Summer in Alaska 2012

Yes, I know I am waaaaaaay behind on this blog.  So I am trying to catch up before the end of this year.  So I am going to give a quick recap of our summer.  We saw salmon, fed geese, saw the sights in Anchorage, and geocached.   And both sets of grandparents came to visit us.

 In May, we took a trip to Seward for a whale watch.  It was rainy and cold but we did see some humpback whales and a small pod of orcas... so cool.  I couldn't get my camera working fast enough to catch more than a small tip of a tail above the water.

In May, we took a trip home to Massachusetts to surprise Grammy Sue and Pepere for their 50th wedding anniversary.  First we stayed with Grandpa & Grandma Martyniak.  The kids loved driving around in Grandpa's punch buggy.

Do I like butter?

Once back in AK, we watched the release of a rehabilitated eagle that had been electrocuted.  (It's so beautiful it looks fake.)

On July 4th in a rented camper/RV we headed north to Montana Creek to go camping.  With a group of other families, we watched the parade in Takeetna and went fishing.

Next was a visit from Grandma and Grandpa.  We went to Takeetna on a gorgeous day with fabulous views of Denali. We stopped at the Musk Ox Farm to visit our adopted ox named "Tsumani Sue".  It was like he knew who we were because he came right over to the fence as soon as we arrived to his section.  He loved eating dandelions (they are like candy to musk ox).

Tsunami Sue came right up to see us

Polar Plunge 2012

On December 15, 2012, Neal and I participated in the Special Olympics' Polar Plunge.  The ladies group was called the Diving Divas.  At 10:00 am and at 7 F degrees outside, we donned our tutus and tiaras to jump into a hole cut out of the frozen Goose Lake in AK.  The shock of the cold water took my breath away and it was hard to wait to get to the ladder to climb out.  We ran immediately to the hot tub tent.  But the workers only allowed us to stay in for what felt like a nanosecond.  After changing clothes, everyone was surprised how great we felt.  It was a great experience and there has even been talk of doing it again next year.

Holiday Train Ride

In early December, we took the Alaskan holiday train ride down to Indian, AK.  The kids participated in coloring contests, met Santa and Mrs. Claus, and sang along with carolers.  It was a fun morning ride.

Scarlett's 4th Birthday

Scarlett turned 4 years old on Sept 22nd.  She went to Build-a-Bear, had cake with the neighbors, and dinner at Red Robin.  She loved getting the free ice cream sundae but could have done without the staff singing to her.

Quinn First Day of 1st Grade

Quinn started attending Northwood ABC Elementary school (This is the school I am working at this year). His teacher is Mrs. Powell.

Happy Birthday Quinn!

Quinn turned 7 years old in August... wow 7!  He had a small Ninjago themed party with some friends at Bouncing Bears, an indoor play area.