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I'm not really one to write about my own birthday...it feels kind of self-absorbed in a way, but I want to acknowledge the nice things my friends and family did for me.

My birthday fell on the first day of our trip in Louisiana, so before we left on our trip we had a little family party with my parents and Joy. Joy was also headed out for about a month, so it was a nice send off for her too. We had yummy veggie burritos...my favorite, and a delicious key lime pie for dessert. Joy and my parents gave me a tortilla press, tortilla warmers, earrings, and some green to buy a new backpack.

In Louisiana on the actual day, I slept in with my little men since we were still on Alaska time. When we got up Margaret made us all waffles. She and Alfred gave me a new purse and treated me to part of my birthday dinner. I'm not one for purses, but I have to admit that it came in handy during the rest of our stay and on the trip home.

Zach had a great time playing with my birthday card from Margaret and Alfred. It was one of those cards that makes sounds/music when you open it. He kept opening and closing it, so he could listen to it over, and over, and over, and over......

Darius was up early and brought me balloons, noise makers (which all were chewed up promptly by Zach), a new Rachel Ray cookbook, and probably one of the most delicious carrot cakes I've ever tasted. He also treated me to a bunch of new clothes, which actually fit...no more droopy pants!

Later for dinner Darius took me to the first (or one of the first) restaurants he ever worked for. The Warehouse No. 1 restaurant sits on the Ouachita River and has a great atmosphere and some excellent food. We enjoyed baked oysters, catfish bites, gumbo, corn & crab bisque, steak, shrimp and catfish fillets. It's been quite a long time since Darius had worked there, but there were still several people working there that he knew.

There was no room left for carrot cake that night, or the following night, so we didn't actually have birthday cake for a couple of days, but it sure was yummy when we finally got around to having some.

Thanks Darius, Margaret, Alfred, Ben & Zach for a lovely day! And thanks to the rest of my family and friends who called, sent cards/emails/gifts. I really appreciate all that everyone did! And an extra special thanks to my parents who gave me a birthday to begin with! Lots of love to everyone!

Planes, Trains, Automobiles...and stuffed animals

Ben & Zach have such different personalities and interests. Brooms, vacuums, and Swiffers are to Ben like trains, airplanes and cars are to Zach (and stuffed animals).

There's a small airport along Lake Eyak and the planes that take off and land there, usually fly over the house. Months back, whenever Zach first started to hear the planes' engines, he would point up and start grunting or say oooh oooh and then he'd run to a window to look for the plane. He still loves the planes and points at them, but his reactions now aren't quite as animated....which may have something to do with trains.

I'm not sure how it started, but Zach's obsession lately seems to be locomotives, with a little twist of excavators thrown in. Thomas is a cute blue engine, but I can't stand to watch the Thomas DVD that Zach begs for, and I've read Stop, Train, Stop! about as much as I can stand.

Zach's love for excavators started over the summer while demolition was going on down the hill from us. The elementary school is adding on a new gymnasium and there was a very large area with some major excavating to be done before construction could begin. Until James arrived in late July, I didn't even know what the proper name was for an excavator, so I just told Zach they were big machines. Close enough eh? Well, the excavators have been gone now for a couple of months, but leave it to Zach to find an excavator in a book. A day or two ago Zach had Are You My Mother? open to the page with the excavator (aka Snort) on it, and madly kept pointing at it and grunting. When Zach is passionate about something, he'll let you know it.

The stuffed animals have always been strong contenders with Zach's otherwise boyish interests. He squeezes, kisses, wrestles, and chews on his favorite animals everyday. Today he got a new soft friend to add to the mix, courtesy of his friends Crystal & Luke. Joy and I walked down to the post office and there was a package for the boys with stuffed camels and t-shirts that Crystal & Luke had got for them in Dubai. Zach held onto his camel for the duration of our walk, and then probably for another hour or more after we got home. By the time Zach was done breaking in his camel, it's head was completely soaked from all Zach's chewing.

(Kind of reminds me of your crazy cat that always sucked on the tip of her tail, Crystal! Thanks so much for the gifts for the boys...needless to say, Zach loves his camel!)

Mr. Clean

Give Ben some cleaning-related object and he's a happy kid. He loves brooms, Swiffer Sweepers, dustpans, and vacuum cleaners. He loves to 'clean'! He doesn't often whine for things, but when he does, he's usually after something he wants from the broom closet.

Ben has also started to help me put away toys. The boys have these cute alphabet blocks, and Ben will go around the room and collect all of them, and put them all together in a tote. He's starting to become a good helper and, with the messes he and his brother make, I'll take whatever help I can get.

Bear!

I've seen bears every time I've visited Cordova, but haven't actually seen any since we've been living here. Apparently they're around town this time of year, and there's been signs of one around the house. Yesterday when the boys and I were playing outside Zach found a pile of bear pooh, and may or may not have sampled a berry from it.

Today we got the best look at a bear (in the wild) that we'll probably ever get. Dad and I were in the downstairs living room and Dad saw the bear's ears poking up over the window sill. I took off running upstairs to get my camera while yelling "bear! bear! bear!" like a spaz who's never seen one before.

Here's a little video clip of the bear. It's actually on top of a makeshift table, made of packing crate material, and is eating salmon eggs that Darius had cured and bagged.

The boys were napping, but I had Mom wake them up to see the bear. Had the window been open, we could have reached out and touched it. We probably sat and watched it for a good 10 minutes or more before it took off. It was so fun to watch!

Darius - I'm sorry about your salmon eggs, but the boys really enjoyed watching the bear eat them! Thanks for leaving them out as bear bait.

Recap

There are a variety of ways to measure time, but I find that I usually recall it best by chunking together the time I've lived in various parts of the country. As of this week, we're finally considered residents of Alaska. With the exception of a depressing winter, our year in Cordova has been a positive experience.

I'll probably always feel a little indebted to my parents for the opportunity they've given us to live with them. They're tremendous and although they'd say we're the ones doing them a favor, by keeping them company the last couple of years here, I still think it's the other way around.

Thank you Mom & Dad! We love and appreciate all you've done/do for us. We've enjoyed our time here with you, and I know Ben & Zach feel the same! Joy - a great big thanks to you too! I don't think I would have made it through the year, more sane than not, without you!

We've made some great memories here over the past year, more than my dilapidated brain can recall, so I'll just post pictures that trigger some of those memories for me.

Alaska is a special place. I'm happy we've had the chance to live here and experience a little of what it has to offer it's residents. There's so much more of this vast state I'd love to explore, and I hope to have the chance to before we move on.