Summer is Here

Massie is now a month old and is bringing a lot of joy to our family. She has already participated in quite a few events as you will see below.

Midnight Sun Run
While Massie and I sat on the sidelines in front of our house, Yuri and Rory participated in the Midnight Sun Run. There were thousands of participants and, as usual, our neighborhood turns into party central. Rory won 1st place in her age category and didn't even break a sweat!

Father's Day

Yuri, Leon, Steve, and Grandpa Bud all took a flightseeing tour around the Fairbanks area for Father's Day (it was Bud's gift from his daughter, Linda). Below is the crew enjoying the flight.

L to R - Yuri, Bud, Leon, Steve and their pilot extraordinaire, Ken.

Yuri's 20-year High School Reunion in Juneau

Yuri and I packed up the kids (along with nearly all of our household belongings), hopped on a plane heading to Juneau for Yuri's 20-year high school reunion. In addition to attending the reunion, the trip allowed us to see a lot of our Juneau family.

Below is a picture of Yuri and two of his high school buddies, Rob and Rodney.

While in Juneau we were able to meet up with family and introduce them to our newest addition. Below is Grandpa Sid in an oh-so-serene pose with Massie.

Rory, Massie and Grandma Karen hanging out on the couch.

The summer weather in Juneau was wet and windy but, nevertheless, Rory enjoyed walking the beach with Yuri.

Rory finally got to meet her cousin Madeline; they got along wonderfully and Rory looks forward to their next meeting.

Yuri's cousin Amy, and Uncle Jeff (Madeline's mom and granddad) - It was great to see the two again.

Yuri's Uncle Lee and Aunt Sherie...they are always a hoot to visit with and we appreciated getting to see them again.

Fairbanks Family Time

Many of Yuri's siblings and their children were in Fairbanks in June. Below is Rory with her cousins Tyson (4) and Quinn (6).


Cutie Cousin Estelle (10 months).

Yuri's Brother Nick, Sister Genevieve and her daughter, Estelle.

Yuri's brother, Nick, and his model good looks...am I right ladies?!

Estelle with her Dad, Kirill.

Rory swinging with her Grandma Linda and Great Grandfather Bud. If you detect an unhappiness in Rory's facial expression, it's because the person taking the photo (her mother) had just - minutes earlier - pushed her off the swing into the gravel. Bad Mom!

Grandma Judy and Grandad Andy with baby Massie.

Yuri's cousin, Barbara (who is expecting her second child this winter), with her son, Lincoln, and family friend, Jesse.

Shannon holding Massie for the first time.

Massie's cousin, Addy, holding her very gently and lovingly.

Just Massie

Well, we wouldn't be the parents of a newborn without taking a million pictures and wanting to share them with everyone we run into. Below are (way too many) pictures of our sweet little Massie.

The "crazy eyes boxer" look...

I love this picture...it shows you just how small her little fingers are (holding onto my thumb).

"The Thinker"

"The Burrito"

And a Few Miscellaneous Pictures for Viewing

As summer progresses we are certain to have many more adventures and pictures to share with you. We hope you all all doing well and enjoying your summer!

Love,

Yuri, Sydney, Rory and Massie

Welcome to the World Massie Elizabeth Morgan

Massie Elizabeth Morgan was born a few days early on June 8th - at 6:31am weighing in at 7 pounds 6 ounces. We are all home now and are enjoying the newest addition to our family. She is a spitting image of Rory as you will see from a photo comparison later in the blog.

For those of you wondering about the name, Massie was my Father's Uncle's name. It turns out that it is also my uncle Randy's middle name. I'm not sure what type of psychological damage giving your daughter a boy's name will do but we'll start the "shrink fund" now - I guess we'll have to do the same for Rory. Massie shares her middle name with me, my mom and grandma Leone.

As with any new parents, we are taking lots of pictures and are sharing many of them with you below...hope it's not overkill!

Introducing Massie

Massie looks like a wrinkly old man in this picture...she also has the hairline of a middle aged man...super funny!

Massie meets Grandma Judy

...and Grandad Andy (Massie, this is the guy that is going to feed you chocolate ice cream...be good to him).

...and Grandma Linda. Great grandparents Joyce and Bud along with my brother Jesse and his girlfriend Petra also visited Massie at the hospital but with Yuri on camera duty we didn't get much for pictures.

Rory meeting Massie at the hospital. At this point Rory is not sure what to make of this little squiggly thing.

Rory modeling her "Big Sister" shirt and showing off her new "Rory" doll and "baby Massie" doll.

Rory & Massie...Quite the Similarities

As I mentioned above, Massie is a spitting image of Rory when she was just born. Below are pictures of the two of them leaving the hospital (keep in mind that Rory is about 5 days older in the picture as she had an extended stay at the "spa d' Fairbanks Memorial Hospital". Ignore the scowl on Massie - this girl constantly looks like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders...perhaps it's because Yuri is reading his financial magazines to her and she is concerned about the financial crisis.

Massie

Rory

Big Sister Rory with Massie

Rory came home from daycare on Friday and Massie was finally home. She is a super helpful and excited big sister.

Giving Massie an Eskimo kiss

Rory is fascinated at the size of Massie's feet. Here she is showing us how big she is compared to the baby.

First Family Outing

Over the weekend we were feeling the need to get out, breath the fresh air and enjoy some sun so we packed up the kiddos and headed to the park for a bit. Rory enjoyed the carousel ride...can you tell?

Rory and her dad love snow cones. Here they are showing off their colored tongues. Can you tell who had strawberry and who had blue raspberry?

And Finally...our 7 Year Anniversary

Sunday marked our 7th year anniversary. I don't know what people are taking about when they reference the "seven year itch" because every year gets better and better (just when you think it's not possible). I definitely got lucky with this guy and I am thankful every day (except on January 1st when we discuss our budget for the year :-))!

Yuri and I have never purchased anniversary gifts for each other but this year was different. Yuri surprised me with a ring box...in it was this beauty! Well, turns out that he did have a gift for me but wanted me to be involved in designing it so this ring was the placeholder. How lucky am I?!

Hope all is well with you all...we will keep you updated as our little ones continue to grow at alarming rates.

Love,

Yuri, Sydney, Rory and Massie