Abigail is 18

I can't believe we have a child who is 18!  Where has the time gone?  She was just a baby...  Now she is a beautiful young lady that loves Yhwh with all her heart.  She has grown so much even in this last year..  she has been a joy to be with and I love watching her mature.

It was a beautiful day, so we were outside until the bugs got bad.

Deborah and Anna made all the decorations and the piniata.

Paul watching Abigail blow out her candles.

Lavonne's Grandmother, Cheda Mary, at Abigail's party.

A few days after Abigail's birthday, it was a gorgeous day.  Grandma Effie was here so we took her across the lake and up the Tazimina River.  Abigail, Deborah and I paddled rubber kayaks across the lake.  Paul gave us a ride up the river after he dropped his load as the current was swift.  

The birthday girl jumping into the freezing cold water.

Deborah

Quentin

Joshua

Abigail and Deborah helping the little kids across the river.

Paul visiting on a log with his mom, Grandma Effie.

Anna practicing her volleyball.

Momma bear and two cubs.

The kids waded and played until a bear and her two cubs showed up about 300 yards upstream.  The kids decided they'd swum enough.  

Paddling downstream in the kayaks was great fun.

The video below is from the boat while Paul is taking us upstream.  You can see salmon swimming around us.  They have already turned red so they look like big goldfish.  I also tacked on a clip of  the momma bear showing up with her two cubs.  You can hear the excitement in our voices.

If you get this post emailed to you, click on this link to go to the video http://youtu.be/FwSG_HI3yTc

Benjamin turns 6

We had fun celebrating Benjamin's 6th birthday.  My baby boy is growing up!  

The kids decorated with paper airplanes

I don't even think they knew he was getting an airplane for his birthday... 

The next 3 shots are of Benjamin dunking in the freezing cold, glacier fed lake!!!

 

 
Benjamin is an incredible little man.  He's full of life and joy and he truly wants to please Yhwh. He ties his own tzitziot and he understands that they are to remind him to love Jesus and obey His commands.  He is our expert on which animals are clean and unclean :)

June's Going's On's

At the beginning of the month we got a bunch of wood in for the basement.  MARC brought it in on Samaritan's Purse's Casa.  It's always fun to have a "big" plane come to Nondalton.

Bye Casa, thanks for bringing our stuff!

The boys found a new use for bug spray and a lighter.

Dad bought a fuel truck in Iliamna last summer.  We were going to drive it down this winter but there was to much snow.  So last week Leon was down from Port Alsworth with his barge and brought it across for us.

We had to move things around a bit to make room for it.

We got the garden planted in all this warm weather.

We put a fence all around it to keep the dogs out.

 It has been very warm the past few days.  It hit 80 a couple times.  It hasn't been that warm in years.

We've been outside kayaking and swimming all  the time.

But in the evenings we've been having thunderstorms.  Very rare for Alaska, complete with green sky and everything.

We've had a couple good double rainbows too.

Summer Time

School's out! (ok, so it was a couple week ago but I'm a little behind).  Every year before school gets out our village has a clean up day.  All the kids walk around town and pick up trash so we use it as a day to clean up the beach in front of our house and our yard.

On the last day of school the school has an award ceremony and school picnic that the whole community is invited to.

Deborah and I don't even go to school and we still got an award. :)  It was for the running club.

I guess maybe technically it's not a picnic because it's inside.

The boys enjoy the food. :)

School being out means summer time and summer time means starting the garden.

Quentin finished the green house while Sarah and I planted our seedlings in it.

Summer time means warmer weather which means we can tow behind the boat without completely freezing.

We put a rope out behind the boat and hang onto it while laying on a little round sled.  It actually works pretty good.