Around Alaska

I have completed all of my blog posts for the big events in Alaska. And I still had a handful of pictures that are little snapshots of our time in AK that I thought were worth sharing. We really enjoyed our vacation this time around. It ended all too quickly....but then again vacations always do!

Allison stomping around in Grr's shoes!

Heading out with Auntie Brittney!

Pretty girl in the AK Fireweed!

Mom's beer battered halibut. One word: Yum!

Allison & Grammie on a walk to meet her neighbors, the sheep.

Story time with Grr & Elmo.

Alaskan Bush Flight

Our last day in Alaska was quite the experience. My parents decided they were going to help Mark get out and experience Alaska in a new way this trip and had a short list of activities we could try. As it turned out we had a beautiful day and a long-time family friend, who is also a professional Alaskan Bush Pilot who had a break in his schedule so Mark was able to go on a sight-seeing flight. I think it was Mark's favorite Alaskan experience yet (except maybe getting married in Alaska!). We drove up to Sheep Mountain, where our friends, Matt & Sam spend their summers along with their 1-year-old daughter, Alli (a.k.a. Alaskan Alli on this blog). Matt took Mark on an adventure - they landed on two different glaciers and saw the areas where my brother, Keeton, goes for his NOLS trips (Matt does their food drops). He saw a herd of mountain sheep and too many other things to mention. And yes, I do mean a herd, Matt said he'd never seen so many in one clump! Here are a few favorite pictures from the day:

I believe this is a view of the plane when they landed by/on one of the glaciers.

Flying over a glacier.

On a glacier.

Looking down a hole in the glacier. I've been on glaciers in the past but this was Mark's first experience. He thought the ice was pretty amazing!

The Alaskan Alli is one tough cookie. And she eats just about anything. See that leaf stuck in her toes? Just the product of walking around barefoot....

But oh so convenient for...

A nice afternoon snack!

The girls enjoyed sliding down the bank. I tried to get a picture with the nice mountains in the background but I couldn't compete with the excitement of a nice bank of dirt & rocks.

A bye-bye hug for the Alli's!

To the Zoo!

Auntie Brittney wanted to take Allison to the zoo while we were in Alaska. We managed to have a perfect day - dry and partly sunny but not too hot.

Before we made it to the zoo we stopped at The Lucky Wishbone, a 50's diner (not a 50's style diner - it really started back then!) famous for fried chicken. Mark had never visited the 'Chicken on the Bone' restaurant before so we decided it was definitely time. It was Allison's first trip, too. Brittney was happy to be there to help her color her pictures!

Mark dropped us off at the zoo and he ran off to Kincaid park to play disc golf (a crazy difficult course!). We wandered around for a few hours - Allison loved having Auntie Brittney all to herself!

The animals were pretty active on this particular day. You can barely tell but in the picture above Allison & Brittney are watching a wolf. Many of the animals were active that day, we even watch the tigers wander around (just not the snow leopard, we were bummed about that!

The perfect way to end a trip to the zoo - with a Cheetos snack!

Alaska Sewing Project - The Uptown Jacket

Some time ago I saw a pattern for an 'Uptown Jacket' and I have been obsessed with it ever since! I don't have much experience sewing clothing so I bought the pattern & fabric (including the one on the picture of the pattern!) and packed them up to Alaska where my Mom could help me make it. I was particularly concerned as this pattern required some gathers to be sewn in. We had a big Kroon women's sewing day while I was in Alaska. Aunt Pam & Rachel came along with fabric to make a jacket for Savannah. And Anita stopped by as an honorary Kroon. I loved the result of Allison's jacket, pictured above & below. I still need to finish the top stitching on her sleeves and add the button and button hole, but it is too warm to wear it here right now so I'm not in a rush. I can't wait to see Savannah's, too! The jackets are fully reversible although I'm pretty sure Allison will be wearing the green on the outside, the lining doesn't have any interfacing so it doesn't quite lay down the same. The pattern turned out to be easier than I expected and I would highly recommend it!

Puddle jumping in her new jacket!

Allison & Savannah at their first Kroon Sewing Day!

This is what Allison looked like at the end of our sewing day. She wore a dress my Mom had made for her (Ella had a matching one!). She was wearing capri leggings with a ruffle at the bottom. To keep her warm Mark pulled her socks up to her leggings. Then he put her toddler Keen's on her and her winter coat (with the competing pattern on the outside!). And my Mom finished the look by putting her crown from Auntie Hannah on her. Yup, she was a sight to be seen. And she was well received by Anita for dinner that night!

The Bonfire that was Rained Out

For the third year in a row we managed to visit my friend, Naomi, and her family for dinner while we were in Alaska. I requested more dogs - and she was happy to acquiesce to my request! Unfortunately it rained that evening after being clear most of the day. We were a bit disappointed but made do. Mark & Joel finished up the roasting by themselves (and I think Joel even heated up a few more inside).

The kids did get to play outside for a little while. I think Allison was really disappointed she didn't get to play longer, there were lots of fun yard toys to explore.

Eventually Allison & Theo (4 months apart) decided they were tired of playing in the rain and wanted to come in. Like any good mother I ran to get my camera and take a picture before letting them in. They were confused to say the least. Mark was even more confused as he watched them incessantly knock on the door from his vantage point at the fire. At least we have another picture to document them as 2-year-olds!

And I'm sharing this picture because I have no pictures of my time with my friend, Carrie, who happens to be one of the best photographers around. We spent our morning checking out thrift stores for photo props. At one store we found a fabulous stash of mugs and between the two of us we bought most of them. This little yellow mug was left all alone on the shelf, then. So Carrie told me I needed to buy it and fill it with flowers for Naomi. My Mom actually filled it with left-over wedding flowers and I thought it turned out quite pretty. If only there were a Bishop's Attic in Oregon for me to go explore. Of course it wouldn't be nearly as fun without Carrie along (and I wouldn't end up buying vintage wall paper! But that is another story!).

Cousins Round II

The last night my brother and his family were in Alaska we met up at my cousin Kep's house for some cousin time! In the picture up above are all the cousins - ranging from almost 7 years to about 5 months old. I was impressed with how much fun these kids had together. Allison felt like quite the big girl going downstairs to play with the kids! She is still a little young so we had to go down and check on her a few times but overall she played like a big kid!

My fabulous cousin-in-law Rachel made a yummy dinner for all of us. I love this woman - she is so delightful to be around, such an encourager and I'm always learning things about being a Mom just by being around her. I do really wish we lived closer (I know, I know, Rach, all I have to do is move to AK!). My littlest nephew, Cason, loved Rachel, she could get him to smile so easily. It was pretty cute!

Noah the Frito man. You can't tell, but I'm pretty sure Allison was behind the counter in this picture. She knew who to go to in order to get some treats. He had no qualms about helping her out!

Sweet little Savannah with an extra sweet brownie face. I love this girl. She very cheerfully shared her girly toys with Allison and Ella. Such a good example for my little girl!

Allison was so excited to be holding her baby cousin. He was not so excited but that didn't seem to dampen her enthusiasm!

Ah yes, Savannah's turn to hold the baby. Uncle Kep got in on the action, too. All-in-all it was a fun night of food, playing and laughter. Just what we needed to kick off the rest of our vacation. We were sad to see Ben, Sarah, Cason & Ella leave but at least we were able to see them some!

Cousin Time Part I

The day after the wedding we headed into Anchorage (again!) to spend some time with my Mom's side of the family. My cousin, Alison, was in Alaska and I hadn't seen her in almost five years so we really wanted to get together. I think we managed to get all of the 2nd cousins in one picture - except Cason - the only boy - who was safely snuggled in a Baby Bjorn during picture time. We gave him a pass this time! We met at a park for lunch.....

My Mom & her sisters - they all live in Alaska.

My cousin, Alison's two girls, Alayna & Autumn. Autumn (the younger one was showing the older one up in my Mom's golf toss game!).

Alayna was organizing a rock race. The race was between Ohio State (the 'bad' guys) and Michigan (the 'good' guys). I asked her about Oregon State and she gave me a blank stare. At least we agree on the 'bad' guys!

Ella Bella sliding...she did a spinning spread eagle face plant on her next trip down....poor kid!

The plushest swings ever! These were like recliners! We think they might be used for kids with disabilities at the elementary school - they had places for straps. All of the girls loved them!

The men headed out for a round of disc golf. Shortly after they left the weather turned from somewhat sunny to overcast and windy so all of the women huddled up by the school and drank hot chocolate & coffee.

Little Miss Autumn - she is super sweet and social! It was fun to get to meet her for the first time.