Hangin' in the Hammock

The weather has been soooo much nicer this year than last year. As evidence of this is the hammock. Shayne put it up two years ago, and we enjoyed it all summer. However, it didn't even make it out of the storage room last summer. Putting it up in May this year is a very good sign for us!!

Shayne got the hammock from his brother Dustin who bought it while on his mission in Venezuela. It's pretty trick...as Shayne would say. :) Lachlan thought it was pretty cool too. Shayne would rock it a bit, and Lachlan would just smile. I think his favorite part was being able to watch the dogs.
Here's to hoping/wishing we have lots and lots of days in the hammock!!!

Soda Pop Anyone?!

Yup...it happened.
Shayne was able to get past the "mominator" and got some soda to Lachlan. :)




We went to St. Elias for dinner one night, and they have a great root beer on tap. Well...Shayne thought he'd give a little taste to Lachlan. Needless to say, he LOVED it. Now, every time we go anywhere that has drinks with straws in them, he whines and complains with his mouth open like a little bird, begging for some of the drink. He hasn't had any soda since then, only water, but still!! I think Shayne's created a monster!!

Helpin' Dad

On Sunday, the 17th, Shayne was organizing and respooling some of his fly lines. Lachlan thought he would help. Shayne had to finally give him some empty spools to keep him occupied, b/c he was LOVING the line as it was flipping around. Kept grabbing it as Shayne was reeling it onto the reel...was pretty entertaining for me. :)

Spring Steelhead

These are a few pics of Shayne's spring Steelhead. He hasn't been fishing quite as much this past week, and the past couple of times he's gone, he hasn't landed anything. It's gonna start getting crazy with the Salmon fishing this weekend, so this will be the last of the Steelhead for awhile.

So Long...Farewell

To our condo/first home, that is. Yup...we sold it.



We made a flying trip to Anchorage yesterday to sign the closing papers. Shayne signed to buy our first home 3 days before we got married. We had to find a place where we could keep my dog, Tipz. I had informed Shayne that when he married me, he married my dog. :) We initiallly were going to leave her with my parents for about 6 months, until we both found a place we liked, and then have her shipped up. However, after talking to Shayne, I started to realize how dark it was really going to be moving there in January. Now, I'm not afraid of the dark, but I was going to be in a new city, in a new state, with my new husband working nights, in a place that was pitch black at 5pm...and I would be by myself. Yup...I informed him I not only WANTED to have my dog with me...I NEEDED her, so I would feel safe. So, Shayne being the patient and incredible person he is...went house shopping, found this, and signed on it, all without me ever seeing the place. However, he did a MARVELOUS job!! It was the perfect place for us to start our life together...and I had my dog with me, which made the transition much easier. We moved from Anchorage almost 3 years ago, but have been renting it out. However, we decided we needed to simplify our lives, and live a little more within our means, so decided to sell it to take care of some things that would make our lives easier.


The pics are the outside right before Shayne signed on it...he tried to send pics so I could see it. The next is after we were unpacked and I was taking pics to show my family...Shayne is a little poser! The last two are when we were packing to move out, and down to Soldotna. Fun memories!



We will miss our little home...we have some great memories there...but we are relieved it is sold. Shayne was a permagrin boy all day yesterday. I could just see a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. So...adios little home!

My Mt. Redoubt(ful) Birthday

Ok...should've posted this about a month ago when it really was my birthday, but didn't feel much like it. My b-day started out pretty crappy...and when I say started out, I mean at 1am when Lachlan started crying, and didn't really stop until about 5:30 am. Not sure why he had such a bad night, he's been sleeping beautifully through the night for awhile now. So, poor Shayne came home from work early(he works nights) to help me out, but I refused to be appreciative and in any sort of good mood. I pretty much labeled myself as the "Birthday B*$@%" for the day.

However, Shayne was the "Wonder Husband", and refused to give into my sour mood. He kept up all the cute and good deeds throughout the day, and it actually turned into a very good birthday! I do have to give props to my husband for making it a good birthday. I'm so glad he loves me even when I'm the "Birthday B*$@%"!!

Anywho...these pics are from that day. We decided since it was one of the first really nice days we'd had this spring, we needed to get out. Mt. Redoubt is still steaming, and in fact is building another lava dome, and they are expecting it to go off...again. The only good thing about this, is it makes for some cool pics. We traipsed down to Kasilof Beach, where we met about 4-5 other cars/people taking pics, but with way cooler cameras than ours. Lachlan just thought it was great to get out of the carseat. We had to position him down wind, b/c it was blowing so much...gotta love the beach! This is pretty much the first time he's been outside sans carseat. Poor child. If it's any consolation, he will be experiencing way more of the outdoors than he would probably prefer this summer, so it's all good!

Completely...

I am amazed how completely fulfilled I am as a mother. I have always found ways to feel fulfilled and validated throughout my life. I often used my job of working with troubled teens to fill that void that as women we instinctively have in our lives. I still miss being around those kids...I did and still do find a great deal of fulfillment and love for them, I believe I always will.

However, I could never in a million years have imagined how much more complete I would feel being a mother to my own child.



So, to all you mom's out there on this Mother's Day...you are incredible and amazing to be doing what you are doing!! And to all of you women that long to be mother's, but aren't YET...thank you for finding completeness and fulfillment in being mother's to those who are in need of one. You are doubly amazing and incredible.

Daddy n' Me!

It's amazing how much Shayne loves his little boy. He loved him before, but it's hard to just want to be with your little boy when he's kinda a "blob", as Shayne so eloquently put it. :) Now, that Lachlan is older Shayne has just absolutely loved being with him. He loves on him more than any dad I've seen. And...they love to play. You should see how Lachlan jumps out of my hands/chair/floor to get to his dad when he walks in the room. It is too cute! So you can definitely tell, Lachlan loves his daddy too. I'm so glad Shayne is the type of dad he is. Although I'm going to be replaced as Lachlan's best friend in about a year to his daddy...I couldn't imagine a better "best-friend" to be replaced by.

Spring has Sprung!!!

Finally!!

Last week, we had the best week we've had in over a year. I'm not kidding...we had more nice days last week than we did the entire summer last year. So sad. By Sunday it was hitting around 70 degrees...we loved it! So, needless to say Lachlan got to experience the great outdoors...and even got to put on a short sleeved shirt AND shorts!! AMAZING!!

He hung out outside while we (and when I say "we", I mean Shayne), did yard work. He found out the rocks in the driveway are very fun to pick up and throw. He attempted to eat them at first, but then decided throwing was more fun...he is his father's child. :) We also took him to Kasilof beach with Lyndsey & Marcus and their little girl Zannah. It was so incredibly nice!

With his red hair and translucent skin we made sure he stayed pretty covered. He has the cutest hat, and doesn't seem to mind it...yet. He loves being outside. It has since cooled off a bit, but we can't complain too much, at least the snow is gone. :) Hopefully we'll continue to have nice days like this throughout the rest of the summer.