Happy Birthday Cole!!

Okay, I can't believe it! My little baby Cole has just turned double digits on me!! The big "10"!!! I am so proud of him and the decisions that he is making in his life!

And yes, I survived another sleepover party! This time with ten 10-14 year olds! We had a good time. Most of the kids were 10 and 11 but his one good friend that lives down the street is a girl named Katie and she is 14. She is such a great girl. She loves to ride bikes, skateboard, and rollerblade with Cole and his friend Kyle. They are all over the neighborhood.

But anyways, I am so excited to be starting the Tweens with Cole and the fun times that we have ahead.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY! I LOVE YOU!!!

Picking Blueberries

We have gone out the past 2 nights to pick blueberries from the little forest that is behind the preschool where I work. We have probably only spent about 2 hours each night picking and we have gotten about 20 lbs of blueberries. Some were just huge!!!

The girls are holding the berry picker that we use, we have one and borrowed some more from our friends. You just comb the bush and the berries just fall into your bucket. It was nice because it did border the preschool, when the kids were done picking, they could go play on the playground and Ken and I could still hear and sometimes see them.
The bushes were just loaded with berries. We were finding some the size of dimes. So so yummy!!!

Roasting Marshmallows in the Living Room!

Okay, again, I realize it is probably pretty warm where you all are, but it is turning fall here and our highs have been in the 50's. So we were cold one night and lit a fire and Ken decided that we needed to roast marshmallows for dessert after dinner. The kids thought that was soooo cool! We all had a fun night.

Cole did some too, but didn't want to pose for photos for his dear old Mom!

Ken's Fishing Buddy

Ken took his Young Men fishing last night for their activity. Well, he has one that is a little tough to manage sometimes, but they were having a good night and he was trying really hard to stay with the group. Ken had to keep reminding him. Anyways, at one time Ken checked on him and he was a little ways off but not too far, and he was in the middle of the river fishing. Well, Ken glanced up again and out of the woods on the opposite side of the river from Ken and about 50 feet up from this Young Man comes about an 800 lb. furry fishing buddy! Ken told him to come towards him right now with no arguing! The young man comes bopping back to Ken and said, I wasn't too far away was I? Ken said, "Didn't you see what was behind you?" To which he said NO. Ken told him about the bear and the boys quickly reeled in their lines to get ready to go. They were heading back to the truck and the bear was just sitting on the bank catching fish. They watched him for a bit and he would walk into the river, catch a fish, walk back to the shore where he would sit and eat it, and head back out for another fish. He could have cared less that the fishermen were around, he just wanted his dinner. But the parking lot cleared out really fast!! Ken had his camera ready to take with him but it was left on the desk and we missed some great photos of the bear! Oh, well, next time! :)

Ken calls a fishing day!

So all the guys in Ken's department at the hospital have been calling "fishing afternoons" and leaving work early to go fishing when the weather has been nice. Well, Ken decided it was his turn. I was picking up the kids from school when he calls me to let me know that he was going out to river to see what he can get. We had gone last Friday for date night and came out with nothing because the fish were so huge that our lines were either breaking or they would just spit out the hooks. They were monsterous!!

He called me awhile later and said that he had caught his limit and was on his way home. So I met him at home and he had these monster fish with him! The biggest one was 15 lbs. and 33 in. long. Some beautiful Silvers!!!
Cole was kind of bummed, because he had decided at the last minute not to go with Ken fishing today. Oh well, next time!
And Quincy DID NOT like the fish, but we wanted something to measure them by in the photo and so we stood her next to them and she was not too sure about the whole thing! I think I would feel the same way if the fish next to me was the same size as I was and a little scary looking! :)

Kodiak Bears

We went back out to our friends the Rice's house Sunday after church and after dinner we went to look for bears. We didn't have to go very far. Just down the road there were 3 bears down by the ocean catching fish and just laying around in the grass. It was so fun to watch them.

This one was so funny, he picked up a dead fish and then decided he really didn't want it and he just tossed it way up in the air. The kids all got a kick out of him playing with his food.
This is the view from our friends driveway. The sun was just sparkly all over the green mountains. I just love the green here!!

My Kodiak experience!

Okay!!! I just have to share!! I went out with a friend today to get rhubarb and pick berries and while we were out and about, I saw my first really alive, not stuffed, not skinned KODIAK BEAR!!!! He was moving and looking right at me with this huge brown hairy face. It was soooo cool!! I was in a car so it was not too scary. Of course, I didn't get a chance to get a photo! Isn't that the way it always is though!?! It was so wild looking at him, it was just like the ones you see in the books and movies, but actually right there in the path in front of me!!!!! AHHHH!!! This wild life we live here in Kodiak!!! I love it!!!!! :)