Vacation 2008

Well, I guess that since we've now been home a week and things are starting to settle back down I could finally post what's happened with us the last month. Our really long vacation started on September 3rd at 5 am as we started on the road toward Seattle. We did split the drive into 2 days, spending our first night in Pendleton, OR. We then stayed in Seattle for 2 nights. Our first day there, we took the kids to the Seattle aquarium so Kaiden could see the Sharkies, and of course had to buy another one while he was there. Nathan was able to go to the Mariners/Yankees game later that night. After we were in Phoenix for Grandpas funeral at the same time as the Yankees and weren't able to see them then, I promised Nathan that at some point in his life he would get to see the Yankees play.

That Saturday we then boarding the Holland American "Oosterdam" for our week-long cruise to Alaska, with one stop in Victoria BC. Since our ship was called the "Oosterdam" and all of the Holland American ships are "Dam" ships, we had some fun shopping for "Dam" merchandise. I got myself a "Dam good cook" apron!

Our first stop was in Juneau, the capital of Alaska. I thought that this was the most beautiful of all of our stops. We went on a temperate rain forest tour, which I think was actually the most beautiful place I've ever been to. We got to ride the tram to the top of the mountain. We could see the entire city from there. It was truly amazing and breathtaking.

Our next stop was one that we weren't able to get off the boat, but was still as spectacular as anything. It was Hubbard glacier, one of the few glaciers in the world that is still expanding every year. This glacier is about 6 miles wide! We were there in the bay for over an hour and the boat just spun in a slow circle so everyone could get a perfect view. We even got to see quite a few pieces break off off, creating a sound that the Native American tribe would call "White Thunder." It was simply magnificent!


Next stop was Sitka, the location of the capital before they moved it to Juneau. This consists of a series of little tiny islands. It's actually funny here because you see this little tiny island with one house on it. Talk about a private island! For our shore excursion we went on a Sea Otter Wildlife Quest. We were on this little boat, going around all the little islands, watching for any wildlife. Here we were able to see our first whales of the trip. Our tour guide was able to spot them a ways off and pulled the boat right up to them. The kids thought the whales were really neat.

Our final stop in Alaska was Ketchikan. This was actually one of my favorite stops. Ironically, it's the rainiest part of Alaska (they get about 160" of rain a year, and measure their rain in feet, rather than inches) and it's our one stop there that it didn't rain. Hmm... But that's very okay with me because I hate rain. Here in Ketchikan we went to a lumberjack show, that was my favorite thing we did. I loved it! It was so hilarous! What it was, was lumberjack's, competing against each other in sports that were similar to what the lumberjacks used to do before there were machines to do it for them. We also loved this show because they actually have a nationally renowned chain saw artist as one of their competitors, and in between events, he made a little tiny log chair that we were able to take home with us, since we were the only ones in the audience that had kids with buns small enough to sit on it.

Our final stop was Victoria BC. I had been looking forward to this stop for a really long time. All the pictures I'd ever seen of it were just filled with flowers, and as late in the season as we were there, the flowers were still every where. They are actually famous for the hanging baskets they have hanging on every light post throughout the city. I was also looking forward to seeing the parliament building all lit up at night. We were able to get some pretty good pictures of it.

A couple updates

Well, all three kids were overdue for doctor appointments so I felt ambitious and scheduled all three at the same time. I now know that this was a bad idea. Poor PJ had the hardest time with it. All three kids also had to have shots. I thought that since Kaiden had been struggling with shyness throughout the exam that he would be hardest to get to give a shot to, but as PJ watched him, the tears started then and turned into outright screams when it was her turn. It was the most awful moment of my life so far. Anyway, none of the kids had a really bad reaction to the shots, which is certainly a good thing. Here are their stats:

PJ 42" tall 41.4 lbs. = Between 85th and 90th percentile for height and weight.

Kaiden 38" tall and 34 lbs. = Between 90th and 95th percentile for height and weight.

Matthew 29" tall and 18 lbs.= 90th percentile for height and 9th for weight.

Matthew sounds like he's skinny but he's actually quite the chunky monkey. He's also now starting to pull him self up to standing on anything he can get a good grip on and can stand on his own for a couple seconds at a time without toppling. Boy is he growing fast!

PJ is starting to look more like a big kid everyday and less like my baby. We were talking at the doctor's about her getting ready for kindergarten next year, and I'm battling mixed emotions about this. Yes, I'm proud of her for reaching such big milestones, but I'm not ready to release her to the world!

Kaiden is growing by leaps and bounds in both size and mind. He's now wearing the same size clothes as PJ and knows as many words too. I think he's smarter than me!

We're heading out on our cruise this week, so stay tuned for the Morgan family adventure 2008!

A funny day

Today was just pretty fun overall. Matthew has been awfully cranky the last couple days and I was prepared to brace myself against the inevitable temper again today. For some reason, though, he instead was the cheerful little man he used to be. I'm so happy to have my happy boy back! I'd recently read that to a mother, her baby's smile creates a natural high. Well, if that's the case, what is laughter? I think it's the strongest of the narcotics because even on the worst of days, if that tiny kid laughs, I can't help but feel that same joy myself. Maybe that's why so many people have more than one kid. Not only are they just the custest things ever, but we're actually physically addicted to our own babies. Hmm, now that's a thought!

Special Children

Ok, I think I officially have the weirdest kids on the planet. I have a serious princess, a real genius and ... well this speaks for itself. There really is no explanation for this last kid. He's just funny. This is his new favorite activity, licking the sides of his playpen. Yum!

Sweet Tooth

Yes, she is her mother's daughter. As we were short on sweets in the house due to our recent diet, all we could find for our afternoon snack was some mini chocolate chips. I gave PJ a little bowlful and then left the room. She came to me about 5 minutes later with chocolate all over her front teeth. What can I say, she's definitely mine!

Peaches?!

Although we've tried peaches before with Matthew, and he DID like them, something was terribly wrong with them last night. With every bite he would make the disgusted/hilarious face and just shake all over. Of course I had to grab the camera. What kind of mom would I be if I didn't have proof to blackmail the kids with in the future!

The bandwagon

Well, everyone else has jumped on the blogging bandwagon so I figured, why not me too? I always thought it looked fun but have so little willpower to sit down and do it. I was always told, growing up, by church leaders and parents that I should keep a journal. I certainly would always run out and buy a journal, but unfortunately never added anything daily, let alone more than a week at a time, so sadly I was never able to have a successful journal and would be embarassed by what I had to say at the time anyway. So here we go, a fresh start, a new try, an adult chance to finally have a journal, even if it is digital! My kids are always doing the silliest things and I'd like a chance to share it and now I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity!