Roaring Springs!

Kelsey and I took Shae and Kate to Roaring Springs! It was a perfect day, and we had sooo much fun! I had no idea there was so much for toddlers to do there! I think just being around Shae makes Kate more brave in the water (Shae is 1/4 merman).

Where is this child's mother?

Alaska: Cute Cousins

Kate and baby Alison

HELP!

Alison has no problem telling us just how she feels about this photo shoot.

Alaska: fish hatchery

I think the fish hatchery was my favorite thing in Juneau, believe it or not. It was fascinating! I have never seen so many salmon in once place! We took a private tour and had a great guide who was very understanding. She was willing to follow us around and yell out information as my mom and I tried to contain our 2 out of control toddlers.

I would love to share everything I learned there, about the life cycles of the salmon and what exactly the fish hatchery does, but it would be far too demanding of my brain and fingers. So visit your local hatchery! Or look is up online. It really is cool.

This is one of those funny, non-threatening grizzlies. They're my favorite kind.

Inside the hatchery were a bunch of aquariums. Kate liked to race that big silver fish around and around the cylindric tank.

tickle tickle!

My favorite thing within the hatchery was the Touch Tank. There were open shallow tanks filled with relatively harmless sea creatures for people to hold and examine.

King Crab

If this crab looks angry, it's probably because half of his legs are missing.

Here we have a sea cucumber "releasing" (ahem) it's water onto another sea cucumber. Kate found this quite amusing. (ok, so did I)

Alaska: a day at the beach

I couldn't resist slipping in this picture that shows off Kate's mullet so marvelously.

Alaska: wicked versatile park

This was the sweetest playground I've ever seen! And the really cool thing is that it was built entirely by volunteers from the community! The pictures don't do it justice, it is enormous. An added bonus is that the ground is covered with delicious recycled rubber chunks (taste-tested by k8).

Alaska: the tram

We took a tram up almost to the top of a mountain, then hiked around when we got off. Kate followed Darin around like a puppy and had to do exactly what Darin did. She is his biggest fan :)

Alaska: a cool park in Douglas

CHEESE!

Alaska

Kate and I (with G-ma & G-pa) flew up to Alaska to visit Brent, Amber and Darin, and their new baby Alison! We had such a good time, and it was so beautiful there. Even though it was overcast almost the whole time I was there, the weather was just right. Darin taught Kate how to jump in puddles, and she couldn't get enough of it. (now, back home, she jumps on patches of dirt or mud. We haven't had a lot of puddles this summer :) )

I loved everything about Juneau. It is much smaller than I had imagined, just narrow rows of homes between the coast and the gorgeous mountains. You have to fly or take a ferry to leave, but luckily there is plenty to do. There are hiking trails all over the place, just minutes away. I loved it! (another thing I can't find much of at home) The people there are very down to earth and love being outside. I finally felt like I was in style, because there isn't one - an "in" style, that is. Amber told me that the people there don't care so much about appearances, but more aobut what is inside a person. Everyone jogs, walks or cycles, not because they are trying to fit into a swimsuit, but because they just want to be healthy. It was very refreshing!

Below are some of the pictures of our adventures.

On Sunday morning we arrived at church to see this little guy waiting for us! He looked so cute and friendly, it was hard to fight the temptation to go pet him. So I just reminded myself that he would probably chew my arm off, and that helped.

Baby Alison loves her new dress!

This is Mendenhall Glacier. It is enormous and beautiful. The picture doesn't show it well, but it almost shines bright blue. Kate and Darin mostly wanted to throw rocks at the "bodacious glacier."

This iceberg shows the blue glow really well.

Brent and Amber's new place is really cute. They were so nice to let all of us stay with them after they just had a new baby!

Uncle Brent is fun!