Enjoying more fall weather!

 Fall Colors of Eagle River

Can you believe it's the end of September?  Where has the past month gone?  I know - busy with getting into new routines - from school starting to day care and everything in between.  Having Leif home on the weekends sure has been a nice change!  We love that he is around more and able to do things with us as a family.

Like heading to the park to play a little soccer with Leinna 

or

giving kids a push on the swings!

Yes, it's definitely nice to have him around on the weekends and during the week too.  He loved being a principal and hopes to get back into administration one day.  But for now - he's enjoying the reduced amount of stress and commitments. 

Enjoying our fall weather

Happy Fall Weather!

There are several things I miss about our life in Cordova, but I must be honest and say that I don't miss the torrential rain falls during the fall season.  We are soaking up every ounce of these cool but sunny fall days!

Last weekend we spent some time helping our family friend Ms. Ruth with her garden work.  She's an elderly woman and widowed, so she appreciates all the help she can get.  The kids loved pushing the wagon around and even took a few rides inside. 

Our main goal was to help Ms. Ruth dig up her potatoes.  Papa did all the hard work and the kids had fun running into the garden and bringing the potatoes out.  Ms. Ruth was kind to share some of the harvest with us - yummy!  I love garden potatoes!

We've also spent our fall days playing at the park.  The air is cool and the warmth of the sunshine is fading, but we still love playing outside!  It's also nice to have multiple parks in our new community to go and explore!

After all this hard work and playing - we enjoy a good meal!  The kids must be going into another growth spurt because they are both bottomless pits!!  Even our daycare provider has commented on how much the kids have eaten this past week.

 Leinna made some yummy cookies at her school (aka daycare) on Friday.  She was beyond excited to share her special treat with us all!

Such a little man- he likes to kick up his feet after his meal!  Ha!

Now if we can just teach him to wait until he's not at the table. 

After our tummies are full - it's time for a good book.  It just warms my heart to see Leinna reading to Lukkas.  We often play "Can you find" with Leinna - look at a page in a book or outside and say, "Can you find a (fill in the blank). "  This is how she was reading to Lukkas- by playing "Can you find"  - when Lukkas would find the right thing- she patted him on the head and said good job buddy.  Leif and I couldn't help to just sit and watch them enjoy each other and a good book. 

 The kids sure are growing and changing.  Since we've been back to school for about a month now, I notice the changes in them even more because we are apart during the day.  I'm so blessed to be the momma of these two little kiddos!

Termination Dust and Popsicles!

I love the beautiful scenery of Alaska. This is the view about 1/2 a mile from my house as we drive home in the afternoon.  So breath taking and just the image I need after a challenging day at school - this kind of beauty can only remind me that there is a much bigger plan in place - take a deep breath and get ready to be mom.

So - did you notice the snow creeping down the mountainside? Yep - termination dust. We've had 18 days in a row of rain - you should hear the locals complain about the weather - I just chuckle and say it's all about perspective.  My friends back in Cordova have had 30 inches of rain in 13 days!!! I'll take these rainy days in Eagle River, where the storm breaks, sun comes out for a bit and then another shower rolls in.  

I also love the fireweed this time of year - our trees may not turn the vibrant red and orange like in Wisconsin, but we just look to the ground to see those beautiful colors.  My image just doesn't do the colors justice.  

On to Popsicles...

I apologize for the quality of this picture- I just grabbed my phone quick and captured the moment - who says you have to eat a popsicle from the top?  We tried to get Lukkas to have a popsicle- especially after this little slip...

Poor little guy, slipped on the wood floor and down he went.  We were so thankful that his teeth didn't go all the way through his lip.  After some hugs from momma (he wanted nothing to do with the cold popsicle even though I'm sure it would have helped the swelling), 

He was all smiles- with a really fat lip!  It was so cute to watch him try and "wipe" his lip away because of how big it was. So, not only a fat lip for this little guy, but a fever Thursday afternoon and nasty cough - I ended up taking the day off on Friday to stay home with him.  He continued his fever in the morning, but by afternoon was back to himself.  So - not sure if he's getting ready to pop out more teeth or he just had a little cold.

By Saturday morning - he was happy and ready to go! 

Good thing Sister was awake too and ready to plan.  Momma and Papa were hoping for a little more sleep but who can't be filled with joy and love watching their kiddos play Ring-Around-The-Rosie - even if it was 7 am!

Ring around the rosie,

Pocket full of posies,
Ashes, ashes...

We Pull Lukkas Down...

He doesn't really understand to fall down - so Sister helps :o) 

Hoping we all stay healthy through the rest of the weekend and stay injury free.  It was a beautiful sunny day - hoping tomorrow will be the same and we can get out and enjoy the beauty of our surroundings.

Fall weather has arrived

The fall weather of Alaska has arrived, which means wind and rain storms.  Since we are still learning about our community in Eagle River and what options we have for kid entertainment on rainy afternoons - we sought creativity in our own home.

When I brought the camera out to snap a photo of our rainy day entertainment, Lukkas crawled over and said, "Cheese" - His spoken vocabulary sure is growing - peeze (please), cheese, Ainna (Leinna), Momma, Papa (yep - he finally said papa this weekend - sure made Leif smile), tractor, dog, ball, and a few more grunts and squeals that we can usually make out depending on the situation.  

So our rainy day entertainment -

Really... we can jump on the chair?  Are you sure Momma - are you sure it's okay?  

Yes! Have at it kids!  

They had so much fun jumping on the chair - we took the cushion off and laid some pillows on the floor - they climbed and jumped for hours.  Easy and free entertainment - plus Papa and I were able to watch the football games and get house work done while kids were happy!

Hoping this rainy weather will clear on out and we can go get some new scenery pictures of the trees changing colors before the leaves all blow off.  In Cordova, there were a handful of trees that would change colors, but here in Eagle River, it's like the whole mountain sides - it's really pretty and like I said, hope I can snap some photos soon.  Until then  - we'll be enjoying our jumpy chair!