YONO (You're Only Nine Once)

Adelyn turned nine over the weekend (?!?!?) and it was a great birthday weekend. One of her gifts was more fish so she got to pick some out and got these really cute neon tetras. We took her out to eat the night before her birthday and I think for the first time she got embarrassed when the staff sang her happy birthday!
Her party was on her actual birthday and she had it at a bowling alley with 10 of her friends. It was tons of fun and really cute to see how much the girls have changed since she was little. As usual, she was completely spoiled and got a lot of great gifts. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up, my days are numbered before she is taller than me, but I think we'll be sharing shoes before I know it!

Cross Country

This year the kids joined a cross country club through the Boys and Girls club and they meet after school 2 days a week. Brian and I thought running for an hour after school would mean the kids would be nicely worn out and ready for bed. Somehow it seems like they have even more energy on cross country days! In addition to the practices, there have been 3 meets and they are such cool events. All of the neighborhood elementaries join (I think there are 5 or 6) and they split the grades into 3 heats (its K-6th grade who are eligible to join). With the help of a lot of volunteers the kids run all around the town and end on a track in a local park. They run 1.3 miles and it is the cutest thing ever to see kids of all ages finishing this distance.
Unfortunately the meets are at the same time as Cameron's hockey so he hasn't been able to go, but Addy made it to all 3 as did a bunch of her friends and it was a lot of fun to watch. Luckily it didn't rain for any of them and the kids really had a good time.

Pumpkin Farm

Our amazing fall weather continues and Brian took the kids and some friends to a pumpkin farm last week on a no school day. Everyone had a blast and it sounds like the corn maze was incredible. It was in the shape of the state of Washington. There was so much to do! Hay rides, hay bales, jumping, slides, baseball, duck races, tractors, swings, endless fun. The only bummer was the long line for cider doughnuts, but Brian saved the day by taking them out for doughnuts. I definitely missed out on this one!

Viking Visitors!

We were so excited to have our friends Eric & Emilie and their kiddos Sam and Matilda visit us. They stayed with us for 5 days and we had such a great time. The weather was UNBELIEVABLE so we made the most of it. We went to the zoo, the boys went fishing on the sound, we took a ferry, went bowling, had crab and fresh-caught salmon dinner, and of course watched football. It is so easy to host friends that you've literally known forever, even if we don't get to see them very often. The kids loved hanging out together (so did the adults) and we were so happy that they loved their time in the city.

Hockey Season

Cameron has been so excited to start hockey since he has been practicing his skating for the last year. He had his first hockey practice about 3 weeks ago and he just loves it. I can't believe how grown up he looks in all of his hockey gear. It is awesome to see him out on the ice working on drills. I had no idea a 5 year old boy could get as sweaty as he gets after an hour on the ice! I think Brian loves it just as much as Cameron as he gets to help him with all the gear and they talk about hockey like a couple of men.

First Day of School

I'm going to pretend that I'm not a month late in posting this. I really don't know how that is possible! The kids had a wonderful kick-off for back to school and it is hard to believe that we have finally achieved the milestone of having both kids at the same school! Kindergarten and 3rd grade. We made it!
The kids were very excited to go back to school and honestly, a month later they are still excited. We are so lucky to have kids who love school and this year they each got their best friend (who are also siblings!) in the same class which excites them to no end. We love the school and Brian is volunteering once a week in each classroom. We really have no complaints about back to school this year, it was an easy transition and everyone is loving their routines. I look at these pictures and can't help but smile at my incredibly sweet, kind (and giant!) children.

Alaska Glaciers & Wildlife

Before the ship made any port stops, we went into Endicott arm to see Dawes glacier. The weather was very foggy that morning and they weren't sure if we would go to Endicott or Tracy Arm, but more so weren't sure if we would see anything at all. Suddenly the fog cleared and it was amazing to see icebergs floating alongside the ship. It truly is a once in a lifetime sight to see and it feels incredibly surreal to be surrounded by ice in the water.

On another port stop, in Juneau, we hopped on a bus and went to see the Mendenhall glacier. It was amazing and a beautiful waterfall by the glacier. As we were walking to get closer to the falls, we came upon a mama brown bear and 2 cubs. It was crazy how close we were to them and they didn't seem to care at all. During the drive in Juneau we must have seen 2 dozen eagles! They were everywhere, sitting on lamp posts, on the road and along side the water in the sand. 

It was also awesome seeing whales on the ship. We saw both orcas and gray whales from the ship and while we were close to the glaciers there were a lot of seals in the water. 

 You can't really make them out in this picture, but this is how close we were to the bears. They were right alongside the trail in the bushes.