Tuesday, July 29, 2008

In Between...

I have been wanting to blog so many things. We've been having such a fun summer, but we've also been very busy. So I thought I would make a list of some of the things we've been doing "LOTSA" this summer:



Bought a house- Duplex actually... Lotsa money

Turned 23... Lotsa years

Gone swimming... Lotsa times

Been to the cabin... Lotsa dirt

Playing with cousins... Lotsa fun

Went to the rodeo... Lotsa horses

Watched a parade... Lotsa doughnuts

Been sunburned... Lotsa pain

Haven't done Laundry... Losta Laundry!

New friends at church... Lotsa little boys

Painting our new house... Lotsa paint

Packing... Lotsa boxes

Eating fish... Lotsa fish

Missing those Russ people... Lotsa miles away

Baby proofing the house... Lotsa things to get into

Watching the flowers grow... Lotsa weeds

Enjoying our baby... Lotsa giggles

And sometimes blogging!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Alaskan Update!

So far my Alaska trip has been really awesome. I can't believe it is already more than half over.
Here is what I have been doing-
Day 1 and 2-
Ling Cod/Halibut fishing. This was awesome! We went on a boat out on the ocean to fish for these 2 kinds of fish. The ling cod were cool because you first hook another smaller fish and as you were reeling it up a ling cod would come up to eat it and clamp onto it and ride it all the way up.
The halibut were a fun to catch also, but very tiring. You would have your line down 2 to 4 hundred feet and they you would have to slowly reel up these giant fish. We caught between 30 and 60 pounders and then one guy that was with us caught a 142 pounder. It was HUGE! It took up 2 hours to get it the the surface because he was using a smaller rod because we were fishing for ling cod at the time. The rod also only had 30 pound test line on it. It was a miracle he got it in at all.
While we were out on the boat we saw sea lions, puffins, whales, and dolphins. The dolphins were awesome because they would come up and play with the boat.







Day 3 -




Flyout




This was probably my favorite thing so far. We got on a puddle jumper plane and flew out to a lake with an inlet from the ocean where we all limited out on salmon. The plane ride was an adventure in itself. It is a strange feeling to take off and land on water. While we were there there were bears right by us that were trying to catch the salmon also. I really mean right by us, a couple of times I could have hit them on the nose with my fishing pole. They would really get excited when someone would get a fish on and try to come and catch it sometimes. We even had to cut some lines because we didn't want to have to try to reel in a bear. It was one amazing experience!













Here are some Lat/Lon for you people who want google earth where we've been!


Our fishing Lodge - 60 28.4920 N 151 04.6832 W


Our second Halibut Trip - 59 43.3654 N 152 19.3414


Our Fly Out - 60 47.4708 N 152 16.9319 W



Sorry this is such a sloppy post, but I don't really have time to get it all pretty :)

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Missing You...

Casey left yesterday morning (at 3 a.m.) to go fishing in Alaska with his dad and brothers in law. They will be gone for a week, and even though we'll miss them, we are going to have lots of fun without them!

So far... (pictures pending)
Yesterday we went with Casey's mom, Crystal, Candace, and their kids (Benson's cousins) to Bear Lake for the afternoon. Then we went to the cabin for the night and came home this afternoon. After we got home, we got cleaned up and went to the fireworks with Benson's other grandma and Aunts and Uncles. Tonight we will be sleeping at my parents' house (in my childhood bedroom).

Last night was the first night since we've been married that Casey and I have been apart. Even when Benson was born, Casey stayed with me both nights in the hospital... I tried to get him to sleep in my hospital bed, but they wouldn't let him. I'm missing him a little and don't look forward to a week of sleeping alone, but I'm excited that he's got this opportunity to fish in Alaska, and we'll still have fun without him here.

So keep checking back. Casey has promised to post some pictures of his ENORMOUS fish!!!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The Best 2 Years

I know it's late, but I wanted to tell Casey "Happy Anniversary" on Monday. I'm so glad that we've had these last 2 years together and look forward to many more. (Remember, you promised to play cards with me when I'm 90.)
I love you,
Nat