How cute is this? On a scale of 1 to 10 - I expect a rating!!!

Always such a happy-go-lucky girl! I know that the picture is a little green, but she is just so durn happy!

This brings all new meaning to the phrase "cutie-patootie"!!!

Piggy, Piggy, Piggy

I don't know about all of the grown-ups, but the kids had a fantastic time. There were about 10 kids that didn't get into the picture (including the Bug).

This little one was not happy about being confined to the stroller while the excitement was obviously happening just feet away. She missed her afternoon nap, but still managed to be adorable for most of the afternoon.

Here is Wade and his favorite helper getting the pig ready for roasting. We use this awesome grill that Wade's friend Jamie made and 4 bags of charcoal. This year we started the 109 pounds of pig at 9:30am and it was done by about 4:30pm. Moist and delicious was an apt description of this finely cooked critter.

The little man passed out after all the guests were gone and did not stir for the next 10 hours. Lucky for him some of the kids were still in town and he got to spend several more hours playing the next day :) and the next and the day after that too :)

Sometimes nature is gross!

So there has been a robin nesting in our yard all spring - pretty cool stuff for a little boy of almost 3. Although he is not terribly verbal he is always "telling" people about the nest in his own way - "Shhhhhh, nest ... bird" and pointing. After we spotted the nest, in a tree near the play area in our yard, we made a point of not disturbing her and observing from a distance.

When we returned from clamming there no longer a mama bird on the nest and we explained that the babies may have hatched and she was out getting food. After my assistant was in bed for the night I went to check - and to my delight there was one fluffy chick filling the bottom of the nest. Over the course of the next couple of days we did not see a robin go anywhere near the nest. This time I was worried about the baby and went to check ... no baby bird, just three little blue eggs. I checked under the nest to see if the chick fell, but something must have got it :( This is sad, but part of nature and not the gross part.

So after several more days we are sure that the nest is abandoned. A friend from the university said the other eggs never hatched and lots of things could have happened to the baby. Knowing that the eggs were "dead" I thought that Slater would get a kick out of seeing them in the nest and holding one. Why am I so dumb??? So we sneak up on the nest - "Shhhh, bird ... nest". I pluck out an egg and hand it to him, the look on his face is pure awe. Then ... he stuck his fingers through it and splattered *rotten egg* all over both of us ... ugh. Lots of scrubbing does not seem to have done the trick, so we both just get to smell a little weird for the next 24 hours.

Yup, nature is gross.

Twelve years ago today!

Twelve Years ago today.

Twelve years ago today,
I heard two words that changed me in every way

I don’t remember what else the preacher said
but my answer was clear in my head,

As I waited for my turn
the tears made my eyes burn,

And then finally, I said it, I DO!
Because I will always love you.


Happy Anniversary Robyn.
Twelve years seems to have passed so quickly but when I look back at our adventures I can count them up. I can’t wait to see what is in store for us in the next twelve.

Hangin' with Kelly

Thank you for the visit Kelly and for taking a picture that I will love forever!!

Dad is such a softie, he lets me drive whenever I want too.

The Kenai beach!!! The waves looked huge crashing 20 feet out, but were gentle by the time that they reached us.

Camping in Kelly's front yard. Slater LOVED her dogs, Nikki and Pepper. Hopefully we will be uploading video-footage of them playing soon!!! (hint hint Wade)
The campers!

Clams: 1 Clammers: 0

The whole clamming party: Jenn and her kids, Kylie and Finley, Us, Cori and her min-pins. Kelly was taking the picture so I put in a separate shot of her!
My favorite picture of the day

Clam digger extraordinaire and our personal guide!

Working hard in the sun! We dug lots of holes, there just weren't any clams at the bottom ;( Which is not completely true, we did find two baby clams, no one else on the beach was finding any so we didn't feel to bad.

The new car on the beach - not sure if this was the best idea, but it did well.

The kids were thrilled to be out of the wind for a few minutes.

Kelly patiently took a family photo! It was blowing like crazy and beyond beautiful.

The beach was covered with the best selection of skipping stones on earth. Naturally Jade wanted to put everyone of them in her mouth.

Side Note: MinPins are not clam sniffing dogs and they are rather wimpy in windy weather :)

Twins at Colony Days and the zoo

While on our trip we stopped to see three different sets of twins and their siblings. All the kids were a kick!! One child sang his own song for us, others showed off their biking skills and all of them were great about sharing and playing with the younger kids.

The highest point that he could reach!
A look of pure exhilaration!!

What a face :)

The best shot that I could get of the twins (M and G) and Slater. After all the great stuff at Colony Days the boys liked this old engine best. We tried to get them to pose in front of it, but ...

My monkey's at the zoo. Slater's favorite things: a squirrel, a chickadee, the ducks, and climbing the fences to place that he wasn't allowed *sigh*. Jade's favorite thing: Slater watching.

The best shot I could get of the twins (M and D) and Slater. I am sure that you have noticed Slater is not there - he was off to see the next thing.

Love this picture of sweet baby Jade! She enjoyed watching the kids and had lots of big smiles for MK.

MK caught this photo of Slater running away from his dad :) He loved having kids to run with. We hope that his listening skills improve over time, but were glad to see that four year old boys are just as adventurous!

Soule Lake

My dad and the airplane getting ready to take a trip.
Soule Lake from the air.
Those are dahl sheep in the middle of the photo. The little white spots are a group of lambs and ewes, we saw over 40 sheep (all moms and babies).

Fishing in Cantwell

The fisherman! Slater tried to fish on his own with this great big pole. He might of had more success if we could have positioned him in a good spot, but this is where he wanted to be. Grandpa let him reel in a couple of his.
Uncle Dan gave Slater the fishing bag and at that point Slater was done fishing. All he wanted to do was play with the fish. In less than 10 minutes we had four fish, in spite of Jordy's help (she dropped her 120 pounds in the middle of the best fish hole).
Growing up in Cantwell was fantastic. Surrounded by all the beauty in nature. Glad to be able to share this with our kids.
Three generations of the Atkins. The oldest and the youngest generations starting to share a lifetime love affair with the outdoors.

So I have been wanting to post ...

the finished product, but now I just feel the need to post something!!!


What would OSHA say??? We have plans to put up railings soon, but were hoping to paint them first. According to Wade's cousin this was exactly the way that Wade was when they were boys!


The little man has learned to use tools this summer. Here he is installing safety handles that he will probably scorn. Maybe the railings should have been installed first!


Here is the almost finished product! The rain was needed and we will get there eventually :)

Memorial Day visit to Grandma

This year we had the honor of taking flowers to Grandma Peggy's grave site on Memorial Day. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we decided that Jade should wear a truly "girly" summer outfit in honor of her grandmother, who only had boys to dress up. Wade often talks about her and how delighted she would have been with grandchildren, especially a little girl (whose arrival would have darn-near been a 60th birthday present). So here is Jade and her dad walking back to the car after having a chat with grandma.

Chena River Mud

In her hurry to reach the river she over balanced and hit the dirt - literally! Some people would pay serious money for a mud facial and she already knows the best way to apply one :) I hope to spend the whole summer loading smiley, muddy, cheerful children into my car.

So here is the baby girl rocking out with the best toy ever! We have not purchased a single toy for this kid, who likes to amuse herself with cups, flashlights, and anything that has been recently touched by her brother.