2 weeks until school's out for summer!

The sun has been shining in our little town - which means time to play outside.  Mister here decided that sand and pine cones are a viable food group.  Silly boy!

All that fun time outside is making for some very hungry kids - Leinna was kinda fussy so to defuse the melt down and I asked if she wanted to help make her lunch.  She did a pretty good job I'll say for her first PB and J.

Finally, as our lives promise to get even more crazy with the end of school and moving details, I love the lesson my kids are demonstrating - just stop what your doing or stressing about and hug the ones you love.  God has a plan - Trust.  I'm slowly learning to let go of the things I have no immediate control over - like the what-ifs in life and just focus on what decisions or tasks can I accomplish today to keep moving forward. 

As I'm sitting here wrapping up this post, I'm watching a hummingbird that has discovered our feeder- while it's raining out and I still have 2 feet of snow in the yard!  

Got to love spring in Cordova!

Doctor Appointment All Good!

What a busy week! Lukkas and I took the big plane to Anchorage on Sunday for some doctor appointments on Monday and Tuesday.  After recalling my easy travel with Leinna, I wasn't quite prepared for the way Lukkas travels.  First of all, he's so stinking strong and he likes to do what I call his Crocodile Roll when he's mad - oh, he just tries to spin out of whoever or whatever is holding him.  Anyways, our plane was late getting to Cordova, so all of our "happy time" was spent waiting for the plane. By the time we boarded, Lukkas was beyond ready for a nap.  Both of the kids like their own space to fall asleep in.  So, you can imagine a very tired little boy who was stuck sitting in his mom's lap- did not make for a very pleasant flight.  Thankfully, the flight was only 30 minutes long and the person sitting next to us was very patient and tried to help in anyway that he could.

We land, of course Lukkas is as happy as he can be now - but we still had to go get the rental car.  With Lukkas strapped to my back and me toting the suitcase and car seat - away we went to the rental car.  While I was getting his car seat buckled in, the safest place for him to be was playing in the front seat of the car.

Oh - the giggles from him. I just had to stop and snap a quick photo of all the fun he was having! This certainly made up for the difficult flight into Anchorage.

We went to an eye doctor for Lukkas. At his 1 year check-up he was referred. Not sure if I wrote about earlier- so I apologize for the repeat if I did.  Anyways- he was referred for something called cornea reflex.  I initially thought this meant that his eyes did not focus at the same speed, but I was wrong.  It actually meant that when light is reflected back from his eye it should be centered in his pupil, but in his right eye doesn't do this.  This is an early indication that they eye may start to wander.  Well, the doctor was amazing and she did everything she could to try and make Lukkas' eye wander - but it wouldn't do it.  So she said this could be a version of normal for him, but she does want to follow up in 3-4 months to make sure nothing has changed.

We also had vaccinations to get - poor little boy was ready to be back home and in a normal routine.  We were able to spend some good time with our dear friend Heidi - which is always a special treat when we are in Anchorage.  Pretty soon, we'll be calling Anchorage home and able to see Heidi anytime we please :o)

The flight home went better- he only screamed for the 10 minutes prior to take-off, but then slept the whole flight home.    I ended up with a horrible cold, so the remainder of the week has been spent taking care of myself.  Leinna so sweet and kept offering me hugs so that I would feel better.  Such a sweet little girl.

Well, I hope to take more photos this week - but no promises.  With the end of school 3 weeks away and preparing for our move life is going to be a tad bit busy!  Until next time...

Ice Cream Alaska Style!

Even though we still have 3 feet of snow in the yard- we ALL are loving the sunshine.  I earlier posted about one of our reasons for leaving Cordova was due to the lack of sunshine.  Well, in good ol' Cordova fashion, we have had more sunshine than I can remember since moving here 6 years ago.  Trust me - not complaining one bit - but it certainly makes it even harder to leave.

Leinna certainly loves that the snow melts and then freezes nice and smooth in the yard.  We have our own skating rink!  Here she's pretending to slip and slide. 

What more could an Alaska girl want on a sunny afternoon - 

Ice Cream!  Yep - only in Alaska would a kiddo sit in the sun with her winter hat and coat on to enjoy an ice cream treat.  

She was even so kind to share with her brother!

In other news: Lukkas and I head to Anchorage tomorrow to see the eye doctor on Monday.  At his one-year check up, he did not pass his vision screening.  His eyes focus at different speeds and left untreated he could have vision issues.  So, we'll see what the course of treatment will be on Monday.  I also have an interview on Monday afternoon!  If I haven't already mentioned, Leif accepted a job in Anchorage teaching middle school math.  After some hurdles with my Anchorage application, I'm happy to say that kinks are worked out and hoping for a great interview on Monday.  Should be interesting as I'm getting/have the horrible cold that is going around our little town right now.  Ugh...

Well- kiddos are in bed and Leif is at prom - this momma is going to take some medicine and hope to feel much better in the morning.  Good Night!

Loving springtime- even in the snow!

After a much needed first haircut (kinda hard to see the difference)

and full belly (trying to learn how to use a spoon) - 

its time to head outside and enjoy the springtime sunshine!

Almost too big to sit in the same chair together, but

never to big to share a puddle to splash in!

Mister is determined to mow the snow away!

After a fun day outside and a beautiful sunset, 

it's off to dream land!  Since birth, Mister has slept on his stomach with his little tush in the air and feet crossed - neat to see a year later that he still prefers this way of sleeping.

Amazing how the sunshine can help keep the chaos of life a bit more manageable.  Leif had a very busy week - I think we were able to sit at the same time for dinner once this week. However, with the craziness of the week we also have good news to share!  Leif accepted a job in the Anchorage School District as a middle school math teacher - teaching upper level math like Algebra and Geometry to 8th graders. I also had an interview and should know something by early next week.  

Excited that we now know where we are headed. 

May the craziness of spring-time continue!!

April (snow) showers bring... ?!?

This week was full of snow! Yep - April snow-showers are going to bring our May flowers this year.  Leinna just loves being outside and she always has.  One thing nice about spring snowstorms is that it stays lighter and we get to see the sun peak through after the storm.  With the sun shining bright this morning, Leinna was itching to go outside and play.  We headed to our local park - even though it's still covered in snow.  Leinna thought it was pretty fun that she could "touch the ground" while sitting on the big girl swing. With every spring storm, comes more snow shoveling...  Don't you love how Leinna's helping shovel the deck off?  Such a little helper these days...

and growing into quiet the little girl.  Papa and I were just talking the other day about how grown up she seems these days.  She's sitting at the table without a booster, going potty all by herself, and has learned how to put her shoes and coat on independently (well, about 90% of the time).  After she finished painting a picture this morning, she says to me, "Momma, I need to put my name on it."  Okay- I said, thinking she would do some kind of random scribbles.  She wrote a line for each letter - and had the correct amount of lines for the number of letters in her name.  Man - I'd better not blink or she'll be headed off to college before I know it.

As for our little Mister - he's busy filling his belly - must be preparing for another growth spurt. 

So cute watching him dunk his cracker in a fruit spread.  

I think I'd better start a food savings account for when he's a teenager because he's already starting to eat me out of the house! 

  

No further news about where we are headed after Cordova.  We've had some interest in the house and made some contacts with principals in Anchorage, but nothing is official yet. It's challenging to be patient and wait for things to unfold ... definitely a lesson in prayer and trust. 

We hope you are enjoying spring-time in your neck of the woods! 

Sunglasses in Cordova?!?

After such a busy weekend last weekend with Lukkas's birthday party and Easter Sunday, we found ourselves thoroughly enjoying the Cordova sunshine this week.  Such a rare treat to have multiple days in a row of sunshine - we even broke out the sunglasses for Lukkas we bought to use this summer.  It was great to pick up the kids from day care and head out for a walk before dinner.  

Happy Spring-time!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!