A joyful time in Alaska

Eating Mooses Tooth for his first time and LOVING IT!

 Our time in Alaska was absolutely wonderful! The time we had was unforgettable. Our friends and family made us feel so loved and welcomed. It was as if we had never left, we all just meshed back into life.
My sweet and dear friend Alyssa and her husband Jeremy were so wonderful and had a big welcome home/birthday bash for me at Mooses Tooth (My FAVORITE pizza place) It was beautiful to see so many of my dear friends take time out of their day to come and celebrate with me. I felt incredible loved and I am so thankful for everyone who came out!! You all made my day!! THANK YOU!

Alyssa and Jeremy: You both made me feel loved and I will never forget the great effort you took to put the whole thing together! Thank you for making me feel so special!

 Here are a few fun pictures we took at the Bear Paw Festival in Eagle River Alaska!

Dave w/ JJ and Lori with Jude

JJ and Jude

JJ as snow white on her horse! LOL!

This Barret 50 cal belongs to my cousin Tom! The boys thought it was great!

Flat Top date!

 I do love my Shawna! Especial when she watches the kids so we can go out for a quick hike! We did not do anything crazy, just Flat Top. It is a famous mountain that is. . . . well. . . flat!
All of these pictures are taken after 11pm!!

Flat Top in the background

The view from the top

SO EXCITED TO SEE SNOW!

Submitted at midnight!

It is so much fun to see the beauty of Alaska from a different perspective!

Kenai

 I was born and raised on the Kenai peninsula and that is where we spent the last half of our trip. The boys enjoyed hanging out with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Mikaila, Uncle Jordan, Uncle David, Aunt Kia and cousin Kaydence. 

 Grandma has a little bit of a farm going on and is enjoying raising Chickens, goats and now a Horse named Chewy. While we were there the momma goat had babies!!! They were so cute and fun to hold.

 The boys got a huge kick out of helping Grandma with her farm chores and eating her yummy cookies!

Uncle Jordan and Josiah

Uncle Jordan and Benn

 The kids enjoyed spending time at Grandpas house too. He is very good at making pancakes and the kids ate them up (Literally). Grandpa spent a lot of time driving the kids around the yard on his 4-wheeler and even took them to the beach to ride. Uncle David brought kites and oh BOY did we have a time. At one point Benn let go of his kite and we watched it soar away. :( A tree close by reached out and saved the day and daddy rescued the stray kite. 

These are some pretty cute little kiddos! :)

Camping Alaska Style

Caleb LOVES roasting marshmallows

 When we camp we go all out! By the time we were done with our trip in Alaska we had camped for more than a week. It was a wonderful time had by all!!

 Unfortunately when I am camping and hanging with the crew I forget to take pictures. These are a few from two separate camping trips we took. We started off in Homer with the LeMaster halibut fishing and then headed to the Kasilof River with the LeMasters so they could get some salmon. We enjoyed good food, good company and good times.

This is how Seth rolls while camping

 The kids love playing together and spent a lot of time in the tall grass pretending to be fierce tigers!

Benn split his first piece of wood

Caleb wanted to help too

Seth just loves Marshmallows!

Caleb, Benn, Michelle and Jude

The 4-wheeler was the hit of the camping trip!

Benn and Johnathan

 Later in July we joined up with my good friend Valerie and her growing crew. Our trip was full of adventure, especially when a brown bear decided to join our party at 7am.

Our little friend back in the woods. The brown bear

We enjoy camping and look forward to the next time we can get in the woods!

Dave worked while I played

No really. . . . Dave is such a busy guy that he took time to work while we were in Alaska and he enjoyed it!

First: He shadowed a doctor in Anchorage. A Dr who he admires and enjoys to learn from. I stayed home and snuggle my sweet cousin Claire.

Second: He worked with Josh and spent a few hours on a roof. Really, he had a good time doing this. When in good company the work is fun and quick! I ventured out for many play dates and coffee dates with some wonderful people!

Third: he re floored my dads kitchen and entry way, that was a lot of work but he enjoyed the physical labor.  The kids and enjoyed hanging with my goofy siblings! Man I love those crazy kids!

I sure do love this man!

Fourth: We had the privilege to stay with my wonderful Aunt Marty and Uncle John. Dave worked with my busy Uncle moving trees and building a fence. But like always the kids and I had a wonderful time hanging with my Aunt Marty who taught us a few fun and good techniques for water color painting and a few yummy recipes to try when I got home!! Hooray for yummy recipes! Thank you Aunt Marty for sharing!