We Love the Outdoors

In August, we had a few fun outdoor activities. One Saturday we went fishing as a family. We haven't had a lot of luck doing this, but we have had a lot of fun.

Libby just mostly enjoys throwing rocks in the water and further harming our chances of catching anything at all.

Glade enjoyed an old vest that was Grandad's when he was a kid.

Kimberly gets very serious about the art of fishing.

We also took the opportunity to use our fire ring and dutch oven to make some peach cobbler. Ice cream, peach cobbler, and a fire: what else could you want?

I just had to put these two of Liberty up. She is so cute and fun!

Don't you love the too big boots?
Kimberly had a great time too.
Glade had a little trouble keeping his ice cream in his mouth or his bowl, as evidenced by the nice dribble down his shirt.
I always enjoy a fire outside too. It's great to spend time together as a family!

The Wilds of Alaska

At the end of July, Ryan and I had the unique opportunity of driving up into the Brooks Range of Alaska. We dropped our appropriately named friend, Brooks, and his brother off for a backpacking trip in Gates of the Arctic National Park. It was a nice drive up into country that is wild and remote. It was gorgeous though. We saw lots of neat things and had a good time. Katie and her sister-in-law kept the kids so that we could take them up and drop them off. It was nice to have a little time with just us two.

We drove over the Yukon River. It was gigantic. Neat to see.

There is a Visitor's Center by Coldfoot, AK for Gates of the Arctic. It is a really neat place. We enjoyed looking at all of the neat displays they had. Here is a huge globe showing the Arctic Circle.
Another display of animal skins they had. Look at this enormous wolf!

One thing that is unique about the Dalton Highway (of Ice Road Truckers fame), which is the only one going into the Brooks Range that I know about, is that it is only paved on and off. After Coldfoot (about halfway to Prudhoe Bay) I think it is completely dirt. The mountains were beautiful and besides the big trucks driving by occasionally, it felt pretty isolated. We had a little rain and so the roads looked like this:

This is what happens when you drive several hundred miles on a dirt highway.

At the drop off location, Brooks, Jack, Ryan, and (of course) Jessie. She is a great dog for this kind of trip. We loved keeping her for a few days and were sad to see her leave.
The riverbed where we dropped them off. Cloudy, but beautiful!
They had to cross a river first thing. Looks a little cold, don't you agree? I think Ryan was a little jealous of them at this point.
The camp Ryan and I made up stream a bit. It was a glorious place to stay. So quiet and peaceful. We enjoyed a little fishing, but didn't have any luck in the blue crystal waters.
Not that many people can say that they've been to the Arctic Circle.
It was a nice little getaway from everything. We enjoyed being together and experiencing a new part of Alaska. Hopefully someday we can go see Brooks and Katie in the village where they are teaching, Anaktuvuk Pass.

Look Mom, No Wheels!

Training wheels, that is! Kimberly finally learned how to ride a bike without training wheels. It all started when our neighbors gave us a BUNCH of bikes that their kids had outgrown. We got all sizes and kinds! In the bunch was a pink bike with flowers on it. Kimberly loved that bike and REALLY wanted to ride it. Unfortunately, there were no training wheels. She was told that if she learned to ride without training wheels, the bike was hers, but we weren't going to move the training wheels from her other bike. Needless to say, this was sufficient motivation for learning. She just decided she could do it and took off! How exhilarating! We are so proud of her!




Hopefully he'll be next:

Two Feet, Two Hands,Two Ears, Two Eyes, One Big Smile, Two Years!

Our Sweet Little Liberty turned two at the beginning of August.

Blowing out her candles.


Enjoying her cake and ice cream.




She enjoyed her day so much, she didn't make it to bed before conking out.


Some snuggle time with Dad before going to bed.

We were lucky enough to have our friend Jesse in Fairbanks for most of the summer. We really enjoyed seeing him on a regular basis and were happy to have him for our celebration of Liberty.



Liberty sent some time riding bikes on her birthday. Love the tongue!

Looking deep into the bag. What did she find? A puppy pillow-pet!


Grammy and Grandad sent this Woody. She loves it. We found her like this the day we received the package in the mail.


We sure feel lucky to have Liberty in our home. She is such a cute little thing. She definitely has a mind of her own and doesn't hesitate to let us know what she wants. It has been fun to be able to communicate with her more and more as she learns new words.

Mt. Prindle Revisited

The weekend we got home, Ryan decided to go back to Mt. Prindle, in Alaska's White Mountains, and summit. Luckily, our friend Gene was willing and able to accompany him. They seemed to have a good hike, although a malfunctioning backpacking stove and some blisters threatened to slow them down.

Enjoy a few of the pictures Ryan brought back:


Fireweed


Summit


They saw lots of wildlife, including quite a few Dall sheep. Neat landscape too.


Here's a video that he took with some dall sheep in it.

Lots of Lovely Lunts

On our drive from Utah to Arizona, we drove by the Grand Canyon and crossed the Navajo Bridge. We HAD to get out and walk across the mighty Colorado River. Amazing how far down it is.



A little preview of what the Grand Canyon is like. If you've never been there, this is definitely the small part. You should go!


It was good to get to Duncan and see everyone. Uncle Scott and Aunt Mindy are always fun. They are the game King and Queen. They are always so good to play games with the kids.


In the evenings it was good to get outside. During the day it was too darn HOT.


The lawn is doing great and everyone loved playing out there.


Riding Grandpa's ATV is always a bonus! Glade especially loves it!


We spent a few days at the Old Virden Church with huge trees, a great big room for playing in, and lots of other fun things. The kids loved being boosted up into the trees. Kimberly especially enjoyed staying up there.


We did lots of fun things. This was building towers with spaghetti and marshmallows.


Mason, Lauren, Karleigh, and Uncle JT with their marshmallow towers.


We had a treasure hunt and all the kids got punch balls at the end. Unfortunately, Liberty and Glade also ended up getting sick for a day or two.


Sack Races were fun. Kimberly and Ryan especially enjoyed this activity. This was followed by a 3-legged race, which Ryan and I did really well at, until the handkerchief connecting our legs tore.


We always had a pinata at my Grandpa and Grandma Lunt's house at Christmastime. Jessie found this monster in Mexico and the kids really enjoyed hitting it and loved the prize bags she put together.



We stayed so busy that any down time was gratefully received. Glade sat down to watch the ice cream freezer and unwillingly fell asleep.


Our family took a little side trip up to Catwalk in New Mexico. The drive was great and we were happy to have Emilee go with us. I have great memories of going to the Catwalk when I was younger. They have improved the trail since then.


Liberty and Mom on the last bridge. Bouncy!


We made it to the end!!! Everyone was happy!


We were especially happy to get in the water. It was COLD, but fun. We went back by a waterfall, but couldn't take the camera, since Ryan and I were chest deep to get back there and we had to carry most of the kids.


Emilee was a real trooper and good help. Love you Em!


Almost out! This is where they've added a handicapped trail. It goes 1/2 mile into the canyon.


We had a great time seeing family, playing, meeting JT, and just having a party! Thanks to Calvin and Terra for letting us use one of their vehicles so we wouldn't have to rent one for a whole week! Thanks for everything! We loved seeing all of you!