Living in Alaska, One Must Ice Skate

The Sunday of the first snow, I asked Rob to 

put on my snow tires.  

Good thing. 

Roughly 6 inches and Amelia had her first ice skating lesson.  Seemed fitting.

I kept wondering why the class was only a half hour...it took that long to get the equipment on!  Now I know...all they do is fall down...stand up.  By the end she was standing...and standing ... and..

standing.  Actually, there were a lot of falls in there...but once she got up, she didn't want to go down.  Her second class they used cones and beanie babies for incentive.

She really wanted that beanie!  By the end of the second class (Monday / Wednesday) she was skating to that beanie. I have a lot of video, but not many stills as I was only armed with my iphone.  Will bring the Nikon for the third class :)

She should be skating in no time!  Kids learn soooo quickly!

We headed home to play in the snow.

GOOD NEWS!!!!  ...

By Friday the snow melted! 

Except for the glob of what was left from our snowman on the grass behind Amelia.

It was a great day for Tree Faces!

Did quite a few more projects and had more fun, 

but will save that next week!

What Barb and Ron Missed by ONE DAY!

After hitting publish to the last post of this morning, I headed downstairs as I heard the pitter patter of Amelia.  

Look what Barb and Ron almost got to see on Sept. 22nd :)

Of course, we had to go out.

And build the first snowman of the season!

Time for hot chocolate!

THEN!!!!...

As I was at my kitchen sink doing dishes this evening...

I first saw him out of the corner of my eye and shouted "we have a bear!" to Rob and Amelia in the back watching tv, AS I was running to get my camera.  I took one picture that was very fuzzy of him on the deck..yes ON the deck.  I ran to a different window and he was gone.  Then I spotted him eating the weeds, where my heart stopped racing  a bit and I switched to my zoom lens :) 

I was tempted to shoo him off, but he was eating grass frantically and was looking up to see if anything was coming to get him...I felt sorry for him and let him leave on his own accord.   He did, but not before I got a few shots in!  From the inside of the house of course :)

Uh, luckily it wasn't this AM when we were out building our snowman.  EEK.

A Visit and Around Alaska We Go!

Our first and last visitors of the Summer brought sun and took us on a few spectacular adventures.

Rob's Aunt Barb and Uncle Rob came for a visit and we headed for Summit Lake at Hatchers Pass.  One of my favorite places on Earth...and I have said that before :)

It was a spectacular day after a month of rain.

The evening prior we had picked them up at the airport and had a tasty dinner at the Millennium Hotel  and sat on the Deck at Lake Hood to watch the float planes land and take off.  Being that it was a beautiful evening we saw PLENTY and Ron, a former pilot,  got to see a few of these...  

Headed for the Eagle River Nature Center and Eklutna the next morning.  BRRRRRRR is all I have to say.

I guess Amelia said brrrrr too.  I didn't dress her properly apparently, so I dug out the stroller and blanket, and she was princess for the morning.

Didn't last long and she was out showing her Aunt and Uncle her very familiar stomping grounds...including the hollow tree that she was once very fearful of!

Eklutna Lake is a hot spot for kayakers, skiers and the like.  We stopped for some rock throwing and headed for some ice cream and a pose in a cross section of the pipeline.  We sent the pic to Dad who was busy at work and had to be reminded what his job is about :) 

After running around and burning off our ice cream, it was time to head to the Eklutna Historical Park that includes St. Nicholas Orthodox Church and accompanying Spirit Houses.

A solemn place, beautiful and peaceful.  Initially, I thought Amelia would make a beeline to a few of the houses that were atop the graves, especially a dollhouse....she glanced and passed them by continuing on the walk, more interested in her hiking adventures and sticks she collected.

That evening...crab legs and remote control jeep racing.  Doesn't get much better than that!

A trip to the Anchorage Museum the following day.  Amelia and I played in the Imaginarium, while Barb and Ron checked out the rest. 

After a few adventures on their own, Rob joined us for a day trip to Seward, Alaska.  

On the way, just past Girdwood where we grabbed our cookies and coffee, Barb spotted Beluga Whales!  We were stopped for road construction and I failed at a good picture.  Here is all we can show to prove it.  It was the first whale sighting for Ron.  Congratulations! :)

Exit Glacier was next.

Bundled down below...I could have worn a t-shirt on top.

A quick tasty lunch and to the Alaska SeaLife Center we go!

Amelia loved it.

Ok...maybe not the octopus made of beach trash.

Scratching the Sea Lion Noses and Bellies.

And a Torpedo with a miss.  

Taking in a view outside of Resurrection Bay 

before heading home.

Sunset on a great week...thanks Ron and Barb for the visit!  Come back soon...