New Blog

About two months ago I was updating both my blogs (family and 365). When blogger (that is the site that host my blog) said that I needed to pay money to post more pictures. I put off doing it thinking I would turn my blogs into books and then clear up space, so I could add more pictures. But I never got around to it and now two months have past
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I figured I better do something, if I wanted to keep my many followers (which is like five people) to continue to follow. So I went and made a new blog under a new name. Sadly it is only a 365 daily picture blog. With not very good pictures, I am using my camera phone (only camera I have left that works :0) and turning them into instagram (thought that I would do something different this year). I hope to get a new camera soon. So I apologize in advance for the pictures.

So if you want to see what we have been up to, come follow me over at 365 Days of 2013 .

 Maybe I will see you there :0)

What's That Plant?

As a family we went on a hike at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, with a tour guide identify all the plants in the area. I took lots of pictures of the plants that they were telling us about and their fun facts. But when I wait to blog about it five months later, I have forgotten all the names of the plants that should go with the pictures. So I am not going to put any pictures of the plants but of my family, because I can remember who they are. Just kidding.

 Here we are at the beginning of the hike, everybody else had backpacks except our family, the others were prepared :0). Luckily it is not that long of a hike maybe quarter of a mile.

 Here Kallie is next to one of the plants they identify, isn't she cute.

 This is once we reached the end of the hike at the lake. The bugs were pretty thick down at the lake, we are brushing the bugs as the picture is taken.

 Karlee even found some plants in hidden, under the boardwalk back.

 After the tour guided hike, we decided to go on a family hike deeper into the refuge. Karlee is being our leader here.

Hiking buddies!

We had a lot of fun being hiking and learning all about the plants in Alaska, even though I can't remember them :0) But being together as a family.

June Summer Pics

With being in this different house and the kids out of school we have been finding lots of things to do to fill our days.

 Kallie has picked up baking and loves it. She is always wanting to make something out of the Ellison family cookbook. Kelsie and Karlee play along as though she is doing a cooking show. She made us a lot of yummy treats this summer.

 When then sun comes out I make sure the kids get out. It was a really nice day about 70 degrees and so all the kids raced and put on shorts to go outside. They love the swing set. We also go on a lot of walks around town.

 Kelsie loves to pick these flowers and thinks they are the best.
Love the freckles.

With having a yard, along comes the grass. We are grateful to have the yard and grass. And Jaron really enjoys mowing it. Really he does, he is always asking to mow :0)

Happy Birthday Kelsie!

Today was Kelsie's actual birthday. I felt bad that she was kind of sad at her birthday on Saturday and so I want to made sure that she had a fun birthday. She woke up to presents and her birthday crown.

Kyle had to take a class at the hospital for the day and so he could not spend it with us. But before he left he made her her favorite breakfast panCAKEs. We piled seven candles on there and sang Happy Birthday.

 Good Morning Sunshine!

 After her breakfast she torn into her gifts. One thing that she was really wanting was a tennis racket and balls. She wants to become a famous tennis player and a private eye. She got her tennis racket and is excited to hit the court.

After getting ready we headed out on the town and went to McDonald's for ice cream. 

Got have ice cream on your birthday!

  Then headed to the bounce house in town.

"Jumpin Junction" 

 She loved it!

 She also loved getting all the calls from family far away calling to sing Happy Birthday!!

Thank you to all those that called and sent cards.

Then a second trip to McDonald's for dinner of Happy Meals, her choice.

She was one happy girl.

Happy Birthday Kelsie we love you and all the joy you bring to our family.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day

to Dad and Kyle you both are such awesome dad's!

 Jaron had made a gift for Kyle for Father's day at school before it got out. He held onto that gift and made sure that it came with us in the move. It was cute the bag said "Top secret classified" with like fifteen staples to seal it close. It was a cute book of all of Jaron's drawing of the past year, such a keeper he has the cutest drawings.

 The kids also made Kyle a crown that said the "Worlds #1 Dad".

 I also took the kids to the park. It was a beautiful day, one of the few days that the sun was really came out this summer. So it was nice to get out and enjoy it. I wanted to get a picture of them with We love daddy on the bottom of there feet. I saw someone else had done it and thought it would be a fun picture for Kyle :0)

 Since I had all four kids there I wanted to get a group shot of the kids for the wall. Lately Karlee has not been into getting her picture taken and she will really be a pill about it. So here are the three older ones...

And Karlee trying to hide from the camera.

 But I got a picture of that cutie.

Kelsie's Scooby Doo Birthday Party

For Kelsie 7th birthday party, she wanted to have a Scooby Doo birthday party, which was great because she already had her Velma costume from Halloween. Her birthday was after school had gotten out for the summer. So we passed the invites out on the last day. Two weeks later we had the party, she was hoping for a big turn out but I had a feeling that no one was going to come. Only one family had RSVP. But we were grateful they came. She had this one friend in her class, named Keith, that was her best friend, she was counting on him coming. She waited by the window and said that Keith is coming he would not miss my party he said he would come. It just broke my heart when he did not show. But we started the party once I cheered her up.  

 To start the party we made necklaces for the girls and magnets for the boys.

 Here are all the party people, making their crafts.

 After they were done making their crafts, we went outside to played pin the tag on Scooby. After everyone had gone and even some twice, I asked the kids if they wanted cupcakes. They wanted them, but one kid was confused on why we were having them so soon into the party. I told them to sit down and I will be right out with them. I went inside for the cupcakes, but came out with a note. I told them that the cupcakes were gone and this note was left in their place. 

I handed it to the birthday girl to read out loud, this is what it said;

Birthday Gang you have a mystery to solve.

 I know you can do it if you all get involved.

I'm the Birthday Ghost and I have your

 cupcakes. If you want one too, here is your

 first clue listen carefully so you'll know what to do.

Clue #1: Find the place of paint and figure out what to do.

 Once you are finished you'll have clue #2. 

-The Birthday Ghost

 After they read the clue, they went on hunt for the paint. 

They found it in the garage.

 I wrote with glue on  poster board a message. 

 In order to read the message they used markers to reveal the clue.

Clue #2  Find a ghost that is for play. 

Spill his guts and he will show the way.

 The kids hunted around the yard till they found a ghost pinata. Funny story about this pinata: A week before the party I tried making a homemade pinata like my mom used to do with newspaper, flour and water. Well with it not being so warm here it was taking a lot longer to dry and then when we went to put the candy in, it could not bear the weight and broke. So I had Kyle run to the store and grab any pinata that we could throw a sheet over and call a ghost, it was cute because he came home with a cowboy pinata and it worked perfect. 

 Kelsie was the first to take and whack at it and , it feel of the string, the body part did. But the hat of the cowboy was still there (above picture). So we let the kids take whack at it. They had fun, and then we broke into the body where the candy was,

 Inside the ghost I had put tootsie pops with tissue over them to look like ghost and had a clue tied to them. With lots of other candy. This is was the clue said:

  Clue#3 Find some ghostly creatures that look like a treat.

 Using a ring toss one to get one to eat. But be aware

 of what you are doing, hiding somewhere within will

 be your next clue.

 The kids the search for those ghostly treats and did a ring toss.

 Inside one of the ghost I hid the clue.

 Jaron found it and read it to the group as they all enjoyed their treats.

 It said:

Clue #4 You are on you own from here on out.

Keep your head down and you'll figure it  out.

Run and search for your last clue once you see

it you'll know what to do.

 As they looked down there were footprints that I had cut out,

 that led them to the kitchen where there stood a ghost eating a cupcake.

 They took the sheet off to find out that it was just Kelsie's dad who taken the cupcakes. When the took the sheet off Kyle said the classic line, "I would of gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you mendling kids". All they kids got kick out of it.

After all the crime solving we were able to sit down and sing

 Happy Birthday to Velma, I mean Kelsie.

 Here is a close up of the cake creation. I wanted to put scooby snacks on the cupcakes. But they don;t carry them here at our Safeway. So I made some of my own doggy bones, out of gingerbread cookies. The kids really thought that they were real doggie treats.

 Then we open gifts.

 After the party was over I took all the helium balloons and tied them together and gave them to Kelsie. She was excited and nervous to hold them because she thought she would float away. But soon realized that she wouldn't and had a blast with them.

Kenai Peninsula Air Fair

Even though it is a small town that we live in, their is still a airport here. Well every town in Alaska has some kind of airport in it. But the one here has a fun little air fair every year. 

 So the kids and I headed over to it to check it out.

We got to look at them on the outside and the inside.

 Checked out the big planes, little planes

 New planes and old planes

 Here the kids are doing the reenactment of a movie that they saw, just can't remember which one they said at the time.

It was a fun day, but it was really cold.

 The was blowing and we didn't bring our winter coats,
 even if it was June 9th.