Ah, Gunner. :) I had to share a quote from him today. "I think we should all bulldoze our snow into one big snowpile. Because then it would be summer and we could play in the sprinkler". Ha!

How low can you go??

A while back Chris and the boys made a huge snowman in our front yard. The weather then became really warm and then we had wind and then it got pretty cold. Our snowman has been slowly leaning more and more to it's current position. I just am amazed that it never broke. It has stayed completely together. When Marie came over she mentioned how it looked like it was doing the limbo. I couldn't agree more!

Now it has a nice cozy blanket covering him too.

DisneyLand!!!!

We just got back from a great trip to sunny southern California. Thank you so much Grammy, we had a great time! We visited SeaWorld on the first day and the kids got to see the whales, sting rays, dolphins, and other cool sea creatures. We also enjoyed the other fun activities they had there including the "Journey to Atlantis" which was a water slide type ride. We all got a little wet on that one much to the enjoyment of the boys!


The next day we spent in DisneyLand. We explored decided to focus on one half of the park on the first day (we had a three day park hopper pass) so we didn't feel quite so overwhelmed. Tucker and Gunner were chosen to be trained as Jedi Padowans (sp?). I was so relieved that they were two of the many kids they picked out of the crowd because they had been looking forward to that part of Disney so much. For the final test Gunner fought Darth Vader, and Tucker fought Darth Mal. So we now have two certified Jedi padowan's in our house!
The next day we went to Laguna beach. There was a cool mist that covered everything for the first hour or so and then it finally lifted so we could actually see where we were. The mist made for some neat pictures. Gunner definately had the most fun playing in the waves.

After the day at the beach it was back to DisneyLand for day two! We spent the second day at the DisneyLand California Adventure park. Raegan and Calvin especially liked Bug's land. Gunner really liked the Scream roller coaster ride, I think that is what it was called. Tucker liked the more laid back rides better. We sure had a great time being able to see how much fun the kids were having. The day at the California Adventure park ended with the coolest parade. We all then headed back to DisneyLand for the lightshow that would be going on. Annette really wanted for us all to see it and I am so glad that we did. The show was so incredible. They used a fine mist of water as the projector screen and also had fireworks and real props and crazy stuff. It was so cool. We were all so captivated that we didn't take any pictures!
Disney was getting ready for Christmas when we were there so all the streets and rides were lavishly decorated. So pretty!

The next day we went back to Disney land and checked out all we hadn't seen yet. Just a lot of fun and such a great time away from the routine as a family.

RaeRae warning the birdie to watch out!

Raegan made all sorts of new friends on our trip to California; Mickey, Minnie and others, but the cutest was her friendship with a Seagull. Watch closely and you'll see her point at the incoming wave as a warning to her new friend. We'll post more about our trip later, but wanted to get this one up right away.

Moose Calls

Listen to my kids' moose calls. I'm one proud papa.

Snow came early this year and the kids wasted no time getting out and enjoying it. Snow angels came first, then sledding.

A fresh coating of snow makes everything look so beautiful.

Tucker looks so grown up in this picture doesn't he?

3d Movie

Kids' first 3D movie.

My Wife Needs Help

I have a lovely wife........but she needs help. If anyone knows of a program called CA (Crafters Anonymous) could you send the info. to me. Look at her wreath party invitations. Each brown pine from the pine cones were cut off and individually trimmed to shape and glued down. Then she picked sunflower seeds out of our bird seed and individually glued them in place. After that she laid a layer other, much smaller, seeds inside the wreath and finished it off with a bow made of grass. As if taking care of 4 kids (5 with me), homeschooling, and running her business wasn't enough she does this. She needs help- Please pray for her. :)

Homeschooling fun

I have been having such a great time with the boys in homeschool this year. We are doing WinterPromises' American History curriculum and right now we are learning all about the different native American tribes and the different ways of life they had. Part of the curriculum includes making different indian (mini-)dwellings. Check it out! We also have been working on different baskets and things that were made in abundance then. We weaved a basket out of newspaper, made pottery, made a burden basket out of a brown paper bag and accessories, fun stuff. And to keep myself from taking over their projects I 've been making my own samples too! :)

Dodging balls

Tucker Graham DeLong

Our biggest little man is 8 years old!! His birthday was on September 19th, but Daddy was gone hunting so we had his party on the 27th. We invited some family and friends to come to the AT&T sports complex for games and food. They have a pretty nice set up where you can have private use of one of their courts and a party room. Chris took charge of the games, hence the dodgeball of death game. The boys took turns standing alone on the wall while the other boys had time to take aim and then when given the cue by Chris they fired away. Luckily no one left with big ole welts or bruises....for crying out loud. The boys thought it was great fun! My favorite part was that after it was all over I didn't have to clean my house!! Woo Hoo!

I also heard that the men of the family liked the idea of going to a court as well. Calli told me that this was the first birthday party where Klint was telling her not to be late. Haha! Anyways we all had a lot of fun.

Muddy Fun

This is a video that wouldn't fit on Hunting Post. This is on the Rex trail. Sorry it's sideways I forgot when I was video taping.

Hunting Trip

Chris again. We went North for some moose hunting. We were gone for 7 days and during the first 4 I didn't see a single moose. On the 5th day I saw a cow and calf in the morning, then Mark and I rode 19 miles back on a trail and found the mountains that are in the video below. It doesn't do the area justice; vast, exspansive, never ending are just some words that could describe the area.Mark and I saw 4 cows and (we're pretty sure) a bull the first 4 hours we were there. We went in after the bull but he gave us the slip. However, the good news was that we found an area that we were all looking for, high country that we could glass. The next day we all rode back in (20 miles), roasted some dogs, glassed the hills, saw numerous moose, then half of us headed down into the valley to hunt. We were able to get into some moose and finally came across a



legal bull. I ended up being the fortunate one in the right place at the right time to take the shot. I hit it a bit high (shoulder/ lung) and ruined a bit of meat (darn!). It was the last night of the hunt. We got back to camp at 2am, slept, and were on our way the next morning. A 60" bull ran across the road on our way home- Murphy's law.

Fall Hunting

This is Chris again. After a long winter those spring days are hard to beat, however in my opinion the fall days of September hunting with some of my boys are the best days Alaska has to offer. I took Tucker and Calvin up to Baldie again- same place where we camped on the 4th of July. I know the chances of me bagging a moose with two little ones is unlikely, but that's not why I go with them. At home I feel like I compete for my kids' attention and they mine, but on Baldie with nothing else to distract them being a father is easier.

Tucker made a moose call from a stick and a piece of fire wood and Calvin..... I'm not sure what he did except have fun. We were only there for about 3 hours; we didn't see a moose, but did see some good bear tracks.

Fair Time!!

This was the first year we let the boys get their faces painted at the fair. Gunner chose the tiger, Calvin chose a dragon on his cheek, and Tucker didn't want to have any part of it. Our second trip to the fair he gave in and became spider man for the day.

The boys wait all year to go on the rides at the fair and it always seems to go by so quickly. A small fortune later we are finished with the rides and waiting for next year.

Raegan was such a good girl at the fair too. She stayed in the stroller pretty much all day and right before we left we let the kids do a round of putt putt golf. Raegan finally got to get out and run around.

The kids also really enjoyed the farm/barn animals area. Nail biting excitement I tell you!