Goofy Grins

One of Chloee's budding, new talents is photography. We got her a Fisher Price camera for her last birthday, and she LOVES taking pictures of everything she can get to hold still. Fortunately, Jolee likes being her model so we have gotten lots of shots of her. One of the features on Chloee's camera is adding cartoon images on her pictures and Chlloee surprised us with these hilarious pics of JoJo. They were too cute not to post, but I think this looks like future blackmail to me.

It's Great To Be Eight!

It's hard to believe, but our J-man is 8 years old. Jaron has been a pure joy from the day we met him, and we are so grateful that he came to our family. His big, brown eyes and goofy grin always bring us a smile and we are constantly waiting for him to do or say something crazy. 

The best thing about Jaron is that he is everyone's friend. This kid knows no strangers and makes friends wherever he goes, and not just with people his own age. And if you know Jaron, you understand what I am saying. 

Being a goofy goober himself, Jaron has an affinity for Sponge Bob Square Pants, and while maybe not the most appropriate of children's shows, I must admit, I think it is hilarious. Jaron loves to use his "imaginaaaaaatiooonnn" (you have to see the movie) just like Sponge Bob, so we decided to throw him a Sponge Bob theme sprinkler birthday party. It was a HUGE hit, and luckily, the weather cooperated. My friend Angela, is an amazing cake decorator, among other things, and my Brady is an aspiring chef/baker. He has long wanted to learn how to use Fondant icing, and fortunately, Angela agreed to make Jaron a SpongeBob cake and taught Brady how to do it. He had such a good time and was so proud of what he made for his brother. Look at this amazing cake!!

It was too awesome to eat it, but the kids managed to cut into after many oohs and aahs.

 

Jaron is pretending to blow out the candles because it was a little too windy for the candles to stay lit. Before cake, presents, and ice cream, the kids played and played! We did a water relay, SpongeBob slip and slide, whack a mole water game, water gun fights, and of course, a water balloon fight.

 

Nice form Jaron!! This kid loves the water. 

We ended the day with an awesome bubble display (thanks Auntie for the bubble machine). The kids, and even Bruno the dog LOVED chasing all the bubbles. Even the little 2 year olds got in on the fun.

 

It was awesome to see a big yard full of kids chasing bubbles.

Look at the concentration in Chloee's face!! Get that bubble girl! This party was one of the most fun we have done, and while the timing wasn't great with us moving and all, we were happy to create such a special day for Jaron! Happy Birthday JJ! WE LOVE YOU!

Moose on the Loose!

One of the many perks that come from living in Alaska is the amazing wildlife that we see on a daily basis. This moose decided to munch on the very expensively maintained shrubs outside Aaron's office. This guy was right outside Aaron's window. 

Aaron tried to get a shot of this moose with his Residential Mortgage sign in the background, but it wouldn't cooperate. The funny thing is the bakery that is next door to Aaron's office is called "Moose is Loose" bakery and has become somewhat of a landmark around here. Maybe Bullwinkle will stop in for a doughnut next.

Let's Get Rocked!!

I haven't posted on the progress of our new house lately, and we have some exciting things going on. The exterior is almost done being sided, and one of the few remaining features is the stone accents. Our mason is one cooky guy, but very talented in laying stone. Here he is striking his best mason pose.

This the front face of the house with the main entry door and the arched window is to the little girls' room.

Our siding is cement plank siding and has not been painted yet, but will most likely end up some slightly darker shade of beige...one more decision I have yet to make.

The interior rock, otherwise known as sheetrock, is going up quickly. Since these pics were taken, they have now started mudding and taping. There are a staggering 800 sheets of sheetrock in this house!!
 

Here are some views of the basement, one out of the playroom to the lake, and one out of the gym to the playroom...to the lake. Hi Jaron and Chloee!!

 

Jaron is heading downstairs to the basement. On of my favorite features is this curved wall that also carries to the wall in the main floor above.

Here is a shot of the arched balcony looking up from the main floor to the top floor. I am still trying to design a rail system for this area, so hard! 

This is it for now, but since we are homeless in less than a month, we really hope to have speedy progress from here on out. Stay tuned.

Deep Creek Fun with Family

Last weekend, Aaron's grandparents, Grandma Mary and Pop Pop, came for their every other year summer trip to Alaska. It has become somewhat of a tradition for everyone to head 45 minutes down the road from our house to Deep Creek campground, mostly because Pop Pop loves to fish for halibut and Deep Creek is a beautiful place to hang out at the beach. The kids had lots to do with their cousins like playing in the sand, searching for shells and other beach treasures, chasing bubbles, and packaging up the freshly caught halibut. One of my favorite things to do at Deep Creek is to sit by the fire late at night and watch the eagle families soar through the sky. We had a great time with everyone and can't wait for the next time. 

 

 

Jolee and Bruno loved chillin' by the fire.

Sydney is always up to some adventure, that's when she wasn't holding my mom's dog, Beau.

The fish packaging crew hard at work. Uncle Brian was so patient with Jaron and Addie running the vacuum sealer.

 Lynnie getting some snuggle time with Mac by the fire, and yes, this was at night. Gotta love the Alaskan midnight sun.

 Being 5 1/2 months pregnant, there wasn't a lot for me to do, so I entertained the kids with bubbles while the men put the fish up. Good times had by all!

IT'S A ....??!!

The kids have been waiting for weeks to find out what their new sibling is going to be, and after much anticipation, we wanted to come up with a fun way to tell the kids. I got this idea from another blog, so here you go. Before the unveiling, I have a cake hiding under that cloth with the baby's gender on it. 

 

AND IT'S A .....

 

You can see the news slowly soak into their little minds, so far still smiles.

 

Then the news really sets in, notice Chloee shouting for joy.

 

The boys were a little bumbed that they are not getting a little brother, but we are excited to welcome a little girl into our home in October. 

I should note, however, that our doctor is not 100% positive that the baby is a girl. He isn't putting money on it, but most of what we could get from 2 sonograms says that we are having a girl. Who knows, we could be surprised on delivery day.

Thank Heaven!

Just a quick update, and no this is not the baby gender post, that will be coming as soon as Aaron gets the pics downloaded into my computer. Anyway, I just wanted to say that our prayers have been answered, again. It never ceases to amaze me how much the Lord is aware of our needs in this life, and if it be His will, He wants nothing more than to bless us with those things we need. Most of you know that we put our home on the market about a month ago because we are in the process of building our dream home. While the market in Alaska and on the Kenai Peninsula is healthy, there are not a tremendous amount of buyers in our price range. Long story short, after months of work decluttering, cleaning, staging, and praying by many, we listed our home and three weeks later, we had one showing, then a repeat showing, and an offer! We have now reached an agreement, and after a few repairs are completed, our house is sold. The trick here is that our new home won't be done for at least another 2 months, and we need to be out of this house in mid-July. While these is a very daunting prospect (moving all our stuff into storage and being homeless for a while) we know that the Lord will provide for us just as He always has.