Happy Fourth of July

We really didn't have any plans for the Fourth, since I was supposed to be on my trip.  However, when my trip got cancelled, and most campgrounds and cabins were booked, we decided to just stay home and have a party!  

It was a really great party and an awesome way to spend Independence Day! I'm glad we were able to spend the day relaxin', eating, conversing, and celebrating our country!  I was also very happy that we were able to all be together as a family.  Thank you to all of the servicemembers and their families, past and present, that have dedicated their lives to defending our country.  

Camping...Try Two

We took Joey camping again while our friends were a couple of weeks ago.  Let me just say...nothing improved from the last camping trip!  Ugh! 

Joey and I at one of the saddles in Arctic Valley.  These photos have nothing to do with our camping trip, but we didn't take any pics of the nightmarish camping trip and I wanted to post some sort of pics on this post!

Joey stayed up all night, fussed, played, cried, played, hit Michael and me a few times, and finally passed out in between us in our sleeping bag.  We brought a play pen this time.  He wouldn't have anything to do with it.  There was a lot of noise outside of our tent.  The campground we stayed out wasn't that great and they had placed our tent site right on the main road into the campground and super close to the one and only bathroom building.  Plus, we're still in the middle of summer so we have lots and lots of sunlight. 

Joey passed out!

 The kicker to this story is that we just purchased a new tent that is a piece of crap.  It totally leaked at every single seam!  We woke up the next morning in puddles of water!  The side of Joey's head was completely wet from where he had rolled out of the sleeping bag and laid on the bare tent floor.  *Sigh*

We hiked with one of parent groups, but Debbie and I continued on after the group stopped.

 Oh, and everyone in the campground heard Joey crying throughout the night.  An old man came up and talked to Joey the next morning and asked if he was feeling better since he had been up all night.  One of the deckhands on the boat was talking to the captain about a crying baby...yep, that was Joey.  When I spoke up and told him that was my baby, he apologized.  I told him not to worry...I KNOW that he didn't sleep all night! 



A little black bear was eating something in the road!  He would hide when you drove by, but then would return to the road once you passed!

Luckily, the campground did have one single room left for Saturday night.  We jumped on it!  We set up the play pen, taped garbage bags over all of the windows to make the room really dark, and laid Joey down.  He cried for about 20 minutes and then slept for the entire night!  SCORE!  What a relief!  Michael and I met our "neighbors" and we were actually finally able to relax by a campfire during our camping trip!  It was so nice! 

We still haven't given up tent camping with Joey, but we are taking a little break for a few weeks.  We do have a camping trip planned for next weekend, so I'll let you know how it goes! 

More Company!

Our second guests of the season arrived a couple of weeks ago (I know...I am wayyyyy behind in posts!).   Thornton and Tammy arrived in Alaska ready for an adventure!  Thornton has been to Alaska before, so he had his trip pretty well planned out so that he and Tammy wouldn't miss a thing!

Joey and I took the happy couple on a six-mile hike at the nature center the day after they arrived!  We saw three moose on our little hike! 

 Joey stayed awake the first three miles.  When we got to our halfway point, we let Joey get out and play.  All he really wanted to do was run right out into that cold river!  Since we were so far from the car and I did not have a change of clothes for him, I did not even entertain this idea of his! 

The workout must have been good enough for the little guy because he passed the heck out on the way back to the car!

One of the three moose we saw!  How perfect is his location for this photo?!?  I had the dogs that were going crazy whining at the sight of the moose so I moved quickly away from this area so we wouldn't disturb the bull.  It really was an image from a postcard or something...big male moose in water with huge snow-covered mountains as the background image.

 The pups and Joey chilling after our hike.  I wasn't the only one that thought this was freaking adorable...some foreign tourists actually came up and took a picture of this too!

 Later that night, we all went down to Seward for some fishing, kayaking, and camping fun!  While Thornton and Tammy were out on a wildlife cruise and Michael was fishing, Joey and I checked out the Sea Life Center.  He really liked this seal that kept swimming by Joey!



The boys got to do a little fishing.  They didn't have much luck, but they did have a great time!  Thornton said that he felt like a real Alaskan out there!  :)

We parted ways with our company after Seward, and they continued on with their vaca.  They stopped back by our house on the way north and we got to hang out a little more.  We had such a great time with Thornton and Tammy.  We are so glad they were able to come up and visit us and Alaska!

Disgruntled

Sorry, I have been a little slack in posting anything on here lately.  It's been a crazy, emotional week(s)!  (Also, please excuse my misuse of past-tense, present-tense, and future-tense throughout this post...I started writing this a week ago and just now am getting around to finishing and posting.  I didn't feel like changing everything). 

Our friends, the Thorntons, came up to visit us, so we were gallivanting all over the Kenai Peninsula for a few days.  Then, I hurt my back. 

Yes, hurt my back one week before I was supposed to leave for my 33-mile, 4-day, 3-night backpacking trip that I have been planning for a YEAR!  The Thorntons and I went kayaking last Saturday and everything was fine.  However, when I woke up Sunday morning, my back was hurting and it continually got worse as the day went on.  I could barely walk on Monday, so I went to the doctor.  He thought I had pulled a muscle and for me to take it easy.  We discussed my upcoming trip in which he told me that he wasn't saying no, I shouldn't go, but he wasn't saying yes either.  After much discussion with Michael, the doc, my Dad, and one of my good friends that is an avid backpacker, I came to the decision that the trip wasn't worth it.  What if I hurt my back worse?  I was having troubles picking up Joey this week, what would I do if I hurt my back even more on the trip?! 

I was so disappointed that I was not able to go on this trip.  I was upset I wasn't going to do this hike, but I was more upset that I wasn't going to get my "me" time.  I was going to have 6 days where I was Sara again.  Not Michael's wife, nor Joey's mom.  Just Sara.  I was really looking forward to that.  As a stay-at-home mom, I very rarely have my own time.  Yes, sure, when Joey is napping or in bed for the night, it's just me, but I'm stuck at the house.  I can't go anywhere.  A lot of professionals recommend for SAHM's to leave the house, alone, for a little bit whenever the hubby gets home.  Well, with the the hours Michael works, that would mean I would have to go out at 9 or 10 at night.  By then, I'm ready for bed!

 

Anyways, I didn't go on the trip.  I'm over it now.  I really think hurting my back right before the big trip was a blessing in disguise.  What if my back would have went out on the trail?  What if I was going to twist my ankle on the trail?  Or be chased by a bear?  Or be in an avalanche?!?!  OMG!  So many things that could have happened, but now will not because I didn't get to go!  Everything happens for a reason, right? 

Father's Day 2011

This past Sunday was Father's Day and "Joey" made sure Michael got spoiled rotten! 

We made Michael homemade waffles and turkey bacon for breakfast (Michael's favorite morning meal as of late)!  Michael joined us at the table versus breakfast in bed per his request. 

Then, we took Michael out to lunch for sushi, his favorite!  We don't eat sushi too much since I'm not a huge fan, but since it was Father's Day, we went.  Joey loved the chopsticks!

Joey has been not digging the Cheerios anymore...that was until we fed them to him using chopsticks! 

Then, Joey tried to use the chopsticks!  He didn't do too good of a job properly using them, but he did have a lot of fun playing those slender pieces of wood! 

After lunch, we drove down to Girdwood to ride the tram and go on a hike, but Joey fell asleep five minutes before we got there!  Dang!  So, we decided to drive to Whittier, a tiny little town that can only be accessed through a one-lane 2.5 mile tunnel that goes through a mountain.  It was pretty cool, but very creepy.  I really did not enjoy driving through the tunnel...with cars behind you and in front of you and be totally enclosed by a mountain?  Can you say claustrophobic!!?!? 

All and all, I think Michael had a pretty good Father's Day.  I know that I am ready for Joey to get a little older so HE can actually be the one spoiling his daddy!  :)

How to Win Over the Ladies...

I know it's been sometime since I have posted a video on here, so I thought it was about time to put one up! 

Joey has learned what dirt is.  He likes to play with, eat it, and throw it up into the air! 

As you can tell from the video, little Sophie thinks it is hilarious that Joey is throwing dirt on her!  Oh man, so much to teach both these little babes!

Water Baby

Joey loves water.  I'm pretty sure we all knew that.  However, he proved to me how much he really loves water this week!

We went on a hike at Mirror Lake and once we were done hiking, we let the kiddos out of the packs so they could run around.  Joey ran, played, and swung for a while, until he spotted the lake. 

As soon as he recognized that this was water, he walked right in!  He didn't even slow down once he was in the water!

I had to grab him by the top of his hoodie because he was not stopping!  He may have gone all the way to the middle of the lake if I would have let him!

He even decided to sit in the lake! 

I removed him from the water five times, and each time, he would throw a huge temper tantrum!  Once I put him on the ground, he would run right back into the lake!   After about 10 minutes, I actually took him back to the car because I was afraid he would get too cold.  Did I mention that it was in the high 50's and overcast this day???

The next day was sunny and in the mid-60's.  This is super warm for Anchorage!  So, what do Alaskans do on a warm Alaskan summer day?  Why, they go to the beach (lake) and have a party!

 

This time, I was smart.  I dressed Joey in a swim diaper, swim trunks, and sandals!  Joey had a great time playing in the water, kid watching, duck watching, sand playing, and just hanging out!