Well, we're winding down our summer... it's going WAY TOO FAST! We've had visitors and then, between visits, the kids and I have stayed very busy going and doing. It's been (thus far) a great summer. I'm not ready for the kids to head back to school in less than a month.
Our first visitors this summer, all the way back at the end of May were the Fillemans of Chandler, Arizona. My brother and his family made their maiden voyage to visit us in what was a fairly sunny, warmish Alaska! They were here for about 10 days so you KNOW we packed in the fun stuff. We celebrated my brother's birthday, Kara's start of soccer, Clay's birthday, went to Seward, biked like mad and the kids/dad camped a night in the wilderness. I felt like I did a good job photographing while they were here, but as it turns out, I did a horrible job.
And yet another thing I'm doing a horrible job at: BLOG POSTING! So, in an effort to get this post online, I'm going to just post pictures in no particular order...
I think one thing people expect when they come to AK is animal viewing. Normally, we see animals all the time unless you are visiting us. I don't know why that is!! But sometimes we get lucky. As in our drive home from Seward (or maybe it was to Seward). Anyhow, we were cruising down the highway and there was this little guy. I pulled a uey in the middle of the road and we went back around. Moose are everywhere!!!
We also got to see a bunch of salmon in one of their sanctuary areas... no salmon were killed or injured on this trip (sadly). Although Michelle did get to enjoy fresh Copper River kings on several restaurant outings and she's a convert to AK salmon. I'm sorry kids, but even if the menu says it's fresh, wild caught Alaska salmon, assume they're lying (unless you've confirmed an overnight flight in of fish, and it's in the SUMMER). I hated salmon until we moved here and I'm officially a convert. Reds are my favorite. I digress...
Believe it or not, there were TONS of salmon jumping into this waterfall.
My weird kids waiting in the lobby for their cousins in Seward.
The 4 of us in Seward. My first trip down there. It was a cute little town. I wanted to see some Orcas in the bay but all I saw were some harbor seals and sea otters (not complaining).
Kara and Parker. This girl LOVES herself some Parker Boyd. She treats him like her little assistant and I am glad he was tolerant, he will probably not enjoy her "attentions" for too much longer :) This was before they headed out on their back country back packing trip.
Ice cream in Seward (see how you're getting your own "Around Alaska in 40 seconds or Less" for free!?). GB is really a hoot. I think when he got here, he wasn't feeling me at all.. However, given enough QT on car rides, in grocery carts, in bike trailers, he came around. In fact, at one point, he opted to stay home with me while Michelle went to Walmart. A true milestone! He's pretty funny.. while we were driving to Seward, when he was supposed to be "resting", he announced in a very loud voice "I DON'T LIKE SOUP". That one stuck. I'll keep it alive until he's married :)
The big kids in Seward. I don't remember what Kara's problem was.. not very much actually grosses her out...
Fishing at the Sea Life Center...
The touch tank at the Sea Life Center. The kids LOVED touching sea cucumbers, star fish and the like. This place is cool.
My brother. His second trip to AK in less than one calendar year! WOOT! I don't know if he was really feeling my taking his picture. If you know Mark, you know that he LOVES himself a camera. Almost all of his adult pictures exude a true joie de vivre! Like he is having the MOST FUN EVER and how much he LOVES having his image captured (I'm practically a professional photographer)!! Actually, I think he loathes having his picture taken. We celebrated his birthday in true AK style: sent him off into the wilderness with some freeze dried food, a whole gaggle of kids and 10 miles of hiking. Happy Birthday, come back next year when we'll do a 3 night at Eklutna!!
Speaking of birthdays... the night before, we celebrated with the traditional banana spice cake a la my Gram Boyd. I love the cake, not so much the icing.. Michelle really goes out of her way to make foods that Mark likes. I could take a lesson on that... Just ask Clayton!
Oh GB. I was a hard-sell for you, I know.. but we will be forever bonded over our Eklutna trail ride. I will forever remind you that you don't like soup and I will also take full credit for anytime you tell someone "I. Will. Cut. You". You're crazy!!!!
To sweet Parker I say that I am sorry for letting Kara treat you like her assistant. She does it out of love. You are so funny and I loved how excited you got about visiting the exiled cats in the basement. If I could buy you a hairless cat as a pet, I would.
Davis is the most hilarious kid ever. He has a very refined dry sense of humor. He really says the funniest things (things that I should have written down because I don't remember them like I wish I did). He was at Kara's first soccer game where he offered to go on the field and school the girls how to play soccer "for real" (for the record, they only lost like 2 games!!).
We had so much fun with the Fillemans. I can't tell you, dear readers, how much it means to us when our families visit up here. We go to AZ but our visits are lightning fast and we have a lot of ground to cover so it makes for inconsistent times with everyone. When you come to Alaska, we have (for better or worse) concentrated time to hang out and develop our relationships in really cool ways. I got to spend a ton of time with Michelle just hanging out, riding bikes (in the sun, cold and rain) and that NEVER happens in AZ!! My kids LOVE having their cousins at their house.. getting to sleep in (or not), play the Wii (or just argue), watch shows, ride bikes, hike, camp and fish with them in their normal environment. Many thanks to Mark and Michelle for coming up. I know it was a thrash and that it is expensive. We have lifetime memories from your trip. I loved having Michelle meet my friends and see how I while away my time up here. Clayton LOVED camping with Mark (and I KNOW Mark would do it again... in another life). THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for coming up. You're welcome back anytime. xoxooxox
