Our Journey to Forever

Butte Hike

2010-06-27T19:44:00.008-08:00

We took advantage of a beautiful Saturday morning to hike the Butte. It was Charly's first hike and she did great! The bugs were awful! There were parts that we ran through just to get past the bugs, but we had a good time.

Charly was amazed at how tall the trees were.
She would get behind and run as fast as she could to catch up with the bigger kids.

Caitlyn loved this big rock on the side of the trail.

Stopped at the lookout...
Two little hiker men.....

...and a hiker princess!!

Caitlyn, Mom, and Emmy

The girls..................
David and Caitlyn

Yummy trail mix!

Proof that David was there ;)

Emmy just wore herself out with all that walking.

Dawson loved being outside and loved being a "Hikerman" even more.

Austin carefully removing the unwanted elements from his trail mix.

A girl and her Daddy....

All in all it was a great day. We didn't make it to the top since Charly couldn't handle the boulder climbing and having Emmy in the carrier threw off my center of gravity. But the boys have vowed to return and try again another day. So maybe there will be another adventure at the Butte this summer!

A warm afternoon in the sprinkler

2010-06-27T19:23:00.003-08:00

It was very warm afternoon one day and the kids wanted to play in the sprinkler. (All except Austin who stayed inside to get some quiet time.) They tried really hard to spin in circles through the water spray. I caught them in different parts of their spin which is why some of the pictures are of weird positions.

My beautiful Charly bug...

Charly didn't want to run through the water so she would run around the sprinkler.

Caitlyn did pretty good.

Dawson was pretty good at getting all the way around.

She finally ran through a couple of times.

Kindergarten graduation!!!!

2010-05-23T20:02:00.006-08:00

My little Caitlyn graduated from Kindergarten this week on Thursday May 19th. I'm so proud of her she did really well and had the equivalent of straight A's. It was a difficult time for me with a cranky toddler, fussing baby, and the now infamous chair incident. But when all was said and done we were very proud of our little girl!!

Caitlyn gets her diploma from Ms. Johanson
Getting ready to perform

I love the little kindergarten songs...

Winter sure is a cold season ;)

4 seasons in a year...

I think she is blowing me a kiss...

Or givingme the evil eye!!!

Caitlyn was so good getting ready to sing.

Campfire FHE

2010-05-23T19:25:00.002-08:00

A couple weeks ago we had a campfire FHE. Austin built a fire and we roasted hotdogs and then made smores, all in our back yard. The kids had a blast and I think even the dogs had a good time. The weather was perfect, nice and sunny with a slight breeze. It felt so nice to be outside after a long winter.

Austin's fire building in progress

A thumbs up from the fire builder.

Father and daughter making some smores.

Emmy just couldn't stay up for all the excitement. ;)

Isn't she so pretty?:)

Slappy was waiting around for an opportunity to share in the goodies.

On of my handsome boys. Dawson was playing football most the time of course.

You know the old saying, 'Smoke follows beauty". ;)

Mmmmm!! Marshmallows!!!

Charly just couldn't help herself. Most her food ended up on her face.

2010-05-14T19:14:00.003-08:00

This week was filled with Charly moments. We got a glimpse of how fun it is to be a two year old. I'm sure there will be lots more moments as time goes by. But here are a few from the week...

On Saturday she helped Daddy fix the dryer. (now if only it had been sucessful!!)

Charly the mechanic ;)

What happens when the day is just too full of adventures...

So cute when they are asleep!!!!!

Charly decided that she needed to be the great bug warrior and get all the bugs that might be lurking in the house.

And she wrapped up the week on Friday by playing with her popcorn while her big brothers and sister were out playing....

Painting with popcorn is fun!!!!

At least she is happy!

Scout o Rama Pinewood derby

2010-04-25T20:46:00.003-08:00

Yesterday was Scout o Rama and the boys' Pinewood derby finals. It is always fun to see them int he big races. Unfortunatly the girls and I stayed home since Emmy was sick and the boys were going to have to be there all day. But they had a great time. Austin fell somewhere in the middle of the pack. He was a little dissapointed since he took 3rd last year, but he had fun racing. Dawson gave the Weblos a run for their money. He won 4 of his heats and took 2nd in two more. He ended up 8th overall. We were very proud of him!!!

This is the numbers for one of Dawson's heats. He took first and his friend Taft too 3rd.
Dawson was very excited when his car came in first!

Some of the cool cars that were there....

Some more cool cars. Dawson's is the one 3rd row from the left at the very top. He had Bakugan stickers on it.

Another shot of Dawson's car but a little blurry....

Austin's car is the one in the second row from the right second from the bottom. He drew flames on his car...

Another picture of the cars there. I think David takes these for inspiration for next year. ;)

Easter and April...Showers????

2010-04-25T16:27:00.003-08:00

Emmy's first Easter passed pretty quickly and we enjoyed it. We spent a week trying to make Easter as much about Christ as possible and the kids enjoyed the extra time we spent each day talking about what the Savior did during that day Easter week. Then we had a great dinner with our family at my Mom's.

We thought Spring had finally come and then we woke up to a week that ended up giving us somewhere around 8 inches of snow!!! I'm just hoping these April "showers" don't delay my May flowers!!!!

Charly is excited to get one last snowball to eat for the year.

The kids went out to play in the snow. As I had it explained to me, Austin was an animal and Dawson and Caitlyn were the hunters. Hmmmm think they like Alaska???

A successful hunt

I think they are trying to figure out how to carry their catch home...

Even though I'm done with Winter, you have to admit that snow sure is pretty!!

The kids' Easter baskets. Who doesn't want their cream egg??? Yum!!! :)

STAR WARS!!

2010-04-25T15:55:00.006-08:00

Anchorage had a traveling exhibit of Star Wars items and the science behind some of the technology and special effects. The kids all loved it....well most of them. Caitlyn screamed and cried going into every room. David ended up having to carry her or I should say drag her through most of it. But all in all it was a very cool exhibit!!

Proof that she was there. This was the only picture she would take because, "I only like R2-D2."

Austin tried to learn how to drive a land speeder. He said it was really hard.

And I quote, "Uh Ohhhhhh!!"

Dawson spent a lot of time learning how to manage a moisture farm.....

and plan a city on Tatooine

Charly was excited to find someone her own size!

David insisted the Queens get their picture together.

Crossed over to the dark side, they have.

I'm not sure if Chewie looks bigger or Charly looks smaller when the stand together.

What can I say, Boys love droids....

And apparently so do girls....

Austin said this would be his dream first car.... I BET!!

2010-04-11T20:05:00.009-08:00

Well today was the first time using our Sunday box. We spent a FHE filling a box with all the things we can do on Sundays. My chosen Sunday activity to complete each week is update this. As I have so many activites to catch up on I will just put a small explanation for each picture. Hopefully in the future I will be able to put much more information as I stay on top of things...

Even Huddleston Women love ice cream..

Grandma came to visit us in February for two weeks. We loved having Grandma Huddleston here. We were sorry to see her visit go way too fast. She had a good time sitting in her rocking chair and reading books while rocking Emmy. We enjoyed showing her that winter in Alaska isn't as bad as she imagined it to be.

I can't seem to stop taking pictures of my newest addition. It probably helps that she hardly ever cries. She usually has a smile on her face and is such a beautiful baby.

Even Daddy gets tired with a new baby in the house.

This is what Emmy wore her first Sunday to church.

Such happy kids. They were excited to take Emmy to church for the first time.

Little Charly and her Slappy McFiddles

The big sisters

You can take the girl out of the country but.....

All dressed up and waiting for Daddy

Beautiful little lady

My Charly bug

David and Kathryn surprised me when Kathryn flew up for a visit. I couldn't believe they kept that a secret for 5 months!!! It was so great to see my best friend for a few days. It was like we had never been apart. Dawson when he woke up he came out into the front room said, "oh hi." Then rubbed his eyes, took a second look and yelled, "KATHRYN!!!" and ran to hug her. We were very sad when her visit came to an end as well. My kids are still asking when she is going to come back. The picture below is of Emmy and Kathryn's 8 month old Reagan. Charly loved having Reagan here. They played together so well.

Charly and Reagan

We were lucky enough to be able to bless Emmy while David's mom was visiting. She was so pretty in her blessing dress. Of course it was HUGE on her little 6 lb self.

The folowing pictures are just some random shots I have taken over the last few weeks. These are some of my favorites!

Total Diva!!

What I really like to do on a Sunday afternoon

My crew

My boys with their personalities

My beautiful girls

Sleepy baby

Caitlyn's beautiful eyes

Oh so handsome, and bored!

Twins?.... yep Irish ones! ;)

Such a pretty girl

Introducing Emilie Rosalie

2010-02-24T14:13:00.004-09:00

Our 5th little angel has made her appearance. Sorry it took so long to get back to the blog, but life is crazy as usual.

Emilie Rosalie was born at 5:37 am on January 29th 2010. She weighed 6 lbs and 6 oz and was 19 inches long. The labor was about 18 hours long and she was born in a water bath with her daddy and some very wonderful midwifes in attendance.

She so far is a wonderful baby. She enjoys the attention that her big brothers and sister lavish on her. And she constantly smiles and even giggles in her sleep. In fact she actually talks in her sleep. It is the cutest thing to hear. Charly has claimed Emmy as hers and is extrememly possesive of her. Dawson as usual is smitten with her and loves to just sit and hold her.

Emmy sleeps pretty well at night for such a little thing and never really cries which her daddy is grateful for. She loves to be held and will only sleep if she is being held or in her Boppy.

I just want to thank everyone for their prayers and support along the way. They were truly appreciated.

I finally got a working comp!!!

2009-04-15T10:38:00.002-08:00

Yeah!!! Finally got a computer that works! (Thanks Katie and Dave!!) Will hopefully get this all updated soon. but in the mean time I saw this and thought it was Awesome! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k

Funny what makes you feel old

2008-12-10T18:52:00.000-09:00

Lately I have been running into a lot of people that I grew up with. Some of them haven't aged a day, and some of them I barely recognized. I must admit that I had one of those moments just a couple days ago.....

I was at Target with the girls and I decided to grab a quick bite to eat at the little cafeteria there. As I sat down with the girls at a table I noticed a guy at the table directly beside us staring intently at me. At first I was a little unnerved, but as I glanced up I realized that I knew this guy. I knew I went to high school with him and I knew he played hockey, but his name eluded me. So after several minutes I decided to just take a stab in the dark, so I said, "excuse me but is your name Jamie Mack?" He immediately started laughing and said he should be offended by that but that they hung out together and that he knew who I was. So I said "come on help me out here!" and the instant he said his name I turned red in the face. "Doug Massie." How could I NOT recognize the son of the lead detective on my sister's case?????

Well we continued to talk and catch up with people we both knew. He is a Trooper now himself, got to work with his dad for 9 years which I thought was exceptionally cool. He has one little boy and they were expecting their first little girl any day.

Eventually I asked how his dad was doing in retirement and he said he was good, but he began to tell me that my sisters case was still the one that got him to this day. He still talks about it frequently and gets really upset that the guy "got away with it."

After a moment I looked him straight in the eye and told him that he could tell his Dad that I was at peace with the whole thing. That at the time my little sister and brothers were very young and a trial was probably the last thing they needed to go through. And as far as I was concerned God would make it all right in the end.

At that moment I was extremely glad that I had come to complete forgiveness 7 years ago and I meant every word I said.

We soon finished our respective lunches and headed our separate ways promising to run into each other again someday in this "great metropolis" of ours. ;) And as he walked away I found myself eternally grateful for the gospel and the truths which I hold so dear. (And then I kicked myself HARD for not having a pass along card on me! Great Ward mission leader's wife I am!!)

So as we approach this wonderful time of Christmas, I want you all to know that I hold each and every one of you dear to my heart and am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity to know each of you and to my Savior for providing a way that we can be family and friends forever. Merry Christmas!!! (and to all a good night!! ;) )

2008-12-07T18:55:00.000-09:00

Wow time sure flies!!! I thought I just started this thing last week, but I guess it has been a little longer than that. ;)

Well we survived October and November with barely a scrape and I can't believe it is already December!! Where did the time go?!?!?!

Well Caitlyn is 5 and Charly is 1 now. But they think it is hilarious to switch roles as seen here. Caitlyn plays a very convincing toddler and Charly likes to play mommy with Caitlyn's baby doll. Hopefully Santa will bring her a baby doll all her own! ;)

Austin is still 7 and very ready to be 8 if for no other reason as he can participate in cub scouts and it will count toward something. He also is becoming more of a little man in wanting to take care of himself in those little ways that I have been so use to doing. It is nice to see your kids grow up but hard to let them do it.

Charly is extrememly photogenic and will smile for the camera whenever it is present. This is probably my favorite shot of her. Although I had to take 15 to get that one.

So the other day I go to the back of the house to put some laundry away and when I came back out a few seconds later I found Charly in the following predicament. She was laughing histerically and throwing handfuls of flour all over the floor. Apparently she was trying to make it snow inside. This was so remanant of when the boys were little and the "sugar incident" I had to laugh and grab my camera. As you can see she had a blast!

OK! OK! You win!!!

2008-07-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

I had enough people telling me that I needed to start a blog, so I finally gave in. Seemed like the perfect day to do it too. Pouring rain outside, (yes David it does more than sprinkle here), and Hubby is up on the slope for a couple days.

I have to admit that I have no idea what I am doing. In my opinion I am the boringest person on the planet. (You don't all have to agree so quickly!) But then again I can brag about my kids all day! :)

As this is my first entry I will get everyone caught up on what we are up to:

David is loving his new job. He has a great boss, and enough liberals at work to keep him busy. Although he really does miss his "discussions" with Eric. He doesn't mind the commute so much anymore since his boss lets him come in whenever he wants pretty much. So he can wait out the bad times if necessary. I am still pushing for that telecommute, would save me a ton on gas!!!

Dawson is most definatly still Dawson. Loves all things sports. Recently became very excited about baseball thanks to Uncle Dale. He is a very energetic 8 year old who loves scouts, and recently finished his Wolf badge. He will start 3rd grade next year. I still can't believe he is that old! :0

Austin is 7 and can't wait to be 8. He is such a great little helper. Mr. Dependable. Loves taking care of Charly. He and Dawson like to ride their bikes (2 WHEELERS!!! YAY!!!!) all over the yard. Apparently in our universe, superheroes save energy by biking to work! Ausitn is definatly Mr.Fix it. Anytime anything breaks or he wants to make something, he come up with a very detailed idea as how to remedy the situation. He also has a million ideas for making a $1. He is either going to be an engineer or a millionaire.

Caitlyn, oh what can I say about Caitlyn, other than "Thank you Amy!!!" If ever there was a clone I think this is it. Caitlyn can be adorably sweet when she wants to be. Snuggles and hugs and kisses all day. But then you do or say something she doesn't like (which in my case is quite often), and the screaming starts. I think I am personally keeping advil in business. I keep telling myself: "It's just a phase! It's just a phase!!"

And little Charly. Now that little girl will steal your heart and run away with it. She has the absolutly most beautiful, engaging smile you ever saw. She never leaves Fred Meyer with out a new friend. She loves to give big slobbery kisses and hugs. And her laugh, Oh my goodness! You can't help but laugh with her! Poor thing is cursed with her mother's genes though. She is only as big as a baby a little less than half her age. Tiny little thing!!!

And as for me. Well to put it in a nut shell I am going insane!!! I am the Wolf den leader at church and that keeps me on my toes especially considering all 4 kids go with me, the bears leader was released and there are no weblos. I also am currently doing a musical for our Stake Women's Conference. We are doing the Ten virgins and yes it goes without saying, I am Nava- QUEEN of the foolish virgins! We will be preforming the first weekend in August, so life will slow down a little bit after that.