On the trail again...

M+M Daily Favs 10.30

MN=going to L's birthday party

MR=carving the "punkins"

Last year when riding the 3 day ferry from Bellingham, WA to Juneau, we met a nice little girl and her parents. We ran into this family several times over the winter, and then they bought a house in the neighborhood where we rented ours. Since the girls are on different school schedules, we have yet to make a playdate, but the girls are in dance class together this fall. M+M were very excited to be invited to L's birthday party and really enjoyed the ice cream sundaes and the movie at Silverbow.

After the party, we had dinner and carved our jack-o-lanterns. MR picked out and owl and MN picked out a skeleton. Bill and i worked diligently to reproduce the designs, i think next year we will let the girls draw their own designs!

M+M Daily Favs 10.29

MN+MR=going to the library

M+M Daily Favs 10.28

MN+MR=going to Mr. G's birthday party

Tonight we went to the V's house for dinner to celebrate G's birthday. As we marked the one year anniversary of our arrival in Juneau yesterday, today marks the one year anniversary of meeting the V family. When we met them last year, the kiddos got a long great right away! Since the adults hit it off as well, the kiddos getting along so well was a big added bonus. Over the last year we have celebrated birthdays and holidays, worked out together, babysat for each other, and enjoyed tons of dinners and drinks together. Happy Birthday, G! Cheers, V Family!!

M+M Daily Favs 10.27

MN=lights

MR=playing on the computer

Today we went back to Fred Meyer and picked up another strand of lights... Now there is a pretty glow on both the top and bottom bunks!

MR loves pbskids.org, especially the Dinosaur Train games.

Happy Anniversary, Juneau!

It was 1 year ago today that we arrived in Juneau. As we drove off the ferry, it was rainy and dark. We drove around for a little while trying to get the lay of the land... We stopped at Fred Meyer to grab coffee and snack, we drove downtown... We eventually ended up at Mendenhall Glacier:

Later in the morning, we were able to check into our hotel that was home for about 10 days. Over the next few days we drove by tons of houses, but looked into only 6. It took us less than a week to decide which house we were going to rent, and a few days to iron out the paperwork. After almost 2 weeks driving cross country, 3 days on the ferry, and 10 days in a hotel, we were very ready to move into our new home for the next two years...

M+M Daily Favs 10.26

MN=there was nothing exciting that happened today

MR=getting our lights

Uh, oh... Has my four year old turned into a teenager? We've had a tough run of things since arriving home in Juneau... Poor MN woke up with a high fever the morning after we arrived home. There are stuffy noses galore and some coughing too. MN's fever seems to have departed, but ever since Sunday morning it took up residence in her sister. We've been watching too much tv, but i'm at a loss of what else to do with jet-lagged, sick kids! I was hoping things would be back to normal today (i think we are pretty much back on local time), but i guess we're in for a few more days of cold induced grumpiness from one member of the family.

When we started to lose daylight, the girls were complaining about how dark it was in their room. We left a light on so they could read at bedtime, but it didn't seem like enough. I had planned to check out Target for some fun lights to string on the bunk beds while we were on our trip, but never made it to the decor aisle on my 2 brief trips. Much to my dismay, the Christmas stuff is already out at Fred Meyer. However, yesterday after picking up candy in the Halloween aisle, we strolled into the Christmas lighting section and picked out cute some star lights to string on the girls' bed. I wanted white, but they picked the colored lights... It looks super cute and even my grumpy little girl seemed to like them.

M+M Daily Favs 10.25

MN+MR=picking up Daddy from the plane

M+M Daily Favs 10.24

MN=playing with play-doh

MR=going to the Halloween party

Thanks to my friend A for bringing MR to the CG Halloween party today! MN is still suffering from a fever, so i couldn't expose her to all those healthy kiddos. I was very proud of MN for holding it together while here sister went off to a party by herself... I tried to make home extra fun for her today. An extra thanks to A for making sure MR brought home lots of goodies for her sister.

M+M Daily Favs 10.23

MN=playing with sissie

MR=baking cupcakes

Today was a big day for MR... MN still has a pretty high fever, so MR had to go to school all by herself. It has been a rare event for the girls to do anything by themselves, so this was a milestone for certain. MR was very nervous, but was fine as soon as she hit the classroom.

MN was very happy to have her sister home!

MR had a great time helping me with cupcakes for the CG Halloween party tomorrow. I hope we can all make it!

Our Sweet Bobo

When moving cross country last fall, we left our beloved golden retriever (Balduf Hoku aka Bobo) in the care of our trusted neighbors J and MD. The plan was that Balduf would join us in Juneau after we were settled into a pet friendly rental. However, things didn't go as planned... Poor Balduf was diagnosed with Lyme disease shortly before we moved out of the lighthouse. His treatment went well, but J and MD were nervous about 9 year old Bobo flying alone all the way to AK. The plan was changed... It was decided that Balduf would fly along with someone coming to visit us. Well, none of our visitors came directly from NJ to AK; so one year later Bobo finds himself still living with J, MD, and his adopted dog sister Pepper.

We were so excited to see him when we arrived in NJ! He moves a little slower, is a lot grayer, but is still the same wonderful dog we brought into our home 10 years ago. The girls have missed him so much and were beyond excited to see him.

Since the girls and i were flying back to AK without Bill, we decided that Bill would bring him back to Juneau when he came back at the end of the week. However, a report from the vet changed everything...

Our sweet puppy has cancer. We've made the tough decision to let him live out his days in NJ where he is now used to being, is absolute comfortable and happy.

Knowing this may well be the last time that i pat his soft head,

i told him how he made me more patient,

was a wonderful "Nana Bobo" to our babies,

and how much he helped me through all those long days and nights while Bill was traveling.

I hope he knows how much he is loved even though we aren't there with him.

Postcards from the Lower 48

On Mother's Day 2008, my brother proposed to is girlfriend. She said yes and about 1 1/2 years later we were on our way from Juneau to Massachusetts to celebrate their wedding. Here are some of the highlights from our trip:

from Juneau to Newark:

from New Jersey to Massachusetts:

(i don't miss traffic!)

the big day:

some New England fall fun:

Boston Museum of Science:

arts and crafts with Auntie:

playing in PS's backyard:

our first trip:

the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular:

lunch:

taking a break from shopping:

playing on the playground in our old neighborhood:

getting together with old friends:

back home to Juneau (via some Seattle fun!):

So many moments i wasn't able to photograph...

Another playdate, a couple of super fun dinners with friends, our niece's confirmation, fun, quiet moments with our families and the kiddos...

We had so much fun and miss you all so very much!