Alaska in Spring

Here are a few of those scenery shots I was telling you about.

These first two were on the 1st of March. We were on our way home from Anchorage and it was about 4:30-5:00 in the afternoon. The moon is visible but there was still plenty of light out.




A few days later on the 7th, while my Mom was visiting, we took a trip to Anchorage. Neither Scott or I thought to check the weather report the night before. When we woke up to a little snow, we didn't think much of it as if is often snowing a little here in Kenai and means nothing as to the weather in Anchorage. That day, it meant a lot! My Mom took these through the front window. She rode home in the backseat!




I think I heard 12-14 inches of snow had fallen that day, while we were away. This is our driveway.




Here are few of the girls and Scott the next day.







The day we drove to Seward was a much nicer day and we captured several great pictures. These were ones my Mom took.





This last one is at our house, looking into the woods at the end of the road.



We also saw a coyote on the way home. It was a little hard to catch on film but Scott managed to get these off before the little guy ran off.




The last day my mom was in town, we took a trip to the beach. There was still too much snow to walk around but looking out over it, the view was amazing. It was so clear that day you could actually see some of the platforms in complete view. I told my mom, it was so clear we could see guys waving at us! I don't think she believed me but it was so clear it wasn't hard to imagine.





It is days like those that make my heart swell. I feel closest to heaven those days I am at the beach looking across the at the mountains; my heart fills with joy. You may not feel it looking at these photos but maybe knowing it's what I feel will help you see it.

Grandma's Visit

Grandma made it to visit this year. She was here for Cori's second weekend of the play and for Cassi's birthday. I sent you all a link to view the photos of the Beauty and the Beast play. If you didn't receive that link, be sure to let me know. They are worth viewing, even if you only opt to view the ones we took.

While Grandma visited we were very busy as is common with the Holmes family. Amidst all the chaos of schedules and performances we did manage to go visit the Seward Sea Life Center which is always a favorite trip for the girls. Cali was a tad bit under the weather while Grandma visited which made things interesting at times but all in all, it was a really fun visit with a lot of cool animals.

I took a boatload of photos while we were there. Digital has sure made things easier in that regard. Here is one that was fun. Right when we walked in there was this tank and Cali noticed Grandma on the other side. It made a fun photo.



There is also a cute little boat for the kids to climb on. We could hardly keep Cali away from it. We went back to it several times.



There is an outside deck at the SLC where you can be amongst the birds. When they are calm it can be a nice place to be. Scott decided to get Grandma to try and touch this bird; look at his face. I'm not sure he was thrilled with the challenge.



There are a couple touch tanks and we stayed at those a while too. The water is so cold in them that is a hard to really reach in. There was a really neat black starfish there. I had never seen one before so I was quite fascinated. I understand they are primarily in colder waters.





Scott had fun taking a lot of pictures. He was trying to get cool photos of all the animals. It isn't an easy task being that they are mostly behind thick glass walls. He and Cori spent a lot of time with 4 harbor seals testing which things would attract them to the glass. He also had fun with the jelly fish. Here are some he managed to get that were pretty cool.







There was one tank that was being serviced and cleaned. It usually contains a large seal lion named Woody. I think Cassi and I had just as much fun with the gal cleaning the tank as we might have had with the sea lion.





There a lot of interactive things that can be done. One idea there which I thought was really cool was a poster cut up like a puzzle with a magnetic back to it and a magnetic wall to stick them to. The girls liked it.



Scott had some interactive fun of is own. I caught him in action.



On the way home we stopped to take this photo of Grandma. It was gorgeous day and clear. We have had some fantastic scenery photo opportunities lately. This is just the beginning.



We really miss Grandma and I especially love having more family around. So do the girls so if anyone is bored, we can always make some room.