Our Life in Alaska

August/September 2011 Misc.

We went to the Wildlife Conservation in in Portage. It is 140 acre drive-through animal park. Dedicated to the rehabilitation of orphaned and injured animals. They provide emergency treatment, rescue and care.

Above: Caribou

Left/Below: Musk Ox

It was cold and wet; However, the weather never stops us from having fun!!

Paul is having a blast!!

These black bears were about 3-4 feet in front of us eating the grass. I could have reached out and touched them if I really wanted to show our kids what happens if you try to pet a bear. I decided that was not a lesson I was up to teaching....

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Hunter is in 3rd grade this year. Hunter likes math and music, p.e. and recess..

Simon is in 1st grade. Simon enjoys reading and I think social studies and of course music, p.e. and recess..

They are boy playing basketball, though Hunter doesn't start until January. They want to do Cub Scouts (Hunter is 3rd year, Simon starting) and Ice Skating, but schedules are conflicting. One or the other. Why everything is on Tuesday/Thursday, I don't know. They are also enrolled in Cross country skiing lessons with me. They won't start until November. I start cross-training classes, to prepare.

(long story with the door jam... need wider trim or different door)

Abby is in Pre-K. She loves it. She goes everyday for half a day. She has been doing gymnastics, but it conflicts with school hours, so it is put on hold. All 4 kids are in Awana (program at church). The girls are cubbies, Simon is in Sparks, and Hunter is T & T (truth and training). They love it.

Olivia turned 3 this August. She wanted to celebrate at Carl's Jr. (Hardees in the lower 48). We celebrate with good friends.

At the beginning of the month, the toilet in the master bath over flowed. So we had to rip up carpet in all 3 bedrooms, our closet, our bath (minus the toilet & tub), and wood floors in the hall. So we had to stay at a hotel until the carpet was installed. Olivia got to go swimming for her birthday.

3 rooms placed in the family room and kitchen.

Starting the mast bath remodel.

the spot on the floor leads to our craw space. It is huge! The huge width and length of the house and 4 1/2 feet in height.

Olivia loves to dress-up.

August 2011

My mom and Aunt Loretta came for a visit. We took them to Seward and did a Whale watching cruise (different one than before). We saw a lot of the same things and some new things as well. The Sea otters, Sea Lions barking, 2 Whales....

To the right is Fox Island. Our cruise boat served a Salmon and prime rib dinner here. The other cruise we went on also served the same dinner. It was a beautiful area. It was nice to walk around.

We were so close to these guys we could hear them barking. Really neat!!

We had a great time showing them the peninsula. This is Kachemak Bay behind us. If you look to the left of Abby, you can see the Spit.

Just as a side note: Anchorage has shopping and restaurants that we don't here where we live. It is a 3 hour drive, unless you get caught behind an accident like we did for 6 hours. The road gets shut down.

Two vehicles and one bus, caught on fire, one died. One injured falling off the mountain side trying to see the accident. We highly recommend the 20 flight into Kenai from Anchorage. The Old Seward highway is mostly 2 lanes along cliffs and the Inlet, lakes, and rivers. It is a beautiful drive, but can be deadly especially in the summer. I am not exaggerating, during the summer months it is extremely busy. Just this summer alone, at least 5 people lost their lives. In the winter, there can be avalanches. It is the only road onto and off the Peninsula. We try to avoid the busy times to be on it.

June/July 2011: New Home

At the time of our lease expiring, we decided to purchase a home. Houses don't usually stay on the market for long here. Especially in the summer. At this point in life, we knew what we wanted and needed. A lot of houses here are split levels and that was the only way to get the square footage we wanted. However, with young children we want all the bedrooms on the same floor. You don't get that with the split levels we looked at. So a compromise, our house backs up to the schools. The kids have basketball courts, tennis courts, 2 playgrounds, fields to run in, any time they what. Not to mention listening to the school bands practice in the parking lot and football games every Friday night. It is a newer homethat with some updating of our own, would be perfect. Also a nice size yard with a place for a garden. The plan is to get a fence up before the garden. Unless we want to set up market for the moose.