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.