Fall is Coming...

It's almost September so who's ready for pumpkin spice everything and snow? Well, I'm ready for the pumpkin, but lets hold off on the snow for a little longer. Well, today we were driving to our hike and guess what we saw on the mountain tops... SNOW! #Notready

The first signs that winter is coming in Alaska are:
1. The fireweed has flowered to the top

The fireweed is flowering to the top #hibernationbegins

2. The mountains get the first dusting of snow #terminationdust

Termination Dust refers to the first dusting of snow on the mountains to signify the termination of summer #notreadyforwinter

If you were wondering the snow has since melted off the mountaintops.

So after I freaked out that summer isn't going to be here much longer (Alaska is currently about as cold as it gets in Houston in the winter so we have a big huge ginormous change coming our way), we went on a little hike up to Rainbow Peak. This is one of Ward and Kenai's favorite hikes and really a pretty easy hike to do with a baby on your back. Em-Kat enjoyed the hike too. Well, she enjoyed it until we got to the top and she realized she was really tired. Or maybe she was trying to keep the bears away the whole way down. #itworked

Loving going up the mountain #mommadoesallthework

Just a little girl and her daddy

Doing a little whale watching in Turnagain Arm

And then she decided she didn't need anyone to carry her up the mountain. She would just crawl up it all by herself

A boy and his dog

A little stream running through our hike

How can you not love Alaska with scenery like this?! And the endless hikes just a stones throw away from your back door! With all these hikes we are on our way to becoming Alaskans

So in an attempt to Become an Alaskan, I just found this little article that I need to study so I don't look like a Cheechako. If you don't want too either or you don't even know what that is, you can brush up on your Alaska slang by checking it out here.

Xoxo,
W, M, Em-Kat

Summer Days Part 2

Here's a little more from our first summer in Alaska. We didn't do anything too crazy, but we definitely had some fun adventures. Some that were expected and some that were not so expected. Like being stuck on the Seward highway for 10 hours on our 5 year anniversary.

We did have a couple of special visitors up here in Alaska. Gigi & Pops were the first that made the trip up to the Great North. We had lots of fun hiking and fishing with them. We went to Whittier, Hatcher's Pass, Palmer, Soldtna, Hope (where there is little hope), and just hung out in Anchorage.

Here's a little run-down of some of the fun things that we did in pictures.

Em-Kat enjoying her Gigi & Pops sandwich before the hike

Are we there yet?? #socloseyetsofar

10 glaciers in 10 months #spoiled

Mommy and me at the top of the hike. With a little peak at Portage glacier behind us

 Hatcher's Pass not as exciting as the glaciers, but beautiful!

Loving Thunderbird Falls and mom's hydration pack! 

Isn't she the cutest!

Let's talk about how beautiful that water is.. oh and there's a King in there too

Happy Anniversary! 2nd King of the year! #stockthefreezer

Chilling on the Kenai River! 

Enjoying the 10 hour road trip block. Just hanging out on the highway for 10 hours waiting for a wreck to clear. #notevenexaggerating #iwishiwasjoking 

Enjoying our 5 year anniversary dinner in the back of a truck due the highway being shutdown. #dreamsdocometrue

Xoxo,
W, M, Em-Kat

Summer Days

I don't know about you, but summer flew by for us! Maybe it was due to moving halfway across America, and unpacking, and trying to get life back to normal for us or maybe it's just life with a kid. #movingistough Our goal was to have you share in each of our adventures with us, but life got in the way. We will do better starting today! #pinkypromise

A little run-down of our summer:
1. Lots of fishing for Ward. He caught he tri-fecta (King Salmon, Sockeye Salmon & Silver Salmon) and a rainbow trout in there as well
2. We did lots of hiking on flat trails and not so flat trails. Em-Kat doesn't love hiking yet, but we are conditioning her. #nextyear
3. We did lots of unpacking not to be confused with backpacking, hopefully next summer the packing will be all backpacking!
4. We tried to soak up all the time we could with Em-Kat. They grown up so fast, it's true!

King #1 (more like a prince)

Hiking up Flat Top is a lot of work so Em-Kat had to take a nap at the top

The Family at the Top of Flat Top

Finishing our hike up Flat Top. This hike made us realize we needed a backpack carrier ASAP if we were going to enjoy hiking in Alaska

We have wild raspberries in our yard!

We also have peonies growing in our yard #greenthumb #iwishicouldtakecredit

Our first s'mores in our fire pit

My favorite part of our new home!

Em-Kat loving the fire s'mores pit

A little rainbow trout fishing on the Kenai

How can you not love Alaska with views like this?

Xoxo,
W, M, Em-Kat

The 4th of July

We didn't do a lot this weekend to celebrate the 4th. It's been so dry in Alaska that there were actually no fireworks in downtown Anchorage due to a fire ban. But it's not like you can see the fireworks very well in Alaska anyways because the sun never sets at this time of the year. #midnightsun

Our main activity on the 4th was to make sure Em-Kat was looking sharp so we dressed her up and took some cute pictures. She makes every picture look cute!

Always discovering new things

Doesn't Em-Kat make the American flag look even better!

We had to get out and enjoy that nice weather and step away from unpacking for a little bit. So we headed down to Kincaid Park to take a little stroll. And so did everyone else and their dog (literally there were lots of dogs too). There were so many people out, that all the moose were hiding. Well that's a wrap for the 4th of July weekend. Until next time, we will tell you more about "Becoming Alaskans"

Xoxo,

W, M, Em-Kat

The 1st Adventure

I hope you're not expecting to read about this great adventure on our first weekend here. This is what we had to overcome...

Boxes, Boxes, and More Boxes

And more boxes

The little surprises you get when unpacking. Nothing like an opened package of gummy bears that have been sitting in a box for a month #theypackeverything #nothingleftbehind

We didn't do anything truly rugged. Hopefully that will come at some point. But we did get out and enjoy a little Alaska the first weekend after we arrived. Actually Ward made me. It was my 30th birthday so he tied my hands up and forced me not to unpack anything that day. It took lots of restraint. (Hint: Don't move on your birthday, or the week before your birthday, just trust me on this one)

We went to Girdwood/Alyeska to have dinner at 7 Glaciers restaurant. It's a really nice restaurant at the top of the tram of the ski resort. I don't think I've ever worn a dress on a chair lift, but I think Alaska will be full of lots of firsts #didntdressfortheweather #freezingcold.



The Fam

Nothing like seeing snow in the middle of summer

How cool is this tram?

So for my actual birthday, we drove down to Seward for the day. Seward is about 2.5 hours from Anchorage so we spent a lot of the day in the car. We actually celebrated my birthday in Seward back in 2008 so we tried to relive my previous birthday. Well 7 years later and a kid in tow, it definitely wasn't as adventurous. There was no sea kayaking, no man smoking in my face, no camping, no s'mores or polar bear drinks (Baileys and Hot Chocolate). But there were a lot of things that were the same. It was still raining and cold in Seward #theweatherthereneverchanges. Despite the nasty day, we went to lunch at the same place we had been before (well kind of, the same area at least), we walked down the marina and we hiked (almost) to Exit Glacier.

Places to Try:

Girdwood

7 Glaciers Restaurant - The food was amazing. They had the best crab cakes I've ever had and I've tried a lot! The views of the 7 Glaciers (get the name now) were fantastic. And who doesn't love that you can't drive there. You have to take a tram or somehow hike up the mountain in nice clothes. You've got to try it.

Seward
Chinooks - We had lunch at Chinooks and it was really good. The seafood is just as fresh as it gets since they are right on the marina.

Things to Do in Seward:

Exit Glacier - It's about a mile hike to the glacier itself, but we didn't go all the way back there. We went to the lookout point which is about a half mile hike. If you go, hike all the way to the glacier, you can't see too much from the lookout point. If you just care about a picture then the lookout point will be your best friend.

That's the weekend wrap-up.

Xoxo,
W, M, & Em-Kat

The Adventure Begins

Houston, we're off...

After lots and lots and lots and lots of tears (it was like an episode of the Bachelor), we boarded a plane from OKC-Houston-Anchorage. Good thing Em-Kat is so cute so no one would get upset if she cried a little on the plane. She cried a little bit, but we think she was sad to leave all of her friends and family #thatwasjusthermomma. Overall, Em-Kat is going to be a great little traveler and she did awesome on the 7+ hour plane flight. Few kids her age have ever racked up half of that time on a plane #frequentflyer. We were so thankful once we got our feet firmly planted on the ground in Alaska.

So excited for our new adventure

Finally sleeping :)

Xoxo,

W, M, & Em-Kat

Paving the Way

Jehovah Rohi - The Lord is our Shepherd

An Alaskan Shepherd 

We have a little catching up to do.  Two weeks,  after the Lord blessed us with a wonderful home, we said "until next time" (no Good-byes) to our wonderful friends in Houston, packed up the home (400 boxes, wow we're blessed), sent Meghan and EK to Perry and Ward and Kenai to Alaska. #wemissourcitygroup

The first few weeks were a little bumpy for Ward and Kenai. They started in a Motel 6 (told you it was coming), spent four nights in a Microtel on the 3rd floor (yes, Kenai is still scared of stairs), moved to an apartment complex that Ward lived in as an intern (which has not changed in 7 yrs aka rundown) and learned about the joys of apartment life all over again. Owning a home is a blessing that is easy to take for granted.

It took about a week before they felt half-way settled and Kenai  (By the way, no one in Texas could pronounce her name and now that she lives in AK, every other dog has her name) learned that every noise in the apt was not directed towards her.  Then the road got a little bumpier....Kenai got kennel cough even with the bordetala shot, the closing date kept sliding further and further back, our house in Houston was not selling, and when the cars arrived M's had $5,000 worth of damage. However, as The Lord does in his time, he answered prayers and continue to pave the way for us.  Within a week, Ward found a vet that would board Kenai for his trip to OK to get M and EK, the Houston home went under contract, and the closing date was moved up by a week against all expectations.

As I (Ward, FYI he uses a lot less "#" signs), writes this entry we are headed to our new home on a one way flight.... Ready or not here we come Alaska