New Years, Snew Years...

Everyone has resolutions. I'd love to say mine include updating the blog more. Sorry, it's just not true. Life has been crazy for us and my time has been stretched thin. After trying for 9 months we finally have a house. The process has been a huge roller coaster. We won't close until February 10th and I will be holding my breath, crossing all my fingers and toes until then. I suppose it's time to backtrack...

We left Alaska July 1st and somehow the hubs talked us all into driving the Alcan. Yes, 3 kids, a dog, one massive trailer, the hubsters and I driving... forever... and ever. We didn't see as much wildlife as anticipated. A few bear, a few moose, a beaver (we think), TONS of horses, cows, and bicyclists. Yep, hardcore bikers. I couldn't believe how many people were literally in the middle of nowhere on a bike with a saddlebag or two. Canada was beautiful. It was so beautiful we got sick of seeing the scenery (I know, imagine that). Mountain after mountain, ravine, waterfall, river, mountain... all gorgeous... for about 2 days. By day 3 and 4 we were anxious for flat land. This may be in part to the most dangerous interesting roads this family has ever seen. It may have something to do with our slow convoy pulling our trailer up and down maxing our truck out. It may be for the simple fact that no one should ever cram 3 kids in a truck for a trip this long. Who knows, but by the time we reached the U.S. border we were just thankful to be alive. Here are a few more pics from our trip.

We to Sweet Home and spent time with family Oregon style. Next we drove to Idaho. After saying our goodbyes we loaded back up and started toward Vegas. Once there we immediately went to work finding a temporary house. We wanted to rent until our house went through which can take quite a while. We found a great rental in a good neighborhood, check! Next we looked at homes to buy. The hubs made a trip in April and after several offers nothing worked out. From that visit he had a pretty good idea about where we should settle down. Day 6 and 5,000 houses later we found the perfect house. It was love at first sight. We knew this house was a short sale which is a nightmare complicated process. We put our offer in knowing that actually getting the house might not happen. When you move the military gives you so much time in a hotel or temporary housing. On day 10 we were going to move into the rental. This would be the same day we would run out of temporary housing. Well, day 8 our realtor called to inform us that we couldn't move into the rental because it was just sold. What? We suddenly realized we had nowhere to live. The kids and I ended up driving back to Idaho and stayed with my sister. I'm sure she had no idea what she was getting into. Hubsters stayed in Vegas with a friend so he could still work. A month later we were able to move on post. Just for the record we hate don't enjoy base housing. We opted for a smaller unit so the wait time would be shorter. We kept all our stuff in military storage because moving was in our future. Why move twice if you can do it once right? Well, long story short... after months of going back and forth and being assured it was ours, we lost the house. We had our stuff delivered and got to work finding another place. The new house is 1561 square feet smaller than the other house so it's an adjustment. We are anxious to put our personality and love into it. Having a place that's OURS has been a dream for years.

While the house drama was going on we had the AF ball, birthdays, potty training, a new school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Be prepared for picture overload...

We love and miss you all! Happy New Years!!!

Via Las Vegas!

So it's been 9 months since my last post... I hope you weren't holding your breath. Once again, the military life provides us with a change of scenery. If you haven't kept up with us on FB, we are moving to Las Vegas. After my back incident, an ice-free climate sounds pretty good. This move brings us closer to family as well as a reunited relationship with many stores we have missed. Hopefully we can survive the blistering heat and enjoy our new surroundings. Despite it's reputation, we are VERY excited to go.

Now it's time for a little catching up... The past few months have whipped by so fast. We had an amazing vacation in Hawaii (check our our album on FB)

 Addie turned 2, we sold nearly all our furniture, school ended for the year, and I survived numerous procedures on my back. While my health issues haven't improved, life is good. Reagan turns 8 next month and we can't wait to have family visit. It's hard to believe our little girl is growing up. We are looking forward to a summer full of camping, spending time with family, and finding our new home.

Busy Bee's

Lately it feels like we are moving in super-sonic speed. This summer was a wet one which deterred many of our plans. We still manged to go camping, rent a paddle boat, and hit a few trails. If you are on FB, you probably already know all the details. If not, here is the readers digest version:

Moose, there are LOTS of moose in Alaska. This year we've seen quite a few black bear too.

This was our cabin... we could hear the wolves howl every night.

and the paddle boat on Otter Lake

We hit the Crow Creek Mine, and Winner Creek Trail - highly recommended!

If you go on the hike, beware of dogs with a bad attitude or you could get one of these...

That sucker lasted 3 weeks. Jon also had an "adventure" with the scouts. They canoed for almost a week

straight with nothing but their packs.

we attended the Arctic Thunder Air Show

my business has been growing like crazy... I'm much busier than I expected

We celebrated a few birthday's, had several bbq's, stayed up late, ate too many smores, biked, hiked, and soaked up every spare minute of sunshine. Even though the summer felt short, we tried to make the most of it. Now the kids are in school and Jon and I will be soon. Bring on the fall!

Crafty, Crafty.

Lately I've been doing lots of little projects. I think those annoying little items that never get crossed off on my "To-Do" list finally got to me. I always sit on the floor to apply my makeup. I don't know why, but I always have. Let's just say more often than not my makeup doesn't get put away and Addison LOVES to get into my makeup, particularly my brushes. Like most girls I have quite a few brushes. I found several great tutorials for crayon rolls and decided to make one. It's nothing fancy, but it keeps my brushes safe from a curious 1yr. old who puts everything in her mouth.

My next project was actually for my sister. She wanted something for her kids. Kaydance's was the first, I have Aiden's nearly done, and when JoAnn's finally stocks more letters I will do Allyson's. I think they turned out super cute. I am amazed what spray paint can do... that's right, SPRAY paint. It's a revolution (just ask the hubs).

WARNING - Picture overload!

Where to start... Addie has turned into quite the sneaky little child. I am constantly finding her "hiding".  More than once I've been looking for her and opened a cabinet door to see THIS...

Thursday was the last day of school for both Reagan and Gavin. On Wednesday Reagan's class had a party. Here is a pic of her class at Orion Elementary.

Reagan and her 1st grade teacher Mr. VonGemmingen

Addie and her new fav. trick (waving)

We are so excited to start the SUMMER! As an early birthday gift Reagan and Gavin got a trampoline. This has already been so much fun. I love that I can send them outside to play and they have something to do (that will wear them out).

As promised, here is a pic of Jade with her cone of shame.

She is doing much better and we are ALL grateful the cone is gone! You will have to wait on the other pics I promised. Sorry, but time is short and I've got a bazillion things to do. If you haven't read about it on FB, we decided to re-do our 1/2 bath and that among all my other projects and orders has kept me pretty busy. Hopefully you are getting ready to enjoy your summer, we sure are!

Lots going on...

On the 2nd we were out for an evening walk and that's when things got crazy. Reagan and Gavin were taking turns on the Razor, I was pushing Addie in the stroller, and Jon was walking Jade. We noticed a large lab mix off leash and made a mental note (this is a BIG deal on base). The dog came over to us, sniffed Jade, she sniffed him, and everything seemed fine. Jon started to walk away with Jade when for no reason the other dog snapped. Before we had time to respond he locked his jaw on Jade's head and threw her to the ground. I ran over and tried to help Jon pry the dog off Jade. She was yelping for help. I was punching and kicking the dog as hard as I could (he didn't flinch) and Jon was trying to pull him off. In the mix Jon's knuckles were bloodied up and Jade was bleeding pretty badly. The owner came out to see what was going on. After calling security forces and taking the kids to a friend's house we rushed Jade to the Emergency Clinic. They had to knock her out in order to stitch her up. She was in a lot of pain, but has been healing quite well.



Over the week Gavin started to get sick. He was coughing so hard he nearly threw up. Friday we had to take Jade back to the vet. She managed to open some of her sutures. Luckily they were able to just glue it shut. Armed with the Cone-of-Shame, we returned home. Addie caught the bug next. This particular bug included noses that POUR and have a disabled shut-off valve. Before long Reagan and Jon were hacking.


Sunday... ah, Sunday. After another night of no sleep (thanks to a so-snotty-she-can't-breathe Addie), 3 sick kids, a sick hubby, and a recovering dog, I was not expecting a great Mother's Day. Jon really is the best husband. He gave me flowers, let me nap, cleaned the house, cooked, made an amazing cake (pics to come), and made sure I felt loved. This poor man looked like death. It was a great day despite all the challenges.


On to Monday. Addie is at that age... you know, the age where she wants to be independent and get into everything. Yesterday she was pulling herself up on a chair when she lost her footing and whacked her head right on the corner of the chair. Yup, my 1yr. old has a black eye (also pics to come). On a side-note, she has taken 8 steps consecutively and is determined to walk. Crawling is so last week. Well hopefully you survived this long picture-less post. If time allows I'll get some pics up soon. Until next time!

Big Changes

You may have noticed a lot of changes going on. With new church callings, recently opening a business, a school year coming to a close, and gearing up for a summer filled with camping and hiking there is never a dull moment for the Graves family. In light of our busy schedule, our blog will also be changing. Instead of having individual pages, we will now have one for our family. What better way to start things off, than with Addie's 1st Birthday! Enjoy the pics from her big day...