Visit with my Nana and Big Al

I know it has been a very long time since my visit with Nana and Big Al, but blame my daddy for not putting these pictures up sooner. I had an absolutely wonderful time with Nana and Big Al... I learned lots of new words from Nana and I learned that I love to laugh with Big Al. He might be the funniest guy I have met. They have a beautiful place just outside of Traverse City, where I spent a couple of days just relaxing, swimming and also playing with my cousin Shannon and her doggie Ozzy. In this picture I'm playing with my new pop-up book (Shapes) that Nana bought for me. Mamma and Daddy keep telling me that I'll be back early in the summer to visit again....but that is NOT soon enough!!!!!! Enjoy these pictures...not least of which includes the pictures of my visit with my brand new friends JT and Rachel and their new puppy Oso. By the way, Oso might be the cutest puppy I've ever seen....that's only cuz I wasn't around to see Gibby as a puppy....cuz he's the cutest ever. As always, peace and love to all....please write me if you get the chance, I love hearing from all my friends. LiamRay

In the pool with my Mamma

I'm just doin' my thing, lookin' good and hangin' in the pool...and, between you and me, I know all the ladies are checkin' me out. All I can hope for at this point is for my Mamma to be chill and not do anything harsh like put me under water and ruin my funky fresh 'bowl-cut'.

why mamma, why?

Without any warning, my Mamma decided I needed to go underwater. I don't understand....Why Mamma?, WHY?!?!

Hey Ladies....My place, in 5?

Hangin' at the Pool with Nana

I just finished in the pool, pretty tired looking sooo good for all the ladies in the house. Nana and Uncle Al are members of this super swank club outside of Traverse City, complete with a super sweet pool and hot tub area. As many of you already know from my swim class, this is where I'm really in my element. In this picture, I'm just about ready for dinner, so I got outta the pool and I'm hanging out with Nana until my Mamma can get my stuff together.

Gibby or Big Al, they're both halarious!

It was my first time meeting my Uncle 'Big' Al. Essentially, he makes me laugh ALL the time. No question. He may look tough, but I know he's a softy through and through. I can't wait to see my Uncle Al again real soon!!!!!

Big Al sure is funny

what's over there?

I luv my Nana

I can't say enough about how much fun I had with my Nana. She taught me sooooo much, like how to say Vamoos and when someone is talkingtalkingtalking and I can't stand it anymore, I can now tell them "blah blah blah". Thank you Nana!!!!

Hangin' with my Cuz

Here I am hangin' out with Daddy and his cousin Shannon (or 'scooter' as I like to call her!!) and her puppy Ozzy. Me and Ozzy were immediate friends, and even now when I see a big friendly yellow lab, I just call 'em Ozzy. Good 'nuff for me!

How did this happen?

I promise this is true: Liam spent our weekend in Traverse City totally and unabashedly flirtting with Rachel. JT was always kinda funny (and between you and me, he sometimes called JT 'grandma' - no I didn't make that up!). So, how did it end up that I don't have any cute pics of Liam and R, and this nice pic of Liam and JT made the grade? I don't know.

How you like me now?

sure, Oso, you're so big and strong INSIDE, but where's your OUTSIDE game?

the 'take down'

even tho I don't have the photos to prove it, trust me that this would NEVER happen in-doors! While inside, Oso was truely dominant. It was only outside that Gibson could show off his true talent of speed and dexterity in a game where size matters less

I've got your toy!

So, while in doors, Oso easily dominates Gibson...wouldn't even let him in the kitchen...not that he minds too much cuz he's too afraid of Oso (inside!) to even want to go into his territory (i.e. the kitchen). But take it outside, and Gibson (and his 40lbs of terror) would put the smack-down all over Oso...it was super fun and super cute all at the same time

way too cute

Hola Oso!!!

Livin' large

"Guest" Entry

Hi Everybody, sorry for the long time between updates...Things have been so busy that I just realized that I never even posted pictures from my New Year's Eve trip, so those will be coming up soon. In the mean time, my daddy wants to share some pictures from his recent trip up to AK. Starting with this first one he told me he took as he finished cross-country skiing...with awesome trails beginning just behind the science building. He saw arctic foxes and moose on his trip...it sounded like he had a good time. Check back again soon for more pics, hopefully of me next time!!....LiamRay

Daddy taking a ski break

parking lot, UAF

View from my hotel balcony, Jan22nd, 9a.m.

The view from the front of the hotel featured a sign reading, "Welcome to Fairbanks, Time 9:00am, Temp -20"...and the punch line is that its still pitch dark outside. This picture is from my back balcony where I was able to use my tripod to get this shot...shutterspeed was 0.8sec. In this picture you can see the totally frozen Chena River, one of the two "flowing" through the city, using the word flowing in a seasonal sense. As I was taking down the tripod, I see this car coming up the river...incredible I thought. SO I grabbed the picture below using the same settings, but in my hands instead. It's blurry, but it gets the point across.

Person commuting to work...

yes, there's a guy driving to work on the river. Apparently, soon after the river freezes, locals use the boat launches to get access to the river and use the frozen river as a way to get around.