Home.Sweet.Home

It has been nice being home!

We had our 15 month check-up. Mason weighed in at 23 lbs. 31.5 inches and his head is off the charts (just barely)!

We had a BBQ with the Wells and the Timmermans. It was fun to catch up and get the boys together!

Grandpa took Mason up on Uncle Gordon's skidder! He loved it!

Mason is loving his new basketball hoop! Thanks Grandma Jana!

Mason is full of kisses and still loves bath time!

He has no fear and loves playing with his daddy - they sure scare mom sometimes!

He loves throwing ANYTHING! Especially rocks to the puppies at the creek!

We hate it when it comes time for Daddy to go back to work!

We only get our binky at bed time/nap time. We give our binky to Mickey when its time to get up!

Our exception to the rule is on Sunday's. Mason NEEDS (or Mom NEEDS) the binky to survive three hours of church (right in the middle of nap time)!

He is changing so much! He is starting to say a few more words and make lots of animal sounds. I feel like he is a sponge and learns multiple new things every day! It is so much fun! He is such a sweet boy and such a blessing to our family!

ALASKA - Mason and Kasyn

It was so fun getting our boys together! They are eight months apart and Kasyn is getting mobile enough that Mason will actually "play" with him! They took baths together, played with Kasyn's (and Peanut's) toys. Mason taught Kasyn some bad habits - playing with the dog toys and dumping out the dogs water! We went swimming - Kasyn wasn't too pleased at first but ended up loving it! We went on walks and went grocery shopping! Mason gave Kasyn TONS of kisses! And loved pushing him around in his walker. They are so darn cute together! I just love these two boys!

A lot of these are phone pictures so don't mind the poor photo quality!

ALASKA - The Adkins Family

After a few days in Anchoarge we headed up to Soldotna to visit Andy, Amaya and Baby Kasyn. Amaya has been my best friend since we were little girls. She and her husband moved to Alaksa almost two years ago and we were so excited to go visit!

Our only group picture down in Homer, AK. It was beautiful down there and one of our only days with good weather!


Homer, AK

Love my boys!

Kevin with his first silver on the Kenai. We went at a bad time for fishing =( Unfortunately we were right between Salmon runs and we had a bad day halibut fishing too. But they boys were able to catch a few salmon and it didn't stop them from going every night we were there. They would stay out til dark every night - which in Alaska was about midnight!

We went on a chartered halibut trip. Lets just say we were hoping for a MUCH better day! Amaya got sick (because it was super rough!), the fish pictured above was one of the biggest caught! We caught more sharks then halibut. None of us got our limit and we had to throw back all the fish Kev and I caught because they were too small. Our guide said it was the worst day of fishing he had ever had! (And he had been a guide for 11 years...) The day then took an even faster turn for the worst - we came home and I started to not feel very good either. I actually miscarried our baby that night. It was a very hard night (and week). It is an awful feeling. I am doing much better now. We have tried to keep in perspective that these things all happen for a reason. We were not very far along and I am grateful that it happened sooner rather then later in the pregnancy. We tried to not let it put a major damper on the rest of our trip. And I was very grateful to have the love and support of my husband and our good friends.

Kevin halibut fishing!

Early morning of fishing...

The Time Bandit's (Deadliest Catch) crab pods.

Amaya and I had such a great time just hanging out with our baby boys! It was so nice to catch up and not feel rushed to visit knowing we only have a few hours. We have sure missed them since we got home! Alaksa was a fun place to visit but I hope they will be closer to home at some point!

ALASKA - The Dunbar's

Kevin and I started out our 3rd wonderful year of marriage with a ten day trip to Alaska! Our first stop was in Anchorage. We stayed with some family friends, Bill and Jackie Dunbar. My parents were also able to come up for a few days. We had a great time visiting them.

A few highlights:

Kevin (somewhat) overcame his fear of flying. Dunbar took him up in the supercub (pictured later - white and red two-seater). After that flight he decided that flying wasn't too bad. Still not his favorite thing but its progress...

Celebrating our Anniversary with an awesome dinner at the Dunbar's. They even surprised us with a cake!

Our wonderful hosts with my family!

We sure love my parents!

Mason with Grandma and Granpda. Behind them is the lake the Bill and Jackie live on the their float plane. It is such a beautiful home and the view is breath-taking.

We drove up to see a glacier but the weather was AWFUL! So instead we went to a museum. Mason had a great time running around and listening to all the animal sounds. We also got to watch a neat video about how glaciers are formed.

Mason got to play basketball - which always makes him a happy boy!

Our family by the float plane. Bill took Kev and I and my parents up for a ride while Jackie kept Mason one morning. Mason feel in love with Jackie - and I think I can say it was a mutual feeling!

The super cub - Kevin's first ride in small plane! Bill took me up as well and my dad got to have some flying lessons! We got to see moose and the awesome scenery of Alaska!

Kevin and I on the float plane. We went out over the Cook Inlet then up to see Knik Glacier. It was gorgeous!

These are pictures of Knik Glacier. I wish the pictures did it justice. It was one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. The colors were unreal.

We had such an awesome time visiting the Dunbar's. They were great hosts and it felt so good to relax and not worry about homework! The weather was not overly cooperative - but we are used to the rain and really enjoyed our trip!

After a few days in Anchorage Bill had one of his friends fly us to Soldotna where we met up with the Adkin's Family...

Root Family Photo Session

Mom decided to just do the "kids" at home and the grandkids for the annual Root family Christmas cards this year. So we all were together over a weekend in July so we decided to seize the opportunity and try to get a few photos. These are the favorites... It was sure hard trying to get six little ones to cooperate and even look at the camera - let alone smile =) And Auntie Shey was a trooper!