June... Part 4

June 21, 2009: We spent Father's Day with the Youngs. They let us crash the dinner they prepared for the missionaries. We had delicious grilled halibut with mango salsa and some to-die-for salads that Leaca fixed. Ymmm!!! We missed Raquel (she was at basketball camp in Washington), but we loved spending time with Gordon, Leaca and Rusty. They are one family we will truly miss.

Leaca took these cool pictures of the kids on the trampoline (look carefully, it's just as fun to see Ziya getting bounced as it is to see the boys doing their flips!).
Every Father's Day, I take (or Leaca takes!) pictures of my kids wearing this one shirt of Jacob's. I started doing this when Ammon was about 2 and Abe was just a few months old (got the idea from Oprah!). I made a special "Father's Day picture album" and put these pictures in it. It's fun to see the kids growing into the shirt. I also put other pictures that represent Jacob's role as a father throughout the previous year. This year, I made collages of him with each of our children. These are the pictures that I put in this year's entry.






Jacob is a fabulous father. He knows how to laugh during stressful times (which has been paramount lately!), he loves to play with his children and he always has a new twist on an old game (so it's NEVER boring when he's around!), he knows how to be patient and he knows how to love. It was nice to take a break from all the packing, cleaning and organizing and enjoy some relaxing time in honor of him and so many fathers who have shaped and influenced our lives. I love you, Jacob.

June 21, 2009: It's summer solstice - the longest day of the year. Leaca and Rusty came over sometime after midnight and picked up Jacob so that they could go out and take pictures. It was a cloudy night, so it's hard to appreciate the fact that behind the thick clouds, it really was still light outside! Go figure. At least they had fun driving around. Thanks for the pictures, Leaca (once again!).

June 23, 2009: Grandpa Stephen flew in from Los Angeles for a short Kenai visit and then to drive the Alcan (Alaska Canada Highway) with Jacob and the boys. He stayed with Jacob's sister, Mardi, and enjoyed spending some time with all six of his grandchildren. He was amazed at how light it is late at night and at how late people here stay up! He'll be in a lot more pictures later when we post the pictures of the 6-day long drive to Idaho.





June 25, 2009: Originally, my dad was also supposed to come to Alaska and Jacob booked a fishing trip for himself and the two grandpas as a way to celebrate the grandpa's birthdays (Grandpa Stephen's b-day is June 23 and my dad's b-day is June 24) combined with Father's Day. Well, my dad was unable to come kind of at the last minute (he wasn't feeling his best), so Ammon and Abe were able to take Tito's spot on the boat. They got up at some crazy early hour in the morning, bundled up and headed out for a fishing day with Dave Goggia. They were fishing for king salmon, but once again, the fish weren't biting. They still had a grand time. Ammon got to drive the boat for a while and Abe had a comfy nap hiding inside all of his layers of clothes. The day turned out to be a really nice one and Grandpa Stephen really enjoyed Alaska's grandeur with his son and two grandsons.