SalmonBerries

We went Salmonberry picking on my birthday and had a wonderful time picking these beautiful berries. (These pictures were actually taken the day after my b-day when we went again because it was raining and cold and yucky when we went on my b-day!) :) I thought I'd take to the time to show you some salmonberries as they ripen and maybe you can tell why they're called salmon berries. :) They have a kindof mild sweetness, but are quite tasty! The girls and I will be making jelly soon! :) Yum yum yum!!

The Aunties Have Arrived!

Britny and Bryana are now on Kodiak Island for almost a month! Woohoo! We are having a fantastic time showing them around the island and just spending some quality time with each other. What a blessing their trip has already been and it hasn't even been a week! Brandon took them out on a boat to go halibut fishing today... so I'm praying they catch "the big one". :) I've also heard there are whales out in the bay today, so maybe they'll get to see some of those while they're out! How awesome is that? :) I am really enjoying being up here this summer... (maybe because I know it's our last summer!) lol. What awesome adventures the Lord has given us through the Coast Guard. Tomorrow we will all be going out salmon fishing. For my birthday we went out Salmonberry picking. I will be posting more about them. Stay tuned. :) Okie dokie. Off to get more done during nap time! :)

One of Our Favorite Walks

A boy in love with his Grampa! (and a Grampa in love with his boy!)
I thought these were just the perfect flowers. They were down by the float plane dock just waiting for me to snap their pictures!


Enjoying our walk
So beautiful!
A concerned Grammy and Grampa walking Zion down the plank. :)

Some of ZiZi's 1st B-Day Party

Zion had a great 1st Birthday party! And I loved his cake! Isn't it cool??? An Alaskan fishing cake for our little Alaskan born Moose! :) He loved his cake. Can you tell? :) At first he kept looking at me and his Grammy asking "are you SURE i'm allowed to have this???" It was great! :)

Our Bear Sighting and a Shy Fox

We saw our first Kodiak bear of the year! :) He was out enjoying the scenery in Bells Flatts... like 5 minutes down the road from our house. It was exciting. This big guy (It was a small one for a Kodiak) was quite handsome just roaming around. The pink salmon are starting to run, so we will probably start to get more bear action! Also, a shy fox let me get one quick shot of him on the road. He looks like a wise old fox. :) These were taken at almost 9:30 pm. :) We've been loosing lots of daylight lately, but are still getting quite a bit of sunshine. Neat huh? :) We love the summer! It makes up for all of the darkness in the winter.

Zion Miles is 1!!!!

Our dear, sweet, amazing, handsome, brilliant, hysterical, loving, precious gift from God turned 1! Where oh where did the time go??? He was JUST the little bundle laying in my arms!

How, in only a year, did that little baby grow into the little tyke that's now crawling up the windowsill and trying to eat bugs?! Time truly does fly when you become a parent... I can't even imagine when we have more than 1! Yikes. But yes, our Zizi is now 1 year old. He thinks of himself as a big boy now! He loves it.

We were blessed with the opportunity to have Amy take some birthday pics of Zion and we are thrilled with them all. Enjoy these shots of his first experience with cake and sugar! HE LOVED IT! :) I think he was shocked that I let him make a mess like that, lol. It was so fun. I haven't downloaded the pictures from his birthday party and actual birthday yet, but i'll do that soon. For now enjoy these fun shots! You get to see them in reverse order b/c I can't figure out how to move them around... :)

Thank you Lord for this year that you've allowed us to have the privilege to be Zion's parents. He is such a blessing to us!!!!!!!!!!!!! We ask that You continue to give us wisdom while we raise Him to love You with His whole heart. You are so good to us! We know that you will protect and keep Zion in Your hands every single minute of his life. Thank You, thank You, THANK YOU Jesus for our Zion. We praise You! In Jesus wonderful name, Amen!

Our Handsome Little Big Boy