hehe

My mom tried licking my face. Merry Thanksgiving!

Cross Country Kiddos

The kids had another great race on another beautiful Fall day! They did Cross Country after school this year, and participated in the end-of-season Jamboree. We were so lucky to have my mom and Kirk up here to cheer them on!

Getting ready to run...

 Kenley sprints to the finish, beating her last year's time by several minutes!

 Here comes Parker!

 The proud runners with their finishers' medals!

 Kenley with her best friend Gabby.

 Celebrating with some hamburgers and Grandpa Kirk!

Fall Festival

Unfortunately, Fall is kind of a short season here in Alaska, and there aren't many community events to enjoy. One that we love is the Fall Festival in Palmer, and this year we were lucky enough to enjoy it with a group of about 25 family members!

 Hay fight!

The only pumpkin patch around!

Fun and games!

And tractors galore!

Kenley's Baptism

Kenley was baptized a few weeks ago, and the weekend was absolutely perfect. We were surrounded by family and love, and I felt the Spirit so strongly during the program. I love this sweet girl and I am proud of her choice to be baptized.

Big Wild Life Runs!

This year the kids and I took part in a weekend of races called the Big Wild Life Runs. The kids' race was so much fun. It was free for the kids, and afterward they had bounce houses, face painting, balloon animals, fair hair, and more, all for free!

The kids did great in their race! Little Claire ran the entire mile without stopping! I kept asking her if she wanted to stop and walk, and she would just say, "No," very seriously and keep on going.

Then I ran the 5K on Saturday and finally broke my goal to get under 28 minutes. Woo hoo!

Cabin Time!

Once James finished his summer job, we decided to spend a few days together as a family at the cabin. The weather was kind of a bummer, but the rain gave us an opportunity to do some new and different things.

We tried a new ice cream place...

 Celebrated Miss Claire's birthday...

And enjoyed a beautiful night out on the lake after the kids were in bed. I went for a row around the lake and James went fishing off the dock. Nothing better than a quiet, still lake at sunset.

 Claire could barely hold all her lovies on the way home!