The Connolly Family in Alaska

Temperature in North Pole, Alaska

2011-11-16T10:21:00.004-09:00

Currently at my house (Nov. 16 2011, 10:30 am) the temperature outside is

-43.8 (that's below zero)

The sun is rising at 9:27 am and setting at 3:40 pm

The length of the day is 6 hours and 12 minutes. Tomorrow will be 6 minutes and 24 seconds shorter.

Inside my house the temperature is 73 degrees. That's over 100 degree difference.

~Goodbye Tonsils

2011-09-30T09:15:00.002-08:00

After having strep 5 times this year, we decided it was time to say goodbye to Noah's tonsils.

7:00 a.m. September 29, 2011

Surgery Center - Fairbanks, Alaska

Before surgery

After surgery

It was heartbreaking when they wheeled Noah out of the prep room and I couldn't go with him. He had tears in his eyes but was trying so hard to be brave. The surgery was very quick and he did just fine until he was waking up. From what the nurses told me, he got a little crazy and ripped the IV out of his hand. This happened before they could give him his next dose of pain medication. Understandably, he was not happy. They finally convinced him to swallow some other meds. When I got to him he was still upset, but calmed right down when he saw me. On the way home he threw-up, but since then has been doing okay.

~Enjoying Fall in Alaska

2011-09-12T11:22:00.013-08:00

The men in my life!
Sweet boy, making wishes.

Dad teaching Simon how to skip rocks.

Dad retrieving the "perfect rock" that accidently got thrown in.

We throw little rocks and BIG rocks!

A few pictures of dad with his boys.

~Jett's Birthday and school projects

2011-09-12T11:11:00.005-08:00

Since school started we've received several requests from out-of-state family members to help them with class projects. We've done postcards and letters about where we live. The latest project went to Noah. He helped his cousin, Abby, with her "Flat Abby." We took her around North Pole. We even took her to see Santa. Then we sent "Flat Abby" back with pictures and a letter about where we live.

Baby Jett Jett turned 2!
Birthday tradition...colored pancakes. Jett picked green this year!

~First Day of School

2011-09-12T11:04:00.003-08:00

Noah was very excited for the first day of school. He is in 1st grade and his teacher is Ms. Krenzer.

Simon's first day of preschool.

He is attending 3 days a week at New Hope.

End of Summer Catch-up

2011-09-12T09:33:00.017-08:00

One morning I realized that it was very quiet. So I went in search of Jett. This is what I found! He had gotten into my mascara. I laughed so hard. Later on I was grateful he hadn't poked his eye out. Still makes me smile.

Soccer was fun this summer. Noah did a great job.

His team name was the "Ninjas."

Uncle Shaner stayed with us for a few weeks. We LOVED having him here!

And...we really miss him.

This is how Simon felt about soccer for most of his season.
Not much soccer playing, but lots of silliness!
On one of the very few nice days we had, my friend Cheryl and I took the kids to Pioneer Park (Simon calls it "Chinese" Park). It has lots of fun things for the kids to do...train rides, carousel, miniature golf, playground equipment and places to eat.

Simon on the train

Noah, Katherine, Simon, Benjamin, Kristin and Jett

Creamer's Field Migratory Bird Refuge

Jett

Simon found this little shelter and wanted to stand inside. The bugs were attacking his head.
Noah, Simon and Jett

They all picked out their own clothes. They have great fashion sense, especially Simon!!

Summer went by so fast. The boys also took swimming lessons and we visited the lake a few times. It rained almost every day and it never got above 80 degrees. Now it's time to think about winter. Just a few more weeks until the snow comes.

Salmon Fishing Chitna Alaska

2011-07-06T09:08:00.004-08:00

Most of the salmon Adam caught were Reds. He did pull in a few Kings though.

King Salmon
Kind of gross, but somebody's got to do the work. Thanks Marty!

Adam and his two buddies caught their limit, 30 salmon per person.

Chitna

~We had to come to Alaska to open a coconut

2011-04-03T18:22:00.010-08:00

Survivor is one of our favorite shows this year. Yesterday when we were at the store the boys saw coconuts and really wanted to get one to drink the coconut milk...like the guys on Survivor. Sounded kinda interesting. I've never cracked a coconut so it would be a new experience for me too! So we got a few. Notice the use of a hammer and screwdriver :)

The meat, which was not very tasteful. Jett tried his hand at cracking the coconut too. He's very pleased with himself.

Simon was being camera-shy, but Noah was actually singing while working on his project. He did great! He shaved some coconut to take to his class for show-and-tell.

Adam had never cracked a coconut either. A first for everyone in the Connolly family!

~Moosie and Ice Fishing

2011-02-16T08:47:00.007-09:00

I have a love/hate relationship with these animals. These big creatures are so much fun to watch, but when they start coming out in the open it means danger. They have nasty tempers. When they get mad, they snort and charge. Don't threaten a mama and her baby! Plus, they make the roads very dangerous. Just the other night the car in front of us, hit one. The next morning, another one was hit in almost the same spot. Very scary.

This little moose hung out in our yard for several hours, digging through the snow, eating.

It warmed up a bit so we went ice fishing a few weekends ago. We didn't catch anything, but it was a fun for a minute. Maybe we'll have better luck next time!
Noah didn't last too long, but Simon was extremely patient.
He sat on the bucket for quite a while. It was cute.

~Ice Ice Baby

2011-01-21T14:19:00.011-09:00

For the past week it's been pretty cold. In some parts of town it dropped to -45, but here at my house we only got down to -37. When it stays that way for several days...this is what happens to some of our windows... on the inside of our house. (Someday we'll get better windows).

While the ice doesn't help with keeping the place warm, it's quite convenient if you need to chill a beverage. Just grab the pick and start chipping away! No licking though. Your tongue will stick and instant pain will ensue.

Other things we deal with during winter -

It takes about 30-45 minutes for my car to warm up. That's after it's been plugged in all night. An hour warming-up is even better. Then the seats aren't frozen stiff.
Noah's school recess is canceled at -20. It's quite a sight to see all these little kindergartners running around in their winter gear at 19 below. Just their little eyeballs sticking out.
A few weeks ago we had to get our septic thawed. A steamer truck came out and charged $130 an hour to warm up the poo that was frozen inside our pipes. Luckily it only took an hour and a half to thaw. The smell lasted a lot longer though. They had to come inside the house to finish their business (haha!). It was nasty!
Cold Weather Church Policy is, if it's -30 or colder there are no activities or meetings. Last Sunday we only had Sacrament Meeting. If it's -40 or colder on Sundays, then only the Sacrament is administered, while we leave our cars running in the parking lot.
Coats, hats, scarfs, gloves and boots are an essential part of our wardrobe, October-May. Don't leave home without them!

This list is very small. I could go on forever about the joys of surviving an Alaskan winter, but this is all I will write for today.

~Christmas Break

2011-01-01T14:44:00.005-09:00

Well, my boys kind of look orphanish with their dirty shirts but, this picture of Noah and Jett was so funny. They look like brothers to me!

I had to take a picture of Noah and his socks. Reminded me of the good old days.

Over the break we went to the UAF Museum.

Noah didn't want the butterfly to touch his skin so he put on his coat and very patiently waited for a butterfly. When it finally happened he was very excited!

And because the weather warmed up the boys did a little sledding!

Christmas was good. The boys all had colds, but we didn't let that stop us from making some great memories. Christmas Eve we visited Santa and went to the ice park. We ate pizza and watched Christmas movies. Christmas day was filled with opening presents and spending time with some good friends.

~Alaska Weather Today

2010-12-08T10:08:00.002-09:00

I haven't done a post on weather this winter so here it is...

Today is Wednesday, December 8, 2010

It is -26 (below zero) at 10:13 a.m.

Lows for today are forcasted at -30 to -40

Highs -10 to -25

The sun is coming up at 10:25 a.m.

and

is setting at 2:47 p.m.

~2010 Pictures

2010-11-18T20:01:00.003-09:00

I wasn't going to do pictures this year but Sam's Club had a deal. Anyway, I'm not crazy about the hats, but the boys sure are cute.

~Where did October go?

2010-11-12T09:29:00.003-09:00

So October just flew by, not really sure where it went. Before I knew it, it was Halloween. I didn't get any pictures of the boys in their costumes, but Adam carved the ugliest pumpkin ever and I got a picture of that! The boys thought it was pretty cool.

At the end of October Adam did some work in the attic and he found about 30 wasps nests. He cut down the ones he could reach, which was about 15, but he said there were just as many on the other side of the house. No wonder we had such a problem this summer. Noah was the only one that had contact with the pests. He was attacked, but with all the screaming and running around he only got stung twice (one down the shirt on his chest and the other on his forearm).

This nest has some insulation on it, but it is amazing how thin the walls are. The nests ranged from large softball size to quarter size. Some of the honeycombs had eggs in them and some were empty. Very interesting.

EXTREME CLOSE-UP

Noah has lost two teeth in the last month. Very exciting at our house! I pulled one and he pulled the other. Thanks to the cartoon, Little Bear on PBS, Noah thinks the tooth fairy brings a toy as well as money. I only got a quarter! And yes, his lips are very dry...tis the season.

I just had to post this picture of Jett. So funny. Jett is recovering from his first ear infection. By 10 months of age the other two boys already had tubes. In comparison, Jett's doing fairly well. Even though he looks happy in this picture, he can cry really loud. Jett also got his first molar this week. 9 teeth total.

~September catch-up

2010-10-01T08:53:00.008-08:00

September was a busy month for us! All three boys had birthdays. I was super busy with Young Womens. Adam was out-of-town a lot. It's getting cold, but the good news is that it hasn't snowed yet!

Jett's birthday was Sept 1. Such a cute one year old. Here are some fun things about Jett.

First words, "Oh WOW!!"
Has 8 teeth
25th percentile for height and 10th for weight
Walking for two months now
Loves meat, yogurt, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, cheetos and red licorice
Not a fan of fruit
Really good at throwing
Loves his brothers and gives them hugs all the time
Has only slept through the night five or six times
Likes slapping the water when he takes a bath
Prefers his dad to anyone else
Likes to play with mom's hair, then tries to yank it out
Doesn't like birthday cake

Jett loved his GloWorm. Adam rolled his eyes when he saw that it was a gift from us, but hey...Jett carries that thing everywhere. It's his baby that lights up and sings.

Jett did not enjoy his birthday cake.
*************************
Sept 17-18th was the first 24 Hour Book of Mormon Read for the Young Women of North Pole Alaska
This was some of the group at the beginning.
These girls were the true survivors! We had several girls come and go because of scheduling, but it was a GREAT time. This was the second time I've done an all night read. Both times it was highly successful. The girls are still talking about it weeks later.
************************
Sept 21st was Noah's birthday and Sept 25th was Simon's birthday so we did a party at McDonald's. I thought it would be great to just pay McD's a little money and they would do everything. I even called the morning of to make sure the party was set. We arrived about 15 mintues before the other kids only to find that McD's had forgotten we were coming. I was ticked, especially since I had already paid money. Anyway, the kids didn't know the difference. They had fun playing and being together. I was just annoyed because it was so unorganized.

The Birthday Boys!
These are my good friends, Becky and Makell. Missing is my other friend, Cheryl. We survive Alaska together!

********************

Adam finally had a few days where he didn't have to be out-of-town. In his spare time he's building a garage for some people in the ward. He wanted me to take a picture of him roofing. It's so steep!

And if Adam had more time he might be able to kill something bigger, but for now...
last night's dinner - Grouse with a side of potatoes and carrots

~I got ya! Spear Fishing

2010-09-11T20:45:00.002-08:00

This weekend Adam and I got to do something we've never done before. We went spear fishing with some friends from the ward. Late in the evening we left for Salcha (a nearby town). When it got dark we headed up river in the boat. Wes found a nice shallow spot and before we knew it, Casy had everything set up to start fishing. With spotlights and spears in hand we started looking for fish. Casy showed us how it was done by spearing a fish right away. She made it look so easy! It took several tries, and a few injured minnows, but eventually I got a fish to stick. Here is a picture of the poor little guy. (I took these pictures with my cell phone so they aren't very clear.)

We fished for a while, but because of recent rain the river was higher than normal and very murky. We didn't see any big fish and Adam didn't spear anything (he was waiting for the big guys to come out). It was still a great time and before we knew it, it was after midnight.

Our friend Wes speared the biggest fish. I thought he was going to fall out of the boat, but before I knew it, he pulled himself up and there was a fish on the end of the spear. It was pure talent! I was so impressed...

You know, just when I start missing Arizona, I get to have these great experiences with great people. Alaska is beautiful during the day, but I had never realized how wonderful it is at night. With no clouds in the sky, the stars were brighter than I ever remember seeing. It was just an awesome night!

~It's going to be a GREAT year!

2010-08-25T12:44:00.003-08:00

Today was Noah's first day of school. It was a little traumatic dropping him off. He cried when I left, but that wasn't the worst part. As we were walking out of the classroom, Simon joined in the fun practically yelling, "I don't want to leave Noah here...I don't want to leave Noah here!" After I got to the car I admit, I got a bit teary.

When I went to get Noah after school he had a big smile on his face and said, "It's going to be a GREAT year! The magic playdoh said so." Noah explained that his teacher gave all the kids a white ball of playdoh. If you squeeze it and it turns blue that means you are going to have a GREAT year. If you squeeze it and it stays white, then you won't have a good year. Noah said everybody's playdoh turned blue! It was magic!

~Yummmmmy!

2010-08-17T21:18:00.004-08:00

Jett's first taste of licorice. I think he likes it!

So funny...hee hee!!

~Reflector Shield

2010-07-24T19:02:00.011-08:00

Me: Simon! Do not kick that ball in the house! And Jett is right there and could get hurt.

Simon: He can't get hurt.

Me: Yes he can.

Simon: No, he can't. He has a reflector shield.

Before I could get to the ball, Simon kicked it.

It hit Jett...and amazingly enough, he just sat

there like nothing happened.

Simon: See mom...he has a reflector shield.

Apparently Jett has SUPER POWERS!!

Mr. Jett

2010-07-10T08:58:00.002-08:00

Jett decided crawling is for the birds. Real men walk! He's been so cute this week figuring it out. Now he's got it down! He's just like his brothers, walking around 10 months old.

~Celebrating Tomorrow Today

2010-07-03T14:55:00.007-08:00

North Pole had a fun little celebration for the 4th of July.

The theme was "Celebrating Tomorrow Today." The day started off with a little 5k run.

Adam was so funny. On the way to register for the race, he started to get nervous. It was pretty small town though. They didn't even have numbers to pin on their shirts.

Adam took 3rd place. He was very happy that he ran 6-minute-miles. He hasn't ran for years and was a bit tired afterward, but I think he was happy he did it. I was proud of him.

****************

After the race we went to the parade. It was fun, but still not as good as being home. Although, I don't think I've ever seen Santa and Mrs. Claus at the parade in Eagar.

The boys got some candy and Jett even had a good time.

Overall a good day. The only thing missing was a rodeo!

Midnight Sun Run

2010-07-02T18:36:00.006-08:00

My friend, Cheryl and I, attemped to do the Midnight Sun Run this year (I know...me and a race, crazy huh). It is a 10k run that celebrates the Summer Solstice. It starts at 1o p.m. and the festivities begin after midnight. It's quite the event around here. Can you believe this picture was taken about 10:20pm? We are having 24/7 daylight.

Anyway, on the way to the race we came across a young boy that needed some help. After weighing our options it wasn't much of a choice. We helped the boy.

We ended up being about 20 minutes late for the race, so we just parked on some random street and jumped in for about a mile and then turned around went home.

I had fun though and I think I'll try it again next year.

I like to EAT, EAT, EAT...

2010-06-18T21:23:00.003-08:00

If you look at Jett's eyes, you will see Simon. He looks so much like his brother!
Sweet Boy (runny nose, drool and all...)

~I survived Girls Camp!

2010-06-13T20:16:00.005-08:00

Girls Camp was a lot of fun this year. The girls in my ward are AWESOME!!! They were such good sports even though it rained every day. There was no fighting, complaining, drama or tears. Just lots of laughing, helping and memory making. I could not ask for better Young Women.

The theme was "Be Your Best Hero." The scripture hero we picked was Helaman and the Stripling Warriors. The ward camp director and I made two 8 ft. Stripling Warriors that guarded our camp. The girls thought that was awesome. We had swords, shields and headbands too! It was a lot of fun. The picture above only shows one stripling warrior. The other guy was kidnapped and being held for ransome. The girls look pretty serious in this picture, but they were trying to look tough! We were headed to steal back our warrior. Anyway, we are missing the YCL's in this picture, but the total that went to camp from our ward was 20. We had the largest group in the stake.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Adam's mom had lots of fun playing with the boys. She flew in from AZ, just so that I could go to camp. She had the boys for 4 days straight. Go Grandma Connolly!! Anyway, the boys had a great time and cried when she left today. My prayers were answered this week...everyone at home and at camp had a great time.

~Soccer, Fish and Simon's Friend

2010-06-02T22:04:00.010-08:00

Tonight Noah had his first soccer game. I was heartbroken I had to miss it. I had to go to Young Womens, but...I knew he'd do great. Noah scored 4 goals for his team. The only one to score. He's a natural when it comes to sports. Reminds me of my brothers!

"WHAT THE!?!" A girl on his team was taking the ball the wrong way.

Last week we went fishing with the Fuller's. The boys were catching fish right and left. It was AWESOME!! They were catching Lake Trout and Grayling.

Simon is naturally curious and will touch anything, but Noah is more cautious. Adam and I were surprised that both boys were getting their own worms and taking care of the fish they caught. Simon actually had one worm stretched out as wide as he is. Then he was pulling other worms apart into pieces. Gross but boys will be boys.

I had to include this picture of Simon's little friend. Don't worry it's dead. Simon carried this bumble bee around for days. He thought it was soft. Notice the hands. Little boys are meant to get dirty. Thank goodness for bathtime!

~Spring...FINALLY!

2010-05-19T22:27:00.004-08:00

I saw this little lady bug and grabbed my camera. I'm so excited that spring is finally here. The trees aren't looking so bare and the temperatures have actually been in the 60's this week!

We're back to weird daylight again. The sun is coming up at 4:13 a.m. and setting at 11:21 p.m. The length of the day is 19 hours and 8 seconds long. Tomorrow will be 6 minutes and 50 seconds longer.

Adam's Bear Hunt

2010-05-11T09:28:00.011-08:00

Unfortunately, Adam didn't get a bear, or even see one over the weekend. From what we heard, every other bay was crawling with bears except for the one where Adam was camping. He went with his friend Kary and his brother Steven. Overall the guys had a good time, dispite their misfortune.

This is the small town of Valdez, Alaska

(once again the date wasn't set right on my camera)

Crazy looking star fish with lots of legs. It's such a cool color.
The underside.
I guess these little guys eat other starfish.

This over-sized goldfish is called a rock fish.

They were hoping to catch halibut, but...
Notice the eyes popping out. Apparently when you bring these fish up too fast out of the ocean, the pressure causes their eyeballs to pop out. Poor guy died before he got to the surface. Oh well, he was getting eaten anyway!

Another rock fish. This one got to keep his eyes in his head.
Those fins are pretty interesting too...

Another starfish, but a bigger one this time.
Looks like the head of Medusa.

Lots of iceburgs and such. Adam also saw whales, sea lions and jelly fish. Went clam digging and caught shrimp. He said that bald eagles were everywhere and they actually saw an eagle snatch a fish out of the water, about 20 feet from their boat. So cool!

Rock, Paper, Scissors

2010-05-06T22:13:00.004-08:00

well not really rock, paper, scissors...

but there was a rock.

the culprit had to clean up the mess....

~you're a little boy, not a dog

2010-04-29T14:25:00.007-08:00

A little while after I put the boys down for a nap, I hear from downstairs, "Mom, come wipe my bum!" Super confused I went to investigate. See the only bathroom we have is upstairs and Simon was supposed to be sleeping, downstairs.

Sure enough, there is Simon, pants down looking at me with a big smile.

Totally proud of himself, he says, "I pooped outside!" Seriously!?! I hadn't even heard the door open...very sneaky.

After making him scoop his own poop and having a talk about why we don't poop outside, he walked inside the house and said,

"I WISH I WAS A DOG."

This is for Whit...Happy Late Birthday

2010-04-22T18:08:00.008-08:00

All Whit wanted for her birthday was pictures of the boys. So, below are pictures from the last few weeks - our trip to Arizona. The date wasn't set right on my camera. The pictures really were just taken.

Noah's Freckles

They are so cute. This picture does not do them justice.

Easter at the Connolly's

Look at how white Simon is. He is truly an Alaska resident.

We spent a week in Eagar, but I left my camera in Mesa. Holly has pictures on her camera of the boys flying kites at mom's house. She also has pictures of Jett, Gavin (Jen's baby) and Kinsley (Josh's baby). They are all the same age and just super cute. When Holly forwards the pics, I'll do another post.

We went to the Maricopa County Fair with Amanda, Welcome and Sylas!

Thanks for a fun day!

Noah enjoying the pony ride.

Jett thought it was fun too!

The next day Grandma Connolly took us to the Wildlife Animal Zoo

It took a lot of courage for Noah to touch the star fish...but, he did it!

Grandma had a lot of fun teaching Simon how to pet the Sting Rays. These were just the right size for Simon.

Simon and the Llama...so cute!

I also got to spend an evening with my cousins. We went to the Cheesecake Factory. YUMMY!! We were missing one thing though and that was Jana. I do have a picture with Jana when we were in Eagar, but that's on Holly's camera too.

We also went to Falcon Field Open House. We went last year and it was so fun.

The boys sittin' in the police helicopter.

Trisha, Tyler, Tanner and Nick came with us. It was great to spend some time with them. Can't you just see the trouble these four could cause!?!

Jeremy and Echelle met up with us also. Cousins! This was just a few hours before Jeremy's appendix decided to cause problems. Emergency surgery fixed it though. Poor Jer.

We also checked out the car show. Simon backed right up and sat on the bumper of this car. He liked it because it was orange.

Jett learned to crawl while we were in AZ. Go Jett!

Notice the tongue. It's always hanging out.

A proud papa... Shane's first baby was born while we were there. Oh she is so sweet. (Another picture on Holly's camera) Baby Kamryn looks just like a Slade. Congrats Shane and Jennifer.

Fun in the sun. Jett discovered many new things, like grass!

Playing in the water with Welcome and Sylas at Grandma Connolly's

This was Noah's smile for Aunt Whitney. He sure misses you.

On our 12 hour layover in Seattle we went to the mall to get Jett some clean clothes. It was a rough plane ride for the poor baby. He vomited too many times to count and for some reason, I didn't pack any extra clothes for him in my carry-on.

Just waiting for the cab...being silly.

Some other highlights (not pictured) of our trip to AZ is that we went to the temple a few times. I got to see some friends from Florence, had lunch with Lisa and Jamba Juice with Linda. We drove past our old house. It was occupied and looked terrible. Weeds everywhere. Honestly, I miss the square footage, but that's about it.

The day after we got home, we got Noah registered for Kindergarten. He's going to do GREAT!!

~Simon's trip to the ER, New Calling and Arizona

2010-03-18T14:12:00.005-08:00

Pellet Stoves do get hot enough to burn your skin. Actually there was quite a chunk missing from Simon's arm last Saturday night. After coming in from the cold, Sim decided that he would get warm by the fire. He backed up to the stove, not realizing how close it was. By that time, his arm was already resting on the stove door. Pain, suffering...and lots of crying. You know how bad burns hurt.

Seeing the amount of skin that was left on the door of the stove and what Sim's arm looked like, I headed to the ER. About half way there he went hysterical, screaming..."I BROKE MY SHINGER! I BROKE MY SHINGER!" I kind of smiled and got his attention. I told him that no he didn't break his finger but that he burned his arm. He stopped crying for a second, looked a little surprised and said, "OH!" Then almost instantly he was screaming, "I BURNED MY ARM!!! I BURNED MY ARM!!!" A little humor amidst the chaos. Poor guy just knew that something hurt really bad.

As you can see from the picture, a bandage, juice box and pretzels made everything all better.

**********

In other news...

I got a new calling. Young Women's President. I have 33 girls. It's been an interesting two weeks trying to get counselors and advisers. Now that the dust has settled, it's time to get to work.

We'll be flying home for a visit in just a few weeks...April 3-20. I'm looking forward to seeing the sun, being warm and wearing no shoes! It will be the first time everyone gets to meet Jett. I'm so excited!

Random Pictures from the last month

2010-03-06T09:04:00.002-09:00

~What Noah learned in primary

2010-02-24T09:20:00.017-09:00

Adam and Noah were chatting after church

and this is what I heard...so funny!!

A: Hey Spud, what did you learn in your primary class today?

N: Some bad guys were killing all the babies, so an angel came and said that Jesus needed to leave his home and go somewhere safe.

A: Oh ya? Where did Jesus go to be safe?

N: Scotland

A: Wait...where did Jesus go to be safe?

N: Dad! I said SCOTLAND!

Snowpants, Ice Crystals and Moose

2010-02-04T07:35:00.005-09:00

Saturday the boys were getting ready to go sledding. Usually I get them ready, but Adam was helping out. I had to take a picture of Simon. It was hilarious!

I guess it was backwards day!!

Look at how beautiful these ice crystals are. Monday morning it looked so neat outside. All the trees were covered with this stuff. The sun was out making all the trees sparkle. So cool!!

This cute little baby moose was right by our house. In the last week we have seen moose everywhere. It looks like they're back.

~Paintball for 5 yr olds

2010-01-28T13:29:00.000-09:00

It wasn't too cold today (10 above) so Noah put on his coat and headed outside with his "Splat" gun. The gun is basically the same idea as paintball, but geared for younger kids. He had a blast. Notice the safety glasses. I think wearing those were just as fun as shooting the gun!

~4 Months Old

2010-01-07T07:17:00.001-09:00

I can't believe Jett is 4 months old. It's going by way too fast. Anyway, yesterday he had a well-check. He weighed in at 13 pounds and 12 ounces and measured 23 inches in length. He's a shorty!! The dr. tried to make me feel better by saying that it's no indication of how tall he'll be when he's older. I just smiled and said, "oh good." Jett's in the 10th percentile for height and 25th for weight. He's a little smaller than both the other boys were, but just as cute!

We also got a prescription for Vitamin D drops (once daily until Jett's a year old) After the dr. explained, it made sense. Because of little sunlight in the winter, a lot of the babies here in AK are lacking in Vit D so they need a supplement. I thought it was kind of interesting. If it gets really bad the baby can get a disease called Rickets (softening and weakening of the bones).

Jett also had his first taste of rice cereal. It was really cute and he was actually opening his mouth for more!

~STEAMY New Years!!

2010-01-01T13:25:00.000-09:00

Earlier this week we went swimming at Chena Hot Springs.

It was so much fun. While it was -25 below outside, the temperature of the water was super warm! And even though you can't really see it in the pictures, it was super steamy. The outdoor adult lake was the place to be, but we spent most of our time in the indoor family pool. Even Jett liked it!

~Christmas

2009-12-28T02:46:00.000-09:00

Christmas this year was a bit different. Usually we spend the holidays with the Connolly's or my family, but because we're so far away, the usual Christmas traditions were left up to Adam and I. Earlier in the month we talked about things we wanted to do to make Christmas special. We ended up not doing everything we talked about, but what we did do, made some great memories.

We have met some wonderful people here in North Pole. Cheryl and Kerry Fuller invited us over on Christmas Eve. They are great friends. We ate pizza and made cookies for Santa. It was such a fun evening. Thanks Fullers!

This couple is Eric and Becky Bruntz. We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas Day with them. As you can see, Eric is hilarious, always being silly and Becky is super sweet and very thoughtful. They have really welcomed us to the ward and made us feel comfortable. Christmas Day Becky made prime rib for dinner and then we played games afterward. They have a great family.
A few pictures from the holiday. Santa came and spoiled the boys rotten, plus they had tons of presents under the tree. You have never seen two boys more excited than Noah and Simon on Christmas morning. It was so fun.

Simon got a drum set from Santa. Just the right size and exactly what he wanted. Everyone in the family has tried it out. Playing the drums is kind of fun.

Christmas Eve we went to see Santa at his house. He was so nice and took a few minutes out of his busy day to chat with the boys. After telling Santa what we wanted for Christmas, we let the boys pick out an ornament for their tree. Simon picked a camouflage boot. Noah liked a train ornament and Jett got a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament.

I did miss my family and friends, but I wouldn't have changed a thing! This was a great Christmas.

~2009 Christmas Pictures

2009-12-08T12:50:00.000-09:00

My scanner is terrible, sorry, but I wanted to share. Other than Jett looking kind of funny in our family picture, most of them turned out pretty good. My boys are so cute...all of them. Doesn't Adam look built? Alaska life suits him.

~Ouch, Cool Hat, 2 month checkup and Weather

2009-11-20T18:55:00.000-09:00

This is Noah's chin after he fell down the stairs at the beginning of the month. Even though it's been a few weeks, you can still see the pink skin where his ouchie has healed. Noah has also been blessed with the "Lee" nostrils. He is so lucky!
Papa and Granny mailed us a package that had lots of fun winter stuff in it. Simon is modeling his favorites from the box. Papa gave each of the boys a hat. They are all red and white. Thanks Papa! (by-the-way, Papa is recovering from his accident...thank heavens)

Jett had his 2 month check up. At the beginning of the month he weighed 11 pounds, 8 ounces and measured 22 inches long. His breathing is totally normal and the dr. said he's a very healthy boy. That's what we like to hear. Keep on growin' Jett!!

Adam has been working hard on the house still trying to get it ready for the cold weather...even though the cold weather is already here. Today has been the coldest, topping out at 37 degrees below zero. It did warm up to around 29 below by the end of the day.

We have also realized that washing machines are sensetive to the cold. We have now gone through 2 washers only to find that once they thaw out, they work just fine. Adam has a solution though and he'll be working on that tomorrow.

I'm pretty obsessed with the weather since this Arizona girl has never lived anywhere this cold. The amount of daylight is decreasing also. Today the sun came up at 9:42 a.m. and sunset was at 3:27 p.m. The length of daylight is 5 hours and 44 minutes. We are losing 6 minutes and 10 seconds of daylight a day.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

~Tears and Prayers

2009-11-09T10:44:00.000-09:00

This is my Papa and Granny. Last week my Papa was in a terrible accident. On his morning walk, he tripped and got ran over by a small truck. He had multiple broken ribs, open skull fracture, multiple cracked vertebrae, internal bleeding and a collapsed lung... he was in pretty bad shape.

He was flown from Eagar to St. Jo's hospital in Phoenix. After surgery to clear a blocked artery, a tube inserted into his lung, a back brace and lots of medication, he is starting to heal. He is such a great example of strength and endurance. He's not giving up yet!

So many prayers have been offered for his man, but I know that none of them have had the power and strength than that of my Grannys prayers. She loves her life-long mate. I have never known them to be apart, always standing side by side, holding hands.

I was privileged to grow-up just blocks away from these two special people. So many wonderful life lessons were learned from them. I miss them tremendously and pray for them both.

~Spot, the little Lion and the Baby

2009-11-01T14:59:00.000-09:00

Noah the Lion

Simon-Spot the Dog

Jett the Baby

see Spot frown, hear Lion roar
Aren't they cute little animals?

It was pretty cold on Halloween, so we ditched the idea of trick-or-treating and went to the school carnival. The boys played lots of games, ate tasty cupcakes and got some yummy candy.

~ThE boYs loVe tHe SnOw

2009-10-28T12:23:00.001-08:00

Sledding is hard work!

Noah trying to be helpful...Simon not liking it!
Silly faces on the old couch
********************
"Faster mom!"

Isn't this a cute picture!?!

~Jett

2009-10-21T10:11:00.001-08:00

Almost two months old and doing great!

~Sim Sim

2009-10-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

Lately we've been getting a kick out of

Simon and his words.

All of his "f" sounds come out as "sh" sounds.

He says things like:

Shench Shies - French Fries
Shone - Phone
Shiretruck - Firetruck
Shootball - Football
"Daddy hurt my sheelings" - translation - "Daddy hurt my feelings"
"I want shoggy cereal" - translation - "I want froggy cereal (Honey Smacks)"
"I want some shood" - translation - "I want some food"
"I can't shind my journal" - translation - "I can't find my journal"
"mommy, that was shun" - translation - "mommy, that was fun"
Adam's Favorite "my shoe "sh"its - translation - "my shoe fits"

so shunny!!

~Noah had a good day

2009-10-03T21:26:00.001-08:00

Noah learned how to ride a bike without training wheels.

Thanks Dad!!

GO NOAH!

After trying taekwon do, we decided that it wasn't the best fit for Noah. Gymnastics was next on our list. Noah started a KinderGym class today. He did great.

Good instructors with lots of praise. Perfect for Noah.

Look at that form...he's a natural

~things that make us smile!

2009-10-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

U2 or Grandma Slade?

Last night Adam and I were chatting and I mentioned that U2 is going to be in concert in Phoenix at the end of the month.

Noah had been listening to our conversation and was asking about "the concert". I explained to him that it's a place where you go to hear people play music and sing songs. He replied with, "So we're going to Phoenix to see Grandma Slade?"

Noah kind of missed the "U2" part, but Adam and I had a good laugh. Yes, Grandma Slade does play music and sing songs.

I think we should get Grandma Slade and U2 together for one big show. I bet Grandma could teach them a thing or two!

*********************************************************

For Family Home Evening on Monday night we talked about Ammon and King Lamoni. We read from the Book of Mormon about how the bad Lamanites kept scattering the sheep of the king. Then about when Ammon cut off the arms of the wicked Lamanites
when they tried to kill him.

For our activity we made swords out of cardboard and tinfoil. Adam was a bad Lamanite with his club and Noah and Simon took turns being Ammon. They had a great time trying to cut off dad's arms!

~Happy Birthday Noah and Simon

2009-09-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

September is birthday month at our house!

Jett (Sept 1st), Noah (Sept 21st) Simon (Sept 25th)

Let's Party!

~I love being from a small town...

2009-09-21T09:45:00.001-08:00

This morning I called The Flower Box in Eagar and Gladys Pena answered. This is how the conversation went...

Me: Hi Gladys. This is Michelle, Tina Slade's daughter. I want to order some flowers for my Granny. It was her birthday yesterday.

G: Ok great. What do you want and how much do you want to spend?

Me: Something nice and about $20

G: What do you want on the card and how do you want to pay?

Me: I want the card to say, "Happy Birthday! Love, Michelle" and my card number is...

G: Ok, we'll get that to her this afternoon. Thanks Michelle

Me: Great! Thanks Gladys

I love being from a small town. Where else can you call the local flower shop and say you want flowers for your Granny...you don't have to give them her real name, number or address, they just say, "ok, we'll get that to her this afternoon."

Awesome!

~Jett's Blessing Day

2009-09-20T17:44:00.001-08:00

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect baby today as Adam blessed Jett. I was reminded of when Noah and Simon were blessed. Their blessings were so different. I remember at Noah's blessing, looking at the circle of men that surrounded him, and I felt the strength of the priesthood. It was the same for Simon. Eleven men stood around him as they gave him a name and a blessing.

Since we've moved up to Alaska, we have tried to make our lives more simple. We've tried to get back to the basics of what is important. We've learned to rely on each other. As Adam took Jett into his arms and walked to the front of the chapel, I looked at Noah and Simon sitting next to me and again I felt so much love. There were no distractions today. No need to impress. No expections. Only Adam's parents were there. I felt love for my little family. Love for Adam and gratefulness that we were married in the temple. Love for the Lord and his marvelous plan...that we can have an eternal family and that the priesthood is the same whether there are eleven men to help bless our baby or two.

Grandpa and Grandma Connolly

They worked so hard on the house and gave lots of love

to Noah and Simon.

I heard from my mom and my siblings today, (well all except one) and I could feel their love and support. I know they all would have been here if it were possible.

~This and That...

2009-09-13T23:04:00.000-08:00

This is just a fun picture I took of Adam and the boys.

Because it was stake conference today and there is a breakout of the Swine Flu, we decided to ditch church and have a family day. We packed up lunch and headed out to Delta Junction to see the beautiful trees and their fall colors. I didn't really get a picture of the trees, but we sort of got a family picture when we stopped at Birch Lake to eat lunch. (Yes, I'm still fat, but I'm hoping that will go away soon :)

Simon checking out the lake.

As for Jett...honestly he's doing just fine. The only problem he has is baby acne! Occasionally I still count his breathing and take his temperature just to be sure. A few days ago at his last appointment, his breathing was great and he was back to his birth weight.

Life is good!

~A week ago yesterday

2009-09-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

So I thought I'd tell the story of little Jett's arrival.
**WARNING** This is kind of long!

Around 2:30 a.m. last Tuesday morning I started to have strong contractions. The previous day, Monday, I had contractions, but they weren't consistent and honestly, I didn't think anything of them. Anyway, back to Tuesday. I timed the contractions for 4 hours and they were anywhere from 6-12 minutes apart. I woke Adam up about 6 a.m. to help me do some cleaning. I really wanted some advice on whether I should go to the hospital to get checked but Adam didn't know what to do either. This was a whole new thing for us. I've never gone into labor on my own and with two previous c-sections I wasn't sure about the whole thing. So...I called my mom. In the meantime Adam went to work. My mom and I decided that maybe I should wait another hour to see if they might get closer together. After waiting the hour, it kind of seemed like they were slowing down so I decided to go to Wal-Mart to get a new book that was just released. I was mostly trying to keep my mind busy. At Wal-Mart I started having contractions again and they were closer together and a lot stronger. I loaded the boys into the car and headed to the hospital.

I decided not to call Adam at this point because I thought they might send me home and I didn't want him to have to leave work. We got to the hospital room and I got the boys settled watching some cartoons in the room. The nurse had got them some apple juice and crackers. They were happy campers, and I might add, being little angels!!

At this point I got hooked up to the monitors and the nurse checked me. I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes lasting anywhere from 45-60 seconds. Yes, I was in labor but only dilated to a 3. The nurse called my dr. and he agreed that I needed to have the c-section soon. We couldn't wait til Friday. After some other phone calls, we found out that the anesthesiologist couldn't get to me for a few hours (apparently Fairbanks has only 1 anesthesiologist). That meant that I would have to endure the pain for about 3 hours. I called Adam and gave him the update. Within 20 minutes he was at the hospital. I was so happy to see him.

The next challenge was that my mom wasn't arriving until the next day, Wednesday, so that meant we had no one to watch the boys. I tried to call a few people from the ward, but no one was answering their phones. Adam and I decided that he would stay with the boys in my hospital room while I was in surgery and then we'd all meet back together after everything was over. I felt very calm at this point and had the feeling that everything would workout. One last attempt to get someone to watch the boys and Sister Clifford answered and gladly said she would keep the boys. Thank you Sister Clifford!!!

Adam went to drop off the boys and I was left with the nurse to work through my contractions. At one point I couldn't sit in the bed any longer. I unhooked myself from the monitors and started to walk around the room. During one really strong contraction I felt the need to squat and push. As I went to squat the nurse walked in and saw me and realized that things were progressing. I had to get back into bed and concentrate on staying calm. That was hard...kudos to all you people who do that without pain medication.

Adam cut it close, making it back to the hospital 15 minutes before my surgery. Everything went well during the surgery. The cord was wrapped around Jett's neck and he had a cone head from being in the birth canal, but other than that...things were pretty good.

A day after Jett was born, we found that his respiratory count was too high. The dr.'s were concerned so we had to stay in the hospital longer than expected. After tests and lots of monitoring they let us go home with strick instructions to track Jett's breathing and temperature. We're still seeing the dr. every few days. If he's not better a month from his birth, then they will start extensive testing on his heart. I feel like he just needs some time to adjust. It might seem like a small thing that he's just breathing too fast, but as a mother, you want to have a perfect healthy baby and to me it's not small. I'm so thankful for the many prayers and fasting that have been on behalf of our little babe.

We love Jett!!

He's here!!

2009-09-02T08:32:00.000-08:00

Originally I was scheduled to have a c-section on Friday, but this little guy decided that he didn't want to wait that long. Yesterday at 2:30 p.m. baby boy number 3 arrived weighing 7 pounds and 12 ounces, 21 inches long. We haven't decided on a name yet, but he's cute as can be!

~Rain + Simon = FUN!!

2009-08-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

It rained all day yesterday and through the night. It's starting to get really cold, but Simon doesn't care.

I caught him jumping in the puddles and

laughing to himself. It was adorable.

At least he put his rain boots on...

I had to add this picture of Cooper

because it's just so...Cooper.

He was just sitting there looking at me.

~State Fair and the HUGE Goose Egg

2009-08-24T08:12:00.000-08:00

We went to the state fair a couple of weeks ago. It was much smaller than the Arizona State Fair, but it was just right for the boys. We all know how Noah is and we thought he might have a hard time with the rides, but he was a dare devil! This was the first ride he wanted to go on. He barely met the height requirements.

Of course, I couldn't go on any of the rides and Adam wanted to take Simon to play some games so Noah rode this alone. The big shocker was that he actually wanted to ride by himself. I was a bit nervous, but he had so much fun.

Simon's prize stuffed animals, a whale and a dolphin. He even won something for his brother. How sweet!

*************************************************************
So this didn't happen at the state fair, but I thought it was worthy to be blogged about. Look at this GOOSE EGG! Sim was messing around on the bed and hit his head (I think on the foot board). I actually didn't see it happen, but he was a tough little guy and only cried for a second. I think he could have won a prize at the state fair for this one though. Seriously, it was HUGE!

~The Connolly Family-Est. August 11, 2001

2009-08-11T09:49:00.000-08:00

Eight years ago Adam and I were married in the Mesa Arizona Temple. It was a bitter sweet day as we left one life behind and started another. Since then, there have been lots of tears and lots of happy times. We have two beautiful boys and another on the way.
What more can I ask for?

The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

I am like a falling star who has finally found her place next to another in a lovely constellation, where we will sparkle in the heavens forever.

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.

Happy Anniversary Love

~Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

2009-08-07T11:10:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for the summer was to learn how to make jam (or at least try).

This is a rhubarb bush. Apparently you can make yummy things to eat with this stuff!

This is Mary. The rhubarb bush belongs to her. When Adam first arrived to Alaska he did some remodeling work for her. She is a very nice grandmotherly lady. Adam mentioned to her, that I wanted to make jam. She said once her rhubarb bush was ready, she'd show me how.

This week she called and said that the rhubarb was ready... to come on over.

Mary showed me how to cut the rhubarb and add it with the strawberries to make the jam. It was very easy and made the house smell great!

The end product. Tasty Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.

I had so much fun with Mary, that the next morning I decided to make some jam on my own. I made a Candy Apple jelly and it turned out great too!

~Taekwon Do and "OH SH*@#!"

2009-07-30T20:03:00.000-08:00

~Today was Noah's first Taekwon Do lesson. He looked absolutely adorable in his uniform and he did a great job following along. He can even kick as high and higher than some of the other kids in his class. I was a proud mom. At the end he was a little disappointed because he didn't get to break any boards. Boys will be boys! It's not real fun until you break something.

After class he was very tired...

~"OH SH*#@!"

Excuse the remodeling project in the back of the picture, but look closely at Adam's face. Yes, this picture was taken just after he returned from the dentist for a root canal. While the dentist was giving Adam the series of shots to numb his mouth he hears the dentist yell,
"OH SH*@#!"
and instantly feels pain above his upper lip (not anywhere close to the back of his mouth where he was supposed to get the shots). The blood started to flow and so did the apologies. The dr. said in his 20 years of practice he has never done that to a patient. He accidently shoved the needle into Adams upper lip, totally missing his mouth altogether! Adam said that every time his upper lip would stretch during the root canal it would start to bleed and they'd have to stop to wipe the blood...then he would start laughing just thinking about the dentist swearing.
Adam is a good sport!

~Frogs, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

2009-07-27T08:41:00.001-08:00

~Well there are no snails or puppy dogs tails, but we did find a FROG. They were a little scared to touch it at first, but warmed up to it pretty fast. Hopefully Simon didn't kill it! He didn't want it to get away.

CUTE NOAH STORY
~This has nothing to do with frogs, but I thought it was cute. The other day the boys were given an Alvin and the Chipmunks poster at the movies. On the way home we heard Noah singing, so we turned down the radio and listened. Noah's favorite primary song is, "Follow the Prophet." He was singing, while looking at his poster, and I quote, "Alvin and the Chipmunks, don't go astray. Follow the prophet he knows the way!"

~Boys and Blueberries

2009-07-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

I haven't really kept up on blogging since we've been back in Alaska, but over the weekend we went blueberry picking.
The boys had a great time.
Tonight we enjoyed homemade blueberry pancakes! Yummy!

~Noah's First Job

2009-06-16T18:50:00.000-08:00

Noah has been wanting to get another Bakugan but his dad told him he had to earn the money. Adam also mentioned that Grandpa Connolly (relaxing there in the recliner) pays money to grandkids for folding his barber shop towels. Last night Grandpa ever so kindly employed Noah. After an hour, Noah finally got all the shop towels folded. He earned $5. (Grandpa pays well!) This was Noah's first job. This also meant that he had his first real lesson about tithing. It was great! Thanks Grandpa Connolly!

~other fun things we did in Eagar

2009-06-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

~South Fork Rainy Day Adventure

2009-05-28T09:15:00.000-08:00

We're up in Eagar again to visit Grandma Slade and she decided to do some fun stuff with the boys. The first thing was to take them fishing. She got Noah a cool batman fishing pole and we headed off to the lake. We first went to Nelson's but it was raining too hard so Grandma told us some true fishing stories (you know the one I'm talking about, "hook in the nose"). Then we headed to South Fork. Simon wasn't interested in fishing so he hung out with me. Noah had a great time telling Grandma to, "put another worm on the line!"

She's such a good sport.

Today's adventure with Grandma will take us to Show Low to go bowling.

Grandma's are SOOOO fun!

~Falcon Field

2009-04-25T17:55:00.000-08:00

Falcon Field had an open house where you could go look at some really cool planes. Noah had a blast, jumping up and down and loving every minute. Simon was less interested, but it was a fun outting!

~Easter and Shane's Wedding

2009-04-24T10:55:00.000-08:00

Shane's wedding was wonderful. Jennifer looked beautiful and as she walked in the room, Shane even got a little choked up. It was really sweet. We're excited to have Jennifer and Jaycee in the family.

Simon and the tie

Noah was the ring bearer. He was the cutest little boy in the room that night.

Shane's wedding was wonderful.

The dinner the night before. I thought the table
decorations were quite cute.

SATURDAY MORNING BEFORE THE WEDDING.

Easter Picnic at Aunt Lana's new house! Look how lovely it is in Eagar. IT WAS FREEZING!

Easter Egg time!

Noah was very careful. It was really cute. But at the end, he re-dyed every egg a different color. Most of them turned out brownish.

Simon loved dying Easter Eggs. I think he dyed most of the eggs Grandma had.

~BABY UPDATE

2009-04-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

Today I had an ultrasound and the results...

We are having another BOY!!!

I was completely shocked because this pregnancy has been so different from my first two (non-stop throwing up), but I am super excited and Adam is even more excited than I am.

Now, I think now we're aiming for a

basketball team!

GO CONNOLLY'S

~the last few weeks

2009-04-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

~Last weekend Adam, I and the boys attempted to go camping. After a really cold, windy night at Pinal Mountain we packed up the tent and headed off to check out Roosevelt to see if it was any better. The weather was warmer, but I think the wind was blowing 100 miles an hour. Noah had fun learning to catch butterflies and Simon was busy picking up random things to throw in the water. His greatest find, which scared Adam, was a fishing lure that looked like a worm. After Roosevelt we headed to Payson to check out the Tonto Fish Hatchery. We were hoping that the "Catch-A-Trout" place was open, but no luck. It was still a fun day.

~A few weeks ago my mom and I made a trip to Utah to be there for the blessing of little Annie, Holly's first baby. Unfortunately, the West family made other plans for the weekend so the baby blessing didn't happen, but it was a GREAT trip anyway!

No kids, (except Annie), no guys, and ALL girls, ALL weekend. It was awesome to spend time with mom, Holly and Whitney. We've never really done that before, just us girls. I haven't laughed so hard in years! My mom was hilarious! One of the main goals was to get her a dress for the wedding and we did that. She's going to look fabulous. (as a side note, we really missed Echelle and Jennifer - we hope to have another girls trip with everyone real soon)

We also got to spend Saturday night reminiscing with my cousin, Amanda. It was awesome remembering the good old days. She used to spend summers with our family. It was so fun.

Another highlight was that I was able to spend some time with Jon, Katherine, Andrew and their new baby, Carson. I miss the Earl's, but I got to see them every day I was in Utah. Another reason the trip was great.

~Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - Bird Feeders

2009-03-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

Since we've been staying with Jeremy and Echelle we've been going through gallons of milk. I decided that all these empty milk jugs would be a great project for the kids. Plus it would reduce the amount of recycling and trash.

I did all the prep work and the kids did the decorating. Simon was more interested in painting the newspaper, but the bird feeders turned out great! Very colorful.

Jeremy and Echelle's girls also had fun with the project. The birds in this neighborhood are going to be well fed. We have five bird feeders in one tree!

~Holly, Annalee and Grandma Slade

2009-03-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

Aunt Holly came to visit over the weekend and it was so fun to see her and Annalee. Both Noah and Simon got to hold little Annie.

I think they will be great brothers

for their new little brother or sister. What do you think?

It was fun for all the kids to spend some time with Grandma Slade too.

~A Little Good News

2009-03-06T05:29:00.000-09:00

We are so excited to be having another baby. This little peanut is due September 10th.

I think it's funny that all three of my kids will have Sept birthdays. Most of you also know that Jeremy, Holly and I were all born in December within a week of each other. I guess I'm keeping with family tradition.

After two very long months I am finally feeling better, but I've already started to get fat. I really can't hide my stomach now. That stinks because I am only 13 weeks. Usually I like to wait a little before I tell people, but can't hide the obvious.

Noah wants another brother, just like Simon. The rest of us are hoping for a girl. Only time will tell!

~CTR - Choose the Right

2009-02-20T06:15:00.000-09:00

I gave Noah a CTR ring for Christmas and he has faithfully worn it every day since. At the first of the year all the kids in his CTR 5 class got rings. He told them he already had one and didn't need another. A week later Noah was the only one still wearing his.

Noah's dr. asked if he was wearing a special ring and he said, "yes, that's my CTR ring. It means Choose the Right." She just smiled and said, "oh."

Adam and I have been Noah's primary teachers for the past month and a half. Last week we had 10 kids in our class. It was great! I loved being primary president, but there's nothing like being hands-on every week. I know some people like to have a break from their kids and they refuse to teach primary because they have their kids all week at home. I feel blessed that I get to see Noah learn and grow in the gospel, even if it's only for a short moment.

I love my calling!

WARNING! This is a very long post, but interesting

2009-02-20T05:16:00.000-09:00

This is Verdene. She is 82 years old, (I think). For the past two months I have been taking care of her. Actually we've been her live-in care and company.

The week after we moved in she got shingles on her head and left side of her face. She was in terrible pain, crying in the night and really needing some Divine help. (Thank goodness for the priesthood. In a few days time Adam had given her several blessings.) After going to urgent care and getting some good drugs a few days later I noticed that the left side of her face was drooping. Her eye wasn't closing all the way and when she smiled the left side of her mouth didn't move. I thought she had a stroke. STRESS! I called her family and they immediately took her in. She spent the night in the hospital while the dr.'s ran lots of tests. The results were that she did not have a stroke, but it was nerve damage from the shingles. More medication and eye drops every half hour to keep the bad eye moist. At this point I was giving Verdene medication 5 times a day. Basically I was providing 24 hour care.

That same week, she walked into the living room and I noticed blood on her hand and what looked like flesh under her fingernails. Worried, I asked where the blood came from. She said that her leg hurt. So with permission I lifted her pant leg and found that she had scratched a 4 inch long, 2 inch wide, hole in her leg. Basically it looked like hamburger, no skin left at all. I cleaned up the blood and the wound as well as I could. I had her clean up her nails and the blood on her hand and then I called her family. Another trip to urgent care. More medication. Now I also needed to put ointment on her leg twice a day and keep it bandaged. Verdene had been to the dr./urgent care/hospital, 4 times in one week (or something pretty close to that). Poor lady.

During this same time Noah got sick with two infected lymph nodes and a severe ear infection. I bet no one knew that I was a nurse in my spare time (although I didn't have any spare time at this point). So I was also giving Noah medication too!

Verdene has gotten better and after Noah being on antibiotics for 20 days (the first dose didn't work) he's better too. But, our time has ended with Verdene and she is moving in with her daughter. She's having a hard time, thinking of leaving the house she's lived in for 46 years. Lots of tears and reminiscing, but I hope she'll be okay. She's a very sweet lady.

Where are we going? Well, I think we're going to stay at Jeremy's (my brothers) for the next few months. Yes, besides becoming snowbirds (don't be a hater), we are also nomads :) It's not something I'm proud of, but I'm hopeful that consistency will finally come when we get back to Alaska.

The past two months have been weird and I've lost touch with most of the outside world. (I still love all my friends and family. I haven't forgotten you). Being with Verdene has reminded me of how much I miss my grandma. She died two years ago, Feb. 12th. Sometimes it hits me so hard I find little tears rolling down my cheek. Thank goodness I know I'll see her again.

2009-01-20T07:16:00.000-09:00

We love Andrew!

We love Katherine and Jon too!

off with the OLD and on with the NEW

2009-01-14T19:45:00.000-09:00

goodbye 2008, HELLO 2009

~tHe oLd

florence, arizona (well...really all of arizona)
being nomads
gray hair
goodbye muffin top :)
simon wearing diapers
adam's allergies (poor guy is miserable)

~ThE NeW

north pole, alaska
remodeling the Baskerville house
additions to the family-babies are wonderful (jon.katherine and holly.kenny)
more additions to the family - shane's getting married Yippie! (welcome jen.jaycee)
new episodes of the office
carrot sticks and crackers
no more diapers :)

Just a few things I'm looking forward to!

~New Year's Day walk with Grandma Slade Eagar, Arizona

2009-01-05T19:04:00.000-09:00

Christmas Fun

2009-01-05T17:56:00.000-09:00

Christmas Eve we went to Jeremy and Echelle's where Santa came and gave each one of us an ornament for our tree. All the kids were so excited!

Christmas day was a lot of fun too! This year we spent Christmas with the Connolly family.

Polar Express 2008

2008-11-19T15:26:00.000-09:00

This year we went to the
Polar Express a little early,
but it was still lots of fun!

~it's nice to be home

2008-11-05T07:51:00.000-09:00

It sure is nice to be home, even though we've been going 90 miles an hour since the plane landed last Thursday. My mom and sisters came to visit over the weekend and we had so much fun. Sunday was eventful with Simon spending half the day in Urgent Care for a dislocated elbow.

This week Adam and I have been going through our storage unit preparing most of it to be sold at a yard sale we're having this Saturday. It looks like we'll be staying in Mesa until next summer and then moving to Alaska for good. We're trying to get rid of as much stuff as we can now so we won't have to deal with it later.

Anyway, if anyone is interested, let me know and I will email you the address. We'll be in Mesa at my in-laws. We have tons of stuff - camping, clothes, baby stuff including a pottery barn crib set, some furniture, piano, kitchen stuff and small appliances. There's probably more, but you can get the idea.

~Simon

2008-10-29T08:35:00.001-08:00

Last night Simon got into his backpack (the one I had prepared for the plane ride) and he found some stickers! He's such a funny kid!

~954 Baskerville St. and Adam's cell phone

2008-10-26T20:56:00.000-08:00

That house in the fuzzy picture is
954 Baskerville St. Some would call it a major fixer-upper, but we will call it home. Yes, we bought a house in Alaksa.

We will keep you updated as we start on this new adventure!

********************************

In other news, Adam lost his cell phone and guess where we found it! It was buried in a pile of freshly plowed snow at the North Pole house. Over the weekend it had fallen out of his pocket. We heard it ringing and started digging. Damage? Well, after spending the night covered in snow and surviving below 0 temperatures, it only ended up with a cracked face plate. Not too bad...

~The Office

2008-10-24T13:04:00.000-08:00

the best show on television

thursday nights

quotes from The Office:
Michael Scott

"I'm an early bird...and I'm a night owl. So I'm wise, and, I have worms...um..."

"Society teaches us that having feelings and crying is bad and wrong. Well that's baloney, because grief isn't wrong. There is such a thing as good grief. Just ask Charlie Brown."

Dwight Schrute

"In the wild, there is no health care. In the wild, health care is, 'Ow, I hurt my leg. I can't run. A lion eats me. I'm dead.' Well, I'm not dead. I'm the lion. You're dead."

"I have been Michael’s number two guy for about 5 years. And we make a great team. We’re like one of those classic famous teams. He’s like Mozart and I’m like...Mozart's friend. No. I’m like Butch Cassidy and Michael is like...Mozart. You try and hurt Mozart? You’re gonna get a bullet in your head courtesy of Butch Cassidy."

~to the land of sunshine and cactus jelly

2008-10-20T15:56:00.000-08:00

Flight 124

October 30, 2008

Depart: Fairbanks, Alaska at 7:00 a.m.

Arrive: Phoenix, Arizona 5:46 p.m.

The month of November will be very busy for us. From cleaning out our storage unit to riding The Polar Express, we plan on keeping a full schedule. Most of all, we want to spend lots of time with you, our family and friends. Be ready for movies, food and fun...

WE'RE COMIN' HOME!

~Ordinary Miracles~

2008-10-14T15:05:00.000-08:00

Look at these cuties!

When I look at my boys it brings me to tears. How can I have such wonderful blessings in my life when I am so imperfect~Thank goodness for little moments in life that remind us of what's truly important.

~Yesterday~

2008-10-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

While Noah and I were doing preschool, Simon was working on something else!

2008-10-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

This is my dear friend, Lisa.

People say we could be sisters~

She gave me this

wonderful crock pot recipe.

My family loved it,

so I thought I'd share. (with her permission of course)

Tater Tot Casserole

1 bag (32 ounces) tater tots
1 can (8 ounces) chicken, drained
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can(14 1/2 ounces) green beans, drained
1 can(10 1/2 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
1 tsp dried onion
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Pour bag of frozen tater tots on bottom of greased slow cooker. In separate bowl combine remaining ingredients except cheese and pour over potatoes. Cover and cook on high heat 3 hours or on low for 4 to 5 hours. Half an hour before serving sprinkle grated cheese over the top.

I served this with bread & butter and a salad. It was also good as leftovers. This would be a good side dish too. Take the chicken out and serve with steak or a chicken breast.

2008-10-04T19:11:00.000-08:00

Noah was promised

that if he "took care of business on the toilet" Daddy

would take him fishing. After success on the toilet and

Adam getting a day off, (and after conference) we bundled up and headed to the river. Simon missed out on most of the fun, falling asleep on the way, but Noah had a blast!

2008-10-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

We were driving back

from Northpole and Noah excitedly said,

"Look Mom! I see Alaska!"

Feels like Christmas

2008-10-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,

but the fire is so delightful,

and since we've no place to go....

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Noah's Favorite Song

2008-09-29T23:52:00.000-08:00

Simon says, "No More Stairs"

2008-09-29T23:32:00.000-08:00

About a week ago Adam and I were unloading groceries from the truck and taking them upstairs to our apartment. As we were making our second trip we heard Noah say, "OH NO!! Come here guys." I made it around the truck just in time to see Simon ride his bike out of the apartment and half way down the stairs before his bike toppled, sending him flying head over heals through the air. By the time I made it to him, (in just a matter of seconds), he had blood all over his face and was very upset. After a thorough examination he ended up with a bruise on his head and a fat lip the size of a watermelon!

The next day as we were coming up the stairs from the basement (where we do our laundry) Simon started hopping up each step, acting like a frog saying, "rib-bit, rib-bit." Before I knew it he lost his balance, fell backwards, rolled over and slid the rest of the way down on his face. I couldn't help but chuckle at his bad luck. Of course he was upset, but there were no new ouchies. Thank heavens!

Alaska

2008-09-29T16:25:00.000-08:00

The things we like about Alaska

moose

the crooked tree in Creamer's field
daily walks with the boys
birchwood trees
getting to wear a sweater everyday
getting to see adam everyday
seeing the first snowfall of the season
tuning in to watch "The Grizzly Man Diaries"
actually being interested in "The Grizzly Man Diaries"
the fact that "fast food" is not fast, patience grasshopper
geese and cranes
realizing that sometimes life is just hard
did i mention moose?
no heat, ever
did i already say moose?