Birthday Boys!

On Friday, these two had their birthdays:

Andy is finally 31 like me, and Ripley is already four! How did he get so old?!

We didn't do anything super exciting this weekend, mostly just enjoyed the sunshine on our deck with the help of some sweet new lawn chairs we bought with a gift card Andy's parents got him.  I love when presents benefit me, too - first the grill and now the chairs!  On Friday night we went for sushi with friends and on Saturday the two of us went out for lunch at the Midnight Sun Brewing Co., which is right down the street from our house and has excellent food and beer.  

Ripley spent the weekend with his very best friend, Donkey, who my parents gave him as a going away present when we moved to Alaska.

This is Donkey:

And this is how much Ripley loves Donkey:

Happy Birthday guys! At least in Ripley's mind, we had a perfect weekend!   

Before and After, Round 2

Ever since we fixed the bathroom up, the green family room downstairs has really been bugging me.  (I know it's only been two weeks, but still).  I had the day off work today because I have to work this upcoming weekend, so I decided to use the time to be productive.  I kind of love painting so this wasn't as big of a chore as it may seem.

Let me remind you again what the room looked like before I show you the after pictures:

I did the whole project by myself in less than five hours, including moving the furniture/pictures, taping around the wood trim, and cleanup, including putting everything back.  I typically don't tape when I'm painting, but there was a lot of stuff I didn't want to get paint on (the trim and all the built-ins) and so I decided it was worth the extra prep time.  While I was up close and personal with the trim, I noticed something very curious about the room:

First, the former owners sucked at painting.  Obviously THEY did not take the time to tape.  Jerks.

Do you see that? In the corner? It's GRAY PAINT! We decided to paint the room almost EXACTLY the same color that it used to be before the owners vomited green paint everywhere.  I took it as a sign that we made the right choice, and the house was telling us something.  Which also could mean that the house is self-aware, which is a problem.  (If you saw the washer and dryer we inherited, you would know the house is self-aware and possibly trying to take over.  It's something that I try not to think about...and yes I will do a post about the washer and dryer in the near future so you know what I'm talking about).

After all the prep work, I got to business.  Just a few hours later, this is what we ended up with:

As you can see, everything is pretty much in the same spot.  I really love the color.  In most light it looks really basic gray, but sometimes it looks blue.  It matches the slate tile in the entryway perfectly.  A happy accident, that one was.  I love what a difference a can of paint makes.  Because we already had all the supplies, this whole room makeover only cost $35 for the paint!

I cannot wait to get my hands on the main floor...

Celebrating the Return of Spring (we hope!)

The snow has started to melt again and we're getting that taste of spring finally - bright blue skies, warm sun, and MELTING snow.  While we wait for the snow to melt completely, the animals have been hanging in their favorite spots: 

When it's not the fireplace, it's the bed.  Specifically my side (of course).  This is also how they typically sleep at night.  Imagine me somewhere in the middle of that. 

Isn't it nice how they all get along? Here's a closeup of Zeus.  He doesn't get a lot of facetime on the blog because he's usually sleeping in a cabinet somewhere.  He's not hiding, he just really loves confined spaces.

To celebrate the onset of spring and Andy's rapidly approaching birthday at the end of the month, we went to Home Depot on Saturday and bought a new grill! 

I had initially tried to order Andy a grill online.  Amazon had exactly what I wanted at a great price...but when I went to give them my money, Amazon said they wouldn't ship it to Alaska (which makes sense because the site said "free shipping anywhere in the U.S." which obviously excludes Alaska).  I also tried to order directly through at least five other websites and attempted the "ship to store" option at Home Depot, Lowes, Target, and Walmart, which allows you to ship to any store in the U.S. except to Alaska.  My coworker even took a trip to Fred Meyer to check inventory for me!  Finally I found a very similar model in stock at Home Depot and went for it (I was trying to buy the "platinum" series, and they only had the "gold").  I had to let Andy in on the plan because I wanted to make sure it was just what he wanted.  Once he gave the thumbs up, we hit the store and picked up the ginormous box...and a cover, a coal chimney (since the "gold" doesn't come with the propane starter), a new brush/scraper and a huge bag of charcoal.  You're welcome, economy!

We had to put the grill/table situation together ourselves and that was quite the ordeal.  The first one we bought had a broken tabletop, so we took it back, got another one, brought that home and discovered that some of the connector pieces on the frame were broken.  So I took the pieces back and the Home Depot guy helped me dig through the box to find what I needed.  After three trips to the store, and some choice swear words while trying to "read" the picture-only instruction manual, it was perfect and ready to use!

Andy grilled delicious steaks on Saturday and really yummy bbq chicken on Sunday.  Obviously I was giving a selfish birthday present to him because I get to enjoy the fruits of his culinary efforts.  Aren't I the best wife ever? Also, you may not be able to tell, but the snow is really melting away - promise! 

Now we just need some deck chairs...and for the temp to get above 40! 

March for Babies

It's snowing right now.  I really don't have anything nice to say about the weather, so I'm going to tell you about a nice thing we're planning to do next month.  And hit you up for money.  First, some background.

I work in a very small office.  Generally I only interact with my three cube-mates and our boss all day long.  The good thing about that is that we all get along really well.  This is especially true when it comes to my coworker David who was hired at the same time as me.  David is probably one of my favorite coworkers I've ever had (mostly because he doesn't give me pictures of himself as presents...I'm looking at you, Marni) and he's just a generally awesome person.  I'm really grateful I get to work with him.  

David has twin girls, Julia and Gabrielle, who just recently turned four.  They are totally adorable and David's cube is plastered with pictures of them, so I feel like I know them really well even though I've only met them once.  Here's a picture: 

David and his wife are very involved with the March of Dimes because of the help that the March of Dimes provided to them when their daughters were born 10 weeks premature.  If you would like to hear about their story in detail, please visit The Newman Family's March for Babies page.  I couldn't begin to try to share their story in my own words.  Warning - you will want to grab some kleenex before you read. 

The reason I'm sharing this with you is because David invited us to participate in the March for Babies this year.  We were honored to be asked and happy to join their team!  On May 18 we'll be walking 3 miles around Anchorage along with the Newmans and other friends to help raise money for the March of Dimes, which is a fabulous organization that helped them and scores of others who have gone through similar experiences.  The March of Dimes also helps with prenatal care to try to prevent premature birth.  

You can help us out by making a secure donation on our team page or our personal page at the links below:

Team Page

Personal Page

Although the team has already reached its goal, we'd like to do more.  Please consider making a contribution for a great cause!   Of course I'll do a post about the walk on the blog after the 18th.  Thank you all in advance! 

He's BAAAAAACK

Just the other day I was saying to my good friend Steve (HI STEVE) that I hadn't seen our resident moose in a while.  Andy and I think that Ripley peeing all over the backyard might have something to do with it.  Then after dinner today while I was watching TV in the bedroom, Andy frantically called me into the living room.  And this was what I saw out the front window...

!!!

He decided the trees in the front yard didn't have enough to offer and then moseyed over to the side yard.

Hello!

He aimed himself right at the dining room window (where Fro watches her birds) and chowed away on some poor young bushes that we hoped one day would afford us a little privacy from the neighbors.  Thanks for nothing, moose!

At one point the neighbor popped outside (can you see him?) and he took NO NOTICE of the moose.  The moose checked him out, though.  And then promptly went back to murdering my bushes.

Hi neighbor (we haven't met him yet)!

Obviously we don't know if he's the same moose we saw a few weeks back, but I like to think he is.  He also has the CUTEST antler nubs in front of his ears.  Can you see them?

Isn't he a cool color?  He's mostly black with a light brown mohawk.  I saw him in the woods (I think) today at lunch and initially thought he was a bear, which made me almost pee my pants.

Don't worry, I took about 50 more pictures.  I'll spare you the rest of them.  After he finished eating, he walked back to the neighbor's house and disappeared into the woods.  

Does anyone have any ideas for names for the moose?  

Also, random note, yes it's 8pm and still super light outside.  The sun doesn't go down until 8:52 today! We're officially at more than 13.5 hours of daylight and gaining.  We will have more sunlight per day than our Oregon friends from now (actually weeks ago) until mid-September! Yay vitamin D!