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!

The wild animals

They were all very cooperative for my photos!

Awesome and Powerful

The boys were amazed by the Polar Bears and how neat they looked under water.

BRAGGING RIGHTS FOR MOM

Run Mommy Run!!!!

Here I come in the blue jacket behind the person in yellow. The finish line is in sight and my arms are outstretched as I anticipate the end. I came in strong but there was (by no stretch of the imagination) enough energy to sprint it in.

The FINISH line! There has never been a greater sight! All 13.1 miles are behind me! And yes, that point 1 certainly does count!!!!

I completed my FIRST half marathon on August 17th, 2008! My run time was 2 hours and 7 minutes and I placed 22nd out of 65 in my age category and 168th out of 440 women runners. I am very happy with my results and I think I'll be basking in the glory of this accomplishment for quite some time!!

Not only was I proud of my accomplishment, but I had a very proud husband!

Seeing Scott and the boys made crossing the finish line that much sweeter!!!!!

The boys especially liked my "Golden Medal".

My dear friend, Sherry, came out to cheer us on. She hugged me so hard (bless her heart), that I almost barfed.

Dwight, Mary, Mike and I pose for a "Finishers" picture! We all experienced our own success that day and each of us were so proud of the other. What a great experience and even greater to have friends to share it with. Congratulations everyone!!

ALASKAN HOT TUB

It doesn't matter what the weather is, kids are naturally attracted to water. Sometimes the water has to be a little less shocking than that which comes directly from the hose however. Yes, this hot tub is actually a sled filled with hot water. The hot water was brought out from the house one bucket at a time until it was just right. As you can see the boys thought it was awesome.

Our weekend trip to Soldotna was a blast and even though the weather was dreary the boys were anything but! Spending time with friends and making memories is what it's all about!

WATER SLIDE

Casey got creative and made the little boys this awesome water slide. They had to get into the homemade hot tub after every trip down the slide since it was barely 60 degrees that day! Brrrr!

THE SPRINKLER

Sprinkler Buddies!

A summer day in Alaska?

We actually had a day that was warm enough to have some fun in the sprinkler!