HOLY MOLY!!!!

What an exiting day to be an Alaskan and from Wasilla no less! Go Sarah! Go McCain! Politics just got alot more interesting. I'm actually looking forward to the campaigning.

Yes, I know I've been a very bad blogger.....

Hello everyone,
I hope all of you are well. We have been up to everything and really nothing all at once, which means that we have been busy but not doing much that is blog worthy. What have we been doing then you ask? I have been working hard at letting God cultivate new life and habits in me that will allow me to be the wife and mother that I am called and commanded to be. There has been alot of GOD searching and conviction going on around here. Which has led to alot of organizing,cleaning,cooking,and even baking (I baked a pie)!!! Yes, all of that lovely domestic stuff that I am soooo fond of. :) The kids and Jeremy have LOVED the gift(I say gift because it is only by the grace of GOD) of a more "domestic" and calm mother. They both got new pets (I will post about that later) and enjoyed their last days of summer vacation. Jeremy has been busy at work and has tried to hop in the plane every chance he gets. The kids have started school and we have established our new routines. Things are going wonderfully right now. Join me in praying that our family will continue striving to glorify God.
I have many new posts in mind and I promise I will post them soon. Please help me to keep in contact with all of you. I started blogging to keep in touch with all of my scattered family and friends. I would love any comments, critisism, advice, and/or encouragement. Anyone is more than welcome to post a comment! Please do, it makes it more fun!

Summer Memories

Yesterday was one of the rare days this summer. Rare you ask? Yes, rare because the sun actually came out!!! We took advantage of it and had a real summer day. The kids broke out the swimsuits and ran through the sprinkler while I mowed the lawn. We had a picnic outside complete with corn on the cob and to top it all of the ice cream truck came!!! The ice cream truck is one of those classic summertime traditions that seems to be dying. It does my heart good when you can hear the chimes in the distance and then the overpowered sounds of excitement and panic. I think kids are born with super tuned ears for the ice cream truck. They always hear the music way before an adult ever does. It always cracks me up to watch the panic that sets into a kid when they hear the sounds of the ice cream truck getting closer and closer. If they are outside (which they most always are) the scramble they go into, to get in the house, break into the piggy bank, and get back out to the road before they miss the truck! Yesterday was no exception. They were soaking wet covered in grass clippings when they came whooshing through the house screaming with excitement. They did make it to the truck and both girls ordered up bubblegum popsicles.

Waiting for the truck.....

It's Coming.....

Two bubblegum popsicles please....

Thank You!!!


Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Homemade water slide!

SUCCESS!!!!

I say success because if you know my children mainly my oldest you know that they are REALLY picky eaters. In the last few weeks I have been thinking about nutrition and whether or not my family was getting enough of it. I have been racking my brain about how to get my kids (and Jeremy) to get their full daily servings of fruits and veggies. I figured if I could get the fruits and veggies by them the protein and dairy would be easy. I was folding laundry the other day and flipped Oprah on to keep my mind occupied while I did this mindless task. Jessica Seinfeld was on the show talking about her book, "Deceptively Delicious". I had heard about this book but had never taken the time to see what it was all about.
It is essentially a cookbook that teaches you to "hide" fruits and veggies in everything from chicken nuggets to chocolate cake. The idea is that you steam and puree your veggies and then incorporate them into whatever! I was skeptical at first but Oprah kept taste testing and every time it was oohs and ahhhs! I had been hooked! The next time I was a the store I bought the book, an armload of veggies, and a steamer.
That was yesterday and the girls were sick and taking naps while I steamed and pureed...it was perfect! Now keep in mind that Lexi saw the book and while she doesn't know what is in the book she knows I am up to something. She keeps walking around the house saying "I am watching you". I have to be VERY careful or she will discover my deviousness and flat refuse to eat anything.
Ok back to the success part. This morning with a fridge and freezer stocked full of veggie puree I was dying to try this out. When the girls asked for eggs I was thrilled! I quickly went to work and carefully pulled a bag of cauliflower puree out of the fridge along with a few other misc. ingredients just to throw Lexi off in case she wandered in. She did wander in and asked what I was up to and that she saw the book. UH-OH!!! I did end up shoeing her out of the kitchen, sneaking a 1/4 cup (1/2 cup raw) of cauliflower in with 6 eggs and served them looking perfectly normal! The entire time she was looking at me crossways as I was holding my breath in anticipation of the first bite. SUCCESS!!! All three kids not only cleaned their plate but I got a "very, very tasty" from Lexi! You can bet I will be trying many more recipes in the future! I will keep you all posted on my success!

I LOVE Alaska!!!

I feel so blessed to be able to live in a place that I can get the kids out of bed at 10:00 at night, walk down the airstrip, and help Daddy catch a few rainbow trout! I couldn't help but to have a "mommy moment" while I was walking down the airstrip as a family and thinking these would be the precious memories that my kids would someday hold near an dear. I know I will.

Thunderbird Falls

Remember this tree Aunt Teresa?

Wednesday has come and gone and so has another field trip!!! We chose Thunderbird Falls for this weeks adventure. It has FINALLY felt like summer here the last few days so we wanted to take advantage of the sunny weather. We brought along Lexi's friend Grace which actually worked out really well because she was able to take pictures of all of us together. I was on the other side of the camera for a change!!! The down side is that it is WAY hard to get three children to look at the camera and smile nicely all at the same time. We have lots of pics but none of them turned out to be spectacular. Oh well...at least we documented the day right?!? It had been forever since I had hiked to the falls. They were alot bigger as I remembered....but then again I was alot smaller way back when!

Ole 556

One field trip down, eleven to go. Last week Jeremy forgot his cell phone at home and rather than field the 1001 calls he gets a day I decided to make a quick trip into Anchorage and hand deliver his phone. What a wife huh! :) With gas prices so astronomical I decided it was the perfect opportunity to stop at the park strip and see the "legendary" Ole 556. This year Lexi read the book Ole 556 for the Battle of the Books. It is a book about the first train on the Alaska Railroad and how it saved the day when a "new" modern train got into trouble. It was actually an interesting book with alot of Alaskan facts about the railroad. When Ole 556 was retired it was made into a monument on the park strip. After reading the book the girls really wanted to see the "first train in AK!" A few pics to capture the moment! Landin really thought it was cool and he thought it was even better when he found a ball to throw around.