Well, our first full day on the ship is coming to a close. We are all sitting in our pjs in our “deluxe” four berth room. Ahhh. Shawn and Stella are playing with her new special toy that she got today. It is a little Fisher-Price phone. I am, well, on the MacBook. Nicholas is playing with his new special toy, a Leapster. I can’t believe we bought this for him. Yes, a handheld video game seems to go against our parenting principles, but it is quite educational! Right now he is jumping on the letters as they pass on logs in the river. Think Frogger with an educational twist. He is hooked. Uh-oh. Little does he know we got the Backyardigans game for free and it will be his when we get back on the road again. Between this toy and the LeapFrog Letter Factory DVDs, this kid should be reading when we get to OK.
Oh, our wildlife count is up- Shawn and Stella spotted a humpback whale, we saw three orca, and DOZENS of dolphins (or something that looks like a dolphin) this evening from the ship.
After lunch we docked in Sitka, AK. A beautiful little town. We had enough time in port to get off the ship and take a shuttle bus to town. We only had an hour in town- good thing town is tiny. We toured the Russian Orthodox church. It had a nice sized display of ornate icons and art from the early 1800s. Then we strolled through the streets. Shawn bought some chocolate fudge. I bought some quarter flats of fabric and a couple other craft supplies. I am a craft addict I think. Seriously, fabric in Sitka? Did I really need that? But the town was sooooo darn cute. It would be fun to pack up and move there for a few years. Just to experience their way of life. I think it would be fun, anyway.
Now we are back at sea stopping in Petersburg around 1am and Wrangell around 5am. I hope we will be awake to see the ship carefully maneuver through the dozens of markers. It is almost nerve-racking to watch this huge ship manage its way with all the tight turns.
So goodnight from the Inside Passage.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Day 2 (and 3)
Can you believe the ferry has free wireless?!?! AWE-SOME! However, it is not that fast and it is interrupted by their satellite. I say, who cares! I will still try and blog!
OK---well I have tried to post pictures and the signal is just not strong enough here. You know, in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of nowhere! Gosh. So stay tuned for pictures. I will try to get them added in Sitka this afternoon. Try.
Day 2: Tok, AK to Haines, AK
What a long, long drive. ‘bout 9 hours. Kids did great!! It was a nicer drive this time. I think last time we drove it we felt a bit overwhelmed with the remoteness. After spending three years in Alaska, we are quite comfortable with vast remote land. In fact, it is nice to have some space. Maybe not this much space, though. (future pictures)
We drove AK, then Canada, then AK again. Seems to us that AK has the better parts of the barren land. Very little civilization along the way. But beautiful pristine undeveloped land. Breathtaking views all around us. Towering mountains. Mountains everywhere. Massive crystal blue lakes fed by melting mountain snow. Gravel and paved roads. We were quite surprised to see how much snow was still covering the ground just before Haines. (pictures to follow)
Our wildlife count is up to one fox, which we saw in Tok and two brown bears. Should we even count the eagles we saw? Seems so usual now. Here's one of the little guys we spotted on our drive yesterday. He and his brother were crossing the road ahead of us. Then hung out a few minutes longer so we could snap a couple pictures. That was when we discovered that the "old" camera was starting to crap out on us, too. Lovely. (future picture)
We ate a great dinner last night at the Lighthouse Restaurant in Haines. It was right on the water down by the boat harbor and cruise ship dock. Then we drove down to the ferry terminal, got our tickets, and drove the Odyssey into its line. There is always some excitement when you get to drive your car onto a huge ship! Oh, and take the car elevator up to the second floor!! The room is great. We stood out on the deck as we left the port. Another bittersweet moment for me. Nick and Stella got hot showers and snacked and right to bed. They slept all night. This is the second night in a row that Stella has slept through the night. Thank goodness!!
Day 3: Ferry from Haines to ??
It is really interesting how un-crowded the ferry is. But seriously, who wants to LEAVE AK this time of the year! We have several stops on our way...we stopped somewhere last night, Sitka today, and several more. Looks like we might actually have some time to get off the boat in Ketchican. Yeah, totem poles. More about the boat: we have a four berth room. We have so much room for all our stuff. The kids have room to play, too. Right now we are in the Recliner lounge on the second floor. It is a big windowed room in the front of the boat. It has big reclining movie theater seats and booths and tables. The kids are in the tiny (and busy) play area. Plenty of little ones on the ship today. Other adults in the lounge are supervising their children, whale watching, and sleeping. Well, trying to sleep with the kid-noise. But this is where you might sleep if you didn’t have a room. The other place might be in a tent or lounge chair on the back deck. Kinda cold option I would imagine.
Too bad the pictures won’t load. There is so much amazing scenery to share. It is like nowhere else. What is amazing, too, is that thousands of tourists cruise up here to see the same sights and see the same cities for thou$and$ more. How luck we are.
OK---well I have tried to post pictures and the signal is just not strong enough here. You know, in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of nowhere! Gosh. So stay tuned for pictures. I will try to get them added in Sitka this afternoon. Try.
Day 2: Tok, AK to Haines, AK
What a long, long drive. ‘bout 9 hours. Kids did great!! It was a nicer drive this time. I think last time we drove it we felt a bit overwhelmed with the remoteness. After spending three years in Alaska, we are quite comfortable with vast remote land. In fact, it is nice to have some space. Maybe not this much space, though. (future pictures)
We drove AK, then Canada, then AK again. Seems to us that AK has the better parts of the barren land. Very little civilization along the way. But beautiful pristine undeveloped land. Breathtaking views all around us. Towering mountains. Mountains everywhere. Massive crystal blue lakes fed by melting mountain snow. Gravel and paved roads. We were quite surprised to see how much snow was still covering the ground just before Haines. (pictures to follow)
Our wildlife count is up to one fox, which we saw in Tok and two brown bears. Should we even count the eagles we saw? Seems so usual now. Here's one of the little guys we spotted on our drive yesterday. He and his brother were crossing the road ahead of us. Then hung out a few minutes longer so we could snap a couple pictures. That was when we discovered that the "old" camera was starting to crap out on us, too. Lovely. (future picture)
We ate a great dinner last night at the Lighthouse Restaurant in Haines. It was right on the water down by the boat harbor and cruise ship dock. Then we drove down to the ferry terminal, got our tickets, and drove the Odyssey into its line. There is always some excitement when you get to drive your car onto a huge ship! Oh, and take the car elevator up to the second floor!! The room is great. We stood out on the deck as we left the port. Another bittersweet moment for me. Nick and Stella got hot showers and snacked and right to bed. They slept all night. This is the second night in a row that Stella has slept through the night. Thank goodness!!
Day 3: Ferry from Haines to ??
It is really interesting how un-crowded the ferry is. But seriously, who wants to LEAVE AK this time of the year! We have several stops on our way...we stopped somewhere last night, Sitka today, and several more. Looks like we might actually have some time to get off the boat in Ketchican. Yeah, totem poles. More about the boat: we have a four berth room. We have so much room for all our stuff. The kids have room to play, too. Right now we are in the Recliner lounge on the second floor. It is a big windowed room in the front of the boat. It has big reclining movie theater seats and booths and tables. The kids are in the tiny (and busy) play area. Plenty of little ones on the ship today. Other adults in the lounge are supervising their children, whale watching, and sleeping. Well, trying to sleep with the kid-noise. But this is where you might sleep if you didn’t have a room. The other place might be in a tent or lounge chair on the back deck. Kinda cold option I would imagine.
Too bad the pictures won’t load. There is so much amazing scenery to share. It is like nowhere else. What is amazing, too, is that thousands of tourists cruise up here to see the same sights and see the same cities for thou$and$ more. How luck we are.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Move from Alaska Day 1
Ahhh, what a bittersweet day this has been. More bitter than sweet. This is our first day of our 15 day trip. Today we drove from Eagle River, AK to Tok, AK. Pretty uneventful drive really. Our journey began this morning with some very sad goodbyes. We said goodbye to Melissa (and Ace, her dog) this morning in her driveway. I have been dreading that moment for about six months. It wasn't any different than I had imagined. It was a tearful farewell. She and Chuck have been like family to us. We are going to miss them tremendously! Our friends across the street waved goodbye from their porch. And Nick's best buddies gave him goodbye hugs in their pjs. I just could not believe that we were leaving. I took my last looks around the neighborhood as we drove out. My eyes were full of tears but everything was as beautiful as it ever was. I sobbed the whole way to the highway. And I can still get myself choked up if I remember that we are moving away. I believe we will be back. It will just be a little while. The kids did great. We even picnicked for lunch. Nick is so anxious to get to his new house in Oklahoma. Right now we just have to focus on getting to bed and getting up EARLY. We have a nine hour drive tomorrow to Haines. We catch the ferry tomorrow evening.
Here are a couple pictures of our drive today.
Matanuska Glacier:
Kids at playground in Tok:
I am going to miss this place. It has been a dream to be up here. It just feels so magic.
Here are a couple pictures of our drive today.
Matanuska Glacier:
Kids at playground in Tok:
I am going to miss this place. It has been a dream to be up here. It just feels so magic.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Much to blog about, again
No pictures tonight. My camera broke yesterday. I KNOW! Not to worry Canon will repair it under warranty as soon as I mail it in to them. Still doesn't give me a camera for our trip. I think we have the old (big and clunky) camera. Hope so. So if you want to stop reading now go ahead. Otherwise, sit back, it's a long one.
The last few weeks have been hectic and it seems like each day we get little wrench thrown into our system. We are pretty much just rolling with the punches at this point. I would have blogged sooner, but the laptop has been at the shop for a couple weeks (wrench!). It wasn't supposed to take that long, but when the parts are not in AK...anyway. Today we only had to juggle our schedules with one car. Tomorrow it's the same thing. Pretty much this means lots of switching car seats around. Which we need to go outside and do in a few minutes. We aren't juggling one car because we have shipped one. No, not yet. We are actually shipping our car on the 4th, but leaving here on the 1st. See, that is just one of our little wrenches. Right now, both cars just need something-or-other before we head out.
So we were packed up on the 21st and then the movers came again on the 24th (another wrench) to load up the boxes and furniture. But we have such wonderful friends up here, Melissa and Chuck, in AK that have invited us to stay with them while we are in transition. We have known them for a long time and think of them as family. Now that we are all staying under one roof we might as well be family. I just realized that by the time we leave we will have been their house guests for over two weeks. Wow. We owe these guys big time!
Earlier this week, we sold our AK house and bought our OK house. Pretty uneventful actually. Just paperwork. We haven't actually seen the new house, but our friends did. And we trust them! : ) Thanks to Katie and Dan and Eli who looked at our house and even took video and put it on YouTube.
For the next two days we are all just soaking in as much of this place as we can. The weather this week has been absolutely perfect. And the sun is setting late (sunset tonight is 11:17pm) so we are enjoying the amazing views even after we get the kids to bed. I love it! I am looking outside now, and one of the neighbors is painting the deck. It is 9:45pm!! Nicholas and Stella have been outside so much. I had them out for just 2 hours this morning and Stella was so wiped out. At lunch I looked over and she had fallen asleep at the table with a big hunk of sandwich in her mouth. I had to wake her up six times to finish chewing it up. Nicholas has been playing nonstop with friends. We did playgroups on Tues and Wed, playgrounds and parks, you name it. And all the time in between, he has been playing with his friends, T & E, across the street from Chuck and Melissa. He is constantly looking over to their house and asking to play with them. This morning T & E saw us outside and were banging on their windows and calling to Nick. I don't know what is going to happen on Sunday when we have to leave them. I want to cry just thinking about it. Good thing is, their mommy is having a baby next week so they will be involved with that excitement. The kids are so happy playing together. Even Stella loves them. We are going to have a sad, sad little boy next week I think. I might be wrong.
I WISH I had a picture of Nicholas for you. He got his haircut today and the girl spent about 45 minutes on him. He has a horrible cowlick so I have been growing his hair long to weigh it down. Well, it had gotten to the point of shaggy-and-a big mess. I couldn't stand looking at his hair. But this girl took SO much time and care on his hair. She even washed his hair. He was a perfect angel for all of it. And he has a perfect haircut too.
Soooo tomorrow night is the opening night of Sex and the City movie. This couldn't have happened at a better time. I am a huge SATC fan. My girlfriends, the awesome women they are, set up a girls night out/going away for me and we are going to see the movie. But not until after we go to Simon and Seafort's (nice, nice AK restaurant) for appetizers and drinks! I am so super excited for our night out. I needed this. Now, instead of dreading "goodbyes" I am anxiously anticipating the fabulous night on the town with my incredible girlfriends.
I suppose that is the happy note on which to end this. We have a full schedule tomorrow and I know Stella will be up tonight.
The last few weeks have been hectic and it seems like each day we get little wrench thrown into our system. We are pretty much just rolling with the punches at this point. I would have blogged sooner, but the laptop has been at the shop for a couple weeks (wrench!). It wasn't supposed to take that long, but when the parts are not in AK...anyway. Today we only had to juggle our schedules with one car. Tomorrow it's the same thing. Pretty much this means lots of switching car seats around. Which we need to go outside and do in a few minutes. We aren't juggling one car because we have shipped one. No, not yet. We are actually shipping our car on the 4th, but leaving here on the 1st. See, that is just one of our little wrenches. Right now, both cars just need something-or-other before we head out.
So we were packed up on the 21st and then the movers came again on the 24th (another wrench) to load up the boxes and furniture. But we have such wonderful friends up here, Melissa and Chuck, in AK that have invited us to stay with them while we are in transition. We have known them for a long time and think of them as family. Now that we are all staying under one roof we might as well be family. I just realized that by the time we leave we will have been their house guests for over two weeks. Wow. We owe these guys big time!
Earlier this week, we sold our AK house and bought our OK house. Pretty uneventful actually. Just paperwork. We haven't actually seen the new house, but our friends did. And we trust them! : ) Thanks to Katie and Dan and Eli who looked at our house and even took video and put it on YouTube.
For the next two days we are all just soaking in as much of this place as we can. The weather this week has been absolutely perfect. And the sun is setting late (sunset tonight is 11:17pm) so we are enjoying the amazing views even after we get the kids to bed. I love it! I am looking outside now, and one of the neighbors is painting the deck. It is 9:45pm!! Nicholas and Stella have been outside so much. I had them out for just 2 hours this morning and Stella was so wiped out. At lunch I looked over and she had fallen asleep at the table with a big hunk of sandwich in her mouth. I had to wake her up six times to finish chewing it up. Nicholas has been playing nonstop with friends. We did playgroups on Tues and Wed, playgrounds and parks, you name it. And all the time in between, he has been playing with his friends, T & E, across the street from Chuck and Melissa. He is constantly looking over to their house and asking to play with them. This morning T & E saw us outside and were banging on their windows and calling to Nick. I don't know what is going to happen on Sunday when we have to leave them. I want to cry just thinking about it. Good thing is, their mommy is having a baby next week so they will be involved with that excitement. The kids are so happy playing together. Even Stella loves them. We are going to have a sad, sad little boy next week I think. I might be wrong.
I WISH I had a picture of Nicholas for you. He got his haircut today and the girl spent about 45 minutes on him. He has a horrible cowlick so I have been growing his hair long to weigh it down. Well, it had gotten to the point of shaggy-and-a big mess. I couldn't stand looking at his hair. But this girl took SO much time and care on his hair. She even washed his hair. He was a perfect angel for all of it. And he has a perfect haircut too.
Soooo tomorrow night is the opening night of Sex and the City movie. This couldn't have happened at a better time. I am a huge SATC fan. My girlfriends, the awesome women they are, set up a girls night out/going away for me and we are going to see the movie. But not until after we go to Simon and Seafort's (nice, nice AK restaurant) for appetizers and drinks! I am so super excited for our night out. I needed this. Now, instead of dreading "goodbyes" I am anxiously anticipating the fabulous night on the town with my incredible girlfriends.
I suppose that is the happy note on which to end this. We have a full schedule tomorrow and I know Stella will be up tonight.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Much to blog about
Since I am awful at keeping up with this blog, here is a quick run down:
Nick:
- He just "turned" 3 1/2. He is huge and growing faster than I had expected. Shoe is a boys 10, and clothes 4T, except I am still dressing him in 3T because in about a month he won't need those high-water pants in Oklahoma! Crop shirts will get put in a box though.
- He JUST got over a nasty virus today. At least the fever is finally gone. Since last Thursday, it has been anywhere from 101 to 103, despite our VERY best efforts. And we tried everything! Of course a trip to the pediatrician usually makes a mom look like a drama-mama. (We went yesterday.)
Stella:
- She had a bad week before Nicholas got sick. She has 11 teeth and I think #12 and 13 were trying to come in. She was just miserable.
- Is starting to really communicate with signs and sounds. She has a few cute ones that she made up. Like she smacks her gums when she wants a snack! How appropriate.
Shawn
- I think it is starting to hit him that we are leaving. He already had his going away at work. Seems so soon, but the movers come next weekend.
- He has been super busy taking care of our house sale and our house buy. I have left all of it up to him. Luckily he is keeping to all straight. Both our buyer and seller are "Johns" from Oklahoma City and both realtors are named "Laura." Confusing, huh?
Me:
- Not cleaning. Why clean? We are moving. I will clean with the house is empty. Geesh.
- Sewing. Sewing everything. Yoga bags- at a halt. I am awaiting a shipment of materials. Nursing covers- made a bunch for gifts and then some for extras. Stuff for me- Melissa and I are about 80% done with this adorable Amy Butler Anna tunic. We worked on it yesterday. Don't worry, I will blog it when it's all done. Made a skirt in an hour. That is one hour from drafting my own pattern to trying it on. It is cu-ute. Gifts- Mother's day and my sisters' birthdays are coming up. Em, here is a glimpse of yours:
Just got some CUTE cheap glasses. Cheap. Like I paid $26 for both pairs. Got them in less than 2 wks. Each came with a hard case and cleaning cloth. They are "fun" glasses. These were $12:
Told you- cute. My friend told me about this website, Zenni Optical. You're welcome.
Ok, ok. Here is a picture of the kids. Since I don't allow guns and swords, Nicholas gets creative. His guns are built from Leggo tree trunks. And this morning his sword was a plastic screwdriver. He let Stella have the Phillips.
Nick:
- He just "turned" 3 1/2. He is huge and growing faster than I had expected. Shoe is a boys 10, and clothes 4T, except I am still dressing him in 3T because in about a month he won't need those high-water pants in Oklahoma! Crop shirts will get put in a box though.
- He JUST got over a nasty virus today. At least the fever is finally gone. Since last Thursday, it has been anywhere from 101 to 103, despite our VERY best efforts. And we tried everything! Of course a trip to the pediatrician usually makes a mom look like a drama-mama. (We went yesterday.)
Stella:
- She had a bad week before Nicholas got sick. She has 11 teeth and I think #12 and 13 were trying to come in. She was just miserable.
- Is starting to really communicate with signs and sounds. She has a few cute ones that she made up. Like she smacks her gums when she wants a snack! How appropriate.
Shawn
- I think it is starting to hit him that we are leaving. He already had his going away at work. Seems so soon, but the movers come next weekend.
- He has been super busy taking care of our house sale and our house buy. I have left all of it up to him. Luckily he is keeping to all straight. Both our buyer and seller are "Johns" from Oklahoma City and both realtors are named "Laura." Confusing, huh?
Me:
- Not cleaning. Why clean? We are moving. I will clean with the house is empty. Geesh.
- Sewing. Sewing everything. Yoga bags- at a halt. I am awaiting a shipment of materials. Nursing covers- made a bunch for gifts and then some for extras. Stuff for me- Melissa and I are about 80% done with this adorable Amy Butler Anna tunic. We worked on it yesterday. Don't worry, I will blog it when it's all done. Made a skirt in an hour. That is one hour from drafting my own pattern to trying it on. It is cu-ute. Gifts- Mother's day and my sisters' birthdays are coming up. Em, here is a glimpse of yours:
Just got some CUTE cheap glasses. Cheap. Like I paid $26 for both pairs. Got them in less than 2 wks. Each came with a hard case and cleaning cloth. They are "fun" glasses. These were $12:
Told you- cute. My friend told me about this website, Zenni Optical. You're welcome.
Ok, ok. Here is a picture of the kids. Since I don't allow guns and swords, Nicholas gets creative. His guns are built from Leggo tree trunks. And this morning his sword was a plastic screwdriver. He let Stella have the Phillips.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
My Beautiful Sisters
This picture of me and my beautiful sisters was taken last Thanksgiving. It was part of a surprise gift to our parents for Christmas. There hadn't been a picture of the four of us in we don't know how long. And I mean any kind of picture with any old camera! None. Well, we loaded our parents up with a gorgeous book full of pictures and thoughts. Mom brought it to Hawaii and I just got to see it in person. It is amazing!! How amazing?? Well, when the photographer delivered it to my sister at her work, everyone there cried...it was that good! I have a couple more I will post later. It is late and I am still tired from our flight back from Hawaii.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Aloha!
I just couldn't get it together to post before our trip. But now we are back from our vacation in Hawaii. It was SO nice just to get away and enjoy some sun and warmth. We also got to meet up with our family over there- my parents, Shawn's mom, and my sister. The kids really enjoyed all of the extra attention.
Our flights were great. Direct flights from AK. Nicholas and Stella were perfect. Even on the way home there was a medical emergency in the middle of the overnight flight and the kids just slept through all of it. I love these guys! In Hawaii, we stayed at Ford Island one night (very nice, pretty area), Bellows four nights (perfect for the kids), and Hale Koa for the last two nights (absolutely wonderful). Because of the time difference, we were up early every morning. We went to Anna Miller's for breakfast the first day. Soooo good. Shawn and Nicholas had the fresh pineapple. I had an omelet. Stella tried the green crayon.
Then we went to a little playground on Ford Island before we had to check out. Nicholas and Stella loved being outside and just running around.
Our days at Bellows was perfect. Everything was casual and convenient. Nicholas just loved digging sand in front of our cabin. Here is Nick outside playing one morning in his PJs.
On our last day at Bellows, he finally got to play in the big sand hole on the beach. He had been wanting to get in that hole since the minute we arrived. There were some other little boys playing in it so I let him go play with them.
Stella was not a fan of the beach. She didn't like the sand, wind, water, sun. We moved her bed outside and she did love that!
We took a beach break one day and visited the Honolulu Zoo. Worthwhile. Stella napped most of the time we were there. Good morning, Sunshine!
And Nick enjoyed seeing all the different animals. Though the playground was probably his favorite exhibit.
Squeezed in 18 holes, too.
Before we left Bellows we just had to try their breakfast. That awful mess on the far right plate is Shawn's breakfast, the Local Mocco: scrambled eggs, two hamburger patties, gravy, rice, and a scoop of macaroni salad. Of course. Bleckh.
Shawn and I got to snorkel at Hanauma Bay and boogie board at Bellows. I lasted about an hour in the water. Those waves were just knocking me around too much. But it was fun.
This is a neat picture of my parents at Bellows.
Visited the Dole Pineapple Plantation.
**how do i rotate this??**
Stella making her very best fish face.
Here is Stella having lunch at Hale Koa. A little PB&J...a little shark.
Here is Grandma with our little Nick-fish at the Hale Koa.
Here's everyone at Duke's for lunch.
Nick LOVED the luau at the Hale Koa. He and Aunt Sarah chanted for the "red dancing ladies." Those were the fast-dancing hula girls wearing, red grass skirts. He does a pretty good impression of their dancing, too. And of course, he liked the fire dancers.
Here are the kids with Aunt Sarah. Boy are they going to miss her this week! They are picking up flowers. Nick filled his pockets with them.
Nice hat, Kate! Why thank you! This is one of the four hats I feverishly sewed before leaving for Hawaii. I sewed sun hats for all the girls and intended to get a picture of us all wearing them. But it just didn't happen. oh well. It is the Amy Butler Blue Sky Hat, in case you wondered. I love mine and wore it a bunch. I didn't want to get sun burned. Thanks to the SPF 50 I used, I did not. Well, except for a patch on my leg that I missed.
Here are a few pictures from our last day at Waikiki. We hope you enjoyed your vacation and visit. Aloha.
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