Did I ever mention that Caden LOVES scissors?

What do you get when you leave a 3 year old alone, in the dining room, with the dog AND you don't know he has snuck a pair of scissors in there too??

Why....a designer haircut for the dog...of course! Silly!!

PS: After the initial shock...I called my friend Renee laughing so hard I was CRYING!

What IS that bright shining ball in the sky anyways?

This evening, out of nowhere, there was SUN! Precious sun. I am probably slightly vitamin D deprived so it is possible that I might be hallucinating! But no! I have some pictures to prove it! It has been raining constantly. I am not talking for days here folks....I am talking....MONTHS!

Soooo...we are going for a walk this evening, and then a bike ride, and then a car ride to get ice cream and then....Ü May all your days be filled with sunshine (because this might just be IT for us up here!).

Clean Cut Boys....finally!

We FINALLY got the boys to get haircuts. Actually, it was not that hard. I think they both realized that it was looking pretty bad! With school starting next Monday, it was time!

Devin had orientation this past Friday and they took his school pictures already. It is a brand new school and I THINK he is kinda excited to get started. Even little Caden got a much-needed hair cut. They all look much better....agree?

Caden is all boy!

I took a few photos of Caden with the salted herring last weekend. He just kept posing and loving up that little fish. He didn't care that it was stinky and scaley and salty. I think he liked the fact that he could pick it up himself. All the other fish we bring aboard are so big that he can't do much with it.

This evening he was helping Daddy clean the boat and just HAD to get his raincoat on just like Dad. When he was done he ran over and got his play lawnmower and mowed the lawn with Devin. He is truly all busy, busy, boy and I would have it no other way. He sure is one happy little man!

Derby Weekend

This past weekend was Derby Weekend. I took Friday off from work and fished with Ed on Friday and Sunday. It was not the best weather and it was not the best fishing but it was fun none the less! I entered a 12# 3 oz coho salmon. It placed 59th on Friday but did not make it to the end. We ended up with a few more salmon and some baby halibut. All fine eatin'!

Pictures are: Essentials for the boat....junk food; another essential....coffee (it was Arizona Gold coffee from my brother Jeff...delish); yet another essential....my JB bucket hat with all my derby pins (I wear this every year); salted herring (the bait); the big fish I caught.

The big winner was a 35# King Salmon and the prize was $15,000!! We will keep trying!

Colton & his new hat

I recently took Colton back-to-school shopping and he just HAD to have this Volcom baseball hat. Volcom is a skateboarder brand. yeah...didn't know that either. I am not COOL enough. Heck, what was important to me back in "the day" was Jordache jeans and high heel clogs. Anyways, he loves this thing so much that he asked me take a few pictures so he could post them to his page in hotmail for his friends to see. He said, "Mom, I just really love my hat." Funny little guy. Notice, he too is trying to avoid the "haircut". Soon my little men...soon!

Simple Sunday

This past Sunday was not simple...AGAIN! Well, it started out simple. Caden and I had picked some blueberries in the side yard on Saturday so we made some blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Yummy! Another reason to love Alaska in the summer....berries.

Then, we discovered that the refrigerator was not working. Only 2 & 1/2 years old and food was getting warm and we could hear a rythmic clicking sound. We had to unload the freezer into the spare in the garage and the refrigerator things went into a cooler on the back deck. How fun for us right? Well, 2 good things did come from this fun filled day....I found items that expired in 2006 in the fridge and I cleaned it top to bottom. My friend Renee and I wonder why we keep leftovers only to find them hidden in the fridge at a MUCH later date covered in a thick blanket of crud. Scary. I had nightmares all night that a bear would crash through the back deck gate, tear open the cooler, devour the contents and then decide to see where the rest of the food might be. Seriously!

Well, after that, I painted the upstairs bathroom (you would be so proud Jeff & Erin). It turned out awesome, made an apple crisp for dinner at Caryn's and finished up the bathroom.

What is up with these Sundays NOT being so simple? Ugh.

Devin is home!

Last Wednesday night my last birdie flew home (well, he actually came home on the fast ferry). He has been gone since June 8th (3 weeks in Eagle River and another 4 & 1/2 weeks in Sitka). He grew another foot above me (notice in the picture!) and his voice is deeper. He is mostly planning on just hanging out the rest of summer and trying to avoid getting a hair cut. Those are his goals pretty much. Oh to be 14 again huh? "Live it up now!" is what I say!

I have to admit that is sure feels nice to have all my little birds under one roof again. The house just feels so strange with one missing. I don't know what I'll do when he leaves for college. I guess I'll cross that bridge in 4 years.

Welcome home Devin...we all missed you!