Adventures in Anchorage

We are lucky enough to be in Anchorage right now, and why, do you ask? All because my wonderful mother signed us and the rest of my siblings up for a cruise in Alaska! In about an hour we are going to head for the cruise ship, but for the last two days we have been seeing what there is to see in Anchorage.
Here is a little of what we've been doing:


Jeff and I were the first from our family to arrive. This little fur shop is right by our hotel so we headed there to see the furs. I thought I'd try one on and grabbed a hat and a little cow made of fur to pose for the picture. As I was taking off the coat the store worker came from behind and was quick to snatch the coat back to put it on the hanger. We left and I told Jeff, well that was kinda rude! He told me it was because the coat was on SALE for only about $3000! I guess the lady could tell we weren't serious customers.


Walking around the shops we saw another little fur shop, and this one looked a lot less fancy. It just so happens we met and talked to this funny Japanese man for a long time. He was hilarious! He had asked us if we were mormons and we told him "Yeah." He said: "That good. Mormons good guys. I never met a mormon dingaling."
Yeah, he was pretty funny.
We told him we hide all the dingalings in Utah. (Just kidding)


Yesterday we got to take a jetboat up the Talkeetna river. We stopped along the way and posed for this picture. The scenery might look pretty, but watch out! The berries'll kill ya, and one of the plants right behind us will get into your lungs and cause them to bleed. Yeah, we're adventurous.



Next we headed off to the Iditarod headquarters. The Iditarod is a huge sled-dog race from Anchorage to Nome. We got to have a short little ride on a sled on wheels pulled by some sled-dogs. These cute little puppies don't even know what they have in store for them....Or do they?

This was just an awesome truck!

Just kidding, the picture is actually of the mountain in the background. It is Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. The Japanese guy in the previous picture actually said he made it to the top 5 times, a trek that takes about 2-3 weeks to complete! Another name for this mountain in Mt. McKinley.

We're having lots of fun!

She's a First Timer

My little Jaklyn's got her first set of painted nails. Rachel was getting her fingernails painted and I decided to paint Jaki's too. Matt held her and I tried to hold her feet, but she is pretty good at moving. If you would've seen her feet + my hands yesterday you would've thought someone was performing surgery. After Jaki was finished Rachel's dear uncle Matt painted her toenails. What a good uncle! I added a splash on my fingernails just so I wouldn't feel left out.

Jeff made the comment that Grandma Flake would be so proud!

Jeff also made the comment yesterday that Jaki's got the classic Flake trait: when she smiles her eyes dissappear.

I guess I'd have to agree.

If you have to inherit some traits I'd say you can't do much better than the Flake traits!

PS
We are missing Rachel! She went with Nae and Matt yesterday to the cabin and spent the night/day. Poor Jaki doesn't know what to do with herself. Her bath last night was a little somber. She has never spent a night (besides her first at the hispital) without her big sister. I wish I would be here to see Jaki's face when Rachel comes home tonight but I have to be at work, dangit.

And She's Off...

So much has gone on the past couple of months, but I haven't found the time (or maybe wanted to spend the time) uploading pictures. So until I decide I want to do that, here's a quick note for posterity's sake on the milestones Jaki is making.
On June 1st, about a week and a half shy of 8 months, she started crawling, and I mean the one-knee-in-front-of-the-other kind. She had been doing the one knee forward, one leg dragging behind kind of scooting (maybe thats called army crawling) for probably about 2-3 weeks, but she got the whole thing down on the 1st. Then 2 days later she decided to try for another milestone and pulled herself up to the couch. We were at Jeff's grandparent's cabin by Bear Lake and I guess thats where she got the inspiration. She just did it once while we were there, but now we can't keep her down or in one spot! She is quite the little mover.
She's also got her first ear infection, but we've been feeling pretty lucky that this is the first because Rachel had had either 2 or 3 by the time she was this age.

Wheel Rock You!

Last week Rachel was sitting on my lap while I was putting on my makeup and out of the blue told me,
"Mom, thank you for sharing my dreams with me."
A little background: She has a book that has about 10 verses to the song I'm a Little Teapot and that is one of the phrases in one of the verses.
Then a few seconds later she told me,
"Mom, thank you for sharing that nice little nap with me."
Background: She had taken a nap with me an hour or so earlier. The phrase she came up with on her own.

Then today we were on our way into town and Rachel brought a lid to her toy bucket that has holes in the shapes that the blocks fit into. She grabbed the lid in both hands and said, "Look, Mom, I'm driving!"
I asked her, "Is that your steering wheel?
She says, "Yeah" and than sets it back on the bucket, starts drumming and tells me its her drumming wheel.
"Your drumming wheel?" I ask her.
"Yeah, my drumming wheel"
Then I hear her babbling in a little sing-song voice, "Wheel. Wheel. Wheewel, wheewel. Wheewel, wheewel, wheewel. We will, we will rock you! We will, we will rock you!"
Isn't it crazy what goes through these kids heads and how much they can remember!

I guess I'd better go, because Jaki is about to jump right off my lap. That little Jackster is such a wiggle worm!

3 Posts In 1 Day!

I know I've already posted 2 times today, but I thought I'd post another picture of Jaki. The cute little girl is sitting up now, and when she lays on her belly she spins in circles, trying to find all the new toys. She is such a happy little baby!

Rachel's New Umbrella

Last Tuesday Rachel, Jaki and I went to Old Navy to look for some outfits for my new nieces, Mary and Marlee, and my great-nephew Jack. While I was browsing the clearance Rachel found this umbrella. She was so excited. I, being the mean mom that I am, told her when we were about to leave that she needed to put the umbrella back. She started throwing a fit, which made me all the more adamant that she didn't need the umbrella. I wrestled it out of her hands and put it back on the shelf, but then decided to look at one more outfit. Thats when I hear Rachel halfway sob, "I want the umbwewa to keep the wain off my head."
She won.

After Old Navy we walked over to TJ Maxx and Rachel was so cute with her little umbrella. I made her fold it up and put it in the cart in the store, but then as we were leaving she asks, "My bwewa, my bwewa!" and opened it and walked like a little princess back to the car. I didn't feel one bit sorry I got it for her.

Oh What Fun It Is To Ride...

So A couple weeks ago 2 of Jeff's uncles, an aunt, their families and his brother came up and we went sledding at The Sinks, a place at the top of Logan canyon. We rented a couple snowmobiles and had a blast. Rachel had so much fun. The weather was perfect, nice and sunny. We didn't hardly get cold at all. Rachel and Jaki went with the group that went back to Ephraim's Den (the cabin Grandpa Ron built at Bear Lake) around lunchtime and Jeff and I got to stay and have fun tubing. I think mostly the snowmobiles were used to pull the sledders back up to the top, but every once in a while someone would take them for a ride. Just before we went back to the cabin Jeff took me for a ride on one of the snowmobiles. I've always thought I was pretty gutsy when it comes to riding quads and dirtbikes, but I was pretty freaked out riding the snowmachine. When Jeff and I were just starting dating he took me and my roommates for a ride on his dirtbikes out near Sugarloaf and I told him I wanted him to go as fast as he could because I trusted him to not wreck, where I wouldn't be able to go fast by myself. I did not feel the same way this time. Maybe I've just gotten old, but I was so sure I was going to fly off the thing and break my head. The main thought in my head the whole ride was "My girls aren't going to have a mom anymore!" Sadly enough, I was a not too disappointed when the ride was over. Don't get me wrong, I had fun on it, I just couldn't believe how scared I was.

Anyway, here is a little movie I shot with my phone camera while I was sitting on the hood of the pickup where Jaki was asleep. (Sweet little girl slept in the pickup the whole time she was there.) I know it's going to be kinda hard to tell, but Jeff is laying down on his belly on the sled, Rachel climbs onto his back and down the hill they go.