ALASKA!!!

Well, we returned from our trip to Alaska last night. Jeremy and I were travelling courtesy of Usborne Books and we bought-in for Matthew and Katie. Ashton and William stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa Cragun. (They did get to go to the zoo and were basically spoiled rotten.) Alaska was AMAZING and the cruise itself was super fun. We were converted to cruises on this trip. When we were in the ports we did everything as a family. On the ship Jeremy and I could do things where children weren't allowed (like use the fitness room, attend the murder mystery dinner, etc.) while the kids were having fun at Kid's Club activities. Katie attended a princess tea party, Matthew had a masquerade ball. They both participated in the talent show and had a dance party. They played computer games, had a pirate parade, and all sorts of fun things. We all enjoyed the magician, Chinese acrobats, and other shows.

Our trip started last Friday morning. We left Ephraim at 7 am and arrived in Seattle at noon. We really enjoyed visiting Pikes Place Market (where they throw the fresh fish around and sing when someone makes a purchase), seeing the Space Needle, and just seeing what Seattle was like.

Here is Katie on our LONG walk from the Market to the Space Needle.

The next morning we left our nice hotel and made our way onto the ship. I'm not sure we would have made it aboard with our two kids, five suitcases, three backpacks and two car seats without the help of our Usborne friends David and Amanda Padgett.

On Sunday, we were invited to attend a church meeting in the chapel by Nathan and Jackie Broadbent, another Usborne couple. The kids had prepared talks. There ended up being many people of several faiths in attendance. The kids did a great job and whenever we saw someone from the chapel on the ship later they said hi and complimented Matthew and Katie on their talks.

After a GORGEOUS day at sea, our first stop in Alaska was Ketchikan, where Charity's aunt, Anita Hales, very graciously gave his the grand tour. We were quite spoiled because she had actually worked as a tour guide and since she lives in Ketchikan she was able to help us spot a real live bear. The kids loved the native stories she told and were excited when we saw the totems depicting those stories. Here we are with Anita near some totems depicting the story of Raven stealing light for the people.

Anita recommended a book store where we could get some picture books that told that native stories. Katie found a quiet corner.

The next day Jeremy and the kids went whale watching. They saw several whales. One was a baby humpback who was playing near the surface. They also saw porpoises, bald eagles, and sea lions. Jeremy tried to take photos of the whales, but they all ended up as a black spot on the ocean. So, he ended up just using the camcorder to capture the whales. That same day, I went to Mendenhall Glacier with several Usborne people. It was awesome to see that blue ice. Blue ice is super combacted ice. Up until 1990 the glacier was melting 60ft/year. They last few years they have been losing 500+ft/year.

Here are two of the video clips he shot:

The next day we visited Skagway which was basically a gold mining town built on scams, prostitution and drinking. Now, it is largely built on tourism. We actually saw some awesome things there and learned a lot about the Kodiak Gold Rush at the free museums.

The last stop was Prince Rupert, Canada. The kids were thrilled to get there passports stamped for the first time! It was our only cold stop the entire time. That night was the Kid's Club talent show. Matthew did a magic card trick and Katie sang an "original composition" about the beautiful things she saw in Alaska.

The next day we spent at Sea again. I was very fortunate to see FOUR whales and TWO porpoises that day. One of the whales was very close to the ship when it did the the tail slapping thing. That was very exciting for me because the only other time I had spotted a whale it was quite far away.

Saturday we packed up and travelled home. We were very excited to see Ashton and Will. Our friends, Rachel and Ryan Jessop had their baby with them on the cruise. He is a few months younger than Will and the kids (especially Katie) loved to play with him, but he was so cute he made us a little homesick for our little boys.