Kailyn's First Day of School

Walking in on a rainy day (of course!)
Checking out the new locker...

Charlie wishing he could play with all those big kids!

Charlie getting to play with all the big
kids!

We just LOVE Mrs. Stock and wish she would
save retirement until all the kiddos have gone through her fabulous
program!

Mema heads home for a few weeks

For a quick dose of sunshine before Aiden arrives!

After the Princess Tea, we had a Birthday BBQ at the house to celebrate Charlie's First Birthday (can you believe it?) and let Kailyn visit with the rest of our friends and family that couldn't be at the tea.

Making me wonder if he was somehow switched at birth, Charlie wanted very little to do with his cake. We finally put some blueberries on top of it, which he picked out one by one and ate, never really digging into the cake like we hoped. Like they say, each kid is different from the last!

Definitely not loving it!Going for the blueberries...

Not so bad....

All done... can you believe how much is left?

Charlie liked Kelly's strawberry salad much better, hence the hairstyle that looks like we put gel in it.

One of Charlie's favorite presents - a watermelon from the Major's!

Kailyn trying to preserve her new Sleeping Beauty dress.

Kailyn's Princess Tea

For Kailyn's 4th birthday, she really wanted to have a Princess Tea, and what better place than Magpie's Bakery. Maggy and Kelsey were absolutely fabulous - they even dressed up, too! From time to time I have felt a little sad that we don't have all the options of a big city when it comes to birthday parties and stuff, but I really think that this year proved better than any bigger city could have dreamed of. And, ooooohhhh it was dreamy!

Quinn & Ginger

Kailyn & Chloe

Prince Elias - complete with a coat of arms and bugle!!Bella & Kailyn
Coloring a picture frame

Kailyn's helmet for her new 4 wheeler!

Bella & Brandy

We had a little time at the end while the princesses awaited their carraiges to dance a few jigs - so fun!!

Breaking in the new bed...

... the G Rated version!

After years of complaining about sleeping in a Queen size bed with my super *STAR* husband (who, in case you have missed the previous posts, really does sleep like a star... a rotating, rolling, tossing, and hitting super star), I finally gave in and "got off the wallet", as Brian says. He says this because for all the complaining, I am too cheap to spend the money when we were given a beautiful queen bedroom set for our wedding that was perfectly fine! But... the cabin is to the point that we are starting to think about furniture, and it seemed silly to buy a bedroom set for there instead of here.

So, the timing was perfect. Brian has been wanting a Temperpedic bed, and Sadler's had their truckload sale, so we were able to save a couple hundred bucks. Hey, it got me, anyways. We are now happy owners of a HUGE king size bed.

One of the funnest parts of buying a Temperpedic is that you have to break in the foam by jumping and walking on it. Luckily, we had a few kiddos that were happy to lend a hand! Even Charlie got in on the action - notice all the drool marks!!!

The furniture was a little tougher to decide on. After two days of going to every furniture store in Anchorage, we stopped in the Amish store on a whim. I've always LOVED their work, but would NEVER spend that much money. But, after talking to Brian for a long time, we didn't really love any of the stuff we had seen, none of it was great quality, and all of it was overpriced anyways. So, for just a tad bit more money than we had planned, we were able to order exactly what we wanted to be handmade by some of the most talented craftsmen in the world. We are super excited about it, and will be posting pictures when it gets here. Until then, excuse the completely unfinished and messy bedroom!

Four years old!

On August 6, our little Princess (yes, still!) turned four. And she is not shy about it at all! So far, we have informed the postman Tom and all the patrons in line, each and every stocker and customer at the grocery store, and a handful of tourists that we passed on our walk a few days after. I am amazed at how interested all of these people are - I just love living in a town like Valdez where nobody is too rushed to take a few minutes to chat with such a big girl. She is also most proud of the fact that she can *finally* chew gum, and she (palms up, hands pulsing up and down if you can just picture her) doesn't even swallow it!! So fun. I just love this age.

Ummmm..... usually, I do, anyways =).

When Kailyn woke up in the morning, she was greeted by her pink princess cake and was MOST DISAPPOINTED when I told her that was not a special breakfast for her. She had to wait the entire day to enjoy it with her friends and family... such torture for a little girl! Look at her face!
Charlie, as usual, thinks his sister absolutely hung the moon. She can always get him to laugh. He thought the face was funny, too.

For her actual birthday, we invited our local "family" over for a small dinner/ get-together. Although we've pretty much dropped off the social scene this summer, it was nice to still feel the love from so many great friends.

Still making the "party face" that the big girls taught her 2 1/2 years ago.

Brandy and Bella

Uncle Sean - always a hit!

Does Hailey know that she is not going to be "Baby Hailey" much longer? She loved hanging out in Kailyn's baby bed.

Another pregnant belly.
And another... who knew the Wisner's were expecting yet another baby?

Hoping for a houseful...

How could a girl not want ten more. How fun is this?

Independence Day

We had an extra special 4th this year... Aunt Michelle and Cousin Kate came to visit, and they brought Memere and Papa with them! The girls had such a good time together, and I can't wait to get together sometime down in Utah.

Of course we couldn't miss the Valdez 4th of July Parade!! All the kids came home with lots of loot, most of which melted by the end of the day it was so hot. Bella & Kailyn showing their patriotic spirit.

Ethan Weber becoming the envy of all the local kids!

After the parade, we had a few people over for a BBQ, and what would a BBQ be without watermelon? Charlie ate an entire watermelon by himself, I think!

The girls spent lots of time outside with gorgeous weather.

Kate loves the water so much that we turned the sprinkler on for her and she had a blast ! Kids always amaze me - our tap water is glacier fed (read... VERY cold!!!). Even Kailyn, Miss Tough Alaska Girl, wanted nothing to do with it! But Kate showed her Alaska spirit for sure!!!