CRAZINESS AND ALL: July 2011

There was a mine up in the mountain. It was probably up 1000 feet and I zoomed in with my camera to get this picture. It was cool because you could see the cables run from it still.

We walked up on top to see the mine opening. The kids had fun running ahead and then would come back and tell Jennifer (my sister-n-law) and me what they saw and how cool it was to see the mine.

The Three Amigo's. They were stuck to each other like glue. Poor Paeton was odd man (girl) out all the time, but she had fun with the boys most of the time.

Here she is. Every time she would catch up with the boys they would take off running. I could never get a picture of all four of them together, except for in front of the red railing.

We had such a wonderful time. We left on a Wednesday morning, bright and early to catch our first flight. We had to catch a flight in SLC and go straight to Anchorage. It was only the 2nd time the kids had ever been on a plane together. We had a great time playing the games and watching the free movies on our little screens in the headrest of the seat in front of us.

We got to Alaska at 1:00pm and my brother Jimmy picked us up from the Airport. We ran a few errands with him, since technically he was still at work. We finally made it to his house at 4 or 5:oopm (can't remember). His wife Jennifer and his son Bailey were there waiting for us. We got settled in for the evening and just hung out.

On Thursday, while Jimmy was at work, Jennifer and I took the kids up to Hatcher's Pass to check out the mine. It was cloudy and I was wishing the clouds would go away so I could get some scenery pictures, but they stayed until we left. The kids had a blast running around and exploring.

On Friday, the boys stayed with Jennifer and Bailey while Paeton and I went to visit a friend of mine from High School. The boys went to Bouncing Bear (a inflatable slide, jump house place) and had a blast there. Paeton and I had a great visit with Kim and her two girls. We went to the little Farmer's Market and back to her house for a little bit. It was fun catching up with her.

On Saturday, we went to Anchorage with Jimmy and his family to see Cars 2 in 3D. Great movie!! Afterwards, we went to The Wildberry ??? (I can't remember the whole name), we got to see the largest milk chocolate fountain in the world. It was cool to see and I bought each of the kids a gift from there. We went to the Roadrunner for lunch! YUMMY!! It has been so long since I have been there and did not realize it was still open. They deal with cash only and they are quick getting your food to you. We got home and I got ready for the dinner for my 25th High School Reunion. I was NERVOUS to go to it. But Kim and another friend Christy were both there when I got there and I was so happy to see them. I got to see a few other great friends from High School and had a fun night catching up. When the party got going I went home, good thing I did. I heard afterwards it got crazy, lol. It was fun seeing the reaction of people and not remembering who I was. I look NOTHING like I did in High School.

On Sunday, the kids and I went to Sacrament Meeting with Dan Steiner and his family. It was a great meeting and fun to see them. Afterwards, we went to the family picnic for the Reunion at the park in town and had a lot of fun seeing those that did not come to the dinner. The kids got to see a picture of me in the year book and did not believe it was me, lol. I need to get a copy of the picture so I can post it on here and see what every one thinks. We went back to Jimmy's and later that night we went to Dan's to visit his family for a little bit. The kids had a wonderful time playing with their cousins and want to write letters to them. Which reminds me, I need to have them write.

On Monday, Jennifer and I took the kids to Bouncing Bear and afterwards got an ice cream cone from Jimmy's favorite place. It was very YUMMY!!! We went home and hung out the rest of the day and packed and got things ready to go.

On Tuesday, Jimmy took us to the airport and we flew back home. We left Alaska at 1:oopm and got home at 12:00am. It was a long day, but the kids did great and we really had a WONDERFUL time. It has been a month and they are still talking about it.

Thanks Jimmy and Jennifer for letting us stay with you. We love you!!