You go girl!!!! Woooooohooooo!!!

OK folks.... I admit.... I was extreeeeeeemly disappointed when I woke up this morning to find that John McCain is taking our governor away. We voted for her two years ago so that change and "new energy" (one of her campaign slogans) could take place in OUR state!! So, I'm jealous... but what will be a "loss" for the Great State of Alaska, will be the biggest gain in our country to ever happen.

When she was elected, she wasted no time in slashing unneccesary programs... the Bridge to Nowhere, the former governor's unneeded jet that he bought with tax payers money, and the list goes on.

So now I say, let's get behind the ticket... yes, she is inexperienced (where John McCain has experience) and she has expertise that we need... like helping us to get away from foreign dependence on oil. She is strong pro-life, having just given birth to a Down's Syndrome baby in April. She and her husband, Todd, never once gave a thought to aborting!! Wooooohoooo!! I think she should be the next president.... maybe they should change the ticket to John McCain being VP and she being Commander in Chief!!! Yeah!! OK, now I'm rambling. Anyway, an exciting day for Alaskans and Americans.

And, by the way, her name is pronounce "Pay-lin"... and her husband is a snowMACHINE racer, not a snowMOBILE racer. Puhleeeeease!!!

Valdez 2006

If you would like to see what Valdez, AK looks like when it isn't raining, I have posted some pictures of our trip in 2006. They are at the very bottom of this page and they are just beautiful!

Valdez 2008

We had a quick two night trip to Valdez this past Wednesday through Friday. It was cold and rainy, but we really can't complain because most of the time when we go to Valdez we are fortunate enough to get really great, warm days... at least for one day each trip we've made. So we won't fuss too much about getting rained on this time. Here are some pictures of the trip. We met Andrew and Bryan C. in Glenallen... they flew in to Anchorage and rented a car. In Glenallen we ate a quick bite of supper (cold chicken and potato salad) then drove to Valdez together. The picture above is of Drew and Taylor "dancing" in the grass at Glenallen.

The Worthington Glacier, as seen through a dirty windshield. Bridal Veil FallsThis little rabbit is hard to spot in this picture. They keep rabbits all around the hotels and RV parks to keep the grass "short".Grant picked up a 4 ft. long log and dropped it in the puddle... I thought it made a neat picture to see how the water splashed. Out in the bayThe clouds stayed about this low the whole time we were there, so you couldn't see the beautiful mountains. The cutest little sea otter Ahhhh, the clouds lifted for just a few minutes. The twins' favorite thing to do in Valdez. Three little stoogies. (spelling error intended)

Pulling in from a 13 - 14 hour day of fishing.

Lisa and I spent the day walking around Valdez, trying to dodge the raindrops.

Heidi and Emily went on the boat this time and caught a few fish, halibut, ling cod and red snapper. But it was Darryl Q. and Bryan C. (sorry if I misspelled your name) who really "cleaned up". By this time of the night, after having been up for 16 or more hours, Andrew is feeling kinda loopy, as I, his adoring wife, look on. :)

We all got soaked. At the Worthington Glacier

All six of 'em, with a couple of tourists sliding down the glacier morain in the background.

My girls

My boys

Daddy and his sweet girls

The boys climbing onto the Alaska Pipeline

Bryan C. on top of the pipeline, with the boys under it.

The End (oh my word this was a loooooooong post)

Eagle Scout

One of our young men at church just "got" Eagle Scout. (I obviously don't know how to say that) We went to his ceremony last evening. It was very nice and made you realize the accomplishments of these guys who get Eagle Scout. Here are a few pictures.

Our friends, BJ, Mary and Scott D.




Congratulations, Jeremy, you are an awesome guy and you are an awesome Eagle Scout!

A few random shots

At one of our softball games, one of the little girls at our church was carrying around a mud-coated tennis ball. It was pretty obvious she was enjoying the mud! :)
Katie and the Taylor's little boy, Zachary.
Back when we had the walk for the Pregnancy Center, the kids got their faces painted, and I posted most of them but I didn't get to post Heidi and Taylor.
When Taylor gets tired, he goes to sleep... no fighting. He plays hard and then it's time to sleep so he can get up and play hard again. :)

Funny sight

All I had was my camera phone when I was driving in Fairbanks yesterday and we saw this funny contraption driving down the road. I really don't know what this is, except that it is a very old truck with very old items all over it. Sorry it isn't lighter but I took it with what I had. There are trees all around the back of the truck and an old stove with a stove pipe... it was the "Beverly Hillbillies come to Fairbanks" day, I guess.

Pam and Jonathan's wedding

A dear, sweet girl from our church, who has been the kids babysitter since she was 15, got married Saturday to a guy from Michigan. He is taking her away to live in Michigan, and I guess we'll have to be happy about it because they are an awesome couple, but we are going to miss her terribly. She has taught English in the school for 3 or 4 years now, and all the kids love her. Here are a few pictures.

This was after the ceremony, they came back up and let each row of pews out.

We're all waiting outside to throw our rose petals, instead of rice, on the new couple.

Heidi was humming. :)

I thought this was so cute of Sis. Boyd licking her lips. That is Sophia H. and her husband behind them.... I can't remember their last name.

Chad and Ginny

Pretty Danyielle

The bride and groom again.

Tracey looked so pretty... her dress was gorgeous. She is sister in law to the bride and groom. Steve is Jonathan's brother.

The bride's mom made and decorated the cake. Our dear friends, Ron and Jane H. Heather C. The Ford's Katie and Kaitlyn