welcome fall!

What a wild ride it has been these past few months.  We are still on heels of the most spectacularly sunny Sitka summer I've ever experienced and now entering the most lovely of falls.  The sun makes such continual appearances I am beginning to forget the Sitka rain.  In fact brilliance has been everywhere!  We've had more fall colors than in my prior 6 falls, crazy amounts of mushrooms , whales singing and breeching galore, endless days of sunshine, northern lights, a much delayed first snow, plus we have the sweetest baby! 

I've been enjoying it all and taking absolutely nothing for granted.  This past week we also welcomed another Sitka baby into the mix, little Livi Rose born in Fairbanks, medevac'd to Anchorage and arrived in Sitka happy and healthy this past Monday. 

Ruthann has also had a lot of firsts.  She made her first girl friend, made her first mountain summit and saw her first northern lights!  We will save the trips out on the boat for later, so sorry Ruthann no whale viewing yet!

We have a week before Ruthann makes her first transcontinental fight to her uncle Joseph's wedding in York, SC, where we will introduce her to the entire Ross and Bradford family's, take her first 4 generations photo and charm them all with her sweetness.  We are basking in Thankfulness this November. 

The new family coming home from Anchorage! 

The northern lights from our bedroom window...!

Halloween at Family Night Dinner at Edgecumbe, Ruthann didn't like being a mermaid! I guess she wanted to be some other sea creature?

I'm in love with this photo. 

Party hostesses for Livi Rose's baby shower, fun and delicious!

Waiting for the guests of honor to arrive... Girls and decorating, we had a blast!

Here Ruthann is listening happily to her day rock out on the guitar! 

Here is Ruthann's first mountain accent, yes, she did sleep through a huge bulk of it!

She woke up at the top to check out her first snowflakes!  Puffin was even kind enough to stop frolicking for the family photo.

Here is Ruthann after the hike, wide eyed and ready to party.

Here is me after the hike, thank you Aaron Christopher Routon for a delicious meal of pan fried salmon, rice, shrimp and a yummy salad.  Can't get much more delicious than this!

And here are the wild mushrooms growing in our yard, they are everywhere!

Ruthann and her dad :) I love these guys so much!

WHALES!!!!  No dad, they didn't hit the boat this time... notice no zoom and Mnt. Edgecumbe in the background!