Last week Noah met up with his buddy, Mads, at the Sacramento Zoo.
He loved watching everything that was going on: kids on a field trip, the little train driving by and lots of different animals.
Noah was so excited to see a wooden tiger when we walked in and this kangaroo.
I guess we were a little overdue for a visit to see some REAL animals.
Mads and Noah especially loved that this bird would peck at their hands through the screen. Oh how they laughed!
They had such a great time running around and sometimes looking at the animals.
And, if you're at the zoo, why not act like a wild animal too:
The zoo has lots of fun places to play.
And, Noah took his first carousel ride.
He picked out an orange and white fish to ride on and took this adventure very seriously.
If the weather ever cools down and fall actually arrives, we'll be heading back to the zoo for more fun soon!
We visited the cabin in Tahoe for the first time last weekend. Noah's feet were literally the wettest, but we all loved exploring this new place. So many memories will be made here.
One morning we headed over to the park with Grandma and Grandpa. What kid doesn't love checking out a new park?
It didn't take long for Noah to find the swings and get flying.
Nate jumped on a swing too,
and Noah just watched at how high Daddy could go.
We discovered a little stream, and Grandpa showed Noah the fine art of rock throwing.
But Noah wasn't content to just stand on the shore. He wanted to get out and explore that water. How could Grandpa refuse?
Maybe it's pregnancy hormones, maybe it's that my dad had a rough week...I don't know. But I got teary as these two walked down the stream together. I'm so grateful Noah has a grandpa who can get out and do things with him. Something so simple like walking hand in hand down a stream has a lot more meaning now than it used to.
We also took the kayak in the backyard and explored the river.
But Noah loved being out front too. There's so much to see and explore everywhere.
Nate got up early one morning to fish, so Noah and I headed off on a walk.
Wow, we've put a lot of miles on that stroller.
I think one of our favorite things was the hike to Angora Lakes.
Clearly, Noah didn't have any fun at all.
He simply couldn't get enough of the water and headed right for it as soon as it was in sight.
What a hidden Tahoe treasure, at least it was for us. We are so excited to go back there next summer.
And we're really excited to head up to the cabin again. What a close getaway and fun opportunity to be together as a family.
Last weekend I was making cinnamon rolls for my Sunday School class, and our kitchen echoed with the words, "See! See!" over and over again. Noah was very curious. So I pulled a chair up to the counter and this little sugar bear decided to sample some of the filling.
It also kept his little hands busy and out of the cinnamon rolls. He was in sugar heaven.
Noah is very into doing things with his eyes closed right now: eating, walking, playing with his toys, handing us things -- it doesn't matter. And he thinks its hilarious. This little progression of pictures shows his silliness of eating without being able to "See! See!"
Not long ago he decided to use my KitchenAid bowl as a helmet and tried walking around without seeing. I'm SO glad I had my phone close by to capture this silly moment:
Six days after coming home from Sea Ranch, Nate packed up again and headed to Alaska with his friend Andy. They spent ten days fishing, bear watching and taking in the beauty that is Alaska.
First stop was King Salmon, where the boys boarded a float plane for Katmai National Park.
After arriving at Brooks Lodge in Katmai, they transported their gear about a half a mile to the campground.
Yes, they camped. Instead of paying thousands of dollars for a few nights in the lodges, Nate and Andy spent $8 a night and camped.
Brooks Camp is one of those legendary places where, at the right time of the year, bears swarm and feed on salmon like crazy. I mean, BBC was right there filming next to Nate as he took pictures. This is THE place when it comes to bears.
For three days these bears provided great entertainment for Andy and Nate.
Wait...there's more!
I mean, when you take a trip specifically to see bears, you better come home with several hundred pictures of them, right?
And some video:
After fishing and walking with the bears for a few days, the guys said good-bye to their four-legged friends and flew back to Anchorage.
After stopping for some amazing pizza at The Moose's Tooth and picking up some food at Costco, they drove on to Ninilchik.
A lot of time was spent fishing in their usual favorite places, although the catch this year wasn't nearly as fruitful as in years past. But, even failure to catch fish is less disappointing when you get to do it in beautiful Alaska.
Nate was definitely disappointed with the halibut catch. These guys are tiny. But all of the other guys on the boat were seasick and Nate had to do pretty much all of the work to reel the fish in.
Those same sick guys, didn't want him to throw back the little ones to try for something bigger, because they were just worried that they'd end up with nothing. Thus, a smaller catch than he expected. But it was still plenty to bring home and stash in our freezer. Yum!
If Nate is guilty of any addiction, it's Alaska. He literally craves it. Every time he's there he thinks
about buying land. If only work had an office in Anchorage...
We missed him like crazy and were glad that he didn't decide to take up permanent residence with those bears. The next time, he promises that our boys will be up there with him...and maybe mom too.
