One More Thing!

Oops! One more thing! The mountain is Mt. McKinley. We weren't lucky enough to get a clear shot of the whole mountain but, from what I hear, we were lucky to see it at all! The mountain is usually covered in a shroud of clouds and people visit the area for weeks at a time and never see it. Mt. McKinley is the tallest mountain in North America - or is it in the United States? Anyway, with an elevation of more than 20,000 feet - it's the highest I've ever seen!

Alaska - Day 1!

Yes, we're finally here! After a full day of traveling, we arrived in Anchorage at 11:30 pm, Saturday evening. We had another 2 hours before we could finally settle in to our beds at Steve's dad's in Palmer. Needless to say, we got a bit of a late start this morning!

After breakfast we explored the land around Grandpa Richard's house. We had heard that a moose had taken up residence so we were on the lookout! No moose but lots of evidence! Wasilla Creek runs behind Richard and Teresa's house. I have gotten so used to the lack of mosquitos in our area that the mass numbers of them here had me scratching!

Ironically, we didn't need to come to Alaska to see a moose - on our drive to Seattle yesterday, we encountered a dead one outside of Chelan. That was almost as exciting and seeing the real living thing!

Our afternoon was spent trekking around the Talkeetna area. WOW! Sun Mountain has always been one of my favorite places but I think I've found its rival! Talkeetna Lodge is gorgeous! If I could attach links I would attach the link to their web site. It's worth checking out! The kids and I explored the trails around the lodge and then we all headed off to the town of Talkeetna for lunch.

Talkeetna is a small town with lots of tourists! Many hikers use the town as a jumping off point for their mountain climbing expeditions into Mt. McKinnley. Other than looking at all the artisans' wares in town, I think the best part of our afternoon was spent exploring the banks of the river in Talkeetna. Steve and the kids walked out onto a log that had fallen over the river. I was a little worried about falling in and being wet for the rest of the day so I stayed back and became the photographer!

Backing up a little to our flight in - Robyn and my parents had talked about the flight and how beautiful it was coming over the mountains and into Anchorage. They were right! Though it was late, we were chasing the sun so it was actually very light out. We had about a 20 minute period where the clouds cleared and we could the the snow topped mountains and the blue glaciers. We tried to wake the kids for their first glimpses of Alaska but they couldn't seem to keep their eyes open long enough!

Tomorrow we head off to Seward and to Homer for a couple of days. I'm not sure what's in store for us but no matter what it is, we'll be ready for the adventure.

As a side note, I'm having trouble labeling the pictures and putting them into the correct order so bear with me! The 2nd and 3rd pictures were taken at the town of Talkeetna. The middle picture is one I took on a trail at Talkeetna lodge. We heard a strange noise in the woods! The last two pictures are of the stream outside Richard and Teresa's home - see the moose print! The last picture (which is really the first one you see!) I'm inserting is - yes - moose poo. We found it on the trail to the stream this morning.

Rainy Days and Yard Sales

The kids love the cool break from all the heat!

Yes, we actually do get rain on this side of the mountains! We had three days of rain last week. It is unusual but not unheard of. We sure needed the rain as there was a fire burning just outside of Omak. The rain helped douse the flames so the firefighters could get the burning under control.

Lyndsi was up and out the door to play in the rain before I even got out of bed!

Steve was away at a soccer tournament this weekend so the kids and I spent yesterday yardsaling. Not buying - selling! Several of my friends and myself do an annual yardsale and typically do very well. We had about a $700.00 sale! Though it's a hassle to sort and price, it's always fun to have an excuse to hang out all day together. We drank coffee and ate donuts and pizza. The weather was perfect and the shoppers were fun. The kids even parted with some of their beloved toys to make a little spending money for Alaska.

Which reminds me - we leave for Alaska next Saturday! I don't know that I will be posting anything in the next week but definitely check back for (hopefully) daily pictures of our trip! We are all anxious to hit the road (or the skies) and head north.

Slide Show

I am still working on making the slide show fit in it's spot on the side of the blog. Be patient! It's a work in progress!

Summer Fun!

Steve and Dylan chilling in the pool!

IN the heat of the summer we are constantly trying to find some fun things to do that will keep us cool! We have air conditioning in our home but you get a little stir crazy staying indoors all day! Fortunately our city pool is open from about 10:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday through Saturday. They have a family swim time from 6- 7. It's perfect for cooling off with out the craziness of open swim! The kids both took swimming lessons and, once again, surprised me with their swimming abilities! Dylan is learning some new strokes and some diving. Lyndsi is learning her basic front crawl and backstroke. They both love swimming, though Lyndsi would stay in all day, while Dylan gets cold and wants out after about a half hour. He has no fat on his bones!

Lyndsi paddling around in the pool

Our van was in desparate need of attention so after I cleaned out the inside, I let the kids take over the outside. They had squirting the hose and playing in the sudsy water. The van didn't turn out spotless but it's better!

Lyndsi and Dylan playing in the suds

We also had some fun giving Ruth a bath. She decided to dig in the dirt earlier in the week and kept shaking off dust. I was tired of following her around with the vacuum! Even though she tried to escape, I think she was secretly enjoying herself!

Aack! A wet dog! Ruth gets a bath from Dylan and Lyndsi

Aaack!

Again - I'm frustrated with the way my posting looks. I don't know why my spaces between my paragraphs didn't show up. Sorry that the next post appears to be so long winded! I think I better learn a little about html soon. Hey - I didn't even know that it was some sort of "computer language" until a few weeks ago!

Three Less Pets!

Yep, today was the day to let our little amphibian friends go. The kids and I collected about 10 tadpoles from a ditch in town several weeks ago. We had fun watching them grow into two little tree frogs and one toad of some sort. Yes - that does only equal 3 - the rest didn' t quite survive the Streeter kids! Survival of the fittest you know! Anyway, we (aka - I) have been collecting bugs from the porch lights to feed our little friends. It's amazing what can fit into their mouths! As I was getting a bit tired of this nightly routine, I started encouraging the kids to think about when they would like to let their temporary pets go. Today was the day! Yee haw! No more bombarding beetles for me! Our original intent in collectng tadpoles was to release them in our pond area. We gave that up after our fish happily gobbled up the little guys! So, Steve built up one area of the pond that is shallow and protected from the 10 big bullies and perfect for smaller fish (or frogs!) and our second batch of tadpoles were allowed to grow into adults. The pictures show Dylan and Lyndsi finding the perfect spot for the frogs and toad to call home.

Lyndsi and her frog

Dylan and his frog

Aren't they cute! They really were pretty fun to have around - though very stinky! This is a tree frog. Apparently they are recognizable by the black stripes through their eyes.

And here is our lone toad. I'm not sure why we decided this had to be a toad. I think Dylan just told me it was and I accepted it!

This evening when we went back out to check on the hoppers, we found one. I hope the others were hiding! It's been so hot that I was a little worried about finding fried frogs, but we let them go in the cool of the morning and near a water source so I'm sure they are safe and happy - fingers crossed!

I made a joke about getting rid of 3 pets earlier in the post but in our release we discovered at least 5 baby fish in the shallows. I'm an auntie!! I was truly excited! I can't tell yet if the babies are koi or goldfish but I'm happy with either! Hopefully their parents don't eat them before they have a chance to grow.

And one more animal story to share. Steve stopped at the local Chevron yesterday and spotted an Old English Sheepdog. Steve had an Old English when he was growing up so he's always had a soft spot for them. After talking to the dog's owner, Steve discovered he was in the presence of a celebrity - sort of ... Bear with me here - the dog was the brother of the dog who belongs to Jack Black's father. For those of you who don't know, Jack Black's parents live in Tonasket, which is about 30 miles from here. For those of you who don't know Jack Black, he is an actor. If I knew how to put links into my post I would find a Jack Black link for you. But I don't so I won't! Anyway, though I've never met the actor, I have spent a little time with his mom and Jack has been known to show up around town occasionally. So... Steve was very excited to be able to come home and do a little bragging!

Still working out the kinks

Yep, I just previewed the way my last posting looked and realized that I had already published it. You can't edit the post once you've published it! Bear with me while I learn about this blog business. Eventually it will look like I paid someone to create it! Ha!

Happy Fifth of July!

Happy Fourth! Or fifth as it is today! We had a great day with lots of friends, food and fun. The festivities started with a traditional bar-b-que at our friends' house. Once you hear about this party, you are always invited so it grows a bit each year. Unfortunately, Jill (who was the only Streeter participating in the game) did not win the Grudge Croquet match. She did come in 3rd and held the lead, along with one of Steve's fellow teachers, for a long time. The best part of not winning is that you don't have to take home the trophy!

After dark, the party moved up the hill to our and our neighbor's houses for fireworks. Yes, I had fun playing with the settings on my camera!

For the last five days we've had the pleasure of entertaining some good friends from Olympia. We first met them when they lived here. Steve worked with Brett and our families attended the same church. They were in town specifically for the Fourth but were able to spend a few extra days with us.

For most of the visit, Steve and Brett worked! They worked hard! They installed our new appliances (a refrigerator and a wall oven) and tore apart, and I mean literally tore apart, our dilapidated hot tub. Meanwhile, I received a spa treatment - hee, hee! Actually, Brett and Heather's 10 year old daughter and her friend played spa all week and we were treated royally! I had 2 massages, a manicure and a pedicure! Even Lyndsi and Dylan got in on the act!

Spa day!

Fishing, too

The boys were actually able to take an evening away from all their home improvements to go fishing. Our fabulous next door neighbor offered to take them out on the Columbia River on his boat so they grabbed some beer and chips, another guy friend and off they went. They must have had a good time because we didn't see them again until about 11:00 that night! They came home with their limit, 2 triploid trout each. Those were some big fish and I don't think any of the fishermen came back disappointed! Brett estimated that they caught and released about 50 other trout.

Dylan showing off Dad's fish

We're off to Spokane to spend a couple of days with our parents. Summer is rushing by and we haven't been to the big city yet! The kids start swimming lessons on Monday so we'll be back by then. Have a great weekend!