The BIG, unforgettable first day of school

This story is so long overdue and is quite the funny one...

We have been so excited for the first day of school.  Zack was starting kindergarten and Ashley was all set with her "cool 2nd grade clothes."  Zack was a little nervous, but very excited at the same time.  Josh and I were anxious to make sure everything would go smoothly for Zack on his first day so that he would transition fine.  Well...

The first sign of trouble: Ashley tells me her alarm clock has been acting funny and sometimes doesn't work.  I told her not to worry because I would have mine set as well.  Famous last words.

Big day arrives.  I roll over in bed, and look at the clock.  Immediate crazy panic sets in, it is 7:37!!!!!!!  School starts promptly at 8:00.  For those that know my panic attacks, I can have the tendency to act like a chicken with its head cut off.  So, yes, I jumped out of bed, starting yelling to the kids upstairs they needed to get up.  Josh immediately was my calming influence, telling me that was no way to start Zack's first day of school.  Of course he was right!  So, I ran to get ready while he woke up the kids.  After I was quickly ready, I ran upstairs to kids getting dressed, brushing teeth, and Josh making poptarts.  We all jumped in the car (luckily lunches and backpacks were ready to go), threw Natalie in her seat with her PJs on, and sped off to school as fast as we could in a 20 mph zone.  Josh drove right up to the entrance, and I jumped out with the kiddos to walk Zack to his class.  We actually got to school at 8:03.  I still have no idea how that happened :)

Looking back now, I can only laugh at what happened.  I think maybe, in a small way, it was better for Zack to not dwell on the impending moment of separation and be sad about it.  I didn't get to do the big breakfast I had planned, but we did it the next morning.  We also got our first day of school pictures after school!  We bought Ashley a new alarm clock that evening and I now have my iphone permanently set with 2 alarms to go off every morning.  Definitely a day we will NEVER forget. 

 

Feel like a very bad spider bite today?

We were cleaning our boat, and I found this black widow next to the motor!  I was very freaked out, but thought these pictures would be a memory to have.  It was so bright that the picture didn't turn out that great (plus I was understandably worried).  It was HUGE!  I made Josh kill it and we discovered that a lot of wasp spray does kill them.  We then picked it up the dead spider with a fly swatter, put it on the sidewalk, and swatted it until it was definitely not coming back to life, just in case.  Scary!

My cousin's wedding

I went for a weekend to myself to Lubbock for my cousin's wedding while Josh and the kids had a daddy/kid weekend.  My parents and all my sisters except Cheri were there, and it was fun to see lots of family.  Of course, my cousin Mary looked beautiful!

Mary with her brothers and family...

 

The sister pictures! (Just for the record...Jenny was wearing these huge heels)

I had a nice time seeing grandparents and loads of family.  Too quick of a trip though...

Surprise date!

I have the best husband ever!  He and 2 other husbands had planned a surprise date for 3 months!  On that night, we were told to dress formal and we were picked up by one of the couples.  We all three drove down to Fort Worth together and went to a wonderful Lebanese restaurant.  We then finally found out the big surprise....RIVERDANCE tickets!!!  I had wanted to see them for so long and just a week earlier, I was lamenting to myself how they were here in town and I would probably never get to see them.   But, I have the best husband ever of course who knew how loooooonnnnnnggggg I have been wanting to see them.  The show was fabulous of course!  We took a picture of the three of us afterwards.  We had such a great time and good memories with good friends. 

Anchorage/Katmai bears #13

We all stayed in Anchorage for a couple of days after the cruise. We sadly had to say goodbye to Todd who Zack had a great time with...

One of the days in Anchorage, Cheri & Chris, and Josh & myself went on an airplane and then a seaplane to Katmai to see some bears. It was definitely worth the trip as we saw 16 different sightings of bears. There were important rules to follow to make sure the bears didn't become accustomed to humans or human food. We enjoyed the high planked areas that allowed us to be very close when observing the bears. We were so appreciative of aunts, uncles, and grandparents who helped watch our kids!

Be sure to check out Josh's picture of this bear.

Our quick dinner afterwards:

Skagway...Alaska continued #11

Skagway was a cute little town with an old-town feel. Some of us woke up early to hike out to Gold Rush Cemetary and Reid Falls. This shot is of the upper part of the falls. It was beautiful! The cemetery was also interesting because of the very old tombstones.

My dad and I left the falls first so we could get back to the cruse ship and help those left with the kids. We knew we were pushing the time to catch the bus back to town so we started to jog. We neared the bus stop and my dad yells that the bus is coming. I go into a dead sprint, running as hard as I can. It was just like a movie where the bus speeds past with the person running behind it waving their arms trying to get it to stop. It didn't stop...I got a good work out though!

My dad and I then walked back to town, and passed the local LDS church on the way. Interestingly enough, our bus driver on the way to the Falls was LDS and told us about the members there. They apparently have about 80 or so members in the summer and then only about 25? in the winter. Apparently, there are a lot of people that come up to this area just for the "warmer" summers.

We then all went on a 4x4 trek up the mountain to have a halibut bake and beautiful views. We drove these mule carts which were pretty powerful. It was a lot of fun and the halibut was very good.
Uncle Todd and Natalie. We all couldn't believe she fell asleep on the way because it was so bumpy.
Zack's pictures:

Our cruise ship:

KidZone activities tonight was Prince/Princess night!

Juneau #10

Juneau was a rainy day, but we still had a blast! The kids made their own fun while waiting to get off the cruise ship...
We first checked out the Mendenhall Glacier and really enjoyed walking along the grounds there. Heather and Todd saw a momma bear and her 2 cubs, but the rest of us missed that. BUMMER! Check out Josh's image of Mendenhall Glacier.

We took the tram to the top of the mountain and hiked around...still in the rain. Luckily it stopped for a little while. The kids all had walking sticks and thought that was great!

Back on the ship, it was pirate night! Face painting, pirate hat coloring, treasure hunts, balloon swords...what could be more fun :)
Ashley's pirate face:
Grace loved getting her pirate face paint. Despite our repeated asking, Natalie was sure she did not want hers painted.
With their treasures from the night!

What could finish the night off better than with dancing! We went to a lounge where the littlest girls could dance a little. They captured everyone's attention because they were so adorable and because Grace has the most interesting dance style I have ever seen :) There are really no words to describe it! I caught Grace midair in this picture. Natalie was content just twirling around.


I needed to post this video up for my sister of Natalie and Grace dancing. Absolutely hilarious dancing. A little long, but at least take a peek for a minute. It is really funny!

Hoh Rainforest/Sol Duc Falls #5

Next, we enjoyed exploring different areas of the Hoh Rainforest. The kids did so great hiking!


Zack took an interest in photography by helping daddy and taking some of his own pictures...


We camped in the most beautiful spot in Mora Campground. Huge trees, close to the ocean, quiet and peaceful. We loved having hotdogs and chili with smores for dessert over a campfire.



The next day, we went to Rialto Beach, Sol Duc Hot Springs and then went on a hike to Sol Duc Falls. Rialto Beach was very foggy, but Josh got this cool shot and this one.

Sol Duc Hot Springs was nice and the kids really liked the warm water. I was surprised at all the Europeans there!

At Sol Duc Falls, we got this great picture of our family.


My photo of the falls and Josh's photo:

One funny thing, Josh was taking a longer time with some photographs and the kids were getting restless so we started walking on ahead. I had Natalie in the backpack with Zack and Ashley walking close. A woman came up to me on the trail, grabs me by the arm, and says, "You are quite the woman, quite the woman." Made me feel good :)

Josh in action and one of his photos along the hike: