Family Birthday Dinner

To celebrate Claire's birthday with my mom's side of the family, we went to a nearby park, and played and ate dinner. Along with the usual crew, we were lucky enough to have my mom and Kirk up there, along with Kirk's mom and his daughter Hollie.

We genuinely love living so close to my extended family. We are so lucky!

In the next 3 pictures, can you spot Claire's favorite present of the night?

 Claire's Hello Kitty cake

 ^^^Stubborn picture that refuses to rotate. :(

Hanging out with Grandpa Kirk

Happy 2nd Birthday, Clairey Beary!

So our baby is 2. And boy is she 2, with all the big emotions normally associated with that notorious age. But oh, is she sweet, and she makes us so happy. Her brother and sister adore her, and she adores them right back. Here's a little bit about Claire at age 2.

She still LOVES food, especially food with strong flavors or spice. She devours corn like there is no tomorrow, in a manner so entertaining that we had tourists taking pictures of her last time she had corn on the cob at a restaurant. Her most commonly heard phrase is, "More please now?" in regards to food.

You have to call her Claire Bear or Clairey Beary. One of her friends at church actually corrected me one time when I called her Claire. "Actually, her name is Clairey Beary." It's nearly impossible to talk to her without stroking her cheek and cooing, "Clairey Beary...." She is so impossibly spoiled with attention. Here at our Alaskan Family Compound, she is the youngest and gets constant attention because of it.

She loves to help with household chores. She is insistent on being the one to hold the dustpan, and unloads the dishes far faster than you can put them away. She's also exquisitely polite. She loves playing dolls, and thinks she's big enough for Polly Pockets and Barbies too. She loves songs, and insists on hearing "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Popcorn Popping," and her other favorites again and again.

Being the oldest in my family, I try so hard not to spoil our youngest, but it is pretty much impossible. I don't know how to not have our world revolve around every word and movement of this precious little girl. She is such a special joy to have in our family, and we are so lucky to have her.

Byron Glacier Hike

The next day we set out to explore Byron Glacier. My friends swore to me that it was close to Girdwood, an easy one-mile walk, and then you'd get to climb on an actual glacier. But how could that be? Something so cool and I'd never done it in all my summers of visiting, or even heard of it? I have to admit, I had my doubts.

But I was wrong! Even though we got rained on, it was so cool! The kids loved the walk next to the rushing river, and had so much to explore. I tried to convey to them the awesomeness of the experience, that most people will never get to touch a real glacier in their entire life, but it's lost on them. They have no idea what a unique experience they're getting up here.

 ^^^Kirk, Hollie, and my mom are having a contest to see who can keep their hand in glacier water the longest. Hollie won. :)

Girdwood

At the beginning of August, my mom came back for another visit, this time with Hollie and Kirk. Are you starting to feel like our summer was nothing but company and fun sightseeing? Me too. Anyway, the first thing we did was go up to Girdwood. The first day we took the tram up to the top of Mt. Alyeska, 2300 ft. above sea level.

Then on the spur of the moment, my mom, Kirk, and I decided to hike back down to the hotel. It was about 2.5 miles, very steep, and raining. Quite the combo. We were slipping and sliding, but it was so fun to do something I'd never done before. Gorgeous hike, too.

^^^Can you see the observation deck/restaurant at the top of the mountain in the last picture? That's where we hiked from. Awesome!

Rocky Lake with Troxells

You wouldn't think, living together and all, that it would be difficult to do things with the Troxells. But in the year that we've lived here, we haven't managed to really ever plan anything with our two families. So waaaaay back in April we reserved a weekend to take the Troxells up to the lake at the end of July. The cabin belongs to the other side of my family, so Troxells had never been there before.

The kids had a great time splashing in the lake, going on the zip line, and playing in the cabin. The adults got in lots of naps, reading, and eating. Can't get much better than that!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to suddenly acquire a twin? Just ask Parker and Carter. They are absolutely inseparable. We always joke that they are attached by an umbilical cord, because they are never more than a few feet apart.

Oh yeah, and we had GORGEOUS weather, despite the fact that it was supposed to rain. Perfect.