Bad News- Good News and three baby bears

So the bad news first: Justin is going to be gone all of next week. This is a very sad thing to have sprung on us with such little notice. However, the good news makes up for it. He is now a first officer on the C-46 planes at his work. We have eagerly anticipating an upgrade from Flight Engineer since we moved here and he finally has it. He will actually get to fly now and he is extremely excited. Career-wise this is a very good thing because this is multi-engine flight time which will allow him to get a much better job down the road. We will also have the option of staying with this company or going to another in Alaska if we want, which is a good thing because the industry is kind of struggling right now. Here is a picture of the plane he will be flying. I think this one is named "Maid in Japan." There is also "Dumbo" and "Salmon Ella" with nose art of a mermaid salmon named Ella (one of my favorites). These planes are just as greasy as the DC-6 he was in but instead of being built just after WW II this one flew in WWII. So I am not thrilled that my husband flies antique airplanes but the FAA says they can still fly so they must be okay?

Justin didn't have to work yesterday so we decided to go out and play. I was happy when we returned from our trip outside to see that the snow had all melted. Unfortunately we have received almost two feet of snow since then. Apparently this is the snowiest April in 25 years. Lucky us...
We decided to drive 45 minutes south and go the the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. They take in wounded and orphaned animals and help them to recover. We were able to walk right up to the fences and see moose, elk, deer, bison, a coyote, muskox, a great horned owl and more. We saw the moose first and when we would go see other animals Macy just wanted to go back and see the moose. He was definitely her favorite except for when he scared her pants off when he sneezed. Fow some reason she really did not like the elk or the deer. I don't know what was so terrifying about them since they barely moved but there is little I understand about Macy's wild little mind. We also saw three very playful bear cubs and Macy wanted to run over and wrestle with them- she had no concept of the fact that they could devour her in two bites.

We had a very good time and it was totally worth the beautiful drive down there. We got the call about Justin's job as we drove back. I devided we need to celebrate so my wonderful Cousin Randy and his friend Debbie agreed to babysit the kids so Justin and I could go out. We went to Humpy's downtown because we had been told from several people how good it was. We went in and sat down only to get carded because apparently it was a bar that served food not a restaurant that served alcohol. Silly us. Well in my excitement at not needing to take a bag full of diapers, toys, wipes, etc. with us I decided not to bring my wallet. Yeah, I got us kicked out. I felt pretty dumb and really bad because I think Justin was excited to eat there. We ended up at a restaurant across the street that was a bit more pricey but very good. It was a nice date and thanks again to Randy and Debbie for watching the kids!!
One last picture of Macy helping Daddy to shovel the parking lot the other day. Happy Mid-April!