Arctic Thunder Airshow

Um, wow.

I've never attended an airshow before. Now I wish I could go every day. Sometimes in life you just stumble upon something that just impresses the heck out of you. F-22s do that to me. I could watch and listen to them all day. I know my mother-in-law agrees with me since she went two days in a row.

Are you ready for photo overload? I took a few hundred pictures but I narrowed it down a little bit for you. It wasn't easy.


When we first arrived, we picked a spot to camp out then went exploring through all the display planes. Jake showed me where all the guns were on all the planes. Sometimes there was a rivet on a plane and Jake would claim it was a bullet ready to shoot out.


Looking for more guns.


Jordy holding up the tail of a fighter jet.


We found where they parked the Blue Angels!


I don't care who you are, that's awesome right there.


Seriously. That's cool.

The wing walker. See that chick standing on the plane as it gets ready to flip upside down? She's cooler than you.

Blue Angles F-18 Hornet


Touring some planes.


Snack time.


The Canadian Snowbirds.


The best way to view an airshow.


The AV-8B Harrier. This plane hovers. It was like a spaceship. It just sat there and parked in the air. Sometimes it would spin in a circle or slide from side to side. It was LOUD. And also awesome.


More Canadian Snowbirds.



Jake loved his toy Blue Angel.


Jordy loved the popcorn.


The Harrier again. Still hovering.


Really loud.


This is how Doobie rolls. I totally just punned unintentionally.


The best seat in the house. Plus he had a telephoto lens. Me = JEALOUS.



F-22. The most amazing, loudest, impressive thing ever. So fast. Did I mention loud? Josh called them "scare planes."


A little pyro during the joint forces capabilities demonstration.



Running around crazy because we are so excited for the Blue Angels!

And then falling down and crying!

The Blue Angels C-17 did a couple of fly-bys before the big event.


Jake, getting things started.



Not even I realized at the time, how AWESOME this shot would be. I should be a professional photographer.


One upside down, one right side up, just cruisin'...at 400 miles per hour.


Showing off their 18 inch spacing. EIGHTEEN INCHES!




Flew right over our heads.


Water bottle missles.


Perfection.


The end!



I'm already excited for next year! WOOHOO!

Mom and Pops

Last week my ma and pa were in town. We had grand plans. None of them panned out.

The very first day we were late picking them up from the airport. That really set the tone for the rest of the trip. We decided to take a trip to Homer the next day. We packed up the RV, headed out of town and broke down an hour later. We managed to limp Rory home, thank goodness. We took a few photos while we were broken down on the Seward Highway.


At least we got a nice Alaskan photo.


And the train came by. Bonus.




Then the rains came. Record rainfall. This meant we were housebound for a week. No adventures, no 4-wheeling, no fun. Ma and Pa both claimed that it was the most relaxing week ever. They said they actually enjoyed sitting around, watching and listening to the kids, reading books and messing around on the computer.



Pops is laughing because Josh was trying to watch him play his computer game and ended up sprawled over the back of the couch and then across the his arm, the arm that he was using to control the computer mouse. Pretty sure he lost his game.

Darrin decided to take a quick pilot car job up to Fairbanks and back. A 12 hour job for a good chunk of money. He ended up stranded up there, sleeping in his car and due to circumstances beyond his control, ended up being gone for about 30 hours. At least the truck he was piloting offered to drive his car home on the trailer to save us some gas. Unfortunately, Darrin forgot to close the sun roof so the truck threw mud into the car for several hours. So that's awesome.

The day after mom and pops left, the weather was beautiful. Of course it was.

I Still Blog

I'm here.

Things are good.

Jake's going to basketball camp at the school every day. He played in his very first game ever yesterday. His team lost but he didn't want to come home. Daddy is thrilled that he is having fun.

Jordan cried happy tears yesterday when she realized she could read. She was sounding out some letters in one of Jake's reading books and she read the words "big cat" all on her own. I freaked out and praised her for reading and she got all emotional which made me all emotional so we sat down and read a bunch more together.

Doobie is finally pooping on the potty. He goes on his own and then comes and tells me. I'm happy. I probably just jinxed it.

We had a 5.2 earthquake last evening. It was one hard jolt followed by a moments of gentle rocking. All my kids came running. Jake thought something was under his bed and Jordy thought her blankie tooted. She is credited with breaking the tension.

Every Thursday I go to a bible study and I love it. I cherish the time together with a bunch of ladies that I adore. Paul's letter to the Phillipians is rich and full of truth. I can't get enough.

I just finished my first week of P90X (extreme workout series). It is a killer and I can't eat fruit snacks. I ate one, ONE fruit snack yesterday but aside from that I have been following the nutrition plan very closely.

I'm tired and sore, happy and content. I'm looking forward to the end of this month because my mommy and daddy are coming to see me! I hope the weather cooperates.

Outdoor Camp

Last week Jake attended Outdoor Camp for a week. He learned to shoot a bow and arrow, build a shelter, and start a fire, along with other survival skills. He also went on several miles of hikes. Darrin was one of the instructors at the camp and he said Jake was a real trooper considering he was the smallest, youngest kid there.

Darrin said that Jake made the hikes far longer than necessary because he couldn't stop RUNNING back and forth from the front of the line to the back of the line to check on all his friends. He was exhausted every night.

Jake said it was the most fun he ever had.

Kindergarten Interview

I just realized that I never blogged about Jordan's kindergarten interview.

Before starting kindergarten at our school, each new student has an interview with the principal. She explains some things about kindergarten to them and has them perform a few readiness exercises (writing their name, shapes, numbers, etc...) and prays with them.

Jordan was very excited for her interview and I expected her usual hilarity. For some reason though, she completely clammed up and didn't have much to say. There were a couple of quote-worthy moments though.

"I have two brothers. One is Jake and he doesn't share and one is Josh and he poops his pants."

When the principal asked her if she had any questions about kindergarten she said, "Yes. I love straws."


All dolled up like a princes...




In the parking lot


We arrived a little early so we waited patiently.


...and impatiently.

Our Anniversary Date

Tonight D and I finally got to go on our anniversary date. Dinner at our favorite restaurant, Chili's and then a movie at the brand new theater. We saw A-Team. So happy. It was great. I love my man! ELEVEN YEARS! WOOT!

11 Years

Today is my eleven year wedding anniversary. As usual, we are not actually going to see each other but we'll be together again tomorrow! Only twice in eleven years have we actually managed to spend our anniversary together. Crazy summer schedules keep getting in the way.

So happy anniversary to US!

Photography Weekend!

This weekend Tracy and I have FOUR photoshoots. At this moment we only have one left. I just wanted to share this one picture because it might be my favorite ever.


Baby Autumn, 9 months. HIL-ARIOUS!

If you want to see some more of baby Autumn, check out our photo blog at www.psphotographyalaska.blogspot.com or click HERE.