Alaska Cruise Part 1: at sea and Ketchikan

Our ship, the Princess Sapphire, left from Seattle on Sunday afternoon. Ben and I went up a little early so we could have lunch at Pike's Place Market. Here's a view of Seattle as we left:

The first morning they had decorated our door for our anniversary (they let us celebrate late). The entire first day was "at sea" so we got to know the boat a bit and enjoyed great weather out on the deck. That evening was a formal night, so we got all dressed up and had our special anniversary dinner, which was a little cake and some singing.

Tuesday we arrived in our first port, Ketchikan. We were going to be there all day, so we slept in (okay, so it was like 8:00, but that's sleeping in to parents with kids). We were seated for breakfast with this wonderful couple named Jack and Dot, who had been married for 50 years and were just a kick. Ketchikan was a cool little city surrounded by huge mountains and with a creek full of spawning salmon. We spent the day walking, walking and more walking: on a path to the creek, through the shops and then decided to tackle an enormous hill and a hike for a view of the city. It was well worth it, but very tiring!

Our night ended with Ben and I sitting out on the deck, bundled up, whale watching (as we did every evening and saw quite a few spouting whales! Ben had great eyes!) We were able to witness one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen as our boat made its way to Juneau. I took tons of pictures, and it was hard to narrow it down to just these few:

Give a boy a stick...and he'll be happy!

Seth and Sam can be happy for hours with a single toy: a stick. They swing, dig, hit, poke (not each other, of course :) ) I'm wondering if this is a big thing. I don't remember being that intrigued by sticks. Regardless, I'm a happy mama if all it takes is a stick to keep them happy! Seth on right, Sammy left.

Visit to Lakeview

I went straight from camping in Crooked River to spending a relaxing week in Lakeview with my parents (Ben worked for the week and then came down on Thursday night--we sure missed him!) It really was a wonderful week with my family! The boys had such a great time at my parents house, especially in their beautiful backyard. We played at the park twice, which was a blast because they have a kiddie pool. It was pretty funny: Seth went straight into the water, while Sammy circled the pool, tested it out with his hand, and then tentatively put a foot in; this seems to be indictive of their personalities.

The boys hit 14 months yesterday and have been developing like crazy! Now that they have mastered walking (they are now running!) and climbing (everywhere!) they seem to have moved on to some mental milestones. Language is finally coming along, and they started trying to "copy" words that we are saying such as, "Truck," "Car," "Up and Down," etc. They are having lots of "conversations" now too, as well as "reading" lots of books. Sammy even picked up my phone the other day, held it to his ear, and started talking. In other words, they are making a lot of connections in the way things work. For example, they started doing shape puzzles and putting rings on a cone. We also have been working on pointing, so they spend lots of their days pointing their little fingers at each other and anything else around. Their favorite toy is a ball, any ball, because they love to throw. Our little boys are no longer babies, but have definately graduated into the toddler phase. We're having a blast!

Seth, Sam with Grandma Ruda

Sam, Seth with Papa

At the kiddie pool with Mama (Sam, Seth)

Playing on Grandma Minnie's booster seats (Seth, Sam)

Seth got ahold of the hose...and had lots of fun!

Sammy checking out a pinecone

Sammy just like Daddy

Playing in the pool with Miriam and Aidah

Running through the sprinkler with Papa

First Camping Trip

This past weekend Ben and I had our first camping trip with Seth and Sam. We went to Crooked River Ranch, along with 51 other Morris family members (it's a yearly tradition). It definately is my kind of camping: the tents are on a grass field, there are bathrooms with showers and running water, there's a pool, etc. The boys did pretty good. The first night we finally had to go for a drive with Sammy after 3 hours of him not being able to fall asleep, but that made him nice and tired for the next day. They actually took one nap during the day. They loved running around in the grass. It was also really nice for Ben and I to have so many extra hands, not to mention Grandparents who were excited to play with them! Ben got to go golfing and I got to play lots of volleyball.

Sam and Seth matching with cousin Judah (we've been waiting like 6 months to take these pictures!)

Playing volleyball with cousin Harlee, and their favorite game of ladder golf (or playing with the balls!)

First time in a big kid pool: Sam with Grandma, Seth with Uncle Levi and snugging with Uncle Nathan

Playing in the wagon with cousin Harlee, then Sam's not too happy about wearing her hat

Playing with Grandpa Morris, so fun! (Seth, Sam)

Red Wagon

The Ruda Grandparents got Seth and Sam a wagon for their birthday. It's recently been a favorite toy, because they are able to climb into it--and then of, course, dive bomb out of it.

Seth's all alone in the wagon

But a twin is never alone long, Sam soon joins him

We've been filling the wagon with water for the boys to splash and sit it

So not the wagon, but such a funny picture. Yes, we have 2 cars, and yes, they more often than not sit on the same car. Silly boys!

When Mama's Away...

Last week I had a girls' night out..woo hoo! Ben called me and said, "Guess where I just found Seth? At the top of the ladder." Oh my! Apparently Ben was at the top of the ladder putting a blanket over the window, and looked down to find Seth right behind him. Can you tell that the boys are into climbing? Seth especially. (Don't be alarmed by all the spots on Sammy, he's had hives this week. The doctor thinks it's his body reacting to the cold we had the previous week.)

Beach Trip

A couple of weekends ago we decided to get out of the house and head over to Seaside for the day. It was pretty cloudy, but the boys had lots of fun. They were totally fearless of the ocean and just trotted towards it time after time. They also loved the sand and spent lots of time playing in it. We drove up to Astoria for dinner and enjoyed a scenic drive back to Portland through St. Helens and Scappose. And while the boys didn't settle down to sleep that night until 11, we still felt it was well worth it for a change of pace!

Seth trying out his walking on the sand for the first time.

Trooping after daddy into the ocean, totally fearless.

Sammy's hat was a bit big....

Seth didn't mind the wet sand either

An amazing view of the seemingly endless Astoria bridge.