The Hoops

I'm so behind on this post. Sorry, Hoop Girls! The Hoops came last Thursday and left last Sunday. We had so much fun! They came up because Jarah and Nathan had soccer games every day they were here (except Thursday). They got here Thursday around 2:30. The rest of the day everyone hung out but Aunt Annie and Uncle Kenny had to go to Anchorage to run to Costco and turn soccer papers in. We watched Eragon while Aunt Annie and Uncle Kenny were gone. That night we were in bed by 10:30 and jarah and Leah (and the boys) fell asleep by 11:00. Abigail and I chatted a little cause we weren't tired. 

Thursday pictures

Leah and I 

Abigail and I

Jarah and I

Leah and Saxon. So cute! Saxon love Leah. 

Us four girls. Left to right: Abigail, me, jarah, Leah 

Watching Eragon. 

The next morning Aunt Annie and Uncle Kenny had to take all their kids to Anchorage for soccer. They we're wanting to leave around 7:00am but jarah and Leah had to actually go wake them up at 7:00. They slept in the trailer outside. Abigail and Leah got to stay home with us. That morning we watched North and South and then went on a drive and stopped by the river. While we were on our drive the car started to stink really bad so we stopped and it was smoking just a little. Some fan or something broke. I was really freaked out and Abigail and Leah thought it was hilarious. We saw three moose and a dead porcupine. There was this little pool area that was kinda cut off from the rest of the river so it was nice and warm. Well it's warm for Alaska river water. ;-) We went there for a bit. The boys went in it and Leah even dived all the way in! Then when we came home we watched more North and South and then everyone got home and Aunt Annie got to watch the last of it with us. :-) We had hamburgers for dinner. Aunt Annie and Uncle Kenny slept in the trailer outside again and the girls camped out in the living room. The boys slept in the bedroom and mama and daddy slept in their bedroom. We got in bed around 11:00 and chatted for a little. We fell asleep around 12:00. 

Friday Pictures

Leah, Saxon, and I on our drive 

Leah and I 

Abigail and I waiting for mama to talk to daddy about the car 

At the river :-)

It was so pretty! 

Abigail and Saxon

Abigail and I 

Leah and I 

Watching North and South. 

On Saturday we just sat around and were lazy. Aunt Annie and Uncle Kenny had all the kids with them at soccer again except Abigail, Leah, and Elijah. They got to stay home with us. Abigail made chocolate chip cookies. We watched a Duggar episode and we also watched The Goblet of Fire (Harry potter). It was a lot of fun. When everyone got home we found out that soccer for Sunday had been cancelled so we would just be able to hang out. We all (except the boys and Selah) stayed up really late chatting/hanging out. The. Dads went to bed around 12:00 but the Moms and us 4 girls talked until 1:00. 

I don't have any pctures from Saturday. 

(You may notice that Friday and Saturday I only have pictures with Abigail and Leah. Jarah had soccer those days.) 

    

Sunday we skipped church and Mama, Aunt Annie, Abigail, Leah, Jarah, and I got to go on a girl date to Target. It was a lot of fun. We got coffees and just walked around. At target there's these little cup holders you can stick on the side of your cart. It was funny because we had six cup holders on our cart. I wish I would've gotten a picture. We got matching notebooks, Abigail got nail polish, and I got a curling iron. I've been wanting one for a while because the straightener doesn't curl my hair like it does Mamas. So I was happy to find one for only $10. :-)

Sunday Pictures

On the way to Target

Mama and Leah

Leah and I 

Leah and I being dorks. 

I LOVE this picture. She was laughing because she had made a funny face before. 

(This is not the funny face mentioned above) 

This picture is one Abigail took of me and jarah taking the above picture. Haha!

Being goofs

In the car on the way home. The glasses we are wearing-I had bought two pairs a couple weeks ago because they were only a dollar. The girls don't have a target in Fairbanks so they were hoping there would still be some. And there were. They bought five pairs I think. Haha. But c'mon, one dollar glasses? Ya can't beat it. 

Leah's so cute! :-)

We were using our glasses as mustaches. Lol! We're dorks. I love Abigail in this photo! 

So that's all the pictures. But we had SO much fun!!!! We were sad to part on Sunday afternoon but it wasn't too bad since they're coming again next month. YAY!!!!! 

Oh, and because I'm a terrible person....here's Abigail's questions from that thing we did like...last month. :-/ lol

1-Are you an introvert or extrovert?- I think I'm more of an extrovert. I really enjoy being around people. I do like like some alone time though. :-)

2-What's your favorite meal of the day?- dinner. 

3- What's your favorite dinner?-steak or pasta (not spaghetti) probably. I also really (really) like Spicy Thai Noodles. So good!

4- What are your favorite midnight snacks?- Chocolate chips. Chocolate chip cookie dough. Cocoa. Milk. 

5- What's your favorite type of music?- Christian Contemporary 

6- Who are your favorite artists?- Um I like TobyMac and Mandisa and Jamie Grace. I like pretty much all the people that sing the Christian Contemporary songs though. 

7- What songs do you never get tired of after listening to them over and over agin?- Frozen songs. :-)

8- What audios do you like to listen to the most?- The Lamphlighter Theatre audios. Really good stories. 

9-What are your favorite color/s?- Teal, Turquoise, Robin Eggs Blue, Olive Green. 

10- What's your favorite holiday?- Christmas. Or my birthday...or does that not count as a holiday? ;-)

11- What's your favorite month/s of the year?- October. July 

12- Do you like cooking or baking better?- Well Mama does most of that stuff around here but I've been trying to do more. I don't know which I like better. Haha 

13-What's your favorite bible story?- Esther. Joseph. Jesus' birth. 

14- Who's your favorite princess?- I don't really have just one fave. Belle, Anna, Merida (because of her accent ;-P )

15-If you could choose your birthday (don't put your own b-day) what date would you choose?- July something or October 16. ;-) 

That's all! Sorry I took forever (!!) to do them, Abigail. 

Happy Birthday, Bub!!

Yesterday Bub turned 9. Dude, everyone is growing up too fast. He got a cool bike (his was almost four years old and then it got run over (because he left it behind the car lol) so he was always using mine...which was quite annoying), a couple cards, and nine dollars. ;-) 

Happy Birthday, Piersen! 

You are such a loving, caring boy. You give awesome hugs...like a teddy bear. :-) 

I love hanging out with you. Love you, Bub!! 

Love, 

Sissy 

(I still get called Sissy sometimes by Bub but it's usually Kaylee (even Saxon has started calling me Kaylee more) That kinda makes me sad. :-( They're getting so big! ) 

He had Dutch Babies for breakfast, Picadillo for lunch, Sheperds Pie for dinner, and vanilla cupcakes with vanilla ice cream for dessert. He always has cheesecake as his cake but Mama convinced him to have cupcakes last night with just the neighbors and on Sunday at church Mama will make three (!) different cheesecakes. 

Now....some of my favorite photos of him. :-) 

P.S. They aren't in age/year order. 

Baby Piersen. Awwww <3

Precious! 

Charmer ;-)

Total boy!

Goof :-P

Cutie pie!

He was being a spy. ;-) 

With papa

With mama 

With sissy

With Saxon

This Easter :-)

His cupcakes. 

It was a good day. :-) 

Happy Birthday, Bubba!!!!!!!!!

Mama's Day.

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) was free for everyone yesterday for Mother's Day so we decided to go there. We left the house around 11:30 we ran a couple quick errands and grabbed subs to eat. You have to go through Anchorage to get to the AWCC so we stopped at SteamDot and got coffees. Whenever we go to Anchorage Mama always gets a coffee at SteamDot. She loves it. 

Mountains on the way to the AWCC. 

So then we finally left for the AWCC. We got to see reindeer, musk ox, moose. There was an eagle that only had one wing. The other wing had to be amputated because it was shot. There was a black bear that was mostly sleeping. It got up and walked around a bit. There were three brown bears. One was mostly lounging in the water by itself and the other two were walking around or playing. At 4:30 we got to see the brown bears get fed. Basically we stood behind a bunch of people watching salmon fillets get thrown over the fence. There three (wild) bald eagles diving into the bear place to try and get salmon. That was cool. We did get to be up by the fence eventually. There were wood bison which were once thought to be extinct in the wild so the AWCC has a herd that they are hoping to release into the wild next year. We also saw a fox (I love fox. They are so pretty!), owl, and two lynx which were sleeping (they also are pretty).

The reindeer

 

Musk ox at the AWCC. Not a good pic but the only one I got of them. 

One of the brown bears eating salmon. (The two pictures are of the same bear)

Don't worry....that was not the only fence. That's the electric fence and there was another fence that people weren't allowed to cross. :-)

The eagle. You are seeing the side with no wing. 

The deer. 

Then when we left there we drove down to Portage Glacier. We didn't go to the pull off to see the actual glacier but we drove around a bit and went on a gorgeous small trail. There was also a little sidewalk by the water. The water had big chunks of ice that break off of the glacier that's there. You could see the see the glacier. 

Really pretty trail. Well the side of the trail. 

In front of the water. The glacier is directly behind us inbetween the mountains. No, mama is not that short. Haha. She's just leaning. ;-)

Mama and Daddy. :-)

Me. Yes, my hair is absurd in this photo. ;-P It is sticking out in every which way. It was quite the windy day. 

Daddy and I. :-) 

Then on the way home we saw a little pipe that had been shoved into a hole in the mountain. Apparently someone put it there so you could get water from the mountain more easily. Yes, you can get water from the mountain. We don't know where or what the source of the mountain is but apparently it's drinkable. It seems that quite a few people get water from there. It was nice and cold. 

Me with fresh mountain water. ;-)

Pretty view on the way home. :-) that's a bunch of water. 

Saxon all cuddled up in bubs jacket with a bunh of sweaters as a fluffy pillow. :-)

We finally got home around 9:30 (?). 

I had a good day but really it was Mama's day so I hope she enjoyed it. I think she did. ;-) 

So Happy Mama's Day to all the Mama's out there! 

But especially to my Mama. I could not be more blessed! She is the most amazing Mama ever!! And she bakes amazing stuff too which is a plus. ;-) 

She also helps me find adorable outfits to wear when I can't find anything to wear and she shares lots of laughs with me. She awesome! I love you, Mama. <3

Sorry I'm a day late....as you can tell there wasn't really any time yesterday. :-) 

Big Boy!

Saxon can ride a bike. Mostly.....;-) He still needs some practice but he's pretty much got it down. He drags his feet on the ground to brake and over compensates when steering. 

He was so cute yesterday. I told him we could practice and surprise daddy in a couple days (we ended up surprising him that day though (yesterday) because he didn't want to wait). 

He said  "when daddy find out he say....he say...what he call me?" 

Me: "ummm mini man"

Him: "yeah. He say 'good job, mini man!'" 

 

 He's so funny 

(Daddy did not actually say that though.) :-P 

'Mini man.' ;-) 

Sorry for the terrible picture. 

Some mountains at hatchers pass. We drove up there on Sunday. It was too snowy up there to hike but the view was gorgeous (it always is up there). 

This is the only picture I snapped. When we were driving I was just enjoying theview and wasn't thinking about taking pictures and then this was taken in the parking lot. 

Bub and Saxon on a trail, Saturday. 

Pictures!

Hello!

I don't really have anything to update about so I thought it'd just share some photos. :-)

 

My adorable brother:

Bub's in the background. ;-)

Saxon and I. Yes, he drew on his face with marker. Yes, I'm in the drivers seat. :-)

By the way, I'm better at driving now. :-) 

I don't cut into the other lane when turning now. I'm better about not going so slow. And I remember my blinker....most of the time. ;-)

Mama's adorable Easter cookies!!

Easter 2014. (The boys changed their shirts for church though) 

Yesterday was gorgeous!! Sunny, blue sky, slight breeze, perfect temperature. So when daddy got home we drove to a little place where you could pull off and go down to the river. We went their last year during fishing season but the boys didn't catch anything and I had to sit in the car because at that time I was still on crutches and had a boot. :-) 

Gorgeous mountains and the boys on a bridge. 

More mountains. 

Taken off the bridge looking one way 

Taken off the bridge looking the other way. :-)

Looking down from the bridge into the water. There's a tire rim. 

So the girls (hoop girls that is) and I asked each other some questions the other day. 

So I'm gonna start off with Leah's questions. 

1. If you were a different person...would you be friends with yourself?--yes. ;-) Well, I think I would...I may be too crazy. lol

2. What is your all time favorite color?--No clue

3. What is your favorite animated movie?--either Frozen, Up, The Lion King, or Nemo. 

4. If you could change something about your looks what would it be?-- I would have naturally straight hair. Not stick straight. Just sorta straight. :-)

5. what is your favorite time of day?--Hmmmm I'd have to go with around the afternoon. Especially on a sunny day. 

6. Are you an animal lover?--YES!

7. when you grow up....would you rather have 2 kids or 6?--six

8. What are your favorite names? Five boy and five girl.(I'm adding middle names to a couple:-) -- Girl: Brighid Lenore, Sybil Grace, Bethany Edith, Charlotte, Eleanor. 

Boy: Byron, Sawyer, Logan, James, can't think of a fifth one. 

9. What's your five favorite books?--The Overlander series, The Harry Potter Series, The Narnia Series, I don't know what else 

10. Do you like chocolate milk or plain milk?-- plain. Love it! 

11. What's your favorite dessert?-- I'm suppose to choose one dessert? Seriously?!? Um probably chocolate chip cookies or cake or cheesecake or ice cream. 

12. Favorite candy bar?--snickers or milky way 

Doctors visit

This is late...as always. So the Thursday before last (see how late I am?) I went to the doctors. It was good. I had a couple x-rays (I forgot to get pictures again.....eek! Sorry.) He's pretty pleased with me. I'm practically not wearing my brace ever. I can wear pretty much any kind of shoe (except heels) and without my brace. Yay! I can also walk around barefoot....although I haven't been doing much of that just because it's more comfortable to wear shoes in my current condition. He said I'm about halfway normal which is pretty good. :-) my plate won't be taken out for at least another year.

And just a quick little catch up with what's been going on here lately. :-)

Weather: oh the weather. It can be such a wonderful happy thing but sometimes the weather can make me super angry. So it was really sunny like all last week and almost all the snow was gone and then over the weekend it got all cloudy and rained. I don't mind the rain. I like the rain. So I was okay. But then it snowed. Ugh! I want the snow to be gone! I. Want. Summer. Thankfully today it's at least really sunny. But cold. So yeah, anyways, right now I'm kinda angry with the weather. :-/

Driving: a couple weeks ago we finally got the car fixed. And now I can drive!! It's so exciting! I've been driving almost everyday when daddy gets home. :-D I have a couple problems. One-when turning onto a new road I turn too wide and cut into the other lane. Two-when I'm at a stop sign and I'm ready to go I don't turn fast enough. Three-I go slow down hills. Especially hills that curve at the same time. Four-I always forget my blinker. 

So yeah. Oh and incase you were wondering...I've only been driving in neighborhoods. Actually I did drive to Wal-Mart once (!!) but I got there by a somewhat back road. It wasn't very busy.

I guess I'll go now. I'll try to post soon and maybe have a few pictures. :-)

Physical Therapy.

After 40 sessions of PT, last Thursday I finally finished for good! Whew! I will admit, the later it got the easier it got...but it was still nice to not have to worry about it twice a week. And at nine in the morning (which isn't too early for us) but still annoying because when you get up at 7:00 you can't sit around in pajamas being lazy. So let's see where I am now...

When I started: 

Boot and crutches

Entire foot (except top) sensitive (very)

Not able to bend my ankle at all :-/

(That's the only "big" things I can think of)

Now:

Brace* and no crutch/cane

Sensitivity on foot much better. Bottom still funny on inner side but getting better (yay!)

Can bend my ankle lots **

At the end I got a free water bottle. Well, two actually cause the lady gave Mama one. You could choose a water bottle, shirt, or reusable shopping bag. I figured the water bottle was best for me. ;-) 

* I am wearing an ankle brace with my sneakers but I can take the brace off and wear my lace up boots. Actually, I'm suppose to be wearing the brace as little as possible so as to wean myself off. 

** We measured how far my ankle could bend (up, down, in, and out) at the last PT session. The first session I couldn't bend it at all without help. Now I can bend it almost all the way in, out, down, and up by myself. But....my Physical Therapist could bend it (all ways) ALL the way. So it does have full range of motion I just don't have enough strength to do it by myself. Which is why I still have some PT stuff I'm suppose to do at home.