Jeff, Jenn, Joseph, Josh, Johanna and Jonathan

Jonathan Turns One

2010-03-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Heaeaeaeaeaeaeaers Jonny! Gotta love that toothy grin.
Jonathan and Jeff enjoy playing in the snow. Jeff would lay on his back and Jonathan would sit on his chest and they would "daddy sled" down the hill behind our house.
Jonathan and Jeff are buddies. He gives great hugs!

Happy B-day Mom

2010-03-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

I may have figured out how to down size video to upload. Happy late B-day Mom!

Back in Blueberry Land

2009-09-21T01:22:00.001-07:00

Nothing like a gorgeous afternoon on the tundra picking blueberries as a family.

Fruits of our Labor

2009-09-21T01:20:00.000-07:00

It takes a lot of berries to fill a bucket.
Just a taste.

Jeff's favorite - Blueberry Pie

Josh's favorite - Blueberry Crepes!

Beach at Low Tide

2009-09-21T01:18:00.000-07:00

This is the beach in Togaik at low tide - miles of mud flats - great for playing "splat" with beach rocks.
Johanna and Josh on a boat ride.

Rainy Day Fun

2009-09-21T01:16:00.000-07:00

Princess Anna

Away in a manger...

2009-09-21T01:14:00.000-07:00

...No crib for his bed. Little Jonathan has to catch his zzz's where he can.

Salmon Fishing at Second Creek

2009-09-21T01:10:00.000-07:00

Our first Saturday in Togiak we tried to go to Second Creek, but on the way we saw a big grizzly headed to the creek so we gave him first dibs on the salmon. Later in the week Jeff went back with the boys and they were got stuck on the wrong side of the river for two hours because of an incoming tide. They had a great adventure and were just fine besides being eaten alive by mosquitos and no-see-ums. This was our first family trip to the creek.

Salmon Fishing on the Togiak River

2009-09-21T00:55:00.000-07:00

At the end of our first week in Togiak, our friends the Olsen's invited us out for a boat ride up the Togiak River to catch some silver salmon. It was an ideal evening, not a cloud in the sky. Here is a view up river. I love it that we have jagged mountains on the horizon in Togiak - even if they are distant.Our friend, Justin, is an Alaskan resident and can net salmon for subsistence. The net was thrown out on the water and within minutes, the little buoys started to bounce as salmon hit the net. The first two casts yielded 7 large silver salmon each. Joseph and Josh got pretty excited when the salmon came aboard flipping around in the bottom of the boat.
After the third cast only brought up 1 fish we decided it was time to head for home.

Captain Justin and his trusty first mate, Jeff.

Joseph's First Day of 2nd Grade

2009-09-21T00:37:00.000-07:00

Joseph was moved ahead to 2nd Grade here in Togiak because he's such a great reader and math whiz. He's got a great native teacher and is keeping up really well.
Here he is lining up on the first day - such a brave kid. Some of the other second graders looked pretty grown up next to him. He hasn't seemed to have a problem fitting in - the kids have been really accepting and Joseph loves friends.

The Family Car

2009-09-21T00:29:00.000-07:00

Who needs a minivan anyway? Our roomy new Honda is just perfect for a family of six.

Just back from town with a stop at the Post Office - we LOVE our packages!!! Thank you Chris! Groceries go in the box on front.

Our New Home

2009-09-21T00:18:00.000-07:00

This is the view from our living room window - the photo doesn't do it justice - it truly is incredible - even more so now that fall has arrived on the tundra - more photos to come!

Looking to the left out our window, you get a great view of Togiak School.

Jonathan in the BOB in the foreground - our apartment in the background. The stroller was a lifesaver in the airport and has been a wonderful on and off road vehicle for trips to and from school and across the tundra.

Johanna at the park across the street from our house.

TOGIAK, ALASKA

2009-09-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

Jenn and the kids flew out of the fog and landed safely in Togaik on Friday, August 21 a little after 4pm. After nearly 36 hours of travel we were happy to be "home." Most of all we were excited to see Jeff after 8 weeks of separation.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T22:30:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Eve this year we were invited over to our friends, the Robertson's, for dinner and a Nativity program. Being great with child, I got to play the part of Mary with Jeff standing in for Joseph. The kids were all wise men and women, riding camels and bearing gifts for the new born King. Like the Preston's, the Robertson's have a soup and bread tradition for their Christmas Eve dinner. With the soup, bread, cheese and crackers, lots of family and little kids running around spilling food, having fun and making noise - it felt just like home. We missed being with you all and were grateful to be adopted members of the Robertson family for the evening.

Christmas Greetings

2008-12-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

We thought it would be fun to send homemade Christmas cards to Grandpa and Grandma in China. After several afternoons of glitter paint, glue, sequin and tinsel smeared clothes and papers, we gave up and decided a photo would have to do. Sorry.

Happy 4th Birthday Josh!

2008-12-15T22:30:00.000-08:00

Joshie was very excited to have his own birthday party this year. It turned out to be a sort of Christmas/birthday party. We made snowflake candy necklaces, read How the Grinch Stole Christmas and went on a treasure hunt for Santa's missing sleigh. We played musical Christmas presents, snowflake marshmallow drop, pin the nose on Rudolf and decorated gingerbread cookies. It was a great kick-off to the season of high-sugar consumption.

Josh wasn't exactly sure what kind of cake he wanted this year - as long as it was chocolate. So he ended up getting a chocolate Joshie cake.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T22:30:00.000-08:00

It was a lot of fun to host my parents and brother David for Thanksgiving. We decided to try cooking our turkey overnight in a roaster oven. We were awakened at 6:30 am to the delicious smell of roasted turkey already falling off the bone. Still, the dinner turned out splendidly - complete with the traditional sweet potato pie casserole - a must for every Thanksgiving. Jeff had fun taking David out rabbit hunting and the kids LOVED having David and Grandma and Grandpa to play with. You all are welcome back anytime for a rematch of Ticket to Ride.

Pie Anyone? We decided everyone needed their own pie and then we could share. The pecan was a fun new experiment that will need to be repeated.

Oh Christmas Tree!

2008-11-30T18:37:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving we drove up North Fork in search of the perfect Christmas tree. We were glad to have David and my parents along for the ride this year!

Happy 6th Birthday Joseph!!!

2008-11-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

In lieu of a party this year, I told Joseph that I would come do a science demonstration for his kindergarten class. The kids were a great audience and Joseph was a spectacular assistant.

In honor of his current passions, Joseph had a "Lego - Ninja" cake this year for his birthday. Ever since we rented Kung Fu Panda last weekend, Joseph and Josh have been running around the house trying to put holes in the walls with their latest ninja moves.

Presents!!!

Joseph has turned into quite the amazing Lego builder. He got a new Lego spaceship for his birthday complete with alien attack ship. He and Jeff put it together that night. He has since torn it apart and combined the new set with his older pieces to create all kinds of ships, space stations, Mars rovers, etc.Mischievous Anna

Hunting in Buffalo WY

2008-11-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

Jason called on Monday and invited us to run over to Buffalo to fill a couple of doe tags. Jeff got out of work a couple of hours early on Friday and we were off. Saturday morning Jeff and Jason hopped into the truck with three little tag-a-longs. Jeff was able to get his two deer and the kids had fun going on the hike to drag them back to the truck. We decided to be kind to those of you who prefer to not see the animals and we'll just show the Dears, and not the Deer.

Hunting at Ferris Mountain

2008-11-02T17:43:00.001-08:00

Jeff waited all month for a chance to get back to Ferris Mountain (near Martin's Cove, WY) to fill his deer tag. He finally got a chance last weekend and was able to shoot a nice buck, which is now packed away in our freezer for the winter. He's hoping to head out again this month for a cow elk. He has two more deer tags around Buffalo, WY. If everything works out we should have a full freezer by the end of December!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T17:34:00.001-08:00

Ladybug, Batman and the Black Ranger (Power Ranger)

The kids have been looking forward to Halloween all year and I don't think they were disappointed. They each brought home a grocery sack full of candy. We trick-or-treated Main Street and around our neighborhood before hitting our friends' house for doughnuts and hot chocolate. The kids took turns ringing the doorbell - sometimes that required a little team work. Johanna was the most enthusiastic of all - running from door to door and refusing to relinquish her candy basket even when it was so full it started cutting off the circulation in her arm.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-11-02T17:28:00.001-08:00

Last Monday night we carved Pumpkins for FHE. Johanna was the only one who really got into scooping out the guts. Her word for pumpkin now is "goo-ey."Joseph decorated his pumpkin at the local nursing home (Josh gave his painted pumpkin to his adopted "Grandma" at our table.) Josh's carved pumpkin came from preschool and Johanna has our family pumkin.

First Snow of the Season

2008-10-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Church was cancelled today due to icy roads. We had Primary at home and then Jeff took the kids across the street to romp in the snow.
Homemade ice cream.
Watch out!
Innocent Joe would never dream of throwing snowballs.

Our Kids

2008-10-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, between Conference sessions, we headed over to the park for our annual fall family photo shoot. I LOVE the results. I didn't think that the boys had changed so much this past year, but when we put these photos up against last year's version, it was obvious that they are growing up.

Looking at our beautiful, happy kids brings to mind a poem by Anne Campbell that has been quoted on occasion in General Conference,

You are the trip I did not take;

You are the pearls I cannot buy;

You are my blue Italian lake;

You are my piece of foreign sky.

Autumn in the North Fork

2008-10-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we took a drive up the North Fork to see the fall colors. Fall just might be my favorite season - especially on beautiful fall evenings like this one.

Y'all may have noticed that the image quality of some of the recent photos has diminished somewhat. With Jeff being so busy lately, I've have relented to get behind the lens a little more often.

Anna, on the other hand, is perfectly happy to remain in front of the lens.

The kids loved to play in the soft sand along the river. Here they are constructing a tee-pee out of drift wood they collected.

The wood from the tee-pee came in quite handy a little later on for some good marshmallow roasting.

ROASTING Marshmallows

2008-10-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

This is a funny sequence of Josh roasting his marshmallow. He likes to make sure they are well done. Luckily, no forest fires were started.

Horseback Riding

2008-10-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Last week our friends, the Robertsons, invited the kids over to their house to ride horses. Johanna was pretty excited to be on a "cow."
Here is superhero Joshie "Lightning" Goodrich astride his faithful steed, Thunder.
Play attention to Joseph's shorts and t-shirt. It was a gorgeous fall day in the high 70's. We've dropped a few degrees since then.

Soccer Boy

2008-09-28T21:20:00.001-07:00

Joseph is having fun playing soccer again this fall. Not being the competitive type on the field, I think he enjoys practices more than games - and playing at the park afterwards with his friends. Joseph has a great talent for making new friends.

Backyard Fun

2008-09-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

Johanna likes to cook.
Taking time to smell (and taste) the flowers.
"Daddy's home!!!" Jeff arrived home in the middle of our photo shoot and Johanna took off running. She loves it when her daddy comes home!
These are my other children who lived at our house this past summer and still arrive on our doorstep every afternoon at 3:30 to see if Joseph is back from school.

Peach Jam

2008-09-28T21:11:00.001-07:00

I got connected with a special order of peaches coming up from Utah this past week. We got a box of peaches and apples. Yeah! Johanna's new favorite word and food is "apples." The kids and I made some yummy peach jam - the boys favorite part was grinding up the peaches in our automatic food grinder - messy, but fun! Now Jeff's job is to make the pancakes to put the jam on.

Kids Play Group

2008-09-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

I'm in charge of the preschool play group in our ward. This week we went out to another sister's house to feed the chickens, lambs and goats and play in a little maze made out of haystacks. We had a little extra excitement when one of the mom's (who is allergic to bees) got stung and had to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. We actually got two field trips out of one - the farm and meeting the sheriff and paramedics.

Trip to Billings

2008-09-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

This Saturday we took a trip to Billings. Jeff took the kids to the zoo so that I could attend a temple session. We are enjoying some beautiful late summer-fall weather - my favorite season of the year!

Adventures with the Kids

2008-09-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

LOOK MOM, NO TRAINING WHEELS!!!

I had all but given up on my goal of having Joseph learn to ride his bike without training wheels this summer. Turns out, all I had to do was take them off his bike. Joseph was quite determined as he tried over and over to make it just a bit farther - picking himself up after every crash. Now he goes all the way around the block and keeps on ridin' Go Joseph!

MARTIAN EXPLORATIONS

Not to be outdone by his older brother, Joshie took his Mars Rover for a little exploration of the Red Planet.

BEING CUTE

Johanna just loves to be photographed. Here she is showing off her new butterfly carpet.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

2008-09-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

I always thought that it would take something pretty incredible to inspire me to join the blogging craze. The birthday of Granpa Joe and our desire to stay in better contact during his and Grandma JoAnn's sojourn in China have finally driven me to it. May our future posterity thank you for this record :).

First Days

2008-09-07T16:05:00.001-07:00

First Day of Kindergarten. So far so good, Joseph LOVES school.

Joshie was really excited to start preschool this year with the same teacher Joseph had last year at Little Explorers.

With her brothers away at school, Johanna is busy developing her musical abilities.

Summer Fires

2008-09-07T16:01:00.001-07:00

View from our front porch of the Gunbarrel Fire (burning since late July west of Cody).

7th Anniversary

2008-09-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

For our 7th anniversary, Jeff and I hiked to the top of Heart Mountain, 7.6 miles round-trip and 2,560 vertical feet to a summit of 8,123 ft. We're glad we left the jogging stroller, kid-carriers and kids at home - yeah for babysitters!

Camping in Red Lodge

2008-09-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

An hour north of Cody is a beautiful mountain resort called Red Lodge. We decided to play tourist for the weekend and check it out. Despite a few mosquitos and a sleepless night in the tent (thank you Johanna) we had a fun trip. The highlight for the kids was the candy store on mainstreet.

Johanna is not about to be left behind by her brothers.

Summer Fun

2008-09-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

The kids' favorite addition to our backyard this summer was our new sandbox.

Another summer favorite... WATERMELON!

Riding in the 24th of July Parade

Our Garden

2008-09-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

This summer we planted a small garden with tomatoes, cucumbers, zuchinni, summer squash, peas, lettuce, and spinach. The kids love to help pick (though not always eat) the fresh veggies.