the JACKSON family: June 2012

So we had a little BBQ party tonight with a few families, and after everyone was gone, I was cleaning up the porch while swatting mosquitos and said to Bryson, "Bryson, there's too many mosquitos. Save me! Save me!"
He said, "I can't, I'm not superman!" (pause) "or batman!"
He makes me laugh!

Another cute thing he says is when he says the blessing on the food. For the last several months, every time, he says, "please bless the food. Please bless shakin' our bodies." And at first I thought he was trying to be funny in the prayer saying "shakin' our bodies." But then he kept saying it and wasn't laughing. So for the longest time I couldn't figure it out. But now I'm pretty sure he's trying to copy others when they say "nourish and strengthen our bodies." I love it!

So I believe it was the beginning of last week, Glen got off the phone and said "guess what, Bishop wants us to speak in church on Sunday." (which was this last Sunday). I probably should have had a better response, but I said "What?! We just spoke in church literally a month ago." Well, he then continues to tell me that the Bishop said we could use our same talks and if we would speak in the Girdwood branch, which is about 40 minutes from us. I thought that would actually be fun and new and maybe we could make a weekend out of it. Later in the week, Glen was talking to the Bishop and just kind of jokingly said now he just needed to find someone with a cabin so we could stay for the weekend. The bishop said he didn't have a cabin but he had a connection to get us a free room Saturday night at the Alyeska Ski Resort there. It was so nice of him. We purchased Sunday night so we could stay through Memorial Day. We arrived at the hotel around 2 or 3. Settled in, then went to the town park and played and walked around for a while. Went to eat dinner and then back to the hotel to swim. That's one thing my boys miss, swimming. I felt so sad because last summer both Kade and Bryson were such good swimmers, but when they got in the pool, they were struggling. It eventually came back to Kade and he did fine. Bryson got a little better, but with us not swimming that often I'm afraid he won't get much practice. Teagan was terrified and clung to me so tight, it was actually kind of cute. By the end, he loosened up and got a little more brave.

Sunday we walked to church, just around the corner close to the hotel, that started at 10am. I counted 23 people there, that included us 5, older missionary couple, younger missionaries, high council guy. So it was tiny, but it was really a great experience. We truly enjoyed it and want to go back to visit. The primary and nursery are combined, which was my 3 boys and maybe 3 other kids (the other boy that was nursery age like Teagan was also named Teagan). After Sunday school, the priesthood go and release the two ladies in the primary so they can attend Relief Society, which was 7 of us in a small bride's room with comfy chairs and couches. The coziest Relief Society room I've ever been in. :0) Everyone was so nice. The primary ladies kept saying how impressed they were of our boys, Kade sitting through both lessons and really participating, and Bryson would ask permission, and they both would help Teagan. They said Teagan would just sit there and eat. Yup, that would make anyone happy. :0) I was very proud of my boys. I sure love them.

So after church we had lunch but I forgot to bring utensils, so I made PB&J with the ice tongs from the hotel as we at over the coffee platter they have there. Then I tried licking off one side of the tongs as the other side went up my nose. Good memories. We attempted to take a nap, and then took a nice walk around the hotel and by the pond.

Monday, we went swimming again, checked out, and went for a little hike. On our way home, we drove to see a small glacier, Byron glacier I believe. Then on the road going home, you have the ocean coast on one side and the mountain on the other. We filled up our 5 gallon jugs out of a spout of water coming out of the mountain, we drove past a huge line of parked cars where people were walking down to the ocean to dip net fish for hooligan fish (they can catch as many as they want for free to May 31. they're about 6 to 10 inches long. People were coming out with buckets in no time), and then we drove past about 10 people kite surfing in the ocean. Glen was in heaven. His response was "THIS IS AWESOME!!!! You can do everything here." haha. I would actually love to kite surf, it looked fun. We had a fun trip. It was really our first since we've been up here. Hopefully we're creating some fun memories for the kids.

When we got home on Memorial Day, I had a tender mercy. Glen was packing his things to leave on another trip with the Priests a couple days later, and I was working on the front yard. After working for a while, I felt bare on my wedding finger and sure enough my wedding ring was gone. I started looking by the spot I had been working as I was thinking about how my Dad lost his wedding ring working in the yard. I stopped for a moment and said a prayer. I looked in the grass bush I was cutting, all on the ground, and on the top of the bin I was throwing weeds in. I finally went in to tell Glen and have him come help me. He starts to remind me that we had been swimming, hiking, traveling all day and it could be anywhere. But I still was pretty sure I had it doing the yard. I finally dumped the bin on the brick path and sure enough there it was. I broke down and just cried in Glen's arms. It really wasn't that lost, but I panicked for a bit. The Lord did answer my prayer and I am so grateful for these tender mercies He gives us!

View out our window.

I thought these were awesome. They look like little pineapple. They're the little yellow things in the next picture growing in the grass next to the water.

Pictures at the Girdwood Park

It's a bad picture of the polar bear, but behind cute Bryson is a Polar Bear display in the hotel.

The Catholics and Mormons unite. :0) I thought it was awesome they share the church.

So weird. I think it's a deteriorating tree. But it made for a fun picture.

I'm sorry, but I had to take this. You can come up with your own description.

Maybe the nicest would be a tumor or growth on a tree.

Sorry, these aren't the best pictures. You could see it way better in person. It was really pretty. In the back you can see a little blue, that's the glacier.