So it looks like I have some explaining to do....

A couple of days ago I checked my voice mail and my loving friend was laughing her head off and said, "Oooooo a bear attacked a mouse! Thanks for the laugh." I was confused about what she was talking about. And then I realized what it was.

Do you have a word with a couple of meanings, and a couple of different ways to spell it, that just confuses you? Well guess what, mine is moose (the animal) and mousse (the hair product). I remember spelling it with two e's and spell checker changed it to mouse. So there you go. It was a MOOSE that scared the crap out of Caleb and a MOOSE that was attacked by the bear. All mice are safe here. LOL.

Bear attack video

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/08/03/natpkg.bear.vs.moose.mcclendon

Here;s the video next to our church and the kid's school where the bear attacked a mouse in a neighbhorhood.

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.