Big Brother

Living far away from our children and grandchildren isn't always easy but one of the blessings is that when we do spend time together it is 24/7 which gives lots of time to interact and see them in their everyday lives.

Kai and I spent lots of time together these past weeks...mornings in our PJ's, reading the Sunday paper.....

 .....celebrating his birthday together...

 ....filling up his pool and watching him enjoy it...

....he couldn't resist getting in with his clothes on and didn't mind getting wet at all.

 Walks by the river which of course had to involve throwing rocks in the water...

 ...time on the neighbour's trampoline(can that kid ever jump for a two year old)

 ....time spent on their back deck...

 .....finding uses for baby apparatus!(a swing is the perfect place to store all his balls)

 ...relaxing with Mom's nursing pillow....

 ....enjoying putting puzzles together...

 ...relaxing and reading his favorite book, Good Night Moon(and yes, it is upside down)

Kai, you make me smile! What fun it has been watching you become a Big Brother...

Pretty in Pink

It's hard to believe that our 'Northern Princess' has been here a week already but here she is, all pretty in pink thanks to her Texas cousins(our Southern Princesses).

Halle mostly just sleeps and eats but when she does open her eyes, they are huge!

 She found her thumb early on and keeps trying to find it again but usually not very successfully.

And like all girls, she loves getting her hair washed by someone else! Totally relaxing don't you all agree?

Halle doesn't mind sitting in her bouncy chair while we have dinner, although we don't usually see her eyes open while she is in there.

As for me I am enjoying being on 'Baby Duty'!!! No, I'm not retired, just being a fulltime Grandma to Kai and Halle and loving every moment of it! For another week yet anyway.

Halle Victoria

 She's here!!!!

We are all excited to introduce the newest member of our family! Halle Victoria Isaak made her appearance at 12:25 am on Saturday morning, September 10th weighing in at 7 pounds 10 ounces, 21 inches long.

 Kai wasn't at all sure about this long-awaited baby sister....

 ..but he did want me to take all her blankets off.

 He wasn't interested in being in a family picture though..

Halle has a full hair of black hair just like her big brother had, but we aren't sure yet what color her eyes will be.

 We haven't seen much of her eyes, but they are sure big when she does open them.

 Mommy with her little girl.

 Out like a light.....

 She has super long feet and fingers.....

Welcome Home little Halle! We are so glad you are here!

And we are so blessed.....I just had to take a self-portrait today of the two of us, just hanging out!

Seven Under Five

As I sit here at Heather and Matt's, waiting for our newest grandchild to arrive, I have to marvel at the fact that our oldest grandchild, Aidan, who just turned 5, is starting Kindergarten! Where did the years go? I still remember the day he was born and officially became a grandmother so well.

 We had so much fun on his birthday, taking just him out on a date.

He wanted to go mini-golfing so off we went. He showed me how to do it since I had never been at that particular mini-golf course and assured me that with practice I would improve.

 It was a beautiful evening, much like the evening he was born.

After we finished our game, we went to the White Spot for Dinner...he had so much to say, and jabbered the entire time! He's growing up...and we are so blessed!

We are so very blessed, not just once but 7 times over, to hold our children's children and watch them grow, to spend time with them, to laugh with them and make memories with them, and above all else to call them our grandchildren! Thank you Lord....for each one! And we are still waiting for Number 7....stay tuned any day now for an update!

Back to Beautiful British Columbia

After the cold and rain of Alaska we were all excited by how the air warmed up as we sailed south into BC waters....and the mountains almost seemed to welcome us back!(can you tell I am a wee bit biased?)

People all over the ship kept popping out to take pictures and then marveled at how warm it was getting!

We even saw Killer Whales(Orcas) swimming right alongside of the ship.

Even as the sun began to set, we didn't want to go inside...it was just so beautiful all around us.

It was our last evening on board and we all agreed that it had been an amazing week and we were coming home with awesome memories.

Photo Safara by Land and Sea in Juneau

One of the other highlights of our cruise was an amazing excursion that we had signed up for in Juneau. We were picked up by bus and taken on a Photo Safari by Land and Sea.

The first half of the time we would be aboard this brand new whale watching boat and guided by a photoguide who would help us learn how to take better pictures with our cameras.

 We boarded the boat at Auke Bay....can you say excited?

 Of course we were surrounded by Fishing Boats of all sizes.

First we learned how to take our cameras off the Auto setting and play with the shutter speed. This was my first try at it!

How we wished that the clouds would lift so that we could see the top of the mountains that were teasing us on all sides.

 It was exciting to see glaciers of all sizes.

 We were all excited to see this seal.....little did we know this was only the beginning.

We watched as the seal made it's way into the water while able the bald eagles watched.

A pair of bald eagles...mates for life!

Seals, seals and more seals!

Sea Lions barking at one another.

We were soooo excited when we saw our first whales....first the spouts, then the fins, and finally tails. But then near the end of our time on the water, we saw this one.....close enough to hear this Humpback Whale blow!

Mother and calf.

Scuff.....Humpback whales can be identified by their markings.

Smudge.

 

 Back on shore we all boarded another bus and headed back inland for our land portion of our photo safari and a hike up to the glacier. This time our photo-guide taught us about aperture settings and depth of field, and then we got to practice again.

I had to chuckle at all these photography lovers taking pictures while our guide was trying to keep us moving!

 Every step we took there was something else to photograph!!!

But then we heard the word that she had warned us meant we all had to move and gather around her 'fast'. "BEAR"!!!

And there he was off to our right......having lunch!!

He had caught himself a salmon in the stream....

And it obviously tasted better than he thought we would because other than a look right at the beginning he just ignored us for the rest of the time!

 I love this picture of the three guys in our group all trying to get the best shot!

On towards our destination...

Our first sight of the Mendenhall Glacier took our breath away.

A very Memorable Moment.

Kayaking among the ice flows...living dangerously.

It was only about 12 miles from Juneau.

One last picture in front of the glacier.....so amazing!

A bald eagle watches us leave.