Alaska pt 2

After Rich left we had many more adventures even though we missed having him with us!

Day #9

I took the kids to Jewel Lake and met up with Rachelle's family.

Peter and Thomas weren't loving the sand... but we finally convinced them to come play on the shore with us.

In the evening we took advantage of free admission at the museum.

I think everyone had a fun time exploring the different exhibits!

Day #10

We headed out to Eagle River to hike with Grandpa.  We met up with the Taylor's there!

The last time we went on this hike was when Alex was a toddler!

Grandpa showed us the public use cabin out there and we saw some bear scat (but no bears thankfully!)  William saw a moose again!

The weather was so pleasant that we ate outside again!  My mom said that this was the most use they've gotten out of their deck in all the years they've lived in Alaska!

Day #11

Sunday was restful after all the running around we had been doing!  I loved going out in the hammock (at 11PM!) to read for a little while.

Day #12


My dad had to run down to the television station to record a commercial for his sleep clinic.  He invited William and James to come along with him.   They got a grand tour and even got to sit down on the couch for a little interview!  What a cool experience!

While they were gone the little boys went to the Randall's to play and then the big boys came home and threw tomahawks in the backyard.  In the evening we had dinner with the cousins and the kids played together for hours!

Alex discovered the joys of reading in the hammock.

In the evening James, William and I stayed up playing games on the deck until far too late.  That darn sun tricks you every time!

Day #13


We headed to the zoo since we don't have one in Las Vegas.  We spotted animal life before we even entered the zoo when the kids all found a ladybug in the parking lot.

We brought Peter and Thomas with us while Rachelle went to a doctor's appointment.  Unfortunately the animals were all hiding since it was so hot.... which made the kids grumpy.

Alex really liked this hawk.

We did spot the tiger though!

The bears really put on a show for us.  It looked as if the mom was teaching the baby how to fight.

When we got home James was telling Peter that he was so hungry that he was going to eat his glass (and pretended to take a bite).  He set his glass down on the counter and then went to grab the chocolate milk powder and the milk.  In the meantime, Peter picked up the glass and actually bit it!  I heard a *crunch* and looked over to see a broken glass.

It was too funny!  He spit out some glass and while I was cleaning it up he ran away and hid.  Thankfully he wasn't hurt!

Lydia wanted to make sure I got a picture of her in the hammock!

Day #14

We met up with the Taylor's at the sand dunes.  We wanted to visit the sand dunes the last time we were in Alaska but William had a broken arm and we didn't think it would be a good idea.  (We were right... it would have been no fun for him!)

At one point James climbed up a tree and told us he had spotted a moose!  I was especially excited because I hadn't seen a moose the entire trip (everyone else had!)

We watched the moose for at least 20 minutes!    James freaked me out a little bit when he decided to climb down from the tree after the moose had moved closer to him.  Eventually the moose moved on a little ways... but we were still watching it.  We decided to head back home and let a lady near the trailhead know that just beyond her sight the moose was there in the woods.  She immediately started packing up her stuff and calling to her children.  It was a good thing too... but cause not more than a minute passed when that moose ran from the woods (right behind James!)--right through the area that the lady had been sitting in--and down to the water.

In the afternoon we headed to Potters Marsh to see the salmon swimming upstream.

The boys shot sodas in the backyard (leftover Dr. Pepper from Austin's last visit) with Grandpa.

They attempted to throw some tomahawks as well.

Rachelle and I snuck away for a little treat together at Wild Scoops.  It was delicious and fun to spend time with Rachelle.

Day #15

We all headed downtown for a free ride on the ulu trolley and then watched some fishermen at Shipp Creek. 

In the evening we celebrated Scott's birthday with homemade fish n chips and carrot cake!  Then we hopped a red eye back to Las Vegas.

The kids were great travelers and we were really lucky that the flight was nearly empty (that never happens when we are traveling to or from Alaska!) so we were able to spread out.  It made sleeping much more enjoyable.

We had such a fun, memorable trip to Alaska!