Rafting, Rafting, and Racing

We dusted off the raft a few weeks ago.  Traditionally we take it out on Mirror Lake first to make sure everything is in working order.  Here is Leo rowing his sister and a couple of friends around.  Goggles are a must.

 Leo is also here to demonstrate proper raft-propelled water skiing.

Taking other families down rivers is one of the highlights of owning a boat.  The Taygans are one of our regulars.  Will and I are here enjoying a selfie on a sunny day in Alaska.

We did our first rafting/camping trip on Eagle River.  The always ready to go Gorskis were our guests on this trip.  There are a lot of great gravel bars on this river and this camping spot is about 8 miles from our house.

Here is Kaya accusing a guilty Tristan of something.  Probably splashing to much water with that paddle.

Nicki and Tristan moving gear at the take out.  There can be a lot of logistics getting 4 adults and 5 kids down a river, but it's always worth it!

Leo and I had a great time finishing our first Triathlons.   Kaya and Nicki say they want to do it next year.  What a great sport and good excuse for exercise and family fun.

Summer Beginnings

Summer is in full swing here now.  We are loving Nicki's new part time schedule and are getting out as much as possible.  Nicki has had some time to pursue her art work again.  Here are a couple of paintings she made for her mom on Mother's Day.

 

It's getting more difficult to get the dogs out because of the warmer temperatures we have been experiencing.  Every once in awhile the mornings are cool enough for them to pull the scooter around for a couple of miles.

 Leo finished another year of scouts and is excited to be moving into his Bear year in the fall.

 We've been hiking a lot already.  Here is Kaya on top of Mt Baldy.

 

I'm still squeaking in ski trips, though they are getting more difficult as the snow dwindles.  I snuck in this bowl (to the right of the tallest peak, Round Top) which I've been staring at from Leo's School yard for the past 3 years.

 Oma and Opa are here for awhile.  We went on an epic bike ride with them that included stops at parks, restaurants, ice cream shops and 25 miles of riding.

Kaya finally managed to get the training wheels off.  Here favorite thing to do is leave skid marks on the road in front of the house.

WOW! Almost a year.

Wow!  It's been almost a year since I posted anything here.  I guess Facebook kind of took over during that time, but now that I've deactivated my account it is time to do some occasional posts on the family Blog.  Here is a little photographic synopsis of  the highlights from the past 11 months.

 

Leo and Kaya are now hiking some bigger mountains.  Here we are on top of Harp which is a 2,600 foot climb over a mile and a half.  Nice work little guys

 

 Kaya participated in her first backpacking trip.  Here she is walking the 6 miles out and carrying her sleeping bag, water, and stuffed animal.

 We also did our first overnight rafting trip with our own gear and the kids.  Oma and Opa were great mentors for putting together this sort of trip.

 Nicki's brother and sister in-law came out for a trip and we made it out to a new spot called Reed Lakes.  It's a fabulous hike out by Hatcher Pass if you ever get the chance.

 Both kids learned to swim this year.  Leo's having a great time looking at things under water.

 

 Leo continues to be a voracious reader.

 Despite the poor snow conditions this past winter we still got out quite a bit.  Both kids entered junior dog mushing events, this is Kaya.

We were able to do our, now annual, Manitoba Mountain Ski trip with 4 other families.  It was once again a fun and crazy kid fest with some back-country skiing mixed in.

My parents came up for spring break and for the fisrt time did not put them to work building something.  We had a lovely but cold time in Seward.

We also were fortunate enough to get a trip to Hawaii and enjoy all the things a warm sea has to offer.

The highlight for Leo and me was the opportunity to do a Night snorkel with manta rays.

I'll try and post here a little more often as fun things happen up here in Alaska.  I hope all is well with you.

Where has all the Blogging Gone

 Sorry, as usual, it's been a long time since I put a blog post up.  A lot has been going on in the last 6 months.  Leo and Kaya had an Easter Mushing race and got to dress up. 

Kaya was snow white

 Leo was a Bunny Dinosaur thing

 We have had a fabulously sunny spring and Summer.  It was even sunny and calm in Whittier, this never happens.  We took advantage and had a wonderful beach day.

 Loe and Kaya in Alaska garb enjoying some rocks by the beach.

 Leo and Kaya found something interesting beneath the viewing deck at the Nature Center.

 

 Last ski day this summer was May 13.  Didn't make it to Solstice this year but it was still a great spring ski.

 Kaya found some Hooligan on our recent dipnetting expedition.  She named this one Tiny.

The Snow has Come

Despite the early teasers of snow, winter took it time getting here. This created some unusual behavior.  Kaya demonstrating living room skiing

 Burning skis as a sacrifice to Ullr urging him to deliver more snow.

 Growing lots of facial hair and waxing skis despite the lack of snow.

 Kids sitting quietly and reading (very unusual in our house)

But finally it's here, cold and snowy.  We have wasted no time getting out into it on our skis and on the dog sleds.  Here is a video of the family's mushing exploits this year.

Hope you all are able to get out and enjoy winter!

Fish Berries and Snow (oh my)

On a recent camping trip to the Denali Highway the kids discovered we didn't bring marshmallows.  Undeterred, they found blue berries and roasted those instead. 

 Picking said blueberries

 

Fishing extravaganza this summer....  

The kids are off to new endeavors- Kaya is starting Preschool (she's more excited than she looks in this photo), and Leo is now an official Cub Scout.

Ben has picked 8 gallons of blueberries, 3 gallons of raspberries, and 1 gallon of cranberries so far this fall.  The bears are hungry now.

After an early season snowfall, the kids (big ones and little ones) are all ready for winter... Bring on the white stuff!

Sunniest Summer Ever

It has been a long while since I've posted.  Alaskans have been enjoying one of the sunniest summers many people can remember and have been too busy to sit and blog.  Here are a number of photos highlighting some of those sunny times.

Leo scooping bugs out of a tributary to the Eagle River.

 Local lakes were warm enough to swim and both kids took advantage.

 We purchased a raft and have been getting out on it every possible chance.

 Leo especially loves getting out in the boat.

 Sunning themselves after a long float.

 The kids hanging out in the sun during this years dip netting adventure.

 Zipline and sprinkler fun.

 Leo and a buddy on the annual backpacking trip to Symphony lake.

 Leo catching his first fish on a flyrod.

 Kaya posing on a hike at Hatcher pass.

 My parents on a recent trip to Idaho.

 And finally, all this sun has made our gardens grow.

Now we are looking forward to berry picking and the eventual return to snow.  There is always something to look forward to in Alaska.