Summer 2015

I guess since the weather has cooled off and the leaves have started changing color it's time for a Summer 2015 photo roundup

Arlie at golf camp.

Andi at yoga class.

Fishing.

Arlie trying on a (why can't I think of the word?!) coat to show her how long her arms would be in proportion to her body if she was (the animal who's name I can't remember!!)

Andi making wishes.

Kit pondering hers.

Andi in a fairytale land.

Kit dancing with bubbles at the Solstice Festival.

Arlie and Andi hiking to Gold Cord Lake.

Andrew and Kit at Echo Bend.

Andi and Kit playing in the Eagle River at Echo Bend.

Andi found her Murphy McNoodle costume.

Arlie playing with her pinwheel at Mt. Baldy.

I tried on one shirt. ONE.

Bear Paw Festival

It was a girls day at the Bear Paw Parade and Festival. We were super lucky and my secret parking lot is still apparently a secret because we scored a spot close to the festivities. Yay!

First up was the parade. The Festival's website suggests bringing bags but I forgot, and boy you really do need them. Arlie ended up holding my purse out on behalf of all three of them. They made a haul in candy, toys, and even a children's book for each of them! They loved seeing the horses in the parade and the garbage truck was a highlight as well. :)

After the parade we went to the festival. The girls got to pick two rides to go on (I was praying that they wouldn't pick anything too crazy, the rides are usually Andrew's job heh) and we went on some spinning apples and then Arlie and Andi chose an obstacle course. Then it was some games where each of them won a toy and had a lot of fun. To finish our day we shared a funnel cake.

We had so much fun together and the girls are already talking about next year's parade.

Girls

Now that Arlie is out of school for the summer and all three of them aren't as covered up I've been focusing on getting some more portrait-style photos of them. They're growing up so fast!

Random Hiking Photos

I didn't want to keep bogging down this blog with hikes but I do have some cute pictures of Andi and Kit from hikes that I wanted to share. We can't wait for summer so Arlie can join us on more Hike It Baby hikes!

Cottonwood Creek

I really like the Palmer Hayflats. It's exactly what it sounds like, just a lot marshier. This trail was a chance to overlook the whole area. The bald eagles and lake were a bonus. The picture where Arlie is pointing at the tree? She burst out laughing and turned around to tell us, "This tree looks like a bicep!" Funny girl! And the photo where Kit is kneeling on the side of the trail? Totally pouting because she had to stay out of the mud. :)

Easter Rock Hunt

On Fridays one of the hike leads at Hike It Baby puts on a fun, themed toddler hike. For this one we had gathered rocks at Eklutna Lake the week before which she took home and painted (non-toxic) different colors to hide around this week's trail. Andi and Kit (along with the other kids) were delighted to find pink, blue, orange, etc rocks just laying around! The also had a lot of fun making towers and volcanoes from the silt around the river. I'm glad we had this hike since I've been having a lot of trouble getting into Bunny Mode this year. We didn't even dye eggs!

On another note, I've created another blog We Heart Alaska to catalog our hikes. I try to keep this a place where I can share freely and feel like I'm writing to our family and friends. As we get more involved in the outdoors here I've been answering more questions and I have a ton of pictures I wanted to share but don't really want to expose the girls too much. The other blog has more pictures of the hikes and adventures we go on, without many personal details or even much faces. I just feel more comfortable keeping this blog a little more private, you know?