blueberry evening

Father and Son heading back.

Just the girls

An amazing double rainbow appeared near the end of our night... Jeremy and Annie ready to go!

Last night we traveled up to the Willow side of Hatcher Pass to look for blueberries! We found some, not as many as we'd hoped, but had a great evening just the same.

My in-laws, Dave and Anita joined in on the fun... and Heather, Jeremy's younger sister came too! Heather is due next Thursday with their first baby!

Annika kept leaning over and snagging a berry from my bucket, saying , "Mmmm" before popping it into her mouth.

the school stop

See the sidebar on the right for an update about our upcoming homeschool year!

Sweaters, hot cocoa, coffee, falling leaves, and great books... Here We Come!

big girl & garden goodies

Our baby is 18 months old! I still call her the "baby" even though now she is officially a toddler... her new words/phrases that are popping up each day:

There you go!

thank you

please

all done

uh oh

more

bye bye

Da (Dad)

Mama

cracker

good girl (she claps when she says this, cuz we always do!)

She definitely is our earliest talker! She has a fun, playful personality with a touch of spunk if you know what I mean. :) Happy 18 month birthday sweet girl!

Annika is our outside girl. She bolts for the door anytime it opens and LOVES being outside in the garden with Daddy. Here, she is modeling one of our huge carrots!

Sugar snap peas... yummmmmy!

Ginormous green beans!

A rose from one of our Big Brothers Bushy Buckets plants!

We love the color of this one.

An evening's harvest recently.

The green beans are amazing. In one night, Jeremy picked a pile that was 2 ft. long and about 1 ft. wide. We tried canning them last summer... and they were kinda yucky in my opinion. (Fresh is best!) So this year, he blanched them and froze them so we can pop them out of the freezer all winter.


Our first run at tomatoes...

August projects

I have been absent from blogging lately, mostly because I lack pictures... And don't want to bore you with my rambling about certain subjects! Here is what I've been up to lately!

I spent 3 nights last weekend after the kids were in bed painting our entry and part of our living room the red I've been dreaming about for the past couple years. I finally did it! I assured Jeremy I'd do the whole thing myself... he really hates indoor painting projects, and I love them so I don't mind the work. He does enough outside for our family in the way of the garden and yard, so he was off the hook! Hooray for color in my living room!

These are a pair of booties I knit for my new nephew Dylan who is due to be born near the end of this month. They are so cute and tiny... the pattern was for them all to be one color, but that was too boring for this gal, stripes were definitely needed. They are pretty quick and easy too.

I love a good project... hmmm... what's next? A granny square baby hat with ear flaps for a baby shower this weekend! I'll post a pic when I'm done.

Emily & Mitchel are married!

Wow, another one of my youth girls is now married!

Emily & Mitchel tied the knot last Saturday with a beautiful wedding & reception, it was like God opened up the skies for them to reveal a long awaited beautiful day for us!

They are a fun, young vibrant couple that I couldn't be more happy for!

Drew stood up with them as their ring bearer... Mitchel was Drew's Sunday School teacher for a while a couple years ago and as Drew says, "Mr. Mitchel is my favorite adult."

4 of my beautiful former youth girls all in a row!

And the adorable Charlotte!!!

Drew and the men folk.

Wow, he's getting tall. He is a seasoned "ring boy", this was his 4th wedding!

The girls and I after a marathon morning of bridal party hair!

Emily's finished updo.

Congratulations you two! Soak up that Hawaii sun, will ya?

Some family fun on my birthday!

It has been long time no post for me! Earlier this month we had Aaron, Abie, and all of Abie's family except her oldest brother and his family visit Alaska! The day after they arrived we had a family dinner and fun at a park! It just happened to be my birthday too, it was a fun way to spend the day!

Above is the Bacon side of things, minus Jen and Jimmy... we missed you terribly!

The whole clan!

From Left: Gerry & Heather, Dave & Anita, Nate (Abie's bro), Shar & Asa (Abie's parents), Josiah (Abie's bro), Abie & Aaron, Chris (Abie's bro), Rachael (Abie's sis) & Nick with cuties Hallie & Caden!

This picture cracks me up... it is SO hard to get all of our kids looking, let alone smiling for a picture. Drew was doing a king fu pose, Morgan blocking her eyes from the sun, Gavin doubled over in laughter, and Annika wondering what she has gotten herself into. But it's a memorable shot nonetheless. :)

We didn't get to spend nearly as much time with Aaron and Abie as we'd like... but I'm sure that will come with time! So glad you all came!!!


Annie chillin' in the sun at Aaron & Abie's Alaska reception!

Our 4th of July

Our 4th of July celebration was spent with friends on their lake with a sandy beach! We didn't have any plans so we were content to stay home while Jeremy nursed his knee injury, but our friends called that afternoon to see if we had plans, and we were more than happy to get out of the house and join in on their fun! We played all day in the 80 degree day on the boat, inner tubing, and swimming in the lake. (Brrr... the kids were the only ones brave enough!)

Gavin & Morgan getting ready for their turn! They took many trips on the tube and loved every minute of it.

Even the brave mamas took a turn!

Allison and I had to lay on the tube... I hadn't done that in years! I'm proud to say we didn't fall off.. Klint was nice to us, I guess. But we sure did a lot of laughing and screaming!

Annika enjoying the sand between her toes.

Me and my big girl.


Drewy playing around by the dock. I have a picture of me playing around by a dock in an inner tube when I was about Drew's age... the resemblance is uncanny. I'll find it and post it...


This was an amazing way to spend the 4th. It was so fun to mix it up this year, and have a lake adventure! Thanks Davies fam for inviting us to join in on your day.

Happy Birthday America!!!

veggie mania

I have to say that I'm married to the man with the greenest thumb I've even known! When we moved into our house just over 5 years ago, his dream was to have a garden and grow a few things for us to enjoy all summer. His two raised beds turned into an amazing garden with multiple beds and rows, plus a new greenhouse the he spent last summer building!

I love that he spends his time outside on his hobby, plus he's right here at home! I am taking more pride in it each year and now love taking people on a garden tour and know what each plant is and tidbits of info about them. He is experimenting in the greenhouse this year and is yielding great plants and soon fruits and veggies! Right now we have tiny cucumbers growing, little pumpkin curly-ques entangling, and tomato flowers popping up like crazy! It's SO cool!

This week he has been harvesting rhubarb, strawberries, zucchini, herbs, 8 ball squash, spinach & salad greens, and green onions!

I do a little gardening myself, except I'm in the flower business. I love making our front walk look colorful and welcoming with bright annuals and am enjoying filling up my perennial beds with columbine, tiger lilies, forget me knots, ferns, delphiniums, and daisies. They are multiplying each year and I love all the color combinations.

Our huge green bean patch. We love 'em steamed up best.

Our first go at tomato plants, pumpkins, cucumbers, peppers, corn, and fresh herbs.

We have dill, cilantro, basil, and oregano. I am loving cooking with them. Ooh, they are SO yummy! I am learning to get more creative with them as I go.

Our corn and green pepper experiments...

I took this pic at 5:30 am this morning because I happened to wake up and the sun was reddish/fuchsia and it was truly an amazing sight.. the picture didn't capture any of it! But I thought it was a good view of the garden as well.

The back row is broccoli, cabbage, swiss chard, and carrots. To the far right, there is also a full bed of carrots you can't see.)

Then we have two rows of salad fixin's: mustard greens, spinach, butter crunch lettuce, and collards. Jeremy planted the one at the bottom of the pic most recently so we have lettuces later in the summer too.

potatoes, sugar snap peas, chives, squashes, green beans....


Some flower photos...

Flashback Friday

Finally, after nearly 14 years of not being at the same place at the same time... 4 of us 5 best friends from high school were all together! We missed our buddy Crystal who couldn't make it and who I haven't seen in 9 years, but now lives back in AK!!

From the left is Briana, Raeanne, Jessica, and I.

We met at the park with our kiddos and a picnic lunch for a great day.

We have 11 kids between the 4 of us...

Bri, Jess, and I are living back here, while Rae lives in Austrailia!

We have so many fun memories of sports trips, Seward camping trips, overnighters, movies,

and much, much, more! They are true blue friends and we can easily pick back up where we left

off... I love you, dear friends!

Hopefully the next gathering of all of us will be only a couple years away... 14 is TOO long!

Gavin the Birthday Boy!

Gavin Nathaniel is 7!

This year we made the switch to a family only party one year, then a friends & family party the next... Gavin was the guinea pig with his party and he chose mini golf then ice cream at a new parlor in town! It was SO much fun!! Not to mention our house was left untouched by the whole thing... I think we're onto something here. :)

It was a beautiful, hot summer day for the bash.

We love you, Gavin... you're such a big kid now.

We love your energy and enthusiasm for life and just about anything that comes your way.

You are a caring son and brother and we all love you to pieces!

Auntie Heather & Uncle Gerry

(and don't forget little Dylan who is coming at the end of summer!)

Grandpa Louie and the girlies.

A group shot, thanks to my photo timer. Too bad my photo program isn't loaded yet... or I would have cropped out the brick on the bottom.

The boys strutting their stuff on the course.

Annika stole every ball she could get her little hands

on... including Grandma Marla Kay's.

Before we met up with family for mini golf, we spend the afternoon

playing and biking with the Novaks! Thanks for spending time with us, guys.

It was a fun, full birthday for our Gavin!

her stoop

Annika bolts toward the front door whenever it opens and plops herself down on the front steps any chance she gets. Before she was walking, she'd stay there forever and occasionally venture out across the sharp rocks on her knees. Now, she'll stay there for a couple and then cruise out onto the grass or toward the garden. She LOVES being outdoors. And now that she's not on her knees all day long, she's been wearing lots of sundresses...