Little A favorite part of the day: "having M&M over for dinner"
Little A saddest part of the day "that M&M have to move to Germany"

Big A favorite part of the day: "Playing softball"
Big A saddest part of the day, "its the day before the last day we will see M&M"

mommy and Daddy agree with little A!

2 mountains in 2 days

Yesterday my buddy and I climbed Mt Juneau! What an amazing climb. It was by far the most difficult hike I have ever done. At times we were traversing snow covered waterfalls or on all 4's navigating the steep mountainside. The 3 mile hike up the mountain reaches an elevation of 3500 ft and although we didn't quite make the summit we came pretty close. Truly an amazing experience and one I hope to repeat, next time after all the snow has melted.
Still on the mountain climbing kick today, the fam and I decided to climb Mt Roberts up to the Tram. We took lots of water and snacks for the kids and just hoped for the best. They were amazing, practically sprinting up the first 15 min. Big A never seemed to tire although little A needed encouragement for the last 20 min. We made the 2 mile hike in 1.5 hrs, pretty good I think for the kids. We then took the tram down and walked over to our favorite restaurant for dinner and ice cream cones. The pic is from the 1st lookout point on the trail.
Juneau has so many great trails and I feel very fortunate to be able to do them on a regular basis and am excited that the kids seem to share my enthusiasm for exploring them!

Lost in the woods

This morning my buddy and I started out on one of our morning walks with the dogs. We decided on an group of trails that intertwine and allow some beautiful views of the glacier and some glacier made lakes/ponds. The trails here are very well marked with maps at almost every intersection. What we didn't know was that the maps had not been updated recently and several trails had been flooded by multiple beaver dams. Unfortunately we encountered one of these floods and decided to push through to the other side instead of turning back. We were certain we wouldn't make it back in time for preschool pick up if we turned around... little did we know what was in store. After crossing a beaver dam to dry woods and bush whacking our way for about 15 min we found the trail. Elated we continued through only to find it flooded. Once again we pushed through convinced we could find our way... Well time was not on our side and we had to call in for back up to pick up the kids. We decided at this point to throw in the towel and try to find our way back. Certainly not an easy feat but with the glacier in plain view we headed that way. D dog lead us to the right trail not once but 2x! We eventually made it back and met G who drove us and the kids back to the car. So our 1 hour hiked turned into a 3.5 trek through the woods. I think we both enjoyed it and although we were "lost" we always sort of knew where we were. We just thought we might have to tredge through 2+ ft of water to get there. The picture is of the flooded trail and the beaver dam that saved us.

Spring fun

What an amazing day in Juneau!! When the sun shines this is one of the most beautiful places on earth! I had the luxury of waking up at a cabin at the Shrine of St. Teresa. The views were amazing
After a tball game and softball game we took big A and our neighbor on a sailing trip with their teacher. It was a blast.

icebergs and adventures

My buddy and I took the dogs for a hike on West Glacier trail this morning. We strayed off the main trial and managed to get down to the lake in a cove filled with icebergs. It was very cool. We even saw several Dahl sheep (or mountain goats) up on the mountain side. We decided to take the beach back to our starting point but ran into a bit of a obstacle when the beach ended at a small cliff. So off and up into the woods we went looking for a way around. We finally did find one but only after we slid down some rock faces holding on to a tree branch (it sounds way more dangerous than it actually was but definitely on the challenging side). It was a very fun hike and the dogs had a blast. The first picture is of the icebergs and the second the hillside/rockside we came down.

It may not be warm but it is sunny!

I am learning that spring in Southeast Alaska is not defined by new leaves and flowers but simply sunshine. We have seen more sun in the past week than we have in a while, even though it has snowed almost every night. Today was a beautiful clear sky day and I think the temps may have come near 50. It's funny to watch the people here in Juneau on days like today. Everyone pretty much gets outside in the sun in some way. I saw a lot of people prepping their boats for the waters, another sign of spring here in SE. We managed to get ourselves to one of the trails and took a leisurely walk around, mostly just throwing rocks in water and watching D dog run around and play in the water. Then after running some errands the kids were able to get out and ride bikes, throw frisbees, and jump rope. Mom and Dad even pulled the grill out for some yummy steaks and halibut. We are so hoping for a continuation of this weather but you never know here. The pics attached are from our walk, enjoy.

Spring has sprung!

It was an amazing day here in Juneau! The strange fog patterns amazed us this morning but by 11am the sun was shinning and everything was beautiful! D dog and I got 2 walks at the glacier today. The first in the morning with the fog hiding the glacier and the second in the afternoon with the whole family in tow. We spent over an hour at nugget falls with the kids soaking up the sun, building rock castles, throwing rocks into the lake and ice and trying to touch the falls.

The other big news of the day is Big A went to a hip hop dance clinic with the local high school dance team and her group was one of the 4 groups that was selected to perform with the girls in their show in April!! Big A was so proud and loved the hip hop dancing!

The first picture today is of the "missing glacier" and the second throwing rocks in the lake.

a little bit of everything

Woke up this morning to the same old rain and clouds. D dog and I trekked out to the Glacier anyway. She managed to swim in the lake and roll in the sand and mud, having a blast. Thinking she was worn out I let her wander when we got home while I switched the laundry out. Silly me, 3 min and she was gone. 45 min later she shows up in my neighbors yard who said she had gone for a swim in the river! Guess it's bath time for her.

The day ended up clearing up and the sun came out to play. The kids pulled out jump ropes, sidewalk chalk and bikes and had a blast! We even met some new neighbors!

The days are getting longer now, especially with the time change. I notice tonight it was still light at 7:45... kinda nice. Hoping for more good weather. The picture is of the glacier this morning on our walk.

Could Spring really be here!?

The morning started out with a bizarre fog that we have become quite familiar with this winter but it burned off and it was an amazing day! Little A, D dog and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and headed out to the Glacier. Little A made it all the way to Nugget Falls! He thought it was way cool and was not happy that we had to head back to pick up his sister at school. We are so hoping this good weather sticks around. It has been a miserably wet and grey winter!

another icy day

Today was a better day on the major roads. Ours seems to remain a sheet of ice. I was able to get a few shots to share. I have perfected the slide into my driveway, which included sliding past the driveway 1/2 turned then backing up and spinning up the hill. It works...

Neighbor A and I enjoyed a performance from our 4 children tonight complete with musical numbers, dance numbers and news broadcasts. Thanks to Grandma for the microphone.

ICE!

What a slippery day! Yesterday afternoon the snow started falling, after about 1.5 inches fell it turned to rain but the temps stayed right around freezing. The result...about 0.5-1 inch of ice on all surfaces covered by water = super slippery. I actually was able to push my trash cans out the garage door and watch it sail down the driveway. Even with all this ice, Juneau schools went on as scheduled, so I buckled the kids in and slipped my way down the driveway and onto the street, informing the kids that mommy was sure we were going to get in accident. Luckily we did not. I then decided to put on my ice cleats and take D dog for a walk. This was quite entertaining! She was slipping and sliding everywhere, almost fell into a ditch full of water at one point. I even got to watch my neighbor do a 180 as he backed out of our driveway. Craziness. I think we all had some fun sliding around but mommy is ready to be able to step out of the car without the fear of landing on my butt! I still can't believe that life in Juneau continued without even a delay. Hoping for some warmer temps to melt the ice tomorrow.