Fishing

B-man had a great time fishing on Saturday. It drizzled on them a little, but the rain held off and it wasn't too cold. Yay! The guide said that the river was higher than he's ever seen it because of all the rain we've had lately. That effected their fishing some, but they all caught a lot of fish and had lots of fun. I ordered this trip for B-man on Groupon and the company is called Kenai Experience. The guide, Alec is originally from TN. They fished down on the Kenai river, in a boat and along the shore. Turns out that there are still a lot of reds in the rivers, but they're not good to eat at this point in their life cycle. Grotesque is the term used to describe them now. I think he missed the peak silver run, but they did see some silvers- they just weren't biting Saturday. They also caught some trout. The only ones that you can keep right now are the silver salmon, so although B-man caught about 10 fish and the largest trout of the day, he didn't get to bring any home for supper. Lol.



Alec, the guide.



See the reds? I enhanced the red color in this picture, so that you could see them better.

There were four folks fishing plus the guide.



More reds.




Out of the boat.




The boat. :)



The big one!
His rainbow was the biggest trout of the day!
Probably about 16 inches.

They fished from about 7:15-3:15. He said he really had a great time and is excited to get back out there again. They didn't see any bears. But the guide said he saw two the day before. Fishing season is just about over here. I think they stop at the end of September.



Before B-man's second deployment to Iraq, we took a little trip up to Estes Park in Colorado and went fishing on the Big Thompson River. Here are a couple of pics from that trip, back in 2005? I think that's when it was.  



It was COLD that day!




This was our big catch that day! Lol!
I think it was a brown trout and we were super excited over it.

I'm so glad that he got to fishing before the deployment. It's too bad that we weren't able to get him out there during the peak runs, but we'll try again next time around. Maybe Boo can go too! Heck, I'd like to give it a go as well.

Photo Review

We've been trying to get back into a routine (read: start a routine) this week. Boo is back at preschool two days/week and Bit is back to napping two times/day. She even slept through the night last night! The night before, she was up from 10:30-1:30 and was none too happy that I wasn't feeding her when she awoke. I just felt like it was time...past time, really. She's not hungry, she's just used to being nursed in the middle of the night. My guilt was HIGH as she wailed from her bed. B-man and I went in to soothe her by other means, but that really just ticked her off in the end. So, we just let her work it out for herself. It was so hard. I was in tears. But, she finally went to sleep and woke up happy at 6:00 a.m. And last night, she slept the whole night through (7 p.m.-6 a.m.). Here are some pics of what we've been up to. I have some videos to share also, but I'll save those for later.

Umm, excuse me Lil Bit! Where do you think you're going?
(video to come)

Cool photography moment.

I hope she loves books as much as Boo does.

Her first ride in the hotrod.
She loved it, of course.
Her onesie says, "Mommy is my BFF!"
Ain't that the truth?

We joined the Mom's Club for a house of bounce playgroup.
Bit is no longer content to chill in my lap. She wants to go.
She uses her finger as her little antennae to explore.

It's much more fun to go under the chairs.

I haven't neglected Boo in his photo ops. He just doesn't sit still long enough for me to take them anymore!

Soaking up some Vitamin D!

Piggies!

Another drive.

There he is!

We were playing hide and seek and this is Boo and his tractor hiding.

This is Boo's self portrait. Look at that mouth!

I found him!!

We're really trying to enjoy the sunny days while we still have them. They are getting fewer and fewer, so we're sure to drop everything and get outside when the sun is shining.

B-man is on a guided fishing trip today. He missed the red salmon run earlier this summer because of our move and his leaving for JRTC, but I think the silvers are running (I hope) and I think it's peak season for trout. I hope he's having a great time and catching lots of fish. And, I hope it's not raining.

Alaska State Fair

It's the end of summer and tourist season here in Alaska and to the locals here that means one thing...THE ALASKA STATE FAIR is in town!

We bundled up and drove up to Palmer for the 75th Alaska fair.

We checked out the 4-H barn and saw some big, beautifully manicured animals.



We were allowed to touch the turkey's neck. It was sooooo warm! I don't know why that kind of struck me as interesting, but it did.



Boo said that his favorite thing was driving the trucks.

Tot Pirate Ship

Bit rode the merry go round (perhaps the world's slowest...ha!)

Daddy and daughter.

There's even a special Fair Train that will take you from Anchorage to the fair and back. It's quite spendy though.
"Spendy" is what the folks up in Denali National Park would say when referring to something as being expensive.

Had to get his pic!
Don't worry, the train was stopped at the depot.
We were just crossing the tracks in front of it.

We had a nice time at the fair and enjoyed our 4 day weekend together! Now, it's back to getting into a routine.
Hope you have a great week!

Boo's First Day of Preschool

What a difference a year makes! Today was Boo's first day of preschool and he was so excited. He woke up this morning talking about going to school. He wanted to ride the bus and wanted to go see his friend Alex from school last year. So, I had to gently break it to him that he wouldn't be riding a bus and Alex didn't go this school. I almost lost him after that. He started saying that he didn't want to school and that he had already learned something new. But, we quickly got back on track and he was ready to go.

He had a great day! I don't know what all he did because he keeps telling me that I already know. And I keep telling him that I wasn't there...so, I don't know. Ha!


It takes me 3 minutes to drive there! Woohoo! So, Bit and I will have 2 hours and 54 minutes to ourselves twice/week. Ha!

B-man had the day off after being in LA, so it was really nice for us to both play on the floor with Bit. I think that's the first time we've been able to do that with her.

Here are his pics from his first day.

So handsome!

New, bigger backpack is on the way.
I didn't order it in time, so he had to go with his one from last year, which I still love.
But, it's not big enough for all of his stuff.

We were early, so he played on the train outside of school for a few minutes.

And when I dropped him off he said, "Ok, bye Mom. I'll be at my new house later."

And that was it! He didn't roll around on the floor and cry like he did last year. He never looked back.

He had a great day!

Daddy's Home!!!!

One More BeBe Adventure to Share

I really wanted to show BeBe the Matanuska Glacier. I really was amazed by it when we went earlier this summer. Time was running out and it looked like the weather might not cooperate. But, on a day we planned on doing nothing, we ended up going on up to the glacier because the sun was out. 

It's a good thing BeBe got her camera out to take a pic of Boo with his shades on in the driveway because...

...WE SAW A BEAR right after going through the gate to leave post.
It ran right across the street in front of us. It was beautiful (never thought I'd say that about a bear)!
Shiny, black hair and was healthy looking too. By the time we got it together to get the picture, it was just about to enter the woods. Woohoo!! Bear sighting...check! From the truck...check, check!!

All packed up and ready to hike!
I don't think she was really unhappy here, just stuffed in the pack.

Now, I kept telling Boo to follow BeBe and stay on the bridges!
But, I see him slowly starting to go off course, here...

And this is what happened! He fell right in the mud!

Nothing a little glacier pond can't take care of...

...a mother's work is never done...

...hang on Bit, we're going down...

Ahh! On with our trek.
By the way, the orange cones aren't danger cones per se, they're just marking the most desired path to get out on the glacier.
It's not like you're going to fall in to a black hole of glacier silt if you don't stay on the path. Just FYI.

I wanted to take this pic with the couple walking ahead of us so that you can really see how big this thing is!

For the more adventurous (and more experienced) you can go ice climbing.

Crevice!
Don't worry, it was tiny.

:) :) :) :)

Afterwards, we went to Long Rifle Lodge and ate supper.
It was DELICIOUS!!
We all cleaned our plates! This is really a picture of the glacier in the background.
Sorry to cut off your head Lil Bit.

Another bear! Grizzly, this time.
The lodge was FULL of animals like this. It was really neat.


It was another GREAT day! The drive North to the glacier was so different the drive South to Seward. To the North, there are a lot of deciduous trees and the fall is already showing itself with the changing of the leaves. To the South, it's mostly evergreens. Both are beautiful though!


The last week of BeBe's trip, we kind of stayed around home and she took good care of me! She cooked supper, she washed dishes, and unloaded the dishwasher (swoon) and vacuumed, too!  She watched both children so that I could get my haircut (early in the trip) and so that I could do a little shopping on my own, get a pedicure and allowed me to escape for a massage!!!
She also watched each child individually so that I could have some precious one on one time with each of them. That really was an unexpected blessing...to be able to focus and enjoy just being with one of them at a time. I think it was equally a blessing to her as well.  Boo and I went on a date. We went to lunch (McD's) and to the movies. It was raining out, so going to the movies was a great choice. We saw The Smurfs movie...in 3D!! I didn't realize I had chosen the 3D movie, and was kind of 'bleh' when I discovered it. But, I was really amazed at the technology...and it didn't make me motion sick!  I loved it!
We held hands (he wouldn't let my hand go) and ate popcorn! It was awesome.

He looks sad, but he wasn't.
I think he looked out over the top of the glasses the whole movie. Hehehe!

Thank you so much BeBe for coming out to see us and taking care of us all while B-man was away. Oh! And thank you waking up with Boo and letting me nap!
We miss you!
And to PawPaw, thank you for taking care of Murray and Sandy while BeBe was away! Sandy had an upset stomach for several days that kept PawPaw on clean up duty. He even had to get the steam cleaner from Aunt R!

As I type, B-man is flying home! Should be here for the babes to see him when they wake up in the morning!
Yay!!