Resume - ALASKA

Forget San Francisco....

I left my heart in Alaska.

We arrived in Anchorage and drove down the Keni Peninsula and headed to Homer. It is a four hour drive full of the most beautiful, breathtaking scenery.

Homer is our home away from home and it is absolutely beautiful. Once we got to Homer we headed to the grocery store, got some groceries for our trip and headed to the boat harbor. We actually spend our time in Halibut Cove, which is a short boat ride from Homer. It's a lot like the movie The Proposal.

Here we are at the boat harbor waiting for our boat to arrive.

This is where we stayed. Our friend owns these cabins an we stayed in the cabin (aka The Penthouse) just right of the Huge house. The PentHouse is my favorite. It is so cozy and sweet.

I really think this is MY favorite place in the world. The marine life there is incredible. It is very common to see otters and seals swimming in the cove. When the tide is low you can see star fish, anemones and all kinds of life.

Then there is the Alaskan State Flower.

The Forget Me Not

I absolutely love this flower. I love how petite and beautiful they are. I also Love the name.

and then I discovered this beauty

Can you tell I love the color Blue?

Another reason why i love this place is this......

Need I say More???

We spent many days on boat rides around the cove. We saw more otters, seals and even saw a porpoise.

One day we went for an ATV ride.

It was fun..... But I spent the entire time worrying that we would run into a hungry BEAR. My Dear Husband spent quite a while convincing me otherwise. The views are even more spectacular from up here

We went into town a few times. Once we ran into this....

It was so much fun seeing an otter this close. She was taking a nap. Otters are my favorite.

Ethan was a great Deck Hand on the boat this year. He loved pulling the ropes in the boat.

Isn't He cute???

We even saw a Seal

Brett is WAY more brave than I

Then on another one of our trips to town. This GIGANTIC Seal. I'm usually ok when we see a seal. I get excited to see them. AS LONG AS THEY ARE WITHIN A SAFE DISTANCE. They really scare me up close. This one was just past our slip (a slip is where you park your boat). We would have had to jump over this seal. Since we were just making a quick stop, I begged Gene to park the boat in a different slip so I wouldn't pee my pants. :) I KNOW... I'm a Scaredy Cat.

Ethan got a terrible bump on his head.

It sounded a little like

I Gotta go Potty just before bed.... Bang.

I guess the Dr was right when he said...

"NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPIN ON THE BED"

He discovered his new love for Nutella

We had a fantastic trip. Although my Dad would beg to differ. We did not drown a single worm. He say's.... "Why did you go to Alaska if you didn't even catch one fish"? Don't get me wrong. We love Halibut and Salmon. We just did not get around to it.

My favorite part of this trip was being able to relax.

I got into the habit of taking naps with Ethan. He would say "You gonna sleep with me Mom"? Now who can say no to that.

Alaska has a huge place in my heart. It always has a way of speaking to me and saying a Beautiful goodbye.

Literally, this was the last picture I took with my camera on our way to the airport.

PAUSE - Pioneer Day

Our State celebrates July 24th as Pioneer Day. We were in the parade with Families Supporting Adoption. The theme for this years parade was "The Place 2B" so our wagon was decorated to go with the theme. They gave each child a bee headband to wear.

Ethan loved running around pretending to be a BEE.

We shouted thinks like: "2468 We think Adoption's Great" and "Give me an A - D - O - P - T - I- O - N What Does that spell??? Adoption!!!!! It was so much fun hearing people cheer when we passed by. I often heard things like "I placed my Baby for Adoption", "I was Adopted" or "We are hoping to Adopt".

Later we went over to Aunt Joda's house for a BBQ and swim at her pool. We were in the pool just 5 minutes and had to get out. A rain storm can ruin a swim party in a quick hurry. So, we went inside and watched a movie. The kids found the halloween costumes and dressed up. It looked more like Halloween than Pioneer Day.

Our State just legalized Fireworks that shoot into the sky. So, for the past few nights we have been cuddling in a chair and watch them well past bed time :)

The Beach

The next day we packed up our kite and headed to the beach. We walked around the Pier for a little while. Watched the fishermen catch fish, saw something swimming in the ocean (maybe a seal) and then walked down to the beach. Ethan said the funniest thing. "It's a big sand box" Ethan LOVES playing in the sand.

The ocean breeze was perfect so Brett got his kite out.

It was a big hit to those at the beach. I kept hearing things like... "Look at the Cool Kite"

Our Trip Part 1

If you didn't know..... We just got back from our Summer Vacation to Disneyland and Alaska. We were gone just short of a month. So to make my journaling easier, I'm going to take it easy and do a little bit at a time.

Day One.... We headed to the air port to start our vacation. This was Ethan's First plane ride and he was SO excited! He has always been obsessed with every airplane in the sky. I was a little bit nervous about going through TSA and the possible "Pat Down". We made it through TSA just fine. Then... while we were walking to our gate I noticed something that brought my worries back. There is something unnerving when you are traveling and you see every TV with the President of the USA. I paused for just a minute and realized that he was just addressing the people about the budget.

We got on the plane and Ethan was bouncing all over the place. The Flight Attendant gave him some wings and he thought that was cool. The clouds were so fluffy. It just made me want to bounce from cloud to cloud.

We landed in Long Beach CA and headed to spend a few days with our friends Mark and Lani.

Day Two... We went to DISNEYLAND! My Favorite part about Disneyland is the look he gets on his face.

Especially when he sees Mickey Mouse.

He spent a lot of time on Dad's shoulders getting a better look at things.

We went to meet Mickey Mouse in his House.

We went on some rides and stayed late for the fireworks.

Lets just say that that day was filled with one happy little guy. He has so much fun that he fell asleep on the way home.

Just don't know what to do.....

Today I went on a walk on my last day here in Alaska. I've had many things on my mind and a few sleepiness nights. I don't usually post on my blog about things like this,

BUT It's my blog... RIGHT!?!

I'm not looking for any sobs or anything like that. I've just had the impression that I should post something like this a few times.

Then today while driving in the car,

the song on the radio was THIS

We have been on a roller coaster since we have submitted our adoption papers. We submitted them well over a year ago. There has been MANY times where someone we know, knows a Girl who is pregnant and thinking about placing. We throw our little "Pass Along Cards" at them to give to Her or Him and such. A little hope... wait a few weeks...... don't hear anything..... . A few times our caseworker will call us about a situation. "There is a Girl who is due next week. Do you want your profile to be presented to her?" We've said "YES" every time. Pray, hope, excitement. ... then our caseworker would say "You should hear something within a week." More prayers.... A week goes by and "Oh, she picked another family" or "She decided not to place" .....There have been times we have had hope for a different baby every week for a month and a half. We've thought about going through a private agency. Typically with a private agency you can be matched with a baby within two or three months. The cost for a private agency ranges between 13,000 and 45,000 depending on health, race, background etc, etc, etc... AHH. Last week we submitted an application for a little boy who would likely be born with FAS.

No luck there. .....

I had many things to think about during my walk today. My Husband and I have always talked about trying to have our children two years apart. That has been a little tricky for us. Ethan will turn 3 next month (my, how has time flown by so fast?????). I just keep thinking how far apart will He be from his siblings? If having their ages close together is important to us, should we apply for another loan and adopt a baby through a private agency? Will we be picked by a Birth Mother through LDSFS? Should we look into Foster Care?

?????????????

When I got home from my walk, I checked my email and found an email from a private agency.

Desiree CC girl due 8.1.11 $43,700 Total fee (includes legal in Colorado), early in preg. marijuana use and used meth 4 times in beginning, smokes ½-1 pack per day, in a treatment program being drug tested regularly has stayed clean, NEED Utah family

Sarah CC boy Due 8/10/11 $45,700 includes Iowa legal smokes ½-1 pack/day, has a learning disability

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Sisters, Sisters! There were never such devoted Sisters.

Today is my sister Teresa's Birthday!!! She will never cease to amaze me. She's a world traveler, genius, sports fanatic and proudly wins the Favorite Aunt Award.

Happy Birthday Sis!!! I love your stink'in guts :)

Moments That Matter Most

I've always been touched by the Mormon Messages, but not one has touched my heart more dearly than this one. I've watched this movie over and over the last few weeks. It has totally trumped my motto of the year. Strength comes from paying attention to the things that matter most. I truly believe in that.

The motto that I have had the past six months has been finding ways to serving others. I decided in January that I was going to help others in any way that I could. I had someone approach me to decorate a wedding cake for their daughter. At first, I thought NO WAY! But then I thought about my motto and reconsidered. I decorated the cake while I watched the footage of The Royal Wedding while I decorated the cake. It was so much fun making the cake. For me, I find joy in helping others.

I've had so much fun serving others that I now have to mottoes this year.

Serving Others and Diligently doing the things that matter most.