Project 52 - Week 19

Week 19 ~ May 8-14

William had a field trip to the zoo this week. I got to chaperon and bring the two littler guys along with me. It was a lot of fun. Since the weather has been cold, we had not had a chance to visit the zoo until now. The whole thing is pretty tiny and most of the animal are native to Alaska, but it was a nice. Almost every animal was out where we could see it too. It is always disappointing to walk up to an enclosure and not be able to find the animal, so we enjoyed this visit. Many of the parents in Will's class were able to come, so the kids were split up into very small groups. I only had to keep track of William and a little boy named Sawyer.

One of the native animals ... a sleepy polar bear. His enclosure was neat. It is made so that when he is in the water you can see him swimming underneath.

A moose. Laying down, you can't tell just how big these guys are.

Tigers. One of the non-native animals.

Will looking at the tigers.

A monkey. (Just kidding! Doesn't he look sweet here?)

Brown bear.

And for some reason this was my favorite for the trip. I didn't know that the two humped kind live in a climate with very cold winters.

Ben and Sawyer walking out. They became good little buddies!

Elijah's First Birthday!

My baby boy is one today! What a fast, hectic, crazy, and fun year it has been. I can't imagine our family without him and he fits right in!

From this tiny thing ....

To this great little guy!

Project 52 - Week 18

Week 18 ~ May 1-7

Baseball season is here! Well, at least in Alaska it is! William is so excited to play and is really having a lot of fun! His team is the Athletics. Will is one of the oldest kids on the team this year. He is playing tee ball this year. If he decides to play next year he will move up to coach pitch.

Here he is all decked out in his uniform. (complete with totally awesome red cleats!)


At Bat!



Running the bases



Ready to field the ball



A look at the backdrop he is playing against!



Running to first

Ben's Birthday Party

We had a nice little party with just our family to celebrate Ben's birthday. We ended up doing it the Saturday after his birthday since Easter was the day before his birthday this year. We had nice little spread of desserts, opened presents, and stayed up late to watch a movie. I think he enjoyed it!

The birthday desserts!

Sneaking a taste of the frosting!

Lighting the candle

Blowing out the candle

Checking out the presents!

Rainy Day

We had a few rainy days and some puddles in the driveway. We couldn't let their new rain boots go to waste!

Project 52 - Week 17

Week 17 ~ April 24-30

James' Uncle Dan came to town on a very short trip for work. The boys love him and we wish he could have been here longer! He was so kind to take the boys to Chuck-E-Cheese (Or Chuck-E Cheesus as Ben calls it) on his one night in town! Eli loved him and I'm sure Aunt Jamie is very jealous!

Ben looking very cool.

Eli waiting for dinner

Daddy helping Ben play a game

Uncle Dan watching Will play

The boys on a roller coaster simulation ride

They love air hockey!

Ben has so much fun even though he never wins!

Ben has crazy stories!

Eli playing games with Uncle Dan

Uncle Dan and all the boys

Toys for James

James got himself a toy a few weeks ago. It is a REALLY old Russian gun. He spotted it one day walking through the Base Exchange (BX). Apparently, the BX only gets 15-20 of them a year and it is the only used gun then ever sell. They also sell it for MUCH cheaper than you can get it anywhere else. The guy behind the counter said when they get a shipment of them, they sell out the same day. He was lucky to have been at the store that day.

10 on the 10th ~ May (Late Edition)

1. James is taking master's classes online to finish his master's degree. This is translating into work for both of us, as I am the family secretary.

2. We have officially become A's fans. Knik Little League Tee Ball A's that is. It is the team William is on and games started on Saturday!



3. Today the two younger boys and I got to go on William's field trip to the Alaska Zoo. It was a lot of fun and the first time we have been. It is quite small, but we enjoyed it anyway. Most of the animals are native to Alaska, except for a few tigers and a Bactrian Camel (that is the kind with two humps. Sally the camel has two humps, Sally the camel has .... ok now that song s stuck in my head). The camel was my favorite because I have never seen a two humped camel before. I learned that they grow a tick winter coat, so they are a good fit for a zoo in Alaska. I had to laugh that they had two ravens on display since they can be seen in every parking lot in town.



4. Speaking of the ravens (or Birdzillas as I call them), the seagulls have returned for summer and all the ravens seem to have disappeared. Their enormous size, mean looking eyes, and the fact that they disappear in the summer makes them one scary bird to me! I have however learned that they are an extremely intelligent bird and very hard to capture.

5. Eli finally has teeth! The two middle ones on the bottom are almost fully in and are very cute. I don't see anymore coming anytime soon though.

6. The days are certainly getting long! The sun came up at 5:26 am today and will set at 10:28 pm. That is 17 hours and 2 minutes of light.

7. Tick (This is Ben's nickname for those who don't know) says the funniest things. Lately, it has been the way he says Chuck-E-Cheesus and per-pelican (for his stuffed animal pelican) that has us laughing.

8. School will be out next week for Will. We will see how I manage with three active boys at home all day long!

9. Spring is here! We are starting to see green buds on the trees. I can't wait to see what it looks like around here when spring s in full bloom.

10. Yes, I know this is a day late. We were very busy yesterday and when I started working on this last night, the wireless internet on the laptop went out so I gave up for the night. I would have made it 11 on the 11th, but as you can see I came up a little short on things to write about. :)

Easter!

We had a lovely Easter! Here are a few pictures.