Oh, and I cut Mads' hair too. Ta-dah!

Reach out and touch a mouse

On Saturday we were getting ready to leave and Caleb walked out to the car. What he didn't know was that a mouse had walked right next to him. The neighbors saw it but Caleb failed to realize this huge animal was a hand length away from him. When he finally did he yelled out for Aaron. Aaron turned around, he was at the driver's door, to realize that the mouse had ran around the car and was running past him to our backyard. Caleb ran inside to tell me and I got my phone out to take a picture. I ran out the front door to the front porch and was so close that I probably could of touched him. He was walking to the kid's fort in the backyard to munch on some leaves. Yummy.Today I'm very paranoid about the kids playing outside bc the neighbors found bear scat in their yard. There was also a man attacked by a bear in Eagle River yesterday but was able to get to the fire station. And then last night while we were eating at our friend's house she told me that on Driftwood Bay, the street out church is on and the school, a bear was caught on camera killing a mouse. I know that's normal but it all seems too close to home. Now, I could keep the kids inside but if I let myself always feel so scared that would be living inside. The neighborhood kids are outside so hopefully with all their noise it will keep all animals away.

No I did not move my ears

So I chopped off my hair last week. I was tired of looking like a tiny-bopper- wanna-be. Plus all I did was wear it in a pony every day. So I got something more sophisticated, grown-up, and momish (in a good way).

Nothing like a fire in JULY!

Yep, it was like 62 in the house, colder outside that I actually lit a fire in the fireplace than turn on the furnace. ONLY IN ALASKA CAN YOU DO THIS! Our summer has been LAME. We have had 4 sunny days since I've been home. It's always cold, raining, and gray outside. And to top it off, two weeks ago termination dust showed up. (that's when the first snow falls on the top of the mountains. It means that your summer is just about over).

You knew it was coming....

That's all I have to say.

Gosh, where do you start when trying to explain how Meagen and I are really sisters just not blood related. We go back so far that white baggy jeans and No Fear shirts were really in style. To a time where Meagen had glasses, braces and zits. To a time when church dances were the coolest thing to do on a Saturday night and a gym was so packed with LDS kids that it was hard to move. So far back that we once sat down her older sister to ask how to kiss a boy for when we got older. Meagen, I love you.

Summer fun

Here's my bestest friend who came to visit for a weekend. Her daughter, Hannah, came along. We had a fun day at the pool.

I made Maddy wear this huge florescent orange flower in her hair. That way I could always tell where she was amongst the billions of kids.

This is about how much of a smile I could get out of Caleb.

My mom would usually meet us there and take Jackson. He would stay in the pool for a hour and swim but then usually wanted to take a nap. He had a great time just hanging out with Yo-yo on the sidelines.

I love my little niece, Rylee. Isn't she adorable?

Chick magnet

My brother Jared went to the park with us a couple of times. I would always see him checking out the chicks there so I gave him permission to use the girls to pick up on some. (Not Jackson though because it might look like he was his). So, this is the pose he gives while swinging with the girls. Oh yes Jared, that's the way to get a girl. P.S. He actually did recently get a girlfriend. I guess she's great- she comes equipped with special features like knowing how to make a potato gun.

Lovin' some Grandma

The kids were able to spend some quality time with both set of Grandparents on our vacation. Jackson loves him some grandma! Every time he saw Nettie he would get so excited and start screaming and kick his legs extra fast. They were buds.

Straightening the girl out

Kali loves it when I straighten her hair out. It usually takes about 10 minutes with my super cool QVC magical flat iron that Aaron bought me a couple of Christmases ago.

Tidal Pool

Group picture. What a perfect day at the beach!
Grandpa thought that it would be great to give Jackson his first Twizzler. Needless to say, he loved it.

Caleb found a star fish. We kept telling him that it was dead but he REALLY REALLY wanted to send it back to its home.....

and he thought this was the safest and quickest way back to that home. Hasta la vista dead star fishy.

Kali and Jake checking out a star fish.

Oh I forgot to tell you, Diana Ross came along.

My cousin, Tiffy and her husband, flew in from California to spend the weekend with us. My Aunt Rosie also came but left the morning of this outing. Doesn't it look like she's doing a total karate kid move? Ha Ha.

Cool little sea creatures that we explored and found.

Mads playing in the sand. Wasn't so interested in exploring.

Uncle Jake aka Uncle Boobies (long story behind that name but it has nothing to do with the female anatomy) came. The kids had a blast playing with him and his 7 ft shark kite.

Caleb finding a cute little crab in the tide pools.

Tan Baby!

My Doggie

Madeline fell in love this summer with Eddy, my mom's dog. As soon as we got there she declared that that dog was hers! And Eddy was so good with Maddy. She would carry him by his neck, legs, and whatever body part. We would all try to save the poor little guy but Madeline always managed to get her hands on "my doggie."

I ever thought, "well maybe we should get a dog when we get home" and..... then I woke up. LOL. I think having four kids by myself is enough work.

I love this picture of the kids. I took it out in front of my mom's house. That's before I cut down Jackson's fohawk.

I swear all Aaron and I did was EAT! At one point I was SO FULL from the pervious meal but we had to drive 45 minutes to Eskim Joe's. I asked Aaron, "what do I look like right now? I mean I'm so full and I'm still eating." This face says it all.

And I still finished my plate. I was using my hand to help my jaw move because I was so tired of eating. I look happier in the picture that I'm sure I really looked like because I was two stomach loads beyond full.

Oklahoma Memorial

Here are some of the pictures from when Aaron and I visited the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. This wall is from the building next to the federal building that was bombed. The writing is from one of the search and rescue teams.

Here's Aaron under the survivor tree. Only tree that survived the blast. You can still see damage on the tree.

Here's part of the memorial. The chairs stand for each person who died. They are placed in order by which floor of the building the people were on.

We have been busy lately and I haven't updated in a bit. Here's the last couple of weeks in review. We went to the beach and stayed in a nice condo for a long weekend. My aunt, cousin, and her husband flew up from Cali to spend it with us. We were blessed with warm weather and went to the tide pools which were great! We came at the perfect time, by accident, because the tide was out and we found lots of star fish and other little creatures. We were climbing these huge rocks and were so into it that we didn't realize the tide had come in. I, being the mom, panicked and started screaming to get the kids. We sorts of threw Kali back to sand and then I realized that it was my turn. I had my nice Canon and I just started freaking out screaming, "Someone please catch this camera because Aaron is gonna kill me if I drop it." My camera managed to get to land dry but I didn't.

We found that Bend has a kids water park. My close girlfriend, Aya who is kidless, came and said, "Look at all these kids! You said water park, not water world!" LOL. It's huge and had a water slide and cool water features. The great thing about it is that the deepest area is 3 ft. It gradually slopes down so Maddy can play in all the area and Jackson will sit and play for hours. It's so warm like bath water. So we practically live there. I finally told them we needed a break because I got burned on a burn and have been wearing a shirt over my suit for three days but it's not getting better. We'll probably end up there tomorrow though.

Last weekend we drove to Salem (about a 2 1/2 hr drive over the mountains) for a birthday party of my close friend's daughter. It was fun just hanging out and seeing people that I went to church with when I was little. We then drove to Silverton where I grew up. I thought that it would be so cool to show the kids the street that I grew up on and the house Papa built. Pretty much they could of cared less. I parked in front of the house and just reminisced about old times. It's amazing how things look so different after you grow up. We then drove up to Aaron's parents house and had dinner with them and just spent the evening. I love his parents! I'm so lucky to be related to amazing people who love Caleb and Kali like their own, well they are now. It's fun to watch Aaron's dad, Mike, turn into a kid when the grandkids arrive. LOL. He gets so excited and runs around with them and wrestles. Fun fact: I didn't know this until this trip but Aaron and I grew up 24 miles from each other!!!!! I remember our soccer teams playing each other, which he was the goalie, but we never knew each other. I guess it wasn't our time. Anyways, we spent the evening with Nettie and Mike and said our goodbyes for our long drive home.

I wish that I could post some pictures because we are all super dark, even me- the whitest half Mexican girl you've ever seen, ME! I'll post our vacation pictures later though.

Some things that I've realized on our trip:

1) I used to comfort my loneliness in Alaska by looking forward to this trip. I thought that I was probably just so lonely because I was always by myself and just needed some family around. Wrong. I'm here among my family and still feel unbelievable lonely at times. I realize now just how much I miss my husband. Home can be anywhere in the world as long as we're together. I miss him terribly. He phases next month so we are half way done with pilot school. Hopefully just another year left.

2) I have great friends in Alaska!! I have had several of them checking up on me and my house. Stephanie was even willing to battle a burglar when we thought my house was being broke into. ;) I will forever be in debt to Jeanne for helping me keep our family a family of six ( HA HA THANK YOU!).

3) I'm not as bad of a parent as I think I am. I think sometimes I'm so hard on myself and it's been nice to have my mom lovingly help me realize that my kids are amazing at making me feel guilty for punishing them and I shouldn't. I feel more empowered as a parent.

I need to finish this book by thanking my Father in Heaven. A couple of weeks ago I was searching for a whole day for a ticket for Aaron to come to Portland so we could spent 4th of July weekend together. The kids haven't seen him since December and all of them long for each other. So I started looking. Everything was around $900. I called the airlines and pretty much begged for help. Everything was booked up. I felt so hopeless and just started pleading to my Father for help. After using Orbitz all day I thought that I would go there just one more time to try. I put in the same information and I had and just hoped for a miracle...and one happened. A ticket for fourth of July weekend came up for only $300. I felt confused at first and then realized a prayer was answered and wanted to cry for thanks. I told the kids, "Dad's coming!!!" Maddy was confused and screamed, "DAD!" and ran for the front door and opened it. So he'll be here next Thursday at 8pm and leaves Sunday at 5am. Hey, it's better than nothing. I'm so grateful that we having a loving Father than answers even the smallest of prayers. We'll be spending the 4th with his family and I think we're all excited to spend time with Aaron and make lasting family memories. Nettie reserved us a gazebo at the park right next to the water park. It's going to be great.

Okay, I'll end this book. I have about one hour left and my bestest, yes bestest, girlfriend will be here with her daughter. Meagen and I have been sisters for 15 years now. I can't wait to see her!

Vacation Updates!

So much has happened in the last few weeks. I was finally able to see Aaron! It was so nice! I flew into Oklahoma City late Thursday night. He had reserved us a room in Oklahoma City at the Hilton. It was the nicest hotel that I've ever seen! Friday morning we started driving to Dallas, Texas. On the way we stopped and did a little shopping at the mall and ate at a really good Mexican restaurant. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive to Dallas. Once we got there we ate some more and hung out. Saturday morning we got up early and went to Six Flags when they opened. We were there from 10-10. It was a blast! We splurged and spend the extra money to buy the fast passes. It was worth the money. You would reserve your place in line and just walk up to the front of the line and get on. I think the longest we waited for any line was 5 minutes. We actually did the whole park twice and some rides 4 times. I think pilot school ruined some of the thrill for Aaron. I mean, when you fly a jet all day doing acrobatics a roller coaster seems like nothing. But, there was plenty of screaming coming from me for the both of us. Sometimes, actually most of the time, I could hear him laughing while I was screaming my head off. LOL. Sunday we took our time and drove back to Oklahoma city. We met up with a couple that has adopted Aaron as their brother while he's away from us. They had been shopping in Oklahoma City and just waited for us to arrive and eat with us. They were nice and I'm glad that Aaron has them. Monday we got up early and had a list of things that we wanted to do on our last day together. We first HAD to start the day eating at the Awful Waffle a.k.a Waffle House. Then we went to the Oklahoma bombing memorial. We felt that it was appropriate since it was Memorial Day. I took some pictures of it that I'll have to post later. The layout was beautiful and touching. After that we headed to Enid where Vance AFB is. There is literally NOTHING there. I always thought that Aaron was exaggerating but it's true! They had had tornadoes the day before so we were driving out in the middle of no where and all of the sudden on the side of the rode is a whole house, well in parts. The crazy thing was we had no clue where it came from. It just must of been where the tornado dropped it. Aaron showed me around the base, his room, and I met his friends. They all seemed like awesome people and I'm so glad Aaron has them. I also saw how much they depend on his knowledge and leadership. Aaron is rockin in school and it seemed like no matter who we were around they had questions to ask him. We ate dinner at Eskimo Joe's, which was a 45 minutes drive just to eat cheesy fries, and then headed back to our hotel room in Oklahoma city. We watched a movie and just tried to savor every minute that we had left that day. It was extremely hard to say good bye. We had to get up at 4 the next morning and Aaron left by 4:30 and I 5 am. One thing that I realized as Aaron and I held each other and cried Monday night was how much our Heavenly Father loves us that he provided us a way for families to be together for eternity. I always knew it but while I was trying to say goodbye, again, not knowing when we would see each other again I gave a silent prayer of thanks that I would never have to leave this life not knowing when we would see each other again.