Dear Erma,

I'm taking a survey. A few of my friends and family have suggested I start a new blog along the lines of what Erma Bombeck used to do (who doesn't miss Erma?!). Just a funny day-to-day column of stories regarding housework, raising kids and husbands. If you think you'd be interested in hearing about my wildly exciting adventures regarding laundry and the drama surrounding 1st grade, shoot me an e-mail at Jyippee@hotmail.com and let me know. If there's enough interest, I'll make the time to set up a blog and start sharing the craziness that is the Smiffs!
Love,
J~

Crossing Over to the Dark Side

It happened! It happened! Why all the excitement you ask? Because....we're finally on the downhill side. As of June 21st we reached our peak daylight hours (about 20-21) and now we'll start sliding towards December where we only have about 4 hours of daylight. It's been strange to say the least, getting up in the middle of the night and feeling like we slept in until noon. I'm thinking it's going to feel just as strange when we only see the sun from 11 a.m. to about 3 p.m. come December 21st. Rest assured though my friends, all of this light/dark wackiness does not affect my nap schedule! Alas, one of the great things about having 3 children is that all I have to do is think about my bed to fall asleep :)

Now It Makes Sense

This morning I went for my walk and became the official breakfast buffet for about 10 zillion mosquitos (rotten little bastards). While I was walking, and swatting, it occurred to me that I now understand why God, in all his infinite wisdom, made the summers so short in Alaska. If "mosquito season" were any longer no one would ever come here, much less live here, and appreciate all the work He put in to making it so beautiful. You can be sure that when I see that first snowflake fly I won't shed even one tear over the death of those nasty little buggers!

The Best Smell Ever!

So, last night we had a thunderstorm, which in and of itself is unusual for Alaska (but lately we've had really hot weather, like 65 degrees!). And we got rain, which was much needed. But the best part was THE SMELL!! When I took the doggies out to go potty this morning I could not believe how good it smelled. It was what I imagine the Amazon rain forest smells like all the time. Although words really can't describe it, I'll attempt it for those of you not here and lucky enough to experience it first hand. Ummmmm, yeah, anything I write here is going to sound like I'm attempting a novel. Just think adjectives, lots of them! At any rate, I got to thinking (as I was standing there patiently waiting for Beanie to find the PERFECT spot), if through some miracle of science that smell could be bottled I would use it everywhere in my house. I'd spray it on my sheets, put it on the back of the toilet for air freshner, sprinkle it on my carpet when I vacuum and of course use it as lotion! Yup, it was that good.

Matanuska River

Mac, Mom and Noah

Austin and Connor playing in the sand.

Connor and Dustin looking for "skipper" rocks.

COLD water doesn't seem to bother Beanie!

It was another beautiful day in Alaska yesterday so we decided to head "out into nature". Out towards my in-law's house is the Matanuska River where you can ride 4-wheeler's, walk around, etc. The boys loved playing in the sand and finding skipping rocks. I loved the sunshine and fresh air. The doggies loved the water (crazy dogs) and Dustin just generally kept us all from hurting ourselves. We spent about 2 hours or so just wandering around before Noah was ready to nap and everyone else was ready for a snack.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

God Bless Coffee

One of my biggest fears when moving up here was that they wouldn't have all the little roadside coffee kiosks that we had at home. I think it is a slight understatement to say, "I LOVE MY COFFEE!!" And aside from a severely enlarged sweet tooth, this is my only vice. At any rate, I had nothing to worry about. There are more coffee kiosks in a 5 mile radius of my home than there are people who drink coffee. And again I say, "God bless coffee".

An Astounding Transformation

Spring/summer in Alaska is truly here now. I have put away my snowman cookie jar and brought out the one with the pretty leaves on it. It really was one of those "blink and you miss it" type experiences. One day the trees were just starting to bud and the next day all the leaves were out. This makes Alaska even prettier than it was before! Unfortunately, almost all of the snow is off the mountains, but rest assured, it will return! In a month or two - lol!

It's interesting, it's almost like everyone around here kicks into high gear as soon as the first ray of sunshine hits on May 1st! The street cleaner came through, the guy who cuts the branches away from the side of the road, all the people who pick up the garbage along the highways, people cleaning up their yards. Apparently because the season is so short, people here don't mess around! They had it all done in approximately 3 days. Catch ya later alligators!