New Savage.22 rifle

So Ap'A and Nana got Brandon a new Savage .22 rifle for his payment for fishing on Dad's boat this summer. He couldn't be more proud. We took him out to Cook Inlet last night to go site it in and target practice. You can see Anchorage in the background. This is a pretty popular shooting spot so there is a lot of trash around. Still though, you can see signs of Fall in pretty Alaska.

Fifth Grade... woe.

Last week, Brandon started the fifth grade. My baby is now in his last year of Elementary School. How is that possible? I look at him and he makes me so proud. He is such a blessing. This morning though, was a hard morning for me. It was the first time he walked down the street and took a bus to school. I have always driven him and this year with 6 kids every morning, it is just too much for me to handle. When Phillip is off, we will drive him, but when Phillip is on his shift, Brandon will now have to take the bus in the mornings only. (sigh.... ) My eyes about teared up watching him take this walk you see in the picture. My big boy is growing up! He starts Cross Country running today after school so I am sure we will have more pics of his upcoming adventures soon.

The new John Deere Gator

We got a new toy from Craigslist! And what fun it is. I bought it off a woman in Palmer for only $15 (It costs $405 at our Walmart here in town) but it didn't work. Luckily, A'Pa, a few new parts, and his great "MacGyver" skills got it working. The kids think they are so cool in it!

Mason is 6 and a half wks old!

How quickly time flies....Baby Mason is already a month and half old. My bigger boys seem to be growing by the day as well. Especially Ty, he has totally made the transformation from Baby to Big Boy. I am both happy and sad. Happy that the potty training thing seems to be (finally) a sure thing and sad that he is losing that "baby" look. I dressed them alike for church on Sunday, all in orange. They couldn’t have been cuter. Of course I had to take about a million pictures to get ones where all four kiddos were looking and smiling at the same time…. Mason seemed to enjoy the photo shoot, he smiled and smiled like a real pro. Honestly, I think Brandon got sick of them before anyone else did but oh well. I got my cute pictures anyhow!

New Wheelers!

After spending about a year on Craigslist, we decided we could buy four-wheelers brand new at the Polaris shop about as cheap as we could second-hand. We usually never buy anything "brand-spanking" new so it was exciting to get our new 500 H.O. Sportsmans. Phillips is green and mine is red. Phillip has since put Mud ITP tires on his since Brandon took this picture and it looks HOT! Brandon even got a new wheeler. We found him a 95 Suzuki King Quad on Craigslist and he couldn't have been more surprised when he got home from fishing in Dillingham. He absolutely loves it! Phillip has been very busy with our hydroseeding business but we manage to squeeze in one or two hour rides here or there. We are looking forward to a day trip to the glacier here real soon.

Baby Mason Zayne's Arrival

Mason, all ready to go home from the Hospital



Our first family picture as a six-pack


The boys as they greet Mason at home, I am so blessed to have FOUR precious boys!





I am She-rah, Princess of Power! Ha ha, not really. But I did just give birth naturally for the fourth time... so isn't that kinda the same thing? lol.
Mason (finally) joined the family on June 4th at 4:40 in the morning. He weighed 7lb 15 oz and was 20.5 inches long. He was my biggest baby! He came awful fast, we didn't even make it to ANMC in Anchorage. We had to detour to the Valley Hospital here in Wasilla and luckily so. By the time we walked in the ER door, I was already at 8cm and not too far from already being done with the whole process! Being six days late, I couldn't have been happier to finally hold our baby in my arms. He is such a sweetheart. His brothers are absolutely in love with him (as is everyone else). It is just hard to believe that Tysen is a "big brother" now and not my baby. He seemed to grow overnight and seemed like such a big brother when he came to greet his brother. My grandma was still here from Albuquerque and got to be here for the birth so that was awesome. We were surrounded by all our family and Mason got a proper welcoming Sunday after church with everyone here at the house. The home health care nurse came to the house today and he already weighs 8lbs, 4oz so I dont' think we need to worry about him eating or anything! :) We are settling into our groove but Phillip is still very busy with our hydroseeding business. I am just glad it is summer and there is no school, babysitting etc to worry about. I look forward to this summer with our family..... our family of SIX!!!!!

B's Track Meet

My son is such a natural athlete! He wowed me today at the regional track meet. We weathered it out through sun, rain and hail but had a good day in Houston, AK. The meet included 588 kiddos and he was one of the bright shining ones! He placed 2nd in the 4 X 100m, 3rd in the 800m (he actually came across the line second but for some reason, they announced him as third) , 4th in the 100m, 1st in the high jump and we don't know if he placed in the long jump or not, we left before they announced the winners. He did so so so awesome and tonight he is one totally exhausted young man. Here are a few from the day.....

36 Weeks

Well, I am almost there... 36 weeks! After this week, I will be considered full term and I am so anxious to hold my new baby! I still haven't finished unpacking. I have a few odd totes here and there but somehow they just don't seem too important at the moment. I did however, get all the baby clothes and blankets washed and in the dresser, ready to go! I even bought my first package of newborn diapers. So, I think it is safe to say we are ready!

Frosty, all completed and cool

Winter Picnic

After a long hard weekend (where should I start.... we made a day and a half mass move to our new home if that wasn't stressful enough and then 2 days later my car was T-Boned and sent to the shop, the day after that we had a house fire started by the dryer and had to call 911 and have since been displaced to my parents house for a couple of weeks while the house is cleaned and repainted, everyone got SICK SICK SICK, etc......) it was time to get outide. Everyone was stir crazy from being pent up with the Kleenex box so we bundled up and headed outside to make a Frosty the Snowman and a winter picnic complete with chips and marshmallows. The kids had a blast! Poor Nana had to wear a mask to keep the smoke out of her lungs since she just got out of surgery.