Abe

Unlike his parents Abe seems to be into cleaning and organizing. Two of his favorite things are sweeping and taking things out of one place and placing them neatly in rows somewhere else (maybe he's ocd). It was quiet after dinner and I found him in the kitchen taking all of the bowls out of the cupboard.

Yesterday Abe was testing out his new broom, and I held out the dustpan for him to "sweep" into. Then he picked it up and ran into the other room. We had no idea where he was going, but I guess we should have known. He went into the kitchen, opened up the cupboard under the sink and "emptied" out his dust pan. Monkey see monkey do.

What does Santa say, Abe?

On Tuesday we took Abe and Banjo to see santa. Neil went and waited in line and then I walked over and met him and Abe and Banjo. We were 2nd in line, which sure beats the 4 hour wait that people had the day before. I was worried that Abe would pull a blue face and hold his breath, but he actually didn't do too bad. We got Banjo posed in front and then I placed Abe on Santa's knee. THe photographer had a whistle to get banjo's attention. I think it will be a pretty good picture. Abe cried a little but nothing too histaricle.

On Christmas eve we went downtown to see the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton (we didn't end up seeing them, because there was a big line and Abe was a little fussy). When we walked by Santa's workshop at nordstrom I pointed out santa to Abe. He burried his head in me and grabbed on. Nevertheless, Santa was good to Abe. He got 3 stockings! He could have cared less about opening presents or what they were. But, all and all it was a great Christmas.

Some things never die

For our first christmas in Alaska, Neil and I went with our good friends, Kari, Rachel and Jared, to chop down a Christmas tree. The first year we went snow camping the night after thanksgiving and then went out and got our trees in the morning. The next year Neil, Abe, Scott-who was visiting for thanksgiving, and Banjo and I went out to the same place and got a great tree for our house. So, this year we wanted to keep the tradition alive. We drove up to the pass and hiked out to find a tree. Quite a few other people had the same idea. We saw a lot of other cars out there. The road that we took up to get the car had been recently plowed, but it was still a little tretrous. Even with 4 wheel drive we didn't make it all the way up, but we found a great little spot and a great little tree. Apparently the really nice douglas firs were up a bit higher, so next year we'll need to get some chains.

Seattle Marathon

Emily, Neil & Hannah ran the Seattle Half Marathon (13.1 miles) in times that would have won the full marathon. The race started at the Seattle Center then to the I-90 tunnel, along the lake to the Aboretum, to Eastlake and back to the Center. They look pretty good for someone who just ran 13 miles. The individual competition was won by Hannah who gets her training as a professional dog runner.

15 Months

Abe's catching up to Banjo.

A few new pictures

So it's been a long while since we have made a blog. Here some random pictures from the last month or so.

Here are Abe and I outside a Starbucks on the Big Island. Notice the matching outfits. We bought these at a swap meet in Honolulu with Keri and Jared back in 2009.
The fam at the beach. Check out the super-cool 100-spf flame suit for the boy.
Back in Seattle. Abe likes to play with his little IKEA kitchen. On this day Emily was cleaning the real kitchen with a Clorox wipe, which inspired Abe to wipe down his kitchen with a Clorox wipe. Monkey see, monkey do.
Emily made some super-delicious cookies for her Grandpa and my Dad for Veterans Day. They were very large, and made Abe very curious.
We introduced Abe to yogurt a little while ago, and he loves it! He basically can eat an entire container, although he doesn't quite get it all into his mouth.

Nothing says 'Seattle' like snow before Thanksgiving. We took Abe outside so he could experience the snow again (although he was probably about 8 months old the last time he saw snow). As you can tell, it was a little windy when Emily took this picture of us.

Abe was not the biggest fan of the snow. Either that, or it was too close to bed time. After little Abe went to bed, Mom, Dad and Banjo went for a cross-country ski down to Maplewood park. The snow was a little thin, but it was a lot of fun to go out and ski again.

We let Banjo off his leash so he could play and frolic in the snow like back home in Anchorage. The 'Dood loves the snow!

On Tuesday I took Abe and Banjo for a walk around Jefferson Park. It was super sunny and nice out, which reminded me of Anchorage. The wind did whip around during one part of our walk and put a chill in us.

Happy Hallows Eve!

Yesterday Abe had his first trick or treating experience! Banjo went as a jack o lantern and Abe was dressed as Banjo dressed as a jack o lantern. I even had a costume! In order to paint on Abe's gumdrop nose, I let him try out the pencil on me first. And, because Abe refuses to wear anything on his head, I got to wear his pumpkin hat with dog ears along with Neil's giant orange coat.

Check out the little video!

Boogie Down

Check out the surfers. Lunch was at the Kona Brewery.

Aloha

Hawaii is always a lot more fun when it is cold & raining in Seattle. Although we did experience some of that weather when we visited Volcano. In Kona, the weather is the same boring 80 degrees everyday. The pictures in the forrest are at the lava tube. You couldn't see any hot lava, but we did see the steam vents.

On the way to Volcano we stopped at the Black Sand beach, which is really just ground up lava. Too bad we couldn't get a picture of Abe riding the turtle. You are supposed to stay 15 feet away.

I played golf at Makeli where there are wild peacocks & turkeys roaming around. There were also wild pigs that dug up the grass, although I didn't see any.

Harvest time

Ever since college I have had a special fondness for corn mazes. I've taken Neil to a few around Seattle, but we hadn't yet found any that came close in comparison to the one that Molly and I went to in Walla Walla. This year I think we may have found a winner. We went to this farm in Kent that had 2 mazes--one that looked like a vampire and another that looked like a castle. We took the vampire. Being a corn-maze purist, I refused to use the provided map to navigate, but Neil, not so pure in corn mazing used the map and seeked out the numbered posts along the course (kind of like a scavenger hunt). It was a pretty cool maze! The only draw-back was that unlike the one in Walla Walla where you could go in after dark. This one is only open during daylight.

Our main mission in going to the farm, however, was to take Abe to the pumpkin patch. He loved all of the pumpkins sitting out in a row. In fact, he kept trying to run away from us, out of the corn maze, to go back to the pumpkins. We chose a nice tall pumpkin that we later carved. Since we're going to Hawaii tomorrow it is on display down the street at Sarah and Katie's.

I'm going to eat you alive!

Someone took this picture with my camera. Someone looks a little scary with that knife and fork.

Happy freakin' birthday dood

So, on Monday I baked a special cake for Banjo with a recipe that I'd found online for a "doggie birthday cake". It was made of all human ingredients--carrots, peanut butter, flour, honey, egg, etc. It baked up really nicely in this little bunt pan. So, we asked Sarah, Katie and Olive over so Banjo could share his cake (with Olive), and we could play some Settlers. But, when it came time to cut up the cake we couldn't find it. It had completely disappeared off of the counter. Seems as though the birthday boy helped himself to an early treat. So...we didn't sing to him and he spent the rest of the evening outside (nothing good can become of a dog eating an entire cake).

13-months and 3-years!

Abe turned 13 months last Sunday, but we were a little late in snapping his monthly dood picture, and today is Banjo's third birthday! Three cheers for Banny! What a great dog.

The Whitley's in Seattle!

On Saturday we got together with our Alaskan friends--Guang Ming and Joel. I originally met Guang Ming at a music class for Abe, where we hit it off because we both have 1/4 Chinese babies. They are on vacation in Seattle for the week. My parents watched their two kids, Charlotte and Luke, while we went out to Seattle's best burger place (according to Neil)--and ate them in Gas Works Park. ANd then, for the you-wouldn't-do-this-in Alaska experience. We had to drive up to a vet in greenwood to pick up some prozac for my mom's fostercat.

swimmer hoff

He got mad when it was time to leave the pool.

The life of an urban dog

Banjo has had to adjust to life in the big city. The dog parks here fail in comparison to the one we'd take him to in Anchorage. He still enjoys a good chuck-it though. Today hannah and I took him to fido fest at U Village. Imagine a bunch of yuppie dogs toted around collecting organic dog treats. There was also a doga (doggie yoga) demonstration, dog marriages, and dog agility demonstrations. It was all for a good cause though--to raise money for the humane society.

Do the Puyalup

Last Saturday Abe and I went to the Puyalup Fair with Sarah and Katie. We went early and were able to park on the street. We walked around and saw all of the animals. Abe was really intrigued by this girl and her little goat, so she asked if he wanted to pet it. He got really excited to get out of his stroller for a closer look, but when it came time to pet it, he touched a total of one hair between his fingers and that was enough. Naturally Abe was a fan of my shave ice and his Fischer's scone. This visit was actually Abe's second visit to a fair. Last year we took him when he was 11 days old. There weren't any giant cabbages at this one, but he sized up to the giant pumpkins.

Teslin - Ho!

My Dad and I safely arrived at Teslin this evening at 5:30pm.

We left Anchorage at 8:15 am on Wednesday. We stopped off to top off for gas, grabbed some Micky D's, and hit the highway. We had lunch in Glennallen, crossed the boarder, and had dinner in Beaver Creek (which is where we were staying). We walked into the restaurant and it was packed (only 3 tables in the place). The patrons were nice enough to tell us to grab a chair and belly up. So we sat down to a table of 4 Canadians - they were working on the road just east of us. We talked to them while we had our dinner and had a good time. Of course the topic turned to Dubya, and how he screwed up the US after 9/11 (Canadian's words, not ours). Good times.

This morning we left Beaver Creek at 8:30. We drove through the worksite of our dinner companions. After a while there was snow on the ground, but not on the road. We had lunch at Haines Junction (tasty seafood chowder and grilled ham and cheese). After lunch we visited the Kluane visitors center in Haines Junction. It's part of the world heritage site with Wrangell-St. Ellias National Park in the US. We saw a little movie, and looked at some of the displays. It was a lot of fun.

Then we stopped off at White Horse - the capital of the Yukon. My Dad wanted to see this cool dinosaur museum. But of course they were already on their winter hours (only open noon - 5 Sunday and Monday), but we looked at some stuff outside. I learned about giant 8 foot beavers, that are the size of black bears, that roamed the land.

Now we're in Teslin. Pretty close to the B.C. boarder. I called up Emily and got to talk to her (yay!). And I called up my Mom and Scott, but no one was home (boo). Hopefully I can talk to them soon.

Peace out, Alaska!!!

My time in Alaska is at a close. Today was my last day of work. Tomorrow my Dad and I will be in the car and on the road by 8am. With any luck we'll be in Seattle by Monday night.

We have had a great 3 years in this darn state. This is the place where Emily and I grew into being a married couple, I got my first dog (Banjo!), we had our first child (Abram!!!), and we became a real family. This place will always have a special place in my heart.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of our time in The Last Frontier.

Banjo looking at wild white yonder at Powerline Trail at Flattop. One of my favorite pictures.
Emily and Banjo ice skating on West Chester Lagoon by our first house.
Emily and I out for an October hike along the coast in 2007. This was before I moved here.
Emily (plus Abe), Banjo and me on a hike last June. We did this same hike on my birthday this year, but didn't make it all the way to the stream.
Banjo and me hanging out in the canoe at Red Shirt Lakes. This was Labor Day weekend 2008 - just that day Gov. Palin announced she would be Sen. McCain's running mate. And the world was never the same again.