Lots and Lots of Fun, Events & Activities

Only 10 days 'till my due date (but who's counting right). We are ready to welcome another daughter and are hoping to be fortunate to have another healthy, happy little girl. We think we've picked a name but we are hush-hush about it until the kid is here so stay tuned. The next time I post something here we should be the proud parents of two little girls! Until then, following are some of our happenings over the last several weeks.

Gardening - Take II
This will be my second year of growing a garden. Below are pictures of the gardens soon after planting seeds and starter plants. Hopefully in a few months I'll have much different pictures to share. In the garden below, we have planted peas, carrots, two kinds of lettuce, broccoli, zucchini and yellow squash.

In this little garden I have planted strawberries (left), raspberries, artichokes and cucumbers (right). I'm not sure that artichokes or cucumbers will grow well in Fairbanks but it's worth a shot.

I've also planted several things in planters on the deck - lots of different tomatoes, basil, cilantro, thyme, lemon balm, peppermint and flowers. The deck looks wonderful and all the herbs makes it smell great.

Backyard Fun

One of our neighborhood family friends, the Raymonds, passed down their kiddy playhouse and Rory loves it! Here she is taking a break from cooking and cleaning dishes in her house.

Grandma and Grandpa Warwick finally moved the trampoline out of their living room and into our backyard. Rory is a jumping fool and is starting to gain some coordination. Such fun!

Mother's Day

Yuri and Rory spoiled me this year - taking care of a very large "honey-do" list, waiting on me hand and foot and showering me with love. Picture below - Rory mixing the waffle batter for my Mother's day breakfast.

Betty & Bruce Back in Fairbanks for 24 Hours

Our friends, the Tangeman's, came back to Fairbanks (from Anchorage) to pick up Bruce's motorcycle. It was great to see them and Rory had fun catching up. Picture below: Betty pushing Rory in the "baby swing".

Posing for a picture before hitting the road back to Anchorage.

One more quick squeeze before saying goodbye.

Mason Anderson's Graduation Party

Yuri's cousin, Mason, graduated from High School this year and to celebrate, his folks threw a family barbecue. In reviewing the photos, I was dismayed to find out that I didn't even get a picture of the graduate - sorry Mason!!!! Picture below: Rory with her great-grandma Joyce (and great-grandpa Bud in the background).

Rory LOVES her hot dogs!

There is Bruce peeking out of the cool backyard fort at the Anderson's house.

And there is grandma Linda peeking out of the window with Rory.

Dodson/Husband Wedding Reception

Our friends, Jimmy Dodson and Heather Husband, were married several months ago in Mexico and since Yuri was in Juneau for the Legislative session I was unable to attend the festivities. Luckily, they decided to have a reception in Fairbanks. It was a wonderful, fiesta themed, party and a good time was had by all (especially our little party girl Rory as you'll see in pictures below). Picture below: Heather & Jimmy celebrating a great party with friends and family.

Rory with grandad Andy...he fed her skittles all night which fueled her non-stop dancing and overall entertaining behavior.

Rory cutting loose on the dance floor with a new friend.

Rory's first crush - she was smitten by this little guy (who I might add was several years older than her).

Rory was fawned over by the older girls during the party. These kids, led by the Knabe girls, who are always so good with Rory, had a great time looking after and playing with Rory.

Jesse and Petra before the dancing and general rowdiness began (at least I'm assuming there was rowdiness after we old people left).

Lanie's Baby Shower
My dear friend Lanie is pregnant and is due one month after me. Even though I was only three weeks away from my due date I hopped on a plane to help host the baby shower in Anchorage and celebrate this very exciting time with a wonderful girl and group of friends.

Picture below - look at that loot!

Our friend, Renee Limoge, put together the food as she usually does for our parties. It was yummy and oh-so-pretty on the table.

We had pictures of Jeremy and Lanie as children framed around the room. I think this idea originally came from my Fairbanks friends Megan and Heather as they did this for my baby shower 2+ years ago. Also below is the table of party favors...cute little mirrors with owls on the back.

The theme of the baby shower was a sort of whimsical/owl themed party. I found these cute pinwheels on Etsy.com - the same place I picked up the mirror party favors.

I have always wanted to put together a candy bar for a party and this baby shower was my perfect opportunity. The picture isn't great but we had all kinds of candies, lolly pops, gumballs, etc. - it was great. We had bags out for guests to fill up before leaving the party.

Ugh...I'm not super excited about how terrible I look in the picture below but since Renee and Lanie look like superstars I figured that I would share the picture. Lanie is the most perfect pregnant person I have ever seen (well, Dy was pretty darned perfect looking too)...the only thing that has grown on her is her darned tiny little baby bump. I felt like a water buffalo standing next to her.

While I was in Anchorage for the baby shower the gals gave me gifts to bring to Rory...and she loves them! The butterfly wings and fairy skirt were a big hit (as you can tell from the big smiles below).

Decorating the Girls' Rooms

When Rory was born we were living in a one bedroom apartment and I didn't get the chance to decorate a nursery. Well, now that we have lots of space and I love to decorate, I fixed up both Rory's room and the new baby room.

Rory's Room
I painted two of her walls a green/yellow (very 70's like our living room and kitchen). As you saw in last month's blog, she is out of the crib and into her very stylish bed. I made the curtains...flower pattern (very Rory who is all girl). The bed doesn't look made but it's because there are foam bumpers under the sheet that prevent (most of the time) Rory from rolling out of bed.

Rory is a book worm and has tons of books. To help accommodate the nightly ritual of picking out the reading material for the evening we had a few book rails installed. These rails are great - they allow Rory to easily see what books are available to her and the books provide for great decor.

These framed paper dolls were the first thing I found for her room...love the colors and uniqueness of them.

Rory's flower curtains.

Rory's closet - when she gets a little older she will really come to appreciate that closet! Certainly nicer than mine.

Baby's Nursery

I found this MOD fabric with little blue birds and love it! I used it as the "theme" for the room and used the fabric for curtains.

Here is Rory's old crib, which I absolutely love the look of, and changing table. Along the wall with the crib are hanging branches with hand sewn birds (yup...I made them).

Here is a picture of one of the birds hanging on a branch.

And another...
The baby's closet - it's not as large as Rory's but it sure is jam packed full of baby stuff. This kid will not be in need of clothing anytime soon!

Reuniting with Friends
My college friend, Sonja, her husband, Paul, and son, Arturo are in in town for the summer (from Russia where Paul is a professor at a University) and we got to meet up for brunch a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to spending time with them this summer. Arturo is absolutely ADORABLE and he and Rory hit it off. Aren't they adorable together!?

First Professional Haircut

I have always cut Rory's hair but it is getting to be too much of a chore so we brought her to Team Cutters (Dawn) for her first professional cut. She behaved herself well but that is only because she got an endless supply of lollypops.

Warwick Cabin at Harding

And finally...an end to this never ending blog. We went out to Harding for Labor Day Weekend and had a nice time relaxing and helping Jesse get the cabin ready for the summer (dock out, jet ski's in the water and a water line installed). Below is Rory enjoying the indoor swing.

We'll be checking in soon with pictures of one more Wargan/Morwick family member!

Spring has Sprung

I'm sure I sound like a broken record but I've been neglectful, once again, in getting blog posts up in a timely fashion! Because it has been so long, there are a ton of pictures and happenings I'd like to share with you.

I am nearing the end of my pregnancy with only 5 weeks left - about 4 weeks too long in my opinion. This second pregnancy is totally different and if the way that this little girl is treating me in the womb is any indication, she is going to be Trouble (with a capital T). Below are some of our activities from the last several weeks...hope you enjoy seeing how much Rory is growing into a little girl.

Ice Park
Fairbanks is lucky enough to host the annual World Ice Art Championships. As part of this event, the ice artists make a kids park that is a ton of fun for kids and adults.

This was a neat contraption, sort of a "spinning chair" - the kid gets in it and the adult spins it. Rory loved it and didn't want to get out.

Here is a close up picture of her in the "spinning chair". Her face indicates how dizzy she is!

This is just one of dozens of slides that were built for the kiddos - Rory had a blast!

And another slide...

This picture gives you "out of towners" an idea of how cool this place is. This is a luge track set up for the brave. You can see Yuri with Rory on his lap half way down the slide. So much fun!

Ruby Riddle's Birthday Party My folks threw a birthday party for Ms. Southern Ruby Riddle. Those of you that live in Fairbanks know exactly who she is, those of you who don't live here are missing out on knowing one heck of a great gal.

Here I am posing with Bill and Meadow Bailey and my dad.

Here is Ruby with her platter of cupcakes. We all had a wonderful time at her party.

Beer and Pop Scramble

It was time again for our annual Beer scramble. This year, we added a pop scramble for the kids. For those of you not familiar with our little event, we scatter beer around, line up and race to see who can gather the most. My brother Jesse is a fearless and ruthless competitor and won the "beer king" title this year. The guy doesn't think twice about throwing girls to the ground to win the title.

Really the event is just an excuse to get together with some good friends, barbecue some food and talk some smack.

Rory and Piper making use of the beer cases before the scramble starts. This is a picture they will enjoy when they are old enough to appreciate that perhaps their parents may have been "cool" in their younger years.

Just to be clear...Piper is chugging a soda, not a Coors.

And they are off for the scramble - I sat this one out and played photographer as I'm super pregnant and 1) didn't have the energy to run and 2) was scared that my brother would take me out (like I said...he is ruthless).

Shot of the scramble group. We were a small but scrappy group.

Here is the kids group after they competed in their pop scramble...so cute!

Petra's Birthday Party

Petra turned 30 this year and to celebrate she and a group of friends celebrated in Anchorage. Well, since I'm a party pooper and didn't join them, we celebrated before the big party with her grandma, Jesse and Rory. We were a small group but had fun celebrating her birthday with a Dora the Explorer theme (she is of Mexican heritage and we love celebrating that fact).

Here is Petra modeling her new apron with Rory looking on in envy.

Petra was nice enough to let Rory blow out her candles.

Yummy cupcakes!

Mush for Kids

Every year the local dog mushers put on an event called Mush for Kids where they allow kids to take rides on their sleds. Rory is still a little young to participate but we had a great time watching the pups.

Rory's great-grandparents, Bud and Joyce, also joined us at Mush for Kids.

Miscellaneous Rory

I love this picture...Rory mimicking her dad...she sure does look up to and love that guy (as do I).

Rory is officially a big kid...she has moved out of the crib and is now in her own twin bed. This is her first night in the bed, look at how proud she is!

Easter Fun

Holidays get more and more fun now that Rory is at an age to understand what is going on and participate in the festivities. Easter weekend was wonderful this year - there were so many fun activities and as a cherry on the holiday, Yuri came home from Juneau (we sure did miss him).

Rory is very serious about her egg coloring duties. And, she hates a mess so she is very careful and deliberate in her actions.

This year a few friends and I hosted the first annual Taku/Riverview/Westgate neighborhood Easter Egg hunt on the Saturday before Easter. We weren't sure how it would be received but the kids (and adults) came out en masse and everyone had a wonderful time. There is already planning in the works for next year. We shut down the road and hid 1200 eggs...such fun! Below is a picture of the pre-hunt festivities...an egg toss.

Rory on Easter Morning with her loot.

Now onto the Warwick house where we celebrated Easter again. My folks always have a hunt for us "older kids" and they went above and beyond this year. No eggs filled with pennies for us...gift cards and cash all the way. Yes, we are spoiled and we know it! Jesse was the big winner this year (imagine that) - but he cheats.

Here is our little Easter bunny posing IN her Easter present with just one of her Easter baskets. Lucky little girl.

I found more chocolate!

Uncle Jesse drawing with Rory...I love seeing my brother play with Rory...warms my heart.

One of Rory's Easter gifts was a mini broom - she is already putting it to good use.

Rory's Aunt Genevieve made Rory this absolutely adorable knit Easter basket (it holds one egg perfectly).

Water Walk & Run

The annual Golden Heart Utilities Water Walk and Run was held a few days ago. Below is "Team Wargan Morwick". All finished the race and had relatively decent times.

Almost All Male Baby Shower

Since this is my second child I've told friends and family that a baby shower the second time around is out of the question. Well, I didn't think that I had to tell the men that I work with what my "rule" was; our customer, the men with the US Army Department of Public Works, threw me a baby shower. Imagine a bunch of burly utilities men throwing a baby shower - it was so sweet, and as painful as I know it was for them, very flattering!

Below is a picture of our rag-tag group.

Vegas Baby

I decided that one last trip before the baby arrived was in order. So, Robyn Austin, my BFF since High School and Dyanne Hicks, our BFF from the first day of college met me in Las Vegas and we had a great weekend. We stayed off the strip out at Red Rock Lodge and the experience met all of our lounging/pampering/sleeping-in expectations.

This was the only picture that came out of our trip. Usually people don't take pictures because they don't want to document the debauchery of the trip. This wasn't the case for us...we were just too lazy to take pictures. Here are the three of us...Dy's not looking very happy and I'm not looking very glamorous but there was only one picture to choose from.

Just one side note from the trip - me, the sober pregnant lady, was the only one that fell into the pool...so embarassing!

I hope to have a new post up in a week or two - I've been finishing up decorating the baby's room and Rory's room and can't wait to share the progress.

Hope you all are well!