All sorts of fall craziness!

With so much going on, I haven't had time to update anything! So here goes . . . We had a little monkey on our hands for Halloween - complete with the monkey sounds! We visited two apple orchards and picked our own apples - Caleb especially loved eating them right from the tree. We also spent a few days at camp over MEA and then went to Cragun's for the weekend. So much fun! Here are a few pictures from our fall adventures . . . !

Peek!  Apple Jack's Apple Orchard is our new favorite!

Caleb loves riding in his pack!  He usually ends up falling asleep . . . 

We met another monkey at the Como Zooboo!

Enjoying the fun fall weather!

Smile!

Playing in the leaves

Smiling at Grandma Marcia

The first day of school - waiting for the bus at daycare

Mama's little monkey!

Aamodts Apple Orchard - yum!

Going to the Park

We spent a day playing at Como Zoo during the last few days of our summer break. The conservatory was amazing! Caleb wanted to run all over . . . . We went into the butterfly house, and Caleb had an unexpected tag-along as we walked through!








"I'm not scared, I just want to get down!"

Where Did the Summer Go?!

I can't believe the summer has come and gone, and along with it, Caleb's first birthday! I can't believe how fast the year has gone - definitely the fastest year of my life . . . Here are some updated pictures from the summer . . .

Daddy & Caleb touching a glacier in Alaska . . .



On the boat cruise in AK, all bundled up . . .



Caleb's first bike ride in his trailer . . .



All-American kiddo on the 4th of July . . .

More pictures . . .

Here are a few more pictures of what we've been up to the past few days. . . .


One of the amazing stops on our hike.

Smile for the camera!

The hike back - Baby is tired out!

Native dancing at the market

A reindeer dog at Saturday Market - yum!

Baby in Alaska . . .

How many babies can say they've been to Alaska at 10 months old?! We all survived baby's first long flight (5 1/2 hours!) on Tuesday, and here we are! There is a group of 29 of us working in Anchorage this week on a missions trip for our high school youth group. So far, we're all still here, and no major drama . . . ! :) What a beautiful place - we've all been commenting on how much it reminds us of Minnesota (is that why we keep running into MN people everywhere?!) with mountains. The weather has been great, and the kids are doing a pretty good job of living in community. We've experienced some ethnic foods - seal oil, dried salmon, smoked salmon, dried halibut, "Eskimo ice cream," and Sailor Boy pilot bread (not really an ethnic food, but an AK staple and really good!). Tonight we had a fish fry with fresh halibut (caught last week) made by a friend of one of the students. Amazing! I even tried a reindeer dog at the Saturday Market today - yummy!

Caleb has done a great job and is hanging out with his new friend Madeleine, Kate and Phil Canon's 2 year old daughter. He's always thoroughly entertained by all the students, and he LOVES playing with everyone. On Wednesday we went on a 3 mile hike, and Caleb got to ride in his new backpack. He loved it! We had one sleepy boy on our hands that night, even though he fell asleep in his pack on the way back to the trail head. Caleb has adjusted to the time change pretty well - it's been great!

Riding on the plane - the seat belt was very entertaining!

Cheering at the First Covenant softball game on Tuesday night. It was about 10:45 when this picture was taken! (1:45 our time . . . )

Riding in style . . .

Daddy & Caleb in the Chugach National Forest.

So, I Like to Stand . . .

Since Caleb learned how to stand about a month ago, he is constantly up and standing, no matter where he is! No more putting him down for a nap in his crib - he immediately wakes up and it's about a 5 second process for him to be standing at the end of the crib, laughing and smiling!

Brian Graduates!

Brian is a graduate! We headed up to Wadena to celebrate Brian's graduation from electrical lineman's school on May 20. We are so proud of him! Caleb was especially proud and hardly made a peep during the entire hour and forty five minute graduation ceremony! He did decide to go sit with the stranger in front of me for awhile . . . that was a bit awkward . . . but funny at the same time. I took off half a day and a full day to make the trip. It was a nice break to have a day off in the middle of the week, especially during the last few weeks of school. It's always really relaxing to go to Pelican. I made sure to get my coffee fix at Riverside!

Caleb sat on Grandpa's lap and played with the program during graduation. It was tough, but we managed to keep him from eating it . . .

Oh, how studious!  Who knew?!

Wearing Uncle Brian's cool new hat!

We all had apple crisp, but Caleb had a biter biscuit - yummy!  

(This is definitely an "at home only" food!)

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day! We had such a fun day spending time together. It was a beautiful day, so we went down to St. Anthony Main, an area on the Mississippi river front, and walked around enjoying the weather. It's an area with a lot of history, and it was fun to walk around Water Power Park looking at pictures of the area from decades ago. All in all, it was a great day.

Snuggling with Mommy!

"Let's see your fangs."

We ate lunch at Tugg's Tavern down by the river, and it was nice enough to eat outside - one of my favorite things!

And Caleb falls asleep . . .

Fun at the Park

We went to the park for the first time on Monday. Caleb and I met Ryan, Jen, and Peter since it was such a beautiful day, and it was so much fun! Caleb went on the swings and down the slide - screeching the entire time! I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time at different parks this summer. Swinging with Peter was so funny - probably won't be able to do this for very long, but boy, are they cute!!! I think I was probably just as entertained as Caleb!

Caleb's Dedicism

On Sunday, May 4, we dedicated Caleb. We couldn't decide for the longest time if we were going to do a baptism or dedication, and so we coined the word "dedicism." It stuck, and that's what we've been calling it ever since! It was such a great service. A lot of our family was able to be here, along with good friends, so it was a really special day for us. Caleb was determined to make his presence known during the service - he was constantly squealing and squirming. It had to be because we were in the front row! :) We sang "Blessed Be Your Name," or Caleb's song as I like to call it, and Larry played bass with the worship team. My dad read scripture, and it was so fitting to have him read and share in the service. To dedicate the little one that we had once thought was not going to be was such a powerful thing. What an amazing God we serve!


Caleb with Grandma Marcia and Grandpa Jim.

Caleb with Grandma and Papa Johnson.

"Aren't I cute?!"

Fun with the cousins was a highlight of the weekend! Caleb was enthralled with Lexi and Mia, so it was really fun to watch them entertain each other!

I love this picture with the two teeth showing!

It was so cool to be able to share Caleb's story with everyone on Sunday. Most people didn't know about how we thought we lost him and went almost two weeks thinking I wasn't pregnant. God sure is amazing!

Caleb was done . . . time to play with Mia . . .