A few more pix from our vacation...

All the cousins love holding little Savannah- they do such a great job with her and give me breaks!
Noah cooling off and getting a drink, on a hot/muggy day at a local "sprinkler" park.
Great Grandpa Bern getting the giggles out of Savannah- so precious!
Uncle Chris and Carson loving on Savannah.
Cousin Eli and Savannah just adoring eachother- good catch Auntie Charis!



Jen- these last 3 posts are for you. Sorry, I didn't have time to share cute stories but this single-mom has to go help Noah! Enjoy!

Shop til you Drop

This was definately our motto this past weekend! My mom, sisters, Savannah and I left our children at home while we drove 4 hours away to Spokane, WA! It was a; well-needed break, great bonding time, lots of Starbucks mochas to keep us going, and great new memories. I love my sissies and mom! I, also, love my dad for watching my boys for 2 full/busy days!
We all bought a new shade of OPI polish, so our toes all looked snazzy for the second day of shopping! Here's Charis giving Savannah pedicure to match her cute outfit!

Loads of family fun!

Our journey down to MT was successful and now we are loving time with cousins... We are soaking in the hot sun and spending our time at a nearby beach. My parents live up on a mountain, overlooking the Flathead Lake, and this beach is just down the hill, a part of the Flathead Lake shoreline. Our boys could spend all day throwing rocks and sticks!
Here is Savannah with her Bapak, who has been a huge help with our boys. We have sure missed Kep while he is out fishing in Bristol Bay for one month. Being a single-mom is a tough/tiring job and I am thankful to have my family here to help me when it feels as though all 3 kiddos are falling apart, at the same time! Now, I know why God designed a family to have a mom and a dad helping eachother raise these little ones- I certainly have a hard time finding enough patience to do it on my own! But, I am glad I am here with family and the toasty sun, instead of at home in cool AK! My dad built this perfect little pool for his 11 grandchildren to enjoy. He also designed 2 grass waterslides (which he lines with a really thick plastic) leading down into the pool. This pool has been a huge HIT for all the cousins and we appreciate all of my dad's work!

Here is Parker, in true fashion... dressing up. His cousin, Carson, has a bunch of masks and costumes so Parker was loving life! He always has to be dressed up. My mom only has "girley" costumes so I won't post a picture of how Parker looks on a daily basis at my mom's house- Kep would not approve!

We did it!

Actually, God did it! I was freaked out to fly alone with our 3-month old, 19-month old and almost 4 year old! But, thanks to; many friends' prayers, lots of new backpack "toys", treats, double stroller, Baby Bjorn, Noah's carseat, binkies, DigEPlayers... we made it to Montana without one tear! I thought I would be crying by our last flight, but "nope"... God totally went ahead of our trip and helped us get to my family in one piece. We are here loving time with my family and soaking in the HOT sunshine for a month. So, start praying on August 1st, again, for a peaceful trip back to AK with my 3 munchkins.

Parker's Hamburger "craft"

Parker had a blast spending the whole day, going on a "date" with Mo-mo (this is what he calls Kep's mom). She picked him up in the morning and headed to CARRS to pick up the groceries for their "craft". These cute hamburgers are made with; Vanilla Wafers, peppermint patties, food-colored coconut, white and red gel frosting (to look like mayo and ketchup) AND sesame seeds (these stick on after you coat the top wafer with Karo Syrup). Now, Parker can't wait to do this yummy hamburger "craft" with his cousins in Montana! Thanks Mo-mo for spending this fun day with Parker!

On our rainy days...

This summer has proven to be more rainy and cool than warm and sunny so...
the boys and I have enjoyed making cookies and patiently (not really!!!) watching them cook! Noah, my little cookie monster, keeps a constant eye on the cookies because he doesn't want anyone to get them. And, I take more and more pictures of our little Savannah!

On our sunny days...

We've only had a few sunny AND warm days and on those days we make sure we're out there enjoying them, while they last. Here are the boys playing with dad as he builds onto the side of our house. I think Noah is up a little too high (he's our clutsy one! :) ) but Kep assured me that he has it all under control and I need to not be so protective!
Happy Father's Day to our favorite dad! Kep joined our local Men's Rugby team, this summer, so we got a real Rugby ball and a little Rugby ball for part of his Father's Day gift. Parker and Noah have loved being tackled and learning the (silly- did I say that!?!) Rugby sport.
Popeye (that's what the boys call Kep's dad) got this Tugboat sandbox for free and Kep cleaned it up to look brand-new! The boys love it and I guess I love doing more laundry! Do you like just one of Noah's MANY crazy expressions!
Our favorite thing to do on sunny days is go boating. Noah's hair has always been silly but after a boat ride... it's a real treat!

All 3 of our kiddos took a nap in the bow so Kep and I got an hour of peace while soaking up the sun. Parker is sweating in his Uncle Tills' 1990's Snoopy wetsuit but that didn't bother him!
Splashing in our eensy-weensy pool is always the most favorite thing to do when it's warm and sunny!

She's getting BIG!

Savannah is 8 weeks old, today! Wow- how time has flewn by. We love all the Savannah smiles we get!
Couple weeks ago, I painted her toenails for church, but then I couldn't show them off because it has been too cold every Sunday morning, since then! So, here was my best attempt to get her cute little pink toes- babies' feet don't stay still for very long! :)
I have loved dressing her up in all the adorable little outfits- shopping for girls is so much more fun! Parker likes to call her our "pretty little princess".

Here she is all dressed up to go watch her first ballet! We had a mother-daughter bonding time last Saturday night when we went to the ballet with Anne-Renee, Tasha, Amanda and little Annika. I sat in the audience thinking of how someday it will be so cute to watch Savannah dance around in a little "tu-tu"! For now, I need to keep enjoying every moment of her being a precious little newborn- I know it will fly by!

Zoo with Uncle Teag

Uncle Teagen has been home all semester and is leaving for 8 weeks to go fishing out in Bristol Bay. So, we wanted to take him to the amazing (ha, ha!) Alaska Zoo with us before he left. We had a great time walking around seeing some Alaskan animals. Noah had fun riding on Uncle Teag's shoulders so he could see the animals better than riding in the stroller.
Unfortunately, Noah decided to puke on Teag's head and shoulders! YUCK! I felt so bad because we were going to be dropping him off at the airport after the zoo and these were his only clothes! But, most the puke landed on Noah's sweatshirt and pants, which is why he is back in the stroller wrapped in Savannah's girley blankey! Poor little guy, it was a rough week of random flu symptoms.

Summer's here... daddy's home!

Another year of teaching is done (HOORAY!) and now we get to enjoy our daily routine with dad being home! I am finally feeling more rested and less frustrated, as Kep is home to help me adjust to having 3 little ones! The boys have LOVED working with their dad getting some projects done. Last summer, we bought a ski boat with Kep's parents and it was in desperate need of a good-cleaning. So, Kep buffed/waxed the outside while the boys played inside. We can't wait to go skiing once it gets a little warmer!

Over the weekend, Kep resurfaced our sandy driveway with rocks. Riding in the bulldozer was definitely a HUGE hit for the boys!

This week, Parker put his "Big Dig" to use by helping dad empty the post holes for our new shed. It is fun to see our big boy show so much interest in building because that is one of Kep's favorite summer activities! Here is a cute little story of our first-born, you'll have to know what a" square" tool looks like in order to understand... Parker is learning the names of all Kep's tools- even if they don't make sense! The other day, Kep pointed to his "square" tool and asked Parker to go grab it. Well, Parker couldn't find any square tool. When Kep walked over to show Parker the tool... Parker said, "No, that is a triangle, you know like Boz sings... 'Circle, triangle, square'!"