Its Fall!

We were finally able to take a breather as a family and enjoy being together. That happened to coincide with a very beautiful sunny day after a summer of rainy weather, so we decided to take a ride up the road to the Eagle River Nature Center and take a short walk into the woods to look at how Mother Nature is beginning to transition from summer into winter.

First of all, take a look at this mountain. Yes, it is very pretty and you can see how sunny it is. But look at the top of the mountain. What is that? That is correct: it is snow. Here in Alaska we call this "Termination Dust." It is the first sign that summer is ending and that winter is just around the corner. It is has been a rainy, cool summer, so I am thinking that it will probably be a pretty early, snowy winter.


Connor absolutely loved beginning outside. This is all new to him of course, but he really seems to enjoy being outside and getting dirty and communing with nature. He just strolled along, picking up leaves and rocks, eating popcorn, and sometimes he would just stop and stare at the trees and the leaves that floated quietly to the ground. For a child who seems to live to make constant noise, he seems to enjoy the quiet movement of nature.


Jessica and the boys discovered this hollowed out tree along the trail. I guess that it reminds Jessica of a tree that she used to sleep in when she went camping in California as a child. I know that she and the dudes enjoyed climbing in and around the tree and coming up with theories as to how it was hollowed out.


This is just an awesome picture of the fellas as they found this seat to rest their weary little feet on.


Finally, once we returned to the Nature Center, Kierin really enjoyed looking through the telescope. He didn't discover any animals or anything on the mountains, but his imagination took over and he was looking for "stormtroopers" or Scooby Doo monsters...

Finally-An Update!

Sorry that it has taken so long-almost a whole month, but we have been caught up in the back to school routine. Well, not routine, more like a frantic, disjointed frenzy of throwing together lesson plans and trying to stay caught up on the grading. Still, I realized tonight that it was time for me to put everything school related on pause and share with those of you who read this what exactly the Frick Jrs have been up to since you heard from us last.

To start with, I know that I promised you a picture of the house. Our half of the house is on the left where the black and grey car are. We are slowly making it more and more our home-it still feels weird sometimes, like we are on vacation or housesitting. However, as more of our stuff is coming into the house from the garage, and we are hanging our stuff on the walls, it is slowly feeling more and more like home. Kierin still talks about his old house and old room, but I think even he is coming around as we walk on the trails right behind our house and play catch with Nudge in the backyard.


Look how freakin' big Kierin is getting. He is so tall and skinny-I don't where he gets it! It must be from the Johnson side. Connor is more Frickey shaped-short little legs and little pot belly. Anyway, what also makes him look so big is that he is holding a SKATEBOARD!! How big is that??


And, of course, what big brother does, little bro has to try too. He tried to ride that board, but kept falling off!


So, I was home alone with Connor as Jessica and Kierin were shopping at Fred Meyers. I heard some quiet noises from the landing where Nudgey's kennel is. I wondered what that silly dog was up to, so I went down to check. Lo and behold, it was a strange little puppy that was in the kennel! he played in there for quite a while until I finally had to drag him out. Don't worry-I had just cleaned it out.


Finally, my Aunt Rene and Uncle Ed have been at my folks for a few weeks now. Ed, his brother Jim and my dad went hunting a lot, but Rene stayed with my mom while they were away. The boys fell in love with Aunt Rene. They return to Pennsylvania tomorrow am, so the boys won't get a chance to see her again for awhile. They will really, really miss her a lot.


I hope you all enjoyed the quick update. I will try to get back to this sooner next time!