Our little cousin Delilah

Kylee Alyssa Jane

and

Delilah Caroline

Kylee is nearly 7 months & Delilah is almost 11 months old

Wisconsin - Uncle Whayne & Aunt Linda's House - August 2009

~ together again ~

Delilah & Kylee almost a year later

Delilah is 22 months now & Kylee is 18 months already

Alaska - Nana & Papa's House - July 2010

Delilah isn't quite sure what to think of all of her

Alaskan cousins . . .

She was a little shy and missing her Mommy like crazy!

~

It is amazing how much they have grown & developed

in such a short amount of time. They are so independent

now and have little personalities, preferences & opinions.

~

Jolee & Delilah

Delilah really took quickly to Jolee.
Jolee has always been so nurturing &
naturally such a sweet little mommy.

Lathen's Mission Call

Lathen FINALLY received his mission call in the mail. He was thrilled to announce that he would be going to McAllen, Texas on a Spanish speaking mission! McAllen is at the very very very bottom of Texas bordering Mexico and right next to the Gulf of Mexico. It is sure to be scorching HOT all the time! With plenty of hurricane action to be sure. Fun, Fun, Fun!!! Although we are all so very excited for him we are going to miss Lathen terribly!

- - - - -

Lathen is due to report to the M.T.C.

also know as the

Missionary Training Center

September 29th, 2010

- God be with you 'till we meet again -

Good Luck Lathey!

I love you the most Lathe!

Congratulations!

here are a few of my favorite things...

I just love flowers in the summertime!

from my flower garden

cactus dahlias

from my Mom's flower garden

pink peony

both the salmon pink & the fire orange poppies came from my flower garden

oriental poppies

from my Mom's flower garden

bright red asiatic lilies

from my flower garden

frilly fragrant peony petals

First Family Fishing Adventure

"My God, How Great Thou Art!"

The scenery is always beautiful no matter which way you look there is mountains to one side of you and the ocean on the other. We truly live in the most beautiful place on earth. Alaska is God's greatest masterpiece.

Kylee is STUFFED into her life jacket!

Her face is PRICELESS!

Ethan is hookin' the fish and bringing them

to be beheaded, gutted and cleaned.

Jolee loves to clean all of the female salmon so that

she can collect and hold all of the fish eggs.

Jolee isn't afraid to get her hands dirty gutting all

of our chinok salmon. That is an Alaskan-girl for ya!

Ethan with holding his favorite fish.

-yes we know he is wearing a PINK raincoat-

It was the only coat that fit him.

And he didn't seem to mind the color.
-REAL men wear pink proudly!-

Logan with his favorite flounder.

Jolee is our little mermaid!

She has fish lips.

Kylee is the same size as the salmon.

I have pictures of me laying next to fish

when I was a small baby too.

I thought it would be fun to carry on the tradition.

Jolee, Kylee, Ethan, & Logan

Here are the kids all pooped out from such a fun filled day!

Oh, the joys of camping!

They are all such good little fishermen.

- - - - -

Just for the record

229 chinok salmon (a.k.a. reds), 2 Dolly Trout, & a King Salmon

all from a dip net & all within a 24 hour period.

FISH - It's what's for dinner.

PETER vs the KING

and the winner is...

PETER

-this is what a 45 lb. KING Salmon looks like-

Here fishy! . . . fishy!! . . . fishy!!!
Kylee giggles when she pokes the salmon.

Logan dosen't want to get any closer than he has to.

He is afraid of the King Salmon's super sharp chompers.

Ethan didn't want to lay down next to him either

because he was afraid of his teeth too.

This is Jolee next to the BEAST and lovin' it!

Here's PAPA, Peter's Dad, with the heavy weight.

Cheesecake for Lathen on his special day!

This is the New York Cheesecake topped with Raspberries that I made for my brother Lathen for his special day on Sunday. Yesterday Lathen was ordained an Elder. What made that day so special was that Gramma, my Parents, me & my family, and all of my brothers & all of their children were able to be there for the blessing. What a wonderful feeling to be all together for such a special blessing. And to have all of us active in the church with worthy Priesthood holders to participate. There was a lot of love in that small room.

Lathen's mission call should be arriving in the mail any day now and we love him so much & are all so excited for him!

Alaska Zoo Highlights!

Our first trip to the Alaska Zoo
although we have been to countless other zoo's in the U.S. this was our first trip to the zoo here at home in Alaska. The kids had a blast!

Our first stop was to visit the seals.

All of the kids really enjoyed watching them swim.

The otters were not as active, but nevertheless
always interesting and fun to observe.

Peter & the kids... they are fun to watch too!
It is so amazing to see how quickly they grow & learn!

the polar bears were sleeping

The Musk-Ox is wide awake & alert.

Here is our sweet little Kylee at 17months old with her Daddy. If you are wondering about her pink puffy buised eye it is because of a mosquito bite. Unfortunately all of my kids seem to be allergic to even the smallest of bites. They swell up like a melon shortly after and it stays like that for at least two weeks. Poor baby girl.

Here are our little wild & crazy zoo animals

mingling with the other zoo life here at the

Alaska Zoo and loving every minute of it!

Here is Jolee with her cousin Travis

(Jordan & Alice's oldest son) practicing

their three legged skills before the big race.

Lions & Tigers & Bears - OH MY!!!

We saw this bear seat at the zoo gate and

couldn't resist a good picture opportunity!

So here is Jolee trying her best to be terrified!

Ethan is very theatrical in his attemp to be

SURPRISED that the bear has snuck up

behind him and grabbed a quick snack!

Logan is yelling for help as he gets eaten alive!

Our little Kylee bug seems to be truley afraid

and dosen't seem to like the bear chair

that grabs you - not one bit!