Memorial weekend in Gustavus

With Max working in southeast AK for two weeks around Memorial Day weekend we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to squeeze in a short family vacation while visiting with some former Fairbanks friends living in Gustavus. The trip south was a big event for Kieran. Three airplanes and three airports each way...very exciting! And very exhausting! Kieran was terrific on the travel days - he even decided at the Juneau airport was the ideal place to begin his self-imposed potty training. We haven't changed a single dirty diaper since he asked me to take him to the bathroom in Juneau. Max and I must have done something very, very good to be blessed with this easy, and easy going, child.

Here he is after our short ride over the mountains from Juneau to Gustavus. He loved walking on the wing to get into the plane. We were met at the airport by good friend Janet who took us back to their place where Kieran continued the nap he started on the plane. We had to be up at 4am for the flight out of Fairbanks - it had been a long morning!


Max found us at Janet and Sean's and we filled the next days with all manner of Gustavus activities. Throwing rocks into the river was high on the agenda.


Gustavus is a scenic spot and we had perfect weather for sightseeing. Soggy southeast? Not while we were there.

Kieran was happy to be with his Daddy again.

Janet took us to the Gustavus beach for some relief from the hot weather. Two year old Téa was looking for some relief too! That was some REALLY cold water!

There was some first class tide pooling in the park and Max showed us his favorite spots.

Kieran wasn't terribly excited about tide pooling at first.

But after finding wiggly gunnels and worms and squirting clam siphons and baby sea stars under a few rocks he was hooked.

Happy tide poolers!

Pretty sea stars.

Once Kieran got into it we had a hard time calling him off. Just one more rock...

This is a gorgeous spot in Glacier Bay park, just down the road from Sean and Janet's house. Not bad for a back yard.

Beautiful field of lupines.

We gave the intertidal critters a break and headed for the forest. Nice to see big trees again!

REALLY big trees! Kieran was intrigued by the tree fungus. I don't know if he was getting a close look at this one or trying to eat it.

The river overlook was the end of the trail for us.
Sean took us out in his boat to check the family crab pot one afternoon. Kieran was deep into a nap when we were supposed to leave but he sprang to life when I whispered that it was time to go out in the boat. Nothing like the promise of a project with Daddy(s) to shake off sleep!

Three crabs in the pot...

And three keepers! We had a delicious crab dinner that night. Thanks Sean!

On the way back to the dock we did a little subsistence kelp fishing.

Here's Kieran giving me his newly acquired "Gustavus wave". Everyone waves in Gustavus - it's infectious.
Happy boys after the boat trip.

We had another trip to the beach on a low tide morning. Kieran had a blast chasing Max's Frisbee as he heaved it into the wind.

This never gets old. This only gets old for Max. Kieran can do it all day.

A rare family shot.


Kieran hamming it up on the whale watch charter boat. We spent several hours looking at and for humpbacks out in the bay. We had some success but Kieran wasn't especially interested in the whales and seemed to want our attention most at the exact moment a whale would surface.

So we missed more whales than we saw but we had a nice time on the water and we did get a couple of close looks at whale parts. Janet is a whale researcher - this is her office. Unfortunately, she had the entire holiday weekend off and couldn't give us a personal tour of the bay on this trip.
Going down...

And breaching...almost. I have a mental picture of a black and white body hovering above the water before Kieran demanded my attention. I don't know how he was able to tell when the whales were going to surface. He wasn't watching them but he sure knew when to make a fuss to keep us from getting a good look! In his defense, it probably seemed a little silly to a 2 year old to keep watching the water when the majority of the time there was nothing to see.

Our little distractor. He did great even after the wind kicked up and the boat started getting tossed around a bit. So far he has terrific sea legs.
Then the weekend was over, the rain and clouds came back, and we had to leave. Back in the little plane Kieran was happy to be heading home to his "meows". Shortly after I took this he was fast asleep. What a fun trip!

A smokey day in May

We had an exciting Saturday afternoon in mid-May when high winds downed a power line just up the road from us. There had been little precipitation and the downed line ignited the brush just over the ridge, only a few hundred yards from our house. We were happy to see the impressive response from at least two fire stations. There was a larger fire in another neighborhood across town that was started in the same way, at the same time. It's nice to know that there are enough engines and manpower in town to respond to two potentially serious fires.
A look down the power line towards the fire. The lower access road was filled with another half dozen trucks and engines.

Another fire? Nope, that's just Max firing up the boat after its long winter rest.

The morning after the fire was clear, warm, and smoke free - a beautiful day for boating on the river. Kieran was even more excited about the boat this year than last. He takes driving very seriously. Rachel came along for the ride. What a great day!

The unseasonably warm temperatures and sunny skies in April and May made for a quick green-up this year. It's always special to see green leaves out in the yard after many months of white.

Spring house projects

It's been a busy spring around here with much talk of gardening and house projects that need doing.

Kieran has been doing his part and helping where he can. His favorite accessory of late is Max's pair of ear protection headphones. He wears them for work and play and would likely wear them for everything else if he had his way. He has been right in the middle of the construction of our garden containers for the deck. He's an enthusiastic worker.

Getting some measurements for Daddy.

These two make a good team. Kieran beelined it out to the deck after his bath for two evenings in a row so he wouldn't miss anything. There's nothing like a good, solid day's work...before or after bath.

Max and Kieran did a nice job on the container project (a condition of approval of Max's field-heavy summer work schedule). Now Kieran and I can busy ourselves with watering while we wait for Max to come home in between trips (because we didn't have enough to keep us busy before...?!?).

Max collected a trailer load of soil for the containers, which greeted Kieran and me in the driveway when we arrived home in the evening. Kieran got right to work planting a stawberry patch. I was inside getting dinner started when he came in and pulled me outside to show me his work. I guess we'd really been talking up the garden. Kieran planted strawberries from the flat of beautiful, ripe berries we brought home from the market. Here he is counting the strawberries he planted for me.

I love this. Of course this is what a little one would expect a stawberry garden to look like!

Harvest time comes a lot sooner when you plant the mature fruit!

Just as we were beginning to think about playing the odds and planting before that "last frost" date we were surprised by a late snowfall that brought us back to reality.

Kieran couldn't have been happier. He had already harvested his strawberry crop AND he was able to give his snow shovel one last spin around the deck before summer.

Our budding outdoorsman

Kieran has taken to spending as much time as possible outside now that the snow is gone and the temperatures are a bit friendlier. It's a challenge to get him in the house for meals, baths and bedtimes. For the most part we've let him sneak out to enjoy the evening sun at the end of the day when he should be heading upstairs. After such a long and dark winter we can empathize with his desire to make the most of every warm, sunny evening. In preparation of summer camping opportunities and spending whole nights outside we found a perfect Kieran-size sleeping bag that has become a very favorite thing. This is his first few minutes of getting to know his new bag and all of its features.


Happy outdoor kiddo!

After receiving the bag Kieran moved himself out of his toddler bed and onto the floor in his room where he sleeps every night in his sleeping bag. It also gets moved downstairs on chilly weekend mornings when Thomas the Tank Engine plays on PBS. We'll get the chance to try it out in a tent when we fly to meet Max out on field work near Glacier Bay later this month where we'll visit friends Janet and Sean and sleep out in their yard for a few nights.

With the snow gone we have begun exploring the woods below the house - now one of Kieran's favorite activities. Rufus won't be left behind on these backyard expeditions.

Some first tries at climbing trees.

Little buddies. Who needs a dog with a cat like Rufus?

This is one of Kieran's favorite features - the big hill. It has perfect steps for climbing up and jumping down again. The only downside of the big hill is an abandoned hare burrow at the top. The hole is a bit scary for Kieran, especially after Rufus found (and presented to us) the leg of a hare, most likely the one that was living in the burrow. How young is too young to explain that animals eat other animals? He was quiet for awhile after hearing that but luckily it hasn't quelled love of exploring the woods.

A few more Easter weekend moments

Max doesn't see the point of having an egg hunt without properly hidden eggs.


He was re-hiding eggs almost as fast as Kieran was collecting them.

A quick break in the hunting and hiding for a picture with Daddy.

Kieran's friend Lydia shows off a purple egg and her frog costume. Gotta love toddlers and their clothing choices!

We managed to leave the egg hunt with an empty basket and a very happy egg hunter.

Mid morning we changed venues and stopped by the "Mush For Kids" event. There's always time to drive the train.

Kieran is a big fan of slides. The faster the better.

We visited with the mushing dogs while we were there. Kieran ended up laying down and hugging this friendly guy. I put down the camera, imagining the headline: Boy mauled by sled dog while mother stands by with camera, so there are no pictures of the snuggle.

Now that was a fun morning!