State Fair (pt.2)

Mya, quite at home "touring" in her movie-star convertible. Gib, still "in the zone" on 2 wheels.
Laney & Matt.
Mya & Gib.
Big smiles for just a couple bucks.

Well, can you tell I have difficulty picking just 3 or 4 top pictures for one subject? We went yesterday (Sunday) after church, with our friends Randy, Christy and their son Matt. It was the first sunny day in 2 weeks, I swear! It was gorgeous, and all of Alaska & Canada came out to enjoy the Fair in the sunshine with us!

State Fair

Laney & Matt truly enjoying the fire engine (aka. the party bus).Defensive driving requires the occasional glance out front.
This was Mya's favorite ride--can ya tell?
We fit right in at the Livestock Exhibit.
The serious look goes with serious fun! Here's Gib, in his element.

...despite gray weekend.

Catching some rays before the sun disappears for the rest of the weekend.
Angry clouds rolling in
Snow?!
Mya, with crazy hair
Laney, up to something

I can't believe today was 44 deg when we woke up! The mountains are heavily "dusted" with some strange white substance on the top third. Is this some cruel joke? It's August!

Sadie turns 3 wks, despite gray weekend

Here's a printable pic for you grammas with room on your office door!

She's back

Did I meantion we're so glad to have Ang back... yes, she's been "here" every day, taking care of us, rain or shine... but now that the discomforts, the pains, and the incapacitations of those last 9 months are over... we discovered a wonderful thing--that we have our Ang back! Yay! Here's a flashback to Fall 2004 at Newport Beach, Oregon.

June 06 - Twin Peaks Trail

15 minutes away from our house on the way to Anchorage is beautiful and secluded Eklutna Lake, home to a bunch of great trailheads. Mark & I decided to hike the Twin Peaks trail hoping to reach the saddle, apparently called "Twin Peaks Pass" that overlooks Palmer and the Valley including the Knik Glacier and Lazy Mt. We didn't bring a sherpa (experienced guide w/ sandles & loincloth) so we found ourselves gaining impressive altitude up Pepper Peak (yes, Mark, I found out it's real name, I think) but woefully out of reach of our intended Twin Peaks Pass. So we accepted this change in plans and enjoyed the awesome view... we actually climbed up higher than the Pass so that we could see over it from along the ridgeline. A couple hours after starting at the bottom (900 ft Elevation)... 2 burned out legs, a pair of Powerbars, and 1 empty camelbak later... we reached our summit of 4,575 ft!

Sunday... no sun.

After church... lunch... and naptime, I took the older kids for a walk in the Crevasse Moraine trails, in the rain. Yes, more rain. Would be nice to see some sun... then I could try out my new Tamron zoom lens that just came in the mail... with the help of a gift certif from Mark & Lynn (thanks!).

Here's some pics of the kids sippin' strawberry shakes.

Dinner for Eleven

De, Tim & Julie, and Lu & Logan, and the bunch of us all had dinner together at our place. Fried stuff--good stuff--diner fare...Putting the new fry-daddy to work! Oh, and an unexpected invasion of evening sunshine ruined our 48 hrs of straight drizzle.

I have to mention something before I forget--Tim & Julie gave Sadie a newborn gift, a little bib with a saying on the front, that Laney was happy to read aloud for the group just after unwrapping. [Laney]: "It says, 'I love my Big Mother.'" To which we all died laughing at what was misread by the eldest sibling, since the bib really says "Brother."

Airport Day...(false alarm)

It's always sad saying goodbye to your loved ones. We had the BEST time!! We'll miss you guys. . . . Actually, that's all fine and wonderful and all, but the guests have decided NOT TO LEAVE! So we'll have to figure out how to get rid of Lu & Logan some other way. :)

Anchorage & More Sadie

Ok, maybe we did get out just a little... on our way to do a big Costco/Sam's run, we stopped at the Anchorage shoreline by the international airport. Here's a picture looking northeast towards the city, and one with Ang and company. And here's a slew of more Sadie pics... click on them to expand to full size.

Rain Delay

Well no blog yesterday. We've been partying pretty hard outdoors each day, so we needed a day to rest! Plus it was raining all day, even though we had planned to wake up and go hike a trail. The rainy air brought colds to a couple of us too, so we needed the rest. We played games (Yahtzee), cooked yummy food (fried halibut & shrimp; rootbeer floats), and watched the Cubs lose to the Brewers. Yes, I confess I also spent hours learning more about blogging, although I feel weird blogging about blogging. If you spend all your time doing your blog, you're not out doing interesting things to blog about, leaving you with nothing to blog about... aaaaaand now I need a motrin.

Videos: Kids around the house

Here's some wacky videos of the kids at home... Gib making his signature shaky crazy face, and all the gang singing Take Me Out To The Ballgame (in two parts).

More Talkeetna Pics...

Here's some more pictures of our gang in downtown Talkeetna. If you look ever so closely at the picture of Lu & Ang, Denali is directly above their heads... it was pretty hazy and only the top was peaking out.

Lu & Logan Go JetBoating!

Lu & Logan got to speed up and down the wild banks of the Susitna, Chulitna, and Talkeetna Rivers in Talkeetna, AK. It was 73 deg and mostly sunny, with a view of the tip-top of Denali (Mt. McKinley for the non-politically correct). Logan got to ride in the 3rd crewmember's jumpseat up front! The skipper laid down a couple sweet 360's for the passengers! The skipper's buddy was a great storyteller with a colorful local family history since his father homesteaded the territory that the jetboat tours!
(Click Title link to see more on Mahay's jetboat tours)

More Lazy Mt Pics

Our favorite Picture Rock, early in the climb.

Yes, the trail goes up and up. Not too steep, but a constant pitch.

Kids Hike Lazy Mt.

Can you believe it? Lu, Logan, Scott & Laney climbed well over half-way up Lazy Mt. to an altitude of approx. 2200' (started at 800'). Awesome job, Laney & Logan--very impressive endurance! What an incredible eagle-eye view of the surrounding mountains, town of Palmer, and beyond! The cool breeze made the "oppressive" mid-70 deg sunny weather... well, even more beautiful. We see it day after day, talk about it as a common landmark--it was great to actually climb our hometown mountain. We are blessed to live among such splendor. (Click the Title link for trail map & info).