Alaska!!

We had a really nice trip to Alaska earlier this month. Somehow our camera had a dead battery during some pretty important events (i.e. Mikie's wedding and reception!) but we did manage to capture some other fun moments. We started out the vacation with a trip to Tok to visit my Dad and Sue. The kids had a wonderful time exploring the cabin and playing with the dogs. 

At the Tok Visitor Center we found a dogsled that is just Anna's size!

The kids were wonderful on the 6 hour ride and took some nice long naps while we got to enjoy the pretty scenery! :)

When we got back to Anchorage, Grammy's house was full of fun cousins and Aunts and Uncles, the problem is that we only took pictures of the cute kids and forgot most of the adults!

One of the highlights for Jack and Anna was spending the afternoon at Bouncing Bears with my friend Holly and her two kids, Ella and Avery. The kids keep asking to go back, and I have to explain that it would take a long plane ride to get back up to Bouncing Bears. Luckily we have a similar play place nearby!

It was a little hard to get Jack to sit still for a picture. This was as good as I could get!

This is the Place Park

So on Saturday we went up to This is the Place park. It's a replica pioneer village that has lots of fun activities for the kids and people dressed in period outfits. The kids had a great time, here are some pictures of the day.

Silver Lake and Other Stuff

The weather has been heating up here in Utah and so we decided to get out of the city on Saturday and head up to Silver Lake,which is up one of the canyons nearby. It was a gorgeous drive and reminded us of Alaska. After eating lunch, we walked along a really nice boardwalk and path around the lake. The weather could not have been prettier. It was 74 degrees at the lake and by the time we got home in the valley it was back up to 95.

This is Jack letting us know that he is ready to go home!



At home the kids love to ride on Christian. He is a pretty good horse.

Here are some of the other things Jack and Anna love:
Jack's new favorite song is Bohemian Rhapsody. He hasn't really figured out a lot of the words and so it is so funny to hear him try to sing it. He likes to conduct music and uses random things like sticks and spoons as batons. He is also obsessed with Thomas and likes to act out the Thomas movies with his train set.

Anna loves piggy back rides , which she calls "pea backs." She LOVES making tents and once she is inside just whispers the word tent over and over. She is a little too independent sometimes and loves to say "I do it" and "I get it". As we've mentioned before, she likes to sing too and it is so much fun to hear her and Jack singing along together when we are driving in the car.

Catching Up!!

Sorry it has been a while since we posted. June has been a really fun month. We have been able to spend a lot off good time together as a family. Here is what we have been up to:

Eating good food!

And being silly

Cooking yummy desserts! These don't look amazing but they tasted good and that is really all that matters!

We went to a carnival that our city puts on every year about a block from our house. It is nice that we are so close and can walk. We never have to fight for parking! Here are our friends Kattrina and Kylie. Jack and I rode the Ferris wheel with them. It was a little scary cause there were no seat belts. Jack didn't seem to mind but I didn't like being up high without being strapped in!

The view from the Ferris wheel

Anna was too small for the rides and so she had to watch from the fence

Jack had a blast on the rides. Last year he cried his head off, so it was really good to see him enjoy himself!

The kids like to keep cool by helping Dad wash the car.

Anna's skirt is wet because she likes to drink water from the gutter. She is crazy!

And finally, for the interested ladies out there, I've kept busy trying some new crafts to give as baby gifts for the many pregnant women in our neighborhood. It has been pretty fun.

Anna sings

Jack and Anna both love singing along to the Glee soundtrack, but they hate being videotaped. We recorded Anna singing along to Defying Gravity. Pretty funny...

Birthdays and Bikes

With Michael coming down for the weekend, he and Christian decided it would be a good time to re-paint their fixed gear bikes. They took over the garage for the weekend, and after 2 cans of primer, 4 cans of spray paint and 2 cans of clear coat they emerged with these masterpieces:

 Michael went with a nice baby blue, while Christian stuck with a traditional black and silver.

We also had some cupcakes for Jack's birthday, and opened presents

The kid likes frosting.