Heat Wave!

All things are relative. And when lingering winter temperatures suddenly rocket to 60 and 70 degrees, Alaskans call it a heat wave. April and May have been so warm this year, it triggered a massive melting of glaciers feeding the Yukon river. At an average flow of 227,000 cubic feet per second, the new meltwater was too much for the still frozen ice dams farther downriver, causing the worst flooding on the Yukon in memory. Some villages were wiped out completely, and the destruction continued as the giant river pushed miles of ice past bridges, villages and camps toward the Bering Sea.

In our neck of the woods, Mother Nature has been much more forgiving. These past several weeks have been simply beautiful, and we've soaked up every opportunity to get out and enjoy the sunny weather. Calvin is a crawling champ now, and loves to hold hands with someone and walk aimlessly, practicing for the real thing. Chloe recently danced in her second big stage show, this time in Anchorage, and just celebrated her "graduation" from preschool; in August she'll be a proud kindergartner. Malcolm's little league season has begun, and he played his first game a couple days ago. He even scored a run! He continues to excel in school, constantly earning special awards and praise for academic achievement.

The main source of excitement these days is our upcoming trip to Disneyworld. It's been about two years in the making, and as our first real vacation, we're all thrilled. We leave in about a week and a half, and we're getting busy preparing everything before we go. Brandon underwent hernia repair surgery a few weeks ago, and spent nearly two weeks in bed healing. The hope was that the painful recovery process wouldn't hamper our shenanigans at Disneyworld, but fortunately the timing was such that he'll be running and swimming to the kids' delight. Otherwise, Stephanie and Brandon are great, working and losing sleep and chasing after kids and finding nuggets of time to be alone and laugh. Two jobs and three kids does not a boring family make, but it keeps us sharp and is worth every ounce of effort.

Finally, we're thinking about Stephanie's dad Joe lately. His health has had ups and downs over recent years, and at 84 years of age, complications seem to follow on the heels of each other. Joe has always been a true patriarch, a figure endearing warmth and respect and unconditional love, not only for his own family, but for all those who have been welcomed into the Thibodeau home. Thanks largely to the tireless dedication of Stephanie's mom Barbara, Joe's struggles haven't slowed down his spirit, or the love and humor which he still radiates. We miss them both.

It's been too long since our last entry, hence all the photos. The sun is out and the warmth is infectious, so we're going back outside. Talk to you all later!

♥, C, C, M, S & B :)