Thunder bird Falls

A few weeks ago we went on a fun little hike to Thunder bird Falls. It was beautiful fall weather, which has since come and gone. The way the sun hit the golden leaves made them illuminate above us. It was just gorgeous! This hike is only a few miles from where we live and this is the first time we had done it. We should have been doing this weekly.

Zanna was having the time of her life frolicking about in the leaves.

Isn't this scenery just beautiful. I love this picture of the kids with their daddy.

The trees here do not turn red and orange, only yellow. But lost of the shrubs turn red. The ground was so vibrant and colorful.

My happy little hiker! Zanna learned what tree roots were on this hike. She also like howling like a wolf and pretending Jathan was a monster and running away from him. Maybe this was just his ploy to get her to keep moving.

When we got to the falls Troop rested his head on Jathans and laid it there relaxing for a few minutes. It was really sweet!

The Falls were just beautiful. There was another trail we could take to go down to the river. But we thought it a good idea not to go down there with the little ones.

I love all the golden leaves at the top of the photo. They were glowing.

Having a little snack and glaring at Jathan. I am not sure why... he was probably making a face at me. Always egging me on :)

Troop was really excited to get out of the carrier and walk his restless legs.

Zanna did a really good hiking all by herself. On the way back she was running as fast as she could. She liked getting really far ahead of us. As she ran up the hill and around the corner out of sight I got a little panicky... thinking... hello this is bear country. So I took off in a dead sprint after her :)

Salmon Fishing

Jathan got to do a bit of Salmon fishing this summer and LOVED it. He never takes the camera with him so all I have is a photo off of his phone.

Can you believe the size of these fish? They are ginormous! And mighty tasty too! And is it strange I think my husband looks HOT in all his rain gear?

I got Jathan an Ugly Stick fishing pole for fathers day this year. I am pretty sure everyone here owns one. Oh and don't worry, they sell them at Costco!! So funny!

So here we are turning our salmon into smoked salmon. Which is kind of a process, but it is a rewarding one. It is delicious. Although my house did smell of smoked salmon for about a week... that was not so rewarding. You can eat this just like you would jerkey or on a salad and I am sure there are many other ways.. which I am sure I will learn (hopefully).

You have to be a resident of Alaska for a year before you are able to go dip netting. We get to go next summer and we are super stoked. I have heard it can be intense but I say bring it!! Oh and they sell these dip nets at Costco too! Amazing.

Fall Festival

We took the kids to the Fall Festival a few weeks ago and they loved it! It was such a beautiful day and a beautiful fun place to visit. It is on a farm that is actually run by the church. I imagine for canning and what not.

Zanna could have sat and stared at these chickens and little chickies the whole time we were there. She kept asking me if she could hold them. She loves animals.

There were lots of fun games for the kids to play. Throw the bean bag into the pigs mouth, hockey, basketball, giant bowling and much more. They handed out Halloween themed prizes after each game you played and gave out these cute little jack-o-lantern bags to put your treasures in.

My two men. Zanna with her bag full of treasures. My handsome fall boy.
It seems like Jathan always has someone riding on his shoulders.

Another treasure adorned around Zannas neck.

I am surprised there is a picture of me. Well actually I am not. I asked Jathan to take a pic of me and my girl. I think if I did not ask for him to take pictures my children would one day look back and wonder if I ever did anything with them :)

Oh that face. Love it.

This is about a thirty minute drive from where we live and the mountains are breathtaking. They are huge and surround you every way you look. Jathan and I would love to live out that way. It reminds us of home a little because there are lots of fields. Something you do not see very often in Alaska. Most places are so thick with trees you can't see 10 feet in front of you, which is also beautiful.

The kids playing in the truck. And yes, I think Jathan is categorized as a kid :) And thank heavens for it! He is such a good daddy. Zanna and Troop adore him. He is so playful and constantly making them giggle and run and scream.

THE END

Troop-A-Licious

My little man is one!

Well he turned one July 30, but there was so much going on I never got a chance to post anything. The poor kid still hasn't even had a birthday party. I think I will tackle that next week... better late than never... Right??

I took some fun photos of him while we were in Montana. He is such a handsome little dude. I can't get enough of him. Don't mind that he had a thousand mosquito bites all over his face.

Troop has been such a gem of a child. He is so happy and so cuddly. He loves to giggle and play. He adores his big sister and already knows how to tease her. Takes her toys and runs away giggling. Little stinker.

He is not the best sleeper... actually he is a terrible sleeper, but we are working on that. I can't say it is all his fault. The poor kid has been through so many transitions, moving to Alaska, then going back to Utah for two months, then back to Alaska.

He is a total mama's boy but also adores his daddy.

He waves hi and gives hi fives.

He pretends everything is a cell phone and says ya to everything you ask him.

He LOVES playing with my cell phone or camera or anything with buttons really.

He loves to talk to his daddy on the phone. Jathan will call and I will put the phone on speaker and hand it to Troop. Troop wanders all over the house jabbering on and on to Jathan. It is really cute.

He is a little climber. He is always balancing on top of something... a box, a chair, one of his toys.

And oh, to think how tiny he was one short year ago. He weighed in at 5lbs 15 oz and 5lbs 7 oz when we brought him home.

How precious was he? And how hairy was he? So cute, he was covered in black peach fuzz.

My friend Lindsey took these photos of him when he was 4 days old. It is so fun to look at them again.

Is this the smallest bum you have ever seen? So tiny. And there is all that peach fuzz I was talking about. Mmmm I miss having a newborn! Why must they grow so fast?

We love you Troop!

Happy 3rd Birthday Zanna!!

Happy Birthday My Big Little Girl!

Zanna turned 3 September 21st. I can not believe she is already THREE years old. She is getting too big too fast. I think I will say that every year from here on out!

We had a really fun party! We invited all of Zanna's cute little friends and she had a ball! She had been talking about her birthday party for WEEKS! She could not wait. She would say "mom we have cake and toys and birthday hat at my party?" Pretty cute!

A table filled with Birthday hats. I think Zanna tried every one of them on... but of course her favorite was the one in the middle... the birthday girl hat! She wore it all day long, putting it on and off and then on again! By the time her party came it had already gone through the ringer!

Poor thing, She had to wait until 6:30 for her party... it was a long day... Lot's of anticipation. She asked me about a thousand times when her party was going to start.

Jathan has been working lots of 16 hour days lately so I had lots of time to make some fun things for the party. Tissue paper pom poms, the party hats, and I made the banner a few years ago. It has come in handy on several occasions.

So while she waited she helped me make cupcakes. Well she mostly helped me clean the frosting off of the Egg beaters.

We packed Lots of people into our little apartment. It was pretty fun!

More pics of Zanna helping me bake. For some reason I can not rearrange these photos so they are a little out of order.

Looking pretty dang cute in her panties and her Apron.

Opening presents. This little girl got SPOILED. Really though, she got some good loot!

All the kiddos eating cupcakes and ice cream!

The little girl rocking the sunglasses is Zanna's friend Abbi. Let me just tell you about her at this party. She was the BEST ever. She was so excited for the games. Never took off her party hat or her party sunglasses. She was HILARIOUS! At one point she was talking to her mom (Bobbi) and I hear Bobbi giggle and say "I just can't take you seriously right now!"

Zanna rocking her party hat. Do you love her crimped hair? I do!! This little lady is never fully clothed. She is either missing her shirt or missing her pants.

We got her a little train set from Ikea when I was in Utah (yes there is definitely not an Ikea in Alaska... shed a tear) It was a hit. She Loves it!

Probably her favorite part of the whole night... eating the frosting off of her cup cake! Why didn't I just give her a bowl full of frosting. She never eats the actual cake part.

And the mess...

This Pic of Jathan cracks me up! Go to sleep tiny dancer!

Zanna we love you and we are so proud of you. You are such a sweet and thoughtful little girl. Happy Birthday!

Loss...

Aaron Dakota Garrett
Jathan's brother Aaron passed away saturday July 24th 2010. It is such a terrible loss! We miss him so much and still can't believe it. I feel like it is a bad dream. He was so young. Only 28 years old. He was so talented and had so much potential. He was so funny, amazingly funny! He had the most beautiful smile and a heart of gold. He would truly give you anything you needed and was always so helpful.
He loved his little boy so much and Jaden loved his daddy. My heart just aches for Jaden. He is going to have a rough road ahead. I pray with all my heart for him. Pray that he knows how much his daddy loved him. Pray that he can cope and understand and know his daddy is with Heavenly Father and Jesus. Pray that one day he can understand that he will see his daddy again.

He was so handsome. This is a beautiful photo of he and Jaden.

Oh how I love this little man.

I Love this photo. Aaron lived in St. Thomas with Jaden a few years ago. All these pictures are from that time.

These are all photos that Jaden will absolutely treasure.

The family is doing as good as can be expected. It is so hard. Hearts are aching and broken, but there have been some beautiful blessings given and we are so thankful for the priesthood and the gospel. With out that I think this would be unbearable.

Thank all of you so much for your prayers and thoughts. It truly means so much! We love you all!