Saturday, August 27, 2011

Mele Kalikimaka


For those of you who have been waiting in suspense since we left Alaska to see where we will go next....the wait is over.  Yes, we're going to Hawaii.  We'll be living on the island of Maui for the next 13 weeks.  As always...we love visitors.  We should be there till right before Christmas...and yes, mele kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas day.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Last Alaska Adventure


After a great 13 weeks in Alaska it is time to head home and look for our next adventure. Along the Yukon portion of the Alaska highway, the frost has heaved and cracked the road so badly that they have given up on fixing it.  They've simply placed these helpful signs and flags to notify drivers that they need to fix the road.


 We got to see some of the same amazing wildlife as we did when we made the trip to Alaska in May, including Buffalo (that one in the upper left hand corner ain't a hitchhiker).



 ....and wild horses


...and Dall Sheep (with their babies).





...an incredible moonrise


...and mile after mile (or kilometer after kilometer) of beautiful scenery.


Of course we had to make one fun stop along the way, so we made time to visit the Jacob Leinenkugel's brewery in Chippewa Falls, WI.  It is the 7th oldest active brewery in the United States, built in 1867.



 I haven't mentioned that the tour was at 11:00 AM, so yeah... we drank before lunch time (that would've been 8:00 AM Alaskan Standard Time).



....So after 5 nights of sleeping in the car....


 We made it back safe (and our car threw up all over the lawn).



Sunday, August 14, 2011

It's getting cold up here


It is starting to feel like fall in Alaska.

Kurt is enjoying watching the planes take off from the airport. While we were here, we saw two bald eagles.
We have enjoyed this great view all summer

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

 It seemed really funny to us this afternoon when it started raining on us when we were out for a walk.  It snowed in the mountains today.

The berries are here. Some of the hiking trails are closed because the bears also like the berries.

My Favorite Alaskan Commercial

 Anchorage is home to some amazing scenery and a ton of ridiculous commercials.  I have a link to my favorite guy's commercial right below.  We probably see it every time we turn the TV on.  It is as if all the Alaskan ad agencies never made it out of the 80s.

The Mattress Ranch - Ted Stadtler, an Alaskan icon.

Friends in Alaska

 Throughout our time in Alaska, we have had buddies, Seth and Vickie, to do our activities with. Today they flew to the lower 48 and left us in the Alaskan rain. We will miss them.

 We have honed our euchre skills... (well, everyone but Kurt)

 We've enjoyed the Alaskan sun... (when it was out)

 We have hiked...

 We have eaten... a lot

The boys have done everything boys like to do together

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day (preferably in 2 weeks!)


We were planning on showing you some amazing pictures from our flight trip scheduled today. 
However... it rained... again, so we couldn't go.
It has pretty much rained for the last 10 days straight. 

The boys being a good sport shopping in the rain

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Pandamania (aka: Pandemonium)


We helped out our church with their Vacation Bible School this week. The theme was Pandamania...God is Wild about You! I am pretty sure a wild theme was not the best idea with 95 kids. The theme should have had something to do with sloths... and sedatives.


They are painting panda bears with black paint... another idea that I don't think the creators of the curriculum thought out for very long!
Thank goodness God can do great things... even in the pandemonium of Pandamania