Jul. 5, 2008 - Hiking

 

Last week we had the pleasure of spending Sunday hiking the Carter Lake trail in Moose Pass, Alaska.  My parents, Karen and Richard went with us and we had a really wonderful day!!

There were a few creeks to cross, this is the only one that had a bridge. 

This is one of them that didn't have a bridge.  It was a fun challenge, and we all stayed dry.

Of course, my Dad (Papa) had on boots, and most of the crossings he held our hands and helped us.  Dads are good like that. 

This is when we were nearing the top of the 3.3 mile UPHILL cilmb.  We were glad to see some level ground, and even the beautiful snow still on the mountain tops.

This is my Dad.  He's my hero, one of my best friends in the world, and I love him more than words can say.  He is a good example of what Christ is like as my heavenly father: he is always strong, but can be gentle, too.  He is wise, and is a great protector,  I feel safe when he is around, and he loves me unconditionally.  Life is good when you're walking with Dad.  Life is good when you're walking with God.  :)  See how that works?  There's a reason God uses the term "Heavenly Father" to describe Himself to us.  

 

Did I get off track?  Sorry.  Here's the picture.   

 

This is my Mom, Karen, fishing for lake trout.  My Mom is a wonderful, amazing lady.  She is VERY smart, and is knowledgeable on just about everything.  I can call her for advice about parenting, cooking, gardening, or anything else and she drops what she is doing to tell me what she knows.  She loves me no matter what, and I couldn't ask for a better friend.  On top of all of that, she's fun.  She isn't afraid to be silly or goofy and the grandchildren love that about her.  She's a faithful friend, wonderful example, and Godly woman.  Let's face it, my Mom is pretty much awesome.

Here are the two of them together.  Still in love after 43 years of marriage. 

 

 

This is my Tony.  My other hero!  :)  Here he is showing how large his hand is, so you can see the comparison to the bear track in the next photo.  Cool, huh?

Here Sully is pointing at the Mama bear track, and Oliver is pointing at the cub track.

Evelyn liked seeing the bear tracks and wasn't nervous about it at all.  She has no fear!

Celina at our picnic spot overlooking Carter Lake.

My Sweetie walking through a meadow at the top of the trail.

I love this picture of the two of us.  I love being "the two of us"!

Here we are, the Jackson 6!   In a beautiful part of God's creation- ALASKA. 

 

 

 

 

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Jun. 22, 2008 - There's No Stopping Evy Jane!

 

 

Yesterday was one of the longest days of summer and we enjoyed every minute of it here in Alaska!

The day started off with our community wide picnic, which lasted until around 5.  After that we headed over to the lake at my cousin's house.  About 6 families of cousins were there enjoying the water, the boat, good food, and great company.

Lots of people got a chance to waterski (thanks, Tony for your great driving skills) and you'll never guess who skied for the first time!  EVELYN JANE!  Yep, our 4 year old successfully skied her first try.

Here are the pictures to prove it!

Love,
Leah

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jun. 19, 2008 - Teeth

For over a year now Oliver has had a "problem" tooth in the front of his mouth.  It was a baby tooth that refused to leave!  I know it has been in the wrong spot since last summer when I caught this picture of it at Disneyland on August 1st, 2007.

You can see the two baby teeth still in front, and the two grown-up teeth behind.  Well, we managed to pull one of the baby teeth mid-winter, but the other one was NOT budging.  And since then, there have been more problem teeth that have shown up.  Three in fact.  Three baby teeth that have refused to leave, even though the grown-up teeth have arrived.

So the other day, my sister-in-law and I decided to give it take matters into our own hands.  Mind you, Oliver wanted NO PART in this.  He was terrified that it might hurt, and even though I had already made an appointment for the dentist to pull it (which he has been dreading, counting the days, watching the calendar each morning!), I thought it might be less traumatic if Auntie and I pulled it instead.

SO WE DID IT.   Easy as pie (except for pie never kicks, screams, bites, yells or thrashes...)

BOTH OF THE TEETH- OUT!

 

I won't go into details, because let's face it... it wasn't pretty.

But the happy ending is that two less teeth are now in Oliver's mouth, and the grown-up teeth were already there to take their places.  Now just one more to go...

 

HERE IS THE EXTREMELY LOOSE TOP TOOTH:

After we pulled it: the grown-up tooth already there!

The bottom - where the misbehaving tooth has resided for over a year.  Now?  GONE!  So those two big teeth can move forward where they belong!

And one last shot of both teeth pulled.  And guess what?  Oliver survived and proudly marched outside to show dad the two teeth and the new smile.

:)

(notice the funky tooth on the right hand side?  Yep, he's next- the grown-up tooth is already in behind it!!)

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Jun. 17, 2008 - Waterskiing!

Tony had a great Father's Day this past Sunday.  We went to breakfast, then church, then home for burgers and fries.  In the evening we took the boat out so he could waterski.  If you know Tony personally, then you already know how much he LOVES to waterski.  Ending the day on the water makes him a happy guy.  

Since I'm always the one who drives the boat, we never have any pictures of Tony skiing (though we have a lot of my cousins skiing! ) 

So, this time I handed my camera off to Celina.  The following pictures were taken by her.  Good job, daughter! 

 

 

 

 

And the last one of the day I took of my sweetie.  I'm so blessed to be loved by YOU, Tony! 

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