My Childhood Revisited

Oh, boy. I have wasted a few good hours looking up classic Sesame Street songs and skits on YouTube. I cannot even begin to describe the nostalgia that came over me. This post is especially for my beloved sibs--enjoy some of the best at the links below:

Songs:
Captain Vegetable
You're Alive (in memory of our last trip to Thanksgiving Point)
The Alligator King
Llama and the Dentist
Ladybugs Picnic
Yo Yo Ma and the Honkers
Cereal Girl

Skits:
Monsterpiece Theater--The King and I
The Carrot
Grover uses his "waiter's memory"
Heeeere Fishy Fishy Fishy

There are many, many more hours of illegal entertainment available on YouTube! Yippee for the internet.

Yukon, I Mean Alaska Ho!

Boy oh boy is Jenny's dad jealous that I got to go to Alaska on a business trip! It was totally awesome. Of course, I would have preferred that I had gone there under different circumstances--namely, on vacation with Jenny, rather than all by myself on business. But the trip was cool nevertheless. And I picked an interesting time to go--not many people get to be so close to the Arctic Circle (no, not that one) during the week of the summer solstice. The sun didn't go down until after 10:00 and it was as light as dusk/dawn ALL NIGHT LONG! I don't know how those people live up there without going crazy. I'm sure the beautiful landscape and the world-famous fishing (if you like that sort of thing) helps compensate for the endless winters and the endless summer nights.

My coworker and I arrived in Anchorage Sunday evening, rented a car, and then made what is perhaps the most beautiful drive that I have ever been on in my life. The blue glacial water contrasts amazingly with the jagged, snow-capped mountains and the beautiful evergreen trees in the background.

Here I am in front of the Russian River just outside of Soldotna, Alaska.

The Russian River has a gentle waterfall where we could see trout jumping upstream like you see in National Geographic pictures. We hiked along this river for a mile or so and enjoyed the scenery and the fresh air.

Speaking of the Russians, I was fascinated to learn that I was a mere 750 miles from the north-eastern tip of Russia. In fact, there is a tiny little island in Alaska called Little Diomede that is less than three miles from a Russian Island called Big Diomede. The international date line runs right between the two! When I realized just how close I was to Russia, I also realized just how far away I was from the rest of the United States. How strange to think that this vast snowy land in the north is part of the US.

In addition to being so far north, I was able to drive the western-most point that can be reached by car in all of North and South America!

This picture of Redoubt Volcano (yep, it's active) was taken on the shore of Cook Inlet at the western-most point accessible by car in all of North and South America. Even though Alaska extends for millions of acres west of this point, that land can only be reached by boat or plane.

I figure if you have to go on a business trip, it might as well be to someplace beautiful that you don't get to visit every day!

First Words

We have finally figured out that Jared (11 months now!) knows how to say several words. He has been saying Mama and Dada all the time, but he has yet to point to one of us and say the correct word. However, he has been pointing to the bananas in our kitchen and saying "Nana" consistently for a few days now! So we decided that that was his official first word!

He can also say several more words (without being prompted by us!), and he even associates them with the correct object:

cracker (kah-kah)
Jesus (chs)
cheese (chs)
light (dat)

It is fun to figure out his little language. We love him!

I am a violet

This is a fun (if not random) quiz, especially for my gardening sister-in-law, Brooke (Happy Birthday!). It is sort of the same idea as the Jane Austen heroine quiz two posts ago.

I am a Violet What Flower Are You?

The description: "You have a shy personality. You tend to hesitate before trying new things or meeting new people. But once people get to know you, you open up and show the world what you are really all about."

Sort of fits, I guess.

A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever

Last weekend we went to the beautiful Thanksgiving Point Gardens. It has been an annual tradition in my family for the past four or five years to go there in a joint celebration of my brother's and my sister-in-law's birthday. I love seeing all the beautiful flowers! I don't know the names of most of them, but someone else in my family always does (usually Brooke). My favorite place is the Secret Garden, a beautiful walled-in garden with nooks and benches and fountains. (The fountains are perfect for water fights, by the way. Just ask Alan and my nieces and nephews!)

Here are a bunch of pictures highlighting our day:

The clan

My cute sister and bro-in-law

Me on the Monet Bridge

Alan, Jared, and my nephew Andrew looking at the fish

All of my cute nieces (minus baby Charity)

My cute nephews and Jared

I love this picture of my nephew Scott and the Buddy!

I can't wait to go there again!

Dancing the Night Away...

Alan and I signed up for a community ballroom dance class that meets once a week. It is so much fun! We each took a ballroom dance class in college but forgot most of what we learned, so this is good review. We are currently learning the foxxy and the swing, and we will soon be learning the cha-cha and the waltz.

The best part of this dance class is that Alan and I are getting a once-a-week date night! Up until now, there have probably only been a handful of nights where we have gone on real dates without Jared. We are so lucky to have two of Alan's sisters living only a block or so away from us, and they have so graciously offered to babysit. They are such wonderful aunts!

Jared showing Aunt Amanda how he claps

I love dancing with Alan, especially now that we are learning some real moves. It is so terribly romantic. Ahhhhh... We are definitely planning on taking subsequent dance classes.

Jane Austen Heroines

My friend Jamie put this fun quiz on her blog. Go to this website and answer the questions to see which Jane Austen heroine you are most like. A few of the questions are a bit obvious as to which character your answer is choosing, but it was still fun nonetheless. I'm most like Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. What about you?

P.S. If you haven't seen the new BBC version of this movie, it is wonderful! I like it every bit as much as the Emma Thompson version, and perhaps even more.