Welcome, Little One!

Remember this gorgeous, preggers momma?



Meet brand new, baby T!

Precious, little lips!


Sweet, tiny toes!


And one, proud mommy...

M & M & GG

My boys!!! (No, not my biological children!) But these kiddos are the closest thing to actually watching little ones grow that I have had the joy of experiencing!


(Yes, I actually had to scan this photo in...my pre-digital days!)
Halloween 2001 - (the first year I started as their "nanny") How CUTE are they!?
(Of course being that his mom is an Alpha Delta Pi alum - me too! - Michael had to be a lion!)


They call me "Gigi" (as in "jee-jee"). When I first met Michael, he was 17 mos. old, and his mom introduced me as "Julie" and he replied, "Gigi"? That's what I'm still called today by them, and of course I would never correct them. It would break my heart to hear them say my "real" name! They're the only ones who know me by anything other.


And they were the ring bearers in my wedding!
See, I wasn't joking when I said they are "my boys!"
(Didn't their mom do a great job picking out the pink ties and suspenders....gotta love little guys in suspenders!)
:)

Sweetie Michael is so smart... when he was 2, (this is my favorite story!) he and I and Mavrick were playing in the backyard when his mom said goodbye to us for the day as she left for work. Well, (I know that I do this, habits are well,...habits!) she locked the back door on accident when she got inside, and then of course the front door on her way out, (as a thoughtful mother wants to keep her home safe!) So yes, we were accidentally locked out...without a phone! ... but, they had a doggie door in back and lucky for us, Michael was just the right size to squeeze through. Now, he was verbal, but you know, he's two, his vocabulary consisted of Barney songs! But when I told him (through the door) to go to the kitchen table, get a chair, put it by the back door, stand on it, and unlock the door, he followed every instruction and saved the day for us!

Mavrick, (er...a...self-proclaimed: Flash Gordon) is such a goofball! Made me laugh all day! He's so lovey. He's going to be a romantic and make one girl very lucky someday!
(He's making the same face as the drawing of the man on the wall...)
:)


They're definitely best friends, and I'm just blessed that I get to be a part of their childhood.

Strawberry Shortcake

How cute is this little family? This morning we met in downtown Plano, (that was a fun location!), for some laughs and summer memories!


This trio will soon be expanding in a couple months, making little K a big sister!


She'll still have her daddy wrapped around her finger - look at those big, brown eyes! She has such beautiful, long eyelashes! We had a lot of fun toddling around together.
:)

Future Miss USA

This Lone Star State girl is representing Denton in the upcoming Miss Texas Junior Teen pageant!


Maegan has had a little history in the spotlight, (*think small child w/ big purple dinosaur!*), and is continuing her joy of singing/acting with various auditions coming up.


So this is definitely not the last you'll be seeing of this young, beautiful, and talented starlette!

Bright-Eyed Wonder

Six-month-old baby D asked me over for a play date yesterday!


Look at that laugh! Can't you just hear his thoughts, "Momma! Daddy is so much fun!"


It didn't take too long, after a little footsie play on mommy & daddy's bed, that this little guy was...


...soon tuckered out.

Thanks for a fun morning D, and just think of all the new things you will have learned when I come to visit again in 3 mos.! Can't wait...

Northern Frontier, Part Deux

On Tuesday we took a day-long cruise through the Tracy Arm Fjord. On the way to the glacier, our captain was so great about slowing down at animal sightings, interesting icebergs, and several waterfalls. The different shades of blue in the icebergs were like a rainbow of a singular hue!


This bald eagle allowed us to get so close to it! Sitting up there on the berg, he looks so majestic!




After our two hour journey all the way into the fjord, this was our grandiose vista of Sawyer Glacier. We parked here for an hour or so to take everything in and watch the wildlife.


The momma seal on the left was trying to coax her baby pup into the water with her. It was so neat to watch their interaction. She would bob up and down and splash with her tail until the baby finally joined her. They do have the sweetest puppy dog eyes! (which I suppose is why they're called "pups"!)




Our captain pulled us up close under a waterfall and then someone looked up and pointed out this bear enjoying an afternoon snack! He stared back at us as much as we stared at him, then eventually just went on about his day.


This humpback whale (I put arrows to help you see its fin and blow hole of water coming up...and then the smiley face because it was fun to write on the picture!) was spotted and this was the most peaceful time of our whole trip. We just sat there for probably 15 minutes or so waiting to get a good view, all the while surrounded by the lulls of nature. There were no sounds, we sat in silence with the mountains hovering above. It's hard to put into words how lovely that little moment was.

July 4th ~

We were in the Juneau parade!
(Sorry, I hate the not-so-flattering self-portrait as much as the next person, but when everyone is holding something but you, guess who ends up taking the pic.!)

Stuart's dad is an active member in his Veterans for Peace chapter. That was definitely an experience we won't soon forget - marching in this small-town parade, carrying huge, brightly colored origami peace cranes, being met down the streets with applause. It was so neat to see the majority of the population turn out in this wonderful celebration for their country and town.

Thursday ~

We drove across the way to Douglas Island and walked around a beach. These little barnacles were everywhere!


SEE! Kinda grody...
When the tide comes in, I suppose everything just gets covered with 'em.


It was so windy! Felt like I could get caught up in the sky!

Friday ~

Stuart's pop took us all around town, and one of our stops was the beautiful Glacier Gardens.
When clearing the land, the builder discovered an upside down tree and thought that would look pretty with flowers on top, draping down like a canopy. So that is the garden's signature mark.

Then you take a super-powered golf cart 600 feet up Thunder Mountain to the top where they've built this boardwalk overlooking Juneau!


After lunch we went to the Alaska State Museum where it was my father-in-law's fun idea to don the heads of local animals! :)
Fun factoid: there was no one around to snap a pic. of all three of us, so also at the ingenious idea of Stuart's dad, we took two pictures and I "Photoshopped" my head into the pic. of the two guys...technology...

718

That's the number of pictures I took on our ONE WEEK trip to Juneau, Alaska... yes, my husband is a bit worn out from having to be my eternal subject, but ya know, how often are you surrounded by some of the most overwhelming beauty on God's green Earth???

On the way to our layover in Seattle, we flew past a little landmark..... Mt. Rainier.

Upon arrival in Juneau on Saturday, we greeted the folks, walked the dog amongst the brisk northern air, (...yeah, I, knowing it would be a bit cooler there, did think to bring a jacket on the plane up, but when we landed in 59 degree weather, the short sleeve shirt/skirt/flip-flops I chose to wear didn't quite cut it), then for dinner, we feasted on a delicious venison stew brought over by good friends of Stuart's dad.

Sunday was SALMON FISHING!



Stuart and his pop each caught one! As for me on the other hand, I had the moment of opportunity....then the HUGE fish that it was, (don'tcha know it must have been 30 lbs. or so), got away...
:(


Oh well - her sisters, (once marinated in butter, brown sugar, and garlic - yes, our hosts kept us wonderfully fed! Too good! They are awesome chefs!) were meltably goood!

On Monday morning ~

we decided we needed to have a little adventure hike! So the in-laws went in to work and we took the East Glacier trail that loops near Mendenhall Glacier.


The Tongass National Forest is part of the nation's largest temperate rain forest. And beautiful. Did I mention beautiful?


I've never seen such a creation as this before!


Everything was so lush, and HUGE!
(Other than the pathway...) it seemed so untouched. It was like a secret that, when you put the effort to search for it, you're privileged to have its beauty revealed before you.


We had so much fun exploring! It was 2.8 miles and took us about 2 hours to complete, (including several stops for photo opps. and such - we're somewhat athletic)...


Except that I decided to check out one of the several little babbling waterfalls.... yeah, moss is slippery! It was hard getting up, and this is my husband's effort to help, he snaps a memory of this clumsy excuse of one who calls herself "outdoorsy"!


To show a reference to its mass - see the little dots of people below the glacier?



After our hike ~

with wobbly knees, we went downtown to meet his parents for lunch.


Picking them up first at their cute little shop.

That was just Sat. - Mon.!
I don't know what I'm going to do! I still have 4 more days to share! (I'll try to keep those shorter!)