Josh's Job

I'm so proud of my hardworking honey!  He started his new position at Fort Knox Gold Mine in August!  Not mining but working on their ginormous equipment!  He really loves it and the guys he works with.  The only catch is that it's night shift.  He sees it as a bonus and actually enjoys it, but Fynn and I are still getting used to the new routine.  Bonus blessing: the timing of this was amazing!  He was told by management to apply for this job withing a couple weeks of me resigning from my position as RN and Fairbanks Memorial to be a stay at home mom!  I just feel like it was God confirming that it was the right choice for us right now!  Josh's dad and I got to go visit one day this summer, so here is just a glimpse of where Josh is working now:

The massive size of the pit is unbelievable and these photos really don't do it justice.  Every tier here is 30 feet.  The red rectangles to the right are conex containers lined up.

Each of these trucks are bigger than our house!  Oh and those brown streaks in the rock behind them?  That's gold.

Me sitting in the wheel of one of the trucks.  I think Josh said that this wasn't one of the bigger ones.

Holding a gold bar = 1/2 million!  They ship out something like a dozen of these a week!

Good bye Summer! (and Autumn!)

Okay, the summer is undeniably over as the snow falls out my window (waa!)  Our summers are so short and packed full of life that I decided blogging was one of those things that had to be put on hold for a while.  What a lovely time of year here in Alaska!  We packed in lots of fishing, hiking, gardening, home projects, visits, and even a vacation (post to come)!  Not too warm this summer, here's a progression of a pond Fynn and I walk to (almost) every day:

Ah, it goes by so fast!  Okay, all this just to say, many summer recap posts to come.  Right now, time to snooze!

Puppy Party!

We celebrated Fynn's first year with one of his favorite animals: dogs!  His clancey was the only real dog there, but the theme was fun.  We had...

Hot dogs, of course,

Puppy Chow,

"Pup" corn,

"Pup" Cakes,

and "Leashes!"

Fynn loved his decorations, too.  His eyes got all wide and he kept pointing to everything.  And, as expected, the baloons were a hit, too.  Such fun celebrating his arrival into our life!

Hot Dog Octopus & Book Review

I have been blessed with a fun mom and I'm trying to remember the things she did so that I can pass them on to Fynn.  He's being a bit of a picky eater right now.  He takes bites great, and chews them, but then he spits it out and tries to throw it on the floor!  I got him to eat a bit last night, though, by making one of our old favorites: Mac & Cheese and Hot dog Octopus.  Or Quadpus as the case may be.

Take a hot dog and make two opposing cuts about two thirds up like so:

Then hollow out two "eyes":

Boil until the arms curl and use to top the noodles!

I am having so much fun going to the library and reading books with Fynn.  There are just so many I really love, I have a hard time choosing!  I just thought I'd post about some of my favorites for those with similar tastes (and so I can remember them for futures).

Right now Fynn's favorite is Time for Bed by Mem Fox.  (Check it out at Barnes & Noble).  He wants to read it every night!

Ages: 6 mo. - 3 yrs.

Format: Large board book = not easily mangled by sharp new teeth.

Story: Relaxing, rhythmic rhymes of mama animals telling their little ones it's bedtime

Illustrations: (this is really important to me!) Gorgeous!  Large watercolor animals that Fynn loves to look at.  He points out the eyes, ears, nose...

One Year Old!

I'm a whole year old!  My birthday was on the first, but we celebrated on Saturday because we had some other stuff going on.  Poppa told the mine he wouldn't work so he could celebrate with us!  Some of my friends came over for my Puppy Party.  I sure wish I could have had everyone over, it was so much fun!  This is what it looked like.

So here's what's new with me:

I've taken a few steps, but am pretty shaky still.  I get around great with crawling!

I love to toss ball back and forth with Momma, play with trucks, play the piano and guitar, take things in and out of containers, and love to ride on my rocking horse, Copper.

I talk a lot, but my most recognizable words are Mama, Dada, cat, dog, fish, and chicken.

I want to eat whatever Momma and Poppa are, and enjoy spitting my food out as much as I do tasting it!

Most of all I love being outside!  I cry whenever I have to go in.  The only bad part is the mosquitoes.  I'm building up a strong tolerance.

 P.S. here's my birthday present:

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mother's out there, and especially to my very own.  I wish I could have been closer to celebrate with you!

I had a lovely first mother's day!  We got a long nap in after church, then went a nice walk, followed by dinner out at the Loose Moose.  Fynn learned to lick ice cream from a cone and he thought it was so funny, giggling after each lick!

Life walk

I'm seeing all my family and friends back home right now enjoying the beautiful Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (Is this beautiful or what!)  And I find myself a bit desperate for spring.  This is our road now:

  So today we went on a life walk, looking for signs that old winter didn't kill off every form of life! 


1) chickens!

2) silly dog puddle splashing

3)faint green fuzz on the hill

4) buds on branches

5)fresh moose prints

6. grass shoots

7. fireweed sprouts

Bonus: sweet little Fynn lad: