Let the madness begin

Yesterday morning I woke up an hit the ground running. I know I have lots to do to get ready to move. Andrew has talked about hiring movers, but I am totally against it. Why should we pay someone to do something I can do. He just feels bad knowing he won't be here to help at all.

I started the morning off in the kids room. There was lots I wanted to get done before the kids woke up. I went through there toys picking out everything they are too big for or just don't play with. Next, was the clothes. That part was easy since I am pretty good at keeping up that part. Then a quick vacuum and the kids room is ready to pack up. 

I figure if I start now then the last week will be super easy and most of all calm. I want to make this move as smooth as possible. 

 Lexie and I played with her kitchen set. She was so funny making the noises like she was filling up my cup. Then serving me my hot dinner. She even blew  on my food to cool it off for me. Why, she even pretended to do the dishes. I love watching my kids play. Sometimes when they are playing with each other in their play room I sit on the stairs and just listen. They are so sweet to each other and just so dang cute together.

Andrew is working in town this week and it has been wonderful having him come home every evening. I have missed cooking for my family, but mostly I have missed sitting around the table every night and eating as a family. 

We had a wonderful anniversary dinner complete with a beautiful centerpiece: a bouquet of flowers that Andrew brought in for me. Not to mention, the two little blessings sitting at the table with us. God is so so good to us. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

Happy 8th Anniversary

Today marks 8 years of marriage for Andrew and I! I can't believe we have already been married for that long. God has blessed me with the perfect partner for life. We have had so many adventures together.

We started our journey in Louisville Kentucky where we really learned to depend and trust each other. Next stop was Pinedale Wyoming where God blessed us with Lance. Once having Lance we moved to Red Bud Illinois where God blessed us again with Lexie. We wanting to be closer to friends an family so we moved on to Cape Girardeau Missouri. Due to economic hard time in Missouri we were forced to look for work elsewhere. We were ready for an adventure so when a job in Alaska came available we jumped at the chance and that puts us here in Eagle River Alaska. Wow! What a whirlwind of adventures it has been. One thing I love about Andrew is how nothing is a big deal to him. We both make the best of each situation and welcome each new chapter of our lives.

Look at us through the years

Wedding Day

2 year anniversary 

3 years together

5 years together

6 years together

7 years together

And now 8 years together

I am soooo blessed to have Andrew in my life! I love him more and more with each passing year. Andrew has such a big heart, he is such a hard worker, an amazing father, and the perfect husband for me. 

There is so much more to come! I can't wait for many many more adventures with the love of my life, my best friend. 

Anniversary weekend.

Andrew & I celebrated our 8th anniversary this weekend. The sitter came over around 4:30 on Friday and we headed down to Ninilchik for our fishing charter. One the way down we stopped at a famous restaurant called the Double Musky. The double Musky had been reviewed by lots of famous magazine and people like Paula Dean. The food was amazing! We both left stuffed. 

We enjoyed the night together is a quaint little fishing cabin. It was so nice to just relax and be together, just us. 

Saturday morning we went out on our fishing trip. We had so much fun. The weather held off till we had all caught our limit of two halibut each. I think I've said it before but we love to fish!! We each caught 7 fish. One thing I loved about the trip was watching Andrew. If there is work to be done he is rite in the middle of it. He jumped rite in and helped the captain bait hooks and get everyone else ready to start fishing. He really enjoyed learning more about halibut fishing. 

We had a wonderful weekend together. I love having fun with my honey. We aren't much on candlelight dinners or expensive gifts. We like to have fun and experience life together! 

The 4 hours drive in the car down to Ninilchik and back was some of the best conversations we have had in a long time. We had a great time celebrating our 8 wonderful years together. 

Do Over

I want a do over...

On my wedding

On my pregnancies

Now with awesome websites like Pinterest, etsy and tons I don't even know about yet; you can find such beautiful, home made, simple and affordable wedding ideas.

At 18 I didn't exactly have tons of ideas of how a wedding should be planned. I have always thought that Andrew and I would renew our vows for our 10th anniversary. I guess that could be my do over?!?! Now that we are coming up on 8 years I am not sure what I think about that. Maybe next year I'll decide if I want to plan a wedding again. 

When I was pregnant with my babies I had never even heard of maternity pictures. You can find some of the cutest poses to do for a maternity shoot. O an now a neat thing that people are doing is having a gender reveal party. O my goodness! Too cute! 

Every time I get on Pinterest and see these super awesome wedding ideas or pregnancy things I catch myself thinking "I wish I would have done that!"

 

My little fisherman

Today Andrew took Lance fishing at Fire lake by our house. Lance caught this little pike all by himself. Andrew called me and had me and Lexie come down rite away to take a picture.

Isn't my little man getting so handsome!! 

Here's a couple silly things he said this week

"you know what a ghost is? A ghost is a white thing in a sheet"

While staying at the hotel in Fairbanks the kids watched a few minutes of spongebob square pants. Lance says, "spongebob is a man that is made out of a cheese"

Fairbanks trip

This week we drove up to Fairbanks to find a house to rent. We loved spending time with daddy. We had really missed hime since He had been gone the 5th-29th for work. 

The drive up was beautiful! We stopped a few times to stretch our legs and see the sites.

Lance & Lexie loved picking flowers. These purple flowers are called fireweed. They will soon turn red and then seed out. Allot of people say that is the sign for the end of summer. 

Denali is along the way so we made sure to stop since last time we went through it was closed for the winter. We took a nice long hike then had a picnic.

We spent a few days looking at different houses. One thing we was concerned about was having a super high heating bill. We found the perfect house by a park that is 5 star energy efficient and includes all utilities except electric in the rent price.

I am not sure what it was about our hotel, but every time we went into our room the kids would go nuts. I think they were just super excited to spend time with daddy. Here they are having a pillow fight,

Andrew and Lance tried their luck at fishing in between looking at houses. They didn't catch any, but had a great time anyway.

On Wednesday we got to all go visit the new shop that Andrew will be working out of. They were having a grand opening and had invited EVERYONE to come check out the new place. They served lunch and gave the kids toy caterpillars and hats to everyone. 

I got to meet allot of the guys Andrew will be working with and his new bosses. 

Wednesday was also my 26th birthday so we went to dinner at Tubby's bbq and Alaskan Grill. Tubby's had some amazing BBQ!! 

We had a great trip to Fairbanks. Finding a place to live was a huge load off both our minds. The best part was just being with my husband! God continues to bless us and provide for us. 

A year ago

A year ago today the kids and I boarded a plane in Missouri where it was 105 degrees and headed to Alaska where it was 51 degrees. I never could have imagined what lay ahead for us.

God blessed us with a chance to fulfill a dream of ours to live in Alaska. We have loved living here. We have experienced so much and still have so much more ahead. Eagle River has been an amazing place to live, but now we will be moving north to Fairbanks. I am so thankful for this transfer. Rite now Andrew is out of town so much and we hardly get to see him. Once we move to Fairbanks he will be home every night and actually have weekends!! I can't wait to have dinner at the table  as a family every night or go to church as a family again every Sunday! 

I do have to admit that I am nervous about how cold it gets there in the winter, but we are very optimistic and have always made the best out of everything. 

Now that we've been here a year we are now residents and that means we can hunt and not have to pay an arm and a leg. Fairbanks is a wonderful spot for hunting! I can't wait! I am really excited about this move and experiencing so much more of Alaska.