A sad goodbye...

We left Ketchikan Wednesday evening on the ferry....

arriving in Bellingham, WA this morning at 8:00.

2 nights.

no cabin.

hard floor.

screaming babies.

snoring weirdos.

(but hey- that's how I did it when I was a kid!)

I asked the kids what their favorite thing in Ketchikan was...

they both said Ziplining!

Robert favorite was beachcombing.

My favorite....

Everything!

except the mosquito's.

and expensive groceries.

and leaving.

Sorry no pictures...

I think I was too sad to take any as we left :(

Kayaking

Always looking to save a few bucks, we decided to take kayaks out by ourselves rather than go with a tour. ($90 vs $250). It was a perfect day to be out on the water. Maybe not four hours though. My arm muscles felt like jelly when we where done!! But it was worth it!

Braden and I went together -

he paddled like a man!

Shea had a pretty easy life with Robert

doing most the work.

Shea brought her dog -
of course!

Our own private beach

for a few minutes of rest.

Isn't this a beautiful scene??!!

Eagles

There are eagles everywhere here...

When I saw this eagle, I thought it was a carving,

until it moved!

Shea took this eagle-in-flight picture

amazing!

Just hanging out downtown.

Gypsy

About two weeks ago, we were at Ward Lake and the kids started playing with a dog that was there with a wonderful lady that turned out to be my 9th grade home ec teacher. Small world! She saw how much the kids loved playing with Gypsy and offered to let us borrow her whenever we wanted. Today was a heat wave of 75 degrees and perfect for taking a dog to the beach. What fun!

throw stick.

watch gypsy fetch.

watch gypsy shake all over mom.

watch gypsy roll in dirt.

repeat.

Beatiful day at the beach!

Ward picnic

Today was the Ketchikan ward pioneer picnic. An amazingly beautiful day!

Family photo.... right after Shea won the pie eating contest.

Go Shea, go!

Braden and some friends out swimming on a log.
that's a cruise ship leaving in the background

Braden working hard at playing!

These are a few of my favorite things...

One the best things about Ketchikan is all the amazing plants... so here are a few of my favorites:

fireweed

grows everywhere and is SO beautiful!

blueberries.

blueberry pancakes, oatmeal, muffins.

blueberries and angel food cake.

I'll eat blueberries and anything!

salmonberries.

very yummy to eat!


skunk cabbage.
stinky - but cool looking.

devil's club

evil, evil thorns.

(related to Sasha)



daisies and buttercups

the roads are lined with these.

so beautiful!

Zipline Adventures

We did the Southeast Zipline Adventure... a drizzly day that dried up just as we got started.

a little scary.
a lot of fun.
can we do it again?

getting ready.

note the older couple in the background.

if they can do it... I definitely better not scream like a girl!

Shea just after she landed from one of her zips.

Braden getting ready to take off.
smart boy left his glasses at home.
but they would be easier to find here than in a lake.

Robert coming in

the course also included some rope stuff.

I much preferred the ziplines!

Action shot of me coming in and Braden going out..

favorite shot of the day -

One of the zips required a running start

Shea was a bit slow and had to pull herself the rest of the way

with a rope. She ended up flipping almost upside down.

loving it all the way!

Beaver Falls Trail

Ketchikan only has 16 miles of road going north (we are staying about 12 miles out) and about 11 going South. Yesterday we went all the way south and took the Beaver Falls hiking trail. The kids did great (after I told them I was going to eat their donuts at the end of the hike if they kept complaining!)

It was a pretty good climb going up to the falls.

This picture is at the top of the falls.

Beautiful views... I LOVE the colors

of the mountains in the background.

They are all on other islands.

Shea's new favorite flower.

Purple.

Of course.

Looking out... just ocean and islands.

City Park and Eagle Sanctuary

Yesterday, we went to city park which also has the Eagle Sanctuary and Fish Hatchery.... I wish Lubbock had a park like this!

We were able to watch Isreal Shortridge carve a totem pole (cost is only $4,000 a foot - should I get one?) Shea and Braden each bought a greeting card print of his. Shea's is a killer whale and Braden's is a wolf. He was kind enough to sign and date them for the kids.

The eagles here are unable to live in the wild, but they make their sanctuary as similar as possible to their habitat.

I love this eagle close-up!

Rainy days...

The last couple of days have been rainy... so we've been to the library, swimming pool and spending lots of time together. Today we are headed to the discovery center, fish hatchery and back to the library. Not much to take pictures of so I thought I would share some photos I've taken of where we are staying..

there is a beautiful creek that runs at the back of our place. It looks like rootbeer from the muskeg. Very beautiful!

Shea out picking blueberries.

this is the firepit right outside our place.

lots of s'mores!

The lower part is a shop and parking for a boat.

We are staying in the top portion...

a two bedroom, one bath apartment.

Very fun!

Stairs going from the yard down to the forest.

Lots of hot chocolate..... looking out from the deck.

Pictures from Kayla!

I got some pictures from Kayla a few weeks ago, but the laptop was having problems getting the pictures saved. Or maybe it was me having the problems :) Because today it worked!! We've been hearing from Kayla each week by email - but have missed her written letters. I thought I had sent her the address here in Ketchikan, but guess I didn't. She is doing really well and I LOVE hearing from her.

This is with one of the children in her new ward in Maple Valley that just got baptized. So cute!

For the 4th of July, Kayla, Sister Gibbons and Sister Bush turned a wagon into their own float. This is at their ward party.

The three sisters helped a member of their ward paint her daughters room. Of course, Shea wants her room painted this way now! I think we'll wait until Kayla gets home... since it looks like she did a fabulous job.