School!

I can't believe that another school year has started! I had mixed emotions about them starting. In one way, I felt like they (and me!) were ready to go back, but another way I was so sad about them being another year older in school. Claire was starting first grade, and that's a big life event! She was so excited, so it was hard to be too sad. Lilly was really nervous, but she always is nervous to start and then does amazing after a few days. The night before school started, they had back to school night. It was a great way for them to meet their teachers and see their classrooms. 

The morning of school!! I forgot their signs. Oh well. As you can tell by Claire's smile, she was pretty jazzed!

I really really like our principal. He really tries to make school a great experience for the kids. This year, they had the kids line up in front of their doors, then when the bell rang, they walked the kids around to the front of the school where they had a "red carpet" rolled out and the mascot to welcome them. The kids thought that was pretty cool...as did the parents! 

Perks of working in the office....I have my littles come in and say hi to me! Lilly was out at recess, and wanted to come in and say hi to me. It made my day! I am so so so grateful for my new job. I absolutely love it. It has been a change, and I am still trying to get into a good flow at home, but I wouldn't have it any other way! I am grateful I have Monday's off, because that allows me to get my house and everything else organized for the coming week. If I do that, then my week flows much better! I work with great people, and I am so happy to be where my girls are! 

Wrapping up Summer

Once I got home from Alaska, we only had a few weeks left of summer, so we had to get in as much as we could, which included lots more days spent at Willowcreek! Our favorite summer joint!

Lilly and I have started a Mom & Me journal. I love it. Her notes are my favorite. I write her and leave it on her pillow, and she writes me back. What a treasure!

When the guys were fishing, all the girls got together and spent an evening at Willowcreek for dinner and swimming! Thanks to a quick thunderstorm, we had the pool to ourselves! It was so fun!

New haircuts for school!

Lilly is loving playing with hers and my old American Girl Dolls. I love that she loves them!

We had to fit in a day at the zoo! I was exhausted after working, but had the typical Mom guilt about leaving them all day, so when they asked to go to the zoo, I couldn't tell them no! I am glad we went!

Life wouldn't be complete without a terribly annoying and time consuming project. We are in the process of stripping the black paint off the banister, and repainting the walls. Oh man. All I can say is, I might throw a party when it's over and done with! It better look good when it's done!

Alaska part 2

After seeing the bears, Anton and I were cold and starving! We went into Juneau to get some fish. Oh my heavens...the fish and chips were the best I have ever had! 

The next day we took got our fly rod and I made an attempt to fish off the beach. It was so fun, and so beautiful. We didn't catch anything, even though the fish were jumping! We could have stayed there for hours it was so beautiful. 

After lunch, we tried a new fishing spot over close to Mendenhall Glacier. Another stunning place!

Of course we had to go see the glacier. Since we have both seen it, we didn't do the hike to the waterfall. We were getting a little hungry and were tired from a long day! Later we went into town for an early dinner for some Mexican food, and then hit up the local diner for some dessert! It was fun because we never go out for dessert, and this place was so old school...talk about delicious!

The next morning I had to get up really early to catch my flight, and Anton stayed and met up with my Dad and brothers. I can't begin to explain how much fun we had. I think it might be our favorite trip we've gone on together! I will never, ever forget this trip!! Thanks to my darling Anton for making me so happy, making me laugh all the time, and for spoiling me rotten. I love that guy!

Alaska - Admiralty Island

For my birthday this year, Anton gave me a little trip to Alaska to go see the bears on Admiralty Island! I was SO excited, but after I started watching videos on Youtube of this place, I admit that I had a few nightmares. Not to mention my fear of small airplanes. I was a little nervous when the whole adventure came, but at the same time I was giddy with excitement! These are just some of the pictures off of my phone. I got some incredible pictures with our big camera, I just need to sit down and go through all of them. The plane ride there only took about 20 minutes, and was surprisingly smooth...but very loud. The scenery from the plane was just stunning. Alaska is one of the most beautiful places and has such a unique feel about it. I love it there. 

When we arrived on the island, there was a park ranger (with a rifle) waiting for us. She gave us the rules and made us lock up any food or strong smelling items we had in our backpacks. Then she told us we would walk along the beach to the next point, where a mama bear and her cubs were sleeping...so we were told to be very quiet. The walk there was really nerve wracking because the tide was up, and so our walk along the beach was really close to the thick forest...where a bear could come out at any time. It is amazing how quickly they disappear in the woods, but they were everywhere. I saw this paw print on the beach, and had to take a picture of it. As soon as we got to the next lookout point, we spotted the giant mama bear and her cubs. I will never forget that moment!! It was incredible!! They laid there for a while asleep, and then a seal splashed in the water and woke the bears up. I was glad to finally see them up! After a while, she got up and headed up stream for some lunch. While they were walking, the walked RIGHT by us...probably 15 feet in front of us. They didn't even look at us or have any interest in us. The mom quickly got to work catching salmon for her cubs. It was so fun to watch, and surprisingly the sound was incredible too. At one point, one of the cubs stole a fish right out of its mama's mouth and ran off with it! It was so fun to watch. While we were watching them, another Mama bear and her cub came out of the forest. They were a little more cautious. They checked things out, looked over at us and then went back in the forest only to come back out several feet up the river. Then, we turned around and saw a bear coming out of the forest behind us! He got the closest to us, but still, he didn't even look at us or anything. He just walked by and headed to the river! After a while, we decided we would head back to the other side of the island where you go for a hike to an observatory tower. The hike is what had me the very most nervous!

The rangers hung this sign to let people know where the trail began. The bears apparently didn't care for the sign, and literally ate the sign. Nothing puts you on guard like this trail!! We didn't have bear spray, but we hooked up with another couple and just hoped that our talking would keep the bears away. Anton kept making me so nervous, because he would walk so fast and I was nervous about him being alone and running into a bear. Thankfully, that didn't happen! While on our hike, I almost stepped in an extremely fresh - I mean, like steaming fresh - piece of bear scat. That scared me to death! I knew that bear was right there, but I couldn't see it! The hike was stunning, and the forest was so different than what I thought it would be. I thought it would be mostly pine, but it was more rain forest like. It couldn't have been more beautiful.

Once we made it to the lookout tower, I was pretty relieved. We didn't run into any bears, but we watched the hundreds of salmon, and listed to the 50 or so bald eagles...I can't tell you how beautiful it was! 

Once we made it back to the beach from our hike, we waited for our plane to come and pick us up. In the distance we saw two great big bears playfully fighting. I was so glad we went in the morning, because I think based on listening to the other groups, we saw the most bears. The scenery was just incredible, and I am SO glad we went. I felt alive afterward...sounds silly, but that's the only way I can describe the excitement Anton and I felt after this day! I would go back in a heartbeat...what an adventure! 

Cousins

Phew. I am just now getting caught up on all my pictures since school & my new job started! One of my very favorite things about summer is all the cousin time my girls get. We get to spend so much time with their very favorite people....we try and get our fix before school starts and our cousin time goes down dramatically. I am grateful for their friendships with their cousins, and hope they will create life long relationships with them. They are such wonderful examples, and darling kids....I am so lucky my kiddos have them!

It was particularly fun this summer because we got to have Prentice come up and stay with us for a few days before we went to St. George. Both girls absolutely loved it! I hope we get to do it again next year!!

I snapped this picture of Claire on our way home from St. George. It made me and Lilly laugh so hard. But, it was a perfect example of how my girls always feel when we have to say goodbye to their cousins!

Montana Part 2

We headed up to Montana again for just a few days in July. Again, it was stifling hot in Salt Lake, so it is always nice to go to Montana where the air is clean and the weather isn't deathly hot. Anton had his work party, which went really well. It was nice to meet some of the people I hear often about. He is surrounded by a lot of good people, and his co workers are so great. 

I have never been able to learn how to do a french braid, so one morning we were just sitting around and I told Lilly that I was going to have her sit while I taught myself how to french braid. I was so proud of myself because I FINALLY figured out how to do it! This is a little messy since it was my first one, but I was so happy - but Lilly was even happier!

On Saturday, we went to the Lewis & Clark Caverns per recommendation by Anton's assistant. I was sl glad we did it! It was really cool, and the girls had a blast. It always feel good when we get out and do things as a family. That's one of the things we love about Montana...we don't have a big yard to take care of, or a huge house to clean, so our Saturdays are open to going and doing fun things instead of house chores.  

Later that night, Elizabeth & Jurgen had us over for dinner to celebrate Anton's upcoming 40th birthday. I tell you what, we really lucked out with them. She made one of Anton's favorite meals and they showered him with gifts and cards...and just the fact that they insisted on having a little party for him meant the world to us. Anton was going to be up there on his actual birthday, so a few of his friends/clients/co-workers took him out for a really nice dinner and then back to the man cave to play cards. Anton said the guys gave him a really nice jacket and a pair of Jazz tickets....who does that?! So nice! So in return for the kindness, during poker, Anton won $100 off of one guy! Ha! So grateful for so many wonderful friends who treat us so well. We are lucky people! 

Phone Pictures

I love how random Claire is - still! Every so often I get a little sad thinking that someday soon she will outgrow her quirky behavior....but I have been thinking that for a long time, and she just gets funnier and more quirky! Love it!

(Clearly I needed to clean the lens on my phone!) We went out to go see my parents new lot & home. It is exciting to see it, and to get a real sense of the layout. I am so excited for them!

Claire likes to wander up when I am working out. I can't believe how big she is getting. Pretty soon that thumb is going to have to stop going in her mouth. Her front teeth are coming in, and I am worried that her thumb sucking is going to make those teeth look funny. I kind of hate having to break her of the habit....I had to when I was little, and it was not fun. Ugh.

We got invited by our neighbors to go up to a BBQ at their cabin. That day was SO hot in Salt Lake, so we were kind of looking forward to going up somewhere cooler. It was so beautiful and the temperature was perfect. It was a fun night! We have great neighbors - were really lucky.

Swimming & diving lessons started and my girls were in heaven! Willow Creek has been closed for a  year while they were building a new clubhouse and pool. The new pool is so so so nice and so much fun for the kids. They added a slide, a kids area, they have 2 diving boards and ton of tables and lounge chairs. It has been so dreamy! We love it!

The girls have done so well in their lessons. Claire is totally on her own now, and is learning the basic strokes, and Lilly is doing great with her dives. Her teacher is not the nicest, but it is actually good for Lilly. She is so reluctant to try new and hard things, so sometimes she won't push herself. So, this teacher wouldn't let her chicken out or not do things. By the end of lessons, Lilly was doing beautiful back dives and front flips. I was really proud of her!