August with the Little Holts

Wow, this took a LONG time to upload, but it's well worth it, to let all you see your grandchildren/cousins/neices & nephews, etc.

First off I'd like to say, congratulations to Rachel & Henry on finding out they'll be having another boy!! How awesome! You'll be happy with 3 little boys. They'll be great buddies.

So Tiffany, Ezra & the kiddos came down to visit while Jacob is training in California/Washington. And a great way to spend the summer. While they were here we did lots of fun stuff, including visiting the beach!! I never really liked going previous to this, because it always seemed so cold and windy. But the day we went was absolutely gorgeous, sunny, and warm. The kids all got soaked and muddy, but the water was warm! Granted the tide was out, and the little pools of muddy water were able to warm up.

Here's Lizzy and a great view of Mt Redoubt. You can see how far out the tide is. We also got to witness the tide come in, which it did in a matter of 5-10 min! Icredible. It was fun to see the change right before our eyes. It was also scary, trying to make sure the kids weren't out too far and maybe getting stuck in the muck, with the water over them.

Here's Joseph & Simeon. Such fun! We decided as we walked through this squishy, slimy, suctiony mud that Mom would LOVE it! Your own personal foot massage mud. :) You've got to come up to experience it, Mom! But it's gotta be July/August, when it's warm.

Tracker Paul.

Trayton, Tustin. These boys were COVERED in slimy sticky muck!! Sariah & Rebeckah too.

Naomi enjoying the warm water. Everyone was mucky, wet mess. Which equals naked & perhaps cold (depending on the child's preference).

Rebekah in the mucky mud, with dark gloves on.

Kids playing equals good excuse to read. Which we took advantage of.

John standing up on his own! This boy'll be walking real soon!

And here we are beginning our fishng trip in Seward. In the boat parked in the harbor looking at the beautiful scenery. In between those mountains the Mount Marathon race takes place every 4th of July. Brutal race.

In the boat, the Holt kiddos minus John, all suited up and ready to drive 2+ hours in the boat to our fishing destination.

Keller boy's life jackets, check.

People who can drive the boat and bait our hooks, check! Travis & Ben happy as can be. :) Ben took one for the team and got a hook stuck in his finger. Travis as surgeon had to break the hook in order to get it out. OUCH!! Poor guy.

All the kiddos watching the sea lions on their favorite rock. They're always there everytime we go by. Must be warm.

Tustin caught the first Silver Salmon. Look at that grin!!

Lots of wildlife viewing that day, including Orca whales! Awesome bonus.

Simeon took to fishing like he was naturally born to it. He wouldn't quit reeling up fish the whole time. Even when he was tired and sucking his fingers, he was still reeling. Now, thanks to Uncle Travis, Simi has a new love. :)

Going at it like there's no tomorrow!

Tiff has quickly become a true Alaskan-fishing mom. John-john in the back pack and reeling at the same time.

Ezra couldn't get enough, 2 at a time! Duh- Winning! j/k.

Trayton's silver.

Joseph really enjoyed the boat while it was moving and creating wakes. Happy as a lark. Oh, and NO ONE got sick! Is that amazing? Tiff, Ezra & I wore the patch and the kiddos got bonine, a motion sickness pill, and some essential oils that help with motion sickness as well. I did get a little sick, but everytime I felt like a puke was coming on, it would immediately go away, weird!

So sweet! Uncle Ezra & Simi taking a nap. :)
I'm glad you came Ezra.

Trayton driving us home, or somewhere. Following in his father's footsteps.

Third wildlife spotted! Mountain goat on a stinking steep mountain side. Crazy! This is really zoomed in on Tiff's camera.

Filling up with gas, so we're all in cab so the tank will fill up as much as possible.

Kiddos watching a movie on the couch, plus Codi, a neighbor girl.

The babies. So cute together. Getting into mischief. Their favorite spot, the bathroom, just hanging out.

Getting ready for Sariah's birthday. This is how we all fit around the kitchen table. Except John-john or Simi would be taking my place, or sit beside Trayton. They're actually being still here! Amazing.

The cake Tiff made! Gorgeous. And the blue frosting was actually purple in real life. Not sure what happened there.

We only had 3 candles, so Sariah got sung to 3 times (each time we had to re-light the candles). Glad I was there, nobody else knew that rule and she wouldn't really have turned 7!

Her last candle to blow out on her cupcake.

So the last day the cousins were here Trayton & I took a trip to the ER. Nothing too serious, just a broken wrist. We decided to let the cousins have a sleepover in the boy's bedroom. Of course they were rowdy and up late. But it all ended with Trayton getting pushed off the top bunk after a pillow fight comensed (by his brother). He was screaming! Tiff ran in there as fast she could as Rebekah jumped off the bed to check on Trayton herself. Collision!! Rebekah jumped right onto Tiff, and now she has a black eye, and Rebekah has a big knot on her head.

The cousins did this to Tustin. :) Nice.

So to continue with the story, Trayton woke up in pain that night, so we decided to set up an appointment with the doctor. Trayton woke up and decided to play on the trampoleen with cousins and neighbors. 10 min later he was screaming again. Except this time he wouldn't stop and I knew he was in a lot of pain. I called our doctor, but no app. available until tomorrow. So they directed me to a walk-in clinic. But they didn't have an opening for 4 hours, too long. So that's why we ended up going to the ER. He'll wear this splint for a week, then we'll x-ray again and see where he's at.

It's funny, as soon as we got to the waiting room in the ER and he saw a video game, it was as if he had no pain whatsoever. Crazy kid! For the first broken bone of my children, it went very smoothly. :) Trayton was tough.