I'm in big trouble with my family for not doing a post about all the animals we saw on our glorious 8 day drive. We saw elk, buffalo, moose, mountain sheep, a coyote, and a dragonfly that 
had just hatched. Pretty amazing!!
I seem to remember (and document) the big events in our lives - birthdays, holidays, job changes... But what I want to remember is the little things - the way David and I hold hands, the way Karsten looks with his hands behind his head without a care in the world, Skyla's giggle, and Sierra's ability to block the world when she's reading. So here's to what I want to remember the most... the little moments of our lives that equal a much bigger picture.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Oops!
I'm in big trouble with my family for not doing a post about all the animals we saw on our glorious 8 day drive. We saw elk, buffalo, moose, mountain sheep, a coyote, and a dragonfly that had just hatched. Pretty amazing!!
Yes!
The kids gave this shirt to David two years ago for Christmas. He hasn't been able to wear it until now...
Friday, September 11, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Accomplishments!
Karsten can write his name! Just in time to start his new preschool. I am SO proud of him and I am SO proud of me because it was not easy getting him to accomplish this. In fact, I had to resort to bribery. (Notice the shiny new jet in the picture...) Writing came so naturally for my girls. They loved to write and color and doodle and create. Not my little man. He can sit still for exactly 1.7 seconds. And that is not enough time to learn how to draw letters. Thank goodness we have one more year before kindergarten!
Speaking of preschool, Karsten had his ver
y first day! This is a picture of him rocking out in the reading corner (with his pretend book). When it was time for the kids to leave their moms he looked at me and said "I'm so scared!" as he ran to catch up with his new friends. I think he's going to be fine...
Definite Weight Gain
Two things I crave the most combined into one delicious dessert! There hasn't been a better combo since chocolate and peanut butter.
Kudos Betty Crocker!
Bear Valley Elementary
This is the girl's new school - Bear Valley Elementary. It is up on the hill overlooking the inlet surrounded by trees and mountains. I think by just breathing this fresh air their IQ's have increased.
Skyla is starting 3rd grade! Her first day outfit couldn't be more Skyla as it is pink with horses on it. She was so excited and so brave! This is her third school - not counting preschool which is good because she had two different preschools as well! That means my poor child has started 5 different schools in her academic career. :) She's already made lots of friends and loves her class "even though they don't really have free time". They have music and art classes every single week.
Sierra is starting 5th grade. There are 26 kids in her class and she has the nicest teacher ever. When I first saw her teacher, I secretly in my head said, "oh please let that be Sierra's teacher." And it is! She is already excelling and her work has been used as an example in the class twice! She is so much happier this year that it makes me realize how really truly hard last year having a difficult teacher was on her spirit.
And here is the part the girls are the absolute most excited about... The sc
hool bus!
Skyla is starting 3rd grade! Her first day outfit couldn't be more Skyla as it is pink with horses on it. She was so excited and so brave! This is her third school - not counting preschool which is good because she had two different preschools as well! That means my poor child has started 5 different schools in her academic career. :) She's already made lots of friends and loves her class "even though they don't really have free time". They have music and art classes every single week.
Sierra is starting 5th grade. There are 26 kids in her class and she has the nicest teacher ever. When I first saw her teacher, I secretly in my head said, "oh please let that be Sierra's teacher." And it is! She is already excelling and her work has been used as an example in the class twice! She is so much happier this year that it makes me realize how really truly hard last year having a difficult teacher was on her spirit.
And here is the part the girls are the absolute most excited about... The sc
hool bus!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Back to school tradition
Nothing celebrates the beginning of a school year like Banana Splits!!! This is the fourth year we've done this - complete with THREE scoops of ice cream and THREE toppings AND whipped cream and even a cherry on top (that no one eats - gross!) It's so much sugar (as evidenced by Skyla's smile) that this is the only time of year that I can justify this, but it is so much fun and quite anticipated as you can imagine.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
8 Days
It took God 7 days to create the world and it took us 8 days to drive across it. Well, at least a big portion of it. What an adventure we had! Here's the break down...
Day One - Utah, Idaho, and Montana. We knocked out three states right at the start. David's parents and brother Korey caravaned with us which was so wonderful of them. Not only did it give us more space in our car, but the kids got to take turns having alone time with Grandma and Grandpa. We drove through Idaho where David's mom grew up so we were able to get the tour first hand! That night we found a wonderful hotel with a pool and three hot tubs! We got connecting rooms and our keys and were all set to go until the hotel employee happened to glance outside and saw our sweet little dog. No dogs allowed. David's parents enjoyed the nice hotel while we headed over to dog friendly Motel 6. Grrr...
Day Two - If there is ever a chance in your life to go to Glacier National Park, GO. Utterly spectacular. And to get through you drive on "Going to the Sun" road, one of the most scenic roads in the world. It was just amazing.
Day Three - Banff, Cananda. Yes, we made it to Canada. Another wowsers!! Are there no law firms for David to
work at in this part of the world??? We were a bit worried that David's parents and brothers weren't going to be able to come with us across the border since they didn't have passports and couldn't find their birth certificates. But Canada didn't care and let them right in. Korey was so excited to be in another country! (Don't you think Canada could sport for a tiny bit classier sign?!)
We were trying to make it to Jasper that night when traffic came to a halt. There was a 5 hour delay due to a head-on collision. We had to head back and get a room (which everyone else had the same brilliant idea as us), found nothing and ended up paying more than we've ever paid for a room in our entire lives. (One bed (luckily it was a king!), no TV, no phone, and yet it was beautiful...) But this is where we had to say good-bye to Grandma and Grandpa. It was very sad. It was so much fun traveling with them!
Day Four - With Hymas' gone, we felt a little lonely (and a bit more crowded), but the fun didn't stop. We decided to take a small detour (what's a hundred miles when you've got thousands to drive, right?!) and go see one of David's favorite Canadian mountains, Mt. Robson. I plugged it into the GPS and we drove and drove until Karen (GPS Australian voice) told us we'd arrived. We were expecting this big beautiful mountain and it was pretty, but nothing outstanding so we kept driving thinking Karen was mistaken. I then glanced in the rearview mirror...
Hello big beautiful mountain!
Day Five - The start of the famous Alaska Highway. Somewhere around here David purchased two Michael Jackson CD's, so let that be the background music for the rest of these days descriptions.
Day Six - Hello beautiful amazing hot springs in the middle of nowhere! (Liard Hot Springs)
This is Signpost forest in Watson Lake. It all started when a lonely soldier back in WWII was working on the road, felt homesick, and put up a sign for his hometown. And if you happen to by chance drive past here someday, look for the Hymas sign! We proudly added our contribution to the forest.
Day Eight - This is another part of the trip that is usually just breaktakingly beautiful. But the mountains were covered in smoke due to forest fires. We couldn't see a thing. Our transmission light came on and we BARELY made it into Anchorage before it gave out completely. Aspen, our girl dog, started that girl time of the month that even dogs have. Karsten wanted to watch the same video he'd watched every single day and it was a Scooby Doo cartoon. Rut Roe. Let's just say the end couldn't have come any sooner. Thank you to that nice man who followed us the entire way from Tok to Anchorage (6 hours) to make sure we didn't break down on the way.
My amazing friend Debbie let us crash in their basement apartment for two weeks while we tried to figure out what the heck we were doing. Dinnertime was a riot and so much fun! It was a perfect transition place for us and we're so grateful for their hospitality and most delicious cooked salmon ever. :)
We made it!
Day One - Utah, Idaho, and Montana. We knocked out three states right at the start. David's parents and brother Korey caravaned with us which was so wonderful of them. Not only did it give us more space in our car, but the kids got to take turns having alone time with Grandma and Grandpa. We drove through Idaho where David's mom grew up so we were able to get the tour first hand! That night we found a wonderful hotel with a pool and three hot tubs! We got connecting rooms and our keys and were all set to go until the hotel employee happened to glance outside and saw our sweet little dog. No dogs allowed. David's parents enjoyed the nice hotel while we headed over to dog friendly Motel 6. Grrr...
Day Two - If there is ever a chance in your life to go to Glacier National Park, GO. Utterly spectacular. And to get through you drive on "Going to the Sun" road, one of the most scenic roads in the world. It was just amazing.
Day Three - Banff, Cananda. Yes, we made it to Canada. Another wowsers!! Are there no law firms for David to
work at in this part of the world??? We were a bit worried that David's parents and brothers weren't going to be able to come with us across the border since they didn't have passports and couldn't find their birth certificates. But Canada didn't care and let them right in. Korey was so excited to be in another country! (Don't you think Canada could sport for a tiny bit classier sign?!)
We were trying to make it to Jasper that night when traffic came to a halt. There was a 5 hour delay due to a head-on collision. We had to head back and get a room (which everyone else had the same brilliant idea as us), found nothing and ended up paying more than we've ever paid for a room in our entire lives. (One bed (luckily it was a king!), no TV, no phone, and yet it was beautiful...) But this is where we had to say good-bye to Grandma and Grandpa. It was very sad. It was so much fun traveling with them!
Day Four - With Hymas' gone, we felt a little lonely (and a bit more crowded), but the fun didn't stop. We decided to take a small detour (what's a hundred miles when you've got thousands to drive, right?!) and go see one of David's favorite Canadian mountains, Mt. Robson. I plugged it into the GPS and we drove and drove until Karen (GPS Australian voice) told us we'd arrived. We were expecting this big beautiful mountain and it was pretty, but nothing outstanding so we kept driving thinking Karen was mistaken. I then glanced in the rearview mirror...
Hello big beautiful mountain!Day Five - The start of the famous Alaska Highway. Somewhere around here David purchased two Michael Jackson CD's, so let that be the background music for the rest of these days descriptions.
Day Six - Hello beautiful amazing hot springs in the middle of nowhere! (Liard Hot Springs)
This is Signpost forest in Watson Lake. It all started when a lonely soldier back in WWII was working on the road, felt homesick, and put up a sign for his hometown. And if you happen to by chance drive past here someday, look for the Hymas sign! We proudly added our contribution to the forest.
Day Seven - Hello Alaska! We've been waiting for this moment. You can see the international boundary line between the trees. We're so happy to be on American soil again where mailing a post card only costs $.27 (instead of $1.80), gas is cheaper, and we're not tempted by Dairy Queens which happen to be in almost every single Canadian city / town you will go through. 
David and Karsten in different countries while Sierra is in two countries at once!
David and Karsten in different countries while Sierra is in two countries at once! Day Eight - This is another part of the trip that is usually just breaktakingly beautiful. But the mountains were covered in smoke due to forest fires. We couldn't see a thing. Our transmission light came on and we BARELY made it into Anchorage before it gave out completely. Aspen, our girl dog, started that girl time of the month that even dogs have. Karsten wanted to watch the same video he'd watched every single day and it was a Scooby Doo cartoon. Rut Roe. Let's just say the end couldn't have come any sooner. Thank you to that nice man who followed us the entire way from Tok to Anchorage (6 hours) to make sure we didn't break down on the way.
My amazing friend Debbie let us crash in their basement apartment for two weeks while we tried to figure out what the heck we were doing. Dinnertime was a riot and so much fun! It was a perfect transition place for us and we're so grateful for their hospitality and most delicious cooked salmon ever. :)
We made it!
Favorite UT pictures
Lots of fun Daddy time!
Frisbee with the brothers
Frisbee with the brothers
Skyla's flying high!
Sierra was a natural!
Karsten - the adrenaline junky
My dad's new friend
Cool Down!
Sierra and Madelyn
24th in Utah
Where to start?
I've been MIA in t
he blogging world for two months! Where do I start? If I start at the beginning, that's where I had to say good-bye to all my wonderful dear friends and that's just way too sad... (Although here is where I have to give my undying thanks to them for working with me day and night to get my entire house packed up in two days. It was a daunting task and not only did they make it bearable, they made it FUN! Unfortunately I don't have everyone's picture that came... Don't worry, I'll always remember you!)
Since I don't want to start with the tears, do I start with our Utah trip? We spent 3 amazing weeks with our extended family. How in the world do I cram so many memories into this entry? It's too much! It was so great spending time with both David 
and my family in the heat of Utah. We went to Zion and Bryce National Park, Ifly, the rodeo, swimming, fireworks, water parks, 4 wheeling, and just hung out absorbing the heat. It was marvelous!
That leads us to our 3000+ mile road trip with 3 kids, 2 plants, and one dog traveling 8 days. Let's just say this summer we truly had lots and lots (and lots!) of family togetherness time. :)
he blogging world for two months! Where do I start? If I start at the beginning, that's where I had to say good-bye to all my wonderful dear friends and that's just way too sad... (Although here is where I have to give my undying thanks to them for working with me day and night to get my entire house packed up in two days. It was a daunting task and not only did they make it bearable, they made it FUN! Unfortunately I don't have everyone's picture that came... Don't worry, I'll always remember you!)
Since I don't want to start with the tears, do I start with our Utah trip? We spent 3 amazing weeks with our extended family. How in the world do I cram so many memories into this entry? It's too much! It was so great spending time with both David 
and my family in the heat of Utah. We went to Zion and Bryce National Park, Ifly, the rodeo, swimming, fireworks, water parks, 4 wheeling, and just hung out absorbing the heat. It was marvelous!
That leads us to our 3000+ mile road trip with 3 kids, 2 plants, and one dog traveling 8 days. Let's just say this summer we truly had lots and lots (and lots!) of family togetherness time. :)
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