hop skip and jump

Mont had such a fun time with Mark's family this weekend. It was so nice to have company up here! We were lazy most of the entire 4 days they were here, but we did have time for some adventures as well:

Stacey liked how I get Mont ready: in the closet. I keep his carseat on top of the hope chest Mark built, so I don't have to have it out anymore, and he's still so tiny I can just put him in the carseat while it's still in the closet! I guess it is kind of strange... oh well. He doesn't mind!

Molly is taking water samples from various locations for a science project she is doing for the fair, so it worked out perfectly that she was coming to Alaska for the weekend. We drove around and found a few different 'samples.' This is a creek in Eagle River. The actual river, even though I can see it from our back porch, is about a mile's walk through woods and deep snow. So we skipped that idea!

The next day was church. He has been getting so noisy!! I love his noises, but what happened to the reverent Mont everyone admired? haha! Now we both get looks (even though they're smiles), so I get nervous and have to walk him outside until he's done "talking" a.k.a. squealing. He's so funny.

Monday was our most adventurous day yet.

We drove around the coast to find access to the salt water, but we had no such luck. Everything was barred or gated off. So we found a little restaurant next to ship creek near the RR station and port. It had a little access to the scary ice. So Mamie was the brave one and got as close as she dared and smashed off some ice with a screwdriver for Molly's sample collection. Love those hot pants!

Mamie was doing a 'science project' of her own and wanted to find walrus teeth for her beau. I had the idea for her to call around local taxidermy shops and see if there were any sort of teeth (walrus or not) that she could buy off them. Many said no... until she called this place:

They were nervous to say the least. It was pretty funny though. There was a kid in a window above this door that kept waving at us and then he came back to the window to show me his T-Rex toy and smash it against the window like it was going to bite us - cutie patootie.

Nervous smiles!!

When they walked in with the guy, Stacey and I looked at each other and thought, "umm... Where'd the go? You better go in!" It looked so crazy. Not a happy or a smell-good place. Not that I expected it to be..

The guy was really nice though. And pretty willing to get a picture taken for Mamie's "science board."

They said, "it smelled really bad in there!" ... I wonder why? HA.

Here are some wolverines... SCARY!

Here's the loot: a bear claw, a bear tooth, and two deer teeth. Can you guess which is which?

The bear tooth is the top one, and the two on the right belong to deer. The one on the far right was SOOO white and smooth; just like an ivory piano key. Though.. the bear tooth and deer molar were pretty gross. Very cavity-riddled. I believe the claw belongs to a black bear; short and very curved helps the black bears climb trees. Brown bears (grizzlies) have longer, straighter claws for digging up roots and stuff.

Then it was off to a much happier place: Borders bookstore. I'm rarely in that part of the city, so when we passed it, I thought to go in and look for some bargain art books. I found two!! picture coming soon.

After a quick spree in the store, I nursed Mont before we left for home. Afterwards, he had the WORST diaper he's ever had. Not stinky (thank goodness..), just a lot. A lot, a lot. Here he is while doing the deed. Stacey gets pictures of nearly every moment - quite the thorough documenter:

little stinker.

Later that night, after another yummy dinner, and while Mont was in bed, Molly, Stacey and I went to Fred Meyer for gas, gifts, and groceries.

While there I thought to browse the baby clothes since I was there with Mont earlier this week and couldn't browse too long with him being fussy. Everything was on sale!!! Look at all this I scored (again, thanks for the pictures, Stacey!):

Lots of 6 and 12 months, one 9 month shirt. I saved $46.00 on all of this... I mean, you have to spend to save, right?? One of the outfits for 12 mo. was on the rack by accident, so it was only 4¢! It was one of my favorites too. On the front it has three little sea critter pictures with their names: 'eel' for the eel, 'fish' for the fish, and 'inkie' for the octopus. I love that.

Mont misses his Aunts and Grandma Stacey! I'm SO glad they could come out for a fun weekend.