It will give you whiplash up here. 9 days ago it was snowing strongly, and now it is 80 degrees and a constant commercial for all of the reasons anyone would want to live in Alaska -- blue skies, sunshine, 20 hours of daylight, and miles and miles of trails.

Henry and I headed out to the Eagle River Nature Center for some hiking, deciding to choose the jogging stroller over the backpack. The trails are pretty wide and mellow for the first several miles so the stroller was an excellent choice. As for the trail alongside the river on the return leg, I quickly found myself carrying the stroller with Henry and the diaper bag inside over 20-30 yard stretches of mud and downed trees. In the past I have been guilty of describing hikes with Henry as short, mild walks that I hoped would become longer and more rigorous as time goes on. On Sunday this 2 hour hike gave me all I could handle.





As I become muddier and muddier while carrying a charioted Henry over the obstacles, he began playing peek-a-boo to the huffing and puffing Daddy above him. He had a great time and we will be hiking again as soon as possible, though in the future the Albert Loop is not on the list of choices.

Yes, it did indeed snow on Saturday. We set the record for longest winter on record here in Anchorage. It's a brutal prize to hold aloft, but here we stand doing so with pride. We'll mark it down, roll our eyes at each other, type out some snarky facebook posts, and then quickly hope for Summer. We will probably hit 60 by the end of the week, which means summer is here. It also appears to be dry as well for the next handful of days. Carpe Diem.



Henry spent the early part of last week coming off a persistent cough and runny nose. He's never been a whiner when sick, but this time he did debut some longer tantrums. He's knocking on his second birthday so perhaps the terrible two's joined forces with a lethargic head cold to create a few days of fussiness. He's happy and 100% again so there is nothing to complain about, though as parents we did fear the tantrums as an arrival of a new normal. They may someday become the new normal, but that day is not today, so we are thankful for what we have.

Due to a daycare scheduling gap with friends of ours, Maggie was our daytime guest for the past 3 weeks. Henry and Maggie have always played well together, so it was a natural fit. There were quite a few trips to the playground as temperatures climbed into the 40's, not to mention the delight of playing at the Spenard Rec Center. Becky did a great job juggling two toddlers and always found a way to have them smiling and ready for their much needed naps.



Aside from getting used to seeing Maggie less often, Henry is wrestling down a runny nose and a cough (as is Becky). I've avoided the Spring cold traveling around our home, but thankfully everyone is on the mend. Henry is taking long naps, gobbling up oranges, and turning the corner. With any luck he'll be in the bike trailer this coming weekend.

Turnagain Terror

The slowest Spring in recent memory drips along at a glacial pace. Some days we hit 40, some days we settle for 35 with sunshine, and the state has extended the studded tire removal deadline for the second time. Summer will come, and I hope it decides to burn a little brighter when it arrives. We're ready.

Temperature notwithstanding, the roads are dry and the bike racing season is marching forward. In anticipation of a 200 mile ride in July I've penciled in a few races to tune up my legs. On Sunday I did my best in a time trial down the Turnagain Arm -- 20 miles of feeling the wind at my back, side, and face. Chills aside, it was a fun time (as is any day on a bike) and happily Becky and Henry picked me up at the finish line to spare me the pedal back to my truck. We paused for some pictures of the blue sky and snow capped mountains and found that Henry was having none of it. Between the wind and the chill, he ceased to be a happy camper.



Mega Blocks are the name of the game around here. The goal is to build and build until the spirit moves Henry to smash the created structure. The spirit moves him fairly often, though he quickly switches back to building mode. When he gets a little older, Legos are going to be a hit.