first family "climb"

Kep and Parker missed our first hike up April Bowl so we went back 2 days later. Noah and Savannah were so proud to be the tour guides, as it is rare that they know more than Parker! ;o)

my 3 favorite boys before we start the "climb". Our family typically visits Hatcher's 2x/month but we've always stuck to family~friendly hikes. But, the end of this hike became more of a "climb" and our kids were so pumped to say they are now "climbers"!!!

all 5 of us enjoying the never~ending view from the top!

our 3 silly munchkins playing in the dugout at the top

the Kung Fu "climbers"!

we got down just in time to miss the first snowfall!

2 peas in a pod... of leaves

Noah Hatcher and Savannah Morgan are only 16 1/2 months apart but they look and act more like twins! These 2 share the same... expressions, attitude, cute face, baby~fine blonde hair and they even think alike! It's so fun to watch these two play as they laugh at the same things while they clown around! This day in the fall leaves was no different and I am so pleased that they enjoy eachother so... that is on most days!!!

April Bowl with buddies

if it's the end of August and there are blue skies at 8am in Alaska... you gotta take full advantage of the gorgeous day and be outdoors! and that is just what we did! fortunately, our good buddies were available to join in on a new hike for us, April Bowl in Hatcher's! isn't it amazing up there!?! Savannah was having a lot of fun sliding down a li'l muddy slope and I thought it was too cute to see her "seat" all brown!

these 3 boys have so much fun together so when you ask them to stand for a picture, they'll do it but if you ask them to put their arms around eachother...

the pose suddenly becomes a wrestling match! haha... we never got the pic we were anticipating but the unplanned ones are always so much better and more memorable! love them!

this was such a special day to be with good friends while enjoying the gorgeous scenery just 20 minutes from home!~ thank you Pam and boys!

eklutna in the Fall

it was another gorgeous Fall day and we loaded all the bikes in the car and headed up to Eklutna Lake, my favorite! It's been so handy to have the addition of this tagalong bike to make our biking adventures more exciting for Savannah~ thanks DuHads!

The Fall colors along with the bright blue of this lake were amazing and I just had to have a new pic with my sweet ones!

We sat by this li'l beach and enjoyed the scenery, rock throwing and practiced our log rolling skills!

Our biking adventure got to end on an exciting note as Parker spotted a spruce hen. So, he quickly jumped off his bike, zipped his new slingshot out of his Camelbak and successfully shot the bird 3 times. Seriously, these birds are so "dumb"... I know part of their camouflage technique is to sit still and blend in but it just doesn't work! Parker was thrilled to be the "first one in our family to shoot an animal with his slingshot"!

Teeland Titan Trail Run

Savannah and my li'l bday buddy

These 2 li'l girls are precious to me... it's quite obvious why Savannah is precious to me! Selah Joy is the other li'l one and she is the fifth daughter of one of my best girlfriends... and she is my bday buddy. So, Selah will always hold a special place in my heart besides the fact that she is just so stinkin' adorable and super mellow!

It is precious to watch Savannah get such pleasure out of holding babies... she is gentle and a natural with keeping them content! ;o)

the BUTTE

This past weekend was a gorgeous fall weekend and if there is any hint of blue sky... I have our family out enjoying the outdoors as soon as Kep gets home from work! So, on this day we headed out to the Butte... and had a great time enjoying God's creation. Parker is enjoying a different part of God's creation as he aims for the helpless li'l squirrel. I'm not a big fan of hurting li'l animals but Kep assures me that I need to let his boys be "Wild Warriors"!!!
The Butte is a pretty simple hike so it's perfect for the li'l legs in our family. Although it does have some pretty slippery/steep sections so the boys LOVED the new addition of these ropes to help them take eachother out by swinging it back and forth!

Savannah will resort to hiking like a bear if there is a prize to be claimed! Kep told Savannah that if she could hike the Butte without being carried... everyone would get DQ icecream afterwards. Oh my... that girl did not smile til the top as she was determined to make it all on her own. We knew our girl was stubborn but we had no idea the power of icecream... I think we'll be using that one again! ;o)

AND, she did it! We held her hands on some of the slippery parts but other than that she did it and she was the dirtiest we had ever seen our li'l girl!

What a fun evening as a family... I am blessed!

3rd YL annual trip to Seward

We trucked on down to Seward over Labor Day weekend for our 3rd annual camping trip with our Young Life crew! As always it was a great time had by ALL! Here's Savannah enjoying every minute with Ella, Regan and li'l Aly! One of the biggest perks of our time in Seward... is the kids getting to ride their bikes with friends at the skate park!

Parker loved borrowing the Smith's scooters attempting some of the tricks he saw the BMX riders doing at the fair!

Sarah Novak... love this girl and the fun memories and wisdom she brings to my life!

the bday buddies running up the beach away from the wave~ they were a li'l surprised by this one! ;o)

the kiddos enjoying eachother on the Seward beach... love the scenery!

another reason we go down on Labor Day weekend is so 3 of our husbands can compete in the Seward to Anchorage Bike race. Tom, Steve and Kep had a blast even though the weather was less than ideal. And, we all cheered them on as we "caravanned" up the highway!

Kep working hard up one of the BIG hills! I can't believe he finds this to be fun but I'm so proud of my man!

Here they are... they did it!

Thanks Pam for sharing all your pix as I kept forgetting to get my camera out of my bag~ glad you were on top of it! ;o)

Parker is 7!

Parker is 7... it's hard to believe! Ever since this guy turned 6, he has been trying to pick out his favorite theme for his 7th birthday. Just a week ago, he decided he would like a LEGO Ninjago party and have his good buddy, Caden, over for a sleepover! We all had a great time celebrating our boy who is full of energy, smiles and optimism! Perfect combo! This birthday it was fun to watch him take interest in reading all the cards before opening the gifts.

Caden and Parker all excited to try the LEGO Ninja! This cake looked alot cooler online when it was made from fondant. But, since I don't enjoy the taste of fondant and I don't know how to make it... buttercream frosting will have to do for this amateur! Also, I learned a lesson... when you need to make black frosting, start with chocolate and add a few drops of black food coloring. I was lazy and didn't want to make 2 separate batches of frosting for the yellow and black... so I made vanilla buttercream and had to add a WHOLE container of black food coloring to turn it a true black! YUCK~ not only does it turn your entire mouth black... it also doesn't taste so yummy! Oh well, another comical memory from one of my cooking errors! ;o)

And, there they are assembling all the new Ninjago sets and HEROs! Parker McKinley, you are one cool seven year old and we love being your parents!