Spring Has Sprung

SPRING HAS SPRUNG IN ALASKA

In the first week of May there were a few big events for our family.  In the last week of April Justin and Felicia flew up from Washington, Shaunna, Matt and our Grandson Joseph flew in from Colorado.   A family reunion for us all in Anchorage Alaska.  The weather was sunny and warm for this time of the year.  Still in the “brown” stage then, no leaves or grass yet.   Now 2 weeks later everything is popping out green now, and all the snow is gone.   We even had a Black Bear come up on our porch 2 nights ago and look in our door window.  Had to shoo him away, he was looking for food.  This is a yearly problem we have with living on the hillside in Anchorage, is bears and moose in our property.

Also on the May 1^st Ryan our youngest son graduated from UAA with a degree in Computer Science.  So we all went to his Graduation and had a party at Gallos Mexican Restaurant afterwards, family and friends.  Was a great time and the weather was sunny.

The next day was our Grandson’s First Birthday!  Joseph turned 1, how cool we got to have him here in Alaska for his Birthday.   We all went out to the Zoo in the morning then met at our house for a Birthday Party!   Joseph loved his Birthday Cake, once he found out the frosting tasted good, he dug in.  Was a blast.  Lots of pictures and presents.

The day after Joseph’s Birthday was my Mom ( Ruth Jacobson ) 86^th Birthday.   The whole family met at my folks place and went to the dining room for a Lunch to celebrate.

Then came Mother’s Day, a brunch at the folks again, Justin and Felicia were here still, my brother came, and Ryan also, so all the family was there to celebrate Mothers Day with Mom.

Now the family has all left and Donna and I are adjusting our life to back to our normal schedule.  We loved having everyone visit and miss them all very much.  At the same time we are so proud of how they all have created their own lives and careers and now have their own families.  They all more importantly are “Good People” can’t express how happy I am for that.  Now that they are home, Donna and I are back to our passions, Painting for me, Crafts for her.   Sure missed painting while family was in town, but it was worth it to have them all visit.

Next reunion will be in August for our daughter Christina’s wedding in Washington.  A busy family summer this year for us.

This weekend my brother Chris and I will go to the Kenai River and open up Dad’s Cabin for him.  The Salmon are starting their yearly runs, and we will be fishing soon.

Art In Our Family

A Art Filled Family Vacation. - I spent a week in Washington and British Columbia Canada visiting my two of my four children.  I spent the first 2 days with Justin and his girlfriend Felicia.   I had not previously met Felicia, and thoroughly enjoyed meeting her.  I also spent 2 days with Christina and her fiancee Cameron.  Then we all went camping up Mt Baker for two days.  It was a great time for me as a parent to see my children as adults on their own.  Also I got to draw and paint with them together.  As a artist it is so cool to see how talented each of them is.  We had a great time painting and drawing  together.   Being raised in Alaska we all love camping also, so we had a wonderful time.  I miss them all terribly, but I am so proud of them and how they have their own lives and how happy they are.

I will look forward to our next Family Plein Air Adventure.

Treasured Times

Kenai Keys Painting - Oil on Canvas 11x14 - Over the weekend, my Dad (88), Mom (85) and I went to their Cabin in the Kenai Keys on the Kenai River. We were joined by my brother also. As you can see from the picture the weather was not to bad. And the fishing was great. But the most amazing thing, is that my brother and I have parents in such good health we can still get out and do these advents with them. We realize that we are very lucky and that it is very rare, so we treasure these times all together. I pray we have many more yet to come. BTW the fish in the boat is a Silver Salmon my dad caught this morning.