Chloe Hits the Airwaves!

And now, the Web! This spot for the local United Way was shot several weeks ago, including a day of filming at the kids' Boys and Girls Club. We had to sign a permission slip to allow Malcolm and Chloe to be filmed, and Chloe ended up making the cut! She appears at 0:11 in this ad, and actually was featured three times in a 15-minute promotional video that's also been shown in the area. This 30-second version is currently airing on southcentral Alaska TV channels, so Chloe's been fielding comments from her astonished friends at school. :)

How beautiful.

Another End to Another Great Summer

This summer has been nonstop for us. In the past several weeks, we've celebrated Calvin's second birthday and Chloe's sixth, hosted our good friend Kevin from California, hit up the Alaska State Fair, went canoeing (twice), camped in a public use cabin for a night, sailed through Kenai Fjords National Park, stopped by the Alaska Zoo and the new Imaginarium, saw the Walking with Dinosaurs show, picked wild blueberries on the slopes of Hatcher Pass (enough for pancakes the next morning, along with raspberries from the front yard for syrup), plus a host of other activities we simply can't recall.

The cabin was a real treat. You rent them from the state for a pittance, though landing a reservation can be tough. Ours had the most beautiful view, overlooking Byers Lake, with nary a neighbor in sight. We'd drag the canoe up onto the bank in front of the cabin when we were finished paddling around. No electricity or plumbing, and we kept ourselves warm with the wood stove inside. A journal there was filled with entries by previous guests, some from other countries. We're big fans of canoeing, and Alaska has so many lakes (over three million), that there's never a shortage of finding a good place to get in the water. On our way back, we stopped in Talkeetna, which is always fun.

Kevin's an old friend from our days back in Chico, and it was awesome to see him. He'd never traveled so far before, and we did our best to show him as much of Alaska as our few days together would allow. We expect to host him as often as he can make it back up here; there's still so much more to show him.

We were really treated when we were able to sign up for a cruise of Kenai Fjords National Park, as part of a fundraiser for the Great Alaska Council. The price was half its usual cost, so we decided to drive down to Seward and see a part of Alaska we'd never had the opportunity to before. It was an amazing experience, and well worth the cost.

For once, we feel like we've done just about everything we set out to this summer. Today is brilliantly sunny and warm, and we've just been playing and working outside. Even the mosquitoes didn't accost us as bad as usual this year. The firewood is nearly all put away, and the lawn and property are neat and ready for six months of winter. If we get another couple weekends of mild weather, we'll be thankful. But it's been a good summer regardless, and we're not complaining. :)

♥, Calvin, Chloe, Malcolm, Stephanie & Brandon

Adventures Abound!

Our previous estimate that these blog entires are growing shorter and farther between seems about spot on. How else can we explain the nearly two month gap between this post and the last one? Terrible. Still, we are a young family on the go, especially during the summer, when Alaskans' blood seems to flow with more purpose. June, July and August is about all we get, with a few weeks of pleasant 50-degree days before and after, so as not to completely hurt our feelings. So it's no surprise that we're usually too busy out there doing the things we write about here.

Earlier this summer, for example, we legged it once again to California to visit family and friends, and had a terrific time. It was wonderful to see Stephanie's family, as always (thank you to Barbara and Joe for your limitless love and hospitality), and to spend time with many of our old friends (thank you to Kevin, Maureen and Regina for joining us in San Francisco, and a very special thanks to Andi and Phil and Melanie for absolutely everything). We rampaged through San Francisco, took in the sights of San Diego, enjoyed several beach days, ate and laughed and had a simply wonderful vacation.

Closer to home, it's been baseball (Malcolm has had a stellar season, and is convinced he'll wind up playing for years to come), art classes, field trips, picnics, Cub Scout camp, the works. The kids are growing entirely too fast for our taste. Calvin turned two in June, Chloe will be six at the end of August and Malcolm turns nine in November. Chloe's joining Malcolm at Boys and Girls Club in August, and she and Malcolm will be entering first and third grade this year, respectively.

We're heading off to go camping this weekend, and soon we'll take in the Walking with Dinosaurs show in Anchorage. After that, it'll be the state fair, one of our favorite annual traditions. Chloe will also begin gymnastics, while Malcolm continues Cub Scouts, and they'll both be signing up for more art classes and other after-school clubs. Taken together, it's all enough to make one question this blog business. That is, until we look at past entries, and old photos, and realize it's entirely worth it. :)

As always, enjoy the pictures - we'll keep taking more!

♥, the Tuckers