June 21st was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year! Here in Alaska, where sunshine is treated like a precious commodity, that is a reason to celebrate. We were fortunate to have had a fantastically sunny day for the occasion, and when the sun shines on Alaska in the summer there is no better place to be on Earth!
Actual sunrise to sunset gave us 20 hours of daylight, but even after the official sunset the sky is not dark. Since Ethan and I are up at all hours in the night these days, I can tell you for certain that it doesn't ever get completely dark up here during this time of year. The sun hangs out just below the horizon so it looks like dusk the hours between sunrise and sunset. I realized the other day that it has been weeks since I've seen any darkness and that makes me very happy. Its so much easier to get up in the middle of the night with Ethan when its not pitch black outside. Its nice to be able to watch the trees and the sky while he nurses (its very weird to see a sunset at 12:30 at night!). When people visit Anchorage in the summer the constant daylight really bothers them, it definitely did when we visited last summer, but when you live here and the light gradually changes it isn't as mind blowing to your brain and I've found actually really like it.
We've had a mix of cloudy days and sunny days lately, so when it is sunny I try and make sure Ethan and I spend as much time as possible outside enjoying it. Here are some pictures Ethan and I took on a few hikes of sunny Anchorage over the last week -
View of downtown across the lagoon
View of Flattop Mountain from the trails just up the hill from our house
More of the mountains from the trails near our house
We almost ran into a moose on one of our hikes, he blocked our path and kept walking towards us on the trail
He isn't full grown, but still a big animal...we were just happy it wasn't a bear. There have been a lot of bear sightings and attacks so far this summer, so we're very careful where we walk. I carry bear spray, but not sure I'd remember to use it if we ever ran into one!
To celebrate the summer solstice sun, Ethan and I played in the yard after our walk. Then Aaron came home and hung out with us too -
Pic of Ethan under the trees...the sun is nice, but he likes the shade better...
Aaron is telling Ethan about his day and it looks like Ethan is more interested in the flowers...corporate life isn't that exciting to a baby :)
Ethan's into mimicking our faces and mouths lately, but this face that Dad's making is hard!
Ethan's new favorite game with Dad is flying - if he's getting cranky we can get at least another 10 minutes of happiness out of the little guy once he starts flying
"Dad, I'm not sure a 6 week old should be drinking beer..."
Nothing better than hanging out on Dad's lap...if only Mom would get the camera out of his face for awhile
My little E and I enjoying the Alaskan sun
1 comment:
He is soooo cute!! I love the last picture of you both...happy Momma!!
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