2008 SUMMARY

The Guyers 2008 year at a glance:

Mitchell: Started 1st Grade and has really become a great student. He has come a long way with his reading and is now comfortably reading at a 2nd grade level. Art continues to be one of his favorite subjects and he also enjoys "hard math". Mitchell is now playing on a hockey team (the Blue Rhinos) and has even scored a couple goals this winter. It's hard to believe that in just days he will be 7!

Quinn: Is enjoying his last year of preschool and loves going there with his two buddies, Shane and Beringer. Quinn no longer walks on the ice but has really learned to skate this fall. He enjoys going to the pool with Dad and has become quite the snorkeler.

Scott: Continues work at BLM, spending much of the summer months running a research camp at the Bering Glacier, flying in helicopters, boating through the icebergs, and researching on the north slope (the most northern area of AK). When not working in Alaska's wilderness, Scott enjoys taking family and friends fishing in Katchemak and Ressurection Bay in search of Halibut and Salmon.

Lori: Volunteering in Mitchell's class, hosting a ladies Bible study, having play dates for Quinn, and working out has kept me busy. I ran a 12K, a couple 5-milers and my first half-marathon this summer. New on my plate this winter is teaching fitness classes at The Alaska Club which has been a rewarding challenge.

Sprig: At over 14 years old Sprig is moving very slowly and has trouble navigating the stairs. Otherwise, he is doing fairly well and is still likes to play in the snow and give everything he comes across a good sniff.

Husker: Sadly, we said good-bye to Husker this fall as he could no longer battle the cancer he was facing. He is remembered by all and certainly Sprig misses his good buddy.

The Guyers wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with blessings!

OUR BEAUTIFUL BOYS

Photos by Mary Jackson Photography

THE FUN NEVER ENDS!

MITCHELL IN ACTION

Mitchell gets his FIRST GOAL tonight, November 18th 2008!

Way to go Mitch!

OH HOW SWEET IT IS!

Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find a delightful creature of a boy.

QUINN FINALLY GETS IT

Quinn has learned how to skate. Oh, he could skate before by walking and shuffling along on the ice, but now he is actually pushing off and REALLY skating!

TRIBUTE TO A GOOD FRIEND

It is with great sadness that we say farewell to Husker. He was an awesome friend and made our lives so much richer for the 8 years he was with us. He battled cancer and as much as I'm sure he tried he could not win that battle. We have so many wonderful memories of Husker. All the runs on the beach, the camping trips, the romps in the backyard and the great way he vocalized his love for EVERYONE. Husker was energetic, stubborn, strong, driven, enthusiastic and loving. Husker was one awesome dog and will not be forgotten.

Thanks for all the slobber!

Sweet and Silly

FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL

Quinn was very ready to start preschool, especially since big brother had already started first grade. He was also excited to start school because this year one of his best buddies, Shane, was going to join him there.

FAMILY CAMP 2008

Labor Day for us means it's off to Midnight Sun Bible Camp, our church camp, for Family Camp weekend. This camp is several miles down a one lane dirt road that requires a 4X4 truck to get you there. It is situated on beautiful Lynx Lake with a rustic lodge and kitchen and several cabins for sleeping. Now when I say cabin, I mean four walls and a roof. No heat, no electricity, simply shelter. It works. The weekend is spent enjoying family time and just having as much fun as you can pack in in one weekend. The boys arrived at camp and Mitchell immediately said, "Can we live here?" It is a true paradise for kids, both young and not so young. The highlights of our weekend are shown in the photos below.

Family Camp signifies the end of summer for us in Alaska. Tourists are back home, gift shops are closed down and boats are soon to be winterized. I typically have had my fill of camping and fishing by this time anyway and I'm ready to move on to fall activities. Around the Guyer house that means College football, oh excuse me, HUSKER football!!!! Scott will spend many a Saturday coaching his team from the couch and wrestling his boys during commercials. I will be set free to attend cycling class or pilates or whatever suits my fancy! Gotta love fall!!

ARE THEY CRAZY?

Yes they are crazy! Mitchell decided tubing would be a blast! Dad held on to Mitchell's tube and off they went.

Is this fun or what?

He survives! What a champ!

JUST LIKE HIS DAD

A big part of Family Camp is catching pike. Mitchell loves to catch fish, especially pike, since he can catch them all by himself!

So proud!

CAMP ZIP-LINE

A great new addition to camp was the zip-line. All the kids had a blast on it (as long as they were caught at the end, right Mary????).

Exhausted

From the moment Quinn woke up, to the moment his eyes closed at the end of the day, he was going non-stop! He barely made it 5 minutes in the car on the way home before crashing.

FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE!!

Mitchell was very excited about starting First grade. He had already met his new teacher and she seemed very sweet and made Mitchell feel very comfortable about starting his new endeavour. There were several friends in his class that he was also in Kindergarten with and so he was excited about that.

Quinn was also excited about Mitchell starting school, until Mitchell actually had to stay there for the whole day, without Quinn. Quinn cried when Mitchell walked into the school with his teacher and his class because, "he didn't wave good-bye to me"! It was a hard day for little brother and at least once or twice an hour he would ask if it was time to pick up Mitchell yet. First day without his best friend was a tough one.

TRIP TO THE ZOO

On the last day of summer, before the start of school, we took a trip to the zoo. I asked the boys what "special thing" they would like to do before school started and they chose the zoo. We spent several hours checking out all the creatures and it turned out to be a great end to summer break!