Family Pics July 09

We had family pictures taken this summer. It was fun and they turned out great! Thanks Carrie! Here are a few favorites.....






carrielambing.com

Honey Anyone?

The gorgeous Alaskan summer produced lots of bees and lots of honey. The girls do great with Grandpa Dave. They amaze their dad at what they do....bees are not his thing. :-) The girls insist they do not like bees, but they know every little fact about bees and jump right in and do whatever they need to (most of the time). Of course, they love the "honey money" at the end of the season. Sena helped out a little bit this summer, but she doesn't become an official partner until next spring. She is so excited....









As is the tradition, Ashton and Kylie entered honey in the State Fair this year. And, as usual, one got 1st place and one got 2nd. It's a standing joke.....the honey comes out of the same tub and is processed the same way every year. But, it never gets the same rating.

Honey anyone?

Florida!

Rob attended a few conferences in Florida in July. I was able to go with him for 10 days. We were pretty young and broke when we got married, so we really didn't have much of a honeymoon. Rob is not big on traveling (for the sake of traveling), so this is the first real trip we have had in quite a while. The first time ever just with us since kids.....no kids for 10 days! I absolutely love and adore my children, BUT, I must say, I loved every minute we had without them. :-)

I really wanted to see a real alligator in the wild. After we saw some on a charter, we found this one in the man-made lake at our Disney resort. Go figure!



The birds were awesome! These guys were popular. Seemed a bit like our sea gulls.


We were in a nice resort. Got spoiled in a hurry. We did get a bit tired of Mikey-related stuff, but it was fun.


The view from our floor (over the man-made lake with the alligator...).


After a late-night game of mini golf at a neighboring resort. There were so many resorts - a bit mind-boggling for us small town Alaskans. Not sure how many were on the Disney property, but we were still seeing resort names that were new to us after a week.


These little cute guys were everywhere. Rob was determined to catch one...but they are quick!

Outside Busch Gardens.

Amazing vegetation....the landscape leaves a bit to be desired. Completely flat with lots of palm trees. That would be hard to get used to.


We were in some amazing storms! We love thunder and lightening. The rain was a bit intense at times. This was at Cocoa Beach. Most of the time it was very toasty and very humid. But, somehow we did not manage to hit a beach in the sunshine.

Something just cool about being at NASA. Amazing place with a wealth of information.


Close to the Florida Everglades. These trees breathe through their roots that are above the water. Even the captain said it was creepy after dark.

Overall, a great trip. Lots of unscheduled time together, flying first class (long story!), Busch Gardens, Disney World, pools, books, shopping, alligators, SeaWorld, dinner theatre, Blue Man Group, Cirque du soleil, Downtown Disney, good food......thank you Grandparents for making this possible! I personally think it should become an annual event.....

More rafting....

Yes - there was fishing. Kylie caught her first king! Of course, it wasn't on a king rod (it's not what we were fishing for). I guess that makes it more exciting.


We had amazing weather over the 4th of July. A 4 day float trip with no clouds. Awesome!


Caterpillars...a favorite thing. Sena and Remington spent hours finding and playing with them. We would float close to the shore and shake trees. The "pillars" would fall in the boat and the kids would find them.


Rock surfing - a fun new activity! Ashton was finally talked into trying it. As the boat is passing a large rock in the river, the kid jumps out. As the boat passes by, they jump back in.


Poor Sena. She didn't jump back in when Rob told her to. She ended up stuck waiting on the rock until Grandpa caught up and picked her up. She didn't hesitate that time!


Kylie loved it! What a fun picture....


Our crew...Rem actually floated (with Ashton holding him) to get out there.



Hard to beat an Alaskan summer with amazing weather, awesome family and fun on rivers!

Rafting in Alaska

Our summer plans for a lawn turned into a new raft for the family. I think it was a good choice....we had a great time on several trips. I can live with the yucky mud we have out front for another winter - it's worth it!


Here's the crew breaking in the raft. They were a bit excited and didn't even need water.


Thankfully Mom and Dad have a raft and are easily talked into joining us on our adventures. The kids love bouncing between the boats.


Our fearless leader....isn't he handsome? :-) I like it when he's in charge of the boat. He tried to give me a lesson. I almost knocked Rem out in the water. It shook me up more than him....not something I'd like to repeat anytime soon, but I guess I need some practice...

Rem did awesome. He loved the boat! Of course, he was happiest with food. We went through lots of snacks!


Rem trying to operate a friend's catamaran. A glimpse of furture trips I am sure. He loves to "help" Rob oar our boat.

Ballplayer???

Our snow is gone and the sun is out - yea!!! We were outside playing with the kids. Remy was so cute, I just had to take some pictures. A future ball player perhaps?

5 Things

I was tagged a few weeks ago . . . I am finally getting my answers "blogged"!

5 things I was doing 5 years ago...
*I was selling Longaberger

*Settling into my new job as Children’s co-director at WBC

*Kylie was in preschool

*Chasing Sena as a toddler

*Had a husband on swing-shift

5 things on my "To Do" list today... (actually tomorrow)
*Get Ashton ready for her recital
*Go to Anch for Ashton’s clogging recital
*Clean bathrooms
*Cut out flowers for WBC project
*Pick rocks to get ready for a lawn

5 things I would do with $1,000,000...
*pay off the house

*buy a plane for my husband/pay for flight lessons for him

*have a great family vacation

*have a fun romantic vacation with Rob

*donate (after research/prayer!)

5 places I've lived....
*Nome, Alaska

*Lincoln, Arkansas

*Tulsa, Oklahoma

*Kenny Lake, Alaska

*Wasilla, Alaska

5 jobs I've had...
*office help in pediatric office
*risk management admin asst at BSW
*office temp at Lowrance
*admin asst at Academy of Instruction at MSBSD
*admin asst in Finance Dept at MSBSD

5 things I'd like to be doing in 5 years...
*Enjoying my final year with Ashton at home (she’ll be 17!!!)
*Be truly enjoying 3 teen/almost teen girls in my home
*Growing closer in my daily relationship with God
*Active in ministry (maybe still in children’s ministry?)
*Planning a big family vacation before Ashton leaves

5 friends to tag . . .

I think most of my friends have already been tagged. Guess it’s up to you . . . Abby and April. J

Our Little Speller

Ashton won her local school spelling bee, earning her way to the state spelling bee last week. It was a great experience. It was held in the Discovery Theatre at the Anchorage Performing Arts Center. There were approximately 150 kids competing. It took 2 hours to complete the first round! Ashton was the #5 speller (numbers were assigned randomly). She made it to the second round. She was a bit bummed, but excited at the thought of trying again next year. All that reading has given her quite a vocabulary!



Looking at herself in the paper before the Bee started. The Anchorage Daily News sponsored the event. They had pics of all the spellers in the paper that day.


Waiting her turn to go on stage to spell.

Ashton's turn on stage. Amazing, that part didn't bother her at all. She is so unlike her mother in that area!

Sena's New Do

Our Little Sena has been begging for a new hair do since Ashton donated her hair to Locks of Love last year. I was really fighting it. I figured it was just a phase - she is only 6 and greatly influenced by her sisters. And, I just LOVED her long hair. But, after her persistence, I finally gave in. Here's the result . . .


Still adorable! Just a more grown up version. She loves it!


Kylie was also ready for a change. Here's her new look . . .


It has a lot of potential. When Sheri styled it, she had it flipped up on the ends. Too cute! Of course, I didn't manage to get a picture of that.

Grandma Spear . . . these pictures are for you. I hope you get to see them . . . Love ya!