The past few days have been pretty fun. We got about 9 inches of snow all in one night...i think it was thursday night. We woke up and I bundled the kids up and went outside. Neva couldn't move in her snow suit so she just sat in the snow and ate it. We went out a couple of times that day....very fun! On Friday night Annie called and wanted to know if I wanted to go on a walk in Totem park because it's her favorite when its snowy. So we went and picked up a few of the Mt. Edgecumbe kids (Baby Girl, Jupe and Jennifer) and met TJ at the park and walked around. It was gorgeous...lots of snow, and VERY dark and quiet! TJ used to be a guide at the park so at one moment all us girls took a seat and he told us about some of the totem poles. It was great! Then on Saturday we finally finished moving out of the old house with some help of Angela's friends. It has been quite a process if you know what I mean. But it is finally done and we don't have to worry about anymore...thank goodness! Then that night Annie and I went on another walk in the snow. We went across the bridge that connects Japonski island (where the airport and Mt. Edgecumbe is) and Baranof island (where we live). She is so great and I'm so thankful for the friendship that we have gotten to form. We just have a lot in common and I love her! Then on Sunday I had the day off. Went to church at Grace Harbor and then some of us (Leah, Annie, TJ and I) went on a hike on Beaver trail. The sun was shining but it was pretty chilly. They close the road that leads up to the trail in the winter because it's dangerous so we walked about 30 minutes to the trail...uphill and then got to the trail. A lot of the trail here are boardwalks so part of this one was. BUT there was about a foot of snow covering them so you didn't know if you were walking on them or not and we were slipping off them like crazy. There was anywhere from a foot or more on either side of you so you would be walking and all the sudden be laying in the snow. It was pretty funny! Well we got the the top and there was a lake up there that you can walk around but we decided not to but it was BEAUTIFUL up there! I didn't take any pics up there but the one that I did take was along the road....this road goes in between two mountains so parts of it don't see any sun so there were some incredible icecicles. SO that has been the extent of the last few days here in Sitka, AK. The days seem long but I usually have something fun to look forward to. Signing off for now!
These are just some fun random pics from the last few weeks. Things here is Alaska are good....I've been pretty busy although I think that I had my first official day off this weekend and it was so great! I ended up not going to Juneau again which stinks but it was a good to relax a little bit. Annie didn't go on the YL ski trip either so we pretty much spent the weekend together. It was great and I'm so thankful for her! TJ took me on a hike on Saturday through the cross trail. He is neat....he knows just about everything about Sitka so it's always a learning experience when you're with him! Well, that's all for now! Hope everyone is great! Miss you!
Just last week Angela decided she wanted to go to Juneau to shop. So she got online and ordered our ferry tickets. We got on the boat on Friday and traveled the inside passage for about 6 or 7 hours ("the fast ferry"). We drove onto the boat in their 15 passenger van so that we could load it up with everything we bought and take it back. You unload all the stuff you want for the trip and take an elevator to the top level. Friday was the clearest day I have seen yet. It was so pretty! The inside passage is just an area of water and islands basically between here and Juneau that the cruise ships come in on. It was unreal...just a sight that you will see no where else. The ferry ride was about 5 hours too long though. The kids were everywhere and on this ship there is this upper level of just reclining chairs. So it is all open meaning the kids had no containment what so ever. Needless to say I think I sat down about 3 times total. We finally got to snowy/cold Juneau and drove off the ship and straight to Fred Meyer which is a more extensive Walmart. Pretty incredible. We shopped for a while and then went to the hotel. Woke up the next morning and went to the Mendenhall Glacier. It was my first sighting of a glacier...very cool! Then we went shopping at Costco and the mall (with about 10 stores). Juneau was a neat place. It wasn't very big but they did have a "high way" (a two lane road with a speed limit of 55 mph). It had a Colorado feel to it. So we shopped until we literally dropped. I wanted to go back to Mendenhall and check it out (this was the highlight of my weekend!). The huge lake or body of water leading up to it was frozen over so there were tons and tons of people there, doing anything from sledding, cross country skiing, hiking, dog sledding. It was so great and a beautiful day outside. I walked on the frozen water towards the glacier but it was A LOT further than I thought and I had to be back so I didn't make it all the way there. It was really neat and the sun was setting....again, the Lord's creation is unreal and gorgeous. Chatham and I went swimming at the hotel and went to bed. We woke up on Monday morning and Angela had the flu.....throwing up and all. So I did everything that I could to stay out of our hotel room. Chatham and I pretty much saw all of Juneau. We ran some more errands and went to downtown Juneau. Then Neva and I went to Costco for the second time and Fred Meyer for the third time. The snow started coming down so we went back to the nasty smelling, hot hotel room and went to bed excited that we were leaving in the morning but it wasn't over yet. Little Neva caught that flu and was throwing up the whole night. And since Angela was sick too the duty of making sure Neva did not puke on the bed was up to me. One of those things you just have to laugh about. After just a couple hours of sleep we woke up at 5:45 to catch the ferry back to Sitka. One the way back we were on "the slow ferry" so it took pretty much all day to get back. You can buy cabins with bunk beds in them. So we did and it helped a little bit with containing the kids but it was just a long trip. They announced that there were orcha's to the left of our boat but we missed them so I was pretty bummed. Well we made it back all in one piece and I didn't get the bug, praise the Lord! I was thankful for the chance to see Juneau but I could have done without the sickness. I actually might have the chance to go back to Juneau this weekend for the Young Life ski trip. But I'm trying to work things out with Angela. I hope it happens and I'm sure it would be a much more enjoyable experience. I'll let you know though! Love you all and miss you too!
We are finally getting settled into this new house. But it almost seems like an endless process. But we have internet connection now and so about that camping trip........
We loaded up in a boat (a skiff) and bundled up and took off for a 15 minute boat ride to a little cove across the channel. We start to pull into the cove and the ice started to thicken as we went in. It was crunching around the boat. Annie and I we kinda giving each other looks like...should we really be doing this? But Jesse who drove us there and picked us up just kept going and we pulled around the corner and there sat a little cabin just floating in the water. It was SO cool. We pulled up to the dock and piled out. Annie and I stayed with the kids while he went back to get the second group. We started a fire and lit the kerosene lamps....because there was no electricity or running water. There was a huge stove that kept the cabin warm. The second group arrived and we played some cards and made dinner. The kids here are just so great! It was a random group from Mt. Edgecumbe (the boarding school). They did a raffle to pick to who got to go and then those 5 people got to invite a friend. So they weren't all really friends but you would not have known it. They each have these stories that are out of this world. They all come from northern Alaska which is probably what you think of when you think of Alaska, tiny villages, freezing, snow everywhere, they hunt their food, and they just don't have much. So they are so greatful for what the school provides for them and very thankful for an education beyond grade school. Most come from crazy families. Alchohol is huge up there and the kids are exposed to pretty much anything and everything. It was just neat to get to here where they come from and just hang out with them. They are very self sufficient and know things that most normal high schoolers wouldn't. They know pretty much everything about the wildlife and nature. It's amazing to me because they love it and are in awe of it even though they live in it all the time. So....we fixed our dinner over the gas stove and continued to play cards and hang out and talk. There was sona on the dock so Pat went out to light the coals and most of the kids went out and did that. I chose not to get into a swimming suit and walk outside in the freezing cold but they had fun! Then we made tea for everybody and started going to bed. We woke up the next morning and started the fire again and made some oatmeal. There was a little outhouse behind the cabin to go to the bathroom. I didn't dare go out there in the middle of night. It was SO creepy...the ice around us just creaked all night. It was so awesome but very scarey at the same time. We hung around the cabin for a while and a couple of us went on a little hike. There was this long floating log that allowed us to get from the float to land but it had to be just right so that you didn't have to get into the water to reach land. It took a while to get it there but once we did we all jump off and went straight up this hill and then down the other side to a beach. It was beautiful and nothing was out there. It was neat. Then we hiked back and Jesse came to get us. The night before he dropped his keys in the water.....the water is SO clear here. Like in the dark you could see the things at the bottom of the water just by the moonlight and it was really deep. So Jesse brought his diving stuff and dove for his keys because apparently he would have to pay a lot if he lost them because they were the school's. So we all watched up jump into the freezing water and he found them. It was cool though. That was about the extent of our trip! It was a blast and I'm so glad that Pat and Annie invited me to go. The Lord's grace has been so great to me. He has blessed me and surrounded me with such great people! I am just so thankful for them and the way that we gotten to know eachother. I honestly feel like I have known them for years but that's not that case at all. It is way too much fun!
Hi! Things are going pretty good here in ALASKA! We have been moving so I haven't had much time to update this thing. And we don't have internet hooked up yet but we are supposed to tomorrow (I'm at the library...where I spend quite a bit of time when I'm free). Moving has been kinda crazy...very tiring but I feel like we've made a dent. We are still in the process and probably will be until the beginning of March when they HAVE to be out of their old place. It's just the way things are around here...very chill and not much motivation on Angela's side of things since we have everything we need to live in the new house. The new house is great. There is much more room and I feel like I have some of my own "personal" space now. I got to go camping last weekend which was a blast. We stayed in this little cabin floating in the water in the middle of nowhere. It was so quiet out there and so neat. I will put pictures up in the near future and tell more about it. We are also going to Juneau this Saturday until Tuesday to go to Costco and Fred Meyer (?). Should be interesting being on a ferry for a few hours with the busiest and most rambunctious toddlers in the world!!! I'll let you know how it goes. I will update soon!
Here are some pics of the kids. They are pretty much fun and very cute! Things are going good...we started moving yesterday so we've been very busy. They hope to sleep there tomorrow night. I'm going camping tomorrow though with Pat and Annie and some Mt. Edgecumbe kids. I'm pretty excited and I'll share about it later! Miss and love you all!
