Summer's here...go...go...go...

I know that I sound like a broken record but here it goes...I've been terrible about updating the blog in a timely fashion, and because of that there are a lot of pictures to share (beware, the amount of pictures posted might be a little excessive).  It has taken me so long to post this latest update that I'm already ready with enough new happenings and pictures to begin immediately on the next update.  I'll quit whining and just get to it...

Walking
So, Massie began walking a couple months ago...here is a video.  Soon after, she had a bad fall at school (aka daycare) and subsequently turned cautious.  She manages to get around alright but she's not running from us yet.

Grandma Karen
We received a welcome visitor in April, Grandma Karen.  We love when she visits (this time was, however, without Grandpa Sid).

Karen taught Rory how to play "Angry Birds" last year. As her reward, she gets to play it with Rory every time they see each other.

While Karen was in town, it just so happened that the other two grandmas (Grandma Linda and Grandma Judy) showed up.  How many kids get to to claim that they have three fabulous grandmas?  Left to right: Karen, Linda, Rory, Sydney, Massie and Judy.

Springtime Fun
As soon as the snow started to melt we were outside.  The trampoline finally moved from inside the garage (we finally have room in there for cars now) to the back yard.  This is better than any playpen; put the kids in, zip it up - instant containment (they actually like it).

Yuri gave Rory her first set of clubs once spring fever hit.  They are adorable purple clubs with a mini golf bag.  I know that Yuri has visions of playing 18 holes with her every weekend but I think that he's forgetting that SHE'S THREE!

Putting the tee in the ground...there is a lot of concentration going on here.

With spring comes an overwhelming desire to garden...here is Rory watering her newly planted seeds.

WWWW - Women Who Wine in Westgate
My neighborhood gal group has done it again...thrown an amazing party.  This time the theme was "spa" and they hit it out of the park.  We started at Christi's house for appetizers and found these fun flip flops waiting for us.  Then, a limo picked us up and brought us to the nail salon for manicures and pedicures.  Next stop was a quick shot (warm lemon drop I think) at the Boatel, our neighborhood bar, and then it was on to Heather J.'s house for dinner.  It was AMAZING...I'm so lucky to have made friends with these wonderful women.

Fancy jello shots...

At the salon - oh, did I mention, there was champagne!

Posing outside the Boatel...such fun!

Children's Museum
We brought Rory and Massie to the traveling Children's Museum last month.  The volunteers and sponsors that put this together every month have started something really extraordinary.  There are tons of activities for the kids, everything from simple art projects to science discoveries.

Rory is always drawn towards the art projects...she takes her work very seriously.

This was an air table...the kids put objects over the hole and up, up, up they go.

Summer...finally.
We're proud to announce that summer has finally arrived!  Here are the girls taking in some rays on the trampoline.

Let's go fly a kite.  For some reason, we've had a fair amount of wind this year which makes for wonderful kite flying weather. 

Many already know that Rory is a very deliberate, organized and non-messy child.  I'm beginning to think that we got the opposite with Massie.  Here she is after getting soaking wet playing with the water table and then jumping into the garden. 

Getting Rory's garden ready.

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Kiddo Party
A friend of mine, who is insanely creative, loves to have parties and makes amazing desserts, had a party for the kids recently.  This party was a pajama party theme (without the sleepover) and Rory had a wonderful time meeting new kids, eating lots of junk food and just being a rowdy kid.  Below is a picture of the take-home party favors (left) and the "hot cocoa in a cup" treats with lots of marshmallows.

Here are a few of the kids enjoying their pizza, jello jigglers and other treats.

Gardening
I never thought I would get into gardening but I really am enjoying it.  This year I'm trying a few new crops - potatoes, radishes and spinach as well as the tried and true staples - carrots, lettuce, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes (lots of tomatoes), strawberries, peas, beans and tons of herbs. 

In past years I have focused mainly on growing food...this year I'm adding flowers to the mix.  I've got a lot to learn but having more flowers around makes the backyard look lovely.  Below is a picture of the blooms on one of the trees/bushes in our yard.  They are absolutely beautiful - it's a shame they only last for about two weeks in early spring.

Brooke and Keith's Wedding
Our entire family of four was supposed to travel to Juneau for Yuri's sister, Brooke's, wedding but it didn't work out.  Massie continues to have ear trouble so rather than getting on a plane and risking making the problem worse, she and I stayed home. Yuri and Rory got a long weekend in Juneau to spend time with family and celebrate a wonderful event.

Rory was the flower girl for the event and those who know her well know that this is right up her alley.  Below is Rory (center) with her cousins Quinn (L) and Addy (R).

And, another cousin joins the picture - cute little Estelle.

The Bride's family, left to right: father of the bride, Sid; brother, Leon; groom, Keith; brother, Yuri, brother, Dylan, beautiful bride, Brooke; and mother of the bride, Karen.

This is a pretty cool picture...the wedding party getting staged for picture time.

Rory with Grandma Linda.

Rory dancing the night away with her cousin...

Massie's Birthday
Well, our "little critter" is one!  Simply amazing!  I'm sad and embarrassed to admit that things are just too hectic around our household and because of this we couldn't fit in a birthday party.  The best we could pull off was a 6:30 a.m. mini party for our little girl.  I searched the "party bin" and found some left over party supplies from Rory's last birthday party.

Here is our sweet little mouse on her big day.  We don't usually put bows in her hair but she looks so much like a little boy (no offense, Massie) that I think Yuri wanted to make her a little more feminine for her first birthday pictures.

I'm so sorry for posting this with the sound...my singing is absolutely horrible.  I admit that I can't sing - add the fact that this little event is taking place at 6:30 in the morning and I think I should get a little leeway.  When I sent this video to my dad he summed it up well responding, "happy little girls".

After singing this song Rory turned to me and said "where are all the people".  Again, I'm feeling very guilty about this "party".  I'll make it up to her next year :-).

The Morgan girls.

Random Events and Moments
Speaking of Birthdays...My friend, Lanie's, son, Brecken, is also celebrating his 1st birthday this month.  Massie loved the invite and thought it was tasty...

Yuri and I in the theater ready to watch The Avengers...fun movie and even better fashion statement.

Yuri with his happy girls.

A coworker gave me some hand-me-down roller blades.  Here is a terrible picture of Rory trying them out for the first time...I look forward to doing some "blading" with her this summer.

Supergirl...

These girls LOVE each other...I'll have to remind them of this when they're in their teens fighting over clothes.

Well, off to do more summer stuff!  I'll check back in soon...

Spring Scrambles and Bunnies

Spring is Here!!!!

With Spring comes the end of the Legislative Session which means that Yuri is home - there are three girls in the Morgan household that are very excited!

The snow that you'll see in the pictures below is nearly gone and to celebrate, we're getting our deck furniture out of storage this weekend.  The temperatures have been above normal and the sun is always shining...I love where I live!

The past few weeks have been filled with excitement as you will see from the pictures below.  So, rather than go on and on, I'll let you dive into the latest happenings.

4th Annual Beer Scramble
The city of Nenana used to sponsor an event during Tripod Days called the "Beer Scramble". The beer scramble consisted of a street littered with beer cans and a mad dash of participants to gather up as many cans as possible (kind of like an Easter egg hunt for adults). It was quite a sight and participants always went home with a lot of free beer. Unfortunately, they no longer host it and instead they turned it into a "Pop Scramble" - fun for kids but not so much fun for the adults. So, we decided four years ago to recreate it and it gets better every year.  


Below is a picture of the kids after their pop scramble.

Below is the entire beer scramble group, minus my mom who was taking the picture.

Grandad Andy, Grandma Judy and Massie - loving the sun shine!

Massie getting flying lessons from her dad...she is one happy baby.

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt
Last year a few neighborhood gals and I decided to host a neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  Well, it was a success and this year we put together the 2nd annual hunt!  Tons of people showed and the kids had a wonderful time.  In addition to the hunt, there were games for the kiddo's - an egg toss (kid favorite), races, bubbles and more.  Oh, and the Easter bunny even made a showing.

Below is the invite Meadow put together (not sure why my copy is so blurry) - so fun!

This is what 1600 eggs filled with candy and toys looks like.

One of our neighbors, Kelly, with the Bailey girls...taking a ride on the Sundborg golf cart.  It was the easy way to get from one end of the hunt to the other.  After utilizing this for the day, everyone in the 'hood wants one of these!

People starting to congregate before the hunt began.  We had a coffee and hot cocoa station (right) and in the left of the picture is the table of prizes - mondo chocolate Easter bunnies, bags of toys and about 60 bags of candy.  We even had a "sportsmanship award" - it's amazing how well behaved these kids were.

Below is Rory looking a little lost amidst all the activities.  Yes, her jacket is about two sizes too small...I really should have bought her a new jacket this year. 

Yuri holding Rory and Massie before the race began.  Neither kid had very much fun at the event.  Rory is scared of the Easter Bunny and is also apparently afraid of large hunts (who knew).  Massie was sick with hand, foot and mouth disease...more on that below but beware, it's nasty.

Wargan/Morwick Easter
After 37 years of life, I've finally realized that Easter is my favorite holiday.  There are so many fun activities going on...I just love it!

Here are Rory and Yuri coloring eggs...Rory's a little artist (and never makes a mess - good girl!).

She is able to really focus on tasks...she is a little OCD perfectionist. 

Alli Wilken (maiden name) posted this idea on facebook - pouring the left over egg coloring into the snow.  We had a colorful driveway for a few days.

Well, as I mentioned above, Rory is frightened of the Easter Bunny.  But, she was pretty happy with the goodies that he left for her. 

My happy little flower girl...

After Rory found her eggs and treats at our house, we headed over to the Warwick house for what is becoming the Christmas of Easter Egg hunts.  This year, the Bailey's joined our family and it was wonderful to have them there!  My folks always go way over-the-top and fun is had by all.

Below are the kids (plus Meadow) showing off their loot.  The kids had their hunt first so that they didn't get in the way of the adult hunt - really, it's for their own safety :-).  I'm happy to report that there were no injuries this year - Jesse is mellowing in his old age (30).

After the Warwick hunt we hit the street to give Rory's new kite a test run.  She loved it!

Yuri and Massie (on his back) in the background watching Rory successfully fly her kite.

There was a lot of activity in the neighborhood on Easter...on our walk home we ran into Roger and Bentley in the loader. 

Rory trying out the bike the Easter Bunny had brought her that morning.  Unfortunately, the only bike we could find in her size was a boy's dinosaur bike.  I did my best to girl it up with accessories and covered the dinosaur pads with silver sparkle material.  It's really not too bad.  In the background you can see the Burks' boys scraping the ice off our driveway...thanks guys!

Yuri just couldn't resist.

Radiant Rory
Our happy and sassy little girl.

Maniacal Massie
Massie is a wonder to us all.  She is so different from Rory and that really shakes up our household.  She officially took her first steps last week (at 10 months that is a good two months quicker than Rory) and although she's not running around the house yet (thankfully) she is scooting around pretty well with her baby stroller (see video below).

She's a beautiful child with a happy but VERY mischievous personality.  She is into everything and doesn't listen when told "no".  That special look in her eyes tells me that the next 18 years aren't going to be carefree. 

As mentioned in my post last month, both kids have been sick on and off for about 6 weeks...I didn't think it could get worse but it did (warning...picture below is nasty).  Just before Easter Massie came down with hand, foot and mouth disease.  It's a virus that is all over Fairbanks although Massie got is worse than any case I saw.  The virus causes blisters on the face, mouth, hands and feet.  Unfortunately for Massie she got them everywhere and then they got infected.  To top that off she also got ANOTHER ear infection in conjunction with it. 

Here is a picture of my poor sleeping baby with the virus.  It was awful to see her like this and we are all happy that the virus has now run it its course.  She no longer looks like this and her skin is much better but it appears to me that there is some scaring - I'm sure it will lessen with time.

Well, here is to a healthy and happy spring and summer!