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Alaska: Week 1

We made it to Alaska!
It's been 2 years since the kids have come up
 and 11 years since I have been there as well :)
Here I am 11 years ago picking blueberries in 
Hatcher Pass with Lucy by my side and a growing Chester in my big belly.


Traveling is strange in the pandemic.
No hustling, just masks and a lot of waiting.


a view from our flight in Washington. When we landed the air was thick with smoke. The whole west has been on fire.
 It's sad but mother nature needs to do her job too.

Waiting in Seattle post McDonald's :)
Looking down at glaciers. Clay leaned over to me and said,
 "you know there are hundreds of those where we are going"
 haha


Palmer!
We arrived at Mandy and Tom's, what a great place to land.
 They were amazing hosts with lots of space to spare and love all around to share :)


I included this since this is how he looks at me...I look old and tired here :)
he looks ready to tease me
Everyone is doing online school...and then miraculously found time to play games together (sarcasm)
 A highlight for the boys for sure!




Wesley



Chester hasn't been around friends or anyone his age in over 6 months so this visit seemed important.
 They all came away with new found relationships and lots of bonding. My mom heart was so happy watching him.
 I barely spoke with him for the whole time we were there!
Cousins=best friends

Went out to the river to shoot clay pigeons. 
Clay gave Audrey and the rest of us lessons. 
Tom provided all the gear and the four by four made it all the more Alaskan.









Russian olive bushes  all along the river beds


Tom provided donuts around a car so shot up it was like swiss cheese.
 He said he had to give us an authentic experience :)


Uncle Tom's recess




sunrise on the beginnings of fall

hiking the butte with cousins...I had never done it before


devils club grows wild everywhere there

half way up break




views from the top!







The boys scrambled around in the dirt up there!

Chester, as you can see, is in heaven :)


Audrey's wish to bake in the fall came true
...she made her pumpkin snickerdoodles...scrumptious!

Bushes Bunches with zucchini the length of my arm...I never got a pic of the 3 times I got deep fried zucchini there...but that was my heaven:)

Clay's fake but very real zoom background :)

Henry broke his pinky toe after a game of throw throw burrito

Reuben Haus truck
So good! and cute flower buckets and hanging in dairy baskets...kind of an ode to the dairy farms that once were in Palmer.


We made a trek up to Hatcher Pass
The changing colors of the tundra are jaw dropping. 
It was just so beautiful!












Mandy is such a good sister to Clay.
 I love her for that plus all the other reasons or blessings she has extended to us in our lives.

Sunset on the valley


One of the nicest days weather wise was spent going up to the Matanuska Glacier.
WOWza.





my favorite walks have leaves underfoot

pretty Audrey


The glacier was so cool to walk on, you could scrape away mud or ice to see you were stepping on blocks of ice. Streaks of pure blues scoring through the ice and crevasses were just incredible. Alaska has a way of humbling you. 
It is such a special place. 
I feel lucky to be married to an Alaskan :)

cousin squad!





What an incredible first week we had :)

 

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