Randomosity

We had quite a busy summer what with a trip to Prince Of Wales Island, many fishing excursions, soccer, soccer and more soccer, and of course, our big trip Back East. We'll have more on that trip in an upcoming post; for now, here are a few random glimpses of the summer.

The girls love playing outside in the rain with their umbrellas and rain boots.



Mama bear and her two babies out by the Mendenhall Glacier. We like to go watch them catch and eat salmon, and try to figure out what a porcupine is.



One of the last times we were out at the Glacier in the summer, it was a beautiful, flat-calm, clear day. We don't get those very often, so it was definitely a reason for a picture!

Oh, these are a bit older, I guess. Amelia turned three in April, 2010.

And this is the day before we left for our Back East Trip. And oh, what a trip it was! Come back soon for all the details.

Need More Time?

My dad died eleven years ago today. He was 55 years old.

I turned 40 in February of this year. On June 4, I got some lab results that were not good. The first words my doctor said when she called with my blood test results were, "What pharmacy do you want me to send this to?" I looked at my genetic makeup, my poor test numbers, and my two lovely daughters and thought, "Fifteen more years is not enough time with these girls."

I have lost 21.5 pounds since then. From June 4 to July 13, my overall cholesterol went from 176 to 143, and I lost 18 pounds in those five weeks. I have cut out butter, bacon, virtually all cholesterol, SUGAR, and most carbs. The doctor's new decision after this turn of events was, "No meds needed at this time."

My weight has been pretty static since the end of July. I'm down only about three pounds since Aug 1, but I am determined to lose more and get even healthier.

One thing I've figured out from this situation: losing weight is actually easy. Everyone knows how to do it: "Eat Less; Move More." The major sticking point is motivation. Mine was pretty obvious and immediate. Yours may be less tangible and more elusive. Regardless, you are the only one who knows what it is. Nothing that anyone can say to you will MAKE you lose weight.

But if you do, you can get more time too. How would you spend it?

POW Camping

Okay. Fine. At long last, here are a few pictures of us! We went camping for about a week on Prince of Wales Island (the US's third largest) here in southeast AK over the Fourth of July. Greg's mom and one of his nephews met us in Ketchikan and we ferried across to Hollis and ran amok on POW. FUN!

Lots of rain, noseeums, mosquitoes, and whitesocks later, we were kind of happy to be headed home. We saw many bear, deer, and met so many lovely people, that we are planning to spend quite a bit more time on the island if we can.

One of our very most favorite pastimes was eating berries. No exaggeration, we consumed many gallons of salmon berries and blueberries. The raspberries were not quite ripe or we would've put the hurt on them too.

Big sister, little sister; a love that never ends...

We have many, many pictures of boo sleeping. She must've just been worn out the whole time.

A girl and her dad with her first gun.

Eating berries by the branch.

Baby deer and mommy deer.

Greg with his wood pile. We cleared a lot of brush on one of our lots.

Opened up the beach and the view.

A little dog found us at our second campsite of the week.

The girls named him Scruffty and wanted to bring him home with us.

Lots of cocoa and s'mores all week long. And yummy pizza on the open fire, too. YUM!

Our next adventure begins Thursday as we fly to Chicago, drive to Toledo, circle around Lake Michigan, stop in Green Bay, and then fly back to Juneau via Chicago and Seattle. Seven states in twelve days and near 90-degree temps with two kids under six. Woo Hoo! Thank God the rental car has AC. We hope.

Eight whole years

Well, it's solstice in Alaska: the longest day of the year. We here in Juneau will enjoy just over 18 hours of daylight today. Sunrise was at 3:52am, with sunset at 10:09. It is the start of winter, really. From here on out, we get less daylight per day, leading us ever onward to winter's dark days. There are celebrations planned all over the state.

We are planning our own little celebration right here. Greg and I got married in a little town (even by Alaska standards) called Moose Pass eight years ago today, at the Trail Lake Lodge. Our ceremony was perfect, complete with a really loud floatplane taking off from right underneath the deck we were all standing on. We had beautiful weather, even more beautiful guests, and a great band. In fact, it looks like the Pretty Damn Close Band is still doing their thing!

Happy Anniversary, PB!