Chance's Court of Honor

Chance attended his 2nd Court of Honor for scouts last night. He advanced in class, receiving both his Tenderfoot and Second Class ranks. The amazing thing is that he only has one more requirement to meet to get his First Class rank. He also earned 6 merit badges. He's really enjoying scouting and his dad is making sure that he is motivated to reach his Eagle rank.

Colton's 5th Birthday

Yesterday, we celebrated Colton's 5th birthday. We had a party at a place that had a bunch of those blow up trampolines which was a blast! Even the Dads had a good time with the kids playing around. They were also able to get their face painted and have balloon animals/swords as well. It was a really great day. I just can't believe my "Wild Man" is already 5!

Animals and More Glaciers

It's the last full day we get to spend with family, so we drove down to Alaska's Wildlife Conservation Center to see all of the animals they had. It was great. One of the park's workers even had the brown bears doing tricks for us. It was like watching Maximus being trained, complete with the reward of hot dog pieces if they did what they were supposed to. We then drove over to Portage Glacier. The views there were breathtaking and the break up ice in the water was amazing! The beautiful blue color in that glacier ice is just awesome. The kids had a blast throwing rocks into the water. We really enjoyed ourselves. The scenery around here never gets old :)

I'm Trying to be Like Jesus

Savannah was baptized on Saturday, June 20th by her dad. We are so proud of the choice she made.

It's Great to Be 8!

Savannah had her 8th birthday this past Thursday (June 18th). We had a fun family celebration with a yummy cake from Dairy Queen and some presents (which were mainly clothes and accessories for her American Girl Doll, Mia). The girls - Mommy, Grandmom, Savannah, and Addison - went shopping at Toys R Us to spend a little of the birthday money she received. We've promised her a "friend party" in the next couple of weeks but wanted it to be a special time with her Grandparents on the official day.

Trip to Seward and Exit Glacier

We drove down to Seward for the day and visited the Sea Life Center there and hiked around Exit Glacier. The drive down was absolutely stunning! We even saw a brown bear and several bald eagles on the way there and back. It's been great visiting with family and enjoying all of the beauty of nature here in Alaska!

Happy 3rd Birthday Addison!

Addison turned three years old today (May 30th). It's hard to believe she is that old! Time flies by so fast and you just wonder where it went. We started the morning by throwing her pacifiers away - YES, I have prolonged this situation way too long, but with all the stress and moving it was the last thing we wanted to do. We've talked to her about it for a while, telling her that when she is 3, she's a big girl and can't have a paci anymore so she was prepared. She woke up this morning and I sang Happy Birthday to her and she handed me her pacifier. I got all three of them down and had her throw them in the trash can.

We let her open one present this morning which was a "Dorothy" barbie doll from the Wizard of Oz (which she LOVES!) It sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and she loves to sing along so here's a taste of her and Savannah this morning playing together: (And yes, I'm ignoring Colton saying "Mommy...." a million times)

Then we took her to Build a Bear to make an animal to replace her pacifiers and for her to have a buddy to sleep with. She chose a long-eared bunny (since they had retired the koala bear she had wanted) and named her "Princess" although now that we have her home, she calls her "Star" or "Bunny Rabbit" - whatever she's in the mood for. We'll see if Princess makes her happy at bedtime or if the screaming and crying for the pacifier will be unavoidable.

Later that evening we had pizza and a Disney Princess Cake. She got many presents (too many, in BJ's opinion) one of which was a Bus Tent that she and her brothers and sister have enjoyed playing with. Here's some pictures and a video of the "Cake moment".