On to Wasilla and Palmer!

On Monday of the Van Zandt's trip we went to Wasilla and Palmer, to us locals "The Valley," and had a fabulous time exploring those two small towns. It was very sunny and pretty warm on this day which was really great. We stopped by Lake Wasil and there were TONS of children swimming and lots of people lying out. It was a bit comical how joyous the occasion and yet the water was still quite chilly for us from NC!

We stopped by Sarah's (Palin, that is) old stompin' ground. Dede was in heaven!

I thought this pup's eyes were beautiful! He is a sled dog that has run in the Iditarod. When we stopped by the Iditarod Headquarters we actually met the son of the man who started the "Last Great Race."

In Palmer we stopped by a reindeer farm. I was really amazed at how the antlers on all the reindeer were so different ... almost like their fingerprint; I shouldn't be surprised, but I was because the racks were all so different! We touched the antlers of an elk (not pictured here) and they were velvety, very unexpected.

These are reindeer hooves ... click, click, click!! They were just so strange and unique to me. The reindeer do actually click when they walk because of a tendon in the back of their leg.

Tooling Around Town

During the Van Zandt's visit we spent the weekend around Fort Richardson. Friday night we went to our favorite restaurant, Glacier Brewhouse, downtown. Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market and an Irish festival downtown and then had friends over for dinner that night. Sunday we went to church, Piccolinio's (another favorite restaurant), then blueberry picking!! We had Pizza night, I know the KVZ clan can appreciate that, and then our weekend was over. Although we still had two days to play, unfortunately Tyler's vacation officially ended and it was back to work for him.

Trying on silly hats. Dede searched high and low for these bear hats and we finally found them! :)

Climbing up skyline to go berry picking!

Hannah showing off the berries; what a beautiful day!

Cruise Continued...

These pictures round out our trip to Seward. There are more pictures of the wildlife, but Tyler's camera is dead and that is where the pictures are; stay tuned.

Our favorite flags.

Tyler and I ... how sweet.

Sophie bundled up on the cruise ... yes it was cold enough for layers, hats, layers, gloves, layers, long pants, socks, and boats.

The glacier. Imagine a carolina blue rock ... I know, ugh carolina, just go with me ... except the blue is even bluer as if it is crystallized, like a clear blue. We sat in the little cove and the captain turned the boat off so we could hear the glacier creak and crack. It was startling how cold it was around the glacier, how blue it was, and the sounds that this thing made. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience! :)

On the way back to Seward this humback whale put on quite the show for us. Tyler has some great pictures, but as stated before they are currently locked in a dead camera. When they are retrieved they will be here ASAP.

We're Back in Action!! :)

Hi friends! So sorry for the delayed updates, but I have been trying to get my computer to stay connected to the internet for longer than 3 minutes at a time. Last night I finally fixed it ... I hope I didn't just jinx it ... and now we are officially back in action. As you can imagine we have lots of pictures to share so the updates might flow rather rapidly over the next few days; be sure to review all the pictures because we've done quite a few fun things! :)

These pictures our from our glacier cruise in Seward. The day after picking up the Van Zandts we traveled to Seward where we went on a glacier cruise. On the cruise we saw sea otters, puffins, killer whales, humpback whales, dolphins, and sea lions. Although it was quite dreary on the cruise, the conditions were optimal for seeing wildlife. I do not have room to post wildlife pictures on this post, but I will do that next.

The port of Seward, AK. This was the only day that we could see the mountain tops across the port and by the time we got back from our cruise the fog completely covered the mountain tops.

Kids don't float -- who knew?! These signs with attached red life jackets (modeled by Sophie) were everywhere along the water.
Part of the Van Zandt clan in front of the harbor.
Doc and Mama Dede in front of the glacier.
Hannah and I tried on lots of hats over the week.

Catching Our Breath!

We're still here, but boy have we been busy. After our short trip to Chicago the Van Zandt family arrived and we have been playing around Alaska for the last week. I have lots of pictures to share, but have yet to upload them to my computer .... I promise to do that tonight or tomorrow!! Although we have enjoyed our summer trips and visitors, it will be nice to have a sense of routine again instead of the touch-and-go we've had for the past few weeks. We loved having visitors and might have another this weekend ... unsure as of now ... but y'all are welcome anytime!!

Cheers to Mr. and Mrs. Dadakis!!

We spent last weekend in Chicago for the wedding of Cassie and Alex Dadakis. We had such a wonderful time and were so fortunate to both be able to be a part/make it to the wedding. I have plenty more pictures, but I have a meeting in 15 minutes and the Van Zandts arrive tonight. Look for updates on life next week!

Congrats ... just married! :)

The Way You Look Tonight ...

A Busy Weekend!

Hi friends; we're still here! This weekend was another quite busy, but super fun weekend for us. Friday night Tyler went fishing with a family that we adore, I could not go because I was helping cut fruit for a friend's wedding on Saturday, but I know there will be more fishing time in the near future.

Saturday we attended Courtney and Eli Rushing's wedding and it was beautiful. Courtney and Eli are servants of the Lord and prayerful in all that they do. The ceremony was sweet and the reception was quite fun. We left the wedding and Tyler dropped me off at a baby shower for a friend on post -- we laughed a lot and just enjoyed celebrating Sharon and the Painter baby who will arrive in the next few weeks.

Sunday was quite fun. Tyler helped with sound at church so we arrived early, then attended the service. We went to a little Italian restaurant for lunch before going to our old house to gather our FINAL LOAD of stuff to bring to the new house. There wasn't too much, just some odds and ends in the garage so it wasn't too bad. We then went to a few furniture stores and ended up at Pier1 where we got a few new things for our house. We are fervently getting ready for our first visitors in just a week and a half!! :) For dinner we made homemade pizza and then hung out on the sofa to watch Army Wives, exchange foot massages, and enjoy our separate flavors of ice-cream; Bella passed out squashed between us.

We hope you're all doing well. Sorry for a rundown of events, but we are doing well and loving life up here. Next weekend Cassie and Alex, two dear friends from Wake, are getting married in Chicago. Fortunately we both get the opportunity to attend and cannot wait to see all of our God is Gooders ... oh so soon! :)

A moose on the side of the road on the way home from the commissary. We couldn't stop, but I was fortunate enough to get a picture. You can tell that Tyler was driving, you can imagine that Bella was startled, as I was quickly grabbing the camera ... I LOVE seeing the wildlife here.

Hanging with Bella.

Snuggle time for Bella; foot massages for G & T.

Finally, the Candy Parade!

So google has now let me post pictures -- so weird. Anywho, the pictures from the July 4 parade are now posted. I apologize that this has taken so long to post, but we've moved and had shoddy internet for the past week. I hope you enjoy and Happy Belated 4th! :)

The Navy ROTC boys from a local high school.

This reminded me of Theodore's tricycle ... Dad, you want to buy him this one?! There were lots of old, supped up tractors; old, proud men drove them through the parade. This guy liked to do doughnuts in the middle of the street; it was cute.

These ladies reminded me of my Mom and her group of friends. One day they will romp around in red hats instead of tiaras.

And ... this is what my Daddy needs, a canopy over his tractors.