Whirl Wind Weeks

My parents came to town on the 17th of June and it seemed like from day one we were on the go or there was something going on.  The 19th was father's day.  We relaxed most of the morning and after Tanner's nap we headed out the door and wandered around Wal-Mart, and then to a park.  Tanner showed us how smart he's getting by shoving some gravel up his nose.  Brandon was able to plug one nostril and tell him to blow... the pebble eventually came out! ;)  After our park play we took a scenic drive towards Fox.  We saw a cow moose and her calf.  The Turtle Club, for a prime rib dinner, was a great end to a great day!

Such a good car cleaning helper

Tuesday morning Mom, Dad, Tanner and I headed south towards Valdez.  Tanner and I both slept a good portion of both the trip down and back... thankfully.  Six hours, each way, in the back seat of a Chevy Cobalt  is a long haul for baby and momma alike! We played tourists in Valdez for 3 days; walking along the bay, posing and taking pictures, driving to glaciers.  We got to see a bear along side the road munching on grass.  We also seen a few seals poking up through the water trying to get a good look at us.  They'd got out a ways and then come closer to shore.  Very curious creatures.  There was a family of bunnies that lived behind our hotel that Tanner loved to go visit. He went down to visit them with grandpa and grandpa said Tanner got to pet one of the bunnies a few times.  I wish I'd been there to take a picture of that.  Tanner did great though he wasn't too keen about letting me out of his site.  I'd go to the bathroom and have to listen to Tanner crying outside the door the entire time.  The one time that he talked to his daddy on the phone he was so excited.  Being away from Brandon isn't something that either Tanner or I enjoy, but we survived!

Bridal Veil Falls

Just a cute cuddly little bear!

The Parents

Grandpa's buddy

French Fry Face

Happiness in a cone

Long hike up from the fishing access. 

Originally the plan was for all of us to head to Anchorage on Sunday the the 26th, spend the night there, head to Homer for two nights, back to Anchorage for a night and then return home.  We changed it up.  On Saturday we headed towards Anchorage and passed on through and made our way to Seward which, like Homer, is on the Kenai Peninsula.  We stayed there for two nights.  While there we went to Alaska Sealife Center.  Tanner loved it.  There were fish, seals, birds, sea lions and so many other exhibits for him to check out. If the rest of us hadn't been hungry we could have spent an entire day just hanging out in there and Tanner would have been totally content.  We went and visited a glacier called the Exit Glacier.  We walked a 1 mile loop to get a little closer to it. Pretty amazing to learn how quickly the ice is melting.  My dad caught a salmon in the ocean while fishing in Seward.  We cooked it up for dinner along with some brussle sprouts, french bread and salad!  It was a feast!

Totally entranced by the fish

Amazed!

Exit Glacier

On our trip to Homer we stopped a few times an the guys got out and fished. Mom fished a little bit, but no one was successful.  We made our way to Homer and found our next home that we stayed for two nights.  The one full day that we were the was foggy all morning and into the afternoon.  The clouds and rain finally dissipated and we were able to see the beautiful bay and mountains surrounding Homer.  I think that Homer is, by far, one of my favorite places in Alaska.  We did lots of cruising around and waking the spit in Homer. The spit is the 4.5 mile piece of land that reaches out in the Kachemak Bay.  This is where the boat harbor, and lots of fun little businesses are located.

Flock of Seagulls

Tanner wasn't ready to leave

View from our Homer Rental

After our 2 nights in Homer we decided to forgo staying the night in Anchorage and just journey back to North Pole.  On the way home we stopped at Clam Gulch and dug for clams for 2 hours.  We weren't very successful at first... They kept getting smashed.  Soon we were doing pretty great though.  My mom would find where the clams were located then dad and Brandon would go dig them up.  I just stood and round and took pictures! ;)  After that dad and Brandon took a ferry and fished in the Kasilof and the Russion river. They didn't catch anything but did have a black bear walk about 10 yards away from them.  We made our way to Anchorage and went out to dinner at Benihana. It was fun.  Brandon, Tanner and I had been there before, but mom and dad hadn't, so it was fun getting to experience it with them.  After dinner we made the dreaded trip back home. We were able to do the trip in 6.5 hours. With all of our stops to stretch and use the bathroom, I felt like we made decent time.  It sure felt good to get home.

Messy mud man

Bucket of Razor Clams

Mom and dad still have a few days left here before they have to return home to Montana.  It'll be quiet around here when they leave... well kinda, my 18 month old son keeps things lively enough on his own! :)