Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Alaska!


We both had a great time in Alaska! We flew into Anchorage where some friends then picked us up and took us to their house in Kenai. They were gracious hosts the entire time and we will forever be thankful that they opened their hearts and their homes to us!


Homer is where we went Halibut fishing. What a day! We were on the water about 7:00 and after a 45 minute ride out into the ocean we dropped anchor and just started catching fish. The limit is 2 per person and we had 7 people on the boat - we were after 14 halibut! The first two fish were caught after about 2 minutes, by Abigail (age 10) who set a new boat record for catching two halibut at the same time. Both hooks on her pole had a fish on - way to go Abigail!



The only downfall of the whole trip was that Wade caught a Manta Ray. Oh Wade! Really Wade and I thought it was pretty cool, but it is a lot of work for nothing. We saw a ton of otters - litterally - okay well at least a lot of otters. They float on their backs with a rock on their tummy, then they get clams and crack them against the rock on their stomachs. They are actually pretty cool little animals.




This is the type of equipment they have to put boats in and out of the ocean. The tide changes so much that it makes it difficult to just do it yourself.

This is one of four active volcanoes in Alaska. We stopped at a lookout on the way back from Halibut fishing and admired the scenery!







This is a Bald Eagle flying. We saw a lot of Eagles. In fact, before this one took flight, we counted nine of them together in the field below this.

This rock is out in the ocean and would actually be black if it weren't for all of the bird poop! There are many species of birds that come to this rock island to nest.






Can you spot the Mountain Sheep? Wade could!

This is the river where we went King Salmon fishing. This photograph was taken about 10:00 p.m. In the summer it never gets dark in Alaska - it makes it hard to go to bed!
Brian, one of our friends, had his friend take us out fishing. What an awesome trip! Brian caught a King right off and we were super pumped - However, we had to let it go because it was a native King and you can only keep them on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It was Friday. We didn't catch any other Kings, but had light action on a few small fish. There was a light drizzle of rain throughout the night, but what an awesome trip! A shout our to our Super-Awesome guide - Tim, he worked his butt off for us, all the while cracking jokes and staying very positive - he never gave up hope on us Nevadans!
Here is a herd of caribou. The scenery was just beautiful all around us at all times!
This is Brian and Wade getting a better look at the caribou.

There is beauty all around!

Monday, May 31, 2010

Feeding the Ducks






Mattie's Photo Shoot



Wyoming


We spent a little time in Wyoming last weekend, and the girls loved playing outside and seeing a few animals! It looks like Sid is going to be just as wild for living things as Mattie is - now if we can just keep them from loving stuff to death - they could both literally squeeze the life out of something!














Bucket Head

Sidney has decided that she loves things on her head - not cute hairbows, but hats and buckets and the like.

Well, Coop finally lost his two front teeth. ANd he is at the age where this is the best picture I can get of him. I do have to admit that I am not exactly sure when he lost them, but now, in June, they are starting to grow back in. He seems so busy these days, and I find myself more wore-out by his constant energy - and talking!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

What?

Yummy! Mattie likes to sneak me chocolate!
Is there something on my face? I'm so cute!




Monday, April 19, 2010

Dunes - Dumont, CA

"BOOM BOOM - FIRE POWER"I think everyone at the dunes had a great time. I know for me, it is a place where I can turn my kids loose and feel good about it. Coop and the cousins rode their 4-wheelers almost non-stop. Mattie was rolling down the dirt hills, and Sidney was just wondering around checking stuff out.
Don't get me wrong, we also live the camping life of luxury: we turned on the A/C in the afternoon and put Sid down for a nap, the kids watched movies at night, etc., etc. How the pioneers made it is beyond me!
Shawn & Gavin, Wade & Mattie
The Little Explorer hard at it!
Mattie loves to go for rides. She sits in front of Wade with her feet up at the handlebars and holds onto the bars. I don't know how she can hold on so tight!


Coop and the cousins are getting scary good - especially Jace. Jace races dirtbikes and has the winning mentality. They are all plenty fast, and starting to cut corners etc. to get ahead of each other. It is pretty entertaining to watch.
Coop would take off his helmet and be drenched in sweat. Thank goodness for that shower in the camper!
We planned good meals, and all ate together, but Sid still thought she should eat a little dirt!