If this is spring....

.... I'd really hate to see winter!

As I'm typing this, we're under a winter weather advisory until early TUESDAY morning (it's Sunday evening right now). It started snowing at about 4 yesterday afternoon, and hasn't really stopped since. Apparently it's not going to until Tuesday, and we can expect anywhere from 8-20 inches of snow. Yes, 20... 3 days after the official start of spring. The good news is that, on the vernal equinox, we actually had MORE than 12 hours of daylight - 12 hrs and 14 mins officially - so at least we have plenty of light to see all the snow!!

I blame myself, though. We're dog sitting this weekend for Brad and Christina's dog, Tok. When we got the first few inches the other day, I told Jason I hoped it would stay around so we could just keep putting the dogs out in the backyard to play without having to worry about them being all muddy and gross. What I meant was for the temperatures to stay cool enough that the existing snow wouldn't melt. What Mother Nature thought I said was "we need more." As long as it stops before Jason leaves again on Wednesday, I'll be ok. I just need him around for keeping the driveway clear!!!

Speaking of our houseguest, we've had a puppy in the house again, which is... interesting. Especially when the puppy is 75 lbs and actually physically bigger than Fred. Poor Fred has waged a war in his own head between wanting to play, too (he so misses his doggie daycare play time, I swear!), and wanting to slink off into the corner to sleep. He just doesn't have the energy that Tok has. I don't think the energizer bunny has the energy that Tok has!!! For those who don't know, Tok is a husky/malamute mix and comes from the Burnt Paw Cabins/Kennels in Tok, AK. The people who own Burnt Paws have a history with the Iditarod sled dog race (we actually stayed in the Iditarod cabin when we stayed there), and these pups are bred to be mushing dogs. So you can only imagine the kind of energy "little" Tok has. Luckily, we've been able to let the boys play in the backyard, and we've interspersed that with walks in various places. Yesterday it was just on the base since Jason had duty and there was NO way I could walk both myself. But the day before that we went out to Ft. Abercrombie, where we hiked and then let the two boys play a little. Here they are in action!

You can see that Tok is actually taller and longer than Fred, though Fred weighs about 15-20lbs more. I have to say Fred had a bit of an advantage the other day because we left Tok on his lead, and let Fred off his. Sorry, Tok!! They're pretty well matched at home, at least, though Fred does enjoy rolling Tok onto his back and showing him that he's at Fred's house. And, of course, the one major advantage of having Tok in the house is that he's teaching us what parts of our house are not baby/puppy proof. We don't necessarily need the baby-proofing for a while, but his curiosity is funny to watch. Fred just leaves everything alone now, but to Tok, everything is new and fun. The most inane things catch his attention, which is just hilarious to watch!

Oh, and when Fred got a moment to himself at the Fort, this was his other fun thing to do. Actually, this is one of his favorite things to do in any kind of snow.... head goes down and he just starts plowing. Crazy dog. (Oh, notice his skinny spot on his tail? He had a cyst removed over a month ago and it's just now finally healed up completely. Sadly, he had a good chunk of tail shaved, though, and I'm not sure how much is going to grow back. Hopefully the hair around the surgery site will grow over whatever doesn't come through the scar!!! He looks a little silly!)

As you can tell from the pictures of the dogs, I finally brought the camera out with me on a hike. I chose only two lenses to take with me, though, and lightened the load as much as possible! But my extra effort was rewarded with some great shots of the dogs, Jason with the dogs, and, of course, the beautiful Kodiak winter/spring scenery. We were out before the newest snow, on a crisp (less than 30 degrees) day, and it was just gorgeous as long as we stayed out of the wind!
Here are a couple of my favorite scenery shots from the day.

And, finally, in baby news... all is still going well. I overdid it a little last weekend (6 hrs of cleaning out the garage!), and have been having some trouble sleeping, so it was a long, tired week, with a lot of anxiety. It's finally hitting me that there will actually be a baby at the end of this pregnancy journey! YIKES!! Sometimes I still think we're crazy for getting ourselves into this - I'm not 100% sure I ever really thought it would happen - but I'm also still so excited! Now, if only I could stop being so freaked out about the baby part!! Mom made me stay home from work on Wednesday, though, just to relax and take it easy, and that helped a lot. (Yes, she can still make me do things even though I'm almost 32 years old and live 5000 miles away.) I had a hard time just making myself rest (imgaine that... just like my mom!), but it was a much-needed day. We also met with our doula on Wednesday, which, I think, helped to ease the anxiety a little bit. It's nice to know we'll have someone around to help us out with getting ready for Green's arrival and labor/delivery itself. She'll also be around for some post-partum help, which will be wonderful!

Al that leads us to the latest...

BUMP WATCH 2009

This week you get my face and everything. And Jason used the flash on the camera so I look way more washed out than I really was. I swear. Not much change from last week, I don't think. Though, I did get stuck in a chair today. In my defense, it was in what we call the "puff chairs" and the things suck you in anyway. But I sat down to talk to Ryan on the phone and then couldn't get back out again. Not funny.

What is funny is the difference between the very first bump picture I posted, and this next one. If you remember, in the first one I posted, I was wearing a brown Bella band, and said something about needing that because my pants were getting tight. Well, I was wearing the same band the other day (I need it to keep the maternity pants up.... they're a little TOO stretchy), and I had to laugh at the difference. Go back here to see the first one, and then scroll down...

Now it just looks like I ate a big meal in the first one!!! I can't believe I thought THAT was a belly!!! And I still have so much more growing to do... ACK! The good news is that it's all in front, and I'm pretty much right on track for how much I've gained. As long as I can manage the dumb chocolate and sweet cravings, I should be able to stay that way!

That's all from here. I have to go see if Tok feels like comin back inside now! Hopefully he didn't get buried under all the snow... though I think he's probably enjoying it MUCH more than anyone else in the house!

Bye for now!