Will it ever stop???

Redoubt is still blowing! It went off a few times during the night and then twice this afternoon within two hours. It was crazy this afternoon. It was like in a movie...the sky got really dark and you could see the dark cloud moving over us at a pretty fast pace. We did get a little ash, not much at all...it moved on toward Anchorage. Is suppose to dump there. You could hear it crackling on the snow as it fell. It was crazy. These have been experiences that we will never forget. I didn't get any pictures of the dark cloud...but our friends have some on their blog...check it out...http://thequiner7.blogspot.com/2009/03/we-have-ash.html

I borrowed this photo from the AVO (Alaska volcano observatory)

Zoey the puzzle girl

Zoey LOVES to do puzzles. She will sit and do them for hours. She has had the 25 piece ones and does them in a flash. While Gramma was here she worked with her on a harder puzzle that we had. She taught her to find the border and match colors. Gramma sent her a new one that is 60 pieces. She finished it all by herself. She was so proud. She talked to herself the whole time " Gramma said find the straight pieces, Gramma said match the colors" It was cute. We tried to get a picture of it all done, but Avery ripped it apart while I went to get the camera. The joys of having a toddler little sister! I guess we move on to 100 piece ones!

Happy 2nd Birthday Lee Lee!

I sure can't believe that my little baby is 2 already. She is talking up a storm. I am pretty sure that her vocabulary is much bigger than Rylee or Zoey's at this age. She is very funny! She is very strong willed and stubborn...(don't know where she gets that???) but is very sweet as well. We were going to have her party on Sun, but my in laws are stuck in Arizona due to the volcano blowing and ash. We will celebrate it soon, though. I will post party and cake pictures as soon as I have them!

Baby Bump

I have been having requests for belly pictures, I don't know why...I don't feel like I look too cute...but here they are. I will be 27 weeks on Sunday. A lady at Subway today asked if I was having a boy because of the way I was carrying. I say wives tale, but I do feel like I am carrying this one different than I did the girls. I am going to get some maternity shots done when I am further along. I know this GREAT photographer who is going to hook me up! That should be fun!

Again today!

Redoubt blew again this morning about 9:20, sending ash 65,000 feet into the sky. We were (are) under an ash advisory warning since the winds have shifted in our direction. It is all due to the elevation of the ash and the wind current...yada, yada, yada...too much science for me. All I know, is that we have not seen ash yet at our house. Ryan said there was a light dusting at the shop. South of us has it, Homer has visibility of 1/4 mile. We are hoping we stay clear. Say your prayers that it stops erupting or the winds keep in our favor!
I took the picture this evening on the way home. It is finally clear enough to see across the inlet. It has been really cloudy. It is beautiful outside, but the clouds are still hovering around Redoubt. I was hoping to see lava running down the side, Ryan told me to move to Hawaii.

Zoey's ponies

Zoey's hair is finally long enough to put into ponies. I think she looks pretty cute!

She blows again!

Redoubt erupted again last night at 7:40 ish. The ash went 12 miles into air. They said that that is the highest that ash has gone on any volcano that has erupted. The wind is still blowing it away from us, but they are predicting the winds to change this evening and if she blows again we will get hit with the ash. So please say some prayers that either the wind doesn't change or that it doesn't erupt again. I would rather not be trapped in my house for 3 days!

Our Master bed and bath

It is nice to have new space for us to be in. It feels so open and spacious. I love the balcony door and how much light we get. It might be a little annoying during our long summer hours, but it is really nice this time of year. I also love the bathroom and having my own sink. The jetted tub is great for my pregnant back. We are so blessed to be able to do this!

Avery's new Tinkerbell bedroom

I finally got Avery's bedroom painted and put together. She loves her new big girl bed and slept in it for the first time last night. She was not too sure when we put her in it last night and fussed a bit, but she slept all through the night until 8:45 this morning. Which is great! Now that I have her transitioned her new room I can work on the baby's room. One more project to cross off my list! :)

Kitchen and living room

We put on new countertops and added pulls to the cabinets


We moved the TV into the media room which allowed us to move the furniture and really open up this space.

Thar she blows!

After months of rumbling, Mt Redoubt finally blew. It erupted 5 fives during the night sending ash 9 miles into the sky. After the night of no sleep that I had you would of thought that I was up watching the whole thing. (sick kids getting up several times) Sure wish I would have known it was going on. I was already awake and could have tried to get some photos. I didn't know that it had gone off until my sister-in-law called and asked if it had erupted. She said that she smelled a funny smoke smell outside. I went out the front door to smell for myself and smelt nothing due my own stuffy nose and cold. I guess this might be the first time I am happy that my nose is all plugged. We are doing well. The wind is blowing away from us and taking the ash with it. We are happy for that. Just pray that the wind doesn't decide to change directions.
The power was out for a few hours this morning and they say that it was not related to the eruption. A major transformer or transponder between the peninsula and Anchorage went out. I guess pretty much the whole peninsula was without power. We are glad to have it back on. My kids didn't understand why things weren't working. I had some teaching moments with them and we all survived.

House Update

I have not been blogging much lately. I have been busy trying to get things done on the house. I have a NEVER ENDING LIST. We are very excited to be closing the loan on Friday. We will roll the construction loan and existing mortgage into one. We were able to get a great interest rate. Which makes our payment good. We are so blessed to be able to get all this done. It defiantly pays off to keep the commandments and live your life in a way that allows Heavenly Father to bless you. We are thankful to all the people who have helped us along the way.

I am in the process of painting Avery's new bedroom to get her moved into and then I can work on the nursery. I will post some pictures soon. I feel like I need to get things a little more done like like hang pictures and curtains before I go showing people. Stay tuned...I will get some posted!!! FYI...there is still some (lots of) painting to do if anyone reading this is just dying to come and paint!!! :) I would never turn down the help!

Some like it hot!

Ryan likes to make salsa and Avery likes to eat salsa. She reminds me of my brother when he was young. They both like to eat salsa and they both like to dip the same chip over and over and over just liking the salsa off. We have to give her her own bowl.

Spring Break??

This week is spring break...I think it should be called winter pause from school. I have friends posting pictures of their spring flowers blooming and this is what is looks like in my yard. I will have spring bulbs blooming toward the end of May. Rylee and Camry (her cousin best friend) have been enjoying the sunshine and playing outside. They made these two snowballs all by themselves. I tried to get a picture of them with them, but I wasn't quick enough. They were already inside by the time I got the camera.

I will not eat green eggs and ham

Rylee was very excited about St Patrick's Day. I am guessing that her teacher talked a lot about it at school. I decided to make a special dinner for them. We had green scrambled eggs and ham with green pancakes. They all started crying when they saw what I was serving, but once they tasted it, they thought it was pretty cool. Don't be jealous of my fine china. Notice that Zoey is dipping her pancake in ketchup not syrup. CRAZY KID!!!

Happy 29th Birthday Uncle Joe!

Just wanted to take a minute to wish my little, or should I say younger brother a Happy Birthday, since he has been taller than me for longer than I can remember. We wish we were closer to make you a cake and celebrate with you, but do know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. We do hope you have a terrific day!!! And remember the BIG 3-0 is just around the corner! We love you!!!

Yipee..we are finally healthy!

After three very long weeks, we FINALLY got to go to church as a family. We had sick little girls for quite awhile. First, it was bronchial with a horrible cough and ear infections. Avery even had to do breathing treatments and go on stronger antibiotics. While we were in the middle of that, we also got the stomach flu. Not so fun on its own, but even worse when already sick kids. The girls were very exicted to get to get dresses on and go. Zoey told me it had been FOREVER since she went to church. They were exicted to be back! I guess you know you are doing something right if your kids want to go to church. I am sure it will change in the teen age years!