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!

February Update

It feels like so much has been going on since I last updated the blog. I’m getting as big as a house – in fact, at work today my boss yelled, “wide load coming through” when I walked by him in the hall – nice. It does not help that I am eating every second of the day – my coworkers have stopped putting their lunch in the fridge for fear that I will steal it.

Yuri is back in Juneau for session and we miss him a lot. Luckily, we have seen him every weekend since the beginning of session; now that we are at the half way mark, it appears that we will make it through another session unscathed.

Rory is growing up so fast - she can sing her ABC's all by herself and is able to count to 20 (although it helps if there are stairs as she most likes to count when taking the stairs). We are so lucky to have such a happy & healthy little girl!

The following pictures document our happenings over the last month and a half – I hope you enjoy.

Juneau
Soon after the beginning of session, Rory and I took the trek down to Juneau to visit Yuri and to spend some time visiting with Rory’s Grandma Karen and Grandpa Sid. We had a wonderful trip and I left Rory behind to hang with the grandparents for a week.

Rory playing with her Aunt Brooke and Grandma Linda.

Baking banana bread with Grandma Karen.

"Wine Sunday" at the Juneau Morgan household. This was a tradition started by Yuri's grandparents, Erna and Sid Sr., and I am happy to report that the tradition lives on. Below (L to R) - Yuri's father, Sid, Uncle Rod, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sherie and Uncle Lee.

While in Juneau, Yuri, Rory and I headed out to the Shrine of St. Therese where Yuri's grandparents' ashes are interred. Below is the view from Sid and Erna's resting place...there is probably not a more beautiful spot on earth!

Lenka Duslivoa Concert
I’ve mentioned our friend Martin Janecky, the glass blower, in this blog before. Well, he and his girlfriend, Lenka Duslivoa, have been able to spend quite a lot of time in Fairbanks this winter. Back in the Czech Republic Lenka is a bona fide rock star. Before she departed for home, she wanted to do something for my folks and so she put on a concert for a small group of friends and family. Lenka is a tremendous musician and artist and a good time was had by all.

Lenka performs for a small group at the Warwick Glass Studio.

Lenka posing with the children in attendance ...these girls are so darned cute. They showered Rory with lots of love and attention throughout the night.

Yuri’s Birthday Gift
Yuri didn’t want to do anything spectacular for his birthday so we stayed in and celebrated his continued transition into his “late thirties”. The fact of the matter is that he still looks super young (heck, he got carded going into an R-rated movie just two years ago); more importantly, he still acts super young as you will see from the pictures below. Here he is with one of his birthday gifts.

Yuri and Rory playing with Yuri's new toy helicopter. For those in the neighborhood, you should expect to see Yuri and Bill Bailey out this summer racing their helicopters...they might even start a helicopter club (kidding...I hope).

Okay...this is how serious Yuri is about this helicopter: here he is "calibrating" his helicopter. Please note the metal case open on the counter - this is the case Yuri uses to store his helicopter. Seems like overkill, but apparently that darned helicopter is very fragile and can't be stored without a special case (Bill...he loves the gift)!

Ice Skating
Several months ago, I bought Rory her first pair of (pink) ice skates. Those of you who know me know that I love to ice skate and I was certain that Rory would feel the same. Well, the time came to get her on the ice…below is documentation of her first skating experience.

Here is Rory with her grandad Andy. She showed no interest in skating when we first got to the rink; this was the perch from which she watched Yuri and I skate for the first 15 minutes.

Then she moved to the stands to hang out with her great grandparents Bud and Joyce and her Grandma Judy and Grandpa Andy. How many kids have this many people show to watch what might be a kids first time on the ice?

Glass blowing friends Carrie and Pat showed up to join in the skating festivities. To their right (looking like he is holding Pat's hand) is Yuri showing off his moves.

Finally she shows some interest in joining in the fun...here is her dad putting on her skates.

On the ice with her dad - note her cool camo helmet...she picked it out and I am thrilled that it is not pink (unlike everything else she picks out).

Snow, Snow, Snow
We got a ton of snow over the past few weeks and Rory, Yuri and I spent some time outside enjoying it.

Yuri shoveling out Steve's truck after getting it stuck plowing our driveway...we Fairbanksans aren't used to getting this much snow.

Cat in the Hat
I volunteer with an organization called the Imagination Library. This is an organization started by Dolly Parton to provide books to children from birth to 5 years of age. Through the program, children receive a book every month in the mail (60 total); it is intended to get children excited about books and to get parents reading to their children. As one of our fundraisers, the local McDonalds invited some of the Imagination Library volunteers to work in their stores for a few hours in exchange for a portion of their profits. It coincided with Dr. Seuss's birthday so I decided to make a few cat in the hat hats for the volunteers to wear...here are pictures of the twelve hats I made for the occasion.

Miscellaneous Rory

As is usual for children, Rory recently got some sort of bug. Her dad made a special place on the couch for her to relax (with Elmo - seen in the left top corner of the picture) with her pedialite Popsicle.

She's getting so big!

The Burk's returned from their vacation recently with gifts for Rory and the new baby. Here is Rory fawning over the baby's pink dress.

House Updates – before and after
Now that we have another little one on the way I am feeling like I need to fix a few things around the house that have been bugging me. Normal people don’t let lighting and the lack of a back splash bother them but I’m blaming pregnancy hormones on this one. In addition to the pictures below, I have been working on painting, decorating and furnishing Rory’s room and the nursery…I’ll post pictures of those when I am finished. Hope the pictures don’t bore you too much!

Before - over the stairwell

After - over the stairwell

Closeup on light over stairwell.

Before - entryway lighting

After - entry way lighting

Before - master bedroom hallway light

After - master bedroom hallway light

Before - Master bedroom light

After - master bedroom light

Master bedroom light closeup

Before - kitchen

After - kitchen with new stainless steel back splash

I'll stop boring you with house pictures now. Hope all is well with you all!