Colony Knights 3/4 playoff game

The Colony Knights 3/4 team was in first place going into the playoffs. After a slow start and three turnovers the Knights ended up beating the Wasilla Warriors 38-0! Logan was one of the captains for this game.

I took this picture so everyone can see what football is like here in Alaska. Notice the snow-covered mountains.
Logan is getting some advice from "Coach Dean"/Daddy during halftime. I think he was more interested in the oranges than anything else. Ed was the coach for the Colony Knights Green 7/8 team.
The Colony Knights after the game. Still Undefeated!!

The Stripe Comes Off!

Before the playoff games all the players had to weigh in again. Logan was hoping that he had lost enough weight to get the stripe off his helmet. The max weight was 103 and he ended up weighing 101.8. He was so excited to take the stripe of his helmet.

Pulling the stripe off of his helmet.
His teammates had to join in and help him take the stripe off.

Holding up his helmet without the stripe. His was so happy and all of his teammates were cheering for him.

Colony Knights 5/6 playoff game

The Colony Knights Green 5/6 were in first place coming into the first round of the playoffs. They played the fourth seed team, the Chugiak Mustangs. The Knights played a great game and won 28-0!

Katie's Birthday

Katie turned seven today. I can't believe that our baby girl is already seven and in the first grade. The time has gone by so fast. Her birthday was on a Sunday this year so we had her little party after church.

Here she is posing with her cake. She helped decorate her cake and that is why all the sprinkles are in the middle of the cake.
She really wanted a pillow pet for her birthday this year, but they don't sell them anywhere up here in Alaska. They also don't ship here. We went throught so much trouble so she could get her pillow pet but seeing her smile when she opened it was well worth it. She got the unicorn which see has since named "Magical".

Colony Knights 3/4

Logan is loving playing football. He is the center for his team and does a great job. He is #55. If you are wondering why he has a stripe on his helmet and none of his teammates do, it's because he is considered overweight for his age group. The kids with the stripes on their helmets cannot carry the ball because they "could hurt the smaller kids".

Here are a couple of pictures of "Mean Dean" in action.
Logan is the one snapping the ball to the quarterback.

Colony Knights 5/6

Austin getting ready for the opening kickoff. They played the Chugiak Mustangs and the Colony Knights won the game 28-0!!!

A close-up of #41, Austin Dean.
This is a video of Austin playing on offense. As you can tell he was very excited when his team scored the touchdown.

The First "Football" Injury

Austin went over to a friend's house on Thursday and was playing on the trampoline. While on the trampoline he got his finger caught on Logan's leg and his finger got bent backwards. He went to football practice that night and the next night and even played in his game on Saturday. On Sunday he told us that his finger was really hurting and when we looked, it was swollen and black and blue. We decided to take him to the hospital and they confirmed that it was broken. He couldn't practice for one week and he had to have a splint for two weeks. Luckily, his team had a bye week so he never missed a game.

First Day of School

The kids' first day of school was August 19th. As you can tell from this picture Austin was not used to getting up so early. He started middle school this year at Colony Middle School and he has to catch the bus at 6:30. I also think he's getting tired of the first day of school pictures.

Logan was so excited to start school. He found out the day before that he was going to have the same teacher he had the year before. He really liked Mrs. Farris so he was very happy.
I think Katie was a little tired also. She was also going to have the same teacher she had the year before. Her class is almost exactly the same as it was and she was very excited about that.

Football Kickoff Classic 2010

Austin #41 and Logan #55 waiting for the kickoff classic to start.

Austin with his team. He is playing for the Colony Knights 5/6 team.
Logan with his team. He is playing for the Colony Knights 3/4 team.

Logan is the center for his team. He really enjoys playing this position and getting to hit people without getting in trouble.

Austin is gaining confidence in his football skills. Here he is playing tackle on the offensive line. Such a big position for such a little guy, but he loves it and handles himself well.

Ed and Darci in the Bahamas

Coming into dock at Coco Cay in the Bahamas. This is a little island privately owned by Royal Caribbean.

The beach on Coco Cay. It was so nice and such a perfect day.
Posing in front of a fountain at Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas. We didn't stay there, it was just a stop on our tour of Nassau.
Posing with some locals at one of our tour stops. We asked the guy if he would take our picture but he handed the camera off to someone else and jumped in the picture. It was so funny.
Coming into port in Nassau, Bahamas. It was so beautiful!

Royal Caribbean Cruise

Ed and Darci on the boat waiting to dock in the Bahamas. We were on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas.

Ed with the little towel creature that was waiting for us in our room when we got back from dinner.
Darci posing with the creature. We have no idea what it is supposed to be but it is wearing Darci's sunglasses.
Our boat moored out in the ocean. It was such a nice vacation for us and we had a great time.

The Zoo Field Trip

I had the great privilege of being a chaperone at Katie's field trip to the zoo. Luckily, a lot of other parents had the same privilege so I only had Katie and her friend Wyatt in my group.

All of the kids wanted to see the polar bears so this exhibit was packed but we eventually got in and saw the polar bears.
We went to the zoo as a family for spring break in 2008 but the bears were still hibernating so it was fun to see the bears out and about this time. Katie liked watching the grizzlies.

I just wanted to add this picture and let everyone know that even though it was the middle of May there was still a patch of snow on the ground.

The black bears were also fun to watch. We have seen a black bear in the wild up here. We were driving into Anchorage one day and we saw the bear crossing the road.

Austin's promotion ceremony

On May 14th, 2010 Austin was promoted from elementary school to middle school. Here he is receiving his certificate from his teacher, Mrs. Woodall. Austin is proudly displaying his certificate and plaque that he received. I can't believe that he will be in middle school in August.

Logan's Acting Debut

Logan's reading class put on a play about the greatest American's of the 20th century. He played the part of Babe Ruth. I'm not quite sure what the deal was with the red curly haired wig, but oh well. He had a solo singing part and he did a great job. Austin was in the same play two years ago and he was Babe Ruth also. I thought that was interesting.

Track Meet 2010

At the end of the track season the school district puts on a huge track meet for all the elmentary schools. This year Austin did four events: the mile run, the 400 meter run, the obstacle course, and the long jump. He did really well in all of his events and he had a lot of fun.

Gone Fishing

When we went to the Mat-Su Sports Show back in March Ed signed up to take a halibut fishing charter. We wanted to get some fish in the freezer. Here he is on the morning of the trip.

On the boat heading out to the fishing grounds.
Here he is with most of the fish that were caught on the boat that day. You are only able to catch two when you're out on a charter. Both of Ed's were around 25 pounds (good eating size) and we got about 15 pounds of fish in the freezer now. It's so yummy!