Day 1-10 of Gratitude

So lately as I have been saying my prayers I can't stop thanking the Lord every day for all the many blessings I have. I find my self saying the longest prayers because I have so much on my mind and in my heart that I feel I need to thank the Lord for all he has given me. This isn't just because it's the time of year to give thanks. I have found that it is easier to make it through trials and obsticles if you look at the bright side of things (this hasn't always been my attitude in life.... growing up I always looked at the glass half empty) but the last year or so I have had the OPPORTUNITY to turn that negativity around and look at the positive in life. So not just because it's the time of year, but because these have been the feelings of my heart for quite some time.

1- I am greatful for an amazing husband who holds and honors his priesthood. Who is always willing to serve others. Who is the hardest worker of anyone I have ever met (right next to my Dad). Who wants nothing but the best for his wife and future family. Who studies so hard in school to earn himself a 97.1% on his ATSAT (still so proud of you babe) and who loves the adventures of everyday life. Jeff is everything I ever wanted in a husband... and MUCH MUCH more!!!



2- I'm greatful for my amazing parents. I'm thankful for their endless love, support, prayers, tears, and laughter offered on my behalf. I'm thankful for how they raised us kids and the values they instilled in us to become who we have become. Mom and Dad, you are the greatest parents God could have ever given me. Thanks you for EVERYTHING!!!


3- I'm thankful for the comfortable modest home to come home to everyday. Jeff and I are so thankful for where we live and how it is so conveniently close to church, work and school. We are thankful for the safety it provides and for the love that is felt within it's walls.

4- Although simple, I'm thankful for our cute dogs and for the fun and laughter they provide for us daily. We cannot imagine life without them and are so glad they fill the void of not being able to have kids at this time.


5- I'm thankful for my sisters... I could go on and on and as I look through pictures of us together I feel so overwhelmed with so many emotions about each and every picture. My sisters mean the world to me and I hope they both know how much I love them. Kim and Amanda thanks for being my best friends.


6- I'm thankful for my brothers... Elder Jonny Burton, Bradley and Conner. I truly am a very proud sister to have such incredible younger brothers. Elder Burton is the truest and purest example of what a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints should be. He impresses me week after week of his testimony and Christlike attributes. I look forward to seeing him again in 6 months. I will always have a special spot in my heart for Conner. He is such an incredible boy who I miss so so bad. I hate being so far away from him and miss out on him growing up. He is such a blessing in my families life. Although my memories of Bradley go back to 17 years ago I will always remember my short time with him on earth and look forward to our reunion in heaven.


7- I'm thankful for my education and my career as a Nurse. Although not an easy road for me, becoming a nurse has been the most rewarding job I could ever imagine. I love the lives I have touched and most importantly I love those that have touched my life forever. I'm thankful for the 2 job's I have now here in Alaska. It has blessed us immensly to have a career so I can help contribute while Jeff is going to school.

8- I'm thankful for the scriptures and the comfort it gives me when I read. I'm thankful for the opportunity I had to go to a fireside with Elder Holland and for the spirit that was felt. I'm thankful for my knowledge of the truthfulness of the gospel and the guidance it gives me.

9-I'm thankful to be living in Alaska. I'm thankful for the opportunity that Jeff and I have to enjoy this adventure in our lives. I'm so blessed to be surrounded by such beauty from the scenery, the weather, and the wildlife. I'm so thankful for the friends we have made and for all the fun we have with each one of them. I'm thankful that the Lord answered our prayers at such a pivital time in our life that led us here.

10- I'm thankful for modern day medicine. I'm thankful for doctors and for their knowledge and their assistance in our lives. As we struggle to have children, I'm thankful for the answers we have recieved that will further impact our decisions in the near future.

Happy Halloween

Well this halloween was pretty boring at the Harris household... I have to work and Jeff has school. A few weeks ago we found the coolest dog costumes and we were looking to buy matching costumes for ourselves but Jeff's costume alone would have been $400.... so needless to say we scratched the costumes for us this year. But we were still able to enjoy some Halloween festivities with friends for a Sunday Halloween themed dinner. Great company, hilarious halloween food and a fun time playing dress up... with the dogs.


Now presenting "KO Vader and Choda!!!" Oh our poor dogs... they hate having anything on them, even their little fur hoodies for when it snows outside.
KO frozen until someone takes off this ridiculous outfit.
Cute little Chewy... he is the funniest to dress up for some reason. Jeff and I get the biggest kick out of our dogs. We are so glad we have them to give us laughter in our lives.

Reindeer Farm and "Haunted" Maze

This past weekend we got all our friends together (minus Meg and Terr) to go to the "Haunted" maze at the Reindeer Farm in Palmer. We got there a little early so we could go and feed the reindeer and moose and just wander around before it got dark. On the internet, it mentioned the "Haunted" maze was not for children, that it was far too scary. Even when I called to see what times they were open the lady said she wouldn't recommend children and I told her no worries, it's date night with a bunch of adults. Well the reindeer part was fun, but the "Haunted" maze.... not so fun, and definately NOT haunted. It was a maze of hay bales, which you could look and see everything around ya. There were random people dressed up jumping out here and there, and I'll admit I screamed at least one time... but the rest of the time consisted of Jeff and the boys sneaking up on the kids that were in front of us... yes, there were kids ranging from 2-12 years old that went through it and none of them screamed or cried... so I'm sad to say that apparently Alaska doesn't know what scary or "haunted" means. But it made for a good night, lots of laughs, and lots frozen fingers and toes!!!!



So intereting fact, all reindeer (male, female, babies) have antlers. They are also the only animals that can float in water... their fur is hollow. And they can flatten their hooves in the winter so they walk on top of snow. Pretty intersting huh, and you wanna know the answer to the biggest question of all... What is the difference between Caribou and Reindeer? Reindeer fly!!!! Ha ha ha. But its true, they are the same. Caribou are just wild and Reindeer are domestic.

These big males are now steers. They have lost their man hood, thank heavens cuz it is rutting season... i don't need no reindeer charging me!!! But when they loose their man hood, they don't loose the hormones completely, causing their antlers to grow "funky"... and to be honest it looks quite discusting up close.


They were super super soft... I wouldn't mind owning some reindeer fur :)


Mac, Jeff, and Ryan decideing which reindeer to feed. We were the last tour of the day so they were getting pretty full and not very intersted in the treats we had for them.

This reindeer is Mary. Believe it or not she was born this past May and weighed 9 lbs.... so in 5 months look how much she has grown. She was super nice and would eat out of anyones hand.

Hey Moosey Moosey Moosey... this guy was in the process of dropping his antlers... too bad they can't drop at the same time, cuz he looks pretty funny right now.


I was petting this moose (seriously, how many people get to pet a Moose) when all of a sudden he snorted and I yanked my hand back it scared me so bad. Jeff of course caught it in the moment.

Jeff had no desire to pet or feed a Moose... I could barely get him to stand next to one. But here he is smiling for his wife who takes way too many pictures.

Kari and Ryan..... and Jeff trying to jump into their picture moment!!!

No one would join Jaime and I on the sled... we were with a rough crowd tonight (aka husbands) that didn't really wanna do much but walk around, I guess.

And of course, Kari, Jaime and I had to go pet the horses.... I feed tons of reindeer tonight and even a moose and none of them bit me, but the second I go to pet one of the horses it nipped at me... TWICE!!! Dang horse. I sure miss being around them but Jeff keeps promising me I will own one someday :)

And the infamous "Haunted" maze... look how scary it looks... way too scary for kids!!! Thanks Jaime, Mac, Kari and Ryan for a fun night.

Fiddler on the Roof

Jeff and I had the night off together the other day and last minute decided to go see Fiddler on the Roof. Our friend Kari had just gone a few nights prior and just loved it. Sadly, buying tickets 40 min before the show doesn't give you the greatest seats, but it really wasn't that bad. You could still see the whole stage and hear everything just perfectly... the only thing we couldn't see was the Fiddler on the Roof's head... ha ha. We are super excited for Beauty and the Beast to come in January!!!
Yep... our seats were way up in the balcony... 3 levels up from the stage. If only the picture captured how nice the theater was.


It was such a fun night out. With winter upon us here I told Jeff we need to get out as much as possible so come March I don't go nuts like last year!!! And I think we will have plenty of days off together with my new schedule working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays... leaving me a 4 day weekend on the same days Jeff has work and school off. So hopefully we will find a way to have fun, stay busy, and enjoy Alaska's winter as much as we enjoyed the summer..... even if it does mean buying us some snowmobiles :)

A week home in Utah... with Amanda and her girls :)

I was able to fly home to Utah again for the birth of little miss Hadley, Amanda's second little girl. Unfortuately the little stink came before her induction date so I wasn't able to be there for the labor but i'm actually so glad I got there when I did. All of her in-laws had left and it was just me and the 2 girls all to myself. Amanda really is such an incredible mom and an amazing sister. I love her so much and I'm so greatful I get the opportunity to be there for here, despite living 3000 miles away. I'm so glad she let me play "mom" all week... putting the girls to bed, waking up in the middle of the night to console and cuddle them, bathing them, feeding them, going to dr. visits, shopping at the mall... the list does on and on.
While I was in town, my grandparents were in Park City for their time share. So it was nice to have them come to see us. I sure love these 2 and will always cherish my memorie with them.


Good morning Happy Brooklyn!!!


Brooklyn and Hadley sporting their "My Auntie loves me" outfits I bought them.



Brooklyn loved watching me put on my make-up... and then he loved stealing my brushes.





Brooklyn was having a rough day and apparently wanted to be just like Hadley... this poor girl sure loves her little sister but she sure misses the attention of being an only child. I just love this picture. Amanda took away her binky MONTHS ago and she only gets it when she goes to bed... well having little Hadley around sure makes her want Hadley binki.


Perfect little Hadley... all through Amanda's pregnancy she said I could have her baby if she wasn't as cute as Brooklyn. Well as you can tell this little one is just beautiful... looks NOTHING like Brooklyn. Brooklyn looked just like Scott and Hadley is Amanda's little mini me. Needless to say, I came back to Alaska childless :)

I made the mistake of getting Brooklyn out of the stroller at the mall cuz all she wanted to do was run around everywhere. And everytime someone mentioned how cute she was I piped up "Thanks, she is mine!" ha ha ha I love this little girl.



I miss kissing and snuggling with these 2 girls. I owe my sister the biggest thank you for letting me play mom and mugging on her girls.



I was also so glad to see my parents and Conner.... boy has he changed. He is getting so tall and handsome and I'm so proud of him as my brother. It was fun to go to breakfast and lunch with my mom and dad and to catch up and get lots of hugs and kisses from them. I also love seeing them as grandparents. It is different to see your parents become grandparents. They are so involved in their grandkids lives and would do absolutely anything for them. I truly have such an amazing family... I don't know where I would be without them. Unfortuately, I wasn't able to see Kim, Dan or Jaxon but I hope they know how much I love and truly miss them.





Brooklyn loves Conner. And Conner is the cutest kid with his neices and nephew. It's so cute to see him around little kids cuz being the youngest he didn't grow up with younger sibblings.







I took a day free from playing "mom" and went to Tremonton to see the in-laws. Lucky for me, Sheridan and the kids were up visiting from St. George (while Josh was hunting in Alaska). I sure missed these kids. We went to Lagoon and had the time of our lives. I was able to drag Conner along and I'm so proud of him going on all the roller coaster... a first for him at the age of 14. It was hard to keep up with a 4, 6, and 8 year old :) They all just wanted to hit every stomach curling, head banging ride there and how the heck do you tell them, "sorry guys, I don't like the spinning and flipping and tossing" So yes, I had to buck up and put on my big girl face for my nephew and neices and go on all the rides they wanted to. they are all such adrenaline junkies. We even snuck little 42 inch Hallie onto the "spider" ride, where you had to be 48 inches to ride. What 4 year old looks forward to this... ha ha. She loved it and i'm so proud of all the kids and Conner (and let me not forget Diana) for going on all the thrill seaking rides. I really need to learn to live alittle I guess :)




Me and Kennedie on the SkyTram. The 2 girls would fight for who was going to ride with me. But then they got the understanding that they would take turns.... oh I love how much these 2 loved clinging to me.

Remington on the other hand never wanted to ride with me... because he had Conner. These 2 boys had a blast together.


The best, cutest, sweetest, goofiest Mother and sister-in-law ever. Just love these two.

Me and Halle on the wicked fast ferris wheel. Another ride that churned my stomach but I had to be brave cuz Hallie kept laughing her face off having the time of her life :)


Poor Halle was TERRIFIED of this guy.... right after this pic was taken she was screaming hysterically. And from this point on, we walked around everywhere with me covering her eyes cuz she didn't wanna run into any more scary people.






How can you not love these 2... acting scared coming out of the Haunted House ride.

I sure missed this family but was so glad to hear they were up North when I was in Utah. I miss seeing them but I'm greatful for the memories and laughs we have shared.


This trip wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for my loving and supportive husband who lets me fly home every 3-6 months, or so. While I'm off visiting family and having a blast, he stays home and tends to the dogs, goes to school full time, works in between classes and on his days off. A couple days before I left town, he took the biggest test of his life, the ATSAT. the best I can describe it is it's an aptitude test for Air Traffic Controllers. It's a placement test that basically gets you hired on to the job. The test has nothing to do with Air Traffic Control and getting hired has nothing to do with your chool grades... kinda crazy. But Jeff did amazing and passed with a 97.1%. I'm soooo proud of him and all his hard work. He continually amazes me and I'm so fortunate to have him as my companion for eternity. It's so nice knowing the test is behind us and now we just have to choose what 2 states he wants to put in for to work at. We have been so blessed lately and I hope we continue to live our lives worthy enough for more blessings and promises as we keep the Lord's commandments.