Catching up...BIG TIME

OK so I know I have been HORRIBLE at blogging! I apologize. It is really hard to upload any pictures because of the Internet I am on and my camera totally died so i have nothing to post and without pictures I get less motivated to post stuff. But I got a new camera for my birthday from my sweet Husband so I am going to be posting again and hopefully way more often. So here comes the ridiculously long catch up.....Get ready....Get set.....GO!

Work...

Brian and I eating lunch in the truck one cold day at the mine.

Work is good(?). Work is work lets put it that way. We have been working really hard to get as much gold as we can but this property is making that tough. Alright I will confess when I say "we" I really mean everyone but me. I do the cooking and cleaning for everyone out here (15-18people) so I am not apart of the gold finding process really, I just keep their tummy's full so they can do all the hard work :) Right now we are trying to bring everything to a close for the season though and we will see what happens (its very complicated and will totally bore everyone so I will spare you the details). It is officially winter here...yes, Winter! So that is motivating me to be done here and go to Wasilla where we have a NICE & warm home waiting for us. Lets just say I can't wait!

Summer...

This Summer my parents and my Aunt and Uncle came to visit Brian and I here in Alaska. It was so much fun to have family here and I loved every minute of it.
So because none of my family has ever been to Alaska, Brian and I became their tour guides for quite the road trip. We went all over the place while they were here. We started in Anchorage where we picked them up and headed straight to Seward (3 hour drive) where we spent the night and had great sea food. Seward is supposed to be absolutely Beautiful and it was while we were there but we didn't get to see as much as we wanted because it was really really foggy. While we were there though we did see two Bald Eagles sour above us and perch on a lamp post for quite a while. They were magnificent!

Brian and I in front of a part of a glacier that fell off and drifted.

Brian saw a part of the glacier floating near shore so he scooped it
up and we took it with us. It kept our drinks cold in the cooler for days :)

The next day we woke up early and drove 2hrs to Homer where we were to go Deep Sea Fishing! Aunt Kathy and Mom didn't want to go on the boat because of fear of motion sickness (a good thing they didn't go, Uncle Mark did get sick). It was a wonderful time though. We all really enjoyed our time there in the little town of Homer right on the ocean coast and fully of fishermen and all the culture that comes with it. We each could catch 2 halibut that day and so we went home with a tasty treat :)

My mom bought all of us girls "Alaskan" shirts so we sported these the day we went to Homer.

Me in my Alaskan shirt and boots with my dads "lucky" hat.

Mom and Dad in front of the boat we went fishing on.

Uncle Mark making a funny face on the boat.

Brian reeling in one of his fish.

Me reeling in my fish. Yes it is really hard and yes I did get tired and yes I did it all by myself :)

The deck hand Juliet helping dad get his fish out.

So after we were done fishing that day we drove 5hrs back to Wasilla. We got there really late that night and spent the next two days relaxing and enjoying the time there.

Me and Laura on the deck of Brian's Parents house.

While we were in Wasilla we also went to a glacier you can walk out on. It was Beautiful and cool.

All of us in front of the Mat-Su Glacier.

Dad and I on the glacier.

Brian and I on the glacier.

And of course we took Laura with us :)

The next leg of the trip was to go to Fairbanks. On the way to Fairbanks from Wasilla the road goes right though Denali National Park (aka Mt. McKinley). Once again the weather did not cooperate with us and my family was not able to see any of the spectacular mountains that surrounded us. The girls did get to do some Alaska souvenir shopping though so the was a plus.
So we finally arrived in Fairbanks (after a 6-7 hour drive) and went straight to North Pole, Alaska (15 minutes past Fairbanks) and went to The Santa Clause House! That was a blast. I had drove past it in the past but hadn't ever been there. It was so fun to walk into a place that was completely Christmas even in August. The town of North Pole actually is always Christmas themed with all their lamp posts painted like candy canes and theirs stores always have Christmas decorations and lights up. What a wonderful place to go :)

Brian and I with Santa

Laura and I on Santa's Lap

Laura came to the North Pole with us too!

My parents in Santa's Sleigh.

The next day was Sunday so we all went to church and then headed straight to the mine. Aparently this was the highlight of the trip for my family. They were so excited to see where Brian and I live and what we do and how the mine runs and all the fun stuff. I think it went well, my Dad even let me show him how to run and excavator and he dug a couple holes in our pay pile :)

Dad with the excavator loading the haul truck.

Aunt Kathy with the 40 Ton Haul/Dump Truck

The Parents in front of the D11.

All of us minus Brian in front of the D11. (CAT's biggest dozer, second biggest made in the world)

Me teaching my dad to run the excavator.

The Travel's in front of our Trammel (wash plant)

The next day was the day my family left...sad. But it was a great trip with them and we enjoyed showing them all about Alaska. OH and the best part of the trip for me was to share the news with my family that Brian and I are expecting a little on in March! So my parents got to see Alaska in the winter and will be here in March for the arrival of Baby Baker when the whole place is covered in snow.

All in all the summer was great and I loved having my family here. P.S. Any family that is reading this, you are more than welcome to come and stay with us anytime you would like :)

Baby Baker ...

Brian and I found out we were pregnant the night before we picked my family up from the airport when they came to visit and kept it from them for a few days. It was really fun to tell both our families and to cry (happy emotional cry of course) with my mother about it in person. It couldn't of happened at a more perfect time. We are so excited to be having a baby and welcoming this new addition into our lives soon.

Here is a Picture of me at 16 weeks. (just looking fat not pregnant)

Me at 18 weeks.
A few days after I turned 18 weeks I started to feel the baby kick. I has been really fun and makes me feel better because it assures me the baby is doing well. Brian and I are going to be finding out if its a boy or girl on November 10th and we are so excited! I will post the outcome as soon as I can.

The family at the Baptism.
We got a few days off when Brian's grandparents came up for Wyatt's Baptism. It was so fun to be with the whole family.

Mt. McKinley
After a few days off in Wasilla we flew back to the mine and every time we fly that way we get to go right past Mt. McKinley. It is absolutely beautiful. Just thought I would share with you how it looks while flying past it :)

Thats all for now but I am going to really try and do better and I think I will considering I will actually be in civilization. We will be on vacation for 5 weeks starting November 13th so don't count on post during that time but when I get back I will post all about our travels....So long for now.