the willman's: Summer is in full swing!

The weather in Alaska has been amazing for the past few weeks, enough so I've forgotten that we live in such a cold and dark place! I was outside in our driveway washing my car in April this year...the earliest ever. Sure, it wasn't shorts and t-shirt weather, but it was still nice enough to be outside! Harper loved being outside too during breakup - so much that every day she would come in covered head to toe in sopping wet and muddy clothes. Dan was brilliant and found a contraption called the Muddy Buddy - a must have for any parent of a child that loves to be outside in Alaska. The teachers and other parents at Harper's school call it 'Harper's Hazmat Suit' and it has become quite a trend in the day care center. My favorite part is no more wet and muddy Harper when I picked her up during the April break up!

Playing in the back yard mud

Tromping over Mommy's car mats

Hmmm...discovering the hose

Kicking back, relaxing and watching Mommy wash the car!

The past two weeks have been extremely busy, both at work and a play. Early May brought our good friend Trude back to Alaska from Norway, although her stay was short as she had come back to AK to pack her and Mikal's Anchorage house to go home to Norway. All we can say is we are so sad to see them go home, but very happy that they will once again be together with family after living abroad for many years. We will miss you Trude & Mikal - and hope to see you again really soon!

Dan completed his first mountain run of the season - Turnagain Arm Trail Run last week. Harper and I went out to watch him finish the 8 mile trail run, where Harper learned how to run down her very first hill - without falling! Dan would have been so proud had he seen it...she had great form and didn't trip! It was a gorgeous summer evening so even though it was a school night, I didn't mind letting Harper get some extra fresh air and stay up late.

Harper running up the hill...

Dan running down the hill...he was too fast for the camera to get a close up!!

We took the Safi Wa out on our first voyage into Prince William Sound over Memorial Day weekend, it was a lot more effort to get the boat ready for the water than either Dan or I had anticipated, however after washing, cleaning, and waxing we got her engine started up, it ran like a dream! Only when we started up the water system did we realize there was our first lesson in boat ownership...her hot water heater was not winterized properly and had a crack in the tank, so we learned how to take the heater out of the boat and splice the hoses together to get a fully functioning, albeit cold, water system. As soon as we got that working we we able to get on with our first voyage, only two days later than planned (oh well...it gave me extra time to get my garden and all my flowers planted!). We spent a couple days on the water, and it was such beautiful weather. we could not have asked for anything more than what we had - perfect glass seas, full sunshine and very warm temperatures. The only thing this girl could want more was a fishing pole in my hand! We decided to dedicate this trip to learning about our boat and testing how she handles in the water. We didn't go very far out of Whittier, AK, but it sure was beautiful! We're looking forward to our next trip...!