May and June were very busy.

**fair warning: this is going to be long**

After being gone for so long, GB had a lot of leave built up and we took advantage of it. We said good bye to the AK and headed to the real part of the United States. We enjoyed a cram packed 3 weeks of vacation, but boy were we tired after we got home. GB and I got to sneak away and have a little us time for the first time since Max was born. 

First up was a wedding in Seattle. GB and I actually set up the couple in college and they are such sweet friends. GB had the honor of being part of the wedding party. We celebrated, danced, and chatted the night away. I was so happy to see so many friends that I hadn't seen in forever. 

The first wedding that we have been to together since our wedding.

We got our dance on. "A little bit softer now"

Max spent that weekend with my parents. We drove back to my parents house for another day and some Max snuggles and then GB and I headed to Vegas. We had so much fun, but oh my goodness was it hot. We got to sit by the pool, see some of the sights, catch a few shows, and play some slots. All in all, it was a successful trip. By the end of it though, we were tired of the sounds of the slots and the smell smoke, and we were so excited to get our arms around the Max man.

Enjoying some date time and sunshine.

 After we picked Max up from my parents, we headed down for some quality time with GB's family and then back up to my parents for the last couple days of vacation. Can I just mention the fact that Max may be the most loved and spoiled grandchild I know? 

With all our travels, everything went very smoothly until the last day. We sat for over three hours as our first flight was delayed, missed our connection flight to AK, and then didn't arrive back home until about 2 a.m. The only food in the concourse we were in was a bar, which is awesome when you have a tired, hungry toddler. Ugh. 

When we got home, Max and I spent almost the entire first week outside. We bought Max a kiddie pool, and enjoyed the week of 80+ temperatures. Unfortunately, the heat and sunshine didn't last that long so we have been having to play inside and be creative. 

Here is a quick summary of our time back in the AK:

This is what happens when Mommy wants to take a picture of Max 's cute outfit.

I am pretty sure this is Max's idea of a perfect day.

Max's first concert. He was pumped.

Pure excitement.

Getting his groove on.

A family picture where we are all almost looking at the camera.

Playing playdoh!

Poor little wild man gets bored easily inside.

Swinging!

Whew! I think that brings us up to the present. I think life has settled down enough for me to be a better blogger. And if you made it this far, as always, thanks for reading!

Well, I made it.

This post is like a month and half late, but better late than never!

Our family is finally together again! I can't tell you how amazing it was to see that smiling face and have his arms around me. Not to mention, seeing Max and GB together might be the cutest thing in the entire world. To be honest, at this point I do not even remember what it was like when he was gone. We have gotten into a nice routine and our family has made the transition very smoothly, which has made me very thankful.

Some of the preparations! Max is quite the aritist!

This sign was clearly made by a professional.

Waiting so patiently (NOT) for Daddy to come in! It was hard knowing he was so close yet we couldn't see him yet!

And then, life was perfect!

So, like I said, I made it. Or rather we made it. Here is at little list of some of the things that got me through!

• Having something to look forward to! We went to Portland, Disneyland, Kansas City, Reno/San Francisco, Boise x2, Oahu, not to mention living 3+ weeks at the lake. Staying busy made every month go by a little faster.
• Motivation. I had some weight to lose. I gained over 60lbs with Max and lost 35lbs the first couple of weeks after I had him, but then nothing. By the time GB got home, I had lost over 30 more pounds and am really starting to feel more like my old self. I am pretty proud of myself!
• Netflix and FB chat. Night time was the worst. So thanks to Netflix, I found a great way to make the time pass a little quicker. Add in night time FB chats with the other wives and it really made those lonely nights pass a little easier.
• Max. That kid grew and changed and kept me so busy, I honestly do not know if I would be as sane without him. He kinda rocks.

There are many other things like my family, etc but these are just a few of the reasons, I am not completely crazy. It was a very difficult, but great year. I definitely grew as a person and GB and I's relationship definitely got stronger. I cannot even begin to express my thanks to those who helped make it a little easier on our family especially the other wives going through it with me. You are all amazing people and great friends <3

Becoming domestic, and such

Well, GB has been home over a month now, which means we have been busy doing fun family things. Before he left, I never knew what I was going to make for dinner until late in the afternoon. I never tried any new recipes. My cooking was less than great. All in all, I was in a domestic rut. However, I have worked really hard in starting new routines since the big move back to Alaska and I am really proud of how well they have worked for our family!

I have become much more creative with our meals in large part to skinnytaste.com. I have made enchiladas, stuffed peppers, broccoli mac and cheese, Cajun chicken pasta, Shepard's pie several different rice dishes, and some a few others. Every recipe has been a hit with GB and most have been with Max as well. I have been meal planning ever week and doing one big grocery shopping trip and it was worked so well. All in all, I am proud of myself and I am shocked that I have become the kind of person who gets excited to find new recipes on the Internet!

Random.

Now that we are back in the swing of things in the Great White North, I feel the need to catch you up. So here is what our life has been like, I hope you don't mind the sporadic manner, but that is the way my brain works these days.

• Speaking of my brain, I feel like it has turned to mush the past couple of weeks. I need to figure out something to get it back firing on all cylinders.
• My strong silent (well he was never really silent) Max has become quite the chatter bug. He is finally starting to mimick what I am saying, and that makes me so happy. His vocabulary is finally expanding everyday and I am loving watching his brain grow. Today when we were hanging up on skype with my brother, I said "Peace" and Max repeated peace. I just about melted from the cuteness! He is quite the little character.
• We have started getting sunshine up here and there were puddles! This may not be a huge excitement in the lower 48, but discovering a puddle up here is like finding gold! Above zero temperatures even at night, and above freezing temperature during the day! It has been heaven! Spring is coming and I am so ready for it.
• Max has started giving the world's best hugs with both his arms and legs wrapped around me! He really has figured out how to melt my heart right in a puddle.

Morning time fun! 

This was a little over a week ago. Max got all his hair shaved off.  I was very upset, but it has already grown out a little and I love it!

We went to the Bounce N Play this week and it was a blast! I think we will be going back!

That is all for now!

Wordless Wednesday

I am pretty sure I can never do a truly Wordless Wednesday, but here is the Reader's Digest version of the caption. I was doing the dishes after dinner on Sunday while Max played. All of the sudden it got too quiet and I turned around to find the little monkey on the kitchen table. Ugh. Not loving the climbing obsession.

Wordless Wednesday

Ok, so almost wordless.

P.S. That ouchie is courtesy of his face meeting concrete. He is too wild for his own good and for this momma's sanity.

I am a little tired of

all the posts, status, and blogs mentioning the nice weather. I am ready for spring to come to Alaska and so is Max. For both of our sanity, he needs some outside play time. We tried today, while it was nice to get out, it is isn't the same.

I am so ready for some sunshine and some outside time! I have a lot to look forward to this spring!