deep thoughts by maggie

halloween candy is already waiting, lurking at my local grocery store.
it's that time of year again.
so my thought is: when did halloween turn from "ultimate kid fantasy holiday" into
"dress like a skanky......anything" day?
let's take back halloween people.

before september even starts.

grandma and grandpa's visit.....in random order

austin really believed he could hold back the tide


sow and cub eating blueberries, they have to eat 200,000 blueberries a day or 3 5 gallon buckets full.
see the moose in the background?
beautiful vista
teknilika river
walking along the touristy path
sand=fun
it was freezing and they all insisted on getting in the water.
isn't this a great picture?

top of artic valley area, near our home
jace was "hiding"


the payoff
the hard work dipnetting at fish creek. alaskan residents can fish for salmon with a big net, but it's not easy. mike spent a good 12 hours in this creek, he got 11 salmon!
mike looks good in neoprene waders.
austin tagged along on the dipnetting trip. he got a double cheeseburger that was the special of the day. he put the stickers on his jacket so it would say, "double special" oh and he sure is.

i heart dramamine

only 30% of visitors actually see denali because of it's insistence of being shrouded in clouds. but the cloud line parted for a bit and offered us a little glimpse of the top of mt. mckinley (largest peak in n. america) this pic is awesome, but just doesn't do the scene justice, you just can't imagine how big it is.
wonder lake, 85 miles into denali ntl. park (read below) and the end of the road.
jace, grandma and the sand, beach at kenai
granpa took lots of amazing pics, i will post them when i get my hands on 'em
our first blueberry picking! and probably our last.....sniff.
the kids on some windswept pines near the trailhead for flat top. windy there.

we've been carousing around alaska with grandma and grandpa judi! we've been to the kenai penisula, the beach and all the way up to denali national park where we took an 11 hour bus ride into the park. crazy i know, but with one kid per adult, it worked out splendidly and was the best most awesome thing we've done in alaska so far. we saw 11 grizzly bears (grizzlies live in the interior, brown bears live by the coast, same bear different name) several caribou, two foxes fighting over dinner, ptarmigan's (the kids called them chickens) a wolf that mike spotted, two bull moose, and lots of rabbits, grounds squirrels and golden eagles. one of the grizzlies was chasing and trying to eat ground squirrels, but they got away. denali is so wild, it is unlike any place i've ever been. thanks to dramamine, jace was able to bear the 11 hours in a moving vehicle, and he did awesome! we also hiked artic valley with grandma and grandpa, and hiked flat top, (this mountain IN anchorage that has a flat top, and picked blueberries a few days before they got here. we've been playin, and trying not to think about the inevitable end to this awesome summer. more denali pics to come.

a coupla' tutorials

i used my heather bailey fabric for just this skirt from made. dana has great fabulous wonderful tutorials on sewing. great tips like zigzagging my edges(duh) and i think i'm gonna make bunches of these skirts, sew easy, sew cute, (sew cliche).i'm a teeny bit sad that i believed me when i told myself that the ivory background woulnd't clash with my white fabric. it does. a little. hence the white monogram, had to try and tie it all in. now i know for next time right?
saw this pillow in a few spots around the blogosphere so after fiddling around i decided a shabby ruffle pillow was doable. just cute some 1.5 inch fabric strips, gathered, pinned and sewed them on to my pillow fabric, and sewed up the pillow. easy peasy.


next up, i'm going to figure out this pillow from pottery barn and then i'll share

if you ever get the chance to play dodge ball...... take it.

If you happened to catch my turn on segullah, you'll smile at the significance of this post. I spent a day with Q and all his cub scout buddies at Camp Carlquist. My arm is sore, my back aches, and it's not from hiking with a heavy pack. One of the activities was dodgeball, chaperones and leaders vs. cubs. about 40 of them. i haven't had so much fun in some time. pegging 8 year olds with rubber balls suits me. i'm telling you people, seek out a game of dodge, you'll have joyful memories for years to come! The most joyful noise i've ever heard came when a leader yelled, "JAILBREAK!" and all those little boys let out shouts of pure happiness as they ran back into the frey, it sorta reminded me of a battle cry of victory. it was awesome.




After crafting their own rubber swords, the campers got to chase their leader all over camp. they were shouting, "CHARGE!" as they went.





Q as an archer


Lining up for the call to arms in dodgeball.....ahhh the anticipation.

canoeing, q claims that the bottom of this lake is "pure quicksand"

ketchup

QandA finished up the baseball season. coach barnes has coached all their soccer and b-ball teams, he's a champ.
jace has comfort down to a science.
playin' in the mud at shipp creek on the 4th of july.
on the way home from fairbanks. this picture is so indicative of my ruffians personalities, notice the little girl who is not showing any signs of fatigue.

Three things

1. Have you ever heard of Segullah? It's a fabulous little online magazine where LDS mom's can write about life as a mom. Segullah.org hosts writing contests once or twice a year, also there's a little blog about various mom's and their adventures. I entered the writing contest and although my entry did'nt win, they asked if they could use my piece for a blog post. Check it out july3rd here! go on over and give me a little shout out so I feel some love.(this means you mom) i have a deep rooted fear that my comments will say zero.
2. I heart Heather Bailey. She's a color genius. I just bought this fabric, and can't wait to fiddle with it. I also bought some cool hair things. I have a thing for hair thingy's. I let you know if it was worth the price. You can check out the fabulous and rapidly growing famous heather bailey here.

3. Three weeks ago I had my appendix out. Crazy huh? It happened a week after my race. serves me right for making fun of the "not so old" I thought it was really bad cramps, or the stomach flu. Turns out I had appendicitis for three days, and an emergency laproscopic appendectomy. Now I have three extra scars. Just more proof of battle. sweet.