Tie Dye Day!

 

Another fun and fabulous friend day with Stephanie and Dana and all our kiddos! Steph was so kind and generous to teach us how to tie dye and share her dye with us! We had a good time and ended up with some awesome tie dyed shirts and undies! Then, we went swimming. We drove all the way to Nikiski to find that it was closed on Mondays! Thankfully, Skyview had open swim that we were able to get to, otherwise we would have had some major kiddo meltdowns.

House Progress

Actually, we are much further along now! The house is wrapped and drywall is almost complete!

Hallie's Half Birthday

 

This was one of my favorite days of summer. We like to celebrate Hallie's half birthday with gifts and friends, rather than on her real birthday because it is less than a week before Christmas. This summer Dana and her 3 girls and baby boy were up visiting her parents, so she and Stephanie provided all the kids we needed for a fantastic birthday party! Since it turned out yucky outside, Matt allowed us into the gym at his new school to play. After the birthday festivities, the weather had gotten decent (no rain), so we took the kids out to the Redoubt playground. We decided to continue on our day by driving them over to McDonalds playland for dinner! I have decided that there is not much better than the comfort of being in the presence of old friends. We know each other so well, that even though we rarely get to see each other or spend time together or even talk that often, that when we do get together we can just pick up where we left off. It's a wonderful feeling. (But I do wish Dana lived closer!)

Fishing!

After living here for most of the last 19 years, I finally fished for reds from the banks of the Kenai River for the first time! I've always been intimidated to go down and try it. I didn't have anyone to teach me and I didn't want to look stupid. But it's so easy and fun! Of course, being the photographer, there is no proof that I fished, but I did! The girls each got to try it as well. Then I took them to hang with grandma so I could focus and not worry about anyone falling in. Matt and Carson ended up fishing long after I left to get the others to bed and came home at 11:30 pm with 4 fish! Then they got up at 4:15 am the next morning to try for kings with Grandpa from his boat. Not many kings coming out of the river this year. Carson was so excited to fish with grandpa, though, and it was so special for him to take them out on a day off. Tonight, Carson was asked which kind of fishing he liked better and his response was, "Reds, because you actually catch fish!" :)

Sawfest!

This is the first year that I know of that this has been called "Sawfest", but I think that makes it even more awesome! They have this chainsaw carving contest every year and the end results are amazing! This is truly art. Unfortunately, our pictures all revolve around the kids and some older wood carvings and I did not get any of the new carving taking place. But it's a fun little outing with the best BBQ I have tasted and a fun little ice cream shop as well. The carousel costs $1 per person per ride and she just kept it going until I finally told her, "That's probably good", because the kids were starting to try to get off on their own!

The Lake!

We finally had a day nice enough to go to the lake! (Scout Lake, of course.) It was a day I had to clean the trailer and our rooms at Fischers and move to my parent's to make room for their Pensylvania guests. It was gorgeous and warm and I was motivated to clean FAST so we could get to that lake. It may be our only lake day of the summer and it was wonderful. Thank you Lord, for a warm, sunny day! Contessa, Sable, and Emry joined us, which made it even more enjoyable.

A Few Summer Happenings

I found Hallie backpacking her baby, Delaney.

Carson and Grandpa planted a garden.

Carson at Solid Rock Lakeside Camp. Horsemanship.

Funyaking.