Sunbeam Lover

Boone loves sunbeams! He moves around the house from place to place as the sunbeams move. I came up stairs to find him in an awkward position. I guess this was the only sunbeam he could find at the time!

To AK or Bust

While Aaron was away on his caribou hunt, I was blessed with visitors! Elizabeth and Ryan have been great friends of mine for years, so I was so stoked when they wanted to come and visit the great state of AK! They have actually made trips to everywhere the military has sent us so far. It was awesome to have people come and share in this magical place I call home.

We walked around downtown Anchorage, visited the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla and feed the reindeer at the Reindeer Farm in Palmer. But my favorite part of their journey was our visit to Matanuaka Glacier. I had seen glaciers from afar but never even got close to one. It was another magical moment to add to my list since living here in AK!

On the way to the glacier. They picked the best week to come. It was sunny the whole time they were here! Most people are not so lucky.

 We stopped at a place where we thought we could walk to the glacier. It was way to far! But it made for a cool picture stop!

 Getting closer!

We made it!

 Kinley and I getting ready to hike in farther.

 Amazing, isn't it! Just beautiful. Of course it was more beautiful and majestic in person. I didn't get to see this lake because it got icier as we went. I didn't want to take a head dive down a glacier while pregnant. But Ryan was gracious enough to take some pictures so I could see the beauty. While they were hiking farther in, I was calling my sister on my cell phone. I had all my bars! Who knew, even on a glacier you got service!

 

 I think this picture is pretty cool!

This one too! Does it make you want to come visit AK? Well, I think you should!

It was awesome having then here. I was really sad to see them go! It is always awesome to see friends (very much like my family!) and show them around. Moving to crazy places is one of the most fun parts of the military. It is awesome for Aaron and I but also for friends and family. They too get to see places they probably never would have visited otherwise. I wonder where the military will send us next?

Father and Son Caribou Hunt

Last week, Aaron and his dad had the chance to go on a caribou hunt of a lifetime. They took a plane up to Kotzebue, AK and then a little prop plane from there into the middle of nowhere. There they camped and hunted for 6 days. Joining them on the trip was our friend Ryan and his dad, Mark.

Here is a little map to show you an idea of how far up they went. They even went about an hour past Kotzebue but I don't know specifically where. I am not even sure they know! The arrow is about where we live and the 'A' (courtesy of Google Maps) is Kotzebue.


I am happy to say the trip was a success. They got 4 caribou between the 4 of them. Below are some pictures of them and their trophies. They spent all day yesterday processing the animals. I can't wait to try a caribou burger.

Clint and his beast! He got the biggest one. The caribou had just started losing his velvet that day.

Here is Aaron's caribou.

Mark, Ryan, Aaron and Clint before boarding the plane to fly into the bush. The pilot could only take two at a time. And from their stories, even that was a little too tight in that tiny plane!

All in all they had a great time! The outfitter they used wasn't the most professional but they managed to have a great time anyway. If you run into any of them, I am sure they will be willing to tell you their stories!

The AK State Fair

A few weeks ago, Aaron and I ventured over to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. It was one of the few sunny, beautiful days we have had this summer. We got lucky! Here are some photos from our day: (All photos taken on my new iPhone. Not bad!)

My favorite animal of the day. He is rocking the fur isn't he!? I bet his hairdo for the day was 80's inspired!

The fastest pig I have ever seen in my life. He took up two pens!

A friendly sheep or so I thought...he wanted to bite my coat. But he sure was cute!

My favorite food of the day and that is saying a lot because I LOVE FUNNEL CAKES but it was trumped by the deep fried cheese curds. I know what you are thinking...it is because I am pregnant. Nope! Baby or no baby, I would eat these any day of the week!

After the animals, we entered the 'ridiculously large vegetable tent'. All the sunlight we get up here works miracles!

An almost 20 lbs turnip. Insane!

I don't remember how many pounds this cabbage was but you can tell, it was B-I-G!

This pumpkin was over 1,000 lbs. That is a lot of pumpkin seeds!

And lastly, the beautiful day. I love the mountains!

We had a lot of fun! It makes me miss the Potter County Fair back home. It may not be as big but they have a lot more animals. And friendly faces of course! And it doesn't cost $12 a person to get in. That is insane to me. But I will be right back there again next year with $12.00 in hand.

29 & 26 Weeks

We went for our 29th week appointment this morning. She is still doing great! It wasn't time for her to be measured so I am not sure how many pounds she is now. But the doctor did tell us she has some hair. She could see it and of course, I couldn't. Oh well! I like great checkups!

Here are two photos from today...

A great side profile!

Here she is flexing her muscles! :) I don't know what all the other stuff in the picture is and I don't think I want too.

And here are some photos from my 26th weeks appointment that I am posting for my mom. Her work is crazy and she isn't getting my e-mails. Here you go Mom!



I go back in two weeks to see her again!

Attemping to be Crafty

So, I was home alone the other night (Aaron was out on the range for the night.) bored out of my mind. I decided to search through all the craft blogs I had saved in hopes of some inspiration for Kinley's room. I came across a fun tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets and thought I would give it a try.

It didn't require a whole lots of skill, thank goodness! I don't have a lot of crafting skills to go around but here is the final result. I didn't have a cutter for the letters so I just purchased wooden letters at Michael's and painted them.

The lady doing the tutorial did one letter for each of her boys but I decided to do all Kinley's initials.

Click here to see the pros tutorial.

See below for mine...

If anything, it gives the room a few more colors and visual textures. I must have taken this picture at an angle because it looks crooked. It isn't in 'real life' I promise.

I have another project in the works from the same blog site. (If I remember correctly!) So I will post that one soon!