WeatherDuo and Family

Grandma's 90th Birthday Part

2010-01-10T08:26:00.008-09:00

January chill may have a a grip on Alaska, but back in May 2009, we celebrated my Grandma Ima's 90th birthday. She turned 90 Dec 26th, 2009. We celebrated her birthday in May because it was warmer and heck...once you're 89 1/2, you are in what I like to call the "zone". You may as well celebrate every day both prior to and after turning 90. On the other hand, shouldn't every day of life be a celebration? We are here, we are healthy, we should PARTY like it's 1999!!! And since you haven't seen any posts since May 2009, the assumption can be made that indeed, we've been spending the last 9 months packing in as much fun and special friend and family time as possible. Over the next few months, my goal is to play catch up from the last year so that I can start fresh with THIS year's activities come May 2010.

On May 31st, 2009, we ceremoniously recognized 90 years of Grandma Ima "Working The Problem". Working all those problems kept Grandma sharp. And also spunky. Although, spunky may be too soft a word because no one can win an argument or change her mind. I googled "spunky" and also found "spirited" and "plucky". Googling "spirited", I found "characterized by animation, vigor, or courage". Courage, self-assuredness, vigor. Yes, I think that is closer. Grandma Ima is the only person I know who knows exactly what she needs, when she needs it, and how to implement changes to meet those needs. This goes along with vigor, the definition of which is "the capacity for natural growth and survival" and "active bodily and mental strength".

I think that is it! Grandma was full of Vigor! Happy Birthday Grandma! Here's to another year full of fun, happiness, adventure, and "Working The Problem"!

Parties are HARD work!

The Family!

Easter pictures

2009-05-17T09:12:00.002-08:00

Arctic Gymnastics held an indoor easter egg hunt, had arts and crafts and even had the Easter Bunny available for pictures. They used foam blocks used to cushion falls from the uneven bars to "hide" the candy filled easter eggs. The boys had a blast. Not only is there no grass here in April, but snow and ice usually cover the ground. To have an indoor option for easter egg hunts and activities is just great! In the next two pictures, Cedric and Blake wear their bunny hats they made and wiggle their noses like a bunny. Blake was just cracking up trying to get his nose to wiggle. :-)

March Ice Bowling

2009-05-16T22:42:00.006-08:00

It may be sunny now, but back in March it was still cold and icy. During Fur Ronde, the Peanut Farm set up ice bowling "lanes" on the frozen stream next to the restaurant. The weather was as good as it gets in March, so we decided to try it out. The holes of the bowling balls were packed with snow and ice, so it was tricky to get a grip on the ball, so the boys stuck to just rolling the ball. Even Jim "palmed" the ball and let it roll off his fingertips. As for me, I did my best putting the tips of my fingers into the frozen partially filled holes. We all did pretty good scorewise, because there were hay bales at the end of the lane. Your ball could bounce off the hay bales and slide back into the pins to knock more down. I got several strikes that way. In addition, other balls could cross into your lane. This could be good and bad. For me, it turned out to be great when a ball from a neighboring lane slid over the lane line and knocked down the rest of the pins that my ball missed. STRIKE! Well....kind of. Here are a few pictures of our ice bowling adventure:

Happy 7th Birthday Cedric!

2009-04-03T20:43:00.004-08:00

At 11:06pm March 6th, 2002, Cedric came quietly and smoothly into the world. He peered at me with curiosity that has steadily grown over the years. Cedric is determined to be the best at everything. He loves school and will practice his school work on the weekends by making up assignments to do. One of his favorite things to do is practice his multiplication tables. I'll print out 12 sheets of multiplication problems to solve and he'll finish them in 30 minutes and beg for more. Cedric also loves to perfect his athletic skills. He loves practicing baseball and soccer skills. You notice a particular word being repeated here, practice. I like to joke that Cedric doesn't play, he practices. Luckily, he has a happy go lucky brother to show him how to play.

Here is a pic of Dada and Cedric when he was a few days old.

6 weeks. 18 months. 3 years. 6 years with his Eagle Eye Reader Award. Happy Birthday Cedric. Glad you liked your H2Oassis birthday party! Cedric opening one of his favorite gifts, a box of pencils and a journal. The kids moved too fast for me to get a good shot, but here Esther and Cedric are holding hands. So sweet. Wave Pool! Cedric and Blake on the Pirate Ship. Aaaarrrrrgh ye Mateys! Here was a present too big for the party. What could it be???

"Wowie...golf clubs! Thanks Grandma Pat and Grandpa Keith! I really can't wait for the snow to melt now! If I practice enough, I could be like Tiger Woods! "

Redoubt eruptions...spectacular

2009-04-01T16:38:00.003-08:00

Embeding the video didn't work...at least I didn't know how to make it work, so I'll just post the link. Check out this fantastic time lapse photography of Redoubt eruptions: http://vimeo.com/3892358

Redoubt ashfall in Anchorage

2009-03-29T09:50:00.002-08:00

It was bound to happen. The wind flow aimed directly at Anchorage when Kaboom. Redoubt erupts. I watched the ash arrive on Radar and boy was it moving fast. The ash arrived in about 2 hours...maybe less. I left work at 5pm and drove into the ash as it was falling. These pictures were taken by Jim from our back deck. Notice the particles falling. It looks like snow....but it's not. In fact, Jim first thought there was blowing snow outside, but when he looked closer, noticed it was ash. The white snow is now a dull orangey brown. The wind was blowing really hard when the ash was falling. There were ash whirls and clouds of ash/dust blowing all over the place. If you look closely in this picture, you can see grooves in the snow/ice where the ash gouged out paths and then settled in the low spots. The Anchorage airport is closed until 3pm due to ash removal. Hopefully, they will get the runways clear by then.

Fasching Karnival

2009-02-22T17:09:00.004-09:00

So I'm a little behind...what else is new? :-)

Here are pictures from the Fasching Karnival at the Rilke Schule German Immersion School in February.

Here is Blake proudly displaying his Karnival hat.

Fishing for prizes. Everyone is a winner! Cedric going for a goal in hockey. Blake scored a goal on the first try! This is a picture of Katherine and Blake. They've been friends since they were babies. If you don't know the story, Katherine declared Blake was his boyfriend when they were 3 years old and has not let go. This picture is so funny because Blake looks so devious. Mostly, he's been worn down by Katherine over the last 1 1/2 years. LOL Blake getting his face painted. Woooooofffff!! Cedric getting his face painted. He wanted Spiderman, but they couldn't do it so he opted for a pretty rainbow. When I first saw this game, I wasn't so sure about it. Let's see....put sharp darts into the hands of young children. It just seemed a little dangerous for everyone around. The kids did fine, though and even popped a few balloons. The football throw. Here is Cedric making it through both hoops.

The boys...sweet to crazy to calm

2009-02-18T15:32:00.003-09:00

Here are a few pictures of Cedric and Blake....from sweet to crazy to calm.

Sweet Cedric in his Cub Scout uniform.

Two sweet dudes with Mama and Dada's sunglasses on. Oh yea! I'm soooo cool and tough! Blake's tough look! Kung Fu Panda style! The boys looking cool! Cedric and Blake love their yoga for kids DVD. Here they are doing the beginning breathing pose. There is nothing like yoga to calm even the craziest and busiest boys. Triangle pose....

Tree pose takes lots of focus....and practise.

My favorite.....child's pose. They look so sweet and calm. Ahhhhhh.

Hurricane Hunter Flight

2009-02-16T10:43:00.013-09:00

Wednesday, Feb 11th, I had the flight of my life. Two colleagues of mine and I took a ride with the Hurricane Hunters. Instead of flying through Hurricanes, we flew over the edge of the Bering Sea ice pack, down over the Aleutian Islands, then east of Kodiak Island. The views were breathtaking once we were far enough west where skies were partly to mostly sunny. The following are a small fraction of the pictures I took. It was so hard to narrow it down.

Here is a side view of the P3 Department of Commerce NOAA Hurricane Hunter plane. The black apendage under the front of the plane and in the nose house onboard doppler radars.

The plane was called "Miss Piggy". Here is a picture of a few of the onboard sensors located under the right wing.

I still haven't figured out how to make images stay upright on my mac, so you'll just have to turn your head sideways to view us in our gumby survival suits. The goal is to get into these suits in under 2 minutes because you will be lucky to have that much warning in the event of a water ditching. We managed to get them on in 1 minute 50 seconds and as soon as that hood went up, we were sweating like crazy. On the one hand it was a very uncomfortable and claustrophic feeling....on the other hand, it was reassuring that they were indeed so increadibly warm. We practiced putting on a life jacket over the gumby suits. If I thought putting the suit on was hard, maneuvering a life vest over it seemed impossible. Somehow we all did it. My colleagues managed to zipper their life vests; I was happy to secure a single buckle. Apparently, there is also a strap that goes between the legs. Umm....how in the world would I hook that up with my extra large 3 fingered gloves? I just hoped the plane stayed in the air.

Here we are smiling under the decals showing 77 hurricanes flown, including Katrina and Andrew, as well as all the countries they have done work for. None of us knew what to expect from the flight. We just hoped it was smooth with clear skies and perfectly working equipment. Turns out that is pretty much what we got. How lucky is that? The airplane had stations at every seat where you can monitor all the weather and aircraft data being collected. There were screens showing the height of flight, ground speed, pitch, air temperatures, etc; cameras looking out from the nose of the airplane, down to the ground, and out the sides of the plane; radars in the nose and underneath the airplane; and GPS tracking showing our track and progress. The below image is just before we took off. We were on Runway 7. I got to listening to the conversation between the controllers and the pilots, because there were also headsets at every station.

Our departure pattern courtesy of GPS tracker. Yes, that is a car symbol on there. It is a GPS for cars after all.

Ahhhh. The clouds broke as we headed west towards Bethel. This is what southwest Alaska looks like in the winter. Here we are on the GPS tracker.

Several dropsondes were released during the flight. The top tube is for dropsonde only releases. The lower chute called the "Free Fall Chute" is for the larger buoy and for dropsondes released at the same time. Our first ice pictures of Bering Sea pack ice. Isn't it beautiful?

I really liked the jigsaw puzzle pattern of this ice. Here is a picture looking from the back of the plane to the cockpit. The cockpit was open for us to hang out in...ask people questions....and take pictures. In fact, we were asked to go into the front of the plane for taxing to and from the runway because the extra weight was needed to help with traction and steering the front wheel. It was so weird to be unbuckled and free during the taxi phase of a flight after a lifetime of flying commercially and following all the rules to keep the seatbelt buckled until the seatbelt sign is turned off. More ice...different texture with this patch. It looks a little more opaque. I like looking at the ridges in this one. I can imagine Shackelton and his crew navigating similar icy terrain during his wayward adventure in the Antartic. Here's where we are in this part of the trip. I wish all flights had this onboard navigator. As we got to open water, you could see the ice undulating with the waves. The wave action broke the ice up into smaller pieces.

This is a close up of the ice riding the waves as we got closer to the edge of the ice pack.

Now, this is my favorite picture. Open water. This is the first phase of the trip. We made several passes north and south along the edge of the ice pack. A little ice buildup on the front of the wing. A little ice also accumulated on top of the prop engines. This is as clear as the Aleutian Islands get. I can't believe our luck! Nevermind that blue line jagging off to the southwest. We didn't jump into WARP hyperdrive or anything. It's just a GPS error. Another Aleutian Island picture taken from the south side. If you look close you can see the lights from a couple of fishing boats.

Now...here is the coolest part. I got to release the dropsonde into the free fall chute. The dropsonde scientists gave me the 1 minute signal and instructed me to throw the dropsonde. When it came time, the pressure difference between the airplane and the outside air sucked the dropsonde right from my hand. No problem at all. Next to go down the free fall chute was the temporary buoy that would unfurl line to measure the temperature of the ocean at a depth of 1200 feet. The buoy was encased in a four foot long casing. When the scientist opened the hatch, the buoy was sucked out with a giant slurping sound. Barry, the Senior Meteorologist and liason/coordinator for the flight, looks at real time data with the NESDIS (NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service) scientists on board the aircraft. Our final flight track. The two blue lines that dart to the southwest were GPS errors. The rest is correct. What an awesome flight and an incredible adventure. Here is a picture of two screens in front of our seats showing our GPS location on the left and right at touchdown on runway 7 at Anchorage International Airport. The mission was successful!

More observations by Blake

2009-01-25T11:15:00.002-09:00

We were riding in the car the other day when the radio hosts were talking about President Obama. Blake immediately said, "They are talking about Barack Obama!" Then he said, "Barack is cool. He is in the Pokemon book. He is the Rock! He can crush fire!"

Blake's analysis of Obama's speach today

2009-01-20T18:10:00.003-09:00

During the ride home today, I was playing a rebroadcast of Obama's Inauguration Speach. When it got to the part where Obama stated emphatically "You will be defeated!" Blake keyed in on the word "defeated" and the following conversation ensued:

Blake..."who will Obama defeat?"

Me..."The bad guys".

Blake..."There are bad guys? Where?"

Me..."All over the world. Barack Obama and other good guys around the world are working hard to fight bad guys."

There was a lull in the conversation as Blake processed this information. When we were home and getting out the car,

Blake said..."Barack Obama is cool".

Me..."Why is he cool?"

Blake..."Because he's going to defeat the bad guys. Him and all the other good guys...".

Commercials and the young mind

2009-01-19T10:19:00.002-09:00

Cedric and Blake used to hate commercials. "Fast forward please!", they would demand of me until Cedric learned how to work the remote control. Then one day, they started watching the commercials. They won't let me fast forward through them anymore. The funny thing is their responses are exactly what the commercial marketers intend. Each time there is a commercial for those space bags or that mini hamburger maker...you know the one...where you can make your own "sliders". Oh...yea...that sounds good to me. Not!

The boys aren't cynical yet and that is good, except when it comes to commercials. After commercials aimed at adults, they say "Oh Mama! You HAVE to get one of those. We NEED that!" After the toy commercials, Blake will say, "I wish I had all of those." Luckily, they forget what the product is as soon as something else comes on. I fear for when they start to ask for things long after the commercial is done. I can't wait until our DVR is smart enough to self edit out the commercials. I can hope can't I?

It's been a wild ride

2009-01-15T14:19:00.002-09:00

The beautiful hoar frost is gone. Rain and strong winds have cleared the delicate ice crystals and snow from the branches of the trees and turned snow covered roads into sheets of ice. Ok...now some of the roads are chunky with ice, but they are still crazy slick. Parking lots and sidewalks are worse. You are almost better driving than walking...almost. Good thing I have Trax to put on my shoes. I actually considered the value of ice cleats today. Yea...it was that slippery.

Just a few days ago, we finished a 15 day streak of below zero temperatures, the seventh longest stretch in Anchorage recorded weather. Each day at work became a contest to see who had the coldest temperature at the house...while driving around town....etc. "I had -20"...."Oh yea? Well...it was -23 at MY house". If it was going to be that cold, then we all wanted bragging rights. Now we are above freezing. In fact, we are about 40 degrees warmer than the coldest point of that cold snap. The new competition is wind speed. Oh wait, not really. None of us like this kind of wind. Luckily at the Nelson Household, we experienced 40-50 mph wind gusts. The folks high up on hillside saw the full brunt of the storm with gusts as high as 106 mph.

Another storm is on tap for tomorrow. Could we hit 100+ on the hillside again? Only time will tell.

More snow pictures

2009-01-11T18:58:00.002-09:00

The clouds, the snow, the hoar frost, and the sun all add up to beautiful colors. I just can't resist sharing some more of my favorite pictures from this winter. Enjoy!

Cedric gets an award and loses another tooth

2009-01-11T10:48:00.005-09:00

Cedric loves to read and it shows. Cedric got a 2nd quarter award for reading above grade level. Lots of his classmates got awards too, which really motivates the competitor in Cedric. If there is anyone in front of him, he'll work hard to reach and/or pass them.

Here Cedric is looking to see if we are in the audience before the ceremony began.

I got an award. I really got an award. :-)

Hi Mom...you see this? I got an award. I am so proud of myself. I'm glad you and Dad were here to watch.

Cedric had a wiggly tooth. We tried the dental floss trick. The tooth didn't come out at that time, but when he was in the bath....voila! The tooth came out! Woo hoo! Tooth number 3! Bring on the tooth fairy!

Can you see the space where my tooth was? Cedric and Blake mug for the camera.

Sledding fun at Kinkaid Park

2008-12-28T19:17:00.004-09:00

Woo Hoo! Yee Haw! Yippeeee!

Fresh snow on Christmas produced fabulous sledding conditions a couple of days later.

Here Blake pauses at the bottom of the hill.

Both boys get on the sled and really rocket down. Look out below! Yikes...that was close! Airplane on approach to Anchorage International Airport: Mt. Foraker glowing pink in the low angle sunlight. Just beautiful!

My Favorite snow pictures so far this year.

2008-12-28T07:29:00.004-09:00

It has been a spectacular winter for photography. Lots of freezing fog and various clouds have brought fantastic colors and nuances. Each and every day, I marvel at the beauty right outside our backdoor. In fact, all but one of these pictures was taken from the backdoor. This is not to say there haven't been other spectacular views around the city. I just have my camera readily available at home. I really should carry a camera with me all the time. Last week, ice coated trees were tinged pink at the top and sillouetted by a strikingly dark blue sky as the sun sank towards the horizon.

This one, I'm calling, "Pre-Dawn Beauty". Notice the hoar frost on the tree in the forefront. Hoar frost is deposited on the trees by freezing fog.

I took this picture late in the day at Kinkaid Park.

This is midday in December. The sun barely skirts the tops of the trees.

More wintery scenes in the backyard.

Nelson Family does the elf boogy

2008-12-25T16:13:00.001-09:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2008-11-22T08:39:00.003-09:00

My friend just "tagged" me. I was instructed to open my 6th picture file, post the 6th picture from that file on our blog, and share the details with you!

Since I don't have all my pictures on this computer...some were lost...some are on Fliker...some I have only in print now. What I did was go to 2007 since I started taking digital pictures when Cedric was born in 2002. I then went to my 6th file under 2007, which was a folder "December 2007", I then went to the first thing in that folder, which was another folder "Cedric's Christmas Creations". This is the photo that came up. It is a milk carton made into a candy house.

This picture is the actual 6th picture in the 6th file...well 7th file because the 6th file only had 4 images in it. This is the 4th image in the actual 6th file currently on my computer: Ok...I'm now tagging Andy, Lisa, Rie, Tiffanie, and Beth.

7 Bookish Things

2008-11-20T17:50:00.006-09:00

Kristina Riggle http://www.redroom.com/blog/kristina-riggle/7-bookish-things-meme "tagged" all of her facebook friends. I accept the challenge! The rules are: Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.Share seven random and/or weird book facts about yourself.Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Ok...I'll give this a whirl: When I was in 9th grade, I was so engrossed in a book that I didn't notice that the school bus had reached school and everyone, except me, had exited the bus. 2. I read every single Walter Farley book in the Black Stallion series when I was a young girl. I really wanted a horse and the books let me experience horses in a virtual way. 3. The first book I remember reading was Dr. Seus's book about Sneetches "The stars on thars..." I don't remember the title. 4. Now that I have children, it can take me a year to read a long book even if I really like it. 5. I love true life adventures. Real stories about real adventures just seem so much more compeling to me than a fictional story. Although, I do enjoy a good fictional story filled with historical facts. 6. I have no qualms about not finishing a story if I lose interest. My reading time is precious to me. 7. I once rapped a "Where The Sidewalk Ends" poem while reading it to a bunch of children. They loved it!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T20:19:00.006-08:00

Halloween.

Candy....$20

Decorations...$50

Costumes....$100.

Allowed to be totally silly and any character you want...priceless!

The week before Halloween, the Parks and Rec dept held a Halloween festival at Russian Jack Park. There was trick or treating and lots of exhibits...some of which were a little too spooky for Blake. Cedric got the joke, though. There was a headless horseman (on a real horse), an "escaped" gorilla who ran around trying to get kids to chase him, and a carriage ride. We took a ride on the carriage and screamed when the headless horseman came "after" us. Lots of fun. All bundled up...

Really big Duck!

These teeth are better than any of the other "treats". "Grrrrrr....look at how scary we are!"

Knight Blake and Darth Vader Cedric get ready for a night on the "town". Having fun at the Zoo Boo... Ooooo large glowing spiders....Oh My! There were a whole bunch of these bigger than life creepy crawlers. And why should the kids have all the fun! Fred and Wilma join in the fun!

Flashback to summer

2008-10-31T19:05:00.010-08:00

Flashing back to summer because I was too busy having fun to post about all the fun at the time... Grandma Janet and Cousin Stephanie came to visit.

Blake loves his cousin so much he even smiles straight into the camera for her! Believe me, this is an amazing thing. Usually, Blake grimaces briefly, then turns quickly away. Here, I got a shot of Blake looking at Stephanie for a picture. Ah well...he still looks cute.

Seward in the summer. We had fun playing on the beach watching the fisherman cast out for salmon, seeing all the wildlife on the cruise, and playing on the playground. Jim and his Mom also got in a half day of charter fishing. Fun fun fun... Well...more fun for Jim since he caught all the fish. LOL

First on the agenda...a train ride! Why drive when you can relax and take in the beauty on the Alaska Railroad. My only gripe was the early morning start. Luckily, there is alot of sunshine in the summer. It's easier to wake up early when it is light out.

View of Turnagain Arm from the train as we head away from Anchorage.

Dead trees along Turnagain Arm. During the 1964 earthquake. The earth lifted and then dropped this area allowing salt water over the land. Alaska black spruce still can't grow in this area because the soil is too salty.

Cedric and Blake watching the beauty glide by.

A picture of the back of the train as we rounded a bend up Turnagain Pass.

A little black bear scrambling up an embankment.

Spencer Glacier. Since Stephanie and Grandma were with us...we could sneak away by ourselves at times...Yea!

Sea plane on the lake at Moose Pass.

I don't know the name of this lake, but the stillness allowed a beautiful and perfect reflection of the mountain in the water. Ahhhh.

Stephanie and Cedric relax in the dining car. On a poplar fishing beach in Seward, Blake looks for ... something.... anything... what IS in there?

Working together for the common good...higher...HIGHER!

First time fishing ... we didn't catch anything, but boy was it fun trying.

Cedric got his Junior Ranger badge on the cruise! He was so proud. The ranger was impressed at all that he knew. Well...he is a smartypants. ;-)

We saw tons of animals on this cruise. There was even a humpback whale. I saw the blow hole go and the back of the whale very briefly. Here are a few of the better pictures I took.

Bald Eagle sighted during our cruise.... Cool shot looking at mountains through a hole in the rock.

Sea lions....

Glacier ahead!!!

Beautiful fireweed in front of the Seward Harber...

Blake and Cedric both pulled their own luggage. Thanks potterybarn!

Blake made it all the way to the top during a hike to Exit Glacier near Seward. He was like a mountain goat.

Blake was a great hiker, but even mountain goats get tired sometimes. Blake catches a ride back down. Stephanie pondering the awesome natural beauty.

During our second Seward trip of the summer (what a rough life we lead, huh?) Grandma Sandy and Pop Pops pose with Cedric and Blake. My favorite Alaskan flower...the fireweed... frames the background. We had a lot of fun. Jim went on a charter fishing trip with the Grandparents. I didn't get to go fishing because the weather was good for only one day. Luckily for Jim, he caught a bunch of fish and our freezer is full. Next time, I get the good weather fishing day.

All About Blake!

2008-10-26T09:05:00.004-08:00

Blake is SWIMMING!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. Yesterday, he got in right before his swim lesson, put his head in the water, floated a little, then started kicking. By the end of his actual swim lesson, he was trying to use his arms! Next session, he'll be in LEVEL II! I'm so proud of him. :-)

A boy and his cat. Blake loves giving Peppy hugs and kisses; dragging a string for him to stalk and catch; cleaning the litter box (both boys enjoy this!) and gently stroking Peppy. What more could a gentle, sweet cat like Peppy want?

I'm a copy cat!

2008-10-18T19:15:00.003-08:00

I enjoy Jill's music on her cobbapple blog, so I decided to make a playlist of my own. This is my theme song. "I'm not completely insane... I'm really just a little bit crazy...." LOL Come on...sing it with me!

Family Pops show

2008-10-17T16:28:00.005-08:00

Cedric and Blake turned their full attention to the stage as the Family Pops program starts. This was Blake's first time seeing a show and Cedric's 2nd. The Anchorage Concert Choir did not dissapoint. There were "Cats"; "Oompa Loompa Doopide Do...."; "Lions and Tigers Bears...Oh My!"; Storm Troopers and a light saber battle; Enchanting songs of love; a King, Queen, Prince, and Princess; a mermaid that dropped down from the ceiling; and more. We all had a great time. You should have seen Cedric and Blake sit on the edge of their seats during the Storm Trooper entrance and light saber battle. They looked as pleased as any child who is finally allowed to watch a movie that is usually for older kids or adults. I loved seeing our friend perform a duet as a Jelico cat. Of course, that is one of my favorite musicals. And I have to say, the Mermaid songbird performed to the level of the best broadway plays. Fun fun fun and one of the best performances I have seen in a long time.

The bright side of cold climates...no ghosts!

2008-10-17T10:24:00.002-08:00

With Halloween fast approaching, Cedric and Blake have been thinking (and worrying) about ghosts, goblins, and witches. I overheard them talking about ghosts while driving home one day. Blake and Cedric made up their mind that ghosts only like warm weather and since it was cold here, there were no ghosts.

No ghosts = nothing to be afraid of!

Cedric's stitches are out!

2008-10-13T19:42:00.004-08:00

Cedric is all smiles today. His stitches are out! Yea! It looks like the scar will be minimal too! Double yea! :-)

The Three Amoosegos

2008-10-12T10:27:00.005-08:00

At times there have been four bull moose in our backyard. Mostly, these three have been eating, fighting, and generally hanging out in our neighborhood for the last 3 weeks. I just can't believe how lucky we have been. It is very unusual to see bull moose and they are usually solitary creatures. During the rut, which is now, obviously, moose are known to give up eating. These three have been eating plenty. In fact, today, they nibbled on our bushes, dying flowers, and the carrots that I haven't fully harvested. They only ate the greens, I'll just have to dig up the roots.

The next two pictures show the two larger moose deciding whose in charge. Guess who won? Here the bigger moose is pushing hard against the middle sized moose. I got some of it on video and will be adding it later. Video of the moose battle: A few weeks ago, it was warm, sunny and nice. I was home because we were having a window repaired. I'm soooo glad I HAD to stay home. :-)

Mugging for the picture are the smallest and the biggest of the three moose. This was before the little moose realized he didn't have a chance. LOL

In this picture, the Big moose gave the little moose some rut lessons. First you lock horns, then you push. The big guy wasn't really pushing hard. I think he knew this young bull wasn't a threat.

Big moose takes a rest. It's hard work being a teacher.

Blake is 4!!!!

2008-10-11T09:06:00.010-08:00

My "baby" is now 4! He is so proud of being 4. "I'm big now because I'm 4!" "I can dress myself now because I'm 4." etc etc.

It's all good. :-)

Blake's birthday party was at Arctic Gymnastics. Imagine 16 kids running around with crazed excitement. It was really hard to get good pictures and I was using the fast setting on the camera. This first picture captures the mood of the day perfectly. See the first blur...that's Blake. LOL Running on the trampoline "path". Video of the trampoline "path": Foam pit wars. The older kids ended up here the whole time. The kids wore the parents out. Mission accomplished. LOL

Cedric "burried" in foam.

One of Blake's friends testing out his "climb the rope" skills. Well, he perfected the "hang on the rope" technique. Same friend also perfecting his balance beam routine. And another friend tested out his bouncing and jumping skills on the ever popular trampoline. Bounce bounce bounce...

We played a few parachute games to settle the kids down right before cake time.

Blake was shy and didn't want to play parachute. The teachers at Arctic Gymnastics did a great job to get him into it. They let him play "shark" where he went under the parachute and touched someone's leg bringing them under the parachute, then both of them become sharks and so on until everyone is under the parachute. Fun fun fun. Video of the shark game: Ah yes...cake time! Jumping, running, and climbing is fun; but this is what it's all about.

Grandma Pat thought it would be a good idea to put groups of 4 candles all around the cake since it was such a big cake. As you can see in the next picture, Blake needed some help to blow all those candles out.

Everyone had a great time. Blake is 4. Next stop 6, so he can be just like his brother. :-)

Emergency Room Visit #432

2008-10-08T20:30:00.002-08:00

Ok it's not the 432nd time we've been to the emergency room. It just seems like it. We are becoming so familiar with the ER it seems we could find our way with our eyes closed.

So anyway, why were we there? A picture speaks a thousand words. Below are the before stitches and after stitches pictures. Yes, stitches. Six of them. Three inside and three outside. Poor guy.

How did he hurt himself? He got into a fight on the playground and ended up pushed into a metal post. The moral of this tale for Cedric is fighting ends up with someone getting hurt. Hopefully, this lesson will sink in.

Cedric's first day at Rilke Schule

2008-09-28T09:51:00.002-08:00

Gutan tag! Good day!

Cedric is now attending Rilke Schule an Anchorage School District German Immersion Charter School. Cedric loved Bayshore and his teacher was really nice. He just needed more of a challenge and we think Rilke Schule can provide it. Still...the first morning was a little hard. I took this picture of Cedric in his new school. The second picture is the look I got when I asked for a smile. LOL By the end of the day, Cedric was all smiles and talking excitedly about what he had learned. I took Cedric to say goodbye to his Bayshore teacher. She was very excited that he enjoyed his new school. Cedric told her what he learned. He learned that "mit" in German means "my". Mit Mama, Mit Dada, Mit brother! :-) Needless to say, I will be taking the German adult classes because I don't want my children speaking a language I don't know.

Nelson experiences caught on video!

2008-09-16T22:11:00.002-08:00

Blake and Cedric play on a see saw at a Seward playground. Peppy and the wrist band. You fierce hunter you. Mama moose and baby moose in our backyard. The baby moose came running up to investigate us. I took this video through the window because I didn't want to scare them off. I just never get tired of moose in the backyard. I don't even mind sharing my lettuce and snap peas.

Catch-up post

2008-08-29T21:06:00.007-08:00

So much has happened in the last 5 weeks that I could do 10 posts. To speed things up, though, I'll catch up almost everything in one. Although, I'll put most of our Seward vacation photos in another post.

Cedric got his cast off July 29th. It was so hard for him to have a cast on in the summer. He couldn't play the last few weeks of baseball, swim, ride a bike, play on the playground rings and monkey bars, etc etc. For 2 weeks after he got the cast off, he also couldn't do any of those things. We had bought Cedric a bike that attaches to my bike, but alas, it sat in our garage unused for most of the summer.

Cedric started 1st grade August 26th. Unfortunately, the photographer was just as excited as you can see by the blurry images. LOL Cedric loves school. He kept telling us how much fun he had at his first day of 1st grade. He only had two complaints. There was no homework and the teacher read a book for the math portion. He said, "That's not math, it's not even times (multiplication)." I can only hope to get that on tape so we can play it for him when he's older and complaining about homework.

Cedric eagerly gets down to work on his 1st grade assignment.

Cedric is proudly showing off Junior Ranger Badge during a day cruise out of Seward, Alaska. The Ranger was impressed that Cedric matched all of the animals and footprints perfectly. I told her it's because we go to the Eagle River Nature Center and they have rubber replicas of animal prints.

Cedric and Blake on the swings at the Alaska State Fair. Yeeee Haaaaw! Blake was tall enough to ride this ride. It just didn't seem possible. They both had a blast.

Cedric was selected as a volunteer for the Extreme Dog Show at the Alaska State Fair. I bought him the little dog hat to wear, which meant he was more likely to be picked. After the show, he turned to me and said, "Mama I LOVE you!" :-)

Here is a picture of the Blanket Toss demonstration from the Alaska State Fair. They solicited volunteers from the crowd to help. Very cool. Eskimos use the blanket toss to spot whales to hunt. Well that's it for now. Soon to come...Seward vacation stories and pictures. Also, we've had lots of moose visitors recently so I'll be uploading pictures and video soon.

Cedric the Bench Coach

2008-07-24T20:29:00.005-08:00

As you know Cedric broke his arm and has his arm in a cast. We've kept him out of the games for the most part and asked the coach if he could be the coach's assistant. The coach assigned Cedric a couple of assistant duties. Cedric's favorite was when he was the assistant bench coach. He really loved being responsible for telling others what to do...basically bossing them around. LOL

In this picture, Cedric is the 3rd base coach.

Ahhh...Cedric's favorite position...assistant bench coach. He was responsible for getting everyone in batting order and he was militant about it. LOL

During the last game of the season, we let Cedric get out in the field for the last inning. A ball came right to him. He was so excited to get to make a play.

The coach was awesome. He handed out baseball cards after every game. This kids loved him.

Say "HOME RUN"!!!

Cedric's T-ball trophy. The coach also had ice cream for all the kids. The end of another fun season of baseball. Next year...coach pitch. Cedric can't wait!

Bear Paw Festival

2008-07-13T20:33:00.006-08:00

Cedric, Blake, and I trecked to Eagle River for the Bear Paw festival yesterday. The weather was as good as it gets...at least this summer. It was sunny enough and warm enough for me to wear a tank top. We even needed sunscreen! Which is pretty amazing considering how cool and cloudy this summer has been.

We mainly hit the rides. Blake rode many new rides this year that he was not adventurous enough nor big enough to try last year. It's just amazing how quickly a child goes from not being big enough to ride even with a parent chaperon to being able to ride all by themselves. He even rode the dragon boat ride! I was so worried he would get scared in the middle of the ride, but he not only didn't get scared, he LIKED IT!

This is the before picture. Cedric and Blake and an unknown child get settled in their seat. I would have rode the ride with Blake, but there was no room for me. :-)

The following two pictures are mid-ride shots. They boys were on the end and it really goes high in the air. I still can't believe Blake liked it.

Look at Blake's hair go! And he's still smiling...we'll as much as you can on that ride!

Another new "ride" that Blake did this year was the Raiders maze and slide. Cedric showed him the "ropes". Down the hatch! Blake...ready to take the plunge! A much calmer and traditional, but still very fun ride for the boys. Here is a closeup of the boys before we all rode the circular ride that goes forward and backward. I wasn't sure Blake would like it, but he not only liked it, he laughed the whole ride! He especially liked the backward part. Blake was so funny and cute. I couldn't help watching him the whole ride that I was pretty dizzy by the time we got off the ride. There was a hill near the carnival...so, of course, the boys had to try it out. Rolling rolling rolling....

Running...running...running

Moose video

2008-07-13T20:26:00.002-08:00

We took some video of a young moose chowing down on greens in the pond behind our house. Usually, the pond is dry this time of year, but it's been an unusually cool summer for us. To compensate for our loss of a sunny and warm summer, mother nature brought us a moose to gaze upon. Enjoy!

Moose video

Cedric's new cast

2008-07-08T15:36:00.002-08:00

Cedric is pretty pleased with his new sporty blue cast. This one doesn't go to his elbow, is a cool color, and best of all, he can get it wet! This cast is made of gortex. In fact, the Dr. says to make sure to spray water down the cast to help "wash" the skin covered by the cast. Things have come a long way since I had a cast on my arm in the 1970s.

Cedric will wear this cast for the next 3 weeks.

Cedric's first broken arm

2008-07-04T20:33:00.002-08:00

Cedric broke his arm...well...it's a compression break and since his bones are soft, it shows up as a bubble on the x-ray. Nonethless, he needs a cast. Luckily, it's his right arm and he's a lefty. He's pretty bummed because this means he can't play baseball. There are only a few games left, but baseball is his favorite sport. Poor guy.

Here is a picture of Cedric shortly after he got his cast on. He did manage to get over his sadness and run around with the other kids. We are figuring things out, like how to get shirts on and off over the cast and how to do baths. Although, Cedric has already declared that he'll get no baths for 3 weeks. Um....nice try. :-) Actually, it's just a splint right now. He'll get the cast in a few days. The Dr says he will have the cast on for at least 2 weeks.

Videos of Cedric playing baseball

2008-07-03T09:24:00.006-08:00

Check out the new You Tube videos I uploaded of Cedric playing baseball. Last week, Cedric was nearly hitting the ball out of the infield. Pretty good for a 6 year old! Cedric just lives for baseball. He practices every day.

Also, here are direct links to the videos:

Video 1: Cedric fields the ball and makes the play!

Video 2: Cedric hits the ball and runs to first.

New YouTube link on the sidebar

2008-06-26T19:07:00.004-08:00

I uploaded video of the boys petting Pepe to YouTube and added a link on the sidebar.

Direct links to the meeting Pepe videos:

Cedric petting Pepe.

Blake petting Pepe.

Meeting Pepe

2008-06-26T12:56:00.004-08:00

Cedric and Blake are so excited to have Pepe in their lives. They play and pet Pepe every chance they get. They also try to give him Kitty treats, which Pepe is not interested in at all. Ah well...

Here are a few pictures of Cedric and Blake giving some lovin' to Pepe.

Blake tries out the kitty bed for size. :-)

I've got some really fun video of Blake and Pepe, but can't post it here just yet because I finally figure out how to increase the resolution of the video. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to reduce the video file size using our computer programs. Maybe I'll start up that IWeb thing. I'll also see if they will load to YouTube....stay tuned. Trust me...the video of Blake interacting and talking with Pepe are just too cute. I guess you'll have to trust me since you can't see them, yet. LOL

Pepe

2008-06-19T10:38:00.004-08:00

Pepe (black and white kitty) will be joining our family in a few days. Pepe's current family is moving to Washington D.C. and the house they will be renting will not allow cats. We are adopting Pepe so that he will have a happy home to be loved and doted on. When I told Cedric we were adopting a cat, he hugged me because he is so happy. Both Blake and Cedric like to pretend to be kitties. They are just so excited that Pepe will be coming to our house to live. Now we just need to get all the stuff a kitty will need. Here are a couple of pictures of Pepe. Isn't he handsome?

Jumping Beans...err boys

2008-06-16T22:10:00.004-08:00

Cedric and Blake love to jump, especially on beds. Their kids...go figure! LOL So, we put Blake's bed on the floor and let them go at it in a relatively safe environment. Well...occasionally, they run into each other or the wall, but they recover quickly. Although, there is a dent in the wall where Cedric banged his head. He didn't even cry about it and there is a DENT in the WALL! Other times, he's crying a river over the slightest thing, but bouncing into a wall while bouncing on a bed is not a big deal. It just goes to show if it's important enough to them, they'll tolerate anything. :-)

They love to put the music on and jump...jump...jump...jump.

Here is the video of my sweet boys jump jump jumping!

Pirate Blake

2008-06-16T21:50:00.004-08:00

Blake loves the Backyardigans. One of his favorite shows is the one about Pirates.

A Pirate says....Aarrrrgh!

Here is the video...aaarrrgh!

VACATION TIME!

2008-06-04T11:02:00.013-08:00

Aunt Wendy (my sister) and Uncle Steve came to visit us and go on an adventure. I've uploaded loads of pictures from our trip, but first, we start with a warm welcome from Blake...err what is that stuck to your face Uncle Steve...could it be part of a silly putty web? This looks like the work of "silly Blake". "Ha Ha Ha", says Blake! LOL First stop...Talketna lodge. Usually, you have a nice view of Denali and the Alaska Range. We did get a good visual our first night, but not good enough to capture with a camera. It's still a fabulous view of the Talketna valley. Gorgeous! The running of the children! Here is Blake running down the hill at the Talketna lodge at full speed. Cedric is running against the clock. Can he beat his previous time? Maybe he should try it again...and again...and again... LOL Tired children make good traveling children. ;-) In the town of Talketna, we all took turns "kissing" the moose, but Uncle Steve's picture was hands down the best. He really looks like he's getting slobbered on by a moose!

Wendy and Steve pet the sled dogs at the EarthSong Lodge we stayed at in Healy, just 5 minutes north of the Denali National Park entrance. We stayed in a cozy 2 bedroom cabin with a spectacular view of the Alaska range. Peacefull, gorgeous, and rustic....well not too rustic, there was indoor plumbing. Lots of "real" Alaska cabins do not have indoor plumbing. Cedric and Jim at the Earthsong Lodge An Earthsong sled dog showing his softer side. Into the park we go! Denali N.P. was established as Mt. McKinnley Park in 1917 and was only 2 million acres. Today, Denali N.P. and preserve is 6 million acres. We took a guided bus tour. It was an 8 hour trip that took us 62 miles into the Denali N. P..

Blake waits for the bus in his carseat. The Bus is HERE!!!! Here we GO!

Our first wildlife was a not so shy porcupine in a tree. Here is a Great Horned Owl nest with 2 babies in it. Right next to the road! How lucky could we get? Blake missed the first quarter of the trip, but doesn't he look cute? Cedric and I mug for the camera at one of the rest stops. Wendy and Steve at one of the rest stops. BEAR 12 O-CLOCK! In the road! We are soooo lucky! Awesome! The bear turns and heads back towards the bus. He's looking right AT us! Then he heads down towards the river. Maybe something smells good down there. I'm sure this bear is hungry after a long winter. Spring came way late to Alaska after our April snow and cool May. In fact, the leaves had just started sprouting the day before our bus trip. A Mama moose and twin babies goes running off into the bushes. Wendy got a good pic of one of the babies and the Mama. They were soooo cute. DALL SHEEP 9 O-CLOCK! Right next to the road again! And there are two little baby sheep about 2 weeks old. Everytime the "babysitter" moved, the little babies would scamper after her. They kept trying to rest, but the babysitter would keep moving. The bus driver explained that sheep would designate one of the group to be a babysitter for all the babies each day. Just one example of the views you see in all directions all throughout the park. PTARMIGAN! This bird still has some white feathers from his white winter coat. These birds are brown in the summer and white in the winter. More bears! We saw a Mama bear with two 2 year old cubs. The cubs stay with their Mama for 3 years before being kicked out to make their own way in the world. These bears were a beautiful creamy white color. Here is another picture of the baby Great Horned owls. We saw many other animals that we couldn't get pictures of. We saw lots and lots of Snowshoe Hares, several Golden Eagles soaring and playing, a ground hog and lots of other birds and probably lots of other animals that I can't remember. I should have written them all down.

The next day, we visited the Park Headquaters to see their sled dogs and see a sled dog demonstration. Here two sled dogs stand on their dog houses. They are watching their "neighbor" try to get on his house. Sled dog puppies! Steve and Cedric visit with the sled dogs. And HERE THEY COME! Running full speed, barking and carrying on, are the Denali Park sled dogs! Sled dogs are the best mode of transportation in Alaska despite the modern developments of snow machines and snow cats.

Ready for 1st Grade!

2008-06-04T10:55:00.003-08:00

The day after Cedric's last day of school, which was May 22nd, Cedric spent preparing for 1st grade and working in the workbook he got when he "graduated" from Kindergarten. Cedric was so excited about being a 1st grader that he gathered all his colored pencils, pencil sharpener, crayons, markers, and scissors and put them in his backpack. He kept saying how in 1st Grade he would have his OWN desk and that you don't share ANYTHING, so he would need to have all his own pencils, crayons, scissors, etc etc. Cedric spent the better part of the day ensuring he was properly packed for 1st grade. Then he asked, so when does 1st grade start? I told him in August. He said, "What?" "Silly Mama, school starts next week." I told him that it was summer vacation and school wouldn't start again for a few months. "WHAT?", Cedric said. LOL He just can't wait for school to start. It's a good thing. :-)

Cedric's....sniff sniff...last day of Kindergarten.

2008-06-04T09:32:00.002-08:00

My sweet little boy is no longer a Kindergartner. He is now a 1st grader and he couldn't be more proud. Here are some pics from his last day of Kindergarten. They had special wacky hats just for the occasion and a picnic.

Cedric in his class chair.

Cedric and Blake. Blake is proud of his brother too.

Cedric's class and his teachers (Mrs Schrooten on the left and Mrs Cummins on the right).

Cedric climbing the "rock" near the picnic area. A great time was had by all. :)

Cedric and Blake...best buds

2008-05-24T23:12:00.002-08:00

Cedric wrote in his school journal "Love is my little brother Blake" where he needed to fill in the part after "Love is....". Now, I would have loved to have been in there, but I'm thrilled that Cedric loves his brother. :-) It just melts my heart.

Cedric's Spring Concert

2008-05-23T09:46:00.005-08:00

I'm a little slow in posting this. I really hoped to have the video uploaded to Youtube, but first, I would have to have the camera talk to the computer....ah well.

We took a bunch of pictures of Cedric's Spring Concert (which occurred April 23rd) and we videotaped the whole thing. Unfortunately, all you will find in this post are pictures. You'll have to imagine the singing. ;-)

This was the best Concert I've ever been too. I laughed and I cried. Oh boy...did I cry. Those Kindergartners did so good. There were songs they knew better and liked better. You could tell because they would get more animated and sing louder. Then there was the song where the whole group got ahead of the music, so one of the Kindergartner teachers had to turn the music way up. The group eventually caught on and slowed down. LOL The last song was "We are Family" and all the kids came down and brought us on the floor to dance. It was just the best thing ever.

The Happy performer on his way to the stage.

Eagerly waiting.... Still waiting... "Do you see me Mom, Dad, and Blake?" "I'm singing!"

Of snowmen and lemonaide

2008-04-28T10:34:00.005-08:00

When life gives you lemons, make lemonaide. Well...we made the equivalent of "lemonaide" with our huge spring snowstorm. We made a beautiful snowman. Say "Snowman"!

A curious spring visitor during the building of the snowman. No doubt this goose had never seen a snowman being constructed before. LOL The snow is melting fast and the geese are coming back.

A boy and his snow shovel. Work CAN be fun!

Especially when you take fun breaks to jump in the deep snow! Woo Hoo! :-)

Final total....19 inches

2008-04-26T08:22:00.003-08:00

19 inches of snow in less than 24 hours fell at our house. The previous snow record for this day was 0.8". Yes, less than an inch of snow. Record snowfalls for April 26-May 2nd range from 0.2" to 5.5".

Almost all outdoor events are cancelled today, including the Heart run that we were going to participate in. Well...they are trying to pick another day for the Heart Run. Rescheduling an event for 7,000 participants won't be easy. Cedric's school even won a district wide award for having the most participants in the heart run with 612 children and adults registered. Channel 2 news did a story on them and all the kids and teachers wore red shirts and stood in the shape of a heart. Cedric was on TV! He was so excited.

So here is what 19 inches of snow looks like out our back door. Notice the trees in the background leaning way over. This was not your typical Anchorage snowfall...this was a wet and heavy snow perfect for snowman. You know when life gives you lemons, make lemonaide....maybe we'll go snowshoeing and build ourselves a snowman. :-)

The &@# Stages of Spring

2008-04-25T16:23:00.008-08:00

First the sun is up earlier and stays up later, then the snow melts, then....errrrr.....then....Ummmm! THE SNOW IS SUPPOSED TO MELT! Do you hear me??? Ok....revision: The snow melts, then falls again, then melts, then piles up again and keeps snowing and snowing. It's like the movie Groundhog Day around here, "It's going to be cold and it's going to be dark for the rest of your life." Ahhhhh!

The following pictures are from today. Each picture is showing 2-3 hours worth of snowfall accumulation changes out the back door and yes, it is STILL snowing!

2pm

4pm 7pm

2pm

4pm

7pm

Winter to Spring in 1 week

2008-04-24T22:13:00.005-08:00

Snow is a 4 letter word after March's teaser weather of mild temperatures and hardly any precipitation. Everyone thought we were on our way to spring when suddenly we....err Jim....had to shovel the white stuff again. Plus, this snow was more like East Coast snow. It almost felt like rain against your skin. Yuck! This was nothing, too, a week prior to the day this picture was taken, we had a foot....yes 12 inches....on the ground. Needless to say, no one bothered making snowmen. LOL Just as quickly as the snow blanketed the ground, it melted. It is April in Alaska after all and it's still sunny at 9:30 pm and getting light enough to read by at 5:30am. Besides, the geese have returned. They would never come if spring weren't here! I didn't take video, but if I did, you would have heard these two geese emitting a series of monotonous and neighborhood alarming honks punctuated by intense listening periods as they listened for return dialogue from the pond behind our house. What in the world could they be talking about? Are they challenging each other? Talking about where they are going to gather for the evening meal? The pond in the greenspace behind our yard is the "meet and greet" place. During the middle of summer and fall, the geese take off for other Alaskan locals. I often wonder where they go. And despite all the noise sometimes at really early times of the day, we look forward to our noisey visitors because it means spring is here!

So...it's spring and that means getting outside! Hurray! On our first bike ride around the block, Cedric made his first skid mark. He was so proud. In the picture below, Blake is testing out his wheels in the garage just raring to get his "ride" on the open sidewalk.

April 18th...what a good day for a Birthday!

2008-04-24T21:55:00.002-08:00

Happy Birthday to you.....happy birthday to you....happy birthday dear Jimmy....happy birthday to youuuuu. Jim's birthday present from the boys was a battery operated train engine that Jim has been asking for. I don't know who was more excited about it though. Just look at them!

:-)

Jim's big present was in this strangely wrapped box. What could it be?

I advised Jim of the dangers lurking in the box....sharp edges that could cut....delicate features that could break...and instructed him to grab it from behind. So....with trepidation and great care, Jim put his hands the box to retreive his present.

Voila....a beautiful, handcrafted King Salmon wall sculpture. I'd love to take credit for making it, but the real credit goes to a local artist, Chris Floyd. Jim is thrilled! You see...Jim has always wanted one of those salmon on parade that are auctioned off at the Alaska State Fair. Now he has a salmon made by an artists that has made a Salmon on Parade.

The Spider Hole

2008-04-06T19:50:00.002-08:00

Blake has decided every heat register in the house is a spider hole. Why he is afraid of spiders in the middle of an Alaskan winter is beyond me. We haven't seen a spider since last August. LOL A couple of weeks ago, Blake figured out how to lift the register out and accidentally dropped a round red block down the hole. He keeps saying how the spider will bring the toy back up, so apparently, spiders can be our friends sometimes. :-)

Blake and Cedric point out the spider hole....

Fort Building 101

2008-04-06T19:39:00.002-08:00

Jim shows Blake and Cedric the finer points of building block fort making. :-)

The finished product...perfect for Blake's cars to drive around.

Blake's Snoopy Dance

2008-03-31T09:54:00.003-08:00

Blake looks just like Snoopy when he does his "happy dance". He sticks his grinning face high up in the air and shuffles his feet with his arms spread wide. If I can ever have my camera ready at the right time, I'll post a picture of him.

Best Friends

2008-03-30T14:02:00.002-08:00

As I was putting Blake to bed last night, he said I was his best friend. :-)

Spring Visitors of the four legged variety

2008-03-30T12:02:00.006-08:00

It's spring and the moose are coming down from the mountains to search for tiny shrubs and leaves left over from the fall. It's not like there is ANY new growth on those plants, but those moose are hungry. Here is a visitor we had behind our house a couple of days ago.

Cedric is an Eagle Eye Reader!

2008-03-30T11:54:00.002-08:00

Cedric was one of a few of his schoolmates awarded the Eagle Eye Reader award. He can read 44 of the 45 site words and only 18 are required for his Kindergarten class. Now Cedric goes around saying how he has Eagle Eyes and can read ANYTHING! He's also looking forward to 1st grade where "you can read all by yourself". We are very proud of our Eagle Eye Reader! In addition, Cedric is showcasing his new sports glasses. His other glasses have been relegated to special occasions only after many adventures straightening them out, searching for and repairing lenses that keep popping out..etc etc. LOL Plus his new sports glasses won't hurt his face when it meets with a soccer ball or when sliding into home base. :-)

Blake's Observations of the show Oobi

2008-03-28T21:23:00.005-08:00

Usually, we don't watch Oobi, but we were tired of watching the same Einsteins and Go Diego Go episodes and it was on....so we left it there. Blake was watching and seemed to be enjoying it when all of a sudden, he shouts, "HEY, fingers don't have eyes!" "And fingers don't talk!". LOL

Cedric Turns 6!!!

2008-03-15T12:39:00.006-08:00

From snow and ice sculptures and dogs pulling sleds while wearing tiny booties to the tropical paradise of H2Oassis, Cedric's birthday celebrations continued. We basked in the humid tropical air. Our skin like sponges, appeared to re-inflate becoming pink and supple. Here are a couple of pictures of the inside. The tube along the upper portions of the picture is the Master Blaster, Cedric's favorite part of this water park. Below the Master Blaster is the Pirate Ship with lots of cool slides, water cannons, and other pirate ship amenities produce a boy's play paradise. Blake spent most of his time in the helm yelling "Aaaaarrrgh" to anyone who dared come near. Cedric was on a speed water slide marathon. How many slides could he do in a minute, 5 minutes, 20 minutes, etc. In this picture, you can see the wave pool in the distance. The water goes from a shallow "beach" to 5 feet deep. Periodically, waves are generated creating an ocean feel. Blake loved jumping the waves. But wait.....where is Cedric? Ah Ha! There he is....in the lazy river, which circles the whole water park. Patrick is enjoying the steady "shower" of a sprinkler. Cedric and Jim eagerly wait in line for a raft so they can climb up nearly 3 stories worth of stairs while carrying their raft (ok...Jim carried the raft) , just to ride down the fabulous...the magnificant....the amazingly fun...MASTER BLASTER! Waaaaa hoooooo! The Master Blaster empties into the lazy river. Ahhhhh!

Pizza never tastes as good as after wild, active, water time! I think Cedric ate 5 pieces of pizza. Silly boys....Patrick and Brennen inhaled their food and were ready to get back to the action below. Ross gives Cedric the finer points of present opening....and a little friendly assistance too. :-) Cake....yummy cake. So...how many candles can you get in a cupcake? We got 6, but I bet we could have put more on there. The happy birthday song. This is the best part. :-)

Happy Birthday Cedric!

It's Iditerod Time....Go doggies Go!!

2008-03-13T23:19:00.009-08:00

It's Iditerod time once again. Here is a shot of a sled dog racer and his dogsled dogs. We took this shot from the roof of the downtown shopping mall.

Here is video of a sled team in action!

Temperatures were much colder than last week, 15 degrees colder to be exact, and there was a brisk north wind around 15mph. Brrrrr! We just bundled up and hoped for the best. Everyone say, "Icicle"! Grandma and Grandpa were in town from California for Cedric's 6th birthday. It's just a little colder here. Just a little. But with the right amount and style of clothes, anyone can enjoy the outdoors.

The view was great, but we (read kids) couldn't take the cold, so we headed down to street level to watch the dogs.

Here is video of sled dogs raring to go.... Here is the family. Everyone (read kids) is happier now. The wind isn't blowing as much and when we stayed in the sun, it actually felt...well...warm. We knew the kids were comfortable because they kept asking to ride the carnival rides. They just didn't understand why we said no. LOL

After watching the doggies run, we checked out the ice sculptures at the town square. Here Jim is chilling out in an ice chair.

Not to be outdone....Blake takes a cool break. ;-)

I don't even know what this sculpture was, but Cedric and Blake fit in it perfectly.

Now this is the coolest...no pun intended...ok maybe just a little pun. Anyway, this is an ice slide. Isn't it beautiful?

Whhhhhheeeeeeee! Blake needed me to go on the slide with him. Let's just say he didn't have to "twist my arm". An ice slide? I'm so there!

Happy Cedric after his slippery slide on the ice.

We paid one more visit to the snow sculptures to show my Dad and Step Mom. Dad was all over this one since he's really into space stuff AND camping. :-)

It's Fur Rondevous time!!!!

2008-02-24T20:08:00.005-09:00

First we watched the finishers of the sled dog races. This was not the Iditerod; this race took place within 99-113 minutes. Below are a couple of still shots, then the next is a short video clip. The racers were yelling "Gee", "Ha", "Keep it going". It was pretty exciting to see the end of a race rather than just the ceremonial start of the Iditerod. Although we always go to the Iditerod start, which is scheduled for next Saturday.

Then it was on to the carnival rides. We had a blast ridding the rides. Who cares what the temperature was. Ok....it wasn't actually that cold. It was only 30 degrees, so it's not like we were being THAT tough. LOL

Snow sculptures. Beautiful, delicate, intricate, thought-provoking, and funny. I love snow sculptures. Blake loves them too. He almost touched one. I barely got to him before he remodeled one of the sculptures.

Here are some of my favorites from this year:

"The Big Debate"....Get it? :-)

"Space Camping"...notice the guitar in one astronaut's arms and the "campfire".

I bet this will be the winner. "Shark Bait". I had to crop the right side, so it's hard to see that shark with it's mouth open...look close, but not too close. The details were amazingly intricate on all four sides of this snow sculpture.

Here is a picture of the carnival just as twilight started....pretty lights. Knick arm is the "water" and ice you see behind the fair.

And here is a picture of Mt. Susitna also known as "Sleeping Lady". Just gorgeous.

Whew...who turned up the heat?

2008-02-23T19:45:00.003-09:00

After we built our snowman, warm winds kicked in....well...warm for Anchorage at least. We had 35-40 degree weather for several days in a row. I'm guessing our 5 foot tall snowman is now a mere fraction of his glorious self. LOL

The other night, Cedric asked me what the forecast was for the next day. I hadn't even looked at the weather, so I asked him what kind of weather he wanted? Without a momment's hesitation, he said, "SPRING!" I told him spring would come in April when the geese started arriving.

Flash foward to today after several days of melting snow and ice. Cedric excited called to me. "Mama, come here, come here, come OVER HERE, you have to SEE this!" I'm thinking it's a rabbit, wolf, moose, or a bird. Instead he's pointing out the window right next to the house. All I see is a chair that blew off our deck. Then I notice it....green....GRASS! Cedric was just dancing a jig. It was sunny, it was warm...well it was above freezing at least....and there were patches of green grass. LOL

I keep trying to tell him it usually snows at least one more time in March before spring comes. Poor kid.

Mounties on Duty!

2008-02-17T21:13:00.004-09:00

If you watch Backyardigans, you will understand what is going on here. For those of you who have not had the pleasure...and really, it's a pretty good show...to watch the episode with the Mounties on Duty guarding the biggest snow ball. The below pictures are of the three of us on a little snow "hill" which we pretended was our lookout point. Luckily, the booby traps were all imaginary, except for the snowballs the mounties threw at the "intruders". LOL

Since the snow was just awesome snowman making material, we took advantage of the situation. It is just the best fun to build a snowman. We had to draw a smiley face, since we were about 1/8 of a mile from our house in the "greenbelt" area. Well...it's green in the summer at least. ;-) We had all our fun on the frozen pond area where there was unlimited rolling space for our snowman. Jim donated his hat and gloves for the snowman since he didn't need them. We were all soooo hot. It was at least 29 degrees. Just downright balmy!

The Muddy Mud Pit

2008-02-16T09:34:00.005-09:00

Look closely at this picture. The middle step is a darker color wood than the other steps. Why am I showing you this? Because through the eyes of a 3 year old, this darker step is a "muddy mud pit". We are all required by Blake to skip the muddy mud pit. This can be challenging at best and nearly impossible when carrying laundry baskets, toys, and sleepy children up and down the stairs. When I accidentally step in the muddy mud pit, I make "squish" "squish" sounds and Blake complains that I got mud all over the place. Blake then insists on "washing" my feet so I don't spread "mud" anywhere else. LOL

Here are pictures of the boys in action skipping the muddy mud pit.

Things that make you go ewwwww!

2008-02-10T22:35:00.000-09:00

So, I'm sitting with Blake when suddenly he says, "ewwww, There is a bugger on my finger." I ask him if he wants a tissue. He says, "Nope, I ate it!" Ewwwwwwww!

Goooooooaaaaaaalllllll

2008-02-09T22:58:00.000-09:00

Cedric scored his first soccer goal today! He was so proud. :-)

The busy weekend

2008-02-07T20:38:00.000-09:00

I have no pictures to document it, but last weekend was one of the busiest I've ever had. Saturday morning, the boys has a sledding birthday party to go to at Kinkaid Park. At 10am, the sun was nearing the top of the horizon and it was bright, the temperature was 2 degrees above zero, and there was a slight northerly breeze of about 5 mph. Layered as they were, the boys shivered and Blake's eyes watered. They both asked to go inside where all the other party guests had already gathered. I couldn't talk them into even one run down the hill. Inside, the children ran around wildly, chasing each other, playing duck duck goose, and pulling each other on inflatable snow sleds better suited to snow than carpet. After generating all that heat, the boys decided they wanted to go sledding after all. So...off to the hill we went. It was a blast....for Cedric and Blake. It seemed warmer too. There was still a breeze, but the sun was up and shining brightly. It felt....warm. After 40 min, I was getting tired and it was time for lunch, so we packed it up and went to the truck. I turned the truck on and looked at the temperature. It was a whopping 3 degrees and only 1 degree warmer than before. Later that day, Cedric had a soccer game. Jim and I were also going to the opera and would have to leave right after Cedric's game, so we got all dressed up and brought the babysitter with us. We were the best dressed people in the whole indoor soccer dome. LOL After Cedric's soccer game, the boys and the babysitter went home and we were off to Simon and Seafort for appetizers and drinks before the Opera. Everything worked out perfectly. The Opera, Il Travetore (The Tragedey), was spectacular and appropriately named. ;-) Sunday, we hosted a Super bowl party. Whew! I'm tired just typing this all out. Luckily, this coming weekend is shaping up to be much quieter. It's a good thing because we didn't have a chance to catch up on laundry last weekend. ;-) When we went to Simon and Seaforts, they have these pull tab thingies with quotes in them. We just cracked up at these. Can you guess which one is my favorite? "The first time I went skiing, I wasn't very good at it, so I broke a leg. Thank goodness it wasn't one of mine." - Michael Green "It's frustrating when you know all the answers and nobody bothers to ask you the questions." - Michael Nolan

Cedric loses his first tooth

2008-01-24T21:33:00.001-09:00

Jan 11th at approximately 8:30pm, Cedric's wiggley, wobbley tooth came out. Cedric has been eagerly awaiting his first wiggley, wobbley tooth for the last year at least. Every day he'd say, my tooth is wiggley. After I while, we just said, "yea...yea". Then one week before it came out, it really was wiggley and Cedric had a hard time eating certain foods. I was amazed at how fast the tooth went from wiggley to out!

Here are a couple of pictures of proud Cedric. The tooth fairy brought Cedric one dollar. Cedric was so excited. He couldn't wait to put it in his piggy bank. :-)

Cedric and Blake...busy busy busy

2008-01-24T20:56:00.000-09:00

Last weekend was extremely busy between Blake's invitation to a birthday party at a gymnastics place and Cedric's first soccer game. It took Blake a while to get warmed up and do the trampoline by himself, but once he got going, he didn't want to stop. Here is video of Blake enjoying his jumping experience.

Here is Blake crawling under the balance beams. He was also very good at walking on them carefully placing each foot in front of the other. Blake held my hands, but really, I didn't need to help him balance.

Here is a picture of the happy jumper. He insisted I jump with him for almost the whole party, then when he finally figured out how much fun it was to jump alone, he didn't want to stop. Figures, huh?

Climb Blake climb. Blake's other favorite thing besides jumping is climbing. Of course, his favorite thing of all is to climb something and jump off. Aaaack! LOL

Hmmmm....I wonder if I can jump from this?

Here is video from Cedric's first soccer game. He had a blast of course. He loves all kinds of sports. Cedric is the child with his shin guards over his pants. We did not know the fashion ettiquitte of pulling socks over the shin guards during this game. LOL Now we know. LOL

Here is a picture of Cedric during the practice portion of the game. The coach had them dribble the soccer ball, then drop and do 10 push ups. I'm not sure Cedric did even one complete push up because he was too busy chasing his soccer ball, then he'd see what everyone else was doing, get into position, then it was time to dribble the soccer ball. I'm sure he'll know the "drill" by next week. :-)

It is hard to take pictures of a 5 year old playing soccer. If you look closely, the soccer ball is behind his left foot, so he's stopping himself to turn around and get the ball.

Let's Go Bowling!

2008-01-13T23:08:00.000-09:00

Ok...you'll have to turn your head sideways for this first picture. Santa bought us a new Macintosh and even though the picture is rotated and saved properly on the computer, it keeps defaulting back to the sideways position whenever I upload it. Weird. Anyway...Cedric went bowling for the first time a week ago. His friend Patrick had a birthday party at the Central Bowl. Bumpers kept bowling balls from going in the gutters and cool black lights and circulating laser lights made the experience fun, festive, and happy. I've never seen such happy and entertained little kids. At first I had to help Cedric, then he was off and running...literally. LOL Cedric bowled a 70 and a 68 and even "picked up" a spare. Watching all the kids bowl made me want to bowl again. Good family fun.

Winter Fun

2008-01-13T22:15:00.000-09:00

Winter is fun and this is a post about winter fun. Ok...the ice skating rink is open all year long, but it's still a winter sport. ;-) This was the first time I had taken Cedric ice skating and the first time I'd been on been on skates in probably 20 years. It was the blind leading the blind. After a few laps around both Cedric and I were finding our balance and having fun. At one point Cedric had grown so confident that he actually jumped with both feet off the ground. Now you have to realize he was still holding my hand when he did this. Luckily, Cedric landed his "jump" with perfect balance, but I told him no more jumping until he can skate by himself. Needless to say, Cedric didn't want to leave the ice rink and even though my muscles had long past the point where they started screaming "STOP!" we kept skating until Cedric's legs were giving out. It was a good day. :-) No winter fun post is complete without posts of sledding. This year, we've graduated to the "big" sledding hill. Wow is it fun, fast, and wild! Grandma took the next few pictures. Blake wasn't wild about the snow in his face, but Cedric once again could have stayed forever just sledding down and climbing up and sledding down, etc etc. Ah to be a kid again. Here is Blake and me getting a face full of snow. Notice how my head is a little blurry. It's not the camera...that is powdery snow flying up from the sled. Here is a smiling Blake. Mainly he's happy because, he's no longer getting snow in his face. I'm sure next year he'll be like Cedric and then we'll have two boys that won't want to come off the sledding hill. This is the life, huh? Being pulled up the hill. In case you're wondering, Blake is in the sled. I'm the workhorse pulling him up. LOL

Yeeeeee haaaaaaaaw! Cedric speeds down the hill in his superfast red sled. Yipppppeeeeee! It's raining on the snow right now. I can only hope we get that some more snow. The only good thing about getting a January thaw with rain is you can actually build snowmen and snowballs now. Usually the snow is too powdery and dry. The neighborhood kids are working on a snowman outside right now. The middle part was too heavy for them to lift because of the water logged snow. They had to pare it down to get it on the base of their snowman. Ahhhh winter....it's just awesome!

Blake's catch up post

2008-01-03T20:01:00.000-09:00

I'm really behind. What else is new. LOL

This is a catch up post for Blake. Blake is a never ending source of laughter and silliness. So much so, he almost can't believe it when he gets disciplined. He looks up at you with those wide eyed baby blues and laughs at you....saying, "Naaaaaa. You're silly Mama". It's hard not to laugh along with him. He also has amazing awareness of his feet and a great sense of balance. What do these things have to do with each other? Well...Blake loves wearing our shoes. He proudly clomps around in Mama's and Dada's running shoes, dress shoes, slippers, work shoes, etc. The only time Blake voluntarily looks at the camera is when he's wearing our shoes and being silly. All the other times, he's shyly looking away.

Here he is modeling Dada's shoes. In the next picture, he's showing off his super large spongebob slippers. Well...they were Cedric's and now Blake has adopted them. Blake has also taken easily to the sport of snowshoeing. Last year, he would take 2 steps then ask to be carried. This year, he walked all the way to the "pond" and proceeded to attempt to scale every "hill" of snow. He has such a good sense of balance even when wearing large shoes or snowshoes that he was mostly successful.....mostly. ;-)

Blake is THREE! Ok...his birthday was Sept 24th, 2007. We were really busy this fall and of course Christmas is just crazy isn't it? So anyway....Blake is 3 and totally into anything related to cars and the cars movie. He could play with his cars all day and all night....most nights he tries too. We sometimes find him in the morning sleeping on the floor with the light on and his cars all around him.

Blake's birthday party at school.

Blake's car birthday cake. His friend Ethan is in the picture.

Pop Pops put frosting on Blake's nose. He doesn't know quite what to make of that. Oh man...Blake finally looks right at the camera and smiles and my hand is in the way. Ah well...you can still see him...mostly. Isn't he beautiful...errr handsome. Here is Blake testing out his cars umbrella.

Playing with one of his Cars cars....Mack. Hmmm.....playing with his Cars cars some more....

Here plays with his really big Lighting McQueen balloon from his birthday party.

Here Blake is opening a present....cars theme, of course.

Blake and me at Blake's birthday party.

Blake also has a strong shy side. Awwww. Here is a picture of the kids getting ready to race. All the kids decorated their own car puppets, then we set up a race course in the backyard and timed how fast the kids could run around the course. Some of the kids were really really fast. Everyone loved this part of the party. The parents (whom you can't see) lounged on the back deck, while their kids were totally run into the ground. You're welcome! :-)

Here is video of Blake being a coach. We have no idea where it came from. All of a sudden out came this deep, hard to hear voice telling everyone when to throw the ball and to whom. LOL He totally cracked us all up.

Well...there you have it....Beautiful, Bouncey, Blake. Oh yea....Blake's favorite sport is jumping on his bed, so we got a twin sized mattress and put on the floor. Jump away Blake.

Sometimes we parents have to know when we won't win the battle, how to cut our losses, and when to join em, etc etc etc . At least I know they are safe now versus jumping on beds high off the ground. Aaaack! LOL

Eagle River Nature Center Adventures

2007-11-04T09:45:00.001-09:00

The boys and I went to the Eagle River Nature Center in a narrow canyon of the Chugach Mountains East of Anchorage this past September. The leaves of the Aspen were bright yellow-orange in stark contrast to the deep greens of the black spruce trees, the fireweed had gone from bright pink flowers to magenta stems, and the wild roses had dropped the petals leaving only the hips behind. To my surprise, there were still some salmon in the stream and where there are salmon, there will be bears as evidenced by their "droppings". I guess I could have taken a photo of it for effect, but I didn't, so you can breathe easy now. LOL Anyway, we went on a short 3/4 mile loop trail from the Eagle River Visitor's Center that takes you down to a boardwalk viewing area where you can watch the salmon swim and/or spawn. There is also a beaver den in the river, but we didn't see any of them froliking in the water.

Here is a picture of the view from the boardwalk. It's breathtakingly beautiful.

This is as close as I could to getting my boys to smile for the camera. LOL

.Cedric and Blake watching the fish

.Salmon swimming in the currentCedric pretending to be a salmon swimming in the water.

Cedric and Blake boldly march down the trail.

Blake didn't take these binoculars off his eyes for almost the whole walk

Lunchtime....finally...they worked hard from their grub. LOL

After filling their bellies, the boys got silly.

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween! Halloween is usually snowy, cold, and/or blustery in Anchorage. That was not the case this year. Cool morning showers gave way clear, sunny skies and relatively warm temperatures for this time of year. My car read 45 degrees! What does this all mean? Well...this is the first year I was able to take both Cedric and Blake trick or treating around the neighborhood. We went to a few neighbor's houses, then came home to watch all the other trick or treaters and to eat some of the loot....errrr...I mean so the kids could eat some of their loot. ;-) Here is a picture of Cedric and Blake fresh from collecting their trick or treat loot.

Cedric in full batman regalia

Jim and I dressed up as 80s punk rockers. Why should the kids have all the fun?

Jim in his full costume. Some of the kids thought twice about taking candy from him. More for us! LOL

Catch up post on Cedric

2007-10-27T19:48:00.000-08:00

I'm going to play a little catch up here. These pictures are from the day before Cedric and his Pre-K classmates started Kindergarten. They all got their faces painted and rode rides until they were completely exhausted. At first Cedric was concerned because we didn't bring Blake. I told him this was a day for just Cedric and his friends. All the way up, Cedric was saying how he was going to miss having his brother at the fair. Of course, once we got there, Blake was forgotten and it was fun fun fun. Cedric with Spiderman face!

Two of Cedric's friends and their fun faces.

Here are some pictures from Cedric's first day of school. He was so excited to go that he marked off the days on a calendar for 60 days before Kindergarten started and he's still counting how many wonderfull days he's had in school. Cedric loves homework and even when he doesn't have homework, he practices his upper and lower case letters, numbers 1-100, and his spanish. I just hope his enthusiasim continues.

Here is Cedric playing basketball. This was Cedric's very first "game" a few weeks ago. It was just hysterical. Today he made a basket during the game and was oh so proud! I didn't get that on film, just in my minds eye. ;-)

Here is a picture from Cedric's first basketball practise. Looks pretty tough, huh?

Hmmm....not so tough in this one, but still dang cute. :-)

Vacation part 1.d...Fabulous Seattle

2007-10-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

Seattle. Ahhhh Seattle. The weather was Seattle perfect....warm and humid. Our first night in Seattle we had dinner at this quaint little Italian place within walking distance of our friends' house. Seattle is just that kind of perfect walk everywhere you need to go kind of town. We had so much fun with our friend's, The Lanes (Dave, Lisa, Max, and Ollie). Dave and Lisa are Blake's Godparents and this was their first time meeting each other. Max and Ollie are about the same age as Cedric and Blake and since they are all boys, this trip was about ACTION! We went to the Aquarium.... I didn't get a picture of the moonfish exhibit because I couldn't get it to come out on the camera, but it was spectacular. There was this circular tank where the moonfish swam in circles. There were black lights that made the moonfish glow and you could walk under the arch of the tank. You just have to see it. Riding a Killer Whale in the Puget Sound... Blake as a moonfish... Cedric as an octopus...This was cool too. The octopus had a tube and could swim between two tanks. I tried valiently to capture the octopus....but ah well...another memory picture. ;-) Cedric and Blake checking out starfish and other fun tidal pool creatures... We played with our friends (Max and Ollie) at the wading pool.... Max and Ollie taught us how to launch foot rockets. Way cool and easy enough for anyone ages 2 to 100 to do. Fun fun fun. Watch out! Ollie playing with his hand held rocket launcher...nerf, of course. LOL Plus it only had a range of 2 feet. We also went to a Mariner's game. Here is the stunning view from the Mariners baseball stadium. You can just barely see the Space Needle in the distance. It was much more clear in person.

Cedric, Max, and Ollie are ready for action at the game!

Group photo with the Lanes and the Nelsons

Part 1.c Nelson Vacation: Chicagoland

2007-08-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

Finally, here are pictures from our Chicago portion of our vacation. I know, vacation was over a month ago, but I've got to catch up. Then I can tell you about all the fun stuff we've been doing recently. :-) Mostly we hung out at Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's house. The first 4 pictures are at a local park. This was the first time the boys had been on a spinning playground toys. What are those things called anyway? After spinning round and round, Blake's first attempt to walk was followed by a full body face plant. It was kind of funny, I have to admit and no he wasn't hurt other than being surprised that he couldn't just walk. Here Cedric and Blake share Grandma and Grandpa's hamock down by the river. This is a picture of 6 month old baby Zoey, my neice's daughter. Isn't she cute? We also went to the Brookfield Zoo. Here is a picture of Blake playing at the wolf exhibit. Aaaaoooooooo!

There was a baby polar bear....aaaaaahhhhh so cute!

And here all the boys enjoy the merry go round at the zoo.

This is Jim's prized photo from the butterfly exhibit. What do you think...should we enter it in a photo contest or what? It looks good enough for National Geographic to me.

We stayed with our friends Mark and Deb one night and they taught us the art of pirate poker and other crazy made up poker games. I'm not much of a poker player anyway, but the pirate game was crazy. Lets see, if you get a 6 you walk the plank and are out of the game, if you get a Jack, someone has to give you a card....or something like that. Plus, there were funny and loud sound affects like the sreeching bird to go with the game. Too much fun. I laughed more that night than I had in the whole past year, I think.

Coming up next...the final chapter of our vacation Part 1.d, fabulous Seattle.

Cedric's new glasses

2007-08-01T21:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, soon, I'll continue with my vacation postings, but first I have breaking news. Cedric has glasses. We figured he was doomed since both Jim and I have to wear glasses. Cedric's right eye is much weaker. During his eye appt, he could read pretty good with his left eye, but couldn't read larger letters with his right. He's now exlaiming....wow....I can read the time (digital clock) now and I can see everything! He's also scanning the room as if he's seeing everything for the first time. The Dr. said it was good that we brought him in so early because the glasses will train his brain to use his right eye better and over time, his vision will improve. Plus during the initial eye exam, the Dr. was impressed with Cedric's ability to recognize all his letters and numbers from zero to 100, but most of all, the Dr. had never seen a 5 year old sit through the entire exam and be as responsive as Cedric was. I was beaming with pride. :-) Here is the before picture: Here is the after picture with the glasses. Doesn't he look handsome! And so grown up too.

In 27 days, Cedric will be going to Kindergarten. We are marking off the days on the calendar. Cedric is excited and I am nervous. I'll be sure to post those first day of school pictures.

Jim and Kristine mellow out at the Girdwood Reggae Fest

2007-08-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

We interrupt the regularly scheduled (or not LOL) vacation series to bring you Jim and Kristine get some groove going at an Alaska styled reggae fest. OK...only the last two bands we heard were actually reggae bands. The next to the last band was H3, an Alaskan American Samoa reggae band and they were awesome! Jim and I had good standing position in the beer tent. We could see the stage perfectly and smell some unusual scents in the air....gee I wonder what THAT could be? Anyway, H3 warmed the place up after some lukewarm local bands made us wonder about that hefty price we paid for tickets. Of course, we knew the headline band, The Wailers, would come through and it would all be worth it. Jim was in a very special place when The Wailers started playing and no it wasn't from any herbs nor the micro brew beers. The lead singer of The Wailers sounded just like Bob Marley. Jim says frequently that the world would be a better place if everyone listened to reggae. After hearing The Wailers and seeing how happy and friendly the crowd was, I have to say, "I agree". Here is a picture of us. The Wailers are on stage, but you can't really see them. The festival was held in Girdwood which is a picturesque box canyon surrounded by spectacular mountains. Girdwood is about 30 min south of Anchorage. Alyeska ski resort hosted the show. We just breathed in the beauty of Girdwood and grooved to the sounds of mellow reggae.

Part 1.b Nelson Vacation: Fabulous Lake Tahoe.

2007-07-26T18:47:00.001-08:00

Beautiful Lake Tahoe. We love Lake Tahoe. The lake is just this perfect deep blue in the deeper waters and a shimering emerald green in the shallower waters. It's beauty and amenities imediately bring peace to all who visit. At least the lake does this for us. Have I said how much we love Lake Tahoe? LOL And now we have even more to love. We stayed at Tahoe Taverns on the northwest shore of the lake. This was by far the best place we have stayed. We were walking distance to the Commons Park and beach, restaurants, shopping, the dam, and rafting on the Truckee river that we parked the car for almost the whole week. Plus, the condo complex we stayed in had a pool with a view of Lake Tahoe and a perfect sized little sandy beach for the kids and the kids at heart. ;-) You'll notice the fire in South Lake Tahoe was completely out except for hot spots by the time we arrived. Those firefighters did an awesome job keeping the South Lake Tahoe fire from getting to the waterfront. Thanks to those hard working firefighters, skies were a perfect blue. There was a little bit of a breeze the first couple of days, then high pressure built in and warmed things up. It was really hot for us thick blooded Alaskans, but we managed. LOL Here are a few of my favorite pics from Lake Tahoe. It was really hard to narrow it down. Lake Tahoe view from Tahoe Taverns pool:

Family photo. My boys are showing their true crazy personas in this one. We had just finished celebrating my sister's birthday at a nice restaurant on the lake. The kids were a little jazzed from the festivities and the spectacular mud cake that we all indulged in. Yum.

Here is a picture of the Tahoe Taverns beach. Perfect size and not crowded.

The boys playing at the Tahoe Taverns beach.

The boys playing at the Commons Playground in Tahoe City. Blake says "Yeeeeehaaaaaaw!

Wendy, my sister, wanted to go river rafting on the Truckee river for her birthday. We all thought that was a fabulous idea. I was a little worried about Blake, but he did fantastic. My sister, BIL, Dad, and Cedric went in one boat and Jim, Blake, my In-Laws, and I went in another boat. The float took around 3 hours and was mostly an easy float. There are a few rapids where you have to do a little navigating. Hey....no one likes to get stuck on a rock. But mostly it was a calm little float. The water was quite refreshing. Luckily I was carrying a camera not designed for water, so I had the pleasure of metting out some wicked oar induced sprays on our partner boat and was spared return fire. HA HA HA! We saw lots of ducks with their little babies in tow. I got a pic of one of the baby ducks, but there is nothing like watching little strings of baby ducks swimming furiously behind their mother.

The rapids proved a little challenging for me since I was in the front of the boat with Blake. At first he stood between my legs, which was fine, but then he decided he wanted to sit next to me on my left side. This meant I couldn't paddle on the left side at all. On the last and biggest rapids, there was nothing I could do to help steer the boat and we got stuck on a big rock. Luckily, my sister's boat was right behind us and whether they wanted to or not, they ramed into us and knocked us right off the rock. Although, I could have sworne I heard them cry "ramming speed!" Nonetheless, we all were laughing and then it was all over.

Here are the pictures:

And we're off on our great little adventure.

Wendy's boat looking at ducks that swam right up to the boat. Picture of a baby duck.....so cute! The 4th of July was the main reason we went to Lake Tahoe. In Alaska, it is too light for 4th of July fireworks. You can read a book at midnight outside, so fireworks really lose their spark during the long Alaskan summer "nights". Anyway, on the fourth my sister made this spectacular desert. It tasted better than it looked. Actually we noshed on fruit and cream cheese frosting all afternoon. Yum! After dinner and desert, we made our way to the Pier at Tahoe Taverns where we had a perfect vantage point to watch the Tahoe City fireworks. We could also see other firework shows going on around the lake. Cedric liked the fireworks, but covered his ears. Blake kept saying, "Ooooooh, aaaaaaaah, and Beautiful!" The boys and their flags. Aunt Wendy and Cedric. Papa Jim and Blake. Wendy, my InLaws, and my BIL on the pier waiting for fireworks. My Dad and his friends on the pier waiting for the fireworks. Grandma Pat was unable to join us for the festivities because her mother was on the verge of leaving this world. We kept Pat and her Mom in our thoughts the whole vacation. The pool also had ping pong tables. Cedric loved playing with Uncle Steve. Here Blake is getting a few pointers from Aunt Wendy.

Cedric got his first tennis lesson at Tahoe Taverns. The instructor asked Cedric if he had been practising. Of course, I'm proud of my athletic little guy.

Here is the Tahoe Queen and she is a real paddle boat. No visit to the Lake would be complete without a lake tour. There is no better way to appreciate the color of the lake. We rode out to Emerald Bay on the Tahoe Queen. The tea house and castle blend in with the surroundings perfectly and it's fun to fantasize about living in that bygone era and having afternoon tea in the middle of Emerald Bay.

And finally, we told our husbands to "GO JUMP IN THE LAKE"! And they did! Jim, Uncle Steve, and Steve's BIL Steve who flew in from Oaklahoma for the last two nights. The lake temperature is around 65 degrees in July, so it's refreshing to say the least.

"Are you ready?" "Sure...are YOU ready?" "Ummmm....I don't know....are you READY? "OK...ONE........TWO.........THREE"

"JUMP!!!!!!" Well....sadly that's it for Lake Tahoe.... BUT WAIT! Jim is going to jump in the lake AGAIN! And it's the Nestea plunge. Now THAT is refreshing.

All the guys were shivering but satisfied after their cool water plunge. Maybe Jim is ready for the polar bear plunge where they cut a whole in the ice and then people jump in? Then again.....maybe not.

Coming next: Part 1.c Nelson Vacation: Chicagoland

Part 1 Nelson Vacation: Sunny California Valley

2007-07-23T22:34:00.000-08:00

The weather was hot and sunny, but not as hot as it could have been. We were in Vacaville, CA; my home town. Historic Nut Tree reopened recently as a small amusement park, so we had to check it out. My Aunt, Uncle, and Grandma trecked down from Oregon and enjoyed the new park with us. Here are a few pictures from the original Nut Tree train. It was just as I remembered it: Cedric and Blake laugh and cover their eyes at the waterfall: Here is a pic of the original rocking horses. They were just as firm as I remember...maybe moreso...ouch. LOL The kids didn't care. They rode every single rocking horse at least 3 times and there were about 15 of them: Here is a pic of my Uncle Ron taking a well deserved break under the mister sprayers. Yes that is a rocking chair. Nice, huh? I bet you want one of those setups in YOUR backyard. :-) The boys rode all the usual rides. Don't you love how intense little kids get on those driving rides with the cars? They look so serious as if they are really driving. So cute. I could post a million pics. After we were completely melted from the heat, we retired to Grandma and Grandpa Davidowski's house for some refreshing pool time. Cedric also discovered the joy of swimming around unassisted...well, unless you count his life jacket and swim noodle. I got video of it too...I may upload that later. Here is a pic: Ah the lazy days of summer. Jim is really roughing it in Grandma's pool. Cannonball anyone? Here are some family pictures. Picture of my Grandma with the boys: Picture of my Aunt and Uncle with the boys: Picture of Grandma and Grandpa Davidowski with the boys: Coming next: Part 1.b Nelson Vacation: Fabulous Lake Tahoe.

Coming soon...Vacation stories and pics

2007-07-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

I know everyone is waiting for all those great vacation stories and pics. They will be coming soon, so stay tuned. I uploaded all the pics last night and was up late late late rotating and sorting them. I will have a hard time picking a few favs to post because there are so many fantastic pics....mostly of my adorable boys, but I'm not biased...Noooooo...Not me. LOL I'll probably be posting separate posts for the different phases of our vacation. I'll start with California Valley, then progress to fabulous Lake Tahoe. Next will be Chicago, then finally, stunning Seattle. So....stay tuned!

Video of Blake and Cedric

2007-06-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

Cedric's all time favorite song is Rudolf the Red Nosed Raindeer. Christmas is a year long event around here. LOL

My Favorite Videos continued

2007-06-01T22:31:00.000-08:00

Here is another video of Blake. More videos to come. :-)

My favorite videos

2007-05-28T21:23:00.000-08:00

I'm going to test this out. I'm not sure if this will work or not. Anyway...here goes...

2007-05-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

I DID IT! My first triathlon that is. I and two of my friends, Lisa and Louise (pictured below in the group photo), participated in the Gold Nugget Triathlon (GNT) a women only event in Anchorage, AK Sunday, May 20th. The swim was 500 yds in a pool (10 laps), the bike portion was 10 miles, and the run was 4.1 miles. There were over 1160 finishers and I placed 622 overall and 78th out of 156 in my age group. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours and I finished in 1 hour 45 minutes. The sun was shining, my family was there to help me celebrate, and Cedric ran out to greet me near the end of the race and even ran a few paces alongside me. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Athletic Feats

2007-05-25T19:49:00.000-08:00

Cedric is on his first tee-ball baseball team. I took a bunch of photos from the opening ceremonies and his first game. His team is comprised of 5 and 6 year olds, so basically "seasoned" players from the year before and players who had a steep learning curve that first hour. At first all the boys wanted to do was run the bases. Cedric couldn't contain himself, he ran out to the centerfield fence and back several times. He was always the first to the dugout and on the field. Cedric was the definition of hustle because he was so excited to finally be part of a baseball team. He has always loved baseball and since he is a lefty, Jim is already eyeing potential positions as a MLB pitcher since lefty pitchers are always in demand. Anyway here are some of the photos from that first day.

Blake wants to be just like his brother. Here is a picture of Blake being the catcher. He looks like a natural too. Maybe Cedric and Blake will be a dynamic pitcher_catcher team. A Mom can dream.... :-)

Our First Blog

2007-05-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the new WeatherDuo blog! Finally, I'll have a space to post new pictures, blurbs, and uploaded videos. Yes, I've finally figured out how to load video clips onto our computer. Hooray! Now I can inundate you all with videos and pictures that I find cute in one convenient location.