We had the missionaries over last week. It always brings back mission memories when we have them over. They do all the tricks with the kids to charm the parents and can put down food like there's no tomorrow. We served them that wonderful creation Kathleen made for us on Orcas (polenta with sausage). Carol didn't really have the recipie, but it turned out great (quite healthy too)! Owen decided to dress up which was a little scary for many reasons.
Owen is a train boy. I like trains and have played with them at various points in my youth, but Owen is obsessed. "Will you play trains with me daddy?" is my nightly greeting when I come home. His train consists of 12 engines from the "Thomas the Tank Engine" series. When I ask which one I can play with he says, "You can be the recycling cars." This consists of two green cars with recycled waste in them. "Thanks." I say. We then spend about a half hour running the trains around the track. It would be insanely boring if it weren't for the excitement on Owen's face as he pushes the trains on their journey through the picturesque basement. The trains have actually helped at church where one of the nursery leaders has a huge Thomas set (much bigger than ours) which he gets excited about (excited enough that we can leave and go to our classes!). If your kid is into the train thing, ebay is a great option for you as the store prices can be a little steep.
Owen has started swimming lessons and loves it. It's a little scary actually. He has no fear and a constant eye must be kept lest we find a 2 1/2 year old jumping head long into the water sans floaties. He has always loved water as noted in our previous post on his dip in the local drainage ditch and was always attracted to the nearest puddle or stream. I think he could literally spend all day at the pool. They actually have a great system for teaching kids now as you can see from the photo. They transition from back floaties and front barbell to floaties alone and then slowly take away the floaties one by one. Beth is now completely without floaties and Isabel can swim although she prefers one. This is probably a very old system, but it's the first time I've seen it and I'm a big fan. Also kudos to the teachers at The Alaska Club for doing such a great job teaching! More photos here.
Mom was here with Mary last week and it was so nice to have her here!!! She always takes such good care of us and showers the kids with lots of Grandma attention. The kids woke up this 
morning and were not pleased to see that their Gram and Aunt were no longer around. We had such a nice time. Some highlights were a riverboat ride in which we got a good feel for what it is like to live in Fairbanks. We saw a bush pilot take off and land on the river, saw 4 time Iditorod champion Susan Butcher's kennel and her husband demonstrate what it is like to ride a dog sled. We went to an Athabascan village and saw what it is and was like for the native people of the region to live in such a cold climate. It was a lot of fun and Owen especially liked the boat ride (although I think he liked the train book Gram bought for him on the boat better). We went to Denali National Park over the weekend, but much to my dismay it was rainy and cold. We spent most of our time in the Visitor Center and in the car. We were able to see the fall colors though and it was a beautiful drive anyway. Mom and Mary spent a lot of time reading to the kids and playing trains with Owen. And of course, no trip to Fairbanks is complete with out a trip to the North Pole to visits Santa's house. Mom and Mary left last night on what, I am sure, was a seemingly endless journey back to Salt Lake. We had a great time and we miss them dearly. We're looking forward to the next time we get to see them!!! More photos here.
Mary has been here for a week with Baby A and Baby B in her tummy. It has been a most delightful week. Mary has been extremely helpful even though she is growing two babies. She has been playing trains with Owen everyday, and she has been having a lot of fun with the girls too. Mary and I went to Seward, Whittier and Anchorage over the weekend (thank you very much to Tom for making it possible, what a great guy!). There was a lot of rain and a lot of fun and laughter. We hiked to Exit Glacier, although we were a little nervous because there was a post of an active bear in the area (see photo). We were there very early in the morning and we actually waited for another guy to come along and followed behind him so he could scare away the bear if necessary. We then drove to Whittier to do a day cruise but the weather was so bad we opted not to go. Everyone on the cruise before us was very sick and we decided we would stay on land. We then went around Anchorage a little (ate at The Sourdough Mining Co. and checked out the chocolate waterfall at The Alaska Berry Company). That night we stayed at Alyeska, a ski resort just outside of Anchorage. In the morning we walked to the lookout on Flat top mountain and then headed home. On the drive back we saw a black bear walking down the railroad tracks, a moose in a lake, two more moose eating off the side of the road and a great big bald eagle in her nest. It was a beautiful drive and it was so fun to have some time with one of my best friends in the world! Now we are looking forward to mom coming. She gets in tonight. Yeah!!!!
More photos here.
Summer is nearing it's close. They are brief up here but this one has been beautiful! They always go by quickly and it seems you run run run to enjoy it all you can before the snow flies in October (sometimes September). This summer was no different and this one started out with me feeling a little bad that I had not yet taught Beth how to ride a bike (with no training wheels). The got bikes last summer (which was also a little late), but were firmly content with the 4 wheeled versions (2 + 2 training wheels). I decided at the beginning of the summer that I would teach Beth how to ride and so we set out to the parking lot behind Woodriver Elementary School. It actually went surprisingly well. It definitely helps to have bikes that are the right size. The bikes we have now are actually a little small for them, but for learning, that may be even better. The feel very comfortable putting their feet down and know it's not that far to fall. Beth made it
to the no training wheel stage in one day. We then learned how to turn and stop on the next outing, and then a few more to learn how to start. It was somewhat scary the first couple of times we went on the jogging trail by Chena Pump Road as she would sometimes start veering toward the traffic. She was thankfully pretty good at pushing the panic button, sticking her feet out and stopping. By midsummer, she was riding like a champ.
Then came Izzie. Isabel wanted to take the training wheels off as soon as Beth did. I took them off and immediately she could sense the tipsy nature of the bike. Izzie is brave about a lot of things, but she hates anything that rocks (won't do canoes) and so as soon as the bike started to wobble, she wanted the training wheels back on. They stayed on until her first day of Kindergarten. We tried them off again and with dad holding on and promising not to let go, she kept them off for the day. She too made it that first day riding back and forth on her own balancing power. A similar progression of turning, stopping and finally starting occurred until now both the girls are full fledged bike riders. Owen will hopefully join them next year. Right now he can't yet reach the pedals, so I think we'll have to wait. He currently scoots arount "Flinstone Style" (feet on ground) on his tricycle.
We're looking forward to lots of family bike rides and we'd love to have our friends along anytime!!! More photos here.
There is nothing quite like a fresh raspberry. Frozen raspberries just aren't the same and raspberries are so delicate, it's hard to find good ones anywhere. I still long for Bear Lake raspberry shakes of my youth and this last week, I had one.
There is a small farm in Fairbanks that has a "pick your own raspberry" section. The kids love it (Beth goes CRAZY every time we go) as there are plenty of berries to occupy little hands. Mom and dad love it because we get pounds of cheap raspberries and free labor! We made shakes and crepes and then just plain ate a bunch of them. They're mostly gone now, but I'm already looking forward to next year! More photos here.
Today was labor day and we had a nice day together as a family. We went bike riding up at the 
Isabel decided she didn't like that so much. We had to dock and Beth and Daddy went off on their own ride while Mom, Izzie and Owen walked on the path by the river. Dad graciously offered to allow Mom a peaceful ride in the canoe by herself while he took all the kids over to ride the train. Little did I know that on the way to the train, Owen decided to touch the water with his hand and went tumbling in (note Owen in photo below pointing to the spot in the "fresh mountain stream" where he fell in). Luckily Dad was right there to fish him out. After returning the boat we all went home and had a nice tub and dinner and the kids went to bed. It was a fun day all together as a family.
One of the highlights of our summer was a ride on a biplane in Orcas Island. All the kids were very excited and had a wonderful time. Isabel was the only one who was a little less than enthused when she got on the plane, but once we were up in the air, she was very brave and made it through. We also had a great time while we were on the Island with all the Hammond Clan. Thanks to Mamma and Popop and to Kathleen for planning a very successful and fun trip. Watching all the cousins play together was certainly priceless. It was so fun to see how much they all love each other! More photos here.
So I guess it's time for an update!
