It was sunny...

I guess it looks like I've joined the ranks of the weekday-only blogger, although it was entirely unintentional. It was just that we had sun...

Let me explain just how dreary and wet this summer has been here. We went on vacation from June 9-24. It was sunny the 4 days leading up to that vacation and then it was sunny again the first two days of VBS - July 21-22. It has, at the very least, been overcast and has actually rained almost every day of the summer. Blah.

So last week, it was raining on Wednesday (The Prince's birthday) and Thursday (playgroup), but sunny on Friday and Saturday. I was at the lake on Friday while the kids swam in the cold water and I was at the beach on Saturday while the kids swam in the cold, cold ocean water. It got to 72* and people were complaining that it was too hot. It was also very pleasant on Saturday evening for our Sunday School class' BBQ. I did get eaten alive by the no-see-um's, but that's another matter entirely.

Yesterday morning, it was nice enough for the kids to ride their bike to church, but was clouded over when we walked home. Still nice enough to send the kids out to play, but it was raining again by dinner.

Anyway, it's raining again today and as an added bonus, it's windy.

My big plans for today include going over to the church to go over some VBS stuff and then I'm going to get my haircut at 4 pm. Fishing Guy's off today and I plan to make the most of it.

Happy Birthday!

To my not-so-little-boy!



Plus these:

Tidbits

Reading back a couple of posts, there is a need for some updates about Crafty Neighbor and such.

1. The airport mixup for our vacation was as much my fault as hers. I assumed that she knew that our flight left in the morning and she thought it was the evening flight. I don't know if that is really what happened, but whatever. We got it worked out a couple of days after we got back into town and I still feel bad about my tendency to conspiracy theory everything. We had about 2 weeks before VBS to do things together, but I was still busy getting everything ready and her husband was out of town, so it wasn't ideal.

2. Their move was put in motion about 3 months ago. Trooper was increasingly unhappy with his job here and since they feel the need to move every few years, it seemed like the time to move again. He had been applying for transfers for almost a year before he got this one. They are moving back into a bigger city, with traffic and murders and kidnapping - I don't want to follow them at all. The move also means that Crafty Neighbor will be able to fly more and I know that will make her happier.

3. Their move north gives me a place to stay if I ever make it up there for the Iditarod. The kids want to go visit already and I'm trying to figure out when I could pull them out of school with the least amount of fuss. We'll see.

Changes

There have been a few times in my life that a certain event has changed everything. For example, each time Fishing Guy and I have moved to a new state and we've had to start over, again when the kids were born and also when I decided to stop working full time.

Friday was another one of those days. Crafty Neighbor and her family left for Anchorage at 6 am. Life as I have known it here is completely different. I no longer have a friend right across the lawn, someone to watch the kids with no notice and we have lost our dinner and cribbage partners.

The kids really want to meet the new neighbors, but everytime I look outside, they are standing around smoking on the front walk. If it's in the evening, they also have a beer in hand. Oh well. We knew we had a good thing while we had it.

Anyway, in other news...

VBS was a huge success. It was a really long week, but it was worth it. Today I was hoping to relax a bit, but The Princess woke me up at 7 am. I guess I should keep rolling with the activity level and get a bunch of stuff done today too.

I have laundry to catch up on, a heap of papers to shread and file, a birthday party to plan, a living room to reclaim, a computer table to set up, a hamster tank to clean, some shopping to do and menus to plan.

I also have to go through our vacation photos with The Prince so that I can do his album. I finished The Princess' yesterday - 24 page protectors in a 6x6. I just have to label everything for her and it will be done. I have to find some page protectors at JoAnn's and print all the photos before I get really serious about it. While I'm doing that, I might as well order my prints so I can do the family album.

I just heard The Prince get up, so I have to go fix breakfast. I have a feeling that I'm going to have more free time now, so I'm sure I will be back soon.

VBS

I'm on the Edge. Arctic Edge that is.

It is VBS week and I am the Big Cheese. Day Two today and everything is going very well. I'll be back next week.

Oh, the few squirrels we have here in Alaska are very, very small... Go figure.

Vacation Pictures

OK - gather round and have a look. These are just from my photos so I don't think I'm in one and I don't have a bunch of the family. I let my mom take those ones and then I get copies. It saves me from annoying everyone further by taking duplicates at every stop.

Anyway, we started our adventure in Denver where we visited my aunt and uncle and spent Saturday morning at the zoo. The kids were just as taken with the squirrels as with the gorillas and monkeys.



We headed north on Sunday to spend the week at my parent's house in Wyoming. The pictures are mostly of fishing and a playground we played on while Fishing Guy was fishing. I didn't take pictures of the shopping at Wal-Mart (almost daily) or of the time we spent relaxing and hanging out at the house.

Monday night:



Friday's Outing was to the Territorial Prison. I used to volunteer there about 15 years ago and the kids enjoyed "going to jail."




Saturday Morning:



And then we all got in the van and drove for 11.5 hours to Teton and Yellowstone national Parks. We did some hiking and the kids earned their Junior Ranger patches.



And then, we visited another aunt and uncle in Bozeman, Montana. They have 10 acres, two dogs and my uncle works with horses. We had a lovely two days there.



My aunt also does dog agility. I had to show her that kids can be trained too.



Hope you had a good trip too!