July Summer Fun

Auntie Brigid came to visit! We spent the day at the beach of Sand Lake, and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.  We had a picnic, played in the sand, and enjoyed the crystal clear water of the lake.  We had such a good time!  The next day, we took Brigid to Holmboe Nature Preserve.  The trails were beautiful, but the mosquitos thought so too, so we took a quicker pace than usual...  It was so good to spend some time with one of our favorite people!

Our Fourth of July was spent at the parade with our grandmas and grandpas.  It was so hot that we all didn't feel that good once we got home, so we decided to lay low in the air conditioning.  Once it cooled off a little bit in the evening, we lit off some fireworks on our driveway.  They were a big hit!

 

We have been enjoying music at the new bandshell of Hodag Park on Tuesday evenings this summer.  The kids have loved it, especially when they get to dance and play with their friends!

While the big kids were at tennis, Simon and I got some special time together.  He asked to go to Pioneer Park and when he was done at the playground, he wanted to go see the trains!

These ladies...man, it's hard to put into words how much they've meant to me over the last year.  (It's so hard to believe it has only been a year...)  We are each other's biggest cheerleaders and confidants.  They bring joy and fun and encouragement and support, and I really don't know what I would do without them.  I love them and their families so much!  We treated ourselves to pedicures and a delicious meal out at Casa Mexicana.  We laughed so much and had such a great time!

Nolan and Olivia did tennis camp for a few weeks this month.  They both loved it!  Hopefully we can get to the Dome some this winter so they can keep practicing and developing their skills and their love of the game!

Olivia's sweet friend, Evie, turned 8 and had an awesome secret agent themed birthday party to celebrate!  They had clues set up all over their farm to find the missing cupcakes.  It was so fun and such a clever way to have a party!  They had such a good time.  I am so glad Olivia has such sweet friends!

We babysat Ruby on Monday, and had so much fun.  She is such a sweet baby and was so good.  I don't think she cried all day long!  We took her to the library while the big kids went to tennis and we spent the rest of the day playing inside, swinging, and taking a walk.  I'm so glad the kids have a cousin in town to play with!

Glacier Bay

 Pictures cannot possibly come close to capturing the beauty and majesty of Glacier Bay National Park.  The mountains surrounding the sea are unreal, and their stunning reflection echoes back in the turquoise water.  Ice bergs float by with bald eagles perched upon them, while sea otters hold hands and float on their backs.  We saw Margerie Glacier, which spans 21 miles across, but in this vast enviroment looks positively tiny.  Your sense of scale is completely off, but it all takes your breath away.  It was such a joy to cruise through Glacier Bay National Park!

Skagway

 On our stop in Skagway, we took a train up into the White Pass Mountains to check out the beautiful scenery.  It was unbeliveable to wind through the gorgeous peaks, water falls, tunnels, and glaciers, often following the paths of those on the Klondike Gold Rush.  I spent most of the trip out on the train balcony, soaking in as much of the scenery as I possibly could. It was a gorgeous,cloudless, sunny day which allowed us to see the peaks of the glaciers that are usually hidden by fog and clouds.  It was a highlight of our trip for sure!

Juneau

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 I told my kids that I wasn't coming home from Alaska until I saw a whale, and lucky for them, the whales really delivered while we were in Juneau.  We saw 24 beautiful humpback whales on our whale watching expedition, including a mother and calf, a breaching male, and a group of 13 who were bubble-net feeding.  It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen and feels so unreal.  Again, the scale in Alaska just feels so different with all these gigantic mountains and the ocean surrounding you.  It felt difficult to even comprehend that a tail fluke of one of those whales was 15 feet across.  I kept my eyes open the whole rest of the trip and spotted several other whales from our ship over the course of our week - probably totaling near 50 throughout our trip!  It was a long awaited bucket list item for me that I was so glad I had the opportunity to see!