. Lexie loved playing in the puddles too. She wasn't into trying out her bike, she just wanted to stomp in the water and get all wet.
We watched a pair of wood ducks for awhile until Lance decided he would have more fun chasing them. It was pretty comical watching him chase them screaming like a wild banshee.( FYI don't go to the park with us expecting a nice peaceful day). We were there to burn up energy and run loose. That's exactly what we did. We then made a stop by the candy store to pick up some fresh made chocolate covered strawberries and then the florist to grab a flower arrangement. We wanted to show Robyn how grateful we were for taking care of the kids while Mommy was sick. Lance was so cute standing on her doorstep with his box of goodies and flowers for Mrs Robyn. He said," thank you for taking care of us while my mommy puked and pooped!" Hahaha that is not what I had told him to say, but she knew what he meant.
Daddy should be home in a couple days. We can't wait to have things back to normal and enjoy some time with him. Although, I am not sure what normal is anymore.