The Weather

As many of you have already noticed, I put a little weather widget on our blog. A lot of you want to know what the weather is like here, well... here you go!!

Buttcrack Baby

I don't know what it is about my family, but they all have issues with plumber's cracks... It may be genetic...

Santa Claus

We had a potluck at church and Santa came to visit. Cloe sat on his lap and wasn't even scared (but that could be because she lives with him...)

Moose Encounters of the First Kind

Saturday we had some visitors in our backyard....... a mama moose and her not-so-little baby moose. I wouldn't have even noticed except that Gus was barking like crazy! I looked out the window and saw them eating the leftovers of our garden. I got a video of them that turned out pretty good. On the video I am talking to Ben on the phone so I know the audio probably doesn't make much sense. Anyway, here it is:

Rockstars!!

Our ward had a Fall Festival this week with trunk-or-treating and games in the church. We all dressed up as rockstars. A friend of mine and I made Cloe's costume, it turned out really great. We had a lot of fun.

Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins as a family last week. It was fun and messy. Cloe was SO scared of them once we had them lit. She screamed when Ben tried to put her in the middle of them so that we could get a picture. We decided a video would do it more justice.

Pinewood Derby

Last night the young men in our ward had an Extreme Pinewood Derby. Ben was eager to participate building a car with rocket engines in the back. It was fun. I took a video, but I guess I didn't realize how fast the car would go so I didn't get the whole race. Here are some pictures and the video.

New Calling

I have been in the primary ever since Ben and I moved to Alaska in June of 2006. I have been teaching the same age group even. I know all of the kids in our ward, their siblings, and they all know me. When I was first put in primary, I hated it. I have finally started really liking it. Over the past six months or so I have really felt in my element. But of course, that is when it happens...
Our bishop called and asked if he could come see me and Ben. He came over, sat down, and asked, "Sister Overacker, are you ready for a new calling?"
Relief Society Enrichment Counselor.
The only time I have ever even spent in Relief Society is the brief stint right after Cloe was born. I am really nervous about my new calling and I am really going to miss primary, but I know that there is something that I need to learn and being in this calling will teach me new things. I have learned and grown as much as I could have teaching my CTR 8 class and now it's time for something new.

Cloe's One Year Pictures

We took Cloe took get her one year pictures taken last week. They are so cute, I just love them. As soon as we get the prints back, we'll get them sent out to all of you.

Taekwon-Do Test

I had my first test for Taekwon-Do a couple of weeks ago. It was really fun. I passed to the next belt and got "Best Test" of my group. Ben and Cloe came to cheer me on, it was really great to have them there. Here are a couple of pictures and a video of me breaking a board.

"We Got to Pray Just to Make It Today!"

Recently, we have been working hard on teaching Cloe to fold her arms and be quiet when a prayer is being said. She has been folding her arms for a couple of weeks, but I haven't gotten around to posting anything lately. Here is a video of her.

Talkin' Cloe

Cloe has been talking SO much lately I just had to say something about it. She can say Dada, Mama, Gus, yeah, night-night, hello, hi, bye-bye, and ball. It is so cute!! I was getting her ready to go to bed tonight and said "Night-night Dada." She looked at Ben, smiled and said "Ni-ni Dada" and waved at him. It was the sweetest thing. She is growing so fast and we can't hardly believe that she is almost one. She is getting so big!

Our Utterly Refined Debutant of a Baby Girl

Sweet Little Girl

Just wanted to give an update on our tiny baby, who really isn't THAT tiny, but we still think so. She is so much fun, but she has been REALLY clingy lately! Her new favorite things to do are to turn on and off the lights, she thinks that she is just the coolest thing when she does it and expects applause from Ben and me. She also loves giving hugs and will do it on demand, I love it!! There is nothing quite like having such a sweet, little thing lean her head on you and make an "aaah" sound (its almost like she is sighing or something.)
Even though she knows how to and has before, Cloe doesn't walk much. She takes a few steps here and there, but I think that she thinks it's a waste of time. She know that she is much faster crawling so it's hard to get her to walk more. She climbs though, over EVERYTHING!! We have to block her off in the livingroom so that she doesn't get into anything that she shouldn't, but she figured out how to climb on top of the large tupperware tub that we had blocking the way out, she fell headfirst onto the hardwood--I was so sad... She climbed on top of her walker when I wasn't in the room and then started to cry because she got stuck up there. She is quite a handful at this stage, but she is so much fun to be with.
Other than that, everything is fine. I am still studying Taekwon-Do diligently and I love it. I'm almost to my next belt and I test for it at the end of this month. I'm really nervous, but excited too.
Ben is doing well and seems to really be thriving in his new calling as Young Men's President. The young men really like him and they really look up to him (they even nick-named him Brother Cool Guy.)
We miss you all!!

Anchorage and Valdez

Last weekend we went on a little mini vacation as a family. It was our ward temple weekend so we took the 7 1/2 hour drive down to Anchorage so that we could participate. It was great being able to go to the temple. We don't get to go very often because of the distance, but we try to make as much as we can. I watched a friend's baby so that they and Ben could help the youth with baptisms. We "baby-swapped" with our friends so that we could both do sessions, it was great.
After the temple we went to Valdez, which is about six hours away, so that we could fish. It was a long drive, but we made it and we really enjoyed being there. We stayed at a little bed and breakfast there it was nice. We fished in the Prince William Sound for the pink salmon that come back there every year to spawn. There were sea lions in the water eating a lot of the salmon, it was so cool to see them so close up. We caught a lot of fish and Cloe really enjoyed being outside. We fished for two days there and on the second day, we had an unexpected visitor. Bears are very common this time of year in Valdez because they head down to the ocean for all of the salmon that are coming up. A black bear walked down to the beach to do just that. We were on the beach fishing when a man walked down the hill to let us know, we were VERY grateful because the bear was coming our way. We made it back up the hill just before the bear got to us. Ben got his shotgun out and loaded so that we could help get everyone else up the hill safely. Everyone made it up ok. I put Cloe in her carseat so that she would be safe. We had lost site of the bear when I spotted him not five feet from our car where Cloe was. I was really scared, but there bear went back down to the beach to keep eating. Needless to say, we had to stop fishing earlier than we wanted to but it was awesome to see a bear that close.
We left to go back to Fairbanks and stopped to fish in a glacial river for red salmon. We didn't catch anything, but it was really a beautiful area.
We didn't get home until about 3:00 am and we were dead tired, but it was great to get out and see some of this wonderful place that we live in.

Utah

As most of you know, Cloe and I went down to Utah a couple of weeks ago to help out Sommer and Jeff. We were really glad to be able to go. It was great to see so many of you. Here are some pictures from our trip:

Kiana watching Sam hold Kaleo. He is SO handsome (Kaleo I mean, not Sam... but Sam is too)

Me holding Cloe and her brand-new cousin Kaleo.

Cloe trying some of Grandpa's Jello

Kiana and Olivia REALLY enjoying fireworks.

Look Out!! It's A Tae Kwon Do-ing Mama!

That's right everyone, I've started Tae Kwon Do! I really wanted to get out and do something active but I hate normal forms of excercise. I have wanted to study martial arts since I was a kid, but because of my family size, we really couldn't afford lessons or sports. I decided that I can do whatever I want now and Ben completely supports me. I went to my first class last week and I loved it. I was a little nervous because I had no idea what I was doing but it was great. I didn't think that I did that much of a work-out but the next day I was really sore. Anyway, so far I love it and I am really glad to be doing something for myself.

The Midnight Sun Festival

Hey everyone!! As I'm sure most of you know, yesterday was the longest day of the year. That probably doesn't mean much to anyone who doesn't live in Alaska, but we have a huge celebration downtown. Ben and I have been everyyear and we love it. This was Cloe's first experience. Just so you all know, the sun was up for a total of 21 hours and 49 minutes, but even when the sun goes down, its still really light outside. So, here are some pictures of us at the festival.


Getting ready to go downtown.

What a happy baby!

Trying some of Daddy's cotton candy.

Haha, Cloe was so tuckered out! I can believe she slept through all of the music and noise!

The Scariest Thing Ever...

Yesterday I had the scariest experience I think I've ever had.

Lately we have been having problems with Gus. He is still a puppy and that means that he has TONS of energy. He has been digging holes in the back yard so Ben and I decided that we would try to let him inside more during the day so that he doesn't get bored. Gus is very much an outside dog. He likes to be inside for just an hour or two before he wants to go back out. I was about to put Cloe down for an afternoon nap and I usually put Gus outside so that he doesn't make too much noise and wake her up. I put Cloe in her crib, but I don't think she was tired enough because I could hear her banging her pacifier on the crib. I decided that I would put Gus outside and then go and see what I could do for Cloe. I went outside to hook Gus up to his line but he was being super energetic and jumping a lot. I shut the door so that he wouldn't try to run back inside while I took care of him. I finally got him taken care of and I turned to go back inside. With absolute terror I'd realized that I had locked myself outside while Cloe was inside all alone. I had no keys, no cell phone, and no way to get ahold of anyone. I freaked out. I cried and cried and tried to think of what I could do. Suddenly I remembered that I did know one family that lived on my street. This family was converted to the church and baptized about a year and a half ago, but we have had a really difficult time getting ahold of them for the past six months or so. I didn't think twice about it as I booked it down the street as fast as I could possibly go. As I got to their door I could see that they were home. I banged on the door, shouting and crying to please let me in. After what seemed like an eternity, they opened the door. I told them what happened and they let me use their phone. I called Ben's cousin who has a key to our house and he said that he would come over right away. The husband of the family came back with me over to my house to see what he could do. He was trying to get the door open with a credit card while I went around to Cloe's window to hear if she was ok. She was crying and I could tell that she was really upset, which just sent a new wave of tears through me. I went back around to the front door as Nate (Ben's cousin) was pulling up, which also was the exact same time that my neighbor managed to break ihnto my house. I ran downstairs to get Cloe as fast as I could.
I thanked everyone for their help and just held Cloe for a while.

I know that doesn't seem very scary, but this is the first time that anything like this has ever happened to me. Cloe was only alone for like 20 minutes, but I am really glad that I had at least put her in her crib where she couldn't have gotten hurt. I was so grateful for the very spiritual impression I got to go to my neighbors house for help. I am so grateful that I was able to receive inspiration from the Spirit to tell me what to do. I know that without that prompting, I would not have reacted so quickly. I am truly thankful for the ability to receive guidance when I need it.

What's wrong? Is there something on my head?

My Cute Family

Here is a recent picture of Ben, Cloe and Gus. They are so sweet!!

Giggly Girl

Basket Baby!

Here are some pictures for Cloe's new favorite game: climbing in and out of baskets! I place baskets on the floor and she just does her own thing (as you can plainly see.)

Mommy Tag

1- Typically, what time do you wake up? Whenever Cloe wakes up, usually about 8:00am (except for this morning, she slept until 10:15!)
2- On a good night, what time are your kids in bed? We're still trying to get Cloe to sleep through the night so we don't put her to bed until about 10:00.
3- How long have you been a mommy? Only about 9 months
4- How old were you when you became a mom? 21
5- What is your favorite kids TV show? Umm, Cloe watched t.v. for the first time yesterday... She seemed to like Sesame Street the most though.
6- What is your least favorite kids TV show? Surprisingly enough, she didn't really like WonderPets, which makes me sad because I like it a lot.
7- What is your favorite chore? Vacuuming (it's so easy)
8- What is your favorite meal to cook? Anything Ben likes. His favorites are my lasagna and chicken enchiladas.
9- What meal do you cook most often? Haha, right now? I make sandwiches for Ben almost everyday.
10- What is your kids favorite meal? Cloe loves squash as far as baby food goes. She likes pickles though.
11- What's your favorite thing your husband does with your kids? Anything, I love to watch them together. Cloe gets so excited anytime she sees her daddy.
12- What are 5 things that make you smile when you're being a mom? Hearing Cloe giggle, hearing her roll her tongue, anytime she does something new, seeing her play with her daddy, and when she lets me cuddle with her.
13-If you could take your kids anywhere, where would it be? Anywhere our family is, I love to see her being loved by people.
14- When was the last time you went out without your kids? Our anniversary a couple of weeks ago.
15- What is your favorite activity to do with your kids? Chasing Cloe while she is crawling, it's so cute she tries to crawl faster but she can't because she is giggling too much.
16- Name one thing you said you'd never say as a mother. "Of course you can give Cloe a pickle to suck on Honey."
17- Name something you do that your own mom did. She always made holidays and birthdays very special. I loved that.
18- What is your favorite quality your mom has? She brags about her kids (in a good way). It always made me feel so good.
19- What is your favorite kids book? I love the Poky Little Puppy.
20- What is your favorite advice for new moms? YOU know what to do. All women have insticts on motherhood regardless of their background.
21- What is your most heartbreaking moment as a mom? Seeing Cloe sick (especially when she throws up because she doesn't know whats going on and looks at me to fix it for her and I can't.)
22- What is your most joyful moment as a mom? Spending time as a family playing. I love to get down to Cloe's level and wrestle with her.
23- When is the last time you told one of your kids you loved them? This morning when I got Cloe out of her crib.
24- When was the last time you were told, "I love you" by your kids? Umm, even though she can't say it, I know that Cloe loves me. She would say it if she knew how.

Bye-Bye Cloe

Cloe did it!! She finally waved bye-bye! Here is the video of Cloe waving. She only waves like three times at the very begining so if you're not watching closely, you might miss it.

House

The house is coming along nicely. We got carpet in about two weeks ago and we finally got some furniture in the house (we were REALLY tired of sitting on milk crates and paint buckets...) Here are some pictures of Cloe's room, our room, and the living room.

Cloe

Just wanted to give you an update on our BIG girl!! Cloe started pulling herself up to standing a couple of weeks ago and started "cruising" last week. She is getting so big. She say's "dada" for Ben and "mama" for me. She looks and Ben when I say "where's daddy?" and does the same for me. Unfortunately, she doesn't roll her tongue very much anymore.... We're pretty sad about that actually, we miss it... I can't believe how big she is getting, it all goes so fast.

Here are some pictures of Cloe helping with laundry, swinging at the park, and "cruising".

New Foods

Here are some pictures of Cloe trying (and attempting to try) some new foods. Haha!

Sleeping Tiger, Komodo Dragon (our vacation and day at the zoo)

I guess I forgot to write about our vacation.... It was GREAT!!! We had so much fun! We were so glad to be able to see everyone. I couldn't believe how big Luke has gotten! He is such a little boy now and no longer a baby.  We had a lot of fun in Utah  and I think we really surprised Ben's family. We only got to spend a few days there, but we had a good time. We had a blast in Illinois at Jake and Michelle's place (our house is better... jk). We mostly played a lot of Rock Band (the funnest game ever!!!) The drive from Illinois to Florida was long, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Florida was so much fun. We had a wonderful time at Papa and Neenee's (aka Grandpa and Grandma's) house. I'm so glad that we were able to go and see them. 

Easter Pictures

I have a lot of pictures that I was never able to post because our computer hasn't been up. Here are pictures that Alyssa (our cousin) and I took of our kids for Easter. The other two boys are Alyssa's children Ian and Finnigan.

Been Too Long...

Sorry everyone! I know that I haven't posted anything in a long time, but we haven't had computer access and we were gone most of this month on vacation. Ben assures me that we can get the computer out of storage really soon. I'm at the library typing this, so I don't have any way to put pictures on. I will get some pictures from our vacation on as soon as I can.
We had a wonderful time in Utah, Illinios, and Florida. We we glad to see so many people, (Now it's everyone's turn to come see us).
Everything is fine here. Ben still works all the time, I'm still staying home with Cloe, and Cloe is just as sweet as she can be. She started crawling a couple of days ago and does like she always knew how. She learned how to finger-feed herself when we were in Florida (Ben insists that he taught her). We love you all!

Pictures