We're here!!

We arrived into our new hometown, Anchorage, last night!! We were issued a very breathtaking welcome from Mother Nature in the form of 16" of glistening, white snow.
Alaska is beautiful and we are looking forward to embracing and enjoying all that this wild country offers.

I went to the grocery store and in the seafood section, there were king crab legs. A gentleman bought 2 legs...they were $9.99 per lb and the total was $27.99--just to give you an idea of how huge those 2 single crab legs were. They were each about the size of my arm. I'm going to love it here!!

T-shirts and taking a trip to Tillamook!

Caleb had fun cruising around in a too big t-shirt before we got ready to go to Tillamook!
If you like spontaneous, short trips, Yamhill is the place for you. After an hour and a half of gorgeous driving through Christmas tree farms, fields of green, cherry tree blossoms and winding mountain passes, we arrived in the little town of Tillamook. We went to the Tillamook farm and took a self-guided tour, sampled cheeses, ate the best ice cream I've ever had...fed Caleb his first ice cream cone, and bought delicious goodies which we ate all the way home!

Caleb had fun playing on the way to Tillamook.
There it is!!
Mmmmm...Caleb's first ice cream cone. It was his very own, just his size!Tuckered out from Tillamook!

Some of our stash: Fresh cheese curds, smoothies, hazelnut fudge, chocolate moo cookies and mini cheeses.

Eating ice cream!


After we got home, we played in the back yard!
Caleb still isn't used to the feel of grass!

Excited to climb stairs

Caleb was so excited to play on stairs on our deck last night. The weather was just perfect for outside fun. We went on a walk and then spent the rest of the daylight in the backyard. Caleb could hardly contain his excitement, learning to crawl up and down...he gave the whole experience his "ba, ba,ba!" of approval, as you'll see at the end!


Backyard at dusk

Breakfast

A Day in the Life of Caleb

It's actually more than a day...but you get the idea.

Lots of naps. And if a sleeping baby isn't a picture of heaven, I don't know what is.
Swingin' in the sun!
Of all the b-day gifts, these turned out to be his favorite toys!
When I sit at the computer, this is a common sight. A hopeful face, just begging me to pick him up...and his two fists are always full of something, this time it's his socks!
Another nap, except this time he fell asleep in the corner of the couch.
My version of BBQ chicken pizza, California Pizza Kitchen style.
Just woke up so his pants are stretched out over his toedies!

We're Moving to ALASKA!

Yes folks, I know...we just barely moved from Phoenix, AZ to Yamhill, OR about 2 months ago and now we're moving all the way up to Anchorage, AK! I know, I KNOW... it sounds crazy! But Cannon got the rockin-ist job offer and we would kick ourselves for the rest of our ever-livin' lives if we didn't take the offer in Anchorage. We are uncontainably happy about this opportunity. We feel so blessed and yet we are feeling so lucky that we got to spend 2 months in GORGEOUS, quaint, rural, Yamhill, Oregon--where almost all of the food we buy is from a local dairy, vegetable farm, fruit orchard or cattle ranch. The spring cherry blossoms, the newborn lambs, the Tillamook ice cream well stocked on the shelves, the lush, green rolling hills and truly purple snow-capped mountains, the kids swinging in the tire swings in their front yards...the smell of fresh cut grass and lilac trees floating through the air...it makes for a tough goodbye. And the down- home generosity of the local townsfolk can't be beat! We are going to MISS this "Garden of Eden". If it weren't Alaska beckoning, we wouldn't have thought twice. But she beckoned and we know that we have a great future up in the spectacular and wild "Last Great American Frontier". If any of you hear Alaska calling, know that you'll have friends or family there now, waiting for you to visit and willing to share memorable times with you and yours. We will be moving within 3 weeks. "North to Alaska, heading North, the rush is on!"

Ode to Heidi

For some reason, these photos remind me of the kind of photos that my little sis, Heidi, takes. I wish I had half the talent that she does with a camera.

new crib tricks!

...the rest of the birtday day

After Caleb's bath, he tried on some new kicks that we got him. He did pretty good in them.


He played so hard in the morning that he just crashed. He still has those adorable cheeks...bless his heart. What do we name the dog? Kodiak?..is that it, gramps?

He woke from his nap and then fell asleep on daddy. He was REALLY tired from playing so hard.

Then he woke up and was ready for more play! Grammy and Gramps gave Caleb this lawnmower and it was a total hit. He absolutely loves this toy. And he actually started to walk behind it! Thanks Gram and Gramps! (see video)

We went to Calamity Janes restaurant and had us a dee-licious birthday dinner-- chicken fried steak (for Cannon), some fantastic clam chowder (for me) and mashed potatoes (for Caleb). They brought out a baby sundae just for Caleb too!

We had the music cranked while we played with Caleb so be forewarned that this is a loud video!

Happy 1st Birthday Caleb!