Wipeout Fan ?;*&^%$

Have you ever seen the show Wipeout? If you have not Slater's quote won't be quite as funny, but here goes anyway:

"Please, one more Big Balls, Mommy!" - Slater said this when he wanted to watch just a little more Wipeout before bed. His longest sentence to date **sigh**

Here Birdie!

The weather was incredible so Slater and I went out on the Honda to look for Grouse. No luck but we did find a couple of cups of blueberries.


Mmmm, "b-ueberries Daddy!" How could I tell my hunting partner to stop!


Well we were so successful the first day, we decided Jade needed to go on her first bird/berry hunt. No berries, no birds, but lots of fun.


Jade was a champ, crawling over rocks, pushing though brush and taunting her brother from the lead! She did not want to go back to the car but kept heading down the trail again.


Back at the car taking a break and snacking. Think we will have to come back soon!

Do not disturb!

I thought they were to cute to bother, so I snapped a photo and snuck out with the dogs to work in the yard. The first week back was tough all around.

Couldn't decide which one I liked best ...

First day back at work ...

So our early risers decided that this day was the day to sleep late. There is very little worse than waking a sleeping child.


Didn't even move when I took the photo.


Another contented snoozer :(

2010 Tanana Valley Fair

We ate our way through the fair: elephant ears, hot dogs wrapped in a bagel, kettle corn, chocolate dipped ice cream, raspberry crepes and ... well some more stuff that makes us seem like pigs. This was the first year that Slater was able to go on the rides (last year it was super smokey and we elected to skip the fair with the newborn). This year he did the super slide, the train x 2, and the elephant ride. We visited the livestock barns where the pigs and horses were the biggest hits and Jade cried at anything that looked at her funny **sigh** Great time ha by all.


The train was his favorite ride. After the first trip he ran to the front to make sure that he got to ride in the engine. We need to take a real train ride next summer or this fall.


Here is the same bored look on his face. In reality he enjoyed all the rides.


"I am big enough to climb the stairs! Why can't I go too?"


Lovin' the bunnies at the petting zoo. While waiting outside with Jade I was stung by a bee - fierce monsters this year.

Frisbee Golf with Jamie, Teresa and Tyler

The guys searching for a lost frisbee. One throw went over 200 yards! This one made a beautiful slice into the trees and we weren't paying enough attention to see exactly where it hit.


The caddy hard at work. He wanted to be helpful, so he was fetching everyone's frisbee and putting them in the goal. Caddy skills are a work in progress - guess we need to go more often.


A family shot! We took one last year at this same spot. It was fun to look back at how tiny Jade was. Great evening to be out with friends for a picnic and a bit of exercise.

Well who knew that beer caps in the dirt would be so exciting?

Frontyard fun ...

This toy was actually given to us by a neighbor when Slater was about the same age as Jade is in this picture. She looks so serious here, I wish I knew what she was thinking.
That same sweet neighbor brought over some more toys that her daughters had out-grown. Included in the loot was a garbage bag full of bright plastic balls. Slater and Jade enjoyed playing in them and soon they were all over the living room. They now have a home in the swimming pool and everyone is happy.

He would smile and say "cheese", but he refused to actually look at the camera. Goofy kid!

Seriously Mom, is that thing on?

Just in case you were wondering, it was not turned on at the time of the photo. Just the way a big brother expresses his love for his little sister :)

In honor of "Shark Week"

For his birthday my brother got an amazing shark kite, which he never flies so we have hijacked it. Fortunately for us it is almost always windy in Cantwell and we have been able to fly it every trip this summer. While looking incredibly cool, it is difficult to fly and always takes some adjusting before it soars. Last week it was being especially frustrating and before it was adjusted correctly it sailed right into poor Slater and knocked him to the ground. When he got up he was holding his arm and upset, so he ran right to me for comfort. "It hurts! - A shark bite!" I made sure that I was holding him tight so he couldn't see me giggling over his shoulder - sweet boy.

Cantwell Fishing

Without a doubt, fishing is already one of Slater's favorite things to do.


On his way to the fishing hole! The boys made three short fishing expeditions while we were in Cantwell


This is Slater learning how to cast. He does everything with such enthusiasm, so much in fact that it is a tad dangerous to stand close to him :0)

Perfect Cross-hatch Grilling

Wade is normally the "griller" in our house and he loves this show called BBQ-U. The man is always talking about cross-hatch marks and how to get them perfect so that your grilling looks as good as it tastes. This was one of my attempts to make the cross-hatched grill marks, the burgers turned out quite delicious.