A friend from work sent me this picture from Kodiak Island, I think he said Fish and Game took it when they heard of the huge number of bears congregating in one location at the same time. I counted 42 bears in this photo, the bears are eating the remains of a Grey Whale that washed up on shore, you can see one of the rib bones? in the middle of the beach. Thought you might enjoy a little of what I get to see on a regular basis because of where I live! Have a great Sunday! - Jeremy

Happy Halloween

Yes it is true..I've posted the same photo twice and I couldn't figure out how to get it off...so you get double Taryn and the boys. Oh well, I am determined to blog and I will not be deterred from the process. Which is huge for me considering my perfection issues. he-he..I thought these pics were cute and so I thought I'd add them to the blog. I hope you all enjoy them! hey just a thought....does Taryn look like she is 6 years old?.........Yeah, I don't think she does either.

Halloween Highlights

Here are some Highlights from Halloween this year! We really had a great time with the kids. Auntie Rachael invited us to all go to her work this year and trick-or-treat in her building. It was so much fun. The offices in her building really get into it...spooky hallways, spiderweb covered walls, creepy costumed employees handing out candy and hiding around corners...all added to halloween fun. I don't know if you can tell but Leilani's kids (Kymani, Ikaika, and Mathias) were Alvin and the Chipmunks, Taryn was a beautiful witch, Jared's daughter (Malia) was a precious little Ladybug, and Seth's Kids (Ariel, Josiah, & Noa) were various superheros. We all went to Trick-or-Treat town this year and meet for pumpkin carving at Auntie Stephanie's House. I love that we all can get together and share in the Holidays. The kids love to be together. So much so that they always run to each other and give great big hugs when they meet......I have to give Kudos to my mom for Taryn's costume this year. I ran out of time and she took her time to make it just perfectly. So thank you mom.. I sure Love you....
Oh and we can not forget our annual doughnut party. This year was held at Jared and Kaye's beautiful home. They came up with the best idea ever...to cook the doughnuts outside on the camp stove in the dutch ovens! How smart is that? No smelly fried oil in the house and we didn't have to worry about the kids getting into it. I don't have pictures of that night yet but they will be posted later.
I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween just as we did!

11 YEARS DOWN- AN ETERNITY 2 GO

I just wanted to take a moment to say "Happy Anniversary!" to my sweetheart. on the 24th of this month we celebrated 11 years and I am so grateful to him an d all he has done for our family. I still remember meeting him for the first time on our missions in California. He said he knew from the first moment he meet me that we were going to be married and well....all I remember is that he had a very bad haircut!!! (His companion had cut his hair and let's just say it was really, really bad.....) So here we are today....living in a beautiful state with a beautiful daughter, a great job, family support near and far, good friendships, AND we have best friends in each other. Yes it is cheesy but true. So here's to another year! Happy Anniversary to me!

We are Lovin the Leaves!

B4 the snow fell, Leilani and I took the kids over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a little service activity. Their back yard is surrounded by large, very old Cottonwoods and needless to say they leave a mess in the fall. So we packed up the kids and went to rake some leaves. I admit that we had to bribe them a little bit. I promised Taryn she could jump on the trampoline after we finished raking and that was all the motivation she needed.
We had a great time as you can see from the photos. Of course, we had to jump in the leaves and throw them around a little bit. That was a given! Grandma even came out and rolled around in the leaves a bit too. The funny thing is that she lost her keys in the enormous piles of leaves that we threw out behind the house. Luckily, grandpa went out to look for them and there they were, right beside the tree trunk! Boy was she lucky......grandpa would have given her a hard time about that one...he-he
The nice moment of the evening came when it was time to go. Grandpa (my dad) said that the neighbor had come over earlier and expressed to dad how amazed he was that we (his 2 daughters) would come over and help him like that. He wanted to know how he got us to do it! When Dad told him that he didn't even ask us and that we just showed up with little helpers in tow, the man was shocked! He told Dad he was very lucky and blessed...and he said, "You just don't see that anymore."
That was pretty cool. I guess it has always been important to me to be aware of others around me and see what they might stand in need of. My prayer is that my little girl will learn the value of that trait and you know what...I think she does.

(side note: In case you are wondering where Jeremy was...fishin...no, he was at work.)

It's a wild wild world!

This is Felicia's blog, but I'm taking over today, I've been home all week with one heck of a major sinus infection. The Dr. gave me some great decongestants but I can't work and take my medicine at the same time (medication and aircraft safety don't mix too well). On top of being sick, I have a serious case of cabin fever! It's too cold outside to go for a walk (high of 21 degrees in today's forecast), daytime TV is pathetic, and one can only do so much cleaning before the smell of Lysol, comet and Windex makes you ill.

So after perusing our gallery of photos from this last month I found a few of my favorite wildlife photos that were taken recently.

Earlier this month Felicia was at a chiropractic convention at Alyeska Resort. Taryn and I went with her and had some great daddy daughter time of which most was spent in the swimming pool. But we were able to get out and enjoy some of the sites of Alaska. We had a great time visiting the Alaska Wildlife and Conservation Center where we found the Grizzly and Moose. I have to say this is one of the largest Moose I have ever seen. While we see wildlife all of the time up here, it is usually while we are driving from one place to the next or while I am out fishing and I am more concerned about keeping adequate distance between the bears and me than a great photo op.

Taryn loves looking for animals! She really has an appreciation of God's creations, some of which I have fostered by taking her fishing with me, but mostly I think she is just fascinated with the world around her. She recently went on her own safari to see what wild and ferocious creatures she could find and capture with the camera. After traveling for some time on her own ( a couple of hours) she returned safely from her odyssey and had to show us all the pictures she took.

Of the many silly and interesting photos she took, I think this one was my favorite. I told Taryn that Buster the bunny has been on many of his own safari's and as such had many great and wild stories to tell. I explained the great humanitarian efforts he inspired to make one sick little boy very happy.

Taryn loves buster and often keeps him close to watch over her at night, unless he is keeping her awake by talking to much with her other animals.
To those of you that remember this old rabbit, you would be happy to know that Buster is well and still full of fluff!

-Jeremy

Another Cake Creation!

This cake is my latest creation. I did this for a lady from Jeremy's work. I took the design off of a plate that she was using for the party. I think it turned out pretty nice. I love to do cakes but I always seem to shoot myself in the foot when I volunteer for such detailed designs. Oh well......the little boy loved the cake!

Trading the Pole for a Backpack

It is the first day of school and it is time to face the hard reality of it all..... FISHING SEASON IS DONE THIS YEAR!!! Well not for her Dad but it is for a little squirt who will be in class now during the rest of the prime Trout fishing time. Taryn has had many fishing adventures this summer and she has become 'hooked' on taking these trips with her father. Since Jeremy is off on Mondays and Tuesdays he and Taryn could go anytime this summer while I sadly had to work. I didn't get to go once this year which I was pretty sad about seeing how I took a Fly Fishing Class and everything!!!! I guess the fish will be safe until next year....ha-ha!!
Taryn's first day of school at Wonderpark Elementary School was a blast!!! She has preparing for this day all summer. If you look closely you can see her stuffed animal "Sally" the huskie (from Build A Bear Workshop). She loves this puppy for two reasons, 1. She earned this puppy for reading 100 BOOKS this summer! Grandma Tuia told her she'd take her there if she read the 100 books and she did it. (Hey there's nothing like a little incentive..) and 2. she wants a real dog sooooooo bad......she figures this will have to do until the real one comes. Note: We have a deal with her that she can get a dog when we get a house. So she is waiting....not so patiently sometimes.


Well this school year should be interesting. In an attempt to help out at Taryn's school I went to a PTA meeting and left being newly elected to the President position......SO we shall see as time progresses, as to what I got myself into. All i can say is there is a great need at Taryn's school for parents who care about what is going on with the school and community and I figure I can help. Besides I figure it will be a good place to start since I want to run for Vice President in another 4 years.....he-he! Felicia

Colors of Summer

We haven't had much of a summer this year as the weather was always seemed to be wet and cool, but it was good for our flower garden that Jeremy planted. Jeremy enjoys working in the soil and making our yard look nice. This year Jer built a flower box that surrounds our deck and filled it with lobelia, begonia's, and fuschia's; these were some of the colors of our summer.

Family that 'KICKS' together 'STICKS' together

This past March Taryn and I started taking TaeKwonDoe. It has been a blast! I wanted an activity that 1.we could do together as a family to help us get in shape and 2. something to help Taryn develope more confidence. A friend suggested that we try out CHAMP TAE KWON DOE ACADEMY. So we tried a trial lesson and loved it. Originally Jeremy had signed up with us but then realized that it would cut in to his fishing time and thus we now have just the girls. I guess that is not completely true since my nephews, Kymani and Ikaika come with us also. Practice is FUN! We yell a lot, say "Yes SIR!!!!!" just about every other word, and boy do we sweat!!!! Well mainly me . Most of the young kids like to watch me because I get so RED in the face.....I think they are wondering if I'm going to make it! Well this photo is from Taryn's first tournament. She took first place in her Pomse (her form competition) and she took 1st place in her BOARD BREAKING competition!!! Jeremy and I were so proud of her, She performed in front of 100's of people and didn't seem to be nervous. Did I participate? Not this time. I had a wedding cake to deliver that day and honestly I was a little glad. I was nervous too. Now at the end of this month we test for our orange belts. We have already received our yellow (white is the first) and who knows how far we will go!!!

Rumbly in my Tumbly

This last 4th of July we spent the weekend at Hidden Lake and came upon this hungry fellow along the side of the road. He didn't seem to mind us watching him while he ate his breakfast; and we sure enjoyed the photo opportunities that he provided for the 15 or 20 minutes while he graced us with his presence. Just another reason why we love living in this beautifully wild State.

Taryn sure loves to fish with her Daddy, she caught this Red Salmon on the Russian River with a little help from her Father. It was Taryn's first time catching a fish on a fly rod. Her Dad thinks its important for her to start fly fishing at an early age!

Cheney Lake!!

Here is picture of Cheney Lake just a few weeks ago!

What a beautiful place to live.

We Blogging NOW!!

Yes Miracles happen!! We are finally in the blogging world!! With the help of my sister-in-law..
We are excited to be able to share all that we are doing up here in Alaska. We hope to be able to keep in touch with our friends and family in the lower 48 as well as our friends and family that live up here in Alaska. Here goes nothing...