Can it Be?? I'm Back! Do I still have any viewers??!

Oh my. Where to begin? Sorry for the extended hiatus. Sometime around mid-April things became so crazy I just sort of fell out of blog-land. (Do I still have any viewers??!) So many blog-worthy events happened about that time...but with no time and no pictures, I avoided the blog entirely. Logical? Hmm. Anyway. Here is a picture to prove that summer really has finally come to Alaska. We weren't sure if it would make it this year or not, but alas--it is here! We have spent the last 4 days (Tony had off work!) enjoying some great, summer family time--waterfights (Wise Bobcat is ruthless!), kiddie pool, going out to breakfast, gardening, b-ball, and yes--bug catching (see photo.) It's been fantastic. Unfortunately, hand-in-hand with Alaska's summer is fire season. Thankfully, we've been protected from the wildfires that have been raging nearby. One last week, was just a mile from our home. Scary as it was, it was quite exciting watching all those fire-fighting planes and copters as they swept down to dump water and retardant. We are blessed in this state to have such brave and skilled men and women to respond to the numerous fires we've been having. The firefighters had this particular fire under control within a day, and only one home was lost. The other fire we've been keeping our eye on, is about 5 miles away. That one has been much more difficult to get under control. It is currently burning over 700 acres. Amazingly, only 2 structures have been lost. So just what, you may ask, was so exciting and time-consuming over the last month that I had no time to blog? Too much to recap; however, I will take a moment to share one VERY EXCITING piece of news...but I will share it tomorrow!