Luke's First Word

I am so proud of you little guy! Your first words were!

Mama. Mama.

I had to work on this! Caleb's first word was Da Da so I couldn't be out done!

I don't really think he has the total concept of what Mama means but who cares he said it three times in a row while staring into my eyes! Sweet!

December 2005

Well we had a very fun filled December! Christmas Eve we had some friends over for food and White Elephant Bingo. Christmas we went to church and Ant's for dinner. Then on the 29th we had our own Christmas Celebration when Jarrett got home. It was great and there was way to much stuff.

Caleb's Christmas quote, "Mommy we have way to man presents, we don't need so many presents!"

Luke enjoyed Christmas but it tired him out he had to go back to bed.

I hope you all had a great Christmas.

Love and tons of paper,

Splish Splash

Luke loves bath time, he has just discovered how to splash. Now it is a splashing contest between Caleb and Luke. I think this maybe one of Luke's last baths in the sink. He is growing up so fast.

Happy Anniversary

It has been eight wonderfully adventurous years!

I love you Jarrett.

You are my best friend and encourager.

You are a awesome dad, a wonder husband and a great provider.

I admire your dedication and determination.

I love your smile.

Luke is Crawling!

Luke is off and crawling. He tools all around the house. He even pulls himself up and walks along the couch. Caleb is such a helpful big brother, he was showing Luke how to crawl faster!

Happy 3rd Birthday Caleb!

Caleb is three! We had a cowboy hoedown at high noon to celebrate. Everyone had a great time, Phil and Maraget won the best dressed prize. The piñata was very durable, Caleb beat on it for about five minutes striaght, he was in pure heaven. Grandpa Clint made the special horse cake, he thinks he may have found a new calling. Hee Hee.

We just measured Caleb he is now 41 3/4 inches. He is a very big boy. We love you Caleb you bring so much love and adventure to our lives, son.

Love and cowboys,

Yams anyone?

As you can see Luke loves yams! What a cutie! Go ahead zoom in on the photo so you can see the little patch of yams on his ear, or the drool that spills out of his mouth in eager anticipation, or the pleasant gift of yams on my sweater. He devours everything, we haven't found a food he doesn't like yet.

Ole' man winter still has us in his clutches. It has been below zero for a few days, currently -13.

Love and 15 inches of snow,

Grandma

Just wanted to write down a few memories I have of my

Grandma

I remember the way she would shuffle through her house in the morning

I remember her always having a big Christmas tree in here picture window

I remeber her house filled to capacity with presents and family on the holidays

She enjoyed Tab Soda

She loved the shopping channel

Drank hot tea in the morning

Loved the town on Burney

Love to go to Parnell's Clothing Store

I remember meeting her for lunch when she worked at Merril Norman

I remember how she would call the couch a davenport

I remember playing on her excerise bike

I remember how she liked to read the Star

I remember her family members in Montana speaking very highly of her calling her a Norwegian Princess

I remember many people speaking of how she took care of others

I remember her having her hair set

I remember her makeup always on

I remeber how as a child, I always wanted to check out her bedroom

I remember how each of her 8 children loving referred to her as mom

And how her grandchildren grammy

Although it has been a time since I saw her, I will miss her just the same.

Let it snow!

Well, it finally got around to snowing here! I was starting to wonder if winter would ever come. We now only have about 8 inches, but that was enough for Caleb and Jarrett to make a snowman and plow the driveway. Luke and I decided to stay nice and warm in the house.

Happy Halloween

We have been on a Halloween-athon.... Saturday we went to Portage Glacier again for the Spooktacular an educational Halloween experience. It was worth the two hour drive! The decorations were great! On our way home we stopped at Trick or Treat town and loaded up on candy.... all of us. When I say us I mean our ever faithful sidekick Aunt Stacey and our new friends Megan and her 5 1/2 month son Wyatt.

Luke was a hunter and Caleb was a fireman. Caleb informed me Luke could not be a hunter because he is just a baby. He also thought we should take his costume back after he found out that firemen put fires out not start them. That's our boy.

We wrapped up the Halloween- athon by trick or treating at all our friends houses! We ended up at Ant's handing out candy... Caleb love giving the kids candy, he was even willing to give his own away. I wish I was that giving!

Kayaking

They boys and I have been very busy... we've been kayaking, riding moose, and wrestling ice worms. Never a dull moment around this place.

Caleb has finally decided he wants to be a fireman for Halloween. He seemed a little disappointed when we had to explain to him that fire fighters put out fires not start them.

Luke is totally devouring any food we put in front of him. He loves to eat! He takes after his parents!

Congrats! To Jenn you are going to have your hands full but if anyone could handle it it's you!!!

Love and Portage Glacier,

Wedding ~ New Mexico

Luke and I are back from New Mexico. The wedding was beautiful. The weather in New Mexico was great in the 70's! If you want pictures and the whole scoop link to Jenn's page. Seeing Aaron, Jenn and the girls was a highlight. Miss you guys!

Jarrett's Goat

Jarrett got home from Kodiak this evening. He got a beautiful goat. They had a good time and only saw one bear.

Love and taxidermy,

Accident Waiting to Happen!

Oh Caleb, I catch myself saying this a lot with this adventurous little boy! You know I am super mom, when my son is in this dangerous situation and I run for the camera!!

Love and crazy kids,

Help Mom

Hi Mom,

Could you please help.... We need a Christmas stocking for Luke. You made a great stocking for Caleb so I can't wait to see what you will come up with for Luke. You are such a great seamstress, I think that stuff skips generations. My sewing machine only gets used when you are here! Hee Hee. I have attached a photo and the measurements are length 19 1/4, width, 9 1/2, cuff 3 1/8. Would it be helpful if I traced it and sent the outline to you? Oh, yeah Stacey was wondering if you had time to make her one too? If you did she thinks she should have a star it. Does that girl think she is a star or what????

Love and stockingless grandson,

Zoo

Caleb woke up this morning as was insistent that we go to the zoo. So he called his aunt and we all headed in. It was a great day and it was nice to be out in the cool crisp weather. I really am enjoying fall. There is a lot of remodeling going on at the zoo. The are making a treadmill for Maggie the elephant. Caleb had a great time made a few friends and Luke snoozed.

Love and cotton candy,

Homecoming

Homecoming was as adventurous as usual football, a parade and streakers! The boys had a great time, it was a little chilly but we were prepared. Caleb loved the binoculars and Luke snoozed.

Jesus Birthday

Caleb has been fixated on his birthday for the last month, trying to decide what type of party he wants. So when we heard him shouting from the back seat "I want this kind of birthday" we thought it was a Buzz birthday, but to our surprise he was pointing to a picture of the crucifixion of Christ in his little kid bible. We explained the picture and he then said, "I want a Jesus birthday! With the hats (crown of thorns) and spears!" WoW to have a two year olds perspective.

Like the picture Caleb wanted Lukey to ride on his shoulders just like he does on dads. As you can see they are listing to the left, Yep, they tipped over one second after this photo, but dad saved the day and caught Luke.

Luke is now babbling and Jarrett is trying to get him to say da da! Luke is also trying very hard to crawl. He has all the motions but can't seem to get that 21 pound body off the ground!

We had dinner with a new friend tonight, she has a 2 month old little boy, he is very cute. I think Caleb scared her a little, you know the thought of having a two year old running around the house can be a little overwhelming.

Love and snoozes,

Scarecrow

This evening we were decorating the house for fall. We decided it would be fun to make a scarecrow. Caleb was sitting next to the scarecrow sharing his blanket and telling Stacey and I how this was his new friend. It was really cute. He has been really funny lately.

Fall Ride

Do you love this photo???? Caleb and his HUGE gloves and his walking stick. Luke is in between Jarrett and I if you didn't see him he is in camo... hee hee.

Fall is really setting in here, so we decide to take one of our favorite rides around the lake yesterday with the boys! It was gorgeous . We rode about 25 miles and got to see some sheep and black bears. The boys were such troopers. Luke's hat kept slipping down over his eyes, he would kind of grunt and we would have to readjust. He fell asleep in my sweatshirt on the way home. It was sweet, he won't be fitting in there much longer. With my new schedule Jarrett and I have an extra day off together in the middle of the week, it should be fun.

Yesterday, Caleb got in trouble at the gym for fist fighting with another child. I hope this isn't an insight of what is to come with this bruiser! Caleb just said the boy pushed him so he had to push him back! We talked about using our words not our hands but I think it fell on deaf ears! Hmmm.

Jarrett got rear ended in the Volvo, it wasn't to bad, but now we have to deal with all the insurance stuff, what a pain. Just a little testimony to the volvo, it held up really well....Jarrett did too!

Love and new bumpers,

Keep it Real

Okay in an effort to keep my blog real and not just post all our rosy moments I am swallowing my pride and sharing this funny story about my first day back at school.

Today in 5th period I was introducing myself to a boy on my caseload, he is in a wheelchair so being the ever conscientious teacher I crouch down to his level and you guessed it my brand new pants split right down the backside! They weren't even tight.... Luckily I was at the back of the class and able to shimmy against the wall to grab my coat and tie it around my waist and get on with teaching! Can you believe my life????? So do I take them back? Do I have the guts to show the skinny little teeny bopper at the Gap how I blew out the back of my pants? Oh, who cares I'll never see them again...... Like I said they weren't tight........ It was a flaw in the fabric or cheap fabric ..... Yes, all these thoughts make me feel better.

Then 6th period Caleb and Luke had to join me. Caleb was so cute acting like he was in school he sat right down and started doing his homework. He even answered some questions for M & M's. He was talking all the kids ears off! What a chatter box. Then the lady from the student store let him choose any candy he wanted. He is spoiled. All the aides where taking turns holding Luke, he loved it, he was smiling the whole time.

Love and First day fiascos,

Busy Boys

The boys have been busy around the house despite being sick. Luke is practicing take down moves he can use on Caleb. Caleb is bulking up with peanut butter. I can't take my eyes off these guys for even a second.

Love and rainy days,

Back to work!

Well it is time to go back to work for all of us. Luckily I will still just be working part-time. I got up early this morning which I rarely do in the summer and had this little surprise in the yard or should I say almost on my front porch! Jake tried to act tough but when the moose approached him he just tucked his tail and ran for the house. Some watch dog!

Love and otter pops,

State Fair

We went to the State Fair...The fair is a very big event this way as you can see to the left we dressed up special. We had a great time. We ate all the fair food we could and watched Caleb go on every kiddie ride twice.

Stacey signed Jarrett up for a homesteader event! He did great and was soaked after hauling buckets of water! We are already training for next year. Stacey too.

As you can see Caleb is considered one of Alaska's giants. Huge veggies this year. The weather is changing, summer is coming to an end this way, just as well if we have to go to school!

Love and changing leaves,

Park

Jarrett is still on vacation so we have been spending a lot of time just hanging out at home. We went to the park just to get out for a little while. This was a new park we haven't been to, Caleb really liked it.

Then we walk over the river and threw sticks in the water, although it looks Jarrett is going to throw Caleb over! Hee Hee.... What is the fascination with throwing things in the water or spitting over the edge. It must be a boy thing.

We got the sheep meat back today we are going to try it tonight! At least we know it is totally organic.

Last night I was doing my running workout at 11:30 pm. The only reason I mustered up enough energy to do that is because I have to pay Stacey $10 if I don't workout. I am to tight to pay that girl a dime! It has motivated me like nothing else has!

Love and late night runs

My Wonderful Husband!

Do I have a great husband or what? Yesterday we were suppose to go on his company halibut charter, I scheduled sitters two weeks ago, we were finally going to have a day just the two of us. We were going to leave at 2:30am to drive down. What do you know at 10pm Caleb comes up with a 101 fever. I am told this is how it always happens... you plan, you want to go, but your little one has a different idea! So Jarrett said he would stay home with the boys and I could go fishing. So that's what I did!! I had a great time, but true to my adventure style I got sick and barfed off the side of the boat. I am noticing a trend. I caught my halibut and salmon! It was gorgeous but I forget my camera! We went with the Fish House, and one thing is for sure I don't want to be a deck hand..... they work hard.

Jarrett also had a great time sheep hunting. He got a nice ram. We are glad to have him home.

Love and beer batter halibut,

Family Camp

Family camp was soooo fun! The food was great, who can beat camp food? The people were great, we even met a family with the same last name. The entertainment was excellent! We went tubing on the lake, paddle boating, and last but not least we got to go on our first float plane trip. It was fun, fun, fun! But must remind myself that I may love the adventure of flying on small planes but my tummy does not. Yep, I filled a barf bag.....I made all the way until the landing.... but I'm still a wimp but I'm sure I will do it again!!!

Luke was a trooper, all the ladies from church wanted to hold him the whole time and he loved it! Then Caleb made a new friend with a little boy who was five. I don't think he realized Caleb was only 2 1/2 because he is tall! The were playing calmly and sharing....weird two word I haven't used to describe Caleb before!

I would have posted more photos, but what they say on a float plane is "if it can fall in the water it will" luckily my camera didn't fall but my batteries did!

Love and weak tummies,

Fun with Friends

We had a playdate today! It was really fun, Caleb loved the water and Sarah and I kept cracking up (pun intended) over Caleb's shorts! It is beautiful here 80 degrees that is smokin' for us!

We are headed to church camp for water skiing and fun!

Jarrett got his sheep more details on the way!

Love and water babies,

U Pick Farm

Today was a beautiful day so after my hair cut we decided to go to the upick farm and get some fresh veggies. I have always wanted to have a garden, but a couple of years ago I discovered the upick and decided this was right up my alley. All the veggies and not all the work.

Antie Stacey and Caleb had a great time. Stacey was like a little kid in a candy store. Caleb loved riding around in the wagon and eating rasberries. After we picked all our veggies we made a yummy dinner.

Love and layers,

Hatcher's Pass

We went hiking at Hatcher's Pass. Caleb had a great time playing and he hiked the whole loop. Luke got a free ride in the backpack.

The other day Caleb got a card from his grandma. He really liked getting mail. Clever grandma puts a photo in the card so he will recognize her. This photo was one of grandma and grandpa and the background was very dark, so Caleb asked "Grandma and Grandpa live in a cave? Isn't it dirty?" Thus the photo of Caleb in a rock cave.




We have been very busy getting Jarrett ready for his sheep hunt. He can focus on nothing else, we have weighed, packed and repacked his bag at least ten times. I really think that preparation is one of his favorite parts. Don't get me wrong he is still looking forward to coming home with a "full curl" as Caleb would say.

Caleb was sad that his dad was going hunting without him. After all he packed his own backpack and had his toy rifle all ready to go. When it was time for Jarrett to go, Caleb wouldn't get out of the truck, but finally Jarrett was able to escape.

Luke went to the doctor's today and he is very tall and very chubby. 20 lbs. Off the charts for height and weight. He is growing like a weed.

Love and heavy backpacks,

Getting Published, Again!

So after I got Caleb's photo into the book, I am feeling a little guilty that Luke doesn't have a claim to fame. But today the problem was soloved, his photo will be published in the quarterly magizine that Jarrett's company puts out. I thought this was a pretty cute picuture of the big guy, can you believe he is not quite four months yet!

Caleb had a playdate today, he had fun and I went to the chiropractor today. It was fine, I don't know what I was anxioius about. She is a great doc, she is up on all the new techniques and her office is very kid friendly which is really cool. Oh yeah, her receptionist is great too, it's Stacey.

Love & Snickers

Coastal Trail

Today Sarah and I rode the coastal trail with the kids. This is a fun trip for the kids we ride a while then we stop at a bunch of different parks the kids get to play and pee in the bushes:) Then Sarah taught me this new technique ... Luring the kids back to the Chariot with M& M's. This new technique has a lot of potential. We saw a few moose on the trail including a mommy and her twins. They were pretty young and right on the trail. The above photo is a young moose checking out our friends archery target. Hee Hee

Tomorrow is my first trip ever to the chiropactors. It should be interesting.

Love and back crackers,

Getting Published!

Today we got the news that a photo I took of Caleb and Jarrett will be published in our friends book. I am very excited, probably a good move on the authors part to include the photo, I know he will sell extra copies to grandparents! The book will go to the printers 8/4 so it will be out soon. Now I am scheming on how I can get Luke's photo in the next one!

Hi, mom I hope your eye is feeling better and you are enjoying your fun company, I wish you guys would come up here!

Love & big book sales

New Boat???

It was a rainy day here so what do you do on a rainy day? Shop....We have our friends here so they wanted to go shopping for a boat. Okay that sounds great, so we found one in the paper and went to take a look at it. It was two hours away and in a peculiar little town of Whitter. Just to get there you have to pay $12 to go through the 2.5 mile tunnel. All the way through the tunnel we kept saying what if..... there was an earthquake, what if.... there was. So we found the the boat and it was really fun to look at so we'll see what they plan to do.

This morning when I was in the shower, Caleb says to Jarrett, "Daddy will you take brother to the man village?" He just watched Jungle Book and really liked it but sending his brother to the "man village" that's a little much! Sometimes I feel like I live in a man village.

Love & Road trips,

Free Babysitting

I love days like this, when friends come over and you eat and just laugh about all the experiences you have had in the past.

Caleb went to his aunt Stacey's today.... Those two are something else, Caleb makes himself right at home by digging in the cupboards and Stacey has such a great way with him! We love the free babysitting! Thanks

Met with our financial advisor today... looks like we will be setting more goals, it will be a good thing. We are already saving money on the babysitting.

Love and visitors,

Drills & Thrills

Yes! I went to the dentist today and I got a clean bill of dental health! My dentist is so funny an older man who is deeply philosophical, in a funny way, and thinks soda is going to the detriment of society.

Luke and I were playing with Jarrett after Caleb went to bed and he gave this great smile, hope you enjoy it we do! Did you know that they recommend you wipe out your babies mouth after each feeding! Wow I am about 3 1/2 months behind on that!

Caleb had a friend over. He always likes the idea but when it comes to the time to actually have them here and share his toys it takes him a little time to adjust and a few time outs. Hee Hee... but once he gets into the sharing mode he is in heaven with a partner in crime!

Speaking of partners in crime, I got Stacey to get up and go to the gym at 7am.... Good job Stac! It didn't hurt as much today and when you are giggling it makes the time go by faster. Every time I start to whine Stacey makes a funny comment like image you are lifting your suitcase for your cruise and it is loaded with bikinis, I haven't worn a bikini since the sixth grade!

Love & One piece swimsuits

Gotta Love Baths!

This evening was Lukes first adventure in the tub with big brother! He sat in this niffty little chair (thanks Jenn) that allowed him to sit up and enjoy the water and sucking on his brothers arm. Isn't it amazing how slippery a little baby can be? He loved it and Caleb thought it was pretty cool too!

If your wondering about the bandaid on Caleb's head it is covering the bump from the handle of the vice he pulled down on himself. He's fine, because bandaids fix everything! He sure is a busy boy.

We went to the rifle range today. Jarrett had to sight in his new and improved rifle... I know what your saying because I am saying it too. ANOTHER rifle. But anyways, please remind me that I don't enjoy going to the range with two fussy kids and sitting in the truck for an hour and a half! This is Jarrett's hobby he should be able to enjoy it peacefully. The range isn't always bad, it is a good time to read magizines or knit, but I think I will give it a break for a while.

Love and messy houses,