Rainbows.....

How amazing are these pictures?
Living in Palmer, I don't see too many rainbows.
But, Eagle River..... they sure get some pretty ones!
Even DOUBLE RAINBOWS

The Alaska State Fair.... AUG & SEPT

I guess you could say, I have some catching up to do!
We don't have too exciting of a life, but I at least like to post pictures.
That is the best part about Blogging! Or so I at least think so!
We went to the fair twice this year. Once as a family, the 4 of us...and again after Bill went back to work. This time we drug Jennifer there! I had to go back, I didn't get to EAT everything I wanted to eat there! That is WHY I go to the fair. To get all the yummy food. Pathetic, I know!

The Pretzel place is always our first stop! They are the BEST. Homemade and fresh, hot and messy. YUM! We got 2. One for the girls to share and one for me. The girls wanted the traditional with salt and cheese, I got the cinnamon sugar one! Bill bought mini donuts right across from the pretzel booth. There went $10

We went on a Monday after school. Actually Sydney's first day of school. We chose to go that day because of the rides. It's zip strip day! And for those of you who don't know what that means.... it's one special ticket per ride. You pay a flat fee for so many rides. It's a better deal. We did realize that the kids are getting to big for the kiddy rides. So next year, we are moving over to the bigger stuff. Roller coasters and swings. They did get to ride the roller coaster but last year it was part of the kiddy rides, this year they bumped it up to the other section so I had to buy more tickets, cause all they talked about before the fair, was riding the dragon roller coaster! Here is a dragon ride, on the kiddy side.... I thought Sydney was going to loose it... she looked so scared for the first few minutes!

Sorry this picture is a little dark.
I couldn't wait to hold down the button long enough
I had to get this shot....
way up high.....
It's a no wonder Sydney was scared.
I don't think she rode this one last year.

This shot, I LOVE it.....Look at their hair!
You might have to click the picture to see it larger!
This ride stays in the kiddy section so I am not sure what we will do
next year about buying tickets. We may not be able to do the zip strip.
We may just have to go on a regular day and pay tickets per ride.
It just kills me, how expensive it is. $1 a ticket and each ride is 2-3 tickets.
Times that by 2 kids.... UGH! Onto Bigger and Better rides.....

The Orient Express the famous dragon roller coaster! I rode this thing last year, holy cow it goes fast. I didn't think the kids would like it, and they did. Hailey rode it a second time by herself. I on the other hand was NOT able to do it again. I felt sick. I just can't do rides like I used too!

Hailey and Sydney are in the back, it's a cute picture. I was kind of bummed they put another girl in there with them, but I guess they needed that extra body so they weren't sliding all over the place. I am telling you, this thing goes fast. They wanted to ride again... but we said no. All the tickets were gone!

We did learn about a NEW booth this year.... hair extensions!
The 3 of us girls all got one. It was tough deciding on 3 colors. They last for a few months so it was hard to choose! The blue is a little too blue for me, so next time I won't go blue. Hailey and I are still wearing ours... but Sydney's pulled out this last weekend.

It's fake hair that they put in.... and they use some kind of glue to attach it to your hair, right near your scalp. I did not expect it to last this long. I am impressed for $10 We even had to experiment when I colored my hair. We (Jennifer) wrapped it in tin foil. Worked....!!!! I enjoy the fair every year. It's so rewarding as a parent to see your kids get so excited! From rides, to animals, food, shows, exhibits! Man, I love the fair!!! It is an expensive little venture but so much fun. Lot of exercise too! We do so much walking! Well, basically I have too..... all that eating! Whew!

Sydney's Turn....

My baby is in KINDERGARTEN... WOW!
It's so hard to believe, the weird part is, she is almost 6.
It's having that "late" birthday. She is older than most of her friends, but they are all starting Kindergarten the same year! I am ok with it! I am sure in HS she will be too, when she will be driving before all of her friends! Uh, I can't think that far away, what was I thinking?
Sydney was so excited for school, it was finally her turn to go! She did the preschool thing, but this was different. Now she could ride the bus like her big sister. She also wanted to ride the bus on her first day! So, I told her I would meet her there, like I did for Hailey. Hailey said she would take her to class! It was the sweetest thing.... when they both walked in the double doors, I was waiting with camera, and they were HOLDING HANDS!
I am pretty sure, even now, a month into school, Hailey still drops her off everyday!
I love it when they get along! They are both so protective of each other! Makes me smile! Once inside the classroom, they were able to choose any table to sit at! Of course Sydney chose the table with the girls and the Playdoh! I stayed long enough to do the Pledge of Allegiance! Then I thought it was time to go, I didn't want to linger too long! I picked her up after school, poor thing.... she was so tired! It's hard work to learn! Overall, she loves school! Then there is me, I am already, tired of packing cold lunch for two! Oh well, it's the price to pay for FREEDOM! I'll take it!

First Day of School - Fall 2007

WOW, is all I can say! I can't believe Hailey is already in 2nd grade! And the work that she is bringing home. It's like I am going to school all over again! Hopefully, I can keep up and help her with the homework! Poor Sydney, she couldn't go to school yet! Kindergarten didn't start for another week. She went back in the house, with Daddy while I drove to school and met Hailey in her classroom! I asked her, and she wanted to take the bus, on the first day.... so I just followed in my car. If you click on the picture, you can see, the bus is WAY EMPTY! Most parents took their kids to school that day! We are almost the last stop too!
Hailey was very excited to be in her class. She saw lots of her friends. I was doing my normal mom thing, by taking pictures, and she was NOT wanting to pose, saying, "Mooooom" in that voice that means, STOP taking pictures, you are embarrassing me! I was hear broken. I told her just a few more, and I would leave her alone! What is 3rd going to be like? Will she still want me to come to school? Oh dear, I can't even think about that right now! I left class just a few minutes before 9am and drove to Eagle River.... it was time for YOGA!

Summer at the AK Zoo

The Alaska Zoo, it's one of our favorite places to go in the summer here in AK! I must admit, it's not the fanciest zoo, but the kids love it and it's great exercise to walk around! We buy an unlimited zoo pass, so to us it's worth the money! We had to see Maggie again, the elephant! It's the TOP animal we love to see! Soon, before winter, Maggie is being moved, possibly CA! She fell, and health wise they thought it would best to move her. Honestly though, once she is moved, I don't think she will the same again! Most animals don't do well during travel! The one good thing that may help her is, if she goes to CA, she will be in a place where there will be other elephants (4 and all African like her)! Maggie will always hold a special place in our heart.... we have lots of pictures of her!
Every year near Maggie are flowers.... they are so pretty! This year, I actually took some close ups! The sun was shining on them so beautiful!

Cancun, Mexico

Hi Everyone,
Click on the link to the right...
Shelley's MySpace
I have added LOTS of pictures from the trip that Scottie and I took to Cancun!
It was a wonderful trip, I would totally go back!
So much to see and do!
6 days was not enough time!

Enjoy... and let me know what you think!

Chopsticks

If you know me.... or have been around me lately, you will know I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Japanese Food. Aka, SUSHI! My favorite place is SHINES in Eagle River and they now have one in Wasilla. A few weeks ago, it took a long time for the waitress to bring me my "fork" and since I was starving I could not wait any longer so I had to "try" and use chopsticks. To my surprise and Jennifer's.... I could actually use those things, with a lesson of coarse!
So we snapped a picture to prove it! Now, it only lasted through the salad and some sushi, the main coarse was noodles and rice and there was no way I was going to have patience for that!!!

A Little Behind!

Opps... I am not sure why I am not better about posting!
I look forward to reading everyone else's Blog.. so why am I not better about updating mine? I think because when I do sit here, I go on and on!
It's never anything small!
June 25th was the first day the girls took Mary's "kids yoga" class! OMGosh, they LOVED it! They could have kept on going.... 45 minutes zipped by!
They also have class tomorrow and they have been talking about it all weekend!

The 4th of July we spent it as a family at Scottie's dad's house out in Wasilla. It was a lot of fun.... we BBQ'd, had ribs & sushi among many other goodies. Everyone was still stuffed when we went home. Since Scottie's dad lives on Memory Lake.... Scottie and Rodger brought their kayaks. Bill and Rodger took turns being the taxi drivers and gave all the kids a turn in the kayak.
I am assuming we will be doing this again, so when I was at Costco I found life jackets for the girls. This way, we have our own. The best part is, these jackets go up to 95-100 lbs. so you know they can use them for SEVERAL years to come. HA HA! Bill had to return back to work on the 5th of July... so that meant Jennifer came over on the weekend of the 6th and we scrapbooked! Needless to say, I still call myself a beginner. All I have done were ABC books. Those are small... 7x7.
I finally finished Sydney's ABC book... she was so excited and so was I to complete something that I took so long to do. I just needed to make more time! So my mission that weekend was to start another few 12x12 books. Hailey has a special book for "The School Years" So I successfully did Kingergarten and 1st grade. The book looks so GOOD. I did learn though, I printed too many pictures. So, I know this for next time. Oh, and that was NOT all... .I also started scrapping 2007 in a 12x12. I had to stop at our Hawaii trip because Costco misplaced 36 pictures.. but I have them now, so Jennifer and I need to plan another weekend SOON! I am on a roll! Needless to say, it was a WAY PRODUCTIVE WEEKEND! Thanks Jennifer for another FUN weekend!

Next is Bear Paw... Eagle River has a festival every year. MOMS Club has participated in the parade for the last 2 years. The girls and I rode/walked. It is a lot of fun, but I forget every year how FAST you have to keep up. This year was crazy fast... next year, I am going to watch. It wasn't fun to have to run to keep up. It was fun, smiling and handing out business cards. Hailey had a blast handing out bubble gum coins. Sydney was lucky and got to ride on the float!! This years theme was, "Pirates of the Bear-A-Bean" So it was easier than normal to decorate and be in costume!

This club is so wonderful and it disapoints me that we did not have a bigger turn out for the parade. 2 years in a row, low particapation. I hope the board reconsiders this for next year and chooses not to do it. It's too much work for those who do want to help. They can't always be the ones to do everything.
I was the only one in the group who was not invloved in decorating. I just came to walk. I was very surprised to see not more than 7 moms total there! I very impressed with the AWESOME job they all did. Our float rocked. Those ladies really pulled it off. The coolest part was, they did all the decorating at 9am. Since it was raining like crazy the day before. After the parade we went to Jennifer's and she made us lunch (fresh crab from Juneau on a yummy bed of salad with all the fixings) it was so YUMMY! After a full belly we were all pooped though!! I felt like I just ran a marathon! Since Jennifer and I were together again, you know what this means.... more scrapbooking!!! So I got to start another
12x12 book ... a special "Christmas Book" so I started that book in 1999 when Hailey was born... if you all can belive this, I am up to date current on that... I scrapped 8 years of Christmas! WOW!
OK, so what did I say about sitting here typing forever!
Man, I am so bad! Sorry this is so LONG...
OK, a few more pictures from Bear Paw weekend....
Check out this FIREWEED... I had to pull over and take some pictures.
Enjoy...



That's all the posting for now.... I am getting ready to leave for Cancun, Mexico with Scottie. It's just the 2 of us going. We are both so excited. We are finally using our trip we won from Tastefully Simple. I can't tell you how much I need this break right now... 6 days just the 2 of us and know one calling... MOM,... MOM... I'll take lots of pictures and share them when we get back!

Busy with Soccer

Well, you can tell school is out.....
and SOCCER has started! We are at the field 4 nights a week!
The girls each play 2 nights a week and of coarse they are on different nights!
Which brings us to be there Mon thru Thurs. It's actually good for us, it gets us on a schedule which is what we need in the summer since the daylight is always shining even in the wee hours on the night/morning!
I enrolled the girls in soccer camp! It's sponsored by MLS (Major League Soccer)! The price was worth it for the experience they received! Hailey was in the same camp last year and loved it so much she wanted to do it again! So camp was in the morning.... at 9am! Man, that was tough to get up, but we did it! Sydney wanted to play this year so her camp for her age group was only until 10:30am. But since Hailey is in the older age group she played until noon! So, that meant I was on the field for 3 hours. Which also meant they still had soccer at night! Let's say that was a long week and all we did was soccer! We never went anywhere! And if you know us, that is not the norm!

Here is Sydney and her coach! He wanted all the kids to call him "Candy Andy" So as a thank you we gave him candy on the last day of camp! We gave Hailey's coach a little something too... they called him "clean cleats" but his name was Craig. Hailey gave him a small key chain pocket knife that was shaped like an Ulu Knife! I thought it was really cool! Hopefully he did too!
Even though I spent A LOT of time on the field that week, it was worth it! The girls had a great time and I need to encourage sports as much as possible as that is one regret I have. I never played any.... and still don't care for sports! I am sure it would be Bill's dream to have the girls go to college on a sports scholarship! He loves sports! So far the girls are loving soccer, which is what it is all about! Being passionate!

1st Sprinkler Run of the Summer

These are the 1st pictures of the "summer" running in the sprinkler!
Our grass looks horrible though... .we have not mowed or done any summer up keep as we plan on burning the lawn SOON.
The reason for burning, is to get to the root and start over.
We have so much matted down, dead grass, we need a fresh start.
And from what we have seen, once you burn, it grows back GREEN and pretty FAST!
Let's hope we burn soon, or we will have waited to long... and it will be too late!
Enjoy these pictures.... aren't the girls so cute?
And do you those those beautiful colors with that new camera?
HA

NEW CAMERA

Hey, so EXCITED!
I got a new camera for my birthday!
I wanted something more compact, better zoom, date stamp, and a bigger LCD screen!
I got everything I wanted.
Cannon Power Shot SD750
This camera is brand new to Cannon...
It has so many COOL features I don't even know how to use half of them. I am learning though.
I carry my instruction manual in my purse along with my camera.
Here are a few pictures, I will post more soon.... along with what is going on with us! I really get into Blogging when I do it, I just need to be better about just doing it! Enjoy the pictures!!

Sydney & Glue Ear

Well, I guess since I am so far behind in posting, I need to start somewhere!
So, here it goes!
For the past 6 months or so, Sydney has been getting ear infection after ear infection followed by a sinus infection! It's not like they never went away but they kept coming back! Finally the pediatrician (Mary Ann Jacob) suggested we see an ENT (Ear Nose Throat) doctor. I was a bit nervous but thought it was a good idea. Dr. Jacob explained it could be nothing, but she thought it was better to see a doctor that specialized in this area instead of keep feeding more antibotics to poor Sydney! She is a trooper though, she never complained! We asked around for a good doctor. I thought, OK for once I should see a doctor in the Valley. Someone was recommended but after hearing nothing but BAD things about this guy, I thought, there is a reason I huff it to ANC. Anyway, a doctor was recommended. Creed Mamikunian I made the appointment, everything went smooth! His office was very impressive, clean, no clutter, the room where we met the doctor was huge, it had a chair, similar to the dentist. TV and lots of tools. Anyway, he walks in, very nice attractive man..... and very good with kids by the way! Has Sydney sit in the chair and takes a peek in both ears ... here is the COOL part! He put this tip in her ear and pulls over the microscope camera and we can see her ear on TV. He saw a chunk of wax, grabed a tool and took it out without Sydney even knowing what he did. That right there, I WAS SOLD.... Ear Wax and my kids are TRAUMA.... pinned down, crying UGh I could go on! But, once the ear was clean of wax he could see a discoloration in the ear. Which means GLUE EAR!! He looked at the other ear and nothing... clear!!!
He then showed me a video of him removing the glue ear in another patient. It was sooo cool to see. They made a small incision in the ear, and basically SUCKED out a fluid in the ear that is a thick consistancy of glue. Once removed, you insert a tube!! Peice of cake! This will only need to happen in her LEFT ear!
He also suggestioned removing her adenoids!! I was very concerned with all this news since we were leaving in 1 month for Hawaii. I asked him if this needed to be done ASAP, and he said, NO .... but she would be happier on an airplane if we did this NOW! So, I thought.... OK, I better do it, even if it means getting special plugs for her to swim on vacation!
Back to the glue ear... I think this is important and I want to educate those who may have the same problem!
*** Another clue is a child who snores heavily or who seems inattentive. If your child is a mouth breather, hyponasal voice, snores heavily or has sleep apnea, think of enlarged adenoids. This is another MAIN CAUSE of glue ear. ***
So, we went ahead with the surgery..... Sydney did awesome!!! Here is picture of her getting weighed!

The nurse was wonderful, Sydney was posing for me in her gown, she was watching Finding Nemo on the TV and playing with toys. The sleep medicine doctor came in and talked to her. All was good!


She chose which flavor of medicine she wanted to smell, (which put her to sleep) the doctor explained when she woke up she would have a straw in her hand to give her a drink and it was OK and not to take it out. Everyone was so wonderful. So, now it's time to take her to the operating room.... I held her hand, walked her down the hallway, took her to the door and gave her a hug and the nurse took her hand and that was it!! I turned around and got all teary eyed, because it finally HIT ME! I did ok, I never lost it. The nurse took me back to my things and then brought me upstairs to the waiting room. I don't think more than an hour passed and the doctor came up to see me that everything went GREAT!!! He did say her tonsils are large and he almost called me to have those removed as well. Hopefully those won't be a problem later. I was then able to see her in recovery!

She was sitting up, fighting the meds.... I finally got her to relax and lay back down. The machine reading her heartrate was so loud and once the nurse turned that down she was asleep for an hour. After reading my book, nervous as heck, she woke up once another paitent came out of surgery. The funny part that woke her, was this little boy, maybe 3 snoring, and LOUD! I got her dressed, the nurse helped us wheel her upstairs, I brought the car around and off we went. She seemed fine, no pain, not scared, but I was all prepared with towels and buckets in the car incase of vomit. Fortunatly, none of that! She slept the whole way home! Then when she woke up, after an hour of driving, she was alert, happy, like nothing happened! It was amazing!!! Recovery that day was easy too, she ate soft foods, but by dinner that night she wanted chicken with the rest of us!! I was sooo HAPPY!

Fun

image hosting

Did everyone remember to change their clocks AHEAD...???
Doesn't it seem a lot earlier this year?
I thought we normally did this around April!
It is nice to have MORE day light though... gotta love that!!

Relaxing.... at theYoga Retreat

As you all can see I am VERY VERY behind in my Blogging...
It's been over a month since I have posted!!!
I have even been to HAWAII and back..
As I am sure you have seen the NEW pictures to the right!!!

Right now I am in Wasilla at a bed & breakfast...
Pioneer Ridge
The Yoga class that I atttend, every 6 months we rent out the B&B and stay from Fri @ noon until Sunday @ 4pm! It's a wonderful experience with so much energy, people coming together to practice. It's so fun...this retreat there were SO many more options to practice, which was GREAT!!
The next one I believe is booked for Sept 2-3-4 I forget I have to look at my calendar. I hope Bill will be home next time! Along with practicing Yoga, it's been fun getting to know new people, and staying up LATE!!
When I get home, I can post a few pictures!!

Well I better go, there is another class starting SOON!
Namaste~

Shelley CAN cook like SANDRA LEE from Semi-Homemade

I love cooking shows.....I am sure a lot of that has to do with my passion for FOOD!!
Just look at me!! I am a recipe girl..... I have to have a recipe, and I have to follow it! I am not too much for winging it!

My friend Jennifer gave me two of Sandra Lee's cookbooks for Christmas. She has a cooking show, called Semi-Homeade and it ROCKS. It's on the Food Network. All of her recipes are quick, fast, easy and she uses a lot of ingredients that should already be in your cupboard. She is also famous for using ingredients that kind of cheat to get you done faster.
Jennifer came over on Jan 6th & 7th and again on Jan 13th & 14th we tried some of the recipes.
One being:
Mediterranean Chicken Bugers (I only could find ground turkey)

How YUMMY, does that look? It was pretty tasty if I do say so myself. The following night I made Szechuan Chicken with Green Beans and Basil. That was tasty too. All these recipes can be found in the Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade 20-minute meals cookbook. The first thing I made out of the cookbook was Kahlua Jerk Chicken. THAT ROCKS!! I've already made that twice. Jennifer also gave me the Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Grilling. I am excited to GRILL and test out some of those too! YUM! I was so excited about these cookbooks I had to order the Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Slow Cooker Recipes. Then I find out, they sell them ALL at SAMS Club. So far there is only one recipe I don't like.... Jennifer will vouge. Spicy Peanut Noodles. The picture looked so good, but it was NOT! Oh well. 1 out of 6 aren't bad!

So, if you need a gift for someone, I highly recommend. Every recipe has a FULL bright, colorful picture. Those are the BEST kind of cookbooks. SO THANK YOU JENNIFER!

Christmas 2006

WOW, I am a bit behind in BLOGGING.... to say the least!
My life isn't too exciting, but I always like to post pictures and I just finally uploaded them! Christmas this year was the most FUN yet! I did much better about my spending. This time I bought quality and quanity! I am sure I made Bill happy! This was also the first year the kids got almost everything on their list. And for like a week they kept saying, "Thank you so much Mommy, I really, really wanted this." They were so appreciative. Which makes me feel happy. Happy that they love what they got, but they were greatful they received! Being a parent is so hard, but times like this, it's rewarding!

We had a great Christmas, and we hope you did as well.

After the gift opening, we ate breakfast. I tried a new recipe my friend

Jennifer gave me.

It was VERY TASTEY. French Bread Casserole

I highly recommend it, especially if you like french toast. This recipe is very filling!

French Bread Casserole

10 oz. loaf French bread – cubed
1 1/2 half 8 oz. bricks of cream cheese - cubed
9 eggs
2 cups of milk
½ cup maple syrup
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
¾ cups chopped pecans (optional)

1. Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Cube bread and put in pan. Cube cream cheese and sprinkle over bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg (optional) to taste.

2. Mix eggs, milk, and maple syrup together and pour over the ingredients in the pan. Cover and put in the fridge over night.

3. In the morning preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pull casserole from fridge while oven is heating. Bake for 35 minutes. Sprinkle pecans over casserole and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Casserole is done when center is set.

After I pulled it from the oven I drizzled a little more syrup over the casserole and or you can drizzle more on eat plate when you serve.

After breakfast, we got dressed and went to Bill's moms house.

We had a nice afternoon. It was the 4 of us. Lee and we invited Brian over as well, Jennifer too, but I think she was on the phone, I left a message!

Food was wonderful we had turkey with all the trimmings and PRIME RIB.

YUM.... I was SO full afterwards.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.....