First Day of Fall

My good friend, Pat, hosted our church's Sarah Circle and our families for a gathering at their cabin at the lake.  It was a pleasant first day of Fall.

Who says you have to have level ground to play croquet!?

The kabobs were quite tasty, as was the rest of the food everyone brought!

Look Close!

If you watch closely on My First YouTube Video, keeping focused toward the top of the screen at the front of the boat, you'll see the dolphins that were having fun racing with our day cruise catamaran for awhile (while we were visiting Alaska last summer.) It's very short, so if you don't see the dolphins the first time through, just replay!

Alaskan Wildlife, Part 2

These are some of my favorites of the wildlife we saw on our trip to Alaska last summer.

-Tufted Puffin-

: )

 -contemplative Sea Otter-

In Seward there were rabbits of all colors hopping around the residential area.  I happened to see this greedy one.  Or, maybe he was just really hungry. Or, maybe he was headed somewhere to share!

I never dreamed I'd have the opportunity to see whales in my life! I don't remember for certain, but I think this was a beluga.

-Moose!-
They are quite common in Alaska, with signs all along the roads advising caution and to be alert for them along the roads. This family actually lives in Benny's sister's neighborhood. She said the twins were two years old, and would stay with their mother one more year.  But, they were something I had really, really hoped to see while we were there, so I was sure grateful that they made an appearance right toward the end of our visit!

"All things bright and beautiful, 
All creatures great and small, 
All things wise and wonderful, 
The Lord God made them all."

Alaskan Wildlife

On our first day in Alaska (last summer), this eagle and a gorgeous blue sky welcomed us.

 -A lone Harbor Seal swimming up the Kenai Bay-

I named him Murphy!

Murphy stopped to smile for the camera!

-Some of the birds on Gull Island-

I think these are mostly Common Murres and some Pelagic Cormorants off to the right, but do you see the two Tufted Puffins?

 

 Papa Eagle watches over his family (that was in another tree) at Homer.

This was a cute squirrel, but he was really a thief after the contents of Laura's bird feeder!

 

-Steller Sea Lions slipping and sliding, and soaking up some sun in (I think) Resurrection Bay-

Seeing these animals and birds was great, but in part 2 of Alaska Wildlife, I'll show the ones that were my favorites!

Zzzzzzzzzzz....

February 4, 2012

Kelsey and Adam move--no more apartment life

May 5, 2012

Brittany and Matthew

 

June 30, 2012

Trina and Joshua

July 3, 2012

I took a nap!

: )

Springing Up

We Interrupt this Blog Break...

.....with an actual post!  My apologies for not getting back to the Alaska trip coverage.  Hopefully that can resume at a later date.

Since November, my thoughts have been more focused on a different topic--weddings! : )  Yes, plural!

T and J announced their engagement in November!

M and B announced their engagement in December!

Oh dear, I may have to break down and start using actual names on my blog, or we'll all be totally confused.  : )  It won't even work to use last name initials, as those overlap with some of our first name initials!  Yep, I think it may be time.

So.......

Matthew (our oldest) and Brittany will be married in Louisiana, where she is from, the beginning of May!

Trina (our youngest) and Josh's wedding will be here, at our home church, the end of June.

Meanwhile, in January, Kelsey (our second born) and Adam bought their first house, an older farmhouse, that they are so happy to call theirs!  That meant the fun of helping with their move.  (Really, it was fun!)  Of course Benny and I realized there will be two more moves to help with later in the year, so guess we were just getting practiced up!

 (taken at annual New Year's Eve party, this year at Other Farming Couple's home)

And the Answer (finally) Is........

Alaska!

Yes, it's true (sorry Janet!)--in August B. and I took a trip to that definitely north of Kansas state.  Thank you to those of you who took time to comment and make guesses!

The "really big hint" in the previous post--that was Mount McKinley in the background.  You know--that really big mountain, the one that's the highest in North America.  But it's okay if you didn't recognize it.  I wouldn't have either, before our trip.

So, where do I begin to summarize a fantastic, two-week trip?  Obviously I can't publish all 755 photos!  Guess I'll try to break them down into categories.

Today I'll focus on Family and Friends that we were able to see.

 B's sister, L, lives in Soldotna, on the Kenai Peninsula.  She and her husband graciously picked us up from the airport in Anchorage, let us use their vehicle until we rented one, gave us a place to stay while in their part of the state, and basically treated us like royalty!
THANK YOU, L and C!

 

L went with us on a day cruise from Homer to the fun little town of Seldovia.  You can't drive to get there!

 

She bought a different variety of flower from one of Seldovia's shops right on the bay.....
 

...to add to the MANY she has planted around their place.

One afternoon L's friend, C, had just finished giving a riding lesson, so she let me mount up for awhile.  It had been years since I'd been on a horse.  Thanks, C!

Here's B with the V family.  They lived just a couple of miles from us when the kids were little, but have been living in Alaska for a good number of years now, where they built their beautiful home.  It was so good to see and spend a bit of time visiting with B, J, C, K, and K!  Their other son, B, was away. 

Checking out one of Alaska's amazing rivers up close...

 .....and from far above, another one that had a completely different attitude!

  

L and B at the Soldotna visitor's center a couple of days before we headed home.

The next Alaska post I do (though not necessarily the next post) will include wildlife!

Final Hint--a REALLY BIG one!

If you checked in on my previous post, http://joeks55.blogspot.com/2011/10/big-hint.html , or a few of posts ago, http://joeks55.blogspot.com/2011/09/some-questions-some-answers.html ,  then you know I've been leaving hints about where B and I went on vacation in August. 

This is the final hint.  I'd say that it's a REALLY BIG one.  (hint, hint)

Next time I'll reveal where we went.

A Hint

Here's a hint about where we went on that summer vacation that I still need to blog about.