September 16 - 19, 2016 - 2 years 2 months

Every evening when I pick him up from daycare, Kadin begs for a snack and then falls asleep in the car,  snack in hand (and usually all over the carseat too).

My friend Heather couldn't use her cabin reservation at Byer's Lake and asked if Kadin and I would like to go instead… I certainly was in the mood to escape life for a bit so I took her up on the offer…
 Yay!  A few phone calls later, appointments were re-arranged, and I threw a bunch of gear into the car and off we went.  Kadin is ready to go!

Here's our rig - a packraft set up with my backpack strapped down in front, the sleeping pad in the back, and the two of us squished in the middle.  Kadin enjoys it for the most part, but starts to get antsy after a bit.  Then we stop, look for feathers and leaves floating on the water, or have a snack, and all is good again.

Exploring and hiking around the cabin in the evening.  Kadin took a sudden liking to the ferns along the trail and I showed him how to put them behind his ear… like a cute little forest elf.

Kadin found a loon's feather down by the lake.  So pretty!  And we could see the loons on the lake, doing their crazy calls.  

Short trip, just one night, and back into the raft and on the lake 

It was a misty, drizzly day, giving the lake a completely different mood than yesterday.

The rain didn't stop Kadin from having a good time! 

March 23, 2016 - March 29, 2016 - 20 months and 2 weeks

We spent Easter Sunday through Tuesday at Byer's Lake, Cabin #3, which is about an hour north of Talkeetna.  So wonderful to leave 40ºF (4ºC) and rain in Talkeetna and enjoy an actual winter wonderland for a change.  It was around 25ºF (-4ºC) and snowing the entire time we were there.  

Super fun sledding, skiing, lounging in the cabin, and, of course, Kadin's first ever Easter egg hunt!

Kadin always seems so happy outside, playing and exploring the world.  Best cure ever for his fussiness! 

Six eggs and one orange.  Eggs dyed with blueberries (blue), tumeric (yellow), and paprika (didn't work so well). 

And he's off, empty basket in hand.  I just told him to go look for the eggs and he knew exactly what to do!

This was the first one he saw, and it sort of freaked him out.  They had a stare-down for a few seconds and then he slowly approached.  It does have a sort of evil look to it, completely unintentional. 

After conquering his fear of the evil snowman, Kadin tried to grab the egg but it proved a bit awkward with his fleece dog-booty mittens.

Mittens gone, Kadin easily picks up the eggs on the porch.

And another egg and choco/pb cup on the sled.

He was trying to give me his peanut butter/dark chocolate cup but once I opened it up for him, he understood and kept the rest for himself!

This Easter egg hunt was way too easy for him!

Yay!  Another one!

After he found all of the eggs, Kadin tried to figure out what was inside them.  He had only had scrambled and fried eggs up until now.  What a surprise! 

He really wasn't that excited to find a hard boiled egg inside.  It's like someone had already told him about the plastic ones with candy and money inside!  You have to watch the video...

These two hooligans (and Bucky) had to stay inside during the hunt.  I'd already caught Buck trying to sneak away with one of the eggs in his mouth.