Fall in Alaska...

I love this time of year in Alaska. It is so beautiful! It is definately "God's country" and is so easy to be reminded of how magnificant God is and His incredible beauty. I took a few pictures today to show the Fall colors and the mountains. These were both taken just down the street from my house. The first picture shows Cook Inlet and the second picture shows the drive into my neigborbood...we're the second street on the left (although you can't really see it in this picture). Notice the snow on the tops of the mountains. This is called "termination dust." As winter creeps in, the snow slowly decends down the mountain and we know that summer is "terminated" and we're about to freeze for several months! We do love the Fall though. The daylight begins to return to normal (until it's almost gone except for a few short hours a day), it's get chilly, and we can start having nightly fires in the fireplace. It's such a cozy time of year!

This is a picture of our home with all the fall leaves! We love it (except it makes it hard to keep the cars and carpets clean with all the birch tree seeds)!

Here is Preston with a "mohawk." It didn't turn out too well, but we were just having fun while cutting his hair!

My beautiful Payton has just started lunging herself forward to get things. She curls her toes and lunges herself across the floor. Between lunging and rolling, she's going places!

Payton likes to "fly" while she's playing!

We can still support the Cowboys even in Alaska! Go Cowboys! :)

By the way, I FINALLY figured out all the Html formatting stuff so I can write above/below my pictures! A little slow, but I got it! And, I don't know how I did this, but if you click on that little "x" by one of the pictures above, it will take you to a huge photo of the picture....it's beautiful!

My Thoughts on Sarah Palin

If you know me very well, you know that I am NOT a political person. I generally have my head in the clouds and don't know much of what is going on with our government and in the political world. I normally run from political discussions and feel clueless on what is being discussed. It's just not my thing. I'm not proud of that...it kind of makes me feel like less of an American...but it's the truth of who I am. However, I have been trying to slowly get more involved during this election season, and since my girl Sarah Palin is now the Vice President candidate, I've tried to thrust myself into the political world and figure out what's it all about (I'm even listening to talk radio and enjoying it)! Still, I wouldn't normally post about politics, but I've had some of you asking my thoughts and opinions about Palin since I'm an Alaskan....so I thought I'd just get them out there.

I love Sarah Palin. I think she is for the people and she brings a lot of knowledge and experience...yes, experience, to this campaign. Palin has spent the majority of her life (since High School I believe) in Wasilla (or as we call is Wasucka) Alaska. This is a small town about 40 miles from Anchorage. The population is only about 7,000 but it is in the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough which is made up of about 80,000 people. Wasilla is also the fastest growing area in Alaska. As you've probably heard, she started off getting involved in the PTA, which led to City Council and then eventually Mayor of Wasilla. She was Mayor for two consecutive terms of three years each. She set up many great things in Wasilla, including a 2% sales tax which allowed Wasilla to have their own Police Force. Palin ran for Governor against a Republican encumbant (did I spell that right) and very well know Democrat nominee. She won with a landslide and has one of the highest approval ratings known for a Governor. She is seen around town with her family, at her childrens' school and activities, and at her modest house in her modest neighborhood. I actually met her before she became Governor. She came in to have Lasik eye surgery at the clinic I work at part-time. She was so friendly and no, we didn't botch the surgery, but she likes to wear glasses because they make her look more intellectual (I think that's what I remember her saying at least).

A few things I admire about Palin:
1) She sold the Governors jet as soon as she was in office (on e-bay I heard)
2) She fired the family chef that was being paid with government money
3) She is very involved with her kids and their lives (teenagers make mistakes...her daughter is not pregnant because Palin wasn't around)
4) She loves her baby with downs syndrome
5) She believes in Pro-life
6) She believes in drilling in ANWR to try and become more self-sufficient as a country instead of relying so heavily on foreign help
7) She believes (and has shown) that she does not agree with spending government money frugally (look at numbers 1 and 2)
8) She stands up for what she believes in, even if it "looks bad" in the medias eyes and is not the popular thing to do (the firing of the Public Safety Commissioner Monegan happened because he was unwilling to make changes.....Q: People want to know why you fired your Public Safety Commissioner Monegan. Is it because he stopped you from getting rid of your brother-in-law [in a Cabinet firing]? People want to know if this is an ethical lapse on your part.
A: I'm glad that you're asking because I never tried to fire a former brother-in-law whose been divorced from my sister for quite some time. No, it was the commissioner, that we were seeking more results, more action to fill vacant trooper positions to deal with bootlegging and alcohol abuse problems in our rural villages especially. Just needed some new direction, a lot of new energy in that position. That is why the replacement took place there of the commissioner of public safety. It had nothing to do with an estranged former brother-in-law, a divorce that had happened some years ago.)
9) Palin's life is surrounded by average Americans and therefore, I believe she knows who the people are and what we want.
10) She's a bulldog with lipstick! :)

This post is way to long, but I wanted to share my thoughts. I certainly don't claim to know all the answers, nor do I think Palin is without fault, but I do think she is exciting and I'm proud to be supporting her (McCain is a whole other issue)! :)

I'm eager to hear your thoughts and comments.....start sharing!

A Huge Milestone

I think we FINALLY did it! I think my "little man" is finally potty-trained....or at least well on his way! I have been trying for several months to get Preston potty-trained. He was excited to sit on his little potty and would sit on it alot when I was in the bathroom. He never seemed to mind "trying," but not much would happen. Every now and then he would have success on the potty, but not often. Then he decided he liked diapers and didn't have much to do with the potty. I tried not to push it, just offer it as a suggestion every few days or weeks. On Sunday, I asked Pres if he wanted to wear a diaper and peepee in it, or a big boy pull-up and use the big potty. He opted for the pull-up. While I didn't have my hopes up, I was secretly praying that maybe this would be the day. And the Lord blessed us! As of Sunday, Preston is using the big potty all the time. He had one accident on Sunday, and had to pee in his pull-up while we were on a walk yesterday. Other than that, he has made it to the big potty every time! He was having breakfast at Village Inn with his aunts this morning and told Aunt "T" he "could feel his peepee coming." She had her son with her, and was feeding Payton at the same time. Not sure what to do, she told Preston that is was okay to just pee in his pull-up. He told her he couldn't! He ended up having to use the pull-up, but I was so proud of him for not wanting too!

Tonight, we had to run some errands. I knew we would be in the car for awhile so I tried to get Preston to wear a pull-up, but he insisted on his boxer briefs that he had been wearing. So I decided to bite the bullet and let him. We were in the car for about an hour and two different times he told me his "peepee is coming." He managed to hold it until I could pull into the back of a parking lot, unbuckle him, and get his pants down. THen he learned what it was like to pee "like a man" outside. He thought it was so funny! I was beyond proud of him for not having any accidents our first time out in big boy underwear!!

He let me take these pictures of him to show off his big boy underwear and him using the big potty. After a few trials, we decided it was easier to set him backwards on the big potty so he can take care of business without making such a mess! So this picture is a little deceiving! :)

I feel like such a proud mommy!! :) Everytime he uses the bathroom, I say, "I am So proud of you Preston!" and his general response is "Thanks mommy! I am SO proud of you too!"