April '23
Just a few highlights from April 2023. We went from ⛄ to 🌱.
 |
| Monday, 4/3/23. We started off Spring Break with a bang, haha. |
Easter, 4/9/23
Easter was at the end of Spring Break, and luckily by the end of the week it had stopped snowing and we enjoyed some beautiful sunshine! Scott and I took the girls to church and we had a wonderful day with family. The day before (Saturday) we went to an egg hunt at Grandpa J.'s assisted living, and unfortunately Robyn got sick. The kids had finished egg hunting and we were just sitting on the couch, and then Robyn threw up all over. 🤮 It was quite the mess (a lot was on me, but a lot was also on the couch and floor, lol), but we got everything cleaned up and then I stayed home with Robyn for the rest of the day. Scott's family was having a get together so he took the older two and they had a great time. Even with the little bout of Robyn's sickness, we still had a very happy Easter! 🐰🐥
 |
| 💖 |
Mother's Day, 5/8/22
I've gotten so far behind on this blog, but I'm determined to catch up! It's so fun to have this to look back on and remember all the fun times we've had and all the beautiful places we've been!
I had Scott take a nice picture of me with the girls on Mother's Day, but other than that I can't really remember what we did that day. 🙈 I think we spent Mother's Day at my parents', and the day before we were with Scott's family, and had a picnic and played pickleball at the park. It's always so fun to be with family, and on Mother's Day I'm especially grateful I get to be Mom to these three sweet, beautiful, smart, and strong girls. They are the best! 💕
 |
| I actually took these lilac pics a few days before Mother's Day, but they're so pretty I wanted to share here! 💜 |
Easter, 4/17/22
Happy Easter! I always love Easter with all the new growth and pretty blossoms after a long and cold winter. The girls got new Easter dresses, and it was such a beautiful, sunshiny day! My parents were out of town, but the day before Easter we got together with the Hadley side and had an Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's. It was a very fun day. 🐰🐣
Mother's Day, 5/9/21
It was so nice to be in Utah for Mother's Day. Usually in Alaska it's just barely starting to turn green, but here it was already so pretty and springy! We also got to be with our moms and family, which was so fun. We got together with Scott's side of the family the day before, playing pickle ball and having a picnic lunch at the park. Later on that day we got together with my side of the family and had a yummy BBQ dinner all together.
We snapped these few quick pics after church and they turned out so cute! I love being Mom to these three sweet and precious girls! I don't know how I got so lucky! Love them all so much! 💗💗💗
Ruby's Baptism, 7/7/20
One of the reasons Grandma and Grandpa wanted to come up this summer was to be here for Ruby's baptism! We were so glad they were able to make it up and spend this special day with us. Because of covid, the normal stake baptisms have not been taking place so we were able to do a special baptism, just for Ruby, at Point MacKenzie. Scott baptized Ruby in one of our ward member's lake, and it was perfect. We scheduled it for Tuesday, 7/7, because the weather forecast was the best for that day. It ended up being a gorgeous day, and Ruby said the water wasn't too cold, haha.
After being baptized in the lake we came back home and Ruby quickly changed, and then she was confirmed by Scott. She was given a beautiful blessing, and we're just so proud of our sweet Ruby. She is the best big sister and helper at home. She's always wanting to do what's right, and in most of her free time she loves to read the Friend magazine. She's such a good example for all of us and we're so happy she's in our family. Congratulations to our precious Ruby! 💗
Easter, 4/12/20
We've done so many fun things these past few weeks as it's been getting warmer, and I have so many pictures I want to post. First up, I'll start with Easter Sunday! It was a little bit of a different Easter this year, but still very special. With us not having church we've just been doing a little home church every week, with a short lesson and singing. We usually don't dress up, but we made sure to on Easter Sunday. The girls wore new dresses from Grandma Burton (they love them!) and I snapped a few pics. It was still pretty cold and snowy/muddy outside so we stayed indoors, but they still turned out so cute! Love these girls so much! 💕
On Easter morning the girls woke up to Easter eggs all over downstairs and their Easter baskets were filled with fun toys (LEGOs, haha) and yummy candy. We had a nice cooked breakfast and then had our home church. We also FaceTimed our families. It was a wonderful day. Happy Easter!
Christmas Dresses, 12/8/19
These pics are from after church early in December. The sun was shining and the girls looked so cute in their Christmas dresses. (See Ruby and Noelle in these same dresses here.)
Sunday Best, 6/30/19
I had my big camera with me because after church I took a few pics of baby girl in her blessing dress. We got to their church early and I couldn't help but snap a few quick pics of our girls, too. 😊
 |
| I love how they're holding hands 💕 |
Father's Day, 6/16/19
We took these pictures before church and they turned out so cute! I love Scott and our girls so much! Scott is the best daddy and best husband, and I feel so lucky that he's mine! Grandma and Grandpa B. left just the day before Father's Day (they also took a quick trip to Ketchikan to see Andy and Ali and their new baby Clyde! and then back here again), so they didn't get to hear us speak, but we did have a nice Father's Day dinner with burgers on the grill a few days before. I'm so grateful for my dad and for Scott who are both always there to take care of us and watch over us. I love you so much and Happy Father's Day!
 |
| 💕💗💕 |
Mother's Day, 5/12/19
Technically we took these pics last Sunday (5/5/19), but the intention was for today, haha. Scott left for St. Paul this morning and we look forward to hearing about his adventures!
Easter, 4/21/19
Spring in Alaska is definitely not quite as pretty as other places (we don't get blossoms until June-ish), but just getting all the sunlight and a little warmth back is so nice. We know that green and summer are near. 🌤🌷Happy Easter! How grateful I am to know that He Lives!
 |
| My sweet little bunnies 🐰 |
Sunday Best, 12/16/18
Life After The Quake, 12/2/18
I wanted to write a little bit about the earthquake that hit us on November 30 at 8:29 am. It was a 7.0 magnitude, and definitely the strongest quake we've ever experienced. Living in Alaska we have felt many earthquakes, but this was much stronger and much longer, too. Scott was already at work, and I was home with the girls just getting ready to take Ruby to school. The girls and I were all upstairs, and I was in the girls' bathroom with Ruby and Noelle about to do Ruby's hair when we felt it starting to shake. I knew Robyn was in the crib/toy room playing so I ran to her (luckily it's only a distance of about 15 feet) and the older girls followed me. We all huddled down together kind of in the middle of the room, but not right under the ceiling fan as I was worried it might fall down on us. The shaking lasted almost a minute, and it really was quite terrifying. The girls were all crying and clinging on to me so tight, and I remember I kept saying, "It's ok. It's ok. It's ok." I truly believed it was ok, as I never felt like the house was going to collapse or anything like that. The power went out about half way through the shaking, and when the shaking finally stopped we got out our lantern and flashlights. (It's still pretty dark at 8:30 am during the winter in AK.) Scott and I were able to get ahold of each other on the phone after a few frantic minutes of not being able to connect (I guess even cell phone lines get busy?) Scott's work sent everyone home, and then I got word from Ruby's school that it had been canceled as well. Our sweet neighbors, the Croce's, also came running over shortly after the quake to make sure we were ok. We're so blessed to have them right next to us.
The power stayed out until about 3 pm that day, but we were able to stay warm with our gas fireplace. We spent the day (and days following) a little bit on edge as there were many aftershocks (not quite as big as the 7.0, but in the 4-5 range.) Every time there's an aftershock our hearts start racing and we have to catch our breath a bit. It has definitely been a traumatic experience and something I hope to never experience again. Poor little Noelle has been the most affected by it, and still even now will get scared if she hears a loud noise like a car going by or an airplane flying overhead, especially at nighttime.
Overall I feel that we were truly blessed as we didn't have any injuries, and we didn't have any major structural damage to our home. Earthquakes of similar magnitude near major cities, like this one, have caused much more damage and many deaths. It truly is a miracle that there were only minor injuries. It's a testament to me of how important it is to have a strong foundation, so that when trials and tribulations come, we can come out on top and unscathed. With how much shaking there was (the closest thing I can think of to describe an earthquake is like being in a strong, strong windstorm, but the ground is also moving; it's very scary!) I can easily see and understand why you need a strong foundation to stay protected and safe. It's sad to think about earthquakes happening in areas of the world where houses are not built to the same standard as they are here. It would be absolutely devastating to have so much destruction.
We took these pictures on Sunday, a few days after the earthquake. I'm so grateful for this sweet family of mine. I have the best husband and the three sweetest little angel daughters. We are so blessed. 💗
Father's Day, 6/17/18
 |
| One of my favorite pics ever! <3 |
 |
| Holding all his girls :) |
Sunday Best, 5/27/18
 |
| All three girls have worn this dress! It's one of my favorites! See Ruby in it here. |
~Flashback!~ Easter 2014, 4/20/14
Christmas Dresses, 12/24/17
 |
| I still feel so lucky whenever I get a pic of all three girls :) |
 |
| Poor Robby, lol |
Robyn's Sunday Best - 10/22/17
 |
| Baby hands are so cute! |
 |
| Robyn was very serious the whole time I was taking pictures. |
 |
| Ruby was also helping me to try and get some smiles from Robbs. (It looks like she's crying here, but it's actually just a sneeze, lol!) |
 |
| Finally got a smile! |
 |
| All three girls in the dress with Daddy <3 |
Robyn's 1st Time to Church, 8/27/17
 |
| We got this dress when I was pregnant with Noelle. So glad Robyn gets to wear it too! |
 |
| She's already growing so fast! |