High Heels and a Sippy Cup

seward sea life center

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:46:00 +0000

day trip! to seward to check out the sea life center with gramnea, wesley, and brook. again with the lack of enthusiasm. i swear they wanted to go...

it must have been the 2 hour car ride because once we arrived they were all smiles. the favorite attractions were the touching pools and the seal the size of a small car. no joke. i think that seal and zander must be eating the same kid of food because zander is growing soooo fast.

no trip to seward would be complete without stopping at sweet darlings for some homemade salt water taffy. their ginger and cinnamon flavors are the best. gramnea invited all the kids in her car for the ride back home. so i stuffed them full of sugar just like any responsible aunt would do and sent them on their way. john and i had nice quiet ride home. it was almost like date night. *wink*

soccer and snacks

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:01:00 +0000

soccer. i love it. always have. so this summer i thought i'd introduce my boys to this great sport. boys? soccer. soccer? boys. they were not as enthusiastic as i hoped they would be.

then they figured out that there would be snacks after the games and all of a sudden it was three cheers for soccer. whatever. it gets them there. fave fact: my dear asher bear MUST tuck his shirt in. so adorkable.

we have cousins in town visiting and they have become number one fans of my boys. so to celebrate their new found celebrity status we went out for frozen yogurt a couple times. snacks and sugar: the great motivators. meh. i'll take what i can get.

so far: tiernan hit his coach in the head with his soccer ball(on purpose), asher prays that only half his team shows up so that he can play more, and zander is showing promise as a goalie with some great saves the other day. all in all i'd call that success. mostly.

spoooky halloween weekend

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 07:56:00 +0000

chili and hot dogs before the sugar fest

auntie leisl even combed her hair for the event! *wink*

gramnea and papa wes were mountain climbers. they were even roped together! so clever!

the festivities commenced with trunk or treat on saturday night. originally the plan was to have an indian(zander), a cowboy(tiernan), and a pirate(asher). asher however chose to forgo his pirate costume in favor of his regular clothes and the pirate vest. it was a wonderful exercise in ~~releasing parental control~~ increasing child independence. *wink*

right after trunk or treat we headed over to our friends home for a halloween party! homemade donuts, watermelons carved to look like brains, spooky games for the kids, gingerbread and sugar cookies to decorate, and sword fights between power rangers, cowboys, indians, pirates(sort of), and greek warriors. it was a fabulous party! thank you holli and mark!

then on sunday evening we celebrated with our first annual halloween feast. auntie leisl & uncle andy and gramnea & papa wes came over to help us celebrate. i looked to our best bites for inspiration and the mummy dogs and breadstick bones with bloody marinara dipping sauce were a hit. we also had roasted acorn squash, warm homemade applesauce, green salad, and sparkling apple cider. can't wait to do it all again next year!

a letter to broadway

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 05:08:00 +0000

dear mama mia,

wow. who else could inspire grown women to wear animal print, sequins, and feather boas to simon and seafort's? or induce a spontaneous dance party? or be worth teetering around on platform boots? or keep us laughing at ourselves all night long? your swinging tunes make us break out in song whether we can sing or not. thanks for the fantastic evening with dear friends. thanks for the chance to dress up and be dancing queens for a night. you were fabulous!

love,
trachelle

the parade of costumes and some spooky corners of our home

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

the big reveal!

mostly a cowboy, partly asher

mostly a pirate, partly tiernan

time for another joy school halloween costume parade! yes, my boys are the only ones wearing half a costume. i wasn't there to ~~make~~ persuade them to wear the whole costume. does anyone else have little ones who don't love wearing costumes? surely i am not the only one. right? good thing i think they are adorable in their lovely half costumes. *grin*

and now for the spooky corners . . .

my mantlescape if i actually had a mantle. in the meantime it is leasing space from my floating shelf. please ignore the dust.

i got that felt halloween banner for $10 at target. you might have seen them there. warning: though it has a lovely and simple aesthetic it's major design flaw almost got it sent back to the store. what flaw? attaching the connecting ribbon to the middle of the felt circles instead of the top. result? unstable letters that flip up-side-down and look dorky. quick fix? curtain clips and wire rod from ikea. yes, right over the top of the pictures that were hanging there. classy, no?

pennant banner! yay!

tablescape from found items. not sure yet, if it looks right. i've decided 'scaping stuff is hard. i hope pottery barn pays their 'scaping people well, cause they deserve it! ( like how i totally made up that word: 'scaping? think it will catch on?)

luvin' on: the spooky edition

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:19:00 +0000

i am luvin' on this lovely wreath from elise joy. it would be a perfect way to use the scraps from my halloween pennant banner.

i am luvin' on the way that my 3-year-old tiernan uses the word spooky all. the. time. it started the day we hauled out the halloween decorations. when we were done with the arranging he declared our home spooky and ready for halloween. since then he talks about our spooky halloween books, the spooky children's play we saw, the spooky darkness, our spooky pumpkin waiting to be carved into a spooooooky jack o' lantern, our spooky halloween movies, his spooky cowboy costume said with a southern twang(for serious, he really does that twang). the best part is the little involuntary shiver he does every time he says it. luv. it. love. him.

i am luvin' on these homemade caramel apples made using whole cane sugar and maple syrup instead of the refined sweeteners from deliciously organic. isn't her photo gorgeous? these are on our official menu for our halloween feast on all hallow's eve.

along with these amazing sounding cookies that i am luvin' on from picky palate. how can you go wrong with a cookie called double pumpkin kissed chocolate chunk?

i am also luvin' on this great list of halloween traditions from the mother huddle. dinner in a pumpkin? yes please!

i think that these glowing jack o' lanterns and monsters i am luvin' on will be the perfect addition to our decoration stash but they most likely will have to wait for next year. *smile*

for now i am loading my halloween playlist on my zune for trunk-or-treat on saturday and dreaming of our halloween feast. happy haunting!

a handmade holiday pennant banner for all hallows eve

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 07:16:00 +0000

when i was a little girl one of my favorite traditions was dragging out the boxes of halloween, thanksgiving, and christmas decorations to magically transform our home into a holiday wonderland. i loved going through the boxes with my momma and hearing about the handmades that had been gifted to us from family or made by her lovely hands. the halloween witch flying her very own miniture broom, the santa claus with a beard of white lace, the matching stockings personlized with our names, the plush turkey with feathers in a rainbow of calico browns and reds. there was something inherently comforting about that ritual especially when time sped up as i grew older. i am so grateful to my momma for giving me that continuity and bit of magic as the seasons changed. especially now, as a momma myself. i know how much work it is! *wink*

one of my most favorite holiday handmades(a fabric pennant banner) is simple, easy, and packs a lot of visual punch for your dollar and effort. i can't remember where i saw it first but there are many variations to try on the interwebs. for mine i made myself a 6'' triangle template and went to town cutting them out with pinking shears on a variety of spooky fabrics. i folded my yardage in half wrong sides together to get a back and front triangle for each flag cut simultaneously. it made my catching-up-on-castle marathon extremely productive. i love that show!

stacks of fabric triangles and double fold bias tape waiting to be transformed into festive goodness

to keep the front and back sides of each flag secure i sewed a large zigzag stitch down the center of each pair of triangles. i first tried sewing the zigzag along two edges of each pair, but quickly decided that would take more time than i wanted to spend. so i determined that by going down the center i could sew continuously from one flag to the next without cutting threads inbetween until the end. much. faster.

then it was just a matter of slipping each flag between the folds of my double fold bias tape and stitching a large zigzag down the center of the bias tape. the possibilities are endless. i've already got my thanksgiving flags cut out and ready to sew! now i am on the hunt for a color scheme for christmas. what do you say? red and white or blue, silver, and white or red, blue, apple green, and white? i can't decide . . . ideas?

labor day 2010

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:46:00 +0000

after our soggy state fair adventure we ventured north again to eklutna lake for labor day. we left behind the gray clouds in anchorage for the sunshine and blue green water unique to glacial lakes. we rode our borrowed four-wheelers 13 miles along the lake to the end of the trail near the glacier. it was beautiful. we stopped for bagel sandwiches and cookies on our way back. this time we left the meat trailer at home because there wasn't room for it on our new-to-us toy/wood/appliance trailer. oh the possibilities! next on the list: the toys to haul on it. *grin* can't wait to do it again next summer!

luvin' on . . .

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 05:01:00 +0000

my sister taralee calls me t-luv. why? not totally sure, but i like it. i even named my zune t-luv. [wink] so over the past couple weeks in my internet travels i have found some stuff i am luvin' on. i thought i'd share it with you all, my internet besties. and so the list goes . . .

first i am totally luvin on this song and video. i think it is my current favorite:

i am luvin' on this table. my living room needs one.

the new lds.org is making me so happy. i am luvin' how on top of new technology the church is.

i am luvin' on marta's blog and i am totally going to try that nail polish.

i am luvin' being introduced to mindy gledhill via cjane. she makes beautiful music and that red balloon makes me smile.

one of my all time favorite general conference talks was "mothers who know" by sister julie b. beck so when i came across the blog mamas who know i was excited. erin does not disappoint. she has some great resources for conference up right now, including some fun new traditions to try. check it.

my kids are totally luvin' on these corn dog muffins. sounds weird right? i thought so too, but they taste just like a corn dog especially dipped in a swirl of ketchup and mustard. my three boys ate two dozen in one day[i might have helped with a few. maybe]. yum!

and now a sweet little farewell song to the end of september(can you believe it's almost october?). aren't they fun?

a first time photo shoot

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 04:04:00 +0000

i like to take photos. am i a photographer? no. but i sort of felt like one for a few hours one saturday a couple weeks ago. a friend asked me to take some pictures of her lovely family(isn't she gorgeous? and her daughters were sooo cute. the blue eyes, oh my!). it was fun, and kinda hard too. i have a whole new appreciation for the art and the artists. i had never taken pictures for someone else and i was so worried i wouldn't get any good shots. when i got home i immediately dumped my memory card to see what i got. i was disappointed, and started thinking that would be the last time i ever did that. then i let it rest for a few days. when i came back to it with fresh i eyes i was surprised at what i found. quite a few nice ones. yay! my friend would be able to send out christmas cards! in fact many of the shots i immediately dismissed the first time had quite a bit of potential the second time around. i got busy with photoshop(yes, lots of editing) and these are the ones that made the cut. who knows, maybe i'll try it again sometime.

a letter to the state fair

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 04:58:00 +0000

dear alaska state fair,

how we love you so. so much so that we braved a downpour to wander down your paths. a serious, bone-chilling, soggy downpour. thank goodness for your huge animal pavilion that beckoned to us to stay awhile. don't mind if we do. petting zoo, giant vegetables, fuzzy sheep, and huge hogs.

we love you so much we sat for a half hour in the dripping to see your lumberjack show. it was a yo-hooooe good time. the food, oh the food. of course, it's always your best feature. we forgo rides in favor of more cash for your delicious bites and morsels. turkey legs, hot dogs, hot chocolate, birch syrup caramel, halibut and chips, another hot dog for john, and dipped ice cream bars(yes, that was the boys' choice in the downpour and then they shivered all the way to the car). but even the shivering couldn't dim the spell you cast on us. we just munched on carrots from the alaska grown booth to occupy our chattering chompers.

love,
your biggest (wet) die-hard fans

how i organized my tiny kitchen without spending any money

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:09:00 +0000

my kitchen is small. cabinet space is precious. i cook a lot. every day, several times a day. i have tried various methods over the last 7 years we have lived here. none of them stuck, or were well-liked and efficient. about a year ago we started getting our milk raw from a farm in the valley and i was introduced to half gallon mason jars to store the milk in. i loved mason jars anyway, we used them as drinking glasses. the half gallon size quickly became my favorite. i love them for their versatility and uniform good design. i prefer glass to plastic for storing my food in and so these jars started multiplying in my kitchen. it only made sense to make them the cornerstone of my organization project. take a look . . .

before

not pretty or functional. the lunch boxes had no home and the canned goods were a disaster, not to mention the disorderly food process strewn about.

wow. i don't even know what is going on down there.

the badly designed "pantry cupboard." seriously who ever thought this kind of cabinet was a good idea needs their
(ahem) head examined. it is too narrow and to deep to be useful at all.

after

first step: designate this awkward space the baking center. second step: kiss those cute tiernan cheeks.

all the baking supplies and grains and flours now get to live happily ever after together. my perfectionist half longed for a neat and tidy label maker, while my creative half got busy with the masking tape and a black sharpie. my perfectionist half now likes what my creative half did with the place.

resting peacefully above is: the grain mill, kitchen aid, bulk grain bins, cooling racks, and binders of recipes.

ta daa!

the lower half of these shelves now houses the lunch boxes corralled together in a plastic bin ~~stolen~~ re-purposed from the play room, an old basket houses the plastic wrap, aluminum foil, and parchment paper, and the ice cream maker and rice maker now have a permanent spot to live.

then above that the food processor met the same fate as the lunch boxes and the immersion blender is loving it's new-to-it crate.

"the pantry" has been relocated to the upper shelves and shares the space with my zune dock(gotta have music while i am cooking or cleaning) and the toaster oven. is it weird that the sight of all those full jars makes me very happy? i hope not.

next up: the "china hutch." insightful aside: i find those crumbs on my counter to be particularly inspiring, don't you?

the masking tape proved to also be helpful in labeling the shelves. high-five to my creative side!

hey look! I even had some 1/2 gallon mason jars left over to store in the "china hutch"

now this little project is something that almost makes me as happy as mason jars. i didn't get a before picture, but i assure you it was horrendous. i am sure this is not an original idea but i cannot remember where or if i saw it somewhere first. basically it is 2x4s cut to the length of the cabinet and stacked on top of each other to make stairs.

i can now see all my stuff! it also works great for my supplements and essential oils. love. it. so. much.

well, that concludes our tour. now the real question is will it still look like this six months from now? i am crossing my fingers but not holding my breath. *wink*

back to school feast 2009 and 2010

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:05:00 +0000

last fall i started a new tradition inspired by nie nie, a back to school feast. we had one again the night before school started this year. it was an instant hit for us all.

2009

i made each boy a crown

have you tried izze? i love those gorgeously designed bottles and the fact that it is 100% juice and sparkling water makes them a perfect special occasion treat

we gave each boy a new book to start the school year off right. they love berenstain bear books and the fact that i scored these ones at a thrift store in perfect conditions just sweetens the deal.

on the menu was roast chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli with butter, and izze. i am sure there was dessert but for the life of me i cannot remember what!

our theme for the year was honor and respect. it was very helpful to reflect back throughout the school year and remember our theme. it really helped reinforce those principles. after we ate dinner we had family home evening and john gave each boy a father's blessing.

2010

this years feast included izze, roast beef, mashed potatoes, buttered corn, and jello pretzel salad. we had chocolate chip cookies for dessert after family home evening and the father's blessings.

our theme this school year is be grateful. cool party trick: fold thin strips of coordinating paper accordion-style to make custom confetti for your table.

this year zander got the incredible book eating boy, asher got ol' 556, and tiernan got an eyewitness book on cars.

this year in lieu of crowns i got each boy an alaska railroad conductor hat and added a paper name label for the feast.

this is now one of our favorite fall traditions. thanks to nie nie for the great idea!

riding on four wheels

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:09:00 +0000

my john, sure takes special care of me. he borrowed and begged two four-wheelers and a trailer to ride cause he knew i would love it. he talked to co-workers and friends to scope out the best place to take our family riding. he packed up everything tight and secure and away we went. it turned out that jim creek came highly recommended so that is where we headed for our maiden voyage.

little known fact: my momma won a three-wheeler from a local grocery store by writing a jingle when i was little. i sure loved that thing. we would take it camping with us in the summer and tie a sled or tube to the back of it in the winter. good memories

tiernan won the prize for the best helmet hair

we roasted hot dogs for lunch and indulged in a much loved treat from my youth: keebler's sandies. the boys got to take turns riding in the meat trailer(for hunting). they loved it(ahem) until they realized how much more comfortable it was riding on the four-wheeler itself. we had a nice discussion about gratitude for the generosity of our friends(thanks sooooo much bob & kristi and max & donna) then we went really fast through some big puddles.

a happy coincidence on the top of a mountain

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:41:00 +0000

it might not seem like it but this little boy is smiling. he must be almost five.

not thirty seconds after we pulled into a spot to park our new friends, the meads, pulled in across from us. just my boys and i with a pack full of sandwiches for dinner, or so i thought(john went to aniak for work). what a pleasant surprise to find some like-minded friends hiking beside us. my boys loved running around with their boys and tiny yorkie. we showed our new-to-alaska friends the blueberries that were finally ripe. it was lovely.

we parted ways at the fork in the path, they headed for the summit and we took the loop around. before we parted, stephanie hooked us up with salt water taffy for a sweet before-dinner-snack. who knew that hiking could make simple taffy taste so good? then we found a spot overlooking town and ate our picnic: rotisserie chicken on bagels, apples, and ice cold water. we took the over-the-mountain route back to the car. it felt like we were falling off the earth in some places. then home to bed with the sun still shining brightly.

asher says

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:46:00 +0000

i love the preschool age because of the things they say. their perspectives are so unique, and sometimes asher's is more unique than others. he is a thinker. deliberate and logical in his opinions. he views the world clearly and calls it like it is. he is hilarious.

we have long had the policy that if our children are scared in the night from bad dreams or shadows they are welcome to come in our room for a kiss and a prayer and then to sleep on the floor by our bed. when asher made the crib to bed switch he started showing up in our room in the middle of the night and quickly caught on to the floor sleeping policy. for a couple years it was rare to not find him there in the morning. he didn't even wake us up, just dragged in his blankets and went back to sleep.

lately he hasn't been coming in our room as much, sometimes not for months at a time. a few weeks ago we were up later than usual and asher came trudging out of his room, blanket in hand. john stopped him at the door and asked him if he needed to go to the bathroom. "no," he said. "well, were are you going then?" john inquired. "to my bed to go to sleep," he answered. "but, your bed is not this way, it is the other way," john reminded him. "oh i know. i am going to my other bed," he said and walked into our room and lay down on the floor in his other bed. of course, he did. he knows what he is doing. [smile]

so then it was no surprise to find asher in the bathroom chopping his hair with craft scissors.

me: asher you better not be cutting your hair.

asher: smiles at me and keeps cutting.

me: asher i am the only one allowed to cut your hair. then i take the scissors and clean up the mess.

after i am all done asher walks up to me and yells,"mom! i am not your client!" then he walks away like that is the end of it. i knew the day would come when they would rebel against me as their hairstylist but not at four almost five. i let asher know that even though he is not my client he is my son and i would [ahem] shave his head the next time he cut his own hair. he hasn't done it since. [wink]

the sand dunes

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:30:00 +0000

flat top: halfway to the top

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:51:00 +0000

monday night: family home evening, good friends, a mountain, fog and damp mist [equals] good times. the blueberries weren't ripe yet but we determined which bushes were which for next time. the men took a short cut with the boys and girls over the top of blueberry hill. what were the women left behind to do? talk, of course. [smile] i believe that women talking, lifting each other up and bearing each others burdens, is one of the most powerful forces for good on earth. i am so grateful for all the good women in my life. thank-you, kristi. i am so grateful for our good men who know we need each other and make it possible for us to talk by taking the kids over the top of a mountain. thank-you, john and bob.

rain walking

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:26:00 +0000

oh how the rain came down. hard and wet and heavy. perfect for puddle jumping. some of us liked it better than others. [wink] santa hats were optional for all but asher. he insisted. i am glad he did. i think the rain is beautiful. hard to walk in sometimes. the sun is still my favorite, but i am finding joy in the rain too. the smell is magic. damp and earthy magic. i didn't know at the time that we would be rain walking for the next thirty days straight, breaking all kinds of weather related records. i would have preferred to let the previous records stand for all time. [wink] good thing alaska is still breathtaking in the rain.

pioneer day!

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:06:00 +0000

the last few years our stake has put on a bbq for pioneer day. this year was no exception. the primary children graced us with some lively pioneer songs and our resident ward actors(they really are actors! they own and operate tba theater, check it.), performed a skit. hot dogs and watermelon were the crowd favorites, and fun was had by all.

goose lake and sushi

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:16:00 +0000

ohhh how i love me a good beach. ocean or lake, doesn't matter. rocky or sandy, warm or cold. i love all the places the earth meets the water. this summer i determined that every day the sun shone brightly we would forget our work and head to goose lake. unfortunately i can count on one hand the number of times that has happened, but each time is still glorious.

this time we were joined by auntie becky, gramnea, andrew, ashley, and friends from my ward(gotta love a mass text sent out to invite my girls and their kiddos). we snacked on yia yia's fruit roll-ups, kettle chips, veggies and homemade ranch, and sandwiches. a big glass mason jar of ice and water helped us stay cool. the sun was strong enough to melt the chocolate chips in our trail mix.

my cheeks got pink and i loved every sun-soaked minute. zander caught numerous minnows in the shallows. asher, tiernan, and andrew built numerous sand highways for their cars and trucks to cruise on. i am hoping for a few more days on the beach this summer. it adds a bit of magic to our days.

later that night we got a sitter for our boys and went out with derick, becky, emily, adam(derick's friend), and derick's brother. we took em to dish, our fave sushi place(super sushi, great service, and fun modern decor for you locals).john's childhood friend clyde and his wife own the restaurant and they kindly treated our table to japanese fried ice cream. yum! we sure wish derick and becky lived closer so we could double date more often!

potter's marsh: spring and summer

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:45:00 +0000

we headed out to potter's marsh this spring(in april) to stretch our legs. it was beautiful in a very stark and rustic way. i was dying for the green to return and the sun was just starting to gain some strength. the wind was chilly and whipped around us without out ceasing.

it was so lovely . good to find beauty in the brown and crunchy grass of break-up. good to the feel the sun's strength returning. zander, asher, and tiernan ran up and down the boardwalk only stopping to hang over the side and point in wonder as they discovered their world waking up from winter.

then in july we met aunt becky and andrew there. the contrast was startling and wonderful. i loved how much it had changed in just a few short months. lovely now in a completely different way.

still windy. but now green and alive in so many ways. alive with tiny fish and water fowl. alive with a moving, waving sea of grass. alive with people out striding across the familiar boards. we were almost alone out there in april, and now the parking lot was almost full.

the sun reflecting off the water and lighting up the eyes of people i love filled me with such gratitude. gratitude for a sister and nephew sharing in the beauty of our home. gratitude for the love between cousins. love that persevered even through stick fights and differences of opinion about the finer points of light saber battles. gratitude for bigger boys being patient and kind with smaller boys and for the mutual admiration in their eyes. gratitude for the easy exchange of thoughts and friendship between sisters. good times, too soon over, but captured for all time in our minds for winters to come.

4th of july festivities

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:55:00 +0000

aunt becky and uncle derick came to visit! first stop seward for the 4th of july. independence day fell on a sunday this year so we headed down on the 3rd to check out the pre-holiday festivities. the street vendors were out in full force so we enjoyed our traditional favorite battered halibut and corn fritters with honey butter. yum! we walked up to the base of mount marathon to check out the shale chute. the little boys were loving the climbing and sliding options.

asher loved pushing his cousin ashley through downtown seward

these cousins sure love and adore each other! they just pick up right were they left off last summer!

we headed out to the beach at lowell point. this is one of my favorite places on earth. john and i daydream about having a house on the beach to come to in the summers. mmmm . . . heaven. even gray and sprinkling rain it makes me feel in awe at god's creations and at peace. i have always loved the places where the sea meets the sand best. that and the top of a mountain, make my soul sing. our wee ones shed their socks and shoes and buried their toes in the sand/tiny rocks. i love seeing them enjoy the places and things i love so much. it makes me feel like i am doing my job of mothering well and that we are connected in ways that will last forever.

last stop of our seward adventure was the docks. we happened upon this fascinating catch of the day. have you ever seen an octopus that big in person? it is quite the sight! we were enthralled. we followed the fishermen to the filleting table and watched in awe as he prepared the catch of the day for the freezer. there was even a baby octopus in the belly of one of those huge ling cods! very cool. can't wait to go again next year!

camping adventures: summit lake

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:31:00 +0000

we decided to throw our gear in the car and drive down the seward highway until we found an open campground. the first one we found was summit lake. our little spot was right next to a creek. we planned on staying two nights, first time doing that with the boys. we ended up heading home late the second night because zan-man was getting a cold and coughing like crazy at night. it was interesting to be there for a whole day because my boys were so used to camping one night and leaving in the morning. they were not quite sure what to do with themselves after a yummy breakfast of eggs, bacon and home fries.

so i taught them how to search for and gather dead wood for the fire. then we had a contest for who could gather the most wood. i won. *smile* we left a nice big stack for the next campers to use. we threw rocks in the creek and raced sticks on it's swift current. we checked out the lake and wished we had a kayak. boiling water for herbal tea over the fire and making s'mores were favorites of the littles. i tried cooking bacon on the grill/grate of the fire pit. worked pretty well. it was cloudy and sprinkled occasionally. we drove into moose pass and explored it's single street then celebrated our adventure with a popscicle by the lake. we headed home after s'mores and put zander to sleep in his own bed with a steady supply of cough drops.

smith family adventures part two: 6/18 through 6/28

noreply@blogger.com (High Heels and a Sippy Cup) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:02:00 +0000

dad, taralee, devry, and clint went on a midnight run for salmon

is it fair for a woman to look so gorgeous in chest waders while standing in a river? it must be genetic. *wink*

clint hooked em' up with a day cruise in prince william sound

dinner at tea garden, their fave chinese place

they were here for father's day. first time since they moved away.

the smith tribe gathered together for dinner on father's day. aunt joan and uncle kent enjoying the food.

the kidlets digging into dessert. where are my boys? the can smell dessert a mile away. they must have been distracted by the scent of lots of cousins and uncles and aunts playing outside.

cards, coupons, homemade cookies, and gift cards for the special dads

taralee flashes gang signs regularly. she thinks she was raised in da hood.

happy father's day!

jobs and school demanded taralee and braelene return home early. *sniff, sniff* come back soon!

my dad, draesen, and devry went halibut fishing with uncle kent. i think this is a good look for them, don't you? *wink*

filleting their catch

they returned to sleep for a few hours then headed up to paxson to float the gulkana river with a group of scouts in uncle brian's ward.

my momma and i wanted to go but told us it was stinky boys only. well maybe not only stinky boys. the sweet smelling boys could go too. just not girls. *ahem*

draesen's been practicing for when he turns 23. good thing he has got plenty of time. *wink*

they made it!

while they were gone we went out to lunch for sushi and gyro's(not at the same time, of course) . . .

made freezer jam with forty pounds of strawberries and lightly sweetened with palm sugar . . .

made train tracks, yia yia mended many pairs of little boy's jeans(thank you so much!), made trips to wal-mart and ak mill and feed for ak gear to bring back to utah, talked essential oils and real traditional food and mothering(my momma is the best at that!), and mostly just soaked each other up. it was soooo hard to say good bye, but we worked really hard on our campaign to move them back up here so we feel hopeful about the future. right, family? this long distance relationship stuff is for the birds anyway. so let's leave it to them shall we?