Happy 11th Birthday!

We celebrated Jake's birthday on Saturday. We went to Pioneer Park where they were hosting a Military Appreciation Day. We went on train rides, carousel rides, ate cotton candy and popcorn, were given free lunch and played at the playgrounds. It was warm and beautiful out.

He thought that he was too cool for a ride, but it is always fun!

Then we climbed a nearby rock mountain(?) which is traditionally spray painted. The kids have wanted to go there for the whole time we have been in Alaska.

It is hard to read, but it says Happy Birthday, Jake!

He invited over a friend to beyblade with(beyblading late into the night). We enjoyed cake and ice cream and sang to our new 11 year old.

Back To School

Oh, it is sweet, heavenly bliss!

Angel Rocks

We know that our time is running short here is Alaska so we jumped in the car and drove to a popular hiking trail for a quick camping and hiking trip.

Since we are slowly getting darkness back during the night, it was fun to have a campfire (even though it still doesn't get dark til close to midnight!) Campfires are essential because without them you couldn't make....

Smores. Though I don't like marshmallow nor the combination of chocolate and graham crackers. Smores are delicious. Caleb makes them look wonderful.

Down by the Chena River. The day was chilly and rainy.

Climbing the Angel Rocks. They were fun to climb around on. I had to look away a few times so that my mother heart wouldn't panic. I know they are supposed to have fun and be adventurous, but sometimes I have to look away and pretend they are not doing something dangerous!

Hiking with Daddy. He is the best.

Nick enjoyed the climbing and liked the adventure of it. He didn't make me nervous because he was cautious.

Caleb pretended to fall like Indiana Jones would. That boy scares me sometimes. He climbed to some spots that actually started to scare him. Curtis had to climb up and save him. It was too much to watch. He needs to learn some fear!

Jake understands fear and would rather stay on the easier climbs...which is alright by me.

Another great adventure...even if Megan is mad that she had to stand in the cave!

Dipnetting

This week Curtis went with a friend down to the Copper River to get some salmon. Because the salmon are so plentiful, they used big nets to just scoop them up. Another amazing Alaskan view. It is hard to find a bad view in this state.

They caught 60 between them. (Which is way more than we will go through!!)

Here is a king salmon that Justin caught. They had to release it though because their season was over!

Indie Rides Again

Every once in a while, Indiana Jones come back out. He has grown out of most of his attire, so he has to make do.

Megan is dressed up as Willie Scott. Quite the outfit, she is just missing the feathered hair!

Brotherly love on the trampoline!

Wow! Isn't she a beauty!?

Caleb's real life Willie Scott. According to the neighborhood, Caleb and Cady have been married three times on the street. Caleb truly believes that when he is older, he will move back to Alaska and marry Cady. He doesn't realize yet that Cady won't be here much longer either!

Seward

We drove down to Seward. Along the way we stopped at Denali National Park. We have tons of pictures of Mt. McKinley so I suppose we didn't take any this trip. But this is the view from the visitors center.

It was a warm beautiful day and ice cream tastes great on those days.

The boys climbed a cliff during one of our pit stops. Seward is about 10 hours away down on the coast of the Kenai peninsula.

My tough men.

We stopped at a Wildlife Conserve. We were able to get pretty close up to some wildlife.

This is a view of Seward from the boat. We took an ocean wildlife cruise while down in Seward.

An eagle.

It was a bit chilly out in the wind and waves.

Ol' Cal enjoying the view.

A glacier off in the distance.

We stopped for dinner on Fox Island. Yummy food. We had no time to explore the island because the boys kept going back for more prime rib.

Some humpback whales.

Sea lions

A puffin.

Fakers!! They wouldn't be able to sleep at a time like this!

A glacier on the drive back up to Fairbanks. Near Glenallen. It was a gorgeous drive.