Sandwich Stealer

Stella the Sandwich Stealer.
(click to see it bigger)

Happy 30th!!!!

Happy 30th birthday to Shawn!! Yeah! Now he can't crack anymore "30-yr old" jokes in the house. He is always giving me a hard time because I am (slightly) older than him. Slightly. ; )

Well, what did we do today...LOTS! Shawn took his comp day today so we did all sorts of fun family things together. Again, the weather was gorgeous. It had been gloomy all weekend so I was needing this. I think the highlight of the day was Music in the Park in downtown Anchorage. I had never been, but on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays there is live music from noon to one in a small downtown park and I thought Nicholas would just love it. So I packed up a big lunch for us and we had our little picnic lunch with about 200 or more other people- tourists, families, workers, bums. I even managed to bring popsicles. They stayed slushy and we could still enjoy them. It just so happened that the musicians today were members of the USAF Band of the Pacific. How cool?!

We got there about fifteen minutes before the show was to start. Nicholas just wasn't sure what to think. But then once the music started playing he was so enthralled. He was identifying all the different instruments that the musicians were playing. He just loved it. Shawn and I loved it, too. Stella slept through most of the show.

gotta be quick- here's some more pictures...(I need to go get Stella)

The kids even danced to the music. It was so cute...Nicholas asked me, "Mommy, will you dance with me?" Oh I love that!! It was just such a perfect day for all.


Dinner was easy. Papa John's. Shawn's request. Then cake and ice cream. Nicholas helped me make the cake this morning after breakfast. Then I frosted it as soon as we got back.


Melissa, thanks for taking this picture!! We don't have many with all of us.
OK, gotta go NOW!! Enjoy.
Happy Birthday Shawn!!!!!

It was a scorcher!

I so wanted to get these pictures posted yesterday, but I just didn't get to. You can see, it was a perfect day. Another one for us. I might just get used to this weather! It was nice- perfect, like this our first summer here. Now, this is our last so we must enjoy every warm minute of it.
Look at my little guy! He is just so darn CUTE!! And getting so big. I can't stand how fast they grow.


So...yesterday, it was already up to 70 by 10am. Then it went up to 77 by afternoon. It was a scorcher! You might wonder why I am so wrapped up in the weather here. Well, it has such a huge impact on us- what we wear (fleece or t-shirts), what we do (play outside or in), and our moods (especially mine!). I have learned that the weather directly impacts how I feel. It is hard to bear the gloom and cold in March and April when I know those are the months we should be gearing up for summer. Instead, we were still shoveling snow in March...and lots of it.

Last summer was nothing like this one. I don't remember one day like yesterday (or today). And Nicholas was content just raking the grass or picking up rocks last year. This summer he needs more to keep him interested. So that means I have to get creative. (watch out) That's just what I did. I filled up his "pool" with hot water from the kitchen sink and let him spray cold water from the hose, and we had a pool day! Even Stella took a dip. Oh, and, yes I realize that what you are seeing isn't really a pool. It is actually a sandbox. Our previous neighbors gave that to Nicholas when then moved. The play sand up here is more like dirt so I am not going to have a dirt box on my deck. But it is a nice toy- a Little Tykes- and we have found a better use for it here. My sister just got her pool put in ( a real one). They are filling it right now. So look out sis, we have a pool, too!!



Nick had a ball!!! And, look, he even has his own waterslide!! I told you I got creative : )


I think Stella just liked being outside. The wind blew the trees and it was something new to look at.



We even had a picnic lunch. I just couldn't bring him inside. Not for PB&J. Besides, I think it was cooler outside than it was in the house.

Look who wants to crawl!!

Look at this little girl! She is getting so strong!
Holding her head up. Now she is even trying to scoot. She can get her feet and butt up, but she just doesn't know (yet) what to do with those arms!! Look at her GO!

"What's it like up there anyway?"

How many times do I get to hear that? How hot is it in Alaska? Now how much daylight do you really have?

I took this picture last week at, well you can see, 10:50 pm. Pretty light out, huh?

Here's another:


Tonight we are sweltering!! It got up to somewhere in the 70s this afternoon and we are so HOT! I know, some of you are probably thinking that 70 is not hot. Here it is for some reason. Plus, keep in mind that we don't have a/c up here. I don't know of anyone who has it in their homes. Our thermostat is reading 77 right now and it is 8pm. Still have about 6 more hours until sundown. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the high 70s. It's gonna be a hot one.

Happy Father's Day!

Well, today is Father's Day...yeah! We have been celebrating all weekend. On Saturday we drove up north to Hatcher Pass and toured Independence Mine. It is an old gold mine that was shut down in the early 50's. Several buildings are still there and we toured around the mining camp. There were plenty of paved trails so we brought the double jogger for the kids to ride in as we looked around.






There were also some dirt trails to explore, but we just weren't equipped to try those. They were too steep for Nicholas and we just didnt' bring the backpack carriers for the kids. Plus, I had only packed a light lunch and a few waters for us, too, so we couldn't stay longer. Oh well. It was still an awesome trip. And the weather...WOW. We had the BEST weather. The sun was out and it was about 70 degrees- which to us, feels like the sun is just beating down on us! I think the sun is stronger up here or something...the air is clearer...I don't know! But the sun is hot. Days like this push those dark and cold winter days far, far into a distant memory. Which is fine with me. The summer is absolutely perfect here. Or I guess I should say, that it can be perfect. (Last summer was not so great. I don't want to even think about it!!) Just thinking of the Alaska summer is enough to get you through the Alaska winter. I wouldn't trade this weather with anywhere else. Check out these views!!!





I am glad we did all of our running around yesterday, too. We left Hatcher Pass and kept driving to Anchorage. We just bummed around the downtown market and even had dinner on the patio of a local seafood restaurant. It was great!! Today is kind of cloudy. It just looks, you know, "boring" outside. I know that isn't usually a word to describe weather, but I bet you know what I am talking about! Later we are going to have Shawn's requested Father's Day dinner: burgers, hotdogs, baked beans, and macaroni and cheese. Pretty easy meal for me to whip up!! I did make a dessert though.

I will miss living here. This time next year, we expect to be moving.

Oh and look at my little cutie pie!

Stella is getting SO big!! Just wish she'd sleep through the night consistently. She was doing great about a month ago and now she is getting up once a night. Although, last night she slept all night. Hard to believe she's 3 1/2 months. Her hobbies include drooling, smiling, and sleeping. Not a big fan of "tummy time" yet. She LOVES her daddy. They carry on secret baby language conversations! Nicholas is starting to enjoy her now. She can focus on him and grab for him. He doesn't mind her sitting with us and reading stories either. He is really cute with her.

No new pictures...just old ones

I don't have any "new" pictures to post today, but there are a couple from a couple weeks ago that I do want to share.






LIke Nicholas' outfit? Yeah. We were outside planting flowers in the front of the house and all of a sudden he grabbed himself like he had to pee. So I made him go in the house to the bathroom. Then a few minutes later I hear him inside. I called to him to come back out. Then he came to the window and said he couldn't. I went over...he didn't have any bottoms on! So I just told him to put his pants on and come back out! Well, he did. And this is what he chose. I noticed right away that he had different pants and underwear on, too. I checked later and...he had peed in his pants. BUT he had gone inside, used the potty, changed his bottoms, and put his wet ones in the laundry room- all by himself! I was proud of him for that. Potty training is still kind of new around here. He did great catching on though (this time). I think he was "trained" in 3 days. Now we have naps in underwear. Just need to work on nighttime.




I promise, not all my posts will be about going potty : )

trip to alyeska resort

Today was absolutely GORGEOUS!!! Not too many days like that up here in Alaska. The summer has been slow to start. But today we went to church and didn't see a cloud in the sky and we knew we HAD to DO something in this perfect weather. We jumped in the car and headed down to Girdwood, AK to the Alyeska Ski Resort. They run a tram to the top and we took it up to see the breath-taking views. Nicholas loved seeing all the snow and the skiiers. We did, too. Enjoy!

in the beginning....

Well, OK, here goes our first try at blogging. Actually, we just want to use this blog to keep our family and friends updated on what we all are up to! We are on our way to church right now, so I will just post a couple of pictures of the kids! More to come...