spring time in Alaska

I think that the photos explain it all.

New car

OK so after Sean tried sooo hard to fix our van we had to finally get rid of it. The van kept over heating and finally we took it to a mechanic and found out that the head gaskets needed to be replaced. It would only be a $2,100.00 fix that is if the engine wasn't cracked then it would up the bill to $5,100.00 so all in all the van wasn't worth fixing.



So we went car shopping. We looked and looked and really couldn't find anything then we went to the Toyota dealership and found a 2005 Ford Freestyle and took it for a test drive. Then we went to a Park and Sell lot and test drove another Freestyle.



We ended up going with the one at Toyota it had less miles than the other one and were able to get an extended warranty on it. So we are now the proud owners (well when it's paid off) of a Maroon 2005 Ford Freestyle. The picture below is what ours looks like. I haven't taken a picture of ours and can't today because it's covered in snow!!

Update on the kiddos

OK so I know it's been forever since I have updated the blog. there have been many times where I will sit down to work on it and then either something happens that I need to take care of or I get side tracked. So here it goes.

Riley ~ Is doing good in school, we had parent/teacher conferences a couple weeks ago and was told that he is doing well but sometimes likes to socialize a little to much!! He is definitely our social one, he has so many friends that he plays with its hard to keep them all straight!! Beginning in July he will start football. Now mind you, when we went to sign him up for football I figured it would be flag football, man oh man was I wrong. He is signed up for full fledged tackle football!!! Practices start in July and games will start in August. I'm not really sure who is more nervous for him to play, me or Sean.

Aidan ~ So much has happened with him. He was having a lot of problems at school so we went through the whole thing on seeing if he would qualify for some "extra" help. Well during the testing phase of the process, the testing staff thought that they needed to test his IQ and all that. Well about 2 weeks ago we had a meeting to discuss what course of action that we could take with him and also to talk about all of the test scores that he received. We found out that Aidan has a high IQ for someone of his age. He qualified for the Highly Gifted Program!!! We are so proud of him,. What this means is that next year he will be going to Rogers Park Elementary in Anchorage and be in a class of children that are at his same level. They will still do the same curriculum as other students in the school district just at a much higher level. He spent the day at the school last Friday and loved it. He is so excited to go.

Liam ~ Is getting huge!! It's hard to believe that he is almost 2. He is into everything and talking so much more, It is into identifying body parts like nose, eyes, ears, hair, mouth, and hands. We had to move him to a toddler bed, not because he is climbing out of the crib but because he has gotten to big for it!!

Picture Details:

1st picture: Riley and his cousin Callie

2nd picture: Aidan helping Liam up the stairs on the playground

3rd picture: Liam on his bike.

OK I will try to be better at keeping up on this but I can't promise anything!

Brotherly Love

We were playing rock band and I guess that we were being to loud for Aidan and kept him awake. So he got bored and drew a mustache on Riley. All and all it was pretty funny, though Riley didn't think so.

My 1st Wordless Wednesday

My Little Rock Star

So Riley and Aidan got Guitar Hero II for Christmas. Liam loves to play with the guitar but it's to big for him, so I found this little one for him. He loves it!! It's so cute to watch him walk around the house with it!

Who could resist a smile like this?!?!?!

We are still here!!

Ok well I'm sorry that's it been so long since I have posted. We have been busy trying to settle into our new life here in South Central Alaska.

Sean is working at Fred Meyers. He started out as a day porter and next week is moving into the dairy dept. He is very excited. It has been a while since he has been in an area where he is comfortable.

I am still staying at home with the kids. Though that looks to be changing here soon, I will be going and getting a part time job. In a way I am excited, I will have some adult interaction!! On the other hand I won't be home for our nightly routines.

Riley is doing very well in school. He is very anxious for spring sports to start. We had missed the hockey sign ups so he will have to wait until next year.

Aidan, out of all of us is having the most trouble adjusting to everything. He is back on meds for his ADHD and it seems to be helping though we are still working on it. School is going ok for him he had areally rough start but seems to be doing better now.

Liam is growing by leaps and bounds everyday. He is starting to talk a little bit. He can say mama, dada, night night, bye bye (only to my dad), Day Day/ Daisy (my parent's dog), grandpa and grandma. He is trying new words everyday. It won't be long and he'll be talking all of our ears off!!

We are still living with my parents. Looks like we will be here until at least the first of June. We don't know how Aidan would handle moving again and starting a new school. So we have decided to just stay put for a bit.