There’s Eggs?
What a lesson…. Dave and Vinnie went fishing tonight and brought home one Silver. Garrett was so excited and wanted to watch every move Daddy made with the fish. He had a ton of questions about how and why Daddy caught the fish. As Dave opened it up, we discovered eggs. A "mommy" fish. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo? Baby Nemo lives in the shell of an egg that looks just like the eggs that came out of the dead fish on our kitchen counter. And then came the tears and the begging that we put the "baby eggs" in a special bowl and clean bag and place them next to his bed and save them from the trash. Lesson learned for Mom and Dad – our sensitve little boy is not ready for the lessons of life and death of fish.
View the before video full of wonder and questions followed the the post video of shock and awe.
Takin’ a Swing
We’ve discovered a great rope swing only a short walk from the house. We’ve been in hiking training for our cabin trip coming up and have used the trail near this swing as training grounds for our young hiker. Now it’s more about the swing and less about the trail. For photos check our Outdoor Photo Gallery and the short YouTube video below .
Our Singer Song Writer
The last few days we’ve been entertained by our son who has taken up writing his own songs. In this YouTube video Garrett sings the blue about missing Uncle Mike’s JetSki. Mom hasn’t been feeling too good today so Garrett tried to make her feel better with songs about health and recovery.
Our new pet birds
Our good friends have a window-mounted bird feeder that Garrett’s always enjoyed. I attempted to purchase one from Amazon.com but have noticed a disapointing trend with the online retailor. It seems that lately more and more items will not ship to Alaska. In the case of this bird feeder I visited the maker of the feeder, Perky Pet, and although the feeder is only $8 they were asking $38.04 and $67.37 for shipping to Alaska. The only options were FedEx 2nd Day Air and UPS Next Day Air. I emailed the company indicating that I didn’t need the product either over night or next day… it didn’t matter for that is the only option.
Luckily Fred Meyer had the bird feeder in stock for $8. We now have two of them on the backside of the house. They’re a great source of entertainment, hopefully the bears will not become an issue!
Danger: New Swimmer
Dah dum. Dah dum. DahdumDahdumDahdum. He’s loose in the water! And after 8 swim lessons, he can swim, on his own, without help. This was not an expected outcome of Pre School Level 1 lessons, so you can imagine his teachers’ surprise and our pride. His graduation certificate even has a special note from his teachers complimenting him on his crawl stroke! We learned that he’s very motivated to please and very tuned in to his teachers. This bodes well for his transition to a preschool like environment in a couple of weeks and maybe even soccer camp next summer. Garrett will continue swim lessons in October, and we’re excited to practice with him between now and then.
View our Image Gallery with photos taken during the 4 weeks of lessons along with video of Garrett swimming on his own posted on YouTube.
Big Sky Vacation
Montana 2007…a great trip! Garrett loved hanging out with Grandma and Papa. Every day had a highlight. Some of Garrett’s favorites include playing with the remote control John Deere tractor Papa bought him, riding a steam engine train in historic Virginia City with Grandma, floating the Beaverhead river with Mom and Dad and catching his first fish! I think he probably liked the waterpark a bit too. Highlights for Dave and I included watching Garrett enjoy the adventures of each day. The day we went to Missoula we had perma-grin…it was so much fun to experience the day (the carousal, playground and waterpark) through Garrett’s eyes. I will miss looking out the window to see Garrett strolling through the farmyard, hand in hand with Grandma. I won’t forget watching him give Papa bear hugs at the end of each day, as he headed to bed exhausted and happy. To see the highlights in photos, visit the photo gallery.
Mom’s Birthday
April has been full of sunny times! Last week was a beautiful spring week in Juneau. We played outside every night, had dinners at the beach and lounged in the sun for two hours last Sunday. April 24 was my 35th birthday and Garrett and Dave made it so sunny, despite the rain falling outside.
See the YouTube video of Garrett singing happy birthday to his mommy.
Happy Boy
It’s true! Our little boy is three. Garrett was excited to learn this morning that his friends were coming over to be with him for his birthday. He greeted each person with a smile and a question, “Do you have presents for me?” Oh, to be three! Each gift brought squeals of delight. We played with balloons and danced, had lunch and enjoyed cake and ice cream. For photos of the party view the birthday photos. Garrett’s been to enough birthday parties to know that you have to be quick on the draw to be able to blow out your own birthday candles, and after eyeing up the other kids around the cake, he blew his number 3 candle out before we finished singing. View this from the posted video on YouTube
We will spend his actual birthday playing with all his new toys and maybe going out to lunch. Thanks to all of our friends and family who made this birthday so special!
On Ice
Right before Christmas, we took Garrett ice skating for the first time. He cried like mad…whenever we took him off the ice. He just loved it, and within a half dozen visits, he was skating circles around Dave! Soon it will be Mom’s turn to learn, and today he informed me that he’d be willing to give me lessons. Lucky me!
Be sure to view the YouTube Video of Garrett sktating circles around his dad and his first solo skate! Along with photos taken during three trips to the rink.
Yultide Weekend
What a fun weekend we had last weekend – traveling to Skagway by fast ferry for their Yuletide Festival. We heard about this from some friends who were hoping to attend with us, but were unable to make it. The great thing about Skagway is that the locals are friendly and welcoming, and we made plenty of new friends in the 48 hours we were there.
The festivities began with Christmas Caroling in the town square Friday evening. Garrett joined the kid carolers and sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reinder in Japanese and Silent Night in German. We were so impressed! Santa arrived by the town fire truck, decorated from front to back bumper with lights, to throw the “Master Switch” and light the town Christmas Tree. Lots of ooohs and ahhs filled the night.
Saturday was the big day, though. At 11 a.m. Santa arrived again, this time by train. Garrett had a look of pure joy – two of his favorite things combined: Santa and a choo choo. Santa visited with all the kids, and then everyone boarded the train for an 8 mile ride up the tracks. This once-a-year event is donated by the White Pass Railroad, and we felt so fortunate to take part. Santa did another walk through, and Garrett mustered up the courage to give him a hug. We spent the rest of the 1.5 hour trip watching the scenery. The view back down to Skagway was clear and gorgeous and we visited with a lot of friendly locals and some folks from Canada, taking advantage of the opportunity as we were.
When in Rome, you do as the Romans do, so we joined the locals for the Yuletide Ball, which took place at the Skagway Rec Center. It’s an impressive facility for such a small town, and it was decorated beautifully. There was a live band, and Garrett joined about 30 kids to dance and run and wrestle and play for 2 hours before the “evening” crowd kicked in. Skagway is a community of about 800 people in the winter, and so this event was well attended. The locals wore everything from ballroom gowns to jeans and rubber boots. We felt right at home.
It was nice to get away for a weekend. We stayed at a terrific B&B – Mile Zero. The pace was relaxing and it was a joy to celebrate the festivities through the eyes of a two year old. Everything is magical again and we look forward to the wonders of the rest of the holiday season.
Be sure to view the weekend photos and the YouTube video of Santa arriving into Skagway on the White Pass and Yukon railroad.