The AK Loree Family

Catch up...

2010-06-23T19:10:00.003-08:00

We got a chance to go to Sitka this Spring. Mia had a softball tournament, the girls did a great job! I didn't take any game photo's but before we got on the ferry to come back to Juneau we went to the Starrigaven Estuary. We managed to take a couple of pictures. They truely love eachother!

Our "ham"!

Reed's 6th Birthday Party

2010-02-02T18:54:00.002-09:00

On January 27th Reed turned 6 years old. We had a small birth celebration on is actual birthday. We had a big party on Saturday the 30th at the Ice Rink. The theme of his party was "Bakugan". In case you didn't know what a Bakugan was here is a picture. It is a little ball that when played in a game pops open and typically looks like a dragon. It is apparenlty really big with the boys!

Here is the cake my girlfriend Nicole and I made for the party. Our attempt at replicating the Bakugan ball in the above picture. It was a hit with the kids.

This was what Reed wore for his party. His own special jersey!

Hockey Game

2010-01-31T18:31:00.002-09:00

Here is a video of Reed's "First Hockey Game". The little Dynomites got to play a quick game during one of the high school games. Reed is number 8...he is a little slow in the begining but he figures it out. Enjoy!

Time to hit the slopes

2010-01-07T19:47:00.003-09:00

We have had the chance to head up to our local ski area, Eaglecrest. Enjoy the pictures!

Cash Calendars

2009-11-29T13:12:00.003-09:00

Mia is in her second year with the Midnight Suns Fast Pitch Softball program and she just loves it. The major fundraiser for the Midnight Suns is the Cash Calendar. This Calendar sells for $20 and enters the purchaser into a raffle. Each day during the year one name is drawn for the chance to win the cash value for the day.

The Midnight Suns Fastpitch Softball Association is a non-profit organization comprised of a group of parent-volunteers who promote, organize, and supervise women's youth fastpitch softball. As young athletes, the Midnight Suns work hard at developing many useful life skills. Players build self-confidence as they reach goals, while challenging themselves against varied competition.

If you are interested you can email me at reneeaiko@yahoo.com and we can arrange payment and delivery. Your support is greatly appreciated!!

More Halloween Fun!!

2009-10-28T21:18:00.003-08:00

We finally carved our pumpkins. Here are all three lined up.Jack Skellington is mine. My friend Megan did one last year so I snitched her idea. Thanks Meg!! This one is Reed's he chose the pattern, did the pattern set up and even did the majority of the carving.

This one is Mia's she did this whole thing from getting the guts out, pattern set up and 100% of the carving. She was even smart enough to use a toothpick to put the round part of the left eye back in the cat. (She accidently over carved).

Here are some pictures of the kids in the tye die shirts we made.

Cute girl!!

Such a handsome boy!!

Halloween Begins

2009-10-14T20:41:00.004-08:00

We all love Halloween around here! Some of our friends came over to tye die some Halloween Shirts. As you can see they turned out great!

I even added some festive Halloween patches.

Hockey Anyone!?

2009-10-05T21:43:00.002-08:00

Reed is starting Introduction to Hockey this year. Juneau Douglas Ice Association had a "Hockey Discovery" day. All kids were invited to try on gear and give skating a try.

Reed had a blast at Discovery Days and continues to enjoy his Intro to Hockey lessons on Saturdays!

Mia gave it a shot. She is a good skater but all the gear was just too much. She said she just wants to skate for fun.

Some 1st Day of School Pictures

2009-10-05T20:58:00.010-08:00

The first day of school was August 31st for Mia (3rd grade) and September 3rd for Reed (Kinder). Pretty in Pink and ready for the first day of school!!

This is Mia and her BFF, they have been in the same class since Kindergarten!

"Finally! I am ready for Kindergarten!"

Some camping picutres!

2009-10-05T20:40:00.006-08:00

Here are a few pictures of our camping trip this summer. We really like this site because we can actually set up two tents. One is ours and one is my friend Hilary's for her and her kids.

The 4th of July in Juneau

2009-07-08T21:59:00.004-08:00

In Alaska we get to watch the fireworks the night of the 3rd because it doesn't get dark until really late. Since the majority of us were off on the 3rd some friends of ours decided to set up a day camp in order to secure a great vantage point for the evenings fireworks.

You can see we had a great day for the festivities.

There were lots of fireworks, Mia and Reed liked the sparklers the best.

Just a great shot of Reed with beautiful Gastineau Channel in the background.

The Summer Days of Base/Softball

2009-06-14T20:50:00.006-08:00

Here are some fun pictures of the kids on the ball field. Reed likes to run where ever the ball is hit, just like all 5 year old t-ball players. Thank goodness they only play 3 innings!

Mia's games are fun to watch. An "at bat" ends when there are three outs or 4 runs hit in, which ever comes first. Also, no one walks, if the pitcher throws 4 balls the batter gets a chance to hit pitches thrown by the coach. All the girls get the chance to play all the positions, Mia likes to catch the best. She also makes a pretty good third base.

Some Summer Fun

2009-06-14T20:35:00.003-08:00

Ah, summer is here. We are enjoying some nice weather and some very fun filled days. I have always loved using the BBQ for the traditional chicken, beef, fish. When a couple of friends came over on Friday we decided to try a pizza on the BBQ. It was a BBQ chicken pizza on the BBQ! It was sooooo good! (Thanks Nicole for the idea and thanks Carrie for the recipe). Here is the end result.

Whew, it's HOT up here!!

2009-06-07T22:20:00.005-08:00

We have had some wonderful weather (mid to upper 70's). Everyone has had fun playing in the sun. Here are just a few pic's of our summer time.

Spring is FINALLY here!

2009-05-03T09:37:00.003-08:00

As many of you know I am back in Juneau after an eight week stay in Seattle for breast cancer treatment (check out Feb 7 post). I am healthy, happy and glad to be home. Lucky for me I had the chance to welcome Spring to Seattle and now I get to do it again in Juneau. Here is the #1 sign of Spring for the Loree's...Little League Opening Day. Enjoy the pictures!!

Mia is playing Minor League Softball this year. The biggest difference this year is that the girls are getting pitches from players (last year she played Farm League where the coaches pitched). Reed is playing 5 year old T-ball. He is so excited to be playing instead of just watching his sister. He has already made some friends.

Spring Break in Seattle

2009-04-01T17:26:00.003-08:00

The kids came down to Seattle to spend the week with me. I am truly thankful to everyone who made it happen, it was really fun and super special. Thanks everyone!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Spring Vacation 2009

2009-03-24T18:51:00.003-08:00

The kids are in Seattle with me for the week of Spring Vacation. We have had a fun filled few days. We have managed to jam in the Aquarium, Pike Place, Woodland Park Zoo and the Pacific Science Center. The only place I have remembered to bring the camera is the Zoo. Enjoy our slide show, the kids just love the "BIG" ending!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Radiation

2009-03-10T19:18:00.004-08:00

Here is the machine that is delivering my radiation. I lay on the table thing (the whole thing is blocked out in the picture) and the round disk above my head rotates around my body delivering the radiation.
This is my radiation team. Yep, I have a team who is working hard to make sure the cancer does not return. They are from left to right, Barbara, Linda and Brea. Super nice, super efficient.

Happiness is a new dishwasher...

2009-02-19T20:47:00.002-09:00

You know you're all grown up when a new, super quite dishwasher makes your day!! Ohhh, ahhh isn't it pretty??

Happy Birthday Dad!!

2009-02-18T20:15:00.003-09:00

Today is Dad's Birthday!! Everyone had to go about their day as normal although we did call his cell phone and sing Happy Birthday to him on his voicemail. We think that started his day out nicely. After everyone made it home we took him out to dinner...a gift for dad and mom!! The evening was ended with chocolate cupcakes!!

The Latest

2009-02-16T09:58:00.002-09:00

So, I went to Seattle last week. I am all set up to begin radiation treatments. I will begin the 37 treatments on February 23rd. Fortunately I will be able to work while I am receiving the treatments...THANK YOU CITY AND BOROUGH OF JUNEAU!! If you find yourself in the Seattle neighbor hood during the next month and a half be sure to give me a call.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

2009-02-14T15:57:00.003-09:00

Much love to everyone. Here are some valentines for you. We made the shovels that say "I dig you!" for Reed's class and the cute pencils and toppers for Mia's class. Everyone got to have a hand in making them so it was really a labor of love. Happy Heart Day.

Renee's Cancer...

2009-02-07T08:55:00.003-09:00

I didn’t begin this blog to pass along sad or distressing news. I did however create it in order for friends and family to keep up on the Loree’s in Alaska. So I have decided pass on this bit of distressful news. First I have to apologize for not letting everyone know right away. Some of you may know this story and some do not know so I will start at the beginning and move on to where I am today.

On November 21, 2008 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. A bit stressful but the doctor’s assured me that I could wait until we completed our vacation and celebrated the holidays before surgery. That bit of news was a huge relief.

I had a lumpectomy on January 6, 2009. My lymph nodes were clear of cancer. The lump was a bit large than we had anticipated so there was one last test to run to determine whether or not I would need chemotherapy. I received word that with or without chemotherapy my chances of reoccurrence are the same. My doctor and I have decided that I will not need the chemotherapy and we’ll move forward with the radiation and hormone therapy.

I will begin 6-7 weeks of radiation therapy at the end of February. Radiation treatments are five days a week and cannot be administered in Juneau so I will need to be in Seattle for the treatments. I am hoping to be able to return to Juneau every now and then on the weekends. It will be hard to be away from the kids for long periods of time but with the help of friends and family it will all be worth the sacrifice. I am sure we can agree that a cancer free mom is better than the alternative.

I want to thank everyone for all the prayers, kind thoughts, and help along this journey. Everyone has been so great in helping. It is very heartwarming to know that so many people love us and are willing to help out in our time of need.

Much love to everyone and I’ll try to keep everyone updated.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-03T22:23:00.003-09:00

Here are some pictures of our Christmas in Alaska. We were a bit rushed after our vacation but luckily Santa knew exactly what everyone wanted...A Wii!!

You might be able to tell that the kids were in charge of the tree decorating. There were several branches that had 5 or 6 ornaments. There were two levels of decorations too. One Reed level and one Mia level. It was probably the best tree ever!

Check out our WDW Slide Show

2008-12-20T08:34:00.000-09:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Mia's Class

2008-11-03T20:31:00.002-09:00

Check out this article about Mia's class. Let us know if you want to trade cards!!

Birthday Fun!

2008-11-01T20:24:00.003-08:00

Here are a few pictures from Mia's birthday. She had a celebration at school and one at home. We just had a small family party for Mia. She got a little digital camera from Mom and Dad. A cool lap desk and scrap book from her cousins. And Grandpa got her a season's pass for the local ski area. All and all a great 8th birthday!!

This is part of Mia's second grade class. Mr. Beck (in the red shirt) is her teacher. When they sing Happy Birthday in class they throw in some CHA, CHA, CHA's. It is very cute.

This is Mia and Reed with her birthday cake. She didn't make her mind up on the type of cake she wanted until the morning before we planned on having it. She wanted a butterfly, this is what I could come up with with just a few hours of notice. Not my best but Mia didn't mind. You can also see that someone had to sneak a taste of the body

Halloween Fun

2008-11-01T19:53:00.007-08:00

Halloween is twice the fun for the Loree's. We all love the festivites surrounding the holiday and it is Mia's birthday! Here is a picture of the kids in their costumes. Mia was a Kan, Kan girl and Reed was Iron Man.

Caden Came to Visit

2008-10-29T20:32:00.003-08:00

Caden came over to visit while his parents were in Las Vegas. We love to have Caden over, he and Reed are like two peas in a pod. Plus is confirms the fact that the Loree's will be happy with just two kids...forever!!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-19T14:34:00.005-08:00

We had some friends over to carve pumpkins on Saturday. Everyone had fun and now we have some fun pumpkins for the porch.

Ten Years!!

2008-10-17T21:15:00.003-08:00

Well, October 16th was our 10th wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe that we were in Las Vegas ten years ago gettn' hitched!! We went to dinner at the Gold Room in the Baranof Hotel, very fancy. The kids came with us, we wouldn't know what to do if we didn't have them along on our anniversary. This was also an opportunity to pose for a family photo.

Indoor Softball!

2008-09-30T20:26:00.005-08:00

What?! Softball inside you ask, the answer in Juneau is YES! Mia had the opportunity to start playing indoor softball in the brand new, super fancy field house. It is a great facility that allows all the water logged Juneauites a chance to play some of their favorite outdoor sports indoors. Mia played the month of September for a session of Arena softball which was typically 5 v 5 and the pitches were with a pitching machine. A great chance to work on the basic skills.

This is Mia in the field. I think she has some fancy dance step confused with the "ready" stance. Here are a few more of her at bat. She actually is a pretty good hitter. She had such a great time that she wants to play this winter with the club team "Midnight Suns". You know what that means, be ready to pony up to buy the yearly calendar...more on that later.

The Last Camp Out

2008-09-25T19:28:00.007-08:00

This is a bit out of order, we went camping over Labor Day weekend. It was the last long weekend of the summer break. When I say "we" I mean me, the kids, a friend of Mia's, my girlfriend Hilary and her two girls. No men, they both had to work. They did manage to make it out to the camp site in the evenings but they "had to" go back home to sleep in order to go to work...yeah, right!!

This was our camp site. We camped at the Mendenhall Campground the same one we camped at over the 4th of July. As you can see we are pro's at stringing up blue tarps. Actually Hilary's husband Kevin hung the majority of them, Hilary and I put a few more up to cover our tent. Low and behold the sun actually came out. This is Mia and Morgan (Hilary's youngest) playing UNO!

Here is Mia, Morgan (red), Audrey (blue, Mia's buddy) and Reed.

This is Hilary and her oldest Devyn. Devyn is in middle school and defiantly a good sport. Poor thing had four little kids running around for the weekend. It was almost too much for me and I'm a mom!!
Cheeseball Reed, not sure where he gets this from ;-)

The First Day of School

2008-09-02T16:10:00.004-08:00

Today was the first day of school in Juneau. Here is Mia ready to tackle the 2nd grade. She picked out her out fit last night. Everything is pink, who knew I'd have a kid who LOVES pink??

She has a new teacher this year, Mr. Beck. She is really excited, her best friend Audrey is in her class again.

Reed also started at a "new" daycare, Juneau Christian Day Care. This daycare includes preschool. Reed actually went to Juneau Christian when he was an infant, so he is returning for a year before he starts public school next year.

Another Trip to the Glacier

2008-09-02T15:58:00.004-08:00

The rain stopped for a bit a few Saturday's ago and we decided to go to the Kid's Day adventure at the Mendenhall Glacier again. This time we looked for mushrooms, since this has been the wettest summer since 1976 (or something like that) we had plenty of mushrooms to classify. Most of the mushrooms we saw were typical cap type but we did get to see these cool coral mushrooms.

Mendenhall Glacier

2008-08-03T19:53:00.006-08:00

OK, we seriously live only 3 miles from one of the most visited glacier in the world and we just never go there. I found out that on Saturday's the Forest Service has a "Kid's Day" activity. Typically we are at the pool on Saturdays but for the next few weeks we are swimming lesson free and so we went to the glacier.

The ranger went over some of the activities we were off to find the letter 'C' in nature. Mia's favorite 'C' was the tail fin of the Sockeye Salmon and Reed's was the way the the chipmunk tail curved into a 'C'. Enjoy the pictures...and notice, no rain!!

Mr. Hosta

2008-07-30T18:24:00.005-08:00

We had this flower bed in front of our house. The lady who owned the house before us had some crazy wild flowers in it. We had decided to remove all foliage and take out the flower bed. My boss offered a plant that she had. I told her I did not have any type of green thumb. She assured me that she had a mighty hearty plant that loved Juneau weather. So, change of plan, we will keep the flower bed and provide a home for this is our lone little hosta plant, I named him Mr. Hosta. He was delivered and planted early June.Now check out Mr. Hosta, he is lovin' our flower bed. Maybe if this plant thing works out we'll add some more.

Rock-n-Roll Party!!

2008-07-23T20:28:00.008-08:00

This is Makenna, she turned 6 recently and she was the Queen of her own "Rock Diva" birthday party. Her parents (Brandon and Megan) had the party at the local pizza parlor. There was pizza (of course), video games and CAKE!!

Mia was pretty excited to wear her Hanna Montana wig.

Reed loved his new look.

Keeping up with the Mercers

2008-07-22T22:49:00.002-08:00

OK, so my friend Kelly (Mercer) is a blogging nut, Anyway, she has added some fancy background on her page, links to my page, and music. Well, I have managed to use the templates provided to "spruce" up our background and I added a little music. Eventually I'll add some links, including one to her page so you can see just how fancy hers is. In the meantime enjoy the music. I'll try to add more, maybe some of the kids favorite songs.

Washington

2008-06-27T20:17:00.007-08:00

We had to visit Washington in May. It was for a 'celebration of life' for Art Shelly. Grandpa came from Hawaii and Uncle David lives in Washington so we got to spend some family time together. Here we are at Uncle David's house as you can see Grandpa loves his Grandkids. At least for the week we were together. By the end of the week Grandpa was exhausted and couldn't wait to get back to his laid back Hawaiian life.

We left Seattle to go to Bremerton for the 'clebration of life' party. Art's youngest daughter Alison has been one of my best friends for over 35 years. She has two kids who are 'cousins'. Jon is 6 and Lauren is 5, Mia and Reed seemed to love having more cousins and the four were quite a handful.

BEARS!!

2008-05-16T18:53:00.003-08:00

Del is working for Channel Construction and they have a contract out at Greens Creek Mine to create a tailings pit. Greenscreek is located north of Juneau so Del has to take a boat to and from work so you can imagine it is pretty isolated. Here are a few pictures...

This is a bear that was sitting outside of Del's backhoe. He said it was a bit creepy to have such a big animal just walking around in front of his machine.

Apparently here the "little" guy decided it was time to sit down and rest.
This is the ore warehouse where Greens Creek mining stores all the product they pull out of the hillside. They are pulling mostly Zinc. (Sorry for the glare, Del was in a moving truck when he took this picture).

You can see here the long tube that is a conveyer that dumps the ore material into the ship.

Opening Day!!

2008-05-04T09:26:00.004-08:00

Saturday was opening day of Little League in Juneau. It was supposed to be last Saturday but there was still a bit of snow on the fields. We also had our first game. Mia is playing 'farm' league softball. Farm league is when the coach pitches. Mia had fun, she was 1 for 1 and threw out two players when she was in the pitchers position. She loves to wear her costume, aka uniform.

Easter in Alaska

2008-05-04T09:14:00.004-08:00

Athough Easter was early this year it was a typical Alaskan Easter. Snow and rain. Here are some pictures of our local egg hunt. Needless to say the Easter Bunny came to our house but all eggs and suprises were hidden in the house...ya think!!

Reed's B-day Fun!!

2008-03-12T20:04:00.005-08:00

This is Reed's cake...yes I made it. In case you can't tell it is the Autobot symbol from the Transformers. Reed just loves anything to do with Transformers.

This is the pizza place where we had the party. You can see Del (in the red) and a couple of his buddies in front of the games. The rest are our friends along the table and of course I am behind the camera...just where I like it. :-)

Happy Birthday to you!!

2008-03-12T19:54:00.003-08:00

This is where we were singing "happy birthday" and he was so embarrassed he kept staring up at the ceiling.

Christmas Vacation

2008-01-06T18:56:00.000-09:00

In case anyone was wondering where the "Griswolds" moved to they now live in Juneau. This house was completely decked out this winter and we just loved to drive by and admire all the hard work. There were other houses that were fun too but this one always made us laugh and think of the Griswold Family. Enjoy!!

Ski School

2007-12-30T18:35:00.000-09:00

This Saturday was the first chance we had to get the kids up on the Mountain (Eaglecrest). Finally Reed is old enough to take lessons so both the kids will begin skiing this year. They both seem to like it and are excited to get back up next weekend (that is if Mom can move...I found some muscles that haven't been used in awhile. so SORE!)

Holiday Party

2007-12-30T18:29:00.000-09:00

We had a fun holiday party with some friends. Great food and fun!!

This is Caden, more candy went in his mouth than went on the house. I am pretty sure this was the case with most of the kids.

2007-12-30T18:26:00.000-09:00

In front is Emma, her mom and dad (Mel and Murph) hosted the party. In the back is Makenna, her mom and dad (Megan and Brandon) are friends of our too.

2007-12-30T18:22:00.000-09:00

Christmas 2007

2007-12-30T18:16:00.000-09:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. Grandma Ruth came up fromWenatchee, Washington to spend a week with us. As you can see Santa came to our house, that must mean the Loree kids were good this year. YEAH RIGHT!!

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-12-30T18:13:00.000-09:00

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving day. We had many things to be thankful for including family, friends and according to Mia the "big turkey leg".

The Turtle

2007-12-30T18:01:00.000-09:00

Reed is the great pretender. Today he was a turtle.

Pneumonia

2007-11-10T18:29:00.000-09:00

Our kids really don't get sick that often but when they do they GO BIG!! Mia wasn't feeling very well and when we took her to the doctor she told us it was a virus that was going around a week later we took her back and found out it had progressed to pneumonia. Great!! We were taken to the hospital, which is conveniently located just out side our doctors clinic. Mom and Dad took turns, Mom had the night shift and Dad the days. She was a great patient but we are so glad to have her back home.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2007-10-31T16:06:00.000-08:00

Some may know that Halloween is a double treat at the Loree house. We get to dress up and get candy plus it is Mia's Birthday!! As you can see we have had lots of fun dressing up. Mom even got her crew at work to "dress" up. Not overly creative but for the past 10 years they have never dressed up.

Swimming

2007-10-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

The kids are taking swim lessons. Reed has finally gotten off the waiting list and Saturday was his first lesson. You can tell he is not really sure what is going on. Mia has been in lessons before (as you can see). She is our little "fish".

Our attempt at being seen.

2007-10-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

Hello all we are trying to make sure you all can keep up with us. We will attempt to update this weekly but no promises. We'll try attaching a photo later.