3,700 miles later....

we are home!! I figured up the other night that in the last 2 weeks we have spent approximately 45 hours in the car, 18 hours on a plane, 7 hours on a school bus, and 5 hours on a boat. I'm pooped! I need another vacation!

If you come home as

happy as you leave,

you've had a good vacation. --Anonymous

We were able to visit Denali National Park, Seward, Whittier, Wasilla, and Anchorage, Alaksa. We were part of the lucky 20% a year who are able to see Mt. McKinley. We touched a glacier and walked among wild animals (ok we drove past them in the bus but it was still cool.) We stayed part of the time with some new Alaska friends and we can not thank them enough!! Our host even took us up in his plane! Hubby loved it and they were up there for hours. I made it about 20 minutes...haha! Flying is not for me.

It was so amazing to see a land that is so underdeveloped. Don't get me wrong...there are lots of towns and the town we stayed in for awhile had everything you could really want. But we would drive for hours and see nothing but a couple of wide spots in the road with a gas station. It was very odd. The never ending daylight was so strange and invigorating at the same time. After the first couple of night of not sleeping well I finally had to cover all the windows and pretend it was dark so we could calm down and begin to get tired.

Hubby enjoyed the trip more than you will know. I think he would move up there in a heartbeat if I would encourage it....I'm not going to though.

Ice Straight Ahead!

Ice Straight Ahead! Can you name the movie?? You won't get a fancy prize...just the satisfaction of saying you know your 90's movies.

We hiked up to see an Exit Glacier. It was so amazing to see!! It was raining and very cold but so amazing to be that close to a glacier. The ice is so blue. My pictures really are not doing Alaska justice.

Yesterday we took a boat out to see a calving glacier near Whittier, Alaska. The most unusual town I have ever seen. Only one way in and out of the town...through a long 2 1/2 mile tunnel through a mountain. Cars share the tunnel with the train so you can only go through at certain times. All 250 towns people live in ONE building. They say it cuts down on snow removal. It was sleeting and raining on us all day...very cold! We were lucky enough to see some of the glacier calving. Wonderful experience....except for the freakin' tunnel. I could do without that exerperiance again.

Greetings from Alaska!

Well, we made it! It's 9:12pm Alaska time (Midnight central time). I'm exhausted but having a good time. The 18 hours of daylight are just amazing. Driving from the airport the other night at 10:30pm we had to have our sunglasses on the sun was so bright. Such a weird experience!

We visited Denali National Park today and were able to actually see Mt. McKinley/Denali. They told us it has been so cloudy that few have see it this year. We have seen bear, moose, caribou, and Dall sheep. Hubby is totally in his element!

Mt. McKinley/Denali. Still some cloud cover but in person it really stood out from the other mountains. I am probably about 60 miles away from it at this point.

Tomorrow we are headed to Seward to hike the Exit Glacier.

My Thoughts Exactly!

I saw this on Yarn Over and I have to say I totally agree!! Finally a picture that says it ALL! I hate to clean. There are a million other things I would rather do....knitting, scrapbooking, blogging, shopping, sleeping, eating...hmmm...picking my toenails. Yup...LOT'S of other things to do besides cleaning.

Tomorrow I will not have to clean again for 2 whole weeks. We are leaving on vacation to Alaska! This is our big 10 year anniversary trip. I wanted to go somewhere warm and tropical and Hubby wanted to go somewhere and camp for a week and eat bologna. Alaska was our compromise....I'm not sure I won. We'll see.

I'll try and post pics from our trip but we'll see what happens. See ya!!

Munch for my Monkeys

I'm about obsessed with John and Kate Plus 8 on TLC. I'm not sure what it is about this family but I watch every week. A couple of weeks ago Kate made what she calls Monkey Munch for her kids. I decided I had to try it! When I looked up the recipe I figured out it was what I had always called Puppy Chow. Yummy yummy yummy! I used all organic ingredients so it's ok that I ate bowls of it isn't it?


Monkey Munch Recipe

One box of Chex Mix (I used the organic version)
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Put cereal in large bowl. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over Chex cereal, put into a large plastic bag with powdered sugar and shake well to coat. Spread mixture evenly on wax paper and allow to cool.

Allow to cool?? I just saw this part of the recipe. I'm sure the kids and I never allowed it to cool before we dug in. haha!

I Felt Like Tom Sawyer

While mopping the floor both kids decided they wanted to mop the floor for me. Apparently they thought it looked fun. Who am I to argue with this logic...I put them to work!
At one point I told Sissy if she wasn't going to mop the correct way then I was going to take the mop rag and bucket away from her. She screamed, 'NO!! I'll do it right mommy!' First of all I couldn't believe I just said that to her and second I couldn't believe she WANTED to mop. Crazy kids!!Just look at that flurry of activity! It wasn't done exactly the way I would have done it but that's ok...it was done...and I didn't have to do a thing!

Off to the Zoo

Today we traveled to our area zoo with Sissy's BFF. We packed lunches and drinks and loaded the kids into a wagon and took off!

I was a little nervous about going without a stroller but I knew Bubby would be wanting in and out of the stroller so I went along with the wagon idea. I don't know if it was the best idea but he was in and out a lot and it would have been a pain with the stroller. He is just active that it is hard to relax most of the time. I think I need to look into a baby leash...heehee!

The kids had a really good time. The Apes and the Lion were a huge hit. This was the first year Bubby really got what the zoo was all about. Sissy loved being able to share the zoo with her BFF.

The kids were able to feed the goats in a little petting area. They must NEVER feed these poor goats cause when they see the kids coming they are all over them!! Bubby was NOT impressed. He ended up just throwing his food into the pen and taking off. He's thinking about it here....he ended up just throwing it at him and running though.After a picnic lunch we walked over to a play area to let the kids burn off a little more steam (and I do mean steam cause by noon it was STEAMY!) I was a bit nervous to let Bubby play on it cause it's so big and I couldn't see him at all times but it was fenced in and he would have to walk by me to get out and he was in yellow so I thought it would be ok.

The problem was almost every other mother had the same fashion sense I did today. I swear every little boy there was in yellow! Needless to say I lost him and I almost went into hysterics before he was found. (I now know I will not be good in this kind of emergency so from now on I'm duct taping him to me!) He was safe and sound on the carousel. Somehow he had got into the carousel and was up on a horse. They wouldn't start the carousel cause he was so little and he didn't have an adult with him...and he hadn't paid of course. People were looking for me while I was looking for Bubby. I was a wreck by the time I found him...which wasn't more than 2 minutes but it was the longest 2 minutes of my life! Lesson learned.

Other than that one experience we had a good time. We even stopped for cheese curds on the way home! YUMMY!

All-American Boys

This is my newest nephew...actually he is my ONLY nephew. Is he not the cutest thing ever? I've heard he is a screamer but just look at that face. There is no way he could be that bad.His mommy better pray real hard he doesn't turn out like this one.
Look at that eyebrow!! Could he look anymore like his Daddy?

Happy 4th of July

I just love 4th of July!! Our town did fireworks last night so we bundled up and went to see them. Yes...you read right...we bundled up. I swear I feel like we are living in Australia or something cause it is NOT supposed to be this cool in July. You are supposed to sweat and sweat and not be able to breath from the humidity when you go to the fireworks. Bundling up is not natural!

I tried to get pics of the kids watching the fireworks but of course, guess who, would not

cooperate.

When you tell Bubby to smile you get this crazy lowered eye growl look out of him.

Here he is just disgusted with the whole thing and could care less about the camera. Sissy looks EXACTLY the same in every picture though!

I made this simple cake last night for our anniversary and 4th of July. It's supposed to be red, white, and blue. I know it LOOKS pink but it really wasn't in real life. I'm going to blame it on the camera. It's not all that glamorous but the kids liked putting 10 candles on it and blowing them out.

We are off tonight to a neighboring town to see more fireworks tonight. Where is my sweatshirt.....

Happy 4th of July!

Yup...Smells the Same

I had lunch today with two of my friends and their children at our local Kindergarten. All the girls are going to Kindergarten in the fall and we are trying to get them acclimated to the school and eating their lunch there. I walked in and even though I didn't even go to this school as a kid the lunch room smelled EXACTLY the same. How is that possible!? You know the smell....food mixed with sweaty socks and stinky kids.

Before they ate everyone went to the bathroom to wash their hands in the little bitty sinks. They were too cute! Bubby thought this was a spectacular room!

Then everyone filed into the lunch room to eat. We had chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and milk. The little brothers walking into school. All together now....awwww!

Happy Anniversary

Happy 10 years honey!

Don't we look young in that picture? (Sorry about the photo quality but it's scanned in...before digital. ) The last 10 years has really aged us I think. (I am the ONLY one allowed to say that!) But I think moving 4 times, remodeling 2 homes, building one, and having 2 children will do that to a couple.

We are keeping it very quiet today. We went out to dinner on Monday night and in 11 days we are leaving for a trip to Alaska!! YIPEE! WOOHOO!! I'm kinda excited.

I made this card for Hubby today. I'm sure he will appreciate all the Stampin' Up! products I used on it..heehee!

Today is also my parents wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Lastest Professional Pics

Here are a couple of pictures we had taken at JC Penney.

This one pretty much sums up Bubby. The photographer told him to smile and this is what we got....haha!

This one was too cute I thought.

She is how old???

Cherry Crescent Coffee Cake

I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine and it is so yummy. Refrigerated crescent rolls and cherry pie filling make this lovely coffee cake a cinch to prepare! (I don't know why they call it a coffee cake cause it doesn't have coffee in it and it's nothing like a cake.) The cherry-cream cheese filling is delectable while the pretty drizzled glaze adds the perfect touch of sweetness.

Cherry Crescent Coffee Cake

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, divided

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tubes (8 oz.each) refrigerated crescent rolls

1 can(21 oz.) cherry pie filling

2 to 3 teaspoons milk

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar until smooth. Add egg; beat just until combined. Stir in vanilla: set aside. Unroll crescent dough and separate into triangles. Set four triangles aside. Place remaining triangles on a greased 14-inch pizza pan, forming a ring with wide ends facing outer edge of pan and pointed ends towards the center. Lightly press seams together. Spread cream cheese mixture over dough to within 1/2 inch of edges. Top with pie filling to within 1/2 inch of cream cheese edges. Cut reserved triangles into thirds, starting at the wide end and ending at the point. Arrange over pie filling with points facing outer edge of pan, forming spokes. Press ends at center and outer edge to seal. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Combine remaining confectioner's sugar and enough milk to achieve drizzling consistency; drizzle over coffee cake. Yield: 12 servings

This recipe is from the Taste of Home magazine. March/April 2005 issue

Did she just call my kids well behaved??

Last night we had a date. Sissy asked us how long we were going to date...haha! We left the kids with my friend FarmerFoley so we could go and eat a ridiculously overpriced hamburger but it was so good to eat alone. FarmerFoley actually thought they were well behaved...WHAT?? I am SO happy she watched them though and they all had a good time.

I'm not sure what she gave Bubby to behave last night but it had obviously worn off by this morning. It wasn't all their fault though cause the poor kids had a really full day yesterday and then we had to be at a MOPS meeting by 8am this morning. That is REALLY early for my kids. After the meeting we had a play date and Bubby was hitting everyone. It was not good. I should have taken them straight home after the MOPS meeting but I didn't. Everyone is asleep now and it's all good.

Check out all the yummy food we had this morning. We did get a lot accomplished even though I had a screaming, crying, fussing kid on my lap most of the morning.

On a side note Bubby has been in big boy underwear for 2 days straight now and no accidents. YEAH!!!