Alaska - June 2012

We left the day after school got out this year for a cruise to Alaska. It was a great experience. We travelled on the Norwegian Pearl from Seattle and stopped in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, Alaska. We also spent one evening in Victoria, BC, Canada.

Our first day of vacation we spent exploring Seattle. We went to Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, wandered through a statue garden at the art museum and had dinner at Ivars near Pike Place Market. We walked a lot, probably too much but we wanted to see what we could in the short time we had in Seattle. The next morning we went to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and watched some ships moving from the lake level down to sea level. It was definitely interesting. There was a fish ladder there too but unfortunately we were too early to see the salmon moving up them. This was a bummer in a lot of places on the trip - I think it would be really interesting to go to Alaska in July and see the salmon moving upstream but we missed it. Luckily there were a lot of other interesting things to see.

It's all GUM! So gross, but oddly fascinating.



My parents waiting for us to board the ship. They were very patient with us. :)

We got on the ship in the afternoon. As we were waiting in line to go through the boarding process we realized that we had accidentally brought two birth certificates for Lyndsee and none for Logan. We had fun teasing him about leaving him in Seattle for the week. Lucky for him the person who boarded us chose to pretend he had seen his birth certificate and we boarded without a problem.

Lyndsee was the Rock Wall Champion.

It was fun to explore the ship and we patiently sat through the safety briefing and had a nice dinner that night. Logan and Brianna went to the Teen Centers "Bon Voyage" get together and met several friends that they spent a lot of time with over the next week. They usually would attend the shows at night with the teen group and spent time playing games, shooting baskets, watching movies and just hanging out with their friends. They usually had breakfast and dinner with us on the ship, other than that we would just pass them occasionally, and they usually had an ice cream cone in one hand and a brownie in the other. 

The first of many bus stops. There was only ONE seat!

Our first port was Juneau where we went to see the Mendenhall Glacier. It was spectacular with an incredible waterfall right next to it. We wandered through several little trails near there and then decided to walk the mile and a half to catch the city bus back to the port. Usually we don't mind city busses, but this time it was a big mistake. We were quickly joined on the bus by several very inebriated passengers. Two women and a couple were especially problematic. Lets just say they should have "gotten a room"! Ugh.

Totem Poles were everywhere



A rainy day in Ketchikan

We went across this beautiful stream multiple times

In Skagway we did an amazing zip line tour through the rainforest. The scenery was spectacular and the kids had fun flipping, flying upside down and sideways on the zip lines. I was happy that I didn't have a panic attack. The worst one was a line that you had to take a running start off the edge of a cliff! We all had a great time, and apparantly it was exhausting because Logan fell asleep on the busride back to the docks.

Chillaxin



Scott and I in Glacier Bay, so cold!

We had other scenic stops in Ketchikan (rainy) and Victoria BC (beautiful.) We also spent a day cruising through Glacier Bay where there was a ton of wildlife, we saw a bear, lots of whales and sea otters and eagles.  It was fun and relaxing and had spectacular scenery. I would definitely do a cruise again...but next time someplace warm!



We were photo bombed in Victoria, look closely at the tree behind me.



Lyndsee loved the totem poles and her coon tail hat!

Hellsgate Hike - May 2012

Scott and Reddin hiked Hellsgate Trail last weekend. They are going to take the scouts there this summer and wanted to have a good idea what they were getting themselves in to. I'm a little jealous after looking at the pictures and wish I could go too.

This is what a lot of the hike looked like

It's a good thing Scott and Reddin are "Experienced Trail Users" - hopefully the Scouts can handle it too.

French Bread recipe

French Bread recipe (this amount makes 3 small loaves or 2 large):
2 1/2 c. warm water
2 T. yeast
3 T. sugar
2 T. white vinegar
Add the above ingredients together and let sit until bubbly (about 3-5 minutes). Then add:
1 T. salt
1/3 c. oil (I use Canola)
6-7 c. flour (or a little more if it's too soft), one cup at a time--add enough until the dough is soft, but firm enough to mold into dough loaves

Knead for 2-5 minutes and then put in the oven with a small pot of boiling water. The water will keep the dough moist. Watch the dough and punch it down when it gets to the top of the mixing bowl. Do this every time it gets to the top of the bowl, as long as you have time to babysit it (2-5 times). Put the dough on a greased countertop and divide into 3 sections. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal on the bottom of the sheet. Roll the dough balls into rectangle/long French bread shapes. Slash tops of bread diagonally 3-5 times and cover with a beaten egg. Let rise 30 minutes (or until doubled)on the counter, or you can put them in your oven at 170 and wait until they are the size you want to cook them at. Once they are to the right size, turn up your stove to 375 (without opening the door!) and let them bake until done. Or, just raise on the counter and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!  Dough--can be a little soft, if too sticky, add a little more flour. Put the boiling water in the oven with your bowl of dough to help it rise faster.  Cut the dough into two equal parts (or three if you are making smaller loaves).  Slice the dough diagonally and white wash with 1 beaten egg.   Bake and serve warm out of the oven!

From:  http://www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post_09.html

Delicious!

Rules

This has been stuck to Lyndsee's door for awhile now. I happened to take a look at it again today and smiled. She was pretty thorough, (but must work on her spelling!)  Don't mess with Lyndsee!

Translation:

Rules: for my room

No yelling, no screaming, no whining, no teasing, no being serious, no sneezing, no burping, no coughing, no bragging, no stealing, no kissing, no coming in uninvited, no dirty shoes, no people I do not know, no being mean, especially for Brianna and Logan, no Bella in my room, no telling me what to do, no Logan in this room, no grabbing, no laying on my bed, no annoying Lyndsee, no scribbling on papers, no breaking these rules!

Lyndsee is allowed to break these rules whenever she wants.

Helicopter Ride

Logan had a really unique opportunity last week to take a ride in a helicopter. One of his scout leaders arranged for the boys to be able to earn their aviation merit badges and it included a ride in a helicopter.  It was a little scary to have him go, especially since I had no idea who was doing piloting. In fact when he brought home the permission slip I couldn't bring myself to sign it and turned it over to Scott.  We were originally told they would be in a helicopter with no doors! Thankfully that wasn't true. I was glad Scott was there with him, although I think Scott thought the idea of no doors was pretty exciting.  As you can see there were doors, but they were clear so they provided a great view of the area for the boys.  It turned out that it was a very well run merit badge opportunity by several seasoned pilots.  They got to look closely at numerous planes, some got to ride in a small airplane also.   Below is a clip of Logan heading up for a 20 minute ride over Gilbert. 

Hard to Get Up

Lyndsee is hard to get up in the mornings. Especially now with the colder weather. She LOVES her cozy bed.

The dogs aren't making things any easier on her lately. Since Lyndsee is the last to get up every day they both migrate to her bed as everyone else has left for the day.  She is a softie for those puppies, and claims that she doesn't want to get out of bed or she will disturb their sleep.

Christmas in Pollock Pines

We had a fabulous holiday in Pollock Pines! Scott's three sisters and their kids were all there as well. The kids love playing and hanging out with their grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles.  This year some highlights were:

• Geocaching with uncle Tony
• A hike towards horsetail falls with lots of great ice to slide on along the way
• Playing basketball in the driveway
• Exploring Grandma and Grandpas property
• Skipping rocks on the lake (and Lyndsee's boots getting stuck in the mud)
• Racing remote control cars on the driveway
• NO SNOW but beautiful weather
• A fire with tinfoil dinners and s'mores for dessert
• Running around the lake for Cynthia...and losing Kay's car key along the way :(
• Mountain biking for Scott on some of his favorite trails
• Christmas Eve nativity
• A peaceful, happy Christmas day

There was so much more, but these were some highlights. We had hoped to do some snowboarding but the weather didn't cooperate so we ended up heading up to Flagstaff right after we got home. Hopefully next time we go out for Christmas it will be white!

Thanks everyone for a great trip and especially to Doug and Kay for your hospitality. Having 18 extra people and 3 - 4 extra dogs in your house for a week is no small thing.  It was terrific! Here are a few pictures, but as always I forget to take enough. 



After our hike, silly Lyndsee



Walking on a sheet of ice



Scott and his puppies relaxing

Really boys?



Skipping rocks at Jenkinson Lake

Lyndsee's lovely boots