Kids In Action!

This picture was taken during Bear Paw Festival. I love the movement in it! Keith was playing tag games and runing around!

There were a few trees there that the kids got to climb on as well. This is Rachel waiting her turn to climb the tree!

My sister, Becca, bought this little outfit for Thomas before she took off for the summer. It didn't fit that well before she left, so I had him wear it recently and took pictures for her so she could see it. Not the best picture, I think he had just woken up.

The kids are like little monkies! They like to climb on the treadmill. It's a good thing that it gives some exercise, huh?


Just some fun pictures of our crazy kids lately!

Thomas' Photo Shoot

When Thomas was younger than he is now (about 2 months old), my sister, Becca, came over and did a "photo shoot." These are two of the pictures that she took. She said that she is still working on them in her photo editing program, but she sent them to me today, and I wanted to share them with you! Aren't they so precious?!


I can't wait to see all the rest that she took!

Smilebox

Okay, I had seen my cousin Dana post a Smilebox creation on her site, and told myself that I was going to have to go back and look at it, and then someone else sent me a link to check it out, so I did, and I LOVE IT! It is so easy to create a fast easy picture whatever to post on here or send in email. I still love doing the traditional scrapbooking, I love the hands on feel, but for a quick and nice result, this is the way to go. And that way I can get more pictures out to you all quickly on what we are doing here! I did both of these slideshows in maybe 30 minutes, just because I was learning the program more. But next time it will be even easier! So if you like these and wanted to know how you can do them on your blog, just click on the link from one of my slideshows and it will take you there. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Memories Tag

Here is a "tag" for you to all play!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

A Fun Giveaway!

I found a link on a friend's blog, for a giveaway, and thought some of you might like to participate. It has to do with dresses on http://mikarose.com/index.html. However the giveaway is on http://brholloway.blogspot.com/ (this blog). You'll have to scroll down a bit to find the actual post, but I'm sure you all will be able to do it! There are some beautiful, modest dresses there to see. Good Luck!

PS- This dress is the Allison dress, and one of my favorites!

More Fun in the Sun!

So, we had another beautiful day, and this time we were able to invite friends over to play in the water with us! This was the day that Tyson left, so we had to do something to distract ourselves from the sadness that always comes when he leaves. We called at noon to invite people over around 2 or so. It was sunny when we called, but then it got cloudy and overcast. We got ready anyway, and it was a good thing we did, because the sun came back out and it was nice out!

Thomas really likes being outside. We ended up with 5 babies there, and we had all the walkers outside for them to talk turns in. Isn't Thomas cute? I think so!
We had our little pool filled up with water- sort of. I didn't plan that well, and there was more slope than I realized, but by the time I noticed it, it was too late to move it. The kids had fun anyway, and by the time they were done playing, they had emptied it out for me!

We also put the sprinkler under the trampoline for a bit. Because we have well water, and I don't want to run out, we did it in about 30 minute intervals. But the kids really had fun playing in the water on the trampoline. The trampoline makes the water not feel as cold by the time it hits the kids.

Our friend, Natalie, surprised us by showing up in the same swimming suit that Rachel was wearing! She didn't have any idea that Rachel had this suit either, but I thought it was pretty cute, so I had to get a picture of the twinners.

This is me at the end of the day. Do you see the pink? My sister told me it looked like I was going to be in lots of pain. My arms got pretty pink too. It was pink, but wasn't too sore, just when Thomas catches me off guard with his little finger nails. I am all better now though!

Alaskan Wildlife in our Own Backyard!

We were up at my parents house, getting dinner ready, while my mom was in her room napping, and she came running out saying there was a bear. So of course we all had to go and see it and take pictures.
It was in their garden, and this picture is of it on their mulch pile. It didn't destory the greenhouse, just dug around in the plastic bags a little.
This next one is a closer up view of the bear. Can you tell if it is black or brown (grizzly)?

It's a brown bear, also known as grizzly.

Here it is in the greenery up above the garden and road area, but still in their backyard. It hung around for about 30-45 minutes.

After it finished hanging out in the backyard, it headed to the flower garden in the front yard. Then our intrepid attack dog, Raisin, started barking to warn us of danger! The bear didn't even flinch. It finally headed up the hill and out of the area...for right now! I didn't get any pictures of that, because we were eating dinner at that point, and didn't want to go get my camera. I know, lazy, but what can I say, dinner was delicious!

Like Father, Like Son

See that long thatch of hair on top? When Tyson was a baby he was a premie and he had to have most of his head shaved off, except for that thatch on the top of his head. His mom liked to put a curl in it- much to Tyson's dismay today. This is the best picture I could find of that. Kind of wavy, not too curly, but I am told that it was pretty curly!

Fast forward about 30 years and see our little boy. He has hair on the top of his head and today, after he had been under a blanket and sweating, his hair was curly. My mom was playing with it and got into one big curl, so I had to take a picture to compare the two. What do you think? Like father, like son?

I only left it that way for the picture, so now it is all fixed.
The things we do for the sake of a picture!
I think they are both pretty cute though!

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood!

So we finally had a beautiful day here in Alaska! Can you see the sun? Can you see the brilliant blue sky? It wasn't overly hot, but it was warm and nice. It might have gotten into the low 60s. I decided that it was high time the lawn got mowed (where were you Sarah and Jonathon? Okay, I guess college and a mission are good excuses!), and told Tyson if he got the mower started up, I would mow while he did homework. His allergies make mowing the yard a nightmare for him and I dont mind mowing, so it worked out okay....for a little while! I took the exersaucer out and Thomas was so happy to just be in it and watching all the things move around outside. Our grass was pretty long, and I didn't want to have to empty the bag all the time, so we were just leaving the grass on the ground. At first I had Thomas in the Snugly, but when I had to keep restarting the mower, having a baby on my front impeded my pull starts. The mower was having some difficulty, and kept dieing on me. I got a blister from having to keep starting it again and again and again and again and.... well you get the idea! So I got some of the yard mowed, but am going to wait for another day to work on it some more. Tyson says he thinks there may be some water in the fuel line from winter, but I don't know. I just know it was really annoying to have it keep dieing on me! So after I decided to call it quits, I told Keith and Rachel we could put a sprinkler under the trampoline so they could play in it. They had fun. Thomas and I sat on the blanket and watched them have fun.

See, don't we look like we are having fun? The sun was shining, I was outside, we had green grass....what more could I have asked for!

Keith and Rachel had lots of fun. I didn't think they would last as long as they did, about 30 minutes or so, but they did! Having the water come through the trampoline made it warm up a bit, instead of just being freezing.

Rachel drying out on her towel. If you can't tell, this is an unmowed section- didn't want grass clippings all over them!

This is Keith drying out. He was the most excited to be outside with the water. I had told them we would try to have a water party outside before Tyson came home this last time, but it was just never warm enough. And this was like at 4 in the evening. That has been the trend. It seems to get nice in the evening. So we want to invite others over to play, but usually it is around dinner time, so that makes it hard to get together with others. If tomorrow is as nice as today was, we might be having a water party! So give us a call and come over!

Keith and Rachel really wanted to do something outside after I turned the water off and they had dried off. I was heading in to make dinner, and had a hard time coming up with something. I saw some rakes leaning against the house and told them they could rake. They were excited and raked quite a pile of clippings. I was just going to leave them on the lawn to provide mulch- right? So then they wanted Tyson to come outside and rake with them, and being the good daddy he is, he agreed. So they all got to rake together outside, and I figured I would get some pictures, but the shadow wasn't in the best location to get all of them, and this was the best picture anyway. Don't you think my honey is handsome?

And speaking of my honey, he is off for life on the north slope soon. So give me a call and stop on by, keep me busy until he gets home! He is going to be gone all of July :( So hopefully it will go quickly until he is home with me again!

All About Thomas!

I figure I haven't posted very many pictures of Thomas lately, so this one is all about him! Some fun thins he has done (being a very advanced 4 month old and all) and other pictures that are just cute!
The first picture is of Thomas and one of our friend's little boys. They are about 6 weeks apart. Can you tell which one is older? (hint- it isn't Thomas!) I know that with the toy right over their necks it makes it hard to see, but they are about the same length.
Then this picture is up at my parents house. I had put Thomas down on his back and was doing something in the kitchen. When I came back to get him, he had rolled over and fallen asleep. This was amazing to me because he doesn't like being on his stomach, so of course I had to get a few pictures!
We have had some pleasant afternoons in the past few weeks (not as many as I would like, but I take advantage where I can) and we spread a blanket out and and head out to enjoy the sun. Can you tell that Thomas isnt' used to it? When ever he is outside for very long, he seems to get red blotches around his right eye. Maybe allergies, I am not sure.
He is able to sit in the walkers and exersaucers and jumpers now and his feet actually touch, so he is lots happier when he can see what is going on. He likes playing with the toys, and likes being "included" now.
Did I say he likes playing with his toys? Cute, huh?

Going 2 Wheels!

This was the last bike ride we took with Keith's training wheels. We have some friends who live up the road (about 15 minutes walk or ride) that we enjoy visiting. This bike ride has helped Keith really get confidant in his riding.
I told Keith that after Daddy got home, we would have Daddy take off his training wheels. Keith eas so excited! He made sure to tell Daddy that at the airport.
We also decided that he needed the seat raised as well. Ih, and don' you just love the color? This bile was left at our last house whwn we moved in, so we kept it. We keep saying we are going to paint it, but we haven't done that yet.

Here Keith is walking his bike up the hill for the maiden voyage without the training wheels! Both Keith and Rachel pretty much got started on bikes here in our driveway. They have a bit of a slope to give them momentum, and a garafe door to crash into as a last resort if their brakes fail them!
And here he is riding without training wheels! What a big boy! We were so proud of him. And still are!

Buzzing Bees

My parents have decided they want to be beekeepers. This means there is a lot of focus on bees and whether or not they are Papa and Nana's bees. I hadn't been out there to see the hive, so one day last week, we went out with Papa to check on them. I took pictures, because I am such a good photo documenter. I am trying to be better about actually sharing them and writing down what happened with them though! First of all, we had to get fire in the smoker machine, so that the smoke will confuse the bees. If you want to know all about it, I am sure my dad would love to fill you in. In short, it covers up the scent of their warnings and then makes them all dizzy- or something.
Then, once you have your full beekeeper gear on (only my dad had some, the rest of us were open to attack (even Thomas who was in the front pack as we went out there- my dad said he didn't think he would need it, but he would wear it anyway) you can head out to see the bees.
The white box in the background is the hive that they built. Then there are these molds (or at least that is what they look like) that the bees use to fill in with honey and other baby bees. The outer molds didn't have very many on them, but the inside ones had lots. But my dad was pretty disappointed by the production of these bees. Said the queen wasn't making enough baby bees to replenish the hive. Apparently the life span of a bee is about a month long.
Here you can see where the bees have been busy. Busy as bees! Ha ha ha ha! I am so funny! Must be because I am sleep deprived! Anyway, you can see the capped of cells- those have baby bees inside (if I was listening to my dad correctly) and the other ones are the honey.
I thought I would try to share the queen bee, since queens deserve some kind of respect. But it was really hard to focus on the queen, since she kept moving and my dad kept moving the screen. If you look in the lower left hand corner, there is a bee that has a red mark on its back, that is the queen! Keith and Rachel are very good at spotting her.

Now you have had a crash course in beekeeping. How exciting, huh?

Tagged!

Okay, so about a week ago, my cousin tagged me and I am just now getting around to doing it!
For those that don't know what this is, it is kind of like a cyber chain letter- someone posts answers to questions on their blog, then tags other people to do the same questionairre on their blog. And on and on.... you get the idea.

5 jobs I've had:1) Worked in Orthodontic office (as receptionist, bookkeeper, assistant, lab tech, and once in awhile cleaner), 2)student secretary of Physics department at Ricks, 3)Burger King Employee, 4)Hannah Car Care Attndant (a car wash), 5)Chugagh Mountain Herald employee (started out stuffing envelopes, then become secretary and even wrote a few articles- while I was in High School)
5 places I have lived: 1)Alaska, 2)Utah, 3)Idaho, 4)Germany, 5)Kentucky (those are only the most recent)
5 favorite snacks: 1)chocolate (I'm not too picky!), 2)oreos, 3)homemade cookies fresh from the oven and milk (dad's chocolate chip cookie recipe is the best!), 4)chocolate again, 5)ice cream
5 things you may not know about me: 1)I have been to all the Disney's, 2)I broke my arm trying to do a "death drop" from the monkey bars, 3)when I had a cast on from breaking my arm I got the chicken pox, 4) i have a bachelors degree in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology 5) After having 2 children with an epidural by choice, and one without an epidural because there wasn't any time, I would recommend an epidural!
5 things I would do as a billionaire: 1)get out of debt 2)build up our emergency storage 3)go on a cruise with my honey 4)let Tyson build his dream computer 5)help others out in need
5 things I love:1) Tyson 2)Keith 3) Rachel 4)Thomas 5)All other family members and friends
5 people I tag:1)Sarah (because she reminded me to do this!) 2)Bethany 3)Jen J 4)Andrea K 5)Anyone else who wants to do it

Some of Our Favorite People!

Grandpa Bubbs and Rachel











Kali and Rachel





Keith and Great Grandpa ******* (who he is named after)


Megan helping the little ones (Rachel, Shaleen, and Kash) during the Sawdust Dig
Here is a group gathered around waiting for lunch- Grandma Bundy (holding Thomas) Krystal and Seth at the far end of the table, Collins, Shaleen, and Rachel on the left of the table, Keith on the right, Megan on the other table, and Justin standing.




These are just a few of our favorite people that we were able to get pictures of while we were down in Utah/Arizona/Idaho on our trip. Be aware that this is by no means an inclusive list, but I do want to share some pics that we do have of some of our loved family!

Just as a disclaimer- I am having a hard time
getting the pictures and the words to line up correctly- it never looks the same in the creating page as it does on the actual blog page! Any help anyone?)

Brief Summary

Okay, I have been getting some grief about not updating my blog, but I have been on vacation for 2+ weeks, so now that I am home, I am going to be working on it. I have 918 pictures to go through and figure out what I want to share with you all. I downloaded the pictures today and posted some, but have lots more, so never fear, I will get more done! I was going to get more done today, but I am getting hit with major exhaustion, so I am going to head to bed in a minute- especially while Thomas is sleeping. He is sick with bronchiolitis, and it seems to be the worst at night, so he doesn't sleep that well, and I definately need some sleep.

But in a nutshell, we flew into Las Vegas, took our rental car up to Cedar City and stayed there with Tyson's family for a bit. While there, we were lucky enough to be able to go to the little Bundy Reunion out at Mt. Trumbull. I had never been to a reunion with that many people- I think that I heard there are 213 or so in the whole family (although not all were able to come). It was pretty neat. I will be posting pictures of the fun we had and all the cousins playing. Then we had to head up to Idaho on Memorial Day because of Tyson's work schedule. He had to be back on the Slope on Wednesday, so we wanted to seem some special people in Idaho before he had to leave. We got to go out on a triple date that night with Sarah and Chris and our friends the Evans. Emily's sister was our babysitter. Thanks Jenny! Then Keith and Rachel went with Sarah and Chris for the night, and Tyson and I stayed at a hotel so we could have some time together before he had to leave the next day. Then after he left, I went out and picked up the kiddos and spent some time with Sarah and then came back to the Evans. They were our home base while we were there. They were very helpful and it was so nice to be able to have a place the kids could play and friends they could play with and friends I was comfortable with so we could come and go as we needed to. We got together with Eleanor and her kids (friends who had lived in Alaska with us and the Evans) and I will post some of those pics as well. And I got to meet up with some of my old roommates which was fun. We spent a night at Sarah and Chris's and got to celebrate Chris' birthday. We got to see sun and rain and lots of clouds on our trip, but isn't that normal for me?
So anyway, we had lots of fun, and came home on Monday night. But that will be a story for another night,b ecause I think I hear Thomas making noise, and if not, I need to go to bed before he does make noise! So good night all, and check back for the rest of the pics of our wonderful trip!

Playing with Sarah and Chris

So on our trip, we got to spend some quality time with Sarah and Chris, which was so fun. I can't believe my baby sister is all growed up and married and stuff! Well, I guess I can, but it is weird sometimes to think about how much we are all grown up. I'm glad that we have been able to move from the s/he's touching me! to being able to just call and see how we are all doing. But I digress...
Chris was a very good sport and was pretty willing to play games with Keith and Rachel just about nonstop. They played Sorry, Wii, and Memory and Memory and Memory. Then on Sunday night, we also played Sleeping Queens and Yahtzee.

Sarah was content to just hold Thomas and get to know him a little better. Sarah was so sweet. The night that we stayed at their house, in the morning when she woke up (I had been up since the wee hours of hte morning with Thomas who was sick), she told me I could go back to bed. That was so nice. Then she offered to take all the kids to the park later so I could just have the day to myself. The thought was so nice, but I ended up taking Thomas to the emergency care place and having him checked out. Turns out he has bronchiolitis- which Tyson gets occasionally. So she and Chris just had Keith and Rachel until Thomas and I showed up after I had gotten his prescription filled.
At the park, they have a splash park area that the kids got to play in. By the time I got there, though, they were splashed out. Apparently the water was not that warm. Not to mention that the kids were getting pretty worn down. Rachel just kind of wanted to sit and cuddle. Good thing Sarah was so fun to cuddle with!








Awww, don't they make a cute little family? Sarah and Chris kept Thomas while Keith, Rachel, and I went on the merry go round- I mean the carousel. The kids had fun, but I remembered why I never really liked playing on the merry go round when I was younger! But when Sarah and Chris are blessed to parents, I know they will do a good job.








While we were there, Chris had a birthday. We were there for his special birthday breakfast- which was delicious. Then we came back the next day and had dinner with them and their friend Gary, who had made a marvelous dinner. All of Chris' favorite things, and then other things for everyone else! Shrimp scampi, deviled eggs, meatloaf, mac and cheese, green beans, salad, and strawberry shortcake and rice pudding. We ate very well that night. Then Gary insisted Chris have his birthday spankings, so each of the kids got to give him his swats with a spatula. He was a good sport, and I don't think they swatted him too hard.

We had lots of fun with Sarah and Chris and were so grateful they let us borrow their car while we were down there- and their GPS! I love having a GPS! It made me feel so much more secure about finding my way around. We hope that they are able to make it up later this summer to come up here and visit. We miss not being able to have all our family around. And Robert and Bethany and family are coming back, and although Becca and Shawn are gone temporarily, they will be back at the end of the year. And I suppose we will excuse Jonathon until he comes home from his mission, but it is nice to have family close by. And we love and miss those that aren't able to be with us lots!