A Day To Remember

To say that today was a typical Cooley day would not do it justice. I had homework, the kids were "bored", and there is more to do around here chore wise than I really care to get into right now. But, I managed to talk to few friends and connect, which always brightens my day, and I had a chance to have some one on one time with Alex. He is all boy, and all about making me laugh, or tyring to figure me out. He has such a sweetness about him that is rather mischievous. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but those of you who know him can relate. I am terribly bias to his charm and cuteness. I know that we are in real trouble with this one. All it takes is one flash of his smile, and you are gone...!

We were on a secret mission, (because everything with boys this age must either involve a weapon, something on wheels, or must be covert) to the store this afternoon. We were talking and getting the essentials, ice cream and drinks. He sees a girl from his class there and points out that she has a crush on him, then sees another boy from school and makes conversation with him. During the engaging chat about how they had met at school, and how cool it is that this other nine year old gets to work at the store, the boy is ripping off a huge band-aid from his knee to show us his latest war wound, and proudly announces how he got those stitches. Awesome!
I tried to warn him not to take off the bandage, because it would not stick again, but he ignored me, go figure.

After the gripping tale, we made our way to the cashier, paid for our loot and went out the door. After we got into the truck, Alex struck up another conversation, one that I likely will never forget. As we near the end of our journey he tells me that he knows what men think. HUH? "You know what men think?" I asked him. "Yep, I do." came his confident reply. Without missing a beat I turn to him and say that he MUST tell me what he knows. Smiling that smile at me, he retorted, "Mom, you have to figure that out for yourself." "I have been trying for 35 years to figure out what men think, and now you say you have the answer...you have to tell me what you know."

Inside, my gut was splitting. I could not wait for the answer. He said to me that some men he knows, not Dad, but some other men, think that other women they are not married to are..........................(pause was added by him for affect I think).

He was stunned that I beat him to the punch. "Hot?" I asked. "Yeah, they do! And some guys don't even know how to fix things. And some guys like girl stuff too. Like me, I like pink and I am not ashamed to admit it!"

Holy Cow! How old is this kid? And who are these other men besides Dad anyway? I am telling you, this was mom gold! I was hanging on his every word. For that moment he totally had me wrapped...I wonder of he noticed? It was brilliant.
And to top it off, we saw a rainbow. He likes them, more girl stuff. But it could not have been more appropriate if I had planned it myself. Nothing like a little boy, who thinks he's a man, getting excited over a beautiful rainbow and wondering if there really is any gold at the end of it.

Well, I can tell you that today, there certainly was!

Wilderness Reveiled!

The road to nowhere

It's been brought to my attention that many of you may not completely understand where it is that we now live. So to clarify and help you get the gist of it, I took another look at my pictures and decided to take another this morning.

There is nothing to see here that you can't see everywhere in Wyoming, except for us of course! The rolling hills of sage brush are more green than I have ever seen. I can look out of any window of my house and see for miles and miles. There is virtually nothing to obstruct my view.
We have a variety of wildlife that graces us with their presence daily. Among them are various birds, mostly robins, doves and chickadees, deer that eat our lawn and scrubs, bunnies, antelope, foxes and our favorite the "fairy dogs". We keep telling her they are prairie dogs, but it's really no use!

This is "country livin"...redneck heaven actually. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I do have to say the peace and quiet is beginning to grow on me. We see the sun everyday, the sunset, moon and stars every night. I know it may sound silly to some, but having nothing but cloud cover for years at a time, you forget how truly marvelous the wonders of nature can be. I forgot just how much I missed watching the sun set. The colors and the feeling it brings to me are very soothing to my soul. I am grateful for the simple things in life, more than ever before.

Thanks to Misty...this one's for you babe!

Little Swimmers

Our new favorite past time is swimming. All three kids have completed one set of swim lessons this summer. Cheridyn passed through to level 1, Camryn and Alex both passed to level 4. They will taking those classes in August.

It has been so great to have the rec center just down the block, a huge life saver for me! It is the cheapest form of entertainment we have around here, and we can go as often as we like. It's funny to think that just last summer, Alex was the only one confident enough to swim unaided. Now, Camryn is right up there with him, swimming and jumping off the diving board like a pro!

And let's talk about the two year old! Holy cow, talk about no fear....that is Cheridyn. She loves to jump off the diving board, and no one can help her. She loves to go down the water slide. She will get out and jump or slide again and again. I timed her one time, she did it for over an hour! She slept really good that night.

That is what we have been up too, swimming and swimming and more swimming. If you haven't done it in a while, I suggest you get out there and do at least one belly flop...and please don't pee in the pool!

And if you are wondering, Scott and I are swimming too! Most of the time we have the pool pretty much to ourselves, so we aren't scaring that many people.

Happy Father's Day

Scott and I had a fantastic weekend together, just the two of us, in order to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We (I) got caught up in it so much, I forgot that it was father's day unitl after we arrived back home on Sunday night...oooppps! He never said a word because that is his nature. He says he really doesn't care about celebrating stuff like that. But even if that is true, I want my kids to celebrate him, regardless! He is the best Dad I know. And our kids are so blessed to have a man in their lives who takes the time to play, and laugh and show affection towards them daily. I am constantly in awe of the father/child relationships growing in our home.



I guess because I never had that growing up, it is a constant source of both joy and confusion for me. And though I hate to admit it out loud, I occasionally feel pangs of jealousy when I see my husband wrapping his arms around his daughters. Not because I wish he didn't, but because I never had that as a child and I wonder what it would have been like. That being said, having this family, watching them interact with their father, heals my heart in so many ways it is difficult to put into words.



These are the Lord's tender mercies at work in my life. I know that He is very aware of me and my little family. I am so grateful to my husband for the sacrifices he makes for us everyday, both big and small. It's not too many a man who will give up what they want, in order for their family to have what they need or even just want sometimes. Not too many men will step back and let their wives hold the reigns and never criticize the out come, even when it's unfavorable.


Not too many men will say out loud how much they love and admire their best friend. And not any other man will ever hold the status of this man in my heart. He is the real deal. For better or worse, in sickness and health (and yes that does include mental health ), for rest of this life and the next, I will always be grateful for what he has given, and taken and made whole.

Happy 10th Anniversary!

Oh the joy and rapture that comes from reaching a milestone!
We have accomplished a lot in 10 years of marriage, who'd a thunk it?
Our celebration will begin after we drop the kids off at mom's this
weekend and go on our merry way to enjoy each other's company ALONE!

Yeah....I am so in love with this man. This has been the hardest and best experience of my life so far. Three great kids and many moves around the country, and we are still laughing and loving one another. All I can say, is I hope this lasts forever!

Oh by the way, he is so stuck with me...never, ever getting this one off the hook. Besides, I now qualify for HIS social security...HAHAHAHA! A bit of an inside joke...

YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU BABE! Happy Anniversary!

Is It Summer Yet?

This is question of the day. Wyoming weather can change in an instant. Friday, it was 80! I mowed the lawn, got a sunburn, and thought to myself, "I LOVE the sun!" I think I even thanked the Lord for it. After spending the last few summers in a temperate rain forrest, we are all glad to see the sun on a regular basis. However, our new next-door neighbor has informed us that the weather we have been having here in Hanna, is very odd. I told him that we must have brought it with us from Alaska. He quickly agreed, adding,"It never rains like this in Wyoming!"

Well, since that glorious Friday, we have had, wind, rain, snow, sleet, and hail! Today, we woke up to snow. Then the wind really kicked up. The sun came out and melted the snow quickly. Just before lunch, the wind decided to howl again, and then came the hail, followed by more snow!

It is amazing to me how fast weather can come in. There was little visibility, and it looked like January, except for the green grass and leaves on the trees! Ice in Hell...yep! I have proof!

I have heard horror stories about the weather here. But, hey, we are NOT complaining! We know full well that it could be worse. And I still feel like I did when I was a kid...bad weather makes for great baking! The kids and I are off to make some cookies. I think a fire in the fireplace is in order as well! Hot chocolate...ummmmm! Just the other day we had a BBQ and made snow cones! Oh well, you have to make the best of whatever life brings your way. Today, we are enjoying the finer things...snuggled up with one another. Stay warm!

I Know it's Been 6 Months!

I found myself looking at this blog back in January, thinking surely I will keep this up and bridge all the gaps in the 6 years we spent in Alaska! But I haven't. With school and busy mom life, oh yeah and a cross continental move in the mix, I found many excuses to not to blog. But recently I have found new inspiration, or competition depending on how you look it! There are so many great blogs out there! Many friends have shared their families stories with me through this medium and I feel compelled to keep up with the Jones's...Perkin's, Smith's and whoever else is out there bogging there family routines and fun times. Thanks for sharing and inspiring me to continue.

I know, I know... I have to go back, and I will (eventually) add to the lost Alaska years. But for now, I have to start somewhere and that somewhere is here in Hanna, Wyoming, our home for now. We got here back in April and have been moving in, renovating, and blazing new trails in this here old west! It has been fun, and not so fun. But never the less, here we are and we are making the best of it!

We have had birthdays and baptisms, shopping sprees ( YEAH!) and a few trips back to Utah for visits and fun times with friends and family! We are so glad to be back in the world! I can not even put into words, how happy we all are to be closer to you all! Although, we are still missing wonderful friends back in Juneau. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see you again. But for now, this blog will have to do! Watch the slide show...more to come.

What A City Girl Does When She Can't Shop...

Here is a slide show of some of the family activities and other things we did while living in King Salmon. The pictures tell some of the story. Our kids were pretty little when we got there, and looking back, it makes me realize just how fast the time has gone. This is a small glimpse of one of the experiences that have helped to shape our lives for the better.




I found myself forced to learn new things here. I also found that you can take the girl out of the city, but you can never really take the city out of the girl. There was nothing for me to do that I was used to and it was HARD to adjust. I would be lying if I said that ever did. I wished everyday I was there, that we could go somewhere else. I did grow spiritually from this experience. My testimony of just how much the Lord is a real presence in our lives, grew tremendously. I had to rely on Him in a way that I had never done before and it made all the difference. I have since related this story many times, saying that I am aware of how much more God knows what we need than we do.

I would have never in a million years chosen to move to this place! I would have never chosen these experiences for myself. But He knew what I needed and why I needed it. After being there for some time, we realized that we needed a bit bigger place which could offer more opportunities for our kids. We chose Juneau. Still Alaska, but far from the bush...

Leaving King Salmon was not as easy as I thought it would be. I knew I would probably never be back, and I was going to miss the people we met there. I was going to miss the Spirit that I always felt. It was there in King Salmon that I began to find myself, in the last place I would have ever looked.

God knew that I needed to be shocked to my core, taken way out of my comfort zone, and made to find my own way, before I could truly appreciate the things I have always had. Faith, love and happiness which has always existed in my life. Now I can recognize and truly appreciate it and never, ever take it for granted again.

Where It All Began

Our journey began April 27,2002. That was the day we officially arrived in the Alaskan "bush". King Salmon, Alaska...population 385. Where is that? See the map.