I know, I know

So I know I am going to catch a ton of slack for not having posted in almost 5 months but I figure its time to make a come back.  Its kind of like not going to the dentist for a while and then not wanting to start again so you don't get the lecture (which I just got from my husband).  That being said, here is what we have been up to the last month:

I have been working on my blog like crazy and it has been going well although I recently resolved to focus a specific hour or two a day on it so it would stop consuming my life.  It was getting tiring and it was all I had time for.  I decided to stop obsessing and to just devote that certain amount of time so I could enjoy more in my day.  So far it has been going well and we have been having a lot of fun with friends and taking the girls outside.  The weather has been wonderful the last few weeks so the girls have been living in our fully fenced back yard (the best thing about this house).

In April Justin's mom came up and stayed with our girls with Justin and I went to Front Site in Nevada (thanks again Brenda!!!).  We went to the four day defensive handgun course and had a total blast.  It wasn't the leisurely/ romantic vacation I had envisioned (we were there for almost 18 hours one day including driving time) as I passed out exhausted the moment we returned to our hotel every night but I had a great time.  I also got second place out of almost 40 people in the hostage shoot off that they had on the last day (so yes, I beat Justin as well as a cop and people who had been there several times) and Justin achieved the graduate level (there is a big test at the end).  Plus, now I feel incredibly competent and confident in my ability to use a handgun, which is a great thing. And as a bonus, I got to feel like a total Bad A** for four days ;)

A little over a month ago I got roped into doing the Mrs. Alaska America pageant.  I friend of mine did it the year before and she convinced me to go ahead and enter.  I had no ambitions of winning, more just to meet other ladies and have fun plus I think it is good to do something that scares you once in a while and this definitely counted. I ended up having a great time, making a lot of new friends, growing in a lot of ways and I got to try something totally new.  A lady who I had become friends with ended up winning and I won most photogenic wedding photo so I couldn't have left happier.  It wasn't so much that I cared about the specific award, it was just nice to hear my name called for something ;). While the pageant was a lot of fun it was very difficult to find a pretty cocktail dress and evening gown that allowed me to keep my LDS dress standards.  Through much the of the pageant I felt very out of place (although 2 other ladies were LDS too) and I felt like I was back in high school wishing I could wear the prettier prom dress.  Anyway, after the pageant ended I had over 4 different people come up to me and tell me that they appreciated my modest dress choices.  I was very touched by this and I felt a little bit redeemed.  While I had been feeling self conscious about looking different from the other ladies I had forgotten about the example of modesty that I was setting for other girls who were there.  That was a great feeling and something that I really just wanted to write down so I would remember if I do the pageant again in a couple of years (which I likely will).

This last weekend we took the girls on a 4 day camping trip up North off the Denali Highway with a couple other familes(no, it never got dark at night) and we had a great time.  Justin was like a little boy at Disneyland going off with our friend Eric in his four wheeler, spotting a bear, moose and wolf all in one glance in the binoculars, learning how to gut and skin a Grizzly after Eric shot one (yay, one less in our area), fishing in the creek and catching Greyling and staying up until the wee hours of the morning each night because he couldn't bare to wast a minute of daylight.  We all had a great time and the girls loved being outdoors and sleeping in a tent.  I definitely hope there will be many more camping trips to come this summer!

So that is us since April.  And since I have totally slacked on posting the last several months, here are some pictures of the girls to keep you all happy (yes, that means you Chels and Ash).