Resurrection Bay Tour

We had a cold May in Anchorage. Unusually cold. But for Memorial Day weekend, the sunshine came out in its full glory. And we took a road trip to celebrate the sunshine, as well as to cross off some bucket list items. We live in the most beautiful spot on earth, and we've wanted to do a few more things to enjoy Alaska. Now that we've lived here for 6 years, it's time to start taking it in like a tourist might.

So we scheduled a boat trip through the Kenai Fjords, to see Resurrection Bay. It was well worth our time and effort. The weather was sunny with clear skies until we were 10 minutes outside of Seward. Then it started raining. We tried to bring warm clothes for the boat, but the rain threw us off a bit and the boat experience was quite cold. We managed the cold by splitting the warm clothes between the three of us, and occasionally the sun peeked between the clouds to help us out. We had a wonderful time, and were especially grateful when someone saw our boy without gloves (oops! how did we forget gloves!?!) and offered us a hand warmer to stick in David's pocket.

The trip overall was unforgettable. Sam mentioned afterwards that this was his favorite way to see Alaska. For the number of wildlife and natural wonders we saw in just a few short hours, I would have to agree.

Look closely for 4 fins--we saw a pod of Orcas.

 We stopped for lunch on Fox Island and ate some yummy salmon and prime rib. When we disembarked from the boat, the captain told us, "When you hear the first horn, come back to the boat. If you hear a second horn, run back to the boat. If you hear the third horn, wave goodbye to the boat." We were so set on getting that first horn (David was listening for it intently) that we responded to the first horn of the other boat docked there. Luckily we figured it out before the boat was on its way!

 Daddy showed David the art of skipping rocks with a beach full of smooth, flat stones.

We saw a gray whale--here's the hump of his back and the lingering spray from the blowhole.

 A group of porpoises followed our boat for about 20 minutes.

 They were jumping through our wake, and although my camera missed it, we had so much fun watching them play.

 Sea lions a plenty.

 Lots of sea birds.

 The clouds made dramatic scenery, covering and unveiling the mountains, and changing it up every few minutes to keep taking our breath away.

 Beautiful and crystal blue water.

 WWII bunkers on top of this island.

This sea otter was floating on her back with her pup on her stomach.

We feel so grateful to have so many opportunities to appreciate the beautiful world of the Lord's creations to remember that Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to find beauty around us.

Happy Mother's Day 2013

I think I need to highlight all of my favorite things about my boy. It's been a while since I've tried to capture a snapshot of his day to day personality.
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David is smart.

Often times, he's smarter than me. Last week for family night, he said he wanted to do the special talent. When it came time for his talent to shine, he said, with all seriousness, "Tonight for my talent, I'm going to watch a movie. And you get to sit there and watch me while I watch a movie."

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David has one speed--running.

  We're currently in a basement apartment, and the first time David went to visit our upstairs neighbors, I looked up at our ceiling and thought maybe the couple was playing Bocce ball on their hardwood floor. Then I realized that the pounding was really little boy boots, running up and down from one end of the house to the other. If I make it to David's 18th birthday without ever falling down because he ran in front of me and cut me off in stride, then I will consider it a victory. Especially if it's icy out, there have been many times when I nearly trip over my boy because his feet are fast and unpredictable. It's a small price to pay to be with someone who always has a spring in his step.

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David is friendly.

I know I've mentioned this one before, but it's really a defining characteristic. He'll try to catch a stranger's attention by saying, "Hi." Then, once the person engages, he'll say something like, "How is your day?" or "We're having a really nice day today." or "I'm so glad it's sunny today." or my recent favorite, "I'm so glad it's raining today!" (I think he was the only one that was glad about the cold cold rain.)

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David is musical. And a performer.

The first time David sat perfectly still through sacrament meeting was when he was 20 months old, and the primary children put on their sacrament meeting program. He was completely mesmerized by the little boys and girls who got to sing to us the whole hour! During the last year he was in nursery, the primary children would be called to come sing, and David would ask me, "Can I go up, Mom? Am I big enough?" He always took my answer, "No David, not yet. But soon you'll be old enough!" in stride, but I could sense his sweet disappointment.

Now he is old enough to join them when they sing. 

David was more than thrilled the first time he got to go up on the stage and sing with the primary children. After he was done, he got a running start and ran down the wheelchair ramp, with his fists pumping over his head, looking right at me and saying in a loud whisper, "I did it! I did it!" A sweet lady behind me patted his head when he got back to his seat. He was still  completely overjoyed at his experience of performing, and getting a pat on the head unleashed his excitement again. He turned around, kneeled on the bench, and repeated the fist-pumping excitement with his loud whisper again, "I did it!" Poor Sister Clay had no idea that her pat on the head would unlock such irreverence! But it was pure joy in a child, so I don't think it was too far from being the most reverent moment of the meeting.

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David is verbal.

Everywhere we go, people compliment David on his ability to speak. He has very clear consonants, and a huge vocabulary. People always guess his age to be 5 or 6. I noticed that these compliments were starting to give him an identity--like, "Mom, people think I can talk better than most 4-year olds." And I wasn't crazy about this approach. So we've been talking lately about how Heavenly Father gives us the gift of words to help other people feel good. And how our words can be used to hurt or to share love. Maybe that's fueling his social bug self, but that's a good way to use the gift of words.
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David is a gentleman.
A few weeks ago, he held both of his hands tightly around  one of my hands while we walked together on an icy patch. Then I realized that his intent was to keep me from slipping instead of the other way around when he said, "We're almost there mommy. Just one more step, and you should have it."   He's always running ahead of me to open my door, and lately he has taken to trying to open my car door before I get a chance.

Race Cars

We're back to the "Drop it and Play" rule--so we enjoyed a warm spring evening together at the race tracks.

We've only had 4 sunny days this spring, so far. Our last snowfall was precisely 2 days ago. It made for the longest snow season on record--232 days long.

They say a beautiful May means we'll have a rainy summer. This year I'll be looking for the opposite to be true as well--a chilly May means it will be a gorgeous summer, right? 

Right?

Riiiiiiiiight?

Hey, is this thing on?

Pink

In celebration of our baby girl, Daddy did something he's never done before.

He bought a pink tie.

I think this baby girl needs to know that she had her Daddy wrapped around her pinky when her pinky was just a few centimeters long.

The Daddy and His Boy

I think this picture sums up just how much David loves the extra time he gets to spend with Daddy.

This was on Stake Conference Sunday, and the Daddy-David-Duo took a Sunday walk together, then came home to nap on the couch.

It's a GIRL!!!

Isn't she wonderful!?!

Yesterday morning, just before Sam left for work we received a phone call from LW.

"I'm here with the ultra sound tech. Are you ready to find out what you're having?"

So we all learned that it's a SHE.

And we heard the her heartbeat.

It was absolutely thrilling to be part of that moment.

Of course we couldn't be more excited to start thinking all things pink at our house.

David is excited to have a baby sister coming. He wanted to email his Grandpa about it yesterday (He likes to "email" his grandparents--which consists of him just pushing random keys on the keyboard.) Here's his message, and my note afterwards.

gyughuhgygfgytgyhujuhyhpuhhljnbababenuhjjhiyuiytuituyiuutituyurtyutyyyutryuyy4y5urruiut
8yu9y84545fgytgtgtftfftf
gtgtggyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy7yyy7fttt
yy87y787y787y
jjigygtyhgytbkiohujiuhjujijiuu87t67y7yu87yut786yhut465521fr4ruiYUJURJJ^&R^***JJ*J
KKKKKKKKLL{PIOuu0iOOOOO000000000

Translation:

Dear Grandpa,

I am getting a  baby sister.

Love, David

(I highlighted where he sounded out baby--that's his first attempt to write a word, and I love it that we captured it!)

I just want to shout hooray all day long!!!

The last month has flown by for me because of all that we have had to do, so I'm hoping that the next few months will do the same.

Thanks to Aunt Tanya for help in adding the bling, the bow, and the pink to our wee one!

Moving Help

David was so patient while we worked hard to complete our move this week.

He found some fun in there, as well--like when he got to play with Tyler and his sisters for a whole day. Lindsay, he slept through church the next day--which hasn't happened in about 4 years--so I think your household did a good job of wearing out our boy. I rarely see him reach the point where his energy needs are met, but I think Tyler helped him find that.

While I pulled everything out of the closets, David enjoyed finding a few things that were previously hidden. Like a stash of party poppers. During the day, David had a grand time opening the poppers from the bottom and pulling out the paper inside that usually acts as confetti. He even managed to hang some up for decoration.

 But once Daddy got home, David was shown the proper way to open the "poppers"--which involved more pyrotechnics than mom had shown him. Once he figured out how to really pop the poppers, David put together again all those that he had already pulled apart so he could hear them pop.

At one time, David was in his carseat and we were ready to leave when I realized I had room for more odds and ends in our car. So I turned off the car and went inside to get an arm load. And another. And another. David quietly waited for me in his seatbelt while I went back and forth. It was so nice to have a patient boy while I filled up all the empty space.

There was plenty of fun with boxes.

This box was well-taped and well-marked thanks to David's help.

We're grateful for a boy who put up with multiple late bedtimes, the craziness of the move, and all of the transition of the week. David loves to be in the middle of things, and seems to hold his own pretty well while he keeps up with the intensity around him.