O.K., So I'm really behind in posting, and it wasn't a "quick trip", it lasted an entire MONTH! But, it was fantastic. So... I'll take a few days at a time, and hopefully, get everyone caught up on our summer vacation.
At the beginning of July, I took the children to Alaska. On an airplane. By myself. It was a great flight with no hitches or bumps or glitches. All the children in their Sunday best, acted their Sunday best, and it was rewarding to see the looks and hear the compliments of other passengers as our children exceeded expectations.
My favorite part of the flight? Listening to the children laugh hysterically when we landed because it was such a new experience for them. I also really liked landing in Alaska on a non-rainy day and feeling the land of my birth under my feet again.
The next day the adventures began! We started by spending the morning with Charity and her crew, then spent the afternoon on a drive to Hatcher Pass - a gorgeous drive, and obviously exhausting for the littles... they ALL slept on the way up the pass - except Margaret, who was my little photo buddy. She took pictures all the way. Including out the window at the mountains that LeGrand kept insisting we were going to fall off of. "Is this the mountain we're going to fall off of, Mom?" I have no idea where he got that idea... no mention of falling was ever made, and we were on the highway when he made those remarks. Funny kid.
When everyone woke up, we got out and stretched our legs a little...
This picture of me was taken after the children finally went to sleep at 11:30ish PM. no flash. Getting used to daylight well into the wee hours of the morning took a lot of getting used to. Turns out, I really love the stars in the summer time, and I'm not as used to daylight 22-7 anymore. I will readily admit to staying up until the sky got dark reading more than one book. More than one night in a row.
Other highlights of our first week include spending the July 4th with Family - something I haven't done in MANY years. We went hiking at Hatcher Pass... IN THE SNOW! Not typical Alaska, by the way. It was an unusually chilly July.
The children (those who didn't spend the time shivering) enjoyed playing in the snow in July, and eating donuts and drinking hot chocolate with cousins to start our holiday; but I'm sure they were thrilled to get out of the mountains and into a little warmer weather to watch the parade! (Funny how warm 65 can be when you've been in snow in the morning!) LeGrand loved watching the tractors in the down home parade; all of the children were a little mystified that people would actually give them candy... (we don't get to may parades here in Oregon.)
Thanks, Uncle Ethan, for helping these two cuties figure out how to get the most candy! Our Independence Celebration ended with a wonderful barbecue and tons of fun with cousins.
And on... to the Reindeer Farm! In 1990, the Williams family in Palmer, Alaska, started a reindeer farm. I went to school and seminary with the Williams kids, but had only been to the farm one other time - with Andrew. Unfortunately, he wasn't with us when we went this time, but we took a tour so that we could feed the reindeer. After all, Santa might not stop if we didn't take time to feed his reindeer! LeGrand liked feeding the 4 year old moose... Boy am I glad my 4 year old isn't this tall!
Caroline wasn't as thrilled about the reindeer as LeGrand was - and I nearly was bowled over by her lack of enthusiasm more than one time. Sure was grateful for some good balance skills! LeGrand just couldn't get enough of feeding that moose!
The end of week one brought a family birthday party for my youngest Sis - Brittany. Haven't had a chance to celebrate with that many of my family for a long time, and it was super fun! From the white elephant to the Carrot Cake (YUMMMMM!!!) to the cousins playing with the Magnavox to the food, it was all fantastic.
And thus we finish week one in grand style. Week two on another day. This should be a good start to the trip!
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