Living Legends

 Last night we attended BYU's Living Legends program. It was awesome! The costumes and dances were beautiful. We knew Hannah would like it because she likes watching dancers, but we were surprised at how much the boys like it. After each dance Sam would whisper to me, "that one was my favorite."

After the program we met a few of the dancers.

Hannah loved the girl with the pretty dress. AND the girl let Hannah hold onto her dress and swish it. Hannah's day was made!

Hannah then had to tell the girl all about all the dresses she has at home.

It was a fun evening.

Jordan's Baptism

    Benji's dad and brother in-law, TJ, drove from Utah to North Pole to bring us a trailer full of our stuff that we loaded before we moved and a truck we bought in Utah. We knew it would be the only time we would have family here for awhile, so we planned Jordan's baptism for the Saturday they were here (May 2). It worked out perfectly, we were happy to have some family there with us.
   
     Jordan's program was special because he was the only getting baptized that day so he got to plan everything. He chose The Baptism Song for the opening song (because that one says his name), I said the opening prayer, Benji gave a talk on baptism, Ben gave a talk on the Holy Ghost, Jordan, Sam, and Hannah sang the song The Holy Ghost and Uncle TJ gave the closing prayer. Benji baptized and confirmed Jordan. It was a great day!

The men that were in the circle when Jordan was confirmed.  Bishop Garner, Ben, Benji, and TJ.

Poopsday

Sorry, but I just have to add a few potty training photos. Hannah has BY FAR been my most stubborn child to potty train. Jordan and Sam went from diapers to undies at 2 years old and stayed dry since (okay, Sam had a few accidents here and there). Hannah, on the other hand, wouldn't even try. I tried everything I could think of to help her and then figured out the only thing I could do was have patience. I had to stop thinking of how old she was and worrying what everyone else would think. I had to wait. And I waited...and waited. 

Finally when we moved to Alaska she said the magical words, "mom, I want to sit on the potty!" She finally peed on the potty and was quite happy (and I think a little surprised with how easy it was).

Benji told Hannah when we first started the potty training adventure that we would get her a cake when she pooped on the potty and he kept his promise. Here she is with her "poopsday" cake!

So if I ever have to give advice on how to potty train here it is. Every child is different. Every child will potty train differently. Don't worry about what other people may think. That's really all. I do have more specific advice, but those are the main points.

Our new car

I wasn't planning on writing a post about our car, but I've been scrolling through all our pictures looking for what to write about next and I spotted this one. The reason I have to share this picture is because this is the first vehicle we've owned that actually has a third row. Our family car up until this point was a hatchback Ford Focus. It was tiny, but it worked. I have to say, having the kids spaced out a little has really cut down on car fights and my boys can buckle themselves!! Best. Thing. Ever.

I think I already posted about this, but if you notice the cord sticking out of the front of the car, it's actually a plug. We live somewhere so cold that in the winter we have to plug our cars in. 

The first moose spotting in our yard

So I have been waiting since we moved in to see a moose in our yard. I knew they were out there because we live in Alaska, but also because I could see their tracks all over the place. I was talking to my cousin on the phone and was just wandering the kid's bedrooms and when I looked out the window I saw this guy standing there chomping on twigs and branches. I had to hurry and get off the phone and I took these pictures. I'm mad I didn't have a battery charger for my nice camera (it showed up the next day in the mail), but my phone camera was good enough.

So I took these pictures from our kitchen window and was in awe at how big I thought this moose was, when I realized this one was the baby. The big mama moose came tromping out of the woods a little later. Moose are big.

Fairbanks Children's Museum

We were happy to find out that Fairbanks has a children's museum. We headed over there during Spring Break and had fun exploring and playing. This children's museum is no where near the size (or even coolness) of the children's museums in Utah, but my kids didn't care. They had so much fun. 

Sam loved this pin wall. You'll notice there are even more pictures at the bottom of this post. I had to get over the germs all over those pins (kids are sticking their hands and faces all over them) and just let them go for it.

They had a cool spot with nails, hammers, screws and other tools. Sam LOVED it.

The finished project.

 It was hard to keep up with Hannah. She just ran from one thing to the next with a huge smile on her face.

 Jordan building something with these magnets.

This is the face he pulled when I told him to smile, but he was too busy to stop playing. Haha

They have an awesome piano with the front removed so you can see the inside of the piano as you play. Sam could have played that piano all day long.

I am just realizing now that I have a ton of pictures of Sam. This is a microscope with a camera on it, so you and everyone else can see what you're looking at. They have a bunch of rocks, minerals and seashells to look at.

 Hannah at the pin wall.

The water table was one of Hannah's favorite spots.

 It was a great time!