Hap- Birt- ... You!

Alicia lines up her shot...

And she scores!

Today is Alicia's Half Birthday. She is now officially 4 and a HALF. I sang her half of the birthday song and gave her a little slice of cake with the candle stuck halfway in. :o)

Cruising through Summer

Last Sunday we took a 5 hour glacier cruise out of Whittier. To be honest, it wasn't the most pleasant Alaskan excursion I've been on.

The weather was terrible, rainy and cold. We've been having an amazing summer with lots of sunshine and high temps. That Sunday was the first cruddy weather day we'd had in a while.

We had taken a sightseeing cruise out of Seward last summer with Kate & Ray, and although it was also cold and rainy, the seating situation on the boat made it a much better trip. On that boat there was bench seating with a table surface running the length of each bench. On this boat, you were assigned seats at little square diner style tables which seated 4 in hard back chairs. If you had less than 4 in your party, someone you didn't know would also be seated at your table. This was your spot for the whole 5 hours. Not ideal.

Chances are high that we will neither go on that cruise again nor recommend it to someone else. I think the next cruise down the dock would be better. The boat was MUCH larger and looked far more comfortable, for about the same price... That cruise is called the 26 Glaciers Cruise out of Whittier.

In defense of our cruise, I have heard from several others who have taken it and really enjoyed it. So it may work well for someone else.

In other news, we are in the process of hosting a foreign exchange student. Assuming all goes well with our application process, we will be meeting our new German daughter in about 3 weeks.

Today we are going bowling for one of our mommy friends' birthdays. Her two girls are in Alicia's dance class. They came over to play yesterday and were just able to get a few rounds of hopscotch in before it started to rain.

Rock the Sound

Alicia's ready to rock the Prince William Sound today. We're headed for a Glacier Cruise out of Whittier. The boat departs at 1:15. It'll take us a couple hours to get to Whittier from our house. And there is only one time per hour to go through the Whittier Tunnel (on the half hour). So we're getting ready to head out right now. The boat ride will be 5 hours.

Tess has to work at the rodeo today, so we're taking Alicia with us on the boat. Otherwise, it is our anniversary celebration. Our actual anniversary is Tuesday, but Stephen will be back up in Fairbanks by then.

This past week I made a couple birthday cakes for colleagues and held a little 3-hour cake decorating workshop at the house. It's been a cake, frosting, fondant and gum paste kind of week...

Bear Paw

Alicia had a great day at the Bear Paw Festival today in Eagle River.

We started our day with the parade at 11am. Alicia rode on her Stars Dance Studio float again this year.

After the hour long parade, we spent some time at the midway riding rides, playing games, and eating some fair food. Alicia rode some of her favorites including the pink elephant and the giant slide. Then she tried some new rides like the giant ferris wheel. Daddy accompanied her when necessary. But she's far more independent this year. So that's kind of nice.

She had her hip hop dance performance at 3:45, after which we headed for home (by way of the grocery store).

I picked up some yummy fresh salmon at the store and a cedar plank on which to grill it. Stephen and I thoroughly enjoyed that. It had been recommended by the clerk at the seafood counter. And it was super delicious. We drizzled brown sugar and honey over the salmon before grilling it.

Heat Wave

It's been hotter than blue blazes this week! We had a few record setting days with temps surpassing 80 degrees F.

I just wish I had the proper attire to wear in such heat. Instead of summer dresses and shorts, the average Alaskan wardrobe consists of fur-lined turtlenecks and Carhartts. And, of course, there's minimal air conditioning around here. So we've been cranking up the ceiling fans which are usually used mostly to move heat from your wood stove throughout your igloo.

But no one is complaining. This is the "Best Summer" we've had in years! And it almost makes up for the utter yuckiness of last summer! No lack of sunshine thus far. Well, accept for the hazy forest fire smoke that's covering the whole state due to hot, dry conditions.

4th of July Weekend

It was great to have the 3-day weekend. We had great weather to boot!

We spent some time working on Alicia's playhouse. The base is done and a couple of the walls are framed. But now that the weekend's over, it might be a while before we can get back to it.

On Friday night, the 3rd of July, we went to Lions Park in Eagle River just after 10pm so we could enjoy a little of the carnival atmosphere and then watch the fireworks at midnight. That worked out well. We were there long enough for Alicia to go in a bounce house and to grab a late dinner. Then we settled on a blanket and some camping chairs to enjoy the fireworks.

The sky was pretty clear, which was great. The past couple of years it's been cloudy or just plain raining. The clear sky did make things get a little chilly, however. The temps dropped down to the mid-50's, I think.

On the 4th, we went to the little community parade down the hill from our home here in Chugiak. Alicia gathered a lot of candy being tossed from the floats. Later that evening, we grilled out some teriyaki pork chops and corn on the cob.

Tess spent the 4th of July out at her friend's cabin at Big Lake. They had boats and did some tubing and knee-boarding. She apparently had a great time. She claims the water was warm. I think her legs just went numb...

Today, the 5th, we (Stephen, Alicia, and I) headed up to Hatcher Pass where we did some hiking, geocaching, and gold panning. We had a late lunch at the Hatcher Pass Lodge before heading over the Pass to Willow. The weather was sweltering by Alaska standards. It got up to 80 degrees. But it was beautiful at the Pass.

You can see additional photos of today's hike at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=89488&id=523908158&l=840660d029.