A photographic study

I'm not quite sure why I find these funny, but it's kind of neat to open up my camera folder and log through the images that Boyd has taken. A few weeks ago I allowed him to play with my Canon and after a while I heard the camera turn on and could see the flash go off out of the corner of my eye. He had a great time just clicking away!

I posted these in order of when he took them - apparently Boyd likes to walk around and really take in the scenery of the living room and kitchen.

Heh heh, this one is my favorite!

1st Boat Trip

Two weeks ago we braved the rain and dreary temperatures to embark on our first family boat adventure! Whittier was our point of departure and overall the trip went very well. The launch was very busy on Saturday morning but we waited until most of the boats had unloaded so it wouldn't be so stressful on me and the little one. Usually I stay with the boat and move it down the dock as others unload, but with a baby it's almost impossible to do that by myself (D has to park the truck/trailer and walk back - a 15-20 minute process). In this case, we just waited to unload and then left the boat tied up at the launch. I walked around with Boyd until D showed up.

Boyd in his life jacket and Muddy Buddy waterproof suit. 

We're off! Motoring out of the Whittier harbor.

Found this little guy and his bigger friend in one of our shrimp pots. Also came up with a huge octopus (which we saved for my mom), a couple sculpin fish, and a sea urchin.

The combination of a very early wake-up call and the rocking motion of the boat put our kid to sleep for about 20 minutes in mid-morning. Afterwards he was little fussy, which is understandable - new experience, tiny space with minimal room to move around in. We stopped in a calm bay to let him explore the boat and he settled down.

Boyd took an afternoon nap in his carseat (we brought it on board) as we motored over to drop the shrimp pots in a new area. It worked out pretty well because as he slept, I drove the boat while D prepped the pots and threw them over the side.

A much needed shore break. View from one of D's bear hunting stations.

This is what black bears do! It looks like the container melted, but a bear basically shredded it to get to the stuff inside. Those claws are no joke.

Bear scat. It's been eating berries. Looks very different from spring poop, which is very dark.

Low tide. The boat was anchored up and we took the canoe into shore.

Small crab shell that washed up on shore.

My absolute favorite shell - sea urchin. I maybe find one or two per year on the beaches here. They're so delicate that they rarely make it to the beach in one piece.

Bloop bloop - big fat jellyfish.

D put a couple small pebbles in the shell for Boyd to shake.

A curious sea otter that swam around us after we anchored up in a small bay for the night. Later in the evening we saw a seal too.

Day two dawned quite early - Boyd didn't fall asleep until about 10:30 p.m. - and we awoke at 6:30 a.m. to a hungry kid. This was the first time that the 3 of us all slept on the new boat together. The two bench seats fold down to make a cozy bed, so we snuggled Boyd in between us. It was tight, but it worked. After a quick breakfast, we cleaned up and did some fishing.

Nap time on Sunday.

Boyd is in a camera phase. I found this one when downloading my photos and just laughed.

Our shrimp haul wasn't too skimpy this time. We kept some and then gave a bunch to my mom and Risha.

Pretty rainy on our way back in to Whittier on Sunday. It's difficult to see in this photo  - but the little watercraft on the right (to the left of the pink buoy) really looked to us to be a PADDLEBOAT with a little motor. Isn't that crazy!?

Whittier harbor.

More harbor. The boat launch is the area marked by the yellow lines.

Driving home!

Stop talking mom & dad, I'm trying to make a call.

Alaska State Fair

I was trying to remember the last time I visited the Alaska State Fair, and it may have been on one of  D's and my's first dates! This was Boyd's first trip to the fair - we went with my mom and sister, and used free tickets provided by my workplace. We left town in the afternoon after Boyd's nap (and first gymnastics class) and arrived within an hour. Since it was Monday we breezed right in and didn't have to fight the weekend or evening crowds.

It was a gorgeous day in Palmer, Alaska. Definitely hot though - and for one of the first times in my fair experiences, I didn't get rained on. A rare treat!

Boyd spent 1/3 of his time in the stroller, 1/3 being carried and 1/3 walking. At one point we stopped and watched the kids on the pony rides. He kept pointing out all of the ponies in the enclosure.

When we stopped to munch on food, he finally had the opportunity to run around and release some of that toddler energy. Even managed to get a sit-down photo with Grandma Ann. All told, we sampled cheese curds, corn fritters, baked potatoes, buffalo burgers, waffle fries, and rhubarb lemonade. I would have gone for dessert but we ran out of time.

The petting zoo - my favorite! Having a kid is the greatest excuse for getting into the petting zoo. Boyd wasn't afraid at all - he got to interact with some cow calves, ponies, goats and bunnies. Oh gosh, in the bunny enclosure I told him to pet it one more time and then we'd go. He reached out and started to stroke the hair of a little girl next to him. It was so funny!

"Look Emo, a pig!"

We were a day early for the pumpkin weigh-off. I think the winning gourd was over 1,000 pounds...that's amazing! All in all, it was a fantastic day to spend with family. We're looking forward to bringing Boyd back next year and seeing him interact a bit more and possibly enjoy a few rides.