Vacation, Part II - Utah!

Remember that vacation we took in June?  The one I've only posted about the first half of?  Yeah, well, here's the second half of that vacation..... a month later!  Most of our family lives in Utah, and so we had a very busy week there.  There were still some family/friends we didn't get to see, and others we would have liked to spend more time with.  Here's a bunch of pictures of some of the things we did. 

Grandma Deeben (my mom) turned the water on for him!  The things he got away with at Grandma's house!! :)

Playing at an awesome park with Uncle Justin and Aunt Julie (Matt's step-siblings)

Joseph and Cousin Tyler playing at the park.

Gma & Gpa Downing and my brother's family came to the Dinosaur Museum with us (though I didn't get a pic of the group)

Darren and Cousin Aleia playing at the museum.

Joseph thought the dinosaur was tasty!

Uncovering dinosaur bones in the sand box!

At my brother's house, the kids took turns jumping off the stairs onto the giant bean bag chair.  It was VERY entertaining!  We all had a great time!

I actually jumped off too (just once), but I don't have that pic. 

Matt had to 1-up the kids!

Dog pile on Uncle Matt (my brother)!

Grandpa Downing (my dad) with the boys at a family reunion.

Family gathering at my mom's house.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed their root beer floats!

Singing his little heart out, making up his own song!  J sat in a puddle outside.

Siblings!  Can you tell?  

Grandpa Coleman (Matt's dad) enjoyed seeing the boys. 

We went to a little diner all about trains with my parents (mom/step-dad), and the boys thought it was pretty cool!  The inside had a train track with an electric train on it, running throughout. 

Two families that we just LOVE!  The Scotts, and the Lundgrens!  We were all friends in Alaska, and now they both live in Utah.  I'm so glad we got to see them!

My niece leading D around on a pony.  D didn't particularly care for it. 

Darren and Aleia climbing Grandma's apple tree!

Grandma Kathy (Matt's mom) with Joseph.

I LOVE this picture of these two! 

We took the boys for a walk around the outside of the temple.  Matt and I also got to go with some of his family.  It was wonderful! 

We also had a great big family get together with all of Matt's family, but we didn't take any pictures.  It was great to visit with everyone on this short, fast, fun-filled trip! 

New Family Pictures

While we were visiting Alaska, we asked my friend Kim to take family pictures for us (to see her photography blog, click here).  We received the CD in the mail this week, and we are LOVING how they turned out.  The boys mostly just wanted to run, so it was a pretty difficult task to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time and smile, but I think she did a pretty good job capturing everyone's personality. 

Here are several of our favorite shots:  

The next 3 must have been taken in rapid succession....

At one point, Darren got pretty excited to run down to the creek, and just as he got to the edge, he either tripped or slipped, and fell in!  Fortunately, it was pretty shallow, and Kim was quick with her camera!  He obviously wasn't too upset by it! 

Vacation, Part I - Alaska

They say that Disney is the happiest place on earth.  Well, I beg to differ!  You should have seen the ginormous smiles on my familys' faces almost the entire time we were in Alaska!  As soon as we stepped outside (still at the airport), Matt and I both took in a deep breath, looked at each other, and said, "We're HOME!"  It felt so good to breathe Alaskan air again! 

While we were there for a short 5 days, we stayed in a log cabin, walked the streets of North Pole (park trails, too), visited Santa,  hiked in Denali National Park, rode on a train and carousel at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks, had family pictures taken (thank you, Kim!  Can't wait to see them!), drove passed our old house (of course!) and explored the changes made on base, got ice cream at the Knotty Shop in Salcha, played at multiple playgrounds, went to church in our old ward (congregation), went for a nice Sunday afternoon drive, and of course, visited with a few friends.  It was perfect!  We loved almost every second of it (kids waking up at 4 am, 'cause they were still on Eastern time - not a fan!)  

Here are a few of our favorite pics from the Alaskan part of our vacation: 

Pic taken while driving down a road......  it really is this beautiful!

Running down a trail in Denali - of course, they felt the need to run ahead of us....

My 3 favorite people in front of a historic cabin in Denali.  Aren't they handsome?!

The boys had lots of opportunities to pick-up sticks and carry them around.  They LOVED it!  Palm trees don't produce sticks.

Going for walks was fun!  We could go for more than about 2 blocks without either walking down or crossing a highway (that's how it is here)!  This is a park trail in North Pole, but walking the streets was fairly similar.  While outside, the kids had room to just RUN (within reason of course)!!  I didn't have to worry about heat exhaustion, sun burns, traffic, strangers, etc.  We were all in heaven! 

The Knotty shop is a gift shop that has a bunch of things made from wood with all these crazy, lumpy knots in it (like the posts/railing).  They also have a great big display of wildlife found in the area (taxidermy) in a Denali setting.  It's kinda cool to see.  And, they have good ice cream!

There's also several knotty figurines on display out front.  Here's the giant mosquito!  Alaskan mosquitoes ARE pretty naughty!  (feel free to groan - I promise not to be offended!)

A park in Fairbanks (Pioner Park - frequented by both locals and tourists) has a ton of historic cabins that have been turned into all types of gift shops, food stands, etc., has a couple museums, a dance hall, a theatre, miniature golf, playground, carousel, home the famous all-you-can-eat Alaska Salmon Bake, and Darren's favorite, an old train station with a train that goes around the perimeter of the park.  Here's Darren and I riding on the train.  He LOVED it! 

My good friend, Karen.  She was also a life saver through both of my pregnancies, and her daughter was Darren's favorite babysitter. 

 

We saw some other good friends too, but for some (stupid) reason, we didn't take pictures.  Wish we would have! 

While we were in North Pole, of course we had to go to Santa's house, and let the boys sit on his lap!  Christmas in June! 

We had a wonderful time in Alaska, and we dream about the day that we can move back there!  I think it's fairly safe to say that it is my favorite place in the world (so far!) 

Alaska, or Bust!!

Ever since we left Alaska, Matt and I have both had this strong yearning to go back.  It's crazy.  Being a military family, I don't usually get attached to places too much - mostly people and memories of great experiences.  However, there is just something about Alaska that has just really gotten under our skin, and we absolutely LOVE it, MISS it, and just HAVE to go back!  So, we are!  This week, in fact!  We are so excited, we can hardly stand it!  We're going home!  I am really looking forward to wide open spaces, real mountains, untamed natural beauty, continual daylight, amazing skies, crazy street names, moose (hopefully with their babies), year-round Christmas, fresh salmon, and the overall culture and lifestyle there.  We only have a few friends left in the area, and so, of course, we are pretty excited to see them, too! 

Because we are going in summer, I will miss frosted eyelashes, the "glittery" air, northern lights, snow, the creaking sound of the snow/ice under your feet as you walk, clear views of all the stars, sled dog races, ice sculptures, the smell of fire places/wood stoves on cold days, Christmas lights October - May, and snow covered trees with a full moon shining on them.  Maybe we should go back in the winter, too! 

Would you believe that this cabin is right in the middle of the town of North Pole? 

Well, it is, and this is where we'll be staying when we go.  Isn't it perfect?  It's even cheaper than most of the hotels - and has better amenities and space for the kids to run!  Wednesday, can you come any faster?!  I want to breathe Alaskan air once again.... even if it is only for a few days. 

Never A Dull Moment

This afternoon, we had our carpet steam cleaned.  That meant a bunch of furniture and toys had to get moved, and were all put in the kitchen.  I didn't think that through very well, because that meant that I had no access to necessary items to fix dinner.  The carpet was still damp anyway, and we didn't want the boys on it yet, so, we went out. 

See this face?  This is the type of face he had at the restaurant.  Ever get that funny feeling that YOU are unexpectedly the entertainment for the evening?  Well, here's the story......

Within about 30 seconds Darren had discovered that one wall of the restaurant was a mirror, and that he could see himself in it - from clear across the dining room.  He continually proceeded to stand up and turn around to make all kinds of silly faces in the mirror, and even attempted to carry on a conversation with the people about 4 tables over.  Lots and lots of eyes were fixed on him.

He also had his new prized posession with him - a Doc Hudson car from the movie Cars, and felt the need to show it to anyone and EVERYONE that would make eye contact with him.  Then, when our waitress came to take our order, Darren announced VERY LOUDLY:  "I have Doc Hudson, 'cause I went POOP in the BIG potty!  I'm a big boy!  I don't wear diapers AAAANYMORE!!"  Everyone within earshot (which seemed like the whole restaurant), fell silent, and stopped and stared.  Matt and I both turned a bright shade of red, but secretly wanted to burst out laughing at the same time.  Our waitress looked rather shocked.  Matt saved the situation from getting any more akward by playing it cool, and steered the conversation back to ordering.  Thanks for saving the day, Matt! 

Fortunately for us, both boys then turned on their charm AND their manners.  Except for little Joseph stuffing an ENTIRE Saltine cracker in his mouth at once - his little cheeks were quite puffy!  The boys continued to say/do things to make those around us smile.  As we were leaving, both boys were repeatedly saying:  "Bye!  Thank you!," and waving to everyone that would pay attention.  I think it's safe to say that the boys (primarily Darren) were the unofficial entertainment for the evening!  Never a dull moment at our house!  

Funky Feet

Normally, I wouldn't post about getting new shoes, but these are just too bizarre to not post a picture. 

Believe it or not, they were recently approved for PT (not sure if it's AF wide, or just Patrick AFB), and you can do most any activity in them. They are meant for running, walking, hiking, climbing, boating, surfing, yoga/pilates, fishing, fitness, etc., and are actually the most comfy and supportive athletic shoe I've ever owned.  They are a bit crazy looking though.  Feel free to laugh at our funky feet..... I still do!

If you want to know, they are called Vibram Five Fingers shoes.

New Blog

A friend of mine started a blog called 1000 Moments of Joy, where she lists the joys she finds in being a Mom.  I'm copying her idea (she encouraged this), and I started a new blog (still doing this one, too).  Mine is called, "Joy in Mothering."  If you would like to read it, click here.  On my first post (I've already posted twice), I explain what my goals and hopes are the for the new blog, so I won't repeat it here.  You are invited to go read it, if you would like.  And, if you would like to join me (us) as well, feel free!