North to Alaska

Here are some pictures of Beautiful Alaska that I took as we flew over

A Warm Sunny Afternoon at the Beach

Back to School Night

The girls are starting to learn the art of Eskimo dancing. They would stop when we would get out the camera, of course, but we did catch a little bit of it.




They are wearing there traditional Atukluks (pronounced Atooglooks). Our friend Gail help me cut them out.

Home Again, Home Again

We are back in PH and I am actually really glad to have regular schedule and a clean house again. This summer has been so fun but I am ready to get back to normal life.

My biggest fears about coming back have been set to rest. Our flights went well with minimal crying and screaming and the girls are adjusting SO well. They got back onto a great sleeping schedule right away, naps and all. They are also eating well also, although, Ellora still won't drink milk. We are hoping she will start drinking it soon because alternitive dairy products like cheese and yogurt are so expensive and she needs the nutrition it affers esspecially the vitamin D.

The weather has been so nice, besides the wind yeterday and today. It got up to 72 yesterday! That the warmest we have ever experienced here. We have been to the park and the beach and the girls have enjoyed playing outside alot. I don't mind all the rocks so much just as long as the girls don't run into a rusty nail or peice of glass. (They are all over, even at the playground, but that is my only complaint for now so we are doing well.)

This picture reminds me of Daurie when she was little. :)

Over the next few weeks i will try to post some of our summer pictures but the internet is really slow here so we'll see.

I know this kind of doll makes a lot of people sick, but really?

We went yard sale-ing today to try and find good deals on birthday presents. We didn't find what we were looking for, but at the last stop we let Chalyse and Ellora have a quarter and find something that they each wanted. Ellora found a Barbie doll that she liked, so we got it for her. When we got home, Chalyse was playing with it, but couldn't quite get the pronunciation down. She started out calling it a "Barfbie," but that soon became "Barfie." She misplaced it momentarily and went around the house calling, "Barfie, where are you barfie?" We tried to convince her that it was "Barbie," but she liked her name better.

A Miracle

The other day we witnessed a miracle. Chalyse has been such a trial at the dinner table. She usually won't eat any vegetables, and half of the time she won't eat most of the rest of what we put in front of her, either, unless it's mac 'n cheese. The other day, we cooked up some broccoli with our dinner and put some on her plate, expecting her to not eat it. She ate all of the florets off of them, then asked to eat Ellora's as well (strangely, Ellora usually eats everything we put in front of her, but she wouldn't touch her broccoli). Then, the next night we had green beans with our meal, and she ate those, too! Hopefully it lasts.

Our Garden

Last month Camille and I got our landlord to let us use a little strip of dirt in the backyard for a garden. He was planning on putting rocks in. The small strip of dirt that we had seemed ideal right next to the fence, being about two feet wide and plenty long. However, about a foot of the width, we found out, was taken up by some concrete that had been buried about two inches under the surface. Making the best of our circumstance, we made a furrow down the middle over the concrete to plant our green onions, and planted everything else around it.

We ended up getting two tomato plants, a few pepper plants, a zucchini plant, a butternut squash plant, and a row of green onions. My sister-in-law, Mandy, who is going to be taking our apartment after we go back to Alaska, planted a pumpkin plant.


For a long time, we just watered them and battled the heat (and unseasonable coldness). Over the past few days, our tomatoes have seriously doubled in size. I don't know what it was exactly. We have three little green tomatoes. Our green onions aren't doing amazingly. Everything else is coming along, though.

We were really excited to be able to plant our own little garden. There's something to be said about working in the dirt, even just a little bit, and eating something you worked to produce.

Chalyse's Lullaby

Yesterday, Chalyse's doll was tired, so Chalyse put her to sleep. She sang her own little lullaby:

Rock-a-by
Rock-a-by
See all the pretty colors

Right now, her doll is getting a "bath" and her diaper changed.