Monday morning pics

Good morning family and friends!

Happy Monday too.  Hard to believe that Jaydyn is headed into first grade already. Both on the standpoint of how fast six years really flies by and also on the fact that it is already that time of year for school to be in session.  Wow!   Justin took both the kids out on the 4 wheeler the other day and as they were out, Justin reported that Jaydyn was just jabbering away on the 4 wheeler as she was sitting behind him.  When they all got off the bike, JT was thrilled with grabbing and throwing into his any and all berries he could get his little fingers on.  Meanwhile Jaydyn was just walking, chatting away, and dancing around.  Justin said that after about five minutes of watching he asked her what she was doing.  She told him that she was having a dance concert and singing to her fans.  Justin kept scoping for critters while JT continued to fill his belly with berries and Jaydyn kept jabbering away.  Justin then asked her who she was talking to and she said that she was the teacher and she was teaching her students until he interrupted her.  As he loaded the kids back into the bike, Jaydyn continued to talk and kept talking until they got home.  Then Jaydyn asked Justin why he wasn't answering her questions on the 4 wheeler ride.  Justin just shook his head and later told me the story and was miffed on how much that girl can talk.  Hopefully she won't be a jabber jaws in school but if so, I'm sure I will be the first to know since we will be in the same school.  Looking forward to watching Jaydybug continue to develop her skills and grow more confident in reading.

JT certainly enjoys eating berries. This last week, we were picking cranberries since we've already had a few good morning frosts.  Brother Bear finds his area and then just plops down and eats until they are all gone.  Then he tries to take some from the bucket but usually gives up when I don't share.  Eventually he goes and finds another area to chill and eat berries from.  I wondered how JT would do when Jaydyn headed off for this week and I hypothesized that he was going to have a ball trying to get into all of her things.  Much to my surprise, he proved me wrong.  Although he did grab a few things from her room, he just played in his room and then helped Justin outside.  Brother Bear continues to be on the go all day and he's definitely in the phase where we cannot leave him out of our site for even two seconds.  He's a quick, little tornado destroying everything and anything that gets in his path.  MANNNN, this kid is completely different that Jaydyn as far as his playing patterns.  He continues to remind Justin and I that we cannot just relax and think we have this parenting thing down, that's for sure.

Justin is still guiding fishermen.   The season ends on September 15 and then he's headed for a float trip with the company.  That should be a good time for all of them.   The most important item of the trip came in the mail.... The portable toilet.  So, now for the most part, Justin just needs to close out the season with two weeks left and start packing for his float trip.  As Justin's seasonal work wraps up, Alaska's State Fair is going on in Palmer and the kids and I are excited to head that way next weekend.  Then, we will do two school open houses, a hayride, and anxiously await for my Montana Griz friends Jamie and Jason to visit all within the next two weeks.

Winter is on its way in a quick hurray.  The moose are moving around and close to our house.  Hunting season will come to an end here this next month and since we don't have our AK residency yet, we are on the Troopers Road Kill List.  So, hopefully, we will get our freezers full before winter is here for the long haul.  We are also trying to finish up some of our outdoor honey do list items before snow sticks.  Today, Justin finished the coal trailer and headed to grab a few tons of coal for our winter warmth.  Also, as I was trying to finish up staining our deck, mother nature decided to snow.  Although my initial reaction was not so fond of the snow, as I was putting away the materials and trying to warm up my hands, I think about everyone that is stuck in the congestion of the fires in Montana, Washington and Idaho and prayers go out for their safety as well as hoping that mother nature will send some arctic weather southbound.

The fruits of our labor-35 cups of blueberries to get us through until next year's season.  

JT has to have his own bucket so that he stays out of my blueberry bucket.  I share most things-blueberries, chocolate and chai tea are not on my share list.

Justin has a tough job, someone has to do it!  

A day at the office for Justin.

Fall is in the air.   It's the best time of the year in Alaska, in my humble, but not quiet opinion.  We will continue to share our pics with family and friends to enjoy from afar.  There is always an open invitation for a visit to us.  We will even pick you up at the airport and drive you to Cantwell.  :)

News today, McKinley is now officially Denali!  Does that mean we need to change JT's middle name from McKinley to Denali too?

Another day at the office for Justin.

Hoping that momma and her two calves (only one pictured) do not end up being part of the road kill.  Then again.....  not too far from our house if we are next on the list and one gets hit.   Don't judge.....  It's meat in the freezer.

JT loves to help cook and clean.  Thank you Brenda for teaching him all of this last year in Shelby!

This bunny cracks us up.  We are pretty sure Snuggle Bunny is a girl, but we really don't care.  She is already potty trained and is a little piggy with her daily carrots and hay.  She lives up to her name, as she snuggles with us and give us licks on our arms and neck.  What a sweet bunny.

Brother Bear just taking a little bear nap.

JT and Jaydyn are enjoying the four wheeler rides as we are slowly losing our midnight sun.  Darby Harrington, we are at about 15 hours of sun.  The sun is rising at about 6:40am and setting at 9:16pm.  We will soon have less sun and more darkness until December again when we start gaining more sunlight.  

Jaydyn started 1st grade on Wednesday, August 26 2015.  She went from a Shelby Coyote to a Cantwell Hawk.  As we are missing all of our friends, students, staff, colleagues in Shelby, we are making the best of Alaska life and will be in a town that the wind blows just as much as Shelby and it is cold cold cold in the winter.

And these my friends and family are the best nachos around.  We are trying to get our fill of the seafood nachos before the season closes on September 15th.  Too bad I cannot figure out a way to freeze them like we do for the blueberries and then eat on them until next season.

Justin was soooooooooo excited when our friends called and asked him to take their engagement pictures.  I am very proud of Justin and his artistic eye.  This is one of 50 that turned out stunning.  Congrats on your wedding day in September, Taylor and Ametiteta, and thanks for letting the 4JMasons be part of your world!

And what bunny doesn't like going for a ride?

If you look close enough, JT is hiding Snuggle Bunny.

Just proof that yes, I have started to stain my deck before winter.  Look even closer and you will see the white flurries that are preventing me from finishing today.

Thank goodness that Kat explained to me how to cook sweet mama squash.  Otherwise these two were going to use them as warrior hats.  Don't worry, we used paper towels inside to make sure their little heads didn't get 'squashed' too much.

Happy week and have exciting adventures.  Until next time, get outside with your friends and family before the darkness hits.

Monday Morning pics

Good morning family and friends!

Having fun dressing up while I am working.

These last few weeks of July, the 4J Masons have been busy with adventures and day to day activities.  We celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary this last week and then Justin's birthday this weekend in style.  Last night, Justin was greeted with a birthday-eve popcorn and family movie night date and then brownies with triple chocolate/fudge ice cream for dessert.  Jaydyn created the menu, a girl after my own chocolate heart.  Then today on his birthday, Jaydyn wanted to make breakfast in bed and relax with her dad while watching one of their favorite Netflix series together.  Jaydyn was an early riser this morning, well early riser to my standards, 8am, and was getting eggs, bacon, pancake mix, syrup and toast all prepped for me to cook.  Contrary to Justin wanting to do something outdoors this morning, Jaydyn made him go back to bed and await his breakfast.  Since JT is such a maniac with eating in general, Brother Bear and I chose to eat at the table as I  didn't dare try serving him sticky syrup, eggs, etc. in bed.

I love my new fishing pole Uncle Dave, Aunt Jodie, Erik, Ryan, and Kinzie.

Catching up on the latest books while mom drives to Healy.

Happy to be outdoors!

Jaydyn is getting quite good at casting with the fly pole.  She must have a patient guide that is teaching her. 

Surprise!  Justin's fishing even on his day off.  Look closely and you might spot a red salmon or two.

JT just whips the pole around in the water.  I think he has better form that I do though.

Couldn't resist from getting into the water, I figured it wouldn't take them long.  

JT is the master at reeling the fish in and Jaydyn is the master of getting them off the hook.

Good dogs just sitting and watching, when really they want to rip through the water and chase the fish on the end of the line.  They experience better self control with water than me sometimes with chocolate. 

Sometimes 3 changes of clothes when we are out fishing isn't even enough.  

Fish on!!!!!

Fished out!

Scoping things out on the drive.  Bears, Caribou, Moose, Fish, Construction?

Snuggle Bunny and Brother Bear

Yesterday, Jaydyn quickly hurried with her morning chores of bed making and bedroom pickup and she even had cereal poured for JT and I because we were scheduled to pick up the new bunny.  Still today, we are not sure what gender the bunny is, but we are certain in its name- Snuggle Bunny.  The bunny gets packed around in a winter hat, travels in the car to post office, and gets plenty of pets and lap time between JT and Jaydyn.  I'm pretty sure the dogs are thinking we brought home a snack for them to eat and JT is 100 percent positive that the bunny should just sit on his lap all day long.  So, we have several two year old tantrums during the day when we have to share Snuggle, let it down in the grass to eat, or put the bunny in the cage.  Another thing we are still deciding on is the middle name.  Jaydyn was talking today that maybe it's middle name will be Fireweed since that is what the bunny really likes to eat.  Runner up names include Dandelion, Daisy, Licorice, Poodle Doodles (inspired by her Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Goodan), Dana (our friend that she bought the bunny from), or Jewl.  She cracks me up with her names- Janie Gingersnap (horse), Macaroni and Cheese Noodles (horse), Twinkle twinkle little Star (JT's elf on shelf), Spring a Xing a Ding oh Ling (dog), Sambiny Red Dog Sam (dog), and Brother Bear (brother) to name a few...  Stay tuned on middle name and gender.  

Dallas Stirling-
Jaydyn has found many uses for your owl hat to include-keeping her ears warm while fishing, a purse, and now a bunny carrier.  

A few days ago, we had a family play date with one of our Cantwell friends- the Santos Crew.  They have a little guy that is a few more months older than JT, so we were chasing two little maniacs in the rain and trying to keep them contained in order to play with puppies.  Mike and Caitlin have a dog mushing yard with amazing doggies and a ton of puppies (over 20 puppies). We lucked out that they had an afternoon off without any tours, so we headed over there to visit.  Always amazing to see so many adult dogs and how attentive they are to every action of Mike and Caitlin and a puppy haven.  We opted to play with the 3 week old puppies rather than the 20+ seven-to-eight week old pups.  Love love love the smell of puppy breath and all the kissed and snuggles.  If Alaska is on your bucket list, come and stay with us and be sure to take one of their kennel tours-Dog Gone It Tours.  Pretty darn awesome people!!!!  Mike ran the Iditarod three times thus far and Caitlin is a mathematically genius teacher that I work with at Cantwell School.

Hard at work on the Honey Do list.  I love my handymen!

Justin finished the kitchen table and benches this weekend so we are no longer using our camp table and chairs or the action packer as our bench. Ahhh darn it, the bliss of long term camping was just starting to settle in with me and the camp chairs as our kitchen attire.  Did I mention that we now have hot water AND a washer and dryer.  So, no more RV showering or laundry for this family this summer.  Wahooooooooo!






The good news for me is that Justin's honey do list just keeps getting added to and he continues to build things without any argument or procrastination.  So now onto building a bunk bed, redoing the wood on the coal trailer, and staining the deck before fall.  Not that I am wishing the midnight sun to go away just yet because blueberry picking should be in full swing within the next three weeks as long as that sun shines bright.

"Mom, don't put in a table, how am I going to surf?"

There are a few signs of fall such as the fireweed flowers are already falling off little by little and soon, their messy cotton-like seeds will fill the air and float around endlessly.  Also, I noticed that some leaves on the bushes are starting to turn yellow.  At first, I thought the bush was just dying, but that was not the case.  Just preparing for fall.  Yeah, fall is my favorite time of year, sorry to say that to all you summer lovers.  I am trying to hold back that excitement of fall and we continue to take full advantage of all the daylight hours and the warmth.  The temperature in the summer here is perfect- 60's.  I love the July rains and the sunsets.  Also enjoy the fact that when the Alaska sun is up so long, a 4pm Sunday nap still works due to not going to bed at a normal time, even if the next day is a work day.  Justin is working long hours guiding and in turn, I'm a night owl.  Unfortunately for him, his shifts start a lot earlier than mine in the mornings so he's not enjoying all of the 4J's staying up late and then 3J's sleeping in much later than him.  I'm sooo appreciative of the opportunity to work in the summer for the homeschool/correspondence program and be able to be mom during the day as well.  Once the traditional brick and mortar schools start, Justin's seasonal guide work will be over and he will be able to enjoy being a stay at home dad with JT while I work out of the schools.

  We have a ton of construction south of Cantwell, within Cantwell and north of Cantwell.  I'm thinking that JT wants to go to work on one of the crews, what do you think?






As we reunite with our Alaska friends, we are reminded of all of our family and friends outside of Alaska.  We do miss you all and please know that the our home is always open for a visit.   Although I do not miss the mosquitoes in Shelby, the 4J Masons miss all of the friends that we made there within the last two years and I will most certainly miss the roaring halls of Shelby JH/HS this fall.

Long day of driving to Eagle River and back home, 8+ hours of seat time.

Until next time, get outdoors and play in the summer sun because before you know it, fall will be here.  

Love, 

Jeni and the rest of the 4J Masons. 

Monday Morning Photos

Good morning family and friends!

The sun is certainly staying up beyond midnight and the Mason family is enjoying all of this play time.  Denali was out in her beauty yesterday after three solid days of rain.  Guess she just needed a little watering to show her majestic beauty.  With all of the fires to the south and north of us, we are very thankful for the downpour of water.  

We have been trying to feed the birds, but instead, we are drawing in two very pesky squirrels.  I thought today that Spring and Sam we going to have a squirrel sandwich, boy were they close to snagging one by the tail.  The quick little critter barely got away and then did a victory, in your face chatter right above the dogs from the tree.

Justin's been guiding fly fisherman almost every day since he arrived in Cantwell.  He's loving his fishing gig.  The above picture was taken two summers ago at a nearby stream in Cantwell.  Jaydyn loves loves loves it when Justin takes her fishing.  She's always asking him when he has a day off so he will take her fishing.  On father's day, Justin was able to bring Jaydyn to work and take her along fishing for the day.  She was super excited and chattered like the little squirrel all day long.  

On Justin's first day off this weekend, Jaydyn was stoked when Justin woke her up and told her to get ready for a full day of fishing.  The kids enjoyed searching through the snack bag on the way out to the area, and then plowed through a whole container of blueberries, sandwiches, red russian kale, and then were ready to take a hike down the trail to the waters.  The mosquitoes followed us from Shelby and practically swarmed in large force and tried packing us away!  Tomorrow is another day off, so I would venture to say that Justin and the kids hit the waters while I'm working.  

Jaydyn is our animal lover.  Doesn't matter if they are furry, sticky, stinky, big, or small.  She flocks towards the animals.  The calf is Shelbi and she lives at the Mason ranch with her other calf friend Suli.  The guinea pig and gecko belong to the High School in Shelby.  

 JT is on the go, from the time he wakes up until his final sigh of sleepiness.  He has been having fun unpacking things that I try to put away.  He packs those same things in other places.  So, it's quite a treat to try to find where he has placed things.  Lately, his daily routine is to climb up to the sink to brush his teeth and then complain about how his clothes, socks, shoes and diaper are "ouchy" and then proceeds to try and get off as much clothing as possible.  So, we distract him as much as possible when dressing him and then hope that he will forget and go on with his day of running around.  JT's vocabulary is exploding and he's loving to eat spicy salsa, peppermint Altoids, broccoli, russian red kale, yogurt and blueberries.  He is a beauty for sure.  No resting for us, when JT is awake.  He parrots everything that Jaydyn does and drives her crazy.  She's patient with him most times, even when he pretends that he's going to bite her or jump on her.

Spring continues to be a freak of nature.  She's super smart and lives to play fetch and  is obsessed with water.  She tries to jump in the tub when the kids take baths and will get in the shower when she just cannot contain herself.  Right before our move to Alaska, Jaydyn taught her how to climb the slide stairs, make her sit on top until commanded to go down the slide.  The dog is just go go go too!  Works out pretty good most days that we have a puppy and a two year old, as they play together and then crash for the night!  Sam dog is doing well too.  He loves to run with the 4 wheeler and sneak up on the bed when Justin's guiding the evening trip.

 Jaydyn has talked non-stop about he week long camp.  One day, they visited the dog kennels in Denali National Park.  She was able to get her puppy fix for awhile.

One of the neighbors bunny had babies.  So, we've been going up to hold the babies each day.  Stay tuned to which bunny we will be bringing home at the end of the month.

 After about three hours, Justin had the trampoline put together and the kids (and Spring dog) get out each day to bounce.  I am hopeful that it is wearing JT and Spring out, but haven't seen any positive exhaustion effects on either of them just yet.  Maybe the summer sun with all the vitamin D is giving both the dog and the two year old ever lasting energy.

The purple and white fireweed are all over our yard.  They are awesome this time of year and the kids don't seem to have any AK seasonal allergies.  Looking forward to the blueberry bushes to develop and late summer berry picking.

The community library in Cantwell is great.  It is located in the school and has wonderful books that are Alaska based.  We found this one yesterday and Jaydyn and I crack up at how much we can relate to the storyline of the book.  She's reading better and better each day and now JT is enjoying sitting with her for a book or ten.

Well, off to play some more before that midnight sun sets.  Until next time, get out and smell the flowers around you!

Love,

The 4 J Masons