~September catch-up

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.
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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.
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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!

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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

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!

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!

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

So funny...hee hee!!

~Reflector Shield

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

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

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.

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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

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...

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!

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.