Wednesday, June 23, 2010

A Fly-In Fishin' Trip

My sister, Christy and brother, Andy came to visit us for a week in June. While they were here we decided to splurge and take them on a "fly-in fishing trip". So the 6 of us boarded this plane and flew for 39 minutes to arrive at Dune Lake.
When we arrived we took all the gear up to the cabin that we would be staying in and then got right to fishing. Kelly was very patient because 5 of us aren't great fishermen.
Here's Christy fishing from the shore in her wader boots.

Christy and Andy fishing together, or maybe we should say they were tangling their lines together.
Dad was teaching his boys the basics.
Chancey and Momma being patient
Before Andy learned to drive his own boat, Kelly took Christy and Andy out on the lake.
The boys and I hung back and played. We made sand castles, and the boys did races into the water to see who could run the furthest without falling.
Both Chance and Hunter ended up in underwear, shirts, and lifejackets.

Andy decided that he should learn to drive a boat, so Kelly gave a brief lesson and then Andy had a BLAST!!! Christy was getting nauseous because Andy was having so much fun.

What a handsome Boat Captain!

Chancey caught one!!!

Nice rainbow trout
Hunter caught a nice rainbow too. I didn't believe him when he had something on the line. I thought for sure it was just a snag of "lake salad".
I was wrong!

Dad giving instructions on how to gut a fish. He forewarned the boys that when they turned 10 they would be taking care of their own fish.
Hunter ate a couple of eggs that fell out of this one.

After a fun day of fishing, this is how we found Hunter sleeping in the morning.
(Perpendicular to the bunk and not in a bag!)

I woke up looking as beautiful as ever.

The morning we left Andy caught his first fish EVER!!!
Yipee!
We left the lake having caught 5 rainbows and 1 silver salmon.
It was a great time, so serene and beautiful. And we didn't see any bears...phew!
The plane came and picked us up around noon. It was warm in there and the ride was a little bumpy. Andy and I were in the very back of the plane where it was the most warm and the most bumpy and we got sick. I was able to hold it together, but Andy had a different story!
Yuck!
I guess and Oreo and a Soda aren't the best combo for a bouncy plane ride.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Run Baby Run!!

The running club in Fairbanks put on a very informal cross-country run for kids. They could choose to run .75 miles or 1.5 miles.
We told Hunter about this opportunity and he seemed pretty interested. So, we clocked what .75 miles would be in the car, and then we had him run it on the treadmill. He liked it, and he thought it would be great to run in a little competition.
We took his friend Ian with us, and thought he might enjoy running too. Apparently, it isn't "his thing."
However, Hunter was so AWESOME. I was a very proud Momma! He was pushing hard, and focusing. He was very excited that he passed TWO Dads (who were running with their kids).
He is sure that the Sketchers had a lot to do with how fast he ran. He finished his race in 9 min. and 10 seconds. He was just so cute all red faced, out of breath and proud of his accomplishments.
I congratulated him and then sent him back to go get Ian and push him in. He really almost had to DRAG Ian in.
It was a fun evening and he can't wait to do it again.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Lost Boy

It is a sad day in my life that I have to share a "lost child" story, but it happened. The tale has to be told. We LOVE our library and they have some really great things going on in the summer. So, naturally we go to the library activities a couple of times each week. Last week they happened to have a petting zoo. There were goats, rabbits, chickens, and a lamb. We had a great time and as you can imagine. Lots of our friends were there too, so after we got done with the animals the boys played, and I visited. Three of my friends and I stood at the edge of "the woods", which aren't really woods- just some sloped hills with lots of trees in a small area. The kids were running back and forth and then they were playing hide and seek. All the mom's were keeping an eye on all of the kids as they would pop in and out of this tree area.
Pretty soon this boy Jackson, in the yellow shirt above, comes and says, "We can't find Hunter!! We were playing hide and seek and he went to hide and we can't find him anywhere!"
At first I was thinking he just was in the middle of one of the bushes and wasn't coming out, so I circled the area two times and there was no Hunter. I ran to two other ladies I know and told them Hunter was missing and what he was wearing.
I frantically ran alongside a pretty long fenced in area of land around where we were. However, I knew that there were crosswalks at both ends of the fence so I just thought maybe someone ran fast and got away with him. I was so panicked, but tried to keep my cool. But, I just kept thinking about some dirty old man with my darling son, and how he'd never be the same Hunter again (If someone really had him). And how you can't report "missing persons" for 24 hours (at least on tv) what kind of stupid rule is that??
So I ran up to scary people and asked if they had seen a boy in an orange shirt and gray sweat pants, I just didn't know what else to do except run the perimeter of where he could be.
It felt like eternity, but it was probably 10 minutes, when someone came up to me and said, "We found him!"
What a relief!
He came running up this path to me. I didn't hug him first! I wanted to hear the story.

So, his story went like this:
"Mom, we were playing hide and seek and soon I couldn't see you, so I thought you left. I decided to go look and see if I could find the jeep and see if you were still here. So, I walked out to the parking lot (quite a way from where we were), and saw the jeep so I knew you were here somewhere."
I gave this cute boy a hug, and told him I would never leave him. I reminded him that Chance was still playing over with him too, and that I wouldn't EVER leave them!!
So, I'm sure you are dying to know how in the world I didn't see him and he didn't see me, when I was standing right by where they were playing.
The answer is this.....there was a big white truck parked to the right of me and he must have been at just the right angle to not see me and so he took off to the parking lot. I of course didn't see him walk past because he was on the other side of the truck.
Anyhow, to his defense it was a good idea to see if the jeep was still there (if he was a teenager). It wasn't a great idea to leave his brother if I would have been missing though :)

Hunter now has a new plan of action if he ever can't find me. He should stay in one place and find a grown up, with kids, and tell them he can't find his mom or dad.

Glad I found my lost boy!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Catchin' You Up on Life With the McGee's

I know, I know, I know.....I haven't been keeping up with the blog. SORRY!
We have been doing things, and having fun too. So, here is the lowdown!
We got a chance to drive through Denali National Park in our own vehicle, before the park opened to the public, and the tour buses. We thought it would be a fun way to spend the day. It is about a two hour drive to get there, and then we drove probably about and hour and a half once we got to the park.
We didn't know if we would see much wildlife, but low and behold as we were getting ready to take Chance potty.......
We saw this guy coming down the road!!! AMAZING!!!
He was about 5 feet away from our truck, he bit at the post of the outhouse, scratched his back, and looked around a bit. Then he was on his way. IT WAS SO COOL!! He wasn't near as big as I thought he should be, but Kelly thought he was probably only 2 or 3 years old.
The boys were going nuts about it. I'm just glad we weren't already in the outhouse and came OUT to find him standing there!!

When we got as far as the public traffic was able to go. We got out and ran some energy out, looked at the scenery, and took some pictures.
Mom and her cute guys :)
My 3 handsome boys.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch it was life as usual. One night Chance was really struggling with eating, first he said he was tired and we wouldn't let him down, next he said he was cold so we gave him a blanket to put around his shoulders. I was cleaning up and Kelly was on the computer. I looked over and this is what I found. Chancey sneakily put his fingers in his mouth, put the blanket over his head and went to sleep.
Snug as a bug in a rug.

Hunter had preschool graduation in May. The Mom's planned this really great field day/picnic and awards ceremony for the kids. It was pretty fun, but very cold.
The girl on the left is Hannah Wappett. She announced to her Mom that she and Hunter will be getting married in the Anchorage temple, and she will be wearing a beautiful purple dress.
Hunter said he is fine with the idea!

Each of the Mom's got to say something great about their graduate. I told everyone that Hunter is so smart and is always learning new things.

We celebrated Mother's day! I am so glad I have my two boys, it is amazing how much a person can love two little Monkey's. Kelly made some yummy lasagna for dinner, wrote a nice note, and I got a lovely salad spinner as a gift. (I've really been wanting one!)

On June 8th we celebrated our 8TH anniversary!! (This picture was not taken on that day)
WE went out to a lovely dinner the Saturday before, talked about fun memories and the future that lays ahead of us. We've been through a lot together and hope to be through even more.
Well, there is a quick catch up for you.