Travel Home

Thursday evening, we arrived in Anchorage just in time to get our seats moved so that we could all sit together on the way home. Then, we left to eat a good supper.
Here we are in the Alaskan-themed restaurant. It was YUMMY!At 10:50 p.m., we took off toward Denver.
Notice how light it is! Yes, the sun stays up until about midnight!

We arrived at 6:00 a.m. which felt like 4:00 a.m. At this point, we stopped taking pictures because we were deliriously sleepy. We managed to get ourselves home after stopping about every hour to keep ourselves awake!

Despite this tough last day of travel, the trip was incredible. We loved getting a glimpse of Pat and Melissa's life up in Alaska. Thank you, sis! I love you!

Random Alaska Moments

Here are a few extra Alaska pictures.
Thanks to Aunt Melli for all the haircuts! All of the girls got treated.
This was Raegan's first haircut!

We saw a lot of Alaska wildlife. I already mentioned the seal in the ocean. We also witnessed a bald eagle swooping down to the ocean to catch a fish. In addition, we saw a total of six moose. Two times, we saw the cow (mother) with her calf. We saw this one on day five after our hike up to the falls. Another time, a cow went running across Pat and Melissa's back yard!

Our kids really got to know and love Pat and Melissa's dogs. They loved taking turns feeding, playing and petting the dogs. This is Jackson with Bella. I think Bella liked the extra attention, too.

Our Last Day

Our last day was spent hanging around the house/yard and saying goodbye. . .

to the tadpole. . .

. . . to each other. . .

. . . to the dogs. . .

. . . to our forts.

On our way to Anchorage, we stopped at Melissa's greenhouse and saw the beautiful flowers.

Day Six

On Wednesday, Chris and I chartered a trout-fishing expedition down the Kenai River. This was one of the highlights of our trip because we were able to see such a beautiful area. I don't think the pictures show how amazing the water was. We caught seven fish total!


Here is our guide. He made the trip really enjoyable because of his "surfer" personality and enthusiasm. He also kept us very entertained by showing us four different types of fishing. Here, Chris is dry fly fishing.

Happy Birthday, Raegan! (Day Seven)

Raegan's Birthday was a little more easy-going than the day before. It was a bit rainy, so the kids watched a movie. Then, Raegan opened her presents, and we had her birthday party with her princess cake! She was thrilled to be able to dress up like her cake.
After the party, we went swimming at the indoor pool down the road.

That night after supper, Pat took the kids panning for gold. It was amazing that they each found some! Thanks, Uncle Pat!

Happy Third Birthday, Raegan!

Happy Birthday, Sydney! (Day Six)

Sydney's birthday was full! We got up early and headed to Seward, a town about two hours away. The drive was totally worth it because of all we were able to see and do.

First, we hiked up to a glacier. It was beautiful! The ice was so compacted that it filtered the light and appeared blue. Then, we went into the town and ate a picnic lunch by the ocean.

Of course, we couldn't bypass throwing in some rocks!

The Sea Life Center came next. This was a very interactive sea life "museum". We were able to touch various forms of sea life. The highlight was probably seeing the seals and the huge sea lion. This was fun for all of us!
Before heading home, we took a quick walk down the tourist trap of downtown and got some ice cream.

God gave us a special treat on our way back to our car. As we approached, someone thought they saw some wood out in the ocean. (See the picnic picture. We were parked right there.) We soon discovered that it was a seal! It was such fun to see this animal both in the museum and in its natural habitat. Thank you, Jesus, for this special treat!

When we returned to the house, we finished the day with a birthday party. Happy Eighth birthday, Sydney!

Day Five

Sunday was a very refreshing day! We got to take part in worship at Pat and Melissa's church. That was really fun. They had great worship, and it was just fun to worship the same God with people who lived that far away!

After church, we headed up to the Russian Falls to see if we could spot some Salmon jumping. (They were starting to head back upstream.) Pat built a "rickshaw" to help the kids make the two mile hike. They loved using it, and it really helped! This lasted only a minute. Usually, Raegan was in the cart. The falls were beautiful. It was one of those places that I could have just admired for several hours. I'm such a sucker for waterfalls in the mountains.
If you look closely, you can see a black dot in the water just above the rocks. That was a salmon jumping upstream!

By the end of the hike, we had tuckered them out!

Day Four

On Saturday, we had a pretty casual day. Pat took Chris fishing. Unfortunately, they didn't even get a bite. The upside was getting to see some great scenery.

Melissa took me and the kids into Kenai. We went to the Farmer's market and Old Town. We stopped in at an adorable coffee shop that was located in one of the first houses built. The hot chocolate hit the spot!That afternoon, we went to a park and then to a close beach.

After a halibut supper, the kids had a back yard campout with Aunt Melli. . .

. . . Uncle Pat, and Bella. To our surprise, the kids lasted the entire night!

Day Three

After a picnic lunch, we went to the beach.
The kids loved throwing rocks.
It seems this is the common past time at all of our vacation spots!

Then, we went on our first hike.
We were surprised to see bear "skat".
Even more surprising was the sign in the nearby campground
that said three aggressive bears had been seen--that morning!
I was glad we never saw them!

That night, we headed to a baseball game.
We are wondering if we could see these same
teams in Wichita during the NBC tourney in August.

Day Two

The kids' first trip to the ocean.Helping Aunt Melli pick lettuce for taco salad.After supper, Uncle Pat orchestrated an obstacle course race!

Afterward, we found our new pet--a tadpole!

Day One, Cont.

We arrived at Pat and Melissa's, and the festivities began!

Here is their back yard.
The view from the pond.
When Uncle Pat got home, he initiated activity #1: Fort-building Contest!

Girls. . .vs. the Boys!

We also got to go for canoe rides in the pond in Melissa and Pat's backyard.