HE CRAWLS!

He crawls! And when he does, his number one destination is his little cousin Sean (two months).  Sometimes he tries to love him a little too much. For weeks he has been putting all his best moves together to get what he wants. Three days ago he moved his booty up in the air just right and pushed off. Life as we know it in the Jenkins household is about to change.

Sean and Aunt Megan have come to visit us from Las Vegas, which, by the way, is just as hot as Saudi.

Both Zach and Ethan love new baby Sean.

Ethan especially loves to give him kisses.

Is This What The Future Holds?

Tomorrow I follow up with the doctor about my knee. It feels a hundred times better, probably because I have really followed his guidelines. I am interested in knowing if I can start running again, as well as the other activities I miss. I have one soccer game left in the season, but I am not going to risk getting hurt AGAIN right before I return back to Saudi. I was just asking myself if I would ever get to play again when a friend of my husband sent this awesome picture...

...alas, they were only the cheerleaders, not the players.

Plane, Trains, & Automobiles

A FAVORITE SUMMER TRADITION!

Train rides with the Alaska Steamers.

A group of train enthusiasts have built a small scale train yard. They run a 20 minute train ride through the Wasilla woods with fun surprises to discover along the route.

We go over and under trestle bridges...

and pass several miniature villages with Alaska themes.

This one is a tribute to Athabaskan Natives.

This year dinosaurs were a fun and exciting addition.

Lastly, the star of the show!

To some this may look like a junk yard, but it's just part of the Museum of Transportation next door.

Antique planes, trains, and automobiles...

for little boys to explore.

Fire engines spanning the years were a favorite.

The last few are just a few fun shots because old things are just cool!

8.5 Months

I wanted to do a little photo shoot before Graham's eighth month birthday completely passed us by and this is how he felt about it.

He did cooperate a bit better later.

Life skills learned this month:

• Went from sorta sitting up momentarily to sitting up with confidence
• Stretching to reach for things, as well as push ups
• He pushes himself both forward and backward

He loves to redistribute toys from the toy bin throughout the room and will do so for extended periods of time.

Two bottom teeth finally broke through after months of drooling, and he has begun to feed himself num nums-- Gerber puffs-- as Ethan calls them. If you don't get them on his tray fast enough he starts pounding on it and fussing. I haven't seen them in Saudi so I am a bit concerned.

Lastly, he loves to prepare magazines for recycling.

The next day he was all smiles for the camera.

His interests have changed so much since we arrived. Our plane ride home will be a whole different experience.

A Step Back In Time

I lived in Anchorage for 7 years and never knew about the Natural History Museum. It was a perfect, inexpensive afternoon adventure. What I liked about the museum was that IT WAS TOTALLY HANDS ON! All the bones, pelts, fossils, shells, etc- only a few things were off limits.

The boys carried around clipboards with pictures of things they were to find throughout their visit. They loved marking them off with the dry erase marker as we went.

There were oversized microscopes and slides to look at, water experiments, and static electricity balls.  They also made straw rockets and learned about Mars.

*No child was hurt during this photo shoot. He was just MAD!

I love the no mess fossil and dinosaur dig.

Gobs of extras soft play dough...

with great accessories.

Lastly, a chalkboard that took up an entire wall.

It was one of those rare "yes" days: Yes, you can touch it. Yes, you can play with it. Yes, you can make a mess and not have to clean it up. Yes, we can stay longer.

Overheard

My boys constantly fight over the same toys. They punch, hit, and wrestle each other to be the first in line for something. It is almost impossible to buy one something and not the other without a huge fuss. They will complain the entire day about being bored, and then the last few moments before bed they become totally engrossed in a toy that has been at their fingertips all day. They seem to become the best of friends once they are both in time out for fighting.

On the flip side...

I often find them snuggled up together, sharing a blanket and enjoying a show together instead of using all the couch space, or playing superheroes together at the playground, or finishing each other's lunches.

The other evening this is what I overheard Zach saying to Ethan during a fifteen minute period.

• You have two choices. You can choose to watch the Star Wars I want to watch or you can choose to die.
• Just go to the garbage and stay there!

THE BEST FOR LAST:

• Do you want this booger? It's got candy in it.

Ethan did not take Zach up on any of his offers except for the movie.

It will be very interesting to see how both change when Zach starts school in the fall. Will Ethan thrive on some Mom time or will he just miss his big brother all day long? Will he continue to be bored or will he love having all the toys to himself?

Serious Brownie Points

I woke up yesterday with a HAPPY 34th BIRTHDAY email waiting for me from Chris. It said "I hope you enjoy your present," so I knew something was in the works. I spent the afternoon at the park with the boys and then returned home after a little birthday shopping to find these...

They are gorgeous and thoughtful but the note inside is what really got me.

"Happy Birthday to the girl who has made me happier than I ever thought possible! I hope you have a wonderful day. I love you. XXOO Chris"

Chris warned me when we were dating that he was not a good gift giver. I have to say overall he has done really well. Sometimes the best gifts aren't things to hold in your hands but things to hold in your heart. You've earned some serious brownie points babe! After receiving flowers I went to my favorite restaurant, Simon and Seafort's. Then, on a last minute whim after getting the kids to bed, I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Lonely

People keep asking me if Chris is lonely while we are away. My response is... he better be! Then he sends me this picture.

I guess he is desperate to keep busy.

Actually, this picture was taken especially for our Cowboy/Sheriff Ethan. He loves horses and has an imaginary one named Chico. He told my mother when she arrived home last week not to be alarmed about the horse tied up by the wood pile on the side of the house.

Chris has had a very long "honey do list," and he has painted (with a bit of help) our living room...

eating area...

kitchen, and bedroom. He has also updated our lighting and continues to work on our home network. Hopefully, this will help bring the house into this century.

He also took a trip last weekend to Qatar with some buddies since their families are home for the summer. We adore you and miss you hon! Thanks for all your hard work! XOXOXO

Rehabilitation

THIS IS MY THERAPY!

My knee injury has changed from being painful to a weird sort of stretching sensation. As per doctor's orders, I have not been running or hiking, but I have put over 100 miles on my bike in less than two weeks. I'm not sure that's what he had in mind when he said biking was ok. I just can't help myself! I ride through fresh bear scat, scan the horizon for eagles, and watch the tide change along Turnagain Arm. I probably push myself a bit harder than I should some days. An added bonus is that I get to spend quality time with one of my favorite people, my DAD, while my boys are well taken care of at home with the best MOM ever.

A Sunday Afternoon

In Saudi, church is two hours away, and after the three hour block friends graciously feed us and then we journey home. Generally people gasp and say, "how awful for you!" but my reply is that I don't mind it. The boys are quiet and happy in the car (with a little DVD assistance) so Chris and I have 4 hours worth of conversations each week. Who else gets that? I don't have to cook a Sunday meal and when we get home the boys have a snack and then get ready for bed. The Sabbath is kept much holier that way compared to us trying to keep them entertained at home with appropriate Sabbath day activities.

During our stay here we have been ward hopping, visiting different friends, and attending any meeting except for the 9AM... until today, and it wasn't so bad. Yes, we got up earlier, but I basically dressed the boys while they were still comatose. It goes much faster that way. After lunch I actually got a fifteen minute snooze on the couch (I cannot remember the last time that happened).

Until Zach decided to fall head over heels down the stairs. When I got to him he was crying that cry where you know they really hurt themselves. He was holding his arm tenderly and I thought for a moment that he might have a serious injury. As I took him in my arms between gasps and sobs he says, "That was SO COOL!"

After all that we still had a beautiful sunny afternoon to fill. So we headed off to visit with family and friends. Uncles are the best!

Some homemade goodness was in the works.

While the ice and salt did their thing we did ours.

We visited...

and executed as many mosquitoes as possible.

Zach hit the jackpot out by the raspberry bushes.

Then this homemade raspberry goodness was served.

While a serious rafting trip was being planned by the adults, the rest of us headed out for a stroll in Kincaid park.

After two pit stops, barely stopping the boys from dropping rocks from the bridge on passing cars, a nursing break, being chased by pirates, several renditions of "I'm a Little Tea Pot", and numerous "I'm too tired to walk" meltdowns, we finished the 1.5 mile walk.

This guy is smarter than the average bear and defiantly more curious. It took him no time at all to figure out how to open the bear proof garbage can. After he opened this door for a passerby to dump her garbage he ran over excitedly shouting, "yeah mom I just did some service!"

When the boys disobey and lose a privilege they dramatically ask if there is anything they can do to earn it back. Sometimes when I'm feeling generous or merciful I will let them do acts of service equaling their age to redeem themselves. So although Ethan wasn't trying to redeem himself, I am really happy he is getting the gist of service. It was a proud mommy moment.