September 16 - 30, 2017 - 3 years 2 months

Grandma Baiba and Grandpa Butchie come to Talkeetna for a visit!  First stop… Twister!

While the grandparents are resting, Kadin and I wander through the railroad station and Kadin enjoyed his time behind bars. 

Butch shops the local "produce" while Kadin races around on his bicycle.

Weeeeeee!!!

I had to stop into the VFW to meet up with a friend and Kadin was instantly fascinated with the pool table.  He watched every shot, gave recommendations, and waited for the ball to travel from the pocket to the storage underneath.
Physics scientist or pool shark to be? 

Finally, a break in the rain and we get to be back on our bikes.  If you can see how muddy his legs are, on this trip we went looking for all the big mud puddles! In fact, he had a communication melt down when I went onto the bike path… yelling, no, no, bdda, bdda, (or something like that) and pointing across the street to the dirt trail.  I wasn't thinking in English and it took me forever to figure out he was saying "Puddles!  Puddles!"  I confirmed it with, "Oh, ¿quieres charcos?" Yes!!!!!
We turned around as soon as I figured it out and had a muddy fun time.

Fun little BBQ and bonfire at Sarah's place with Sarah, Drover, and Franny.  Kadin and Jorie ran around like crazy, ate hotdogs and roasted marshmellows, and then finally chilled out by the fire.

Silly times with bubbles.  Somehow Mom stopped this video just before Kadin ran after the bubble and came back telling us there were Trolls behind the building. 

addendum after Baiba's comments:

Kadin's beautiful and silly and wonderful Grandma Baiba…. Alaska's cold in September!

October 16 - 26, 2016 - 2 years 3 months… Trip to Baltimore!

Kadin's first steamed crab!  He loved them so much, he ignored his kid's meal pizza slice. 

All dressed up and ready to PARTY!  

Aw, mama, why couldn't I keep the green glasses and spiky hair?
Actually, I would have been fine with it, but he broke the glasses and his hair just sort of fell into place.  He's adorable to me no matter what his style is!

Brennan entertains Chase and Kadin while the rest of us are dancing up a storm with mom, my 95 year old grandmom!

Nice little playground right in Herring Run Park.

Say aaaahhh!  Like a little birdie, Kadin opens wide, waiting for grandpa Butch to spoon in some yummy ice cream!   

More crabs!  Just after this photo, he had a bit of a shock as the Old Bay Seasoning from the outside of the shell hit his taste buds, but he wasn't really too bothered by it and kept on eating.

Mauww!  Mauww!
That's what Kadin calls the airplanes, like the sound they make as they are zooming overhead.  After seeing the luggage trains and the little towtruck that helps the plane get out to the runway, he went home and tried to attach his little cars to the nose of his planes!

The best part about this video is the running commentary… and Kadin's reaction when Baiba asks, "This doesn't record voices, does it?".

Too funny!

Here's the link, Mom:    https://youtu.be/Fk5DmmC9j1M

April 13, 2016 - April 19, 2016 - 21 months

Family Visit!  

Super fun week with Nana Baiba, Butch, Teresa, and Linda.  Kadin had so much fun and felt right at home with the Baltimoron gang.

Love this Family Portrait!

Had a sweet little fire by the River, not a bad place for an afternoon nap...

Silly games with Nana Baiba at my place!

 Kadin hangs out at Baiba and Butchie's place, having fun in the tub with Tia Teresa.  He always enjoys his tub-time! 

Yum!  Teresa and Linda cook up some scrumptious Italian spaghetti sauce and Kadin doesn't hesitate to dip into it.

We have an amazing scenic flight in the Alaska Range.   

Baiba is up front, and here's the rest of the crew in the de Havilland Beaver. 

It's a beautiful sunny day on the glacier, and we make snow angels, admire the beauty, and wonder how we got so lucky. 

It was certainly a lot of fun, but not the first time Kadin had ever seen such splendor so he was fast asleep on the way home.

As many times as I see it, I still can't stop trying to capture the massive beauty of the mountains.

And finally, at the end of the week, and a bit late in the season, I tap 3 of my birch trees.  I put two of the spouts low enough for Kadin to reach and he'd grab a spoon and a cup and try pour it out to drink it.  The sweetest yummiest water ever!