Whirlwind

Sarah's Thoughts: It seems like an eternity ago that I was feeling so sick and looking forward to the summer. Now the fireweed blossoms are creeping up the stocks and the blueberries plants in our backyard are practically picked clean. I even saw "Back to School" stuff at the grocery store. It's been a busy and fun summer. We've managed to squeeze in some fishing, hiking, and a 6 day camping trip in the Yukon. I traveled to Anchorage for the wedding of my dearest friend, Sarah. Owen turned 3 and he had a parade and a stegasaurus cake to mark the occasion. This basketball in my belly is feeling as large as it ever did when I was pregnant with Owen. With 2 months to go, makes me a little worried when my weekly pregnancy updates say things like, "Your baby is headed into a growth spurt." I don't have room for a growth spurt! Thankfully, aside from a few minor hic-ups, this pregnancy has been relatively non-eventful.

high - Forecasted weather of 70+ degrees for the next few days

low - Owen's urgent potty request while we were driving to the library this morning, followed soon after by "I need to change my clothes." No library story time for us today!

Luke Update: After a rather dishearteningly slow start to the tourist season, Luke's fishing trips have been picking up. Its not going to be a record-breaking season but, with a few more bookings, will be within a stone's throw of average. Yesterday marked the start of deer season, so that is always a very exciting time for some members of our household. Usually involves lots of calling and emailing between Luke and his hunting buddies, checking work schedules and making plans. Captain Woodruff has also managed to hook us up with some delicious coho salmon, so our freezer is starting to fill. He has a trip planned later in the week to Sweetheart Creek to try his luck with a cast net for sockeye salmon. He's also been working on a new net which is slowly but surely coming along.

Owen Update: In the last week, Owen has been very interested in letters. He has a plastic place mat with the alphabet printed around the boarder and at every meal he says, "Mom, can we talk about some letters?" Um... yeah! He knows the letter "O" since that's the first letter in his name. He finds "O"s on signs at the store, in books and on maps. Now he's picking out other letters too. Its pretty exciting to witness this hunger and excitement for learning, especially because I feel like it was unprompted. Makes me wish I could stay home with him and have a little pre-school lesson every day about different letters and days of the week... Another amazing thing he's doing recently is reciting books, word for word, that I've read to him only a handful of times. That little brain is something else! Today some neighborhood kids came and played, which was the highlight of Owen's week. One of the boys had an April birthday and was 4 years old. He seemed SO much bigger and more articulate then Owen, like a kid that might not be into snuggling with his mom. I can't believe that in just one year, Owen will be that big... Good thing #2 is coming soon!

...and now our summer in pictures...

king salmon slayer

Owen showing off his beach body

family portrait

fishin'

Owen and mama (June)

lunch at the John Muir cabin

board walk through the meadow

Granite Creek

What did you pack for lunch?

swimming with dinos and baby Jordan

summer blossoms

solarium Sarah

loving the wall tent

wading in Lake Kathleen, Yukon

Dolly the guard dog

camping in the rain

posing with daddy in Haines Junction

birthday muffins

party time!

bike riding

smoked coho

It's Official!

Sarah’s Thoughts: I’m officially starting the second trimester of this pregnancy, and I have to tell you, it couldn’t have come too soon. I’ve definitely had a rougher time so far so I’m excited to be feeling better and have more energy. I know Luke is excited for that too! Maybe I’ll finally get to those forgotten piles of laundry stashed all over the house and be able to come up with something for dinner besides grilled cheese sandwiches and frozen pizza. Owen has decided that he has a baby in his tummy too. Today when I was snapping his pants, I accidentally pinched his tummy and he said, “Mama! You need to be careful of my baby!” He’s not sure what kind of baby is in there... could be a baby brother or maybe a baby t-rex... Time will tell!

low- the constant guessing game of “If I eat this, will I feel better or will I get sick?”

high- backyard weenie roast on a lovely partly-sunny evening

Luke Update: Something very exciting happened today. Luke started the boat for the first time in 2010. Roar of the engine, puff of blue smoke and spring is officially here, folks! We are planning a cabin camping trip on one of the islands in two weeks with another family so the boat needs to awaken from winter's hibernation and get ready for action! We’ve been noticing several other signs of spring such as pussy willows, buds on the blueberry bushes and the call of the varied thrush. Despite the surprise eight inches of snow this week, I’ve joined my husband as a believer in the change of the season. Luke has three weeks left in the legislative session which is kind of exciting. End of session equals change of pace for all of us which will be refreshing. Then its onto steelhead fishing, bear hunting, and watching Owen during the day until his fishing season starts.

Owen Update: I am very pleased to announce that Owen is officially potty trained. No more diapers at all, not even while sleeping. Its amazing how long I wondered when he’d finally get the concept of going potty on the toilet, and then one day, it happened! I didn’t even realize that I was buying my last box of diapers for Owen (probably because they were from Costco... so baby #2 already has some size 5 diapers waiting)! I can’t be sure, but I think that Owen might just be moving out of the dino phase, which is also kind of exciting. It seems like he’s been more interested in other types of animals lately, especially elephants and snakes. I mean, he still likes dinos, for sure, but I the intensity that used to come with the mention of “T-rex” is waning... I read Owen a paraphrased version of “The Velveteen Rabbit” last night and he decided that he needed to sleep with a stuffed bunny. Sweet boy.

"The Pile"

Owen's latest favorite game which includes pulling

every single pillow, cushion, blanket, he can get his hands on

and dumping them in a huge pile in the middle

of the living room. Makes a big mess, but secretly, I sort of enjoy it too.

swans on Moose Lake

"Kickin' It"

with Dolly and Chachi

"My future's so bright... "

mountain goats at the mighty mendenhall

our own little bart simpson

backyard picnic

Luke takes the driver's seat...

So Sarah gave me permission to commandeer her blog since I would have a little more time during the day than she would. Since this is my first time posting, I figured I'd better make it good, so here goes. Some of you may already have caught wind of this but hopefully it will be news to at least a few "Mostly Owen" lurkers out there. And for anyone that we flat-out lied to we are sorry for our less than truthful knee jerk response of "no, I don't know what you are talking about" or something of that nature. The Woodruff family is expected to increase by one in late September. The ultrasound suggested Sept. 22 but Sarah feels sure that we'll be seeing "junior" about a week later. Now I know what many of you are thinking and I had the same concern, "They can't have a baby then, what about Luke's moose hunt?" Don't worry, season starts Sept. 15th so we should have one down and ready for transport within the first few days in time to get back to my very pregnant wife. And if the baby comes early, well, we may just have "junior's" first moose hunt. The wall tent is very cozy.

March Already!

Sarah’s Thoughts: After more then a month of nothing, I’m feeling the need to explain my silence on the blog scene. Luke and I are hosting a small-group bible study on Sunday nights, which use to be the time I’d post my blog. So far, I haven’t found another time in the week that works for me. This week, however, our office is closed and we’re all on paid vacation (Thank you Dr. Schultz) so here I am. We’ve had a lot going on in the past month... We fit in a trip to Echo Ranch to visit our friends who are spending the winter caretaking. Owen and I took a trip to Anchorage last week to visit my dear friend, Sarah and her new husband, Jim. We’ve been to the beach, spent some time with Uncle Christian, and watched the snow melt away. I’m both nervous and excited to announce that as of today, March 2, there is very little-to-no snow on the ground! Come on spring!

low- poop and other stinky things

high- catching up on things around the house and beyond

Luke Update: While Owen and I were gone last week, I think Luke spent the majority of his time in the garage, “tinkering”, as he likes to say. He’s feeling all the excitement that comes with spring (i.e. hunting for grouse, bear, fishing for steelhead and king salmon, camping and hiking) and needs to get ready! He bought some new arrow shafts and is busy straightening, staining, gluing and sanding. He’s been testing his cast bullet loads to find the optimal combination for power and accuracy. He’s been cleaning and tuning our fishing reels and he even booked a weekend cabin camping trip in April. Once those daylight hours increase just a bit, then look out, great outdoors because the Woodruffs are going to be on the scene, ready for action!

Owen Update: Owen’s big and exciting news is that he hasn’t had a poopy diaper for about 3 weeks (except for an accident in the nursery at church). At this point, I need to pause and give kudos to Lela Paden. She’s been watching Owen for us this spring while Luke is working at the legislature. Lela has had lots of experience and success potty training boys, and ours is no exception! Owen received his first pairs of “big boy pants” after returning from Anchorage and has been very excited to wear them. He doesn’t have the peeing under control quite yet but one step at a time, right? He gets so excited about going potty on the potty chair, however, that whenever Luke or I do our business, he congratulates us up and down and runs to the freezer to get us a “special treat”. I try to explain to him that first thing in the morning, mommy just wants some orange juice or cereal for a special treat. I think he’s getting it, slowly...

And now for a month's worth of pictures...

window watching - Owen and Gabbie out at Echo Ranch

winter waves

happy valentine's!

throwing rocks on a sunny day

family snowmobiling

posing with mama

playing playdough-

Owen likes to line up the elephants and giraffes

T-Rex Owen

hanging out with Abby and Luke at the beach

playing the piano Jerry Lee Lewis style

Owen and Jim enjoying some computer time in their jammies

if I had a hammer...

echo ranch friends at the beach

big boy pants

...

settling back into the groove

Sarah’s Thoughts: After a month of company, we are slowly remembering how to wash our own dishes and be parents again. It was really wonderful to have my folks stay for such a long period of time. We were able to relax and enjoy living together instead of feeling pressured to cram all our visiting in a brief period of time. So sad to see them go. It is amazing that January is drawing to a close already. You have to be mentally shrewd this time of year, because it seems like spring is right around the corner but it’s really not. There are at least another two months of winter in which we get the most snow and the most cold and flu viruses. It is O.K. to get excited about the day light though. According Luke, daylight expert, we're gaining 30 minutes this week!

low- always cold, fingers and toes.

high- celebrating five wonderful years with my Luke and listening to my smart Owen count to 10!

Luke Update: The state legislature started this week and unlike other years, Luke has found himself quite busy. This is largely due to the fact that he’s the only full-time returning employee in the office so he finds himself in the middle of all questions, training and trouble-shooting. So far, I think he’s enjoying work simply because the busy-ness is making the days go by faster. He’s also started the prep work to make a new laminated wooden fishing net for this coming season. Despite my warnings, Luke is optimistic that spring will be here before we know it and with it, bear hunting, grouse hunting, steelhead fishing, basically heaven on earth. Today he squeezed in trips to both the archery range and the rifle range. That’s my husband!

Owen Update: Owen’s favorite phrases these days is “Me do it!” and “No!”. Is that officially “terrible twos”? I’ve taught him a new phrase, “please pretty mommy?” which will hopefully help to soften his often demanding dialogue. I’m realizing that he is able to do more and more by himself. At his insistence, he successfully climbed out of the car by himself yesterday, but then failed to successfully put on a fresh diaper, so he has some things to learn... ;) He’s still very much all about dinosaurs and has to sleep with a different dino book each night. That way, he’s able to quickly grab the book, his snuggly fleece blanket and convince mama to join him in some dino reading first thing every morning. That’s lucky for everyone involved. This morning, he was showing his plastic dinosaurs pictures of themselves in all of his dino books. He found his big plastic T-Rex and showed it all the t-rex pictures, then grabbed velociraptor and showed it all the pictures of other velociraptors, then grabbed triceratops... you get the idea.

t.v. zombie

anytime is a good time to be naked

"My Yia Yia!"

view from Christian's new house

my brother, the home owner

We make a traditional greek new year's bread called "Vasilopetia."

Before it's baked, you knead a dime into the dough.

When you cut the bread, you designate a piece for

each member of the family and whoever finds the dime

in their piece has good luck for the year.

Apparently, this is the year of the O-Dog.

all you really need is a pair of xtra tuffs...

daddy's boy

bubble beard

bow and flannel.

Our future bandit! We're so proud!