rondee kim

Beautiful day...

2012-02-12T12:47:00.002-09:00

As I take a quick break from doing laundry and cleaning the house, I look outside and see fluffy snowflakes slowly coming down. It is quiet outside, peaceful, and just a beautiful Alaskan day. The sun being back for a couple of weeks, has given me the happiness back that I was missing. It sure is crazy how grumpy I got without the sun for 60 days. I better get some more Happy lights for next year!

Connor and Gavin are ready to visit their grandparents in a few more months and I can't believe that we only have 3 months left before summer starts. This year has flown by! I am ready to go spend time with my best friend, playing card games with my parents, and just watching the boys have a great time with family and cousins. They love swimming, riding their bikes, camping out, and campfires!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T19:29:00.002-09:00

This weekend has been amazing. I have to say that is after Connor got sick with Strep yet again, it has been great.

The boys and I enjoyed a quiet and peaceful Thanksgiving dinner together. We had great things that we all had to say at dinner and we also had great laughs while we ate. I sure love those two little guys!

We are slowly putting up our Christmas tree, our ornaments, our lights, and whatever else is Christmas decor. It sure is fun to watch them put things up.

Today was another special day for me. My neighbors watched the boys so I could go spend a few hours with some wonderful women at our annual Christmas Cookie Exchange. It is so much fun to visit, eat some good food, play eskimo bingo, and exchange out cookies. It has only been two years but it is always so much fun to get together and I look forward to next years. Some of the good cookies were molasses cookies with a chocolate chip in it, a chocolate with white chocolate cookie, almond roca, 7 layer bars, and many many more. They all look great and haven't even tried any yet but plan too.

Happy Holidays to all my family and friends!!

Happiness is something so simple and small...

2011-10-22T21:09:00.002-08:00

I am so happy that I decided to be an Independent Scentsy Consultant. I have made some changes in my life and this has been such a positive choice. It is so enjoyable to let others enjoy in something so simple. It has helped me to get out more and visit with other ladies in my community and laugh. I am so grateful that my life is improving, better, and that even though work is stressful this time of year, I am not letting it stress me out.

But I do know that there will be days that I will struggle and be stressed out but for now, I will make the choice to be ok with it! I am a strong lady that loves life, smiles, laughs, and being me!

Here is to clear minds!

2011-10-02T13:37:00.003-08:00

I am so happy to be clear of mind these days. It has been a long time since I have felt free, happy, and just at peace. So here is to new beginnings for myself and my boys. Got to love being me! Even though I know there will be rough days and great days, I am ready for this adventure I will have for myself and for my boys!

Scentsy--Smell the air

2011-09-16T22:01:00.003-08:00

So weird to start writing here again after taking a vacation from blogging. LOL Anyways, after living in rural Alaska, I was tired of not feeling like walking into my house and have beautiful smells surround me. So because of this lacking item, I decided that I wanted to become an independent consultant with Scentsy.

You can check out all the warmers, room sprays, travel tins, car fresheners, and waxes at my website. http://rondeekim.scentsy.us

Well, can't wait to make others houses smell just right for them. I have to say that a couple of scents I already love are called Skinny Dippin' and also Paradise Punch. There are so many different scents, how will I determine which ones I want first!!!

We are back!!!

2011-09-12T20:14:00.002-08:00

I can't believe that it has been almost 2 years since I posted on here. My life was a bit overwhelming and I was in survival mode. My boys and I are now smiling again and happy with our new beginnings. We now live in the northern most city of the US. We have had many adventures in the past couple of years and my boys have grown up so fast!!!

Here is to new beginnings and better days!!!

Barrow Whale Bones

2009-11-14T19:51:00.003-09:00

In about a week or so, the sun will no longer rise up here in Barrow for two months. Last weekend, I got these pictures and see them as very unique and just a great photo. I will have to look back at these photos when I am missing the sun. (Guess I better looking into a happy light for myself.)

Connor's birthday!

2009-10-23T22:54:00.001-08:00

I can't believe how fast time has gone by. It seems to move faster and faster every year. Guess it is because I have more to do now.

Connor turned seven on the 16th. He decided on the photo and I made the transformer cake. He totally loved it and it was a big hit! He invited some friends we have known for almost ten years and then some new friends. He had a fabulous Transformer themed birthday!!!

Bowhead Whales

2009-09-26T21:01:00.002-08:00

Bowhead whaling hunting season has started for the Inupiat people of Barrow. Gavin had the opportunity of standing on top of a 32 foot long whale. Connor got to get into the whales mouth. The third picture is of the third whale getting pulled up onto shore from a large Cat... Mom, you would have loved the big machinery pulling the whales up on shore.

The boys

2009-09-16T20:45:00.001-08:00

Connor, Gavin, Ron, and I all went driving around the town and went out to the end of the gravel road. We didn't dare drive the beach to go to the point but would have loved to! Whaling is starting around the 26th and can't wait for some pics!

Here we go again... Barrow

2009-09-14T21:57:00.002-08:00

If you have ever looked up Barrow on the map, you know that it is pretty much on top of the world, or at least North America. These whale bones are a huge tourist attraction where you will see hundreds of people stand below the whale jaw bones and get their photos taken.

My boys are wishing!

2009-04-05T10:50:00.002-08:00

Gavin and Connor can't wait to go home to visit our family and of course the zoo! These are all pictures that I took at the Portland Zoo last summer.

White out

2009-03-29T11:34:00.002-08:00

I don't know if you can make out the picture but that is a trailer that is about 70 feet away from my house. You can barely see it right now.

Snowy day of fun!

2009-03-28T09:45:00.002-08:00

Connor and Gavin had a ball being towed around in a tube behind the four wheeler a couple of weeks ago!

Don't turn your back on them!

2009-02-11T21:18:00.002-09:00

Tonight the boys were painting with watercolors while I was talking to my parents on the phone. Well, we all know better you she always keep your eyes on your kids... here is what happens when you step away for just a minute. LOL

Boxed in???

2009-02-09T19:13:00.002-09:00

Do you ever feel a little boxed in, stuck in a rut??? Gavin made being stuck in the house a ton of fun! Too bad I wasn't that small again, so I could play like I was driving a car or space ship.

The tooth fairy is going to go broke!

2009-02-08T11:19:00.003-09:00

Connor finally got his tooth out after over a month of wiggling it. We let him stay up late last night to get it out because it probably would have fallen out during his sleep and he would have lost it or swallowed it. Anyways, he was so excited last night when the tooth fairy left him some money under his pillow. I am sure the tooth fairy will be visiting a lot more since he has two more teeth that are loose.

He's ready!!

It's almost out... just hanging by a thread.

It's out!

Watch out for my "Little Hulk"

2009-02-08T10:51:00.002-09:00

When Gavin puts the gloves on he becomes the "Little Hulk." He is a character running around acting like such a big boy. (Probably because he barely weighs 30 pounds and is 3 1/2 years old)

dog mushing pics

2009-02-01T21:58:00.002-09:00

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Get your own

more dog mushing

2009-02-01T18:40:00.002-09:00

As you can see, I had fun taking these pictures. The man that has his goatee all frozen was one of the mushers out every day racing. The mushers were usually out for around 40-45 minutes mushing and looked like the had icicles hanging from their facial hair. There also was a musher that was an "uppa" or grandfather racing and doing a great job.

Dog Races

2009-02-01T15:50:00.002-09:00

Here are just a few of the many pictures I took the past couple of days during our small carnival in our village. I had a ball taking pictures, playing with my camera and just seeing what I caught. I plan on putting many more on.

Finished Gingerbread House

2009-01-02T20:54:00.005-09:00

Here is the work of Connor and Gavin. They had a great time making and decorating their gingerbread house. Thank goodness that I left this until today since it was -20 outside.

Our Gingerbread House

Connor and Gavin's indoor project. The final product of the Gingerbread House

2009, Here we come!

2008-12-31T23:57:00.003-09:00

The summer of 2008 wasn't the best thing in the world but it could have been a ton worse. My sister in law, was on bed rest in a hospital for a month during her pregnancy.... everything turned out great and I have another nephew, Hank. Gavin broke his femur while on vacation in Washington and had to be in a full body cast. The third thing, my dad broke his ankle and his tibia while at work and is out of commission for probably three months. So, the three bad things have struck, and I am ready for the new year. (Hopefully, not as eventful... just a big move!)

Gavin first week in his body cast after his femur break.

My dad recovering. Happy New Year Dad!

The talking helmets

2008-12-28T11:13:00.003-09:00

Gavin was a storm trooper. He likes his helmet but likes Connor's much much more.

Connor is Optimus Prime! With his cool helmet, he actually sounds 100% like Optimus Prime too.

Gingerbread House

2008-12-23T15:32:00.003-09:00

Ron's mom sent the boys a gingerbread house kit. This is what it is supposed to look like when you are all done. We will have to see what ours looks like tomorrow when we are done. WISH US LUCK! It may become a new family tradition for us too!

Picture Gavin took

2008-12-21T13:31:00.005-09:00

Gavin, three years old, loves taking pictures of us around the house. I actually thought he did pretty good on these pictures. He even was telling me to say "Smile" and "Cheese."

Silly close up!

Gourd Snowmen

2008-12-21T13:03:00.003-09:00

This blog goes out to my mom. She had this great idea for my students to paint gourds and make them look like snowmen. They came out awesome and everyone that saw them while visiting my classroom was very curious to know what they were. So, besides teaching the kids, I guess the adults learned something new too.

Who's looking at you? LOL

Snowmen gourd made my class this past week.

"Winter Wonderland"

2008-12-14T10:33:00.003-09:00

One of the many beautiful sites we saw yesterday when we were searching for the right Christmas tree.

Another beautiful winter picture

Oh, Christmas Tree

2008-12-14T09:55:00.005-09:00

Connor and Gavin helped us with the choice of the tree. (Good picture, except my eyes are closed)

This year was my year to cut the tree down. It took only about 3 minutes and it was down. (Probably because the tree was frozen and a small trunk.)

Pulling the tree to the four wheeler.

My Little Angels

2008-12-13T16:46:00.007-09:00

Today while playing in the snow, we got some amazing pictures of the boys making snow angels. Can you see it in the picture?

Dog Mushing

2008-12-13T15:35:00.003-09:00

I wasn't able to pull my camera out in time for the picture with all the dogs and part of the sled but this is actually the dad mushing his dog. The other is the six year old that has started mushing a two dog team.

icicles

2008-12-11T07:47:00.003-09:00

Last week we had a warm spell come through and ended up with icicles that were at least 4-5 feet long. Sure made sure I broke them before I walked out the door.

Having fun on a cold day... inside

2008-11-30T17:59:00.003-09:00

Connor and Gavin have made a slide in the house using the total gym. They push the seat all the way up and then continually slide down. Thought that they were having so much fun laughing, I would get a picture of them.

Playing out in the snow

2008-11-23T19:42:00.004-09:00

These pictures were about a month ago, walking to the post office. The boys decided to play hit the can with their sticks and just have some good old fun.

Doly varden

2008-11-12T17:52:00.004-09:00

After ice fishing for a few minutes, a doly varden was caught. This is a pretty neat looking fish with it pink dots. Since it was caught in fresh water, the name is Doly Varden. But if the fish came from the ocean, it would be called an Arctic Char. Any questions??

A FULL FOUR WHEELER!

2008-11-12T16:28:00.002-09:00

I know you can't see everyone on the four wheeler, but there is a total of 9 on it. 3 adults and 6 kids. It was an extremely full ride.

Halloween Costumes

2008-11-02T11:40:00.003-09:00

Connor and Gavin had a ball getting to choose their costumes and then also wear them. Gavin is so small and didn't have the choices like Connor did. All we could find for Gavin was small, cute, and cuddly. Gavin wanted something a little scary so as you can see, he was a big and mean tiger. Connor took a long time deciding what to be. He finally decided on the jungle fury power ranger. They both had a great time walking around trick or treating.

Final product--- Jack-o-lanterns

2008-11-02T11:18:00.000-09:00

As you can see, even in the Alaskan Bush, we carve pumpkins. We put a lot of thought into the designs and faces since they cost so much. Each of these pumpkins were around 25 dollars each for a medium pumpkin. But the tradition and family time easily takes over the total cost. The first pumpkin is Gavin's "Stitch" pumpkin. Connor's was "Pokemon." Ron's was the pirate skull. Mine was the hairy spider. Hope you enjoy!

Gutting the pumpkin

2008-11-02T10:34:00.003-09:00

Connor, Gavin, and Ron had a great time getting slimed while pulling out all the seeds and pulp of the pumpkins.

Ice Fishing

2008-10-25T12:29:00.003-08:00

Yesterday after school, Ron, Connor, Gavin, and I went ice fishing with some people from the village. I didn't have any luck but everyone else caught grayling. Gavin caught one fish and was done. He would come and fish with me to try to show me how it was supposed to be done. Connor caught a couple and Ron caught one. Not too bad for about an hour of fishing. We all had fun and got out of the house while it was cold. I am sure, that we will have more ice fishing adventures as soon as it gets colder again.

Connor's Birthday

2008-10-25T11:22:00.004-08:00

Well Connor just had his sixth birthday last week. He chose Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle as his theme. The cake he wanted was the easiest and fastest cake I have ever made for him. It was simple but really a neat looking cake. I quickly made up a face for "Pin the Mask" on the Turtle. The kids that came, had a great time with Connor. Connor and Gavin both had a great time with them too. Since then, some of the kids have come over to play with Connor. Man, my son is growing up so fast.

Snow

2008-10-25T10:26:00.004-08:00

During the first week of October, we had plenty of snow for snowball fights, snow mobiling, and enough to stay on the ground. We all took a drive down to the river and had a ball in it. The only bad thing is that we will probably have an extremely long and cold winter.

Ron's hunting trip

2008-10-23T17:12:00.002-08:00

Back in September, Ron and a friend went moose hunting. As you can see, it was a successful hunting trip for him. I am grateful, food for the freezer. It was a nice sized moose, young still and smaller than most but perfect for the tenderness. (For those of you that don't know... the older the animal, the tougher the meat)

Where do I start?

2008-09-26T17:01:00.006-08:00

This summer was a long summer for myself and the boys. We went to the beach and saw pelicans at a lighthouse, walked in the sand, went swimming, saw kites that were bigger than our house, and rode on a couple of carnival rides. We went for walks and car rides and saw cows, hawks, osprey, horse, sheep, goats, and many other animals. We went to the zoo, and were part of the animal entourage. We went to the local fair and became spiderman and the horse lover. We were part of an almost exploding car because some fireworks misfired. Connor became a flying fish and the local pool. We laughed so many times and cried a few times when Gavin broke his leg. But all in all, we had the best summer with all the good things and a couple of not so good things. We would never trade anything for the time that we spend with our family and friends!

What will they think of next?

2008-09-24T20:02:00.002-08:00

I was looking through the local paper online from home today and came across this article. I was shocked but can imagine these little fish tickling your feet. Don't know if I would ever try it but would like to actually see someone else try it. LOL
Any takers?

KENT, Wash. — A salon in Kent says it’s the first in the Northwest to offer a pedicure using a tank of tiny fish that nibble away dead skin.

The owner of the Peridot Nail Salon, Tuyet “Tweety” Bui, says the 15-minute soak tickles your toes and leaves healthy skin unharmed.

Beginning again

2008-09-23T22:22:00.001-08:00

Well after having a very long summer break, I will start putting pictures of the boys and our summer on the blog. I am excited to share some of the great experiences that we had over our summer with family and friends. Hope you watch for them so you can see them change.

NO MORE SNOW!

2008-05-04T13:27:00.005-08:00

Can you believe it? Yesterday we woke up to a sky full of snow and the ground was completely white. Thank goodness it all melted by the afternoon. Today it is warmer today. I am sure ready for spring to come. Maybe the 44 degree weather today is our first major sign of spring!

Eskimo Dolls

2008-04-27T11:51:00.003-08:00

This is my small collection of Eskimo Dolls. The brand is "Alaskan Friends." I don't have that many but they are something that I like. Anyways, for those of you that like them, they are in the Anchorage Walmart and also at the Blue Moose in the mall in Anchorage. I have seen them downtown too. I found the tallest one on ebay and was fortunate enough to get it.

Playing out on a beautiful April day

2008-04-05T20:40:00.003-08:00

Yes, today is April 5th, and here in Alaska we have had snow today that stuck. Crazy! But it was warm enough for the boys to play out for quite some time without heavy winter gear! Spring is finally coming!

Eskimo Dolls

2008-04-03T11:43:00.002-08:00

This is an eskimo doll. In the past year, I have started collecting these dolls, but only specific ones. Ron has bought me some for my birthday, Christmas, and happy day gifts. I now have 5 or 6 and I know that the collection will continue to grow. I will add pictures of the ones I own in the near future.

Ivory Earrings

2008-03-23T21:26:00.002-08:00

I have been wanting some nice ivory earrings for a while now. When I went into Anchorage, I found them and kept trying to get them but they were never open when I was there. So Ron got them for me and sent them out for me this past week. Now I have two pairs of walrus ivory earrings. If you can't tell what they are, they are whales and salmon. Can't wait to wear a pair tomorrow at work.

A Camouflage Easter

2008-03-23T20:40:00.006-08:00

As you know that Connor and Gavin are really into camo. I was able to find camo easter egg dye and we had a lot of fun dyeing the eggs. The only thing missing was Ron. He is in Anchorage right now, recovering from knee surgery and doing rehab on his knee for six weeks. Easter was fun for the boys and they both had a ball finding the eggs.

The Ptarmigan- Alaska's state bird

2008-03-22T12:06:00.006-08:00

As you can see, the ptarmigan is camouflaged in the winter months when there is snow. When there isn't any snow, it turns to several different shades of brown to match the tundra and camouflage itself.

Huge snow drifts

2008-03-22T10:42:00.005-08:00

This snow drift was blown in and was huge. This is not the first time this has happened right outside of the house. But anyways, as you can see, the boys were having fun playing in it.

Gavin being Mr. Tough Guy

2008-03-19T11:38:00.003-08:00

Gavin loves to play with his friend Pookie. She will be moving next month so I have made sure that they get to play together when possible. What a tough little guy.

Sunset in late February

2008-03-14T12:26:00.006-08:00

These pictures were taken from my back porch with a SLR camera. They are all beautiful and very colorful.

Alaskan Mountains

2008-02-24T13:27:00.005-09:00

After taking a fast trip to Anchorage, I flew home on Saturday. I decided to take a later flight because the fog was so thick back home and I wouldn't have been able to get home at that time. So, with the sun shining and a beautiful site below the plane, here is some of the beauty that I got to see. These are almost professional looking to me.

Valentine's Gifts

2008-02-17T19:46:00.002-09:00

Grams and Poppy sent up the new shirts and stocking caps for the boys. They haven't wanted to take them off since they put them on. Connor loves his wrestling shirt and Gavin loves his hooded sweatshirt.

The "Gavinator & Conninator"

2008-02-17T18:14:00.018-09:00

American Gladiators have nothing on these boys. Gavin, the 2 1/2 year old that weighs less that 30 lbs. He is rough. He is tough. He is a miniature mighty little boy. Connor, on the other hand, is the huge 5 year old that is large and in charge! These two little guys make up a great team and would have fun putting the American Gladiators in place. (Thanks Grams and Poppy for the new shirts and hats... we love them)

Gavin and mommy's comfy socks

2008-02-11T18:20:00.000-09:00

Gavin came across a few pairs of my comfy socks in my bedroom the other day and hasn't wanted to give them back to me. He has them sitting on his bed during the day, usually. But yesterday I went into his room to see what he was up to and found him like this. How funny! He still won't give up my socks. But I honestly can't take them away from him when he does something this cute.

Beautiful Sunset

2008-02-02T22:09:00.000-09:00

Wow is the best description that I can say of this sunset on the 31st. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. I know that this is the time of the year that we get some great sunsets. I can't wait to get some more.

My boys can't wait

2008-02-01T16:35:00.000-09:00

This past summer Connor and Gavin loved to ride their bikes rain or shine. They keep talking about going to visit everyone and ride their bikes, gator, ride in the truck, and everything that they can remember. The sure miss and love their summers!

Our winter view

2008-01-13T13:48:00.000-09:00

When it is calm, clear, and quiet, here is the view that we enjoy off of our back porch. It is really nice to be able to look out and see something really pretty off of the back side of our house since the front side is the school and playground.

New winter coat

2008-01-03T17:00:00.000-09:00

My best friend has been asking to see my new coat that I got for Christmas. Well here it is! I sure enjoy it. It is much more stylish than my big down winter coat with a wolf ruff on it that I have had for eight years. I feel so much cuter in this one!

New Year's Day sunset

2008-01-03T12:54:00.000-09:00

The sunset says it all!

Smart Cycle

2008-01-03T12:36:00.000-09:00

Connor and Gavin love riding their new smart cycle education and exercising bike they got for Christmas. They learn shapes, letters, numbers, and that reinforces what we are teaching them at home. They have a ball riding the bike. I think we have already gone through close to a dozen D batteries on it but they are totally worth it!

Christmas morning

2008-01-03T12:06:00.000-09:00

Christmas morning was a wonderful morning for Connor and Gavin. When they had gone to bed on Christmas eve, they left out Christmas cookies and milk for Santa. We had not put any presents out because our house is way too small for them. When the boys woke up on Christmas morning, they were shocked to find a room full of presents. They had a great time opening presents from all of our family.

We found it!

2007-12-25T23:46:00.000-09:00

This small spruce tree didn't take Ron but 4 or 5 swipes with his hand saw before it fell. I sure miss the beautiful noble fir trees back home but at least my mom still sends me some boughs every year so I can smell and cherish the beauty from the Pacific Northwest.

Connor and Gavin were our small lumberjacks!

Who's driving?

2007-12-25T21:51:00.000-09:00

Connor and Gavin love going outside for snow machine and four wheeler rides. We were out scouting for our Christmas tree and Gavin and Connor tried tricking us saying that they were going to drive. *Giggle, Giggle*

Santa Claus

2007-12-25T20:03:00.000-09:00

Connor and Gavin were able to sit on our Yupik Santa after our annual school Christmas program. They were so excited to see him there and also receive a Christmas Tree Sucker.

First snow in early November

2007-11-24T12:58:00.000-09:00

This November, we had a small amount of snow. I got this picture when they were having fun going riding in the snow.

In the snow

2007-11-24T12:32:00.000-09:00

Connor and Gavin sure love to go play outside in the snow. Thank goodness the weather changed last night. It has been averaging around 32-35 degrees and the snow we had melted, it rained, it was just not a good cold start for freeze up. Hopefully things will get cold and freeze up.
Anyways, here are the boys playing out again in their new snowsuits. What great smiles!

Halloween pumpkins

2007-11-10T11:41:00.000-09:00

This year, we actually got four pumpkins because I went to a conference in Dillingham that sold pumpkins. The lowest price I could find was 99 cents per pound. Anyways, the boys had a great time drawing on the pumpkins while money was designing them. Then Ron opened up them up and had the boys help get everything out of the pumpkins. It was a great night and a lot of fun by all of us.
Hope you enjoy the pumpkins that we made!

Halloween

2007-11-10T08:46:00.000-09:00

Halloween was so much fun this year. Connor was a skywalker and Gavin was a devil. They had a great time out and about, getting candy. Thank goodness it is only once a year!

2007-11-04T17:11:00.000-09:00

These pictures were taken right outside of our house while the boys were playing, "KING OF THE MOUNTAIN." What fun it is to be a kid with them.

Playing in the snow!

2007-11-04T15:35:00.000-09:00

This was the first major batch of snow we have had that has stayed. Yesterday, we took the boys out for a ride on the snow machine and on the four wheeler. I didn't realize that we were out for so long. But it was a lot of fun. The boys had fun making snow angels and also playing on top of the snow man's head and the small snow hill. They are so cute!

Connor's 5th Birthday

2007-10-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Connor turned 5 this past week and had a ball at his party! While I was decorating his cake, he couldn't stay away from it. He just wanted to watch me and was so excited. We invited a small batch of the kids his age around the village and they talked about "Connor's Party" for days. This was the first big party Connor has had with friends here. I am so glad that it was one that he will always remember!

Playing Out

2007-09-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

Connor and Gavin have been enjoying the nice weather when we get it. It has been a long fall already with all of the rain. Every chance we get, we get them outside for some nice fresh air, rock throwing, and just plain fun.

King of his castle

2007-09-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

This summer, Connor and Gavin got to play at the beautiful playground at my old school. There was the castle, tug boat, eagle's nest, climbing wall, tons of slides, swings, and just great entertainment for them. I sure wish that they had something like that way up here in the village.

Looking at their catch

2007-09-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

Connor and Gavin were fortunate enough to have a beautiful butterfly given to them by one of the neighbors this summer. The only thing they had to do was let it go so that it could live. It was so beautiful! They had a ball watching it get used to its surroundings before flying away.

Beautiful Rainbow

2007-09-01T10:57:00.000-08:00

The other day, we had the biggest rainstorm that has hit this area in over 20 years. It was so neat because there was actually a small flash flood that happened on the streets and ground. You could see the sun moving closer to us and this rainbow was beautiful. The following day, we had another rainstorm that produced the entire rainbow. It was too big to get it in one frame so I am working on putting three pictures of it together so you can see the entire rainbow.

Swimming down the river within arms reach of your boat.

2007-08-26T15:34:00.000-08:00

Summer fun and swimming are a huge part of our village. The only thing that I can say, is crazy! The water was around 55 degrees and it was around 90 degrees out. I could only make myself get knee deep unlike Ron and Connor and all of the kids here.

Osprey flying back to the nest

2007-08-26T15:20:00.001-08:00

While we were floating down the river, we saw an osprey on one side of the river. He was sitting there on a branch just making loud squawking noises. Then as we looked on the other side of the river, we saw the mama at her nest. I was lucky enough to have my camera handy to catch her flying around. This is one of my favorites!

2007-08-26T14:51:00.000-08:00

In early August, we were taking a boat ride on the river and Ron happened to spot this porcupine swimming across the wide river. I had never seen a porcupine swim and I have to say that he did pretty good. Anyways, Connor and Gavin had a ball circling around it and then it would bump into the boat, I got tons of pictures of it but this was one of the ones that I really liked.

Stuck in the grass

2007-08-24T23:43:00.000-08:00

These two pictures make me laugh because Gavin actually got stuck in this long straw like grass. His shoes got tangled while he followed me and I had to giggle while taking these. He was yelling to me and asking for help. What a cutie!

SILVER SALMON

2007-08-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

Connor caught his first silver and Jack this summer. He loved every minute of it and wanted to fish after he caught this salmon. Gavin also caught a huge silver but it broke the line right when we were getting to land it... oh shucks!!!

Fun and fishing

2007-07-03T23:08:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures of my parents taking some of the grandboys fishing. Casey, now seven, is so into fishing. Connor likes it for a while. Gavin, has a ball touching the fish and checking them out! What great memories for them!

Baseball

2007-06-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

Here is my oldest nephew, Casey playing baseball this spring. We had a ball watching him play!

Waterfall

2007-06-27T23:07:00.000-08:00

I took this picture while driving with my mom to Hood River. We were waiting for my luggage to arrive at the airport and I was excited to see such a beautiful waterfall.

2007-06-27T22:54:00.001-08:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of my boys that I have taken this summer. As you can see, Gavin is quite serious and Connor loves to smile. Can't wait to get some more pictures of their summer adventures on here for you to see!

Gavin's b-day cake & present

2007-06-25T22:55:00.000-08:00

Gavin had a great birthday. He so wants to be a big boy. His cake was adorable and he had a ball driving around like Connor. (Sorry about the picture being sideways, working on a different computer/program and still have to figure out how to fix things.)

2007-06-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

Connor's first fishing trip with Grams, Poppy, Casey, Gavin, and I was a success! He didn't want to touch the fish but had a good time catching them.

Gavin's 2nd Birthday!!

2007-06-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

Gavin had a great time during his birthday party. As you can tell, he had a "BALL!"

visiting the family

2007-05-23T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't gotten any pictures for today but we are now visiting family and of course friends for the majority of the summer. Keep looking and I am sure you will enjoy seeing tons of fun summer pictures.

2007-05-18T18:39:00.000-08:00

Connor and Gavin had a ball playing with the trucks on this two mounds of dirt. They sure love playing together. Gavin wants to be just like Connor and Connor does a good job playing with him.

2007-05-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

Connor was having a ball playing on his mountain. He loves getting dirty and can't wait to go to Poppy and Grammy's house to get dirty with them.

Having a Hay Day!

2007-05-05T18:20:00.000-08:00

Here is one of my angels. He was just having a hay day wearing his cute little overalls and hiking shoes. What a cutie!

2007-04-30T20:34:00.000-08:00

Here is a picure of the same bluff in previous blogs but this time during the spring. It looks so much better in the fall than this picture since things are still quite brown versus nice and green.

2007-04-29T12:23:00.001-08:00

Here is an osprey that I watched yesterday fishing. He was flying overhead for quite some time before he decided to dive bomb the water. He didn't come up with a fish but it sure was fun to watch him.

New Boat

2007-04-28T11:35:00.000-08:00

This is our new boat that we bought with another teacher and his wife. So, I guess you could say we own 1/2 of a boat. :)

Anyways, it was for a great price and this will help Ron get fish throughout the summer and hopefully a moose or caribou in the fall. I know that he will love this and I know that as soon as we get life jackets for the boys, they will also love this.