"The Fruits of our Labors"

The time came for us to harvest all the vegtables. I can not quiet explain the simple pleasure of planting, harvesting and eating the "fruits of our labors". We were able to share our harvest with some friends who enjoyed our potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, peas and a rasberry cobbler from Ruth's bushes. Our flowers in the front have finally decided to bloom. I guess we picked fall flowers. At any rate, these flowers are beautiful and fun to watch bloom.

Valdez

For our Fifth Anniversary Devin surprised me with a trip to Valdez. We were lucky to get beautiful weather for our drive. It was approximately 5 hours to get there from our house.

Of course there were a few stops along the way.

A highlight of the trip was discovering we could hike right up to the Worthington Glacier. It was spectacular. Once in Valdez, we explored and found some beautiful scenery.

We spent the night in Valdez and took the Ferry to Whittier. The ferry ride was incredible with the views.

We did get a little excitement when "code blue" was announced over the intercom stating that there was an overturned Kayak in the water in some very rough seas. We were able to see the rescue mission take place with the ferry rescue boat.

Of course, to get home from Whittier we went through a 2 mile long tunnel going beneath a mountain. This was one trip I have wanted to do and am so glad we were able to do it together.

It's a BOY! It's a GIRL!

We found out on Thursday that we are expecting a Boy and a Girl! We could not feel any happier. Things are looking really good so far. They are growing big and fast. The boy is at 10 ounces already and the girl is at 9 ounces. Normal is 7 ounces, so Jenny's belly is measuring at 24 weeks instead of 20.

Visiting Family

I had such a wonderful trip visiting my Family! I was able to first visit Utah. The best part about visiting Utah is that I have so much family there I can try and squeeze a visit with everyone. I was able to stay with Mom, Dad and Scottie. We had a lot of nice talks, good food and happy moments. Mom and Dad tried to make my stay as memorable as possible which I think they did a great jobat! I also was able to spend most days with Michele and Olivia. It was fun to see Michele's house and get to know my cute little niece. I did so much that it would take me forever to tell you about it but in a nutshell here are a few things that I was able to do: Mom had a baby shower for me that was so much fun!!! I was able to go to Bear Lake, eat the best shake at Caspers Malt Shoppe, go on a picinic to Smithfield Canyon, Visit Lillie and Clark and family, meet Hannah for the first time, see Chris and Konae and Ryker, and the list goes on and on.

The Second part of my trip was visiting North Carolina. I had never been back east but it was so fun. I think the best part of it was seeing my sister Anna and her family. It had been 2 1/2 years since I had seen her and her family. I also got to meet my two year old niece Aleah. It was fun to see how Anna's life is. I only got a glimpse, but do know that she is a role model to me and hope I can juggle family, work (teaching piano and home schooling) and Church callings the way she does. I cannot tell you all what a wonderful and meaningful trip I had. It was in a way an end and a beginning of a new chapter in my life. Thank you to all of you for your hospitality and the memories. I love you!

A Fun Saturday

We decided since Devin is home for a few days to enjoy the time together with a nice walk at Matanuska River Park and then end the day with a picnic. Mom and Dad Lucas were able to meet us at Mirror lake for a pleasant evening. We had great food, excellent company and a game of Skipbo to end the night.

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Expecting Twins

For those of you who don't know, Devin and I are expecting twins! We are due around late December, early January. Because the gestational period is different for twins it is really hard to give an exact date of when we are due. We are thrilled to have this miracle happen in our lives. At this point we have a couple hints as to what we may be having but wanted to get what you all think so vote and we will see if you are close.

Gone Fishing

On a very spontaneous note, Devin decided to go commercial fishing for the season. He left this morning to go down to Kenai. Adam (his cousin) had a few people decide they didn't want to fish last minute and didn't have a full crew so asked Devin if he was interested. Of course, Devin couldn't say no so he is off doing what he loves! Luckily he has enough time off from work and has a very supportive boss to let him go. Although Lexie and I will miss him at home during the week we'll see him on the weekends.

Holiday Weekend in Kenai

This 4th of July we spent the weekend in Kenai. It was nice to get away from the bigger city and just relax. We went to the parade and little carnival that the city of Kenai put together. We also spent a lot of time on the beach. We took a nice long agate walk, played with Lexie and enjoyed the peaceful sounds of the ocean. Overall, it was a great way to spend the holiday weekend.

Combat Camping

On Friday night we went out to Burma Landing which is a pretty popular spot to go salmon fishing. Devin packed all our things and as soon as I came home for work we headed out there. It is about an hour or so drive from our house. This campsite was like one I had never seen before. It was a small camp area but they seemed to cram in a lot of people. Each campsite had 3 tables and fire pits, and a place to pitch tents if you were lucky. We had two neighbors a father-daughter duo and some RV campers. We lucked out because they were quiet and we were able to enjoy our campfire in peace (except for some other RV campers that decide to jack up there radios!). All in all it was a nice get-a-way. The King Salmon were running slow and it started pouring rain during the night so we slept in a couple of hours and got up and left. One of these days we will have to go during a weeknight after work to see if we can catch ourselves some salmon.

Made it Back

On Monday we were able to make it back to the Gold Mint Trail at Hatcher Pass. This time we came prepared but didn't really need to be. The weather was beautiful, the scenery gorgeous and the trail was easy.

We were even able to see a beaver! This was my first time seeing one in the wild. Lexie had fun swimming in some of the beaver ponds as well. Fortunatley she didn't meet any beavers in the ponds she swam in.