Bear Paw

We unintentionally arrived at Bear Paw on Saturday just in time for the parade. I've never made it for the parade and was pleasantly surprised. It was kind of long, but we all enjoyed it. Everyone you can think of from the Chugiak/Eagle River area was represented. Even the fire department showed up, although, as soon as they passed us they got a call and had to do a 180 in the middle of the Old Glenn and head out. It was actually pretty impressive and kind of the highlight of the parade! ;O) Unfortunately, as the parade ends 100s and 100s of people descend on the festival making it kind of a miserable experience. So, it turned out to be a bust. There's always the fair though....
It took Owen a little while to warm up to the whole parade thing. But, when he realized they were passing out candy, it took on a whole new look for him! ;o) Someone gave us a bag that Will was holding and filling with the candy. Owen was worried about the security of it in Will's hands and decided it was best if he put the candy in his stroller and sat on it instead!!!

Time With the Grandparents

I had the Friday before the 4th off and we had a good time with Owen's grandparents. Diana and I started out the day by taking Owen to the playground. He was less than cooperative when it came to photos and didn't seem like himself. But, we still had fun. By that evening, it was very apparent that Owen was sick so Dave and I skipped out on the fireworks this year.

We came home and Owen chilled out with his grandpa and watched a movie. His new favorite is Lilo and Stitch.

Our fur-babies sure took to their "grandparents" too. Anthony and Diana didn't get a minute without them! ;O)

Valdez

We drove down to Valdez on Saturday the 27th and Dave and Will went out with the rest of the boys on Sunday fishing. Will seemed to really enjoy it even though they came back empty handed.
Check out the picture he got of an eagle grabbing one of the fish they had to throw back. Crazy huh!! I think all of them were so stunned that nobody else would have had the forsight to grab their cameras. Way to go Will! ;O)

Worthington Glacier....I Think

On our trip down to Valdez, we stopped at the glacier park just outside of town and took lots of photos. It was lots of fun, I don't know what it is about glaciers, but they are so much fun to explore!

3 Generations of Laster men...
Will doing the "Vana" in front of the glacier...

Will took tons and tons of photos...

Owen and his grandparents....

One last shot of Will climbing on the rocks... The three of us in a pic taken by Will...(he's pretty darn good!)

Solstice Time

Dave finally felt like it was warm enough to dig out our bikes and set up the cart for Owen. It wasn't Owen's idea of a good time, but we're still working on him! ;O) Hopefully his attitude will improve!
Later Owen made up his mind that he needed a little more outdoor time to celebrate Solstice...despite the fact that he didn't have any pants on!!! It cracked me up and I couldn't help but let him go. Of course, I had to grab the camera when he got out his gardening tools and got to work!!

Catching Up

O.k., so now I have to go back all the way to June to catch up on all the photos we've not posted!! These are of Dave, Will, and Owen playing Dave's new game in the yard. I can't remember what the game is called for sure. But, Owen thinks that its great fun to run around and pick up all the balls after Will and Dave throw them. He thinks he's a huge help, I'm not sure Will or Dave would agree though!! ;O) I may have over dressed him on this particular day, but it was still nippy out...before our heat wave started!

Surprise Birthday Party!

So, one of my few "fans" mentioned today that I hadn't posted in forever. So, to make her happy, here are a few shots from earlier today. My family (I think probably Shawnie in particular) threw me a surprise girl's day for my upcoming birthday which included lunch at my favorite restaurant, The Brewhouse, topped off by my first ever massage at a really awesome spa in the Sheraton. I already had a bbq planned for our Sunday dinner, so we got to meet up with all the guys at my house afterwards. We had a really good time. I love getting to spend time with my family. We're really lucky to have so much here near us.

Here's Owen and Will playing in the backyard. Now that the fence is in, I don't know who's enjoying it more, Owen or the dogs!! ;O)
Here's a shot of Owen playing with Mark. The two of them seem like they've known each other forever. Owen loves to wrestle and fight with him every chance we get. Mark and Geoff took Owen while we were at lunch and the spa, it was all Dave could do to get Owen to come home with him when he went to pick him up!

Here's a couple shots of Shawn's pups. They came to visit during the bbq for the first time since we moved in I think. They all had a blast and I don't know about Shawn's dogs, but ours are wore out tonight!!