We had a great first month and half of the year with lots of outings to the beach and glacier. We even started a new tradition of going out to dinner with a preschool friend and her family. I must say, it is nice to have some other adult to talk too. We have been working on expanding Xander's experiences beyond the beach and glacier as much as we can, like pony rides and trying to take him to the train store weekly. He still loves his trains and cars the most! He has gained a new found interest in his puzzles, again. Unfortunately, Xander has learned to throw some epic fits, which has kept David and I on edge at times. I really hope this phase goes by fast. He sure does say the darnest things. Conversation: "Xander do you see the peacock over there?"; Xander replies, "that is not a big cock, it's a little cock."
Sadly, the start of the year was not good for everyone in the world as Haiti was hit with a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake on 12 January. David and I donated to the relief effort, but I wish I could have done more. At the time of the quake, I actually knew someone that was there. She did an interview of her and the students experience and can be seen on youtube.
While the lower 48 is having crazy weather from snowstorms to flooding, we have been enjoying our winter of never ending breakup. It is amazing how a 2 degree Celsius or less change in surface water temperature in the equator regions of the Pacific Ocean can alter typical weather patterns around the globe. Just goes to show how sensitive earth's climate is to any change and a reminder to all those climate skeptics that does not change the fact that climate change is occurring. Looks like good old Phil's guess was right this time, smile (Please remember the groundhog is not an accurate source according to NOAA)! But, there was a big difference of opinions from the other groundhogs around the nation. In Alaska, the state government renamed Groundhog Day as Marmot Day because that is the type of ground squirell we have in Alaska, but over all still the same thing to us no biologist types. I would say that was a big waste of legislative time!
I enjoyed my relaxing month off from college. During my break, I was able to plan the first round of vacations for this year to include trip to Anchorage, taking Xander to see his grandparents back east, and a 10 day get away for David and I to England and Ireland. In the last week of January, college started again with round two of Physics and Calculus. I am also taking a class to learn how to use ArcGIS software, which I really enjoy. I have spent the last month updating 61 information web pages using basic html format. That is probably the next class I will need to take. David has finally finished upgrading computer systems at work. Now, he will probably have to move on to the un-fun part of documentation. I kicked off February with a new schedule of working Monday through Friday and mainly on night shifts three to four days out of five and then ending the week with one or two administrative shifts. For the first time in 2 1/2 years, I actually have weekend off to do things with the rest of the world!
As always I am writing this in the early morning hours, please excuse my grammar. January pictures have been updated.
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