Summer- Part 3

Summer is so quickly winding down and I still have more about Alaska to share, but here is what's been happening the last few weeks.  When we got back from Alaska I had e-mails from the principal about school starting. NO.  I am not ready.  Still not ready.

So we soaked up the last 4 weeks of summer by taking it easy.  We hit the pool, we went to the movies, we hung out at home, and we have loved watching the Olympics this past week.  We really do love summer.  Soccer started right after we got back from Alaska so we are knee deep in that already! 

Ginger continues to get into everything.  Literally everything.  But, we still adore her!  She is exhausting and a lot of work, but she is so much fun to have around.  

Sophie had her 5th birthday party at a local splash pad/park.  It was fun!  

Addison and Claire were worn out...time to get a little sun! 

The park included a zip line as well, which all the kids enjoyed.  Lauren helped Sophie over and over again.  

The splash pad was a hit.  Even though the water was a little cold according to the kids.  They waited and waited for the bucket to drop! 

When it finally did, they loved it!  It was a great birthday party and a fun day. 

Tons of back to school stuff popping up on my time hop app.  Addison used to wear a skirt every day from about 18 months - Kindergarten.  

Lauren is headed to 5th grade this year.  I remember 1st grade like it was yesterday.  It was one of her best years with an amazing teacher we adored.  

Competitive soccer started this weekend and it was awesome!  Lauren is playing with a new team this year.  She has made new friends and is playing well with a new coach.  Their team looked great this weekend and we are looking forward to a great season.  

We had a back to school neighborhood party Sunday afternoon.  It included sno cones, cotton candy, and cookies.  The kids ate a ton of junk and  had fun swimming with their friends! 

The photo booth was a hit as well.  

School starts Wednesday and we are so not ready.  Summer is fun!  We really enjoyed this summer.  But, both girls got the teachers they wanted, so they are excited for that.  Meet the teacher night is tonight so I guess we have to go back and get started.  More pictures to come! 

Alaska Day 7

Our last full day on the ship!  We were able to spend the entire day on the ship before our excursion that evening in Victoria, British Columbia.  I spent most of the morning packing and getting things organized.  Lunch was a huge Chinese buffet and it was good! In the afternoon, in the atrium, was a family dance party.  I took Emma and all the cousins down to the party.  

It included tattoos, arts and crafts, cookie decorating, dancing, and much much more.  

Addison soaked in a little more time with Emma.  She had so much fun with her older cousin this week! 

They were dancing like crazy out on the dance floor.  The girls also hit the pool one last time.  

We had a quick dinner and then headed off the ship for our excursion.  

It was a horse and carriage ride through downtown Victoria.  It was interesting, but something we probably could have skipped.  It was a good way to see the city in a short amount of time.  

The girls loved the horses and we had to take pictures to show Addison's BFF Jenna.  

The sunset was gorgeous over the water.  

This government building was beautiful.  So much history in this building and such beauty.  

We continued to enjoy the tour through the city and continue to see the sun set even more. It was a nice relaxing evening that everyone seemed to enjoy.  

Alaska Day 6- Ketchikan

(This was supposed to post mid week- sorry!) 

Ketchikan was probably our favorite day!  We arrived early and had an early excursion!  Mark, Rae Ann and I went zip lining through the rain forests of Ketchikan!  It was amazing! Lauren and Addison went to a lumberjack show with their cousins and Grandma and had a blast! 

Ketchikan is a small town and is known as the salmon capitol of the world.  We were able to do some shopping after our excursion and explore the town for a while.  

This was the view from the first zip line.  Hello beautiful.  

See that huge, long bridge suspended among the trees.  Yea, we walked across that :)  We had to get to our next area to zip line.  

We had a short introduction on how to zip line and got all our equipment on.  The instructors were awesome and you were always connected to something, so really you were totally safe...hundreds of feet up in the air! 

Rae Ann was sooo excited for this day!  She had been looking forward to it for months.  

Her first line.  Short and sweet.  This was a practice run just to get comfortable with everything.  How to start,  how to stop yourself, etc...

I think this one was the one that was over 2 football fields long.  Can you even see the other side where I am supposed to stop? 

Mark's turn...coming in fast!  

So I did not exactly stop myself as soon as I should have and I came in super fast and slammed into the tree.  It was padded to it was all good...but that smile!  It was so fun.  Thanks Rae Ann for a great picture.  

Yes, Rae Ann and I are hanging over the edge while Mark was completely fine just standing there in the middle hanging on! We had 2 awesome instructors that took pictures for us anytime we wanted them.  

When we were done we did some souvenir shopping and we all got shirts.  When we were on our bus ride back to the ship the driver told us to stop at Orca corn and get the best popcorn ever.  So we did and she was right.  It was soooo good! 

Mark really wanted some Alaskan beer, and we finally had time to stop today so he could enjoy some fresh brewed beer.  He said it tasted great.  Oh, and we got metals for zip lining.  We all wore them! 

While we were off  having fun the cousins were here.  Watching the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show!  The girls loved it!  

They also toured the Totem Bight State Park.  I am sure they saw lots of totem pole with some amazing artwork.  

A rare picture with Nathan, the only boy cousin on the trip.  We hardly saw him as he was having the time of his life at the club for teenagers.  

Thursday night was formal night #2 with a lobster dinner.  Amazing to say the least.  Mark hung out all afternoon and I took a short nap.  The girls spent the entire afternoon with their cousins again while Rae Ann fixed everyone's hair for formal night.  We took some family pictures before dinner, and enjoyed a magic show after dinner.  It was a strange show to say the least, but everyone had fun.  

Alaska Day 5- Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay.  Possibly the most beautiful place on Earth that I have visited yet.  

Our day at Glacier Bay was an entire day at sea.  There were park rangers that boarded the ship around 6:00 in the morning to highlight the day.  

We slept in that morning until after 8, but we woke up to Uncle Jeff knocking on our balcony door yelling that there were whales to see! 

We sailed past Queen Inlet and arrived at Margerie Glacier.  It was gorgeous.  The ship stopped sailing and slowly spun around so everyone on board to see the beauty that surrounded us. 

We spent a lot of time outside today.  Talking and visiting and just staring at nature.  

We made friends with Peggy, one floor above us!  She agreed to take a fun family photo (minus Nathan who was no where to be found all week having the time of his life with other kids his age.) 

It was very comfortable out on the balcony most of the day in sweatshirts.  It did not rain at all!  It was sunny and gorgeous most of the day. 

The cousins had a ton of fun on this trip!

After Margerie Glacier, we sailed down to Lamplugh Glacier.  It was not nearly as pretty as Margerie, but still amazing.  

The ice appears blue because the dense ice of the glacier absorbs every other color of the spectrum except blue.  So blue is what see (and dirt above.) 

I love this picture of Jeff and Rae Ann.  Such great smiles on both of their faces truly enjoying the day. 

Most of the cousins got bored with the beauty that surrounded us, so they hung out playing cards.  Addison got annoyed with all my picture taking and had some awesome smiles for me!  Love you Addison! 

After a while, they took off with my camera and explored the ship.  Thanks Emma for taking all the cousins. 

Emma took them swimming as well!  Last minute I decided to get a hot stone massage.  Best massage ever! I think Mark just hung out all afternoon with everyone else. 

These pictures are straight from my camera.  No filter, no enhancement, just beautiful Alaska. 

We got all dressed up for dinner again tonight.  We enjoyed tilapia for dinner tonight.  Each night we had a different fish to enjoy and it never got old. 

After dinner Mark and Lauren went to a comedy show with most of the family.  Addison and I hung out in the room and played cards and watched movies.  We had a great night!  Plus, I got to see this...