Jordyn's First Dance Recital

Jordyn has been taking dance lessons this year from "Miss LeAnn" at Esprit de Corps dance studio. She goes once a week and they learn tap, ballet, and tumbling. Jordyn has loved it, and wants to be a real dancer, just like her big sisters. Naturally, her very first dance recital fell on the weekend of our trip to Alaska. Fortunately for us, she has great big brothers and sisters!! Jayme got her ready for the dress rehearsal, and all of the kids were there for her big show on Saturday. They took video and lots of pictures, so I didn't feel like I missed it at all. Well, almost. Jordyn did a great job, I was proud of her! I wasn't too sure how well she would do, because she's never performed in front of an audience before, but she's a natural!! Unfortunately, I couldn't get the video to load, so these will have to do.



This was her ballet dance to "Under the Sea" from "Little Mermaid". As you can see, we need to work on smiling while dancing.



These are her tap dance, "Guess What". She looks like she's concentrating so hard! The girls put lipstick on her, so she was holding her lips closed to keep it there or something.



Hey, almost smiling!!




Working so hard, it looks painful! I think she's trying to show off her muscles like her brothers!


What a cutie!! I love you, Jordyn!!!

More Alaska

One of the things you learn very quickly when cruising is that you will get your picture taken every time you turn around. Here are a few of the best pictures. This is when we were first boarding the ship.

They have lots of different backgrounds set up around the ship on formal nights for picture opportunities.



This was at dinner on the second formal night.









In every port they would have a couple of characters waiting to have your picture taken with them outside the windjammer. Scott absolutely hated it and would go to great lengths to avoid being attacked by the characters. I think one of them had a crush on him because she would chase him down! I thought it was easier to just stand and smile for a second.

Alaska Chapter Five -- Vancouver & Seattle

Friday was disembarkation day. We decided to carry our own luggage and get off of the ship as early as possible, which supposedly was 7:00 am. Well.... disorganized is one word you could use to describe the process. We were late docking and getting cleared by Canadian officials. So, by the time we were allowed to start disembarking, the people scheduled for 7:15 and 7:30 were also standing around waiting to get off. Craziness!! Once the process actually started, it moved pretty quickly, and we were able to get through customs without much delay. Our car rental company was supposed to send a shuttle for us, but we had to wait nearly an hour for the van to come. We were taken to Canada Place and rented our car, finally!! We drove to Stanley Park and drove around a bit. We didn't stop and take any pictures though. I think everyone was kind of tired and just wanted to get going. It was a beautiful park, and I would have liked to walk around.

We drove to Capilano Suspension Bridge, which is the longest suspension bridge in the world.





It was lush and beautiful! They had a great collection of totem poles. Here are a couple.



The bridge goes over the river in a pretty deep gorge. It swayed quite a bit, and the ends were pretty steep to get up and down. We just held onto Dad for balance, his, not ours.



This is a picture looking down from the bridge.



On the other side of the bridge, they have a series of other suspended bridges and platforms in the rainforest canopy. It was pretty cool. There were also some boardwalks and nature trails.


We then drove to Seattle. The border crossing was easier than we dared hope. I had heard of 1-2 hour waits at the border, but it only took us about 15 minutes. We got checked into our hotel, which was ok, but nothing special. Then we walked to the Space Needle. We took the elevator to the top. It was clear and gorgeous. Here are some pictures from the top.




The next morning, we went to Pike's Place Market and walked around awhile. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was very colorful!! There were lots of fish markets and flower markets. Then we got on the plane, and came home.

I was very pleasantly surprised when we got home. I had geared myself up for a disaster at home. After all, leaving six children alone for a week just spells disaster. I told the kids not to worry so much about enforcing the law, and to just have fun with each other while we were gone. I came home to a beautifully clean house, and six happy, well behaved children!! I am so grateful to them for making this trip possible. They all stepped up and helped with caring for the younger ones and taking care of things. It was nice to be able to leave and not have to worry about what was going on at home. I'm so proud of my kids, and I love them!!

Alaska Chapter Four -- Icy Strait Point & Ketchikan

Here are Dad and Scott and I at Icy Strait Point. Dennis went off to hike and explore on his own. This was my least favorite port. The town of Hoonah was originally a fishing village, and Icy Strait was created by and for the cruise ship industry. There really wasn't much to do, and all of the excursions were through the cruise ship. Their "claim to fame" is the worlds longest zip line. It was a 90 second zip ride over the rain forest for only about $100. Needless to say, we didn't participate in that one. They had a fish cannery museum and some shops, but not much else.

We did take the forest trail which went through a dense, lush rainforest and ended with a trail along the beach. The forest was gorgeous, and we again had beautiful weather. While we were walking along the beach, we noticed a local family and their children were swimming in the water. Even though the day was warm and sunny, I don't think I would have wanted to swim!


In Ketchikan we got off of the ship and walked around a bit before we met our tour. It was so warm! We were going sea kayaking that day, and thought it would be chilly on the water, and so we had dressed for cold. Ketchikan gets rain something like 300 days a year, so we were planning on rainy and cold. It was sunny and about 78 I think. We had to go into one of the shops and find shorts because we hadn't packed any. Not that I'm complaining mind you!

We then met our tour and rode to the dock where we were given our gear and kayaking instructions. When we planned this excursion, we all thought it would be ok for Dad because he would be just sitting in the boat. Well, evidently Dad was quite concerned and nervous about his ability to do this. We got him situated in the kayak with Scott and off they went! It was kind of funny to watch, but eventually they got the hang of paddling and we took off across the bay.


One of the things we saw was a bald eagle nest. We were able to see several mature and adolescent bald eagles right up close. We paddled close to the shore, and they just sat there. They were fascinating to watch.




I'm not sure how this picture got here, and the computer won't let me delete it. It is Alaska's State Flower, the Forget-Me-Not.


The one thing I had really been wanting to see and hadn't yet were bears. We saw one from a distance on our Kenai Fjords tour, they didn't make an appearance at Taku Lodge, and we pulled up just as one was walking into the bushes on our Skagway tour. Well, we finally saw our bears while we were kayaking! If you look carefully you can see a mama and two cubs. One cub is brown and the other is black. We got a little excited when we saw them, so they got spooked and went over the log into the trees. I was just thrilled that we got to see them!

When we got back to the dock, it was quite a trick to get dad out of the kayak. His arms were so tired from paddling he didn't have the strength to push himself up out of the boat, and his feet kept slipping on the wet floor. I was afraid we were going to have to dump him upside down to pull him out, but eventually he was able to do it. Good thing, the water was cold!!


When we got back to town, we wanted to go to the Saxman Native Village. We had been told there were lots of totems. I think next time we'll go to Totem Bight instead. We took a taxi out, looked around for a minute and then took the city bus back to town for free. Oh well, live and learn...


This is the famous Creek Street. All of the shops are built onto the creek. During the salmon run, they say that the creek is just full of fish. That would have been neat to see. During the gold rush, the miner's would come down to creek street to eat, drink, and be merry.


One of the most famous residents of Creek Street was Dolly. She was in the male entertainment business, and kept very busy. Evidently she was quite renown. Dad wanted to go in, but we wouldn't let him. ;-)

Alaska Chapter Three -- Skagway

On Monday, we took the White Pass and Yukon Railroad tour. We were picked up from the dock by our tour guide and taken to the train station where we boarded our train. This route was constructed to serve the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. We were on a replica passenger coach, so I imagine it was very similar to what was actually in use around the turn of the century. The route is treacherous and narrow, so it uses narrow gauge railroad. In many places we were literally on the side of the mountain, straight up on one side and straight down on the other. Before the railroad was completed, and even after for some, the men would walk all this way to the gold fields. Every man, woman and child was required to have 2000 pounds of supplies and equipment over the summit. Once they got to Lake Bennett (our furthest stop), they still had another 550 miles of lakes and rivers to travel to get to Dawson City where the gold was. It took them months to even get there. I simply can't imagine...


These two are shots out the window looking straight down.



The train took us over the White Pass Summit and into Fraser, B.C. We then got onto a small bus and continued on to Carcross and Emerald Lake in the Yukon Territory. We made several photo stops along the way. This lake was so glassy and reflected the mountains perfectly. We saw so much beautiful country, and the weather was perfect. Our guide kept telling us how it was never like this. Just breathtaking!



We stopped in Carcross at the Caribou Crossing Trading Post. We had a delicious BBQ chuckwagon lunch, and then were able to walk around and explore. There was a museum with animals from the area and lots of sled dogs. Here I am with one of the sled dogs. I must admit that the dogs were a bit of a disappointment, they weren't the big, fluffy huskies that I expected. They explained to us that they are actually not pure huskies, but a mix of several breeds. What was amazing was watching them run. They offered dog cart rides but we didn't do one. When they got those dogs hooked up, they all wanted to pull and run, and when they took off, all of the dogs in the yard were trying to go too. I guess it's true, they really do love to run!


After lunch we drove to Emerald Lake. It was so pretty!! One of the things that struck me most was that everything was so clean, and pristine. Even with the touristy places and commercialization, there still were no crowds, no garbage, no resorts. It was simply nature and simply beautiful.



Bridal Veil Falls. It seems like everyone and everywhere has a bridal veil falls.

When we got back into Skagway, we walked around and looked at the shops and sights. The downtown area still has raised plank sidewalks, kind of cool and rustic feeling. This is the Red Onion Saloon, quite a famous brothel. You can see the "soiled doves" in the windows plying their trade. There is a museum and tour, but we didn't go in. This was a long day, and we were pretty tired by the time we got back to the ship. I know I keep saying this, but it was simply amazing. Sometimes the only thing to say is WOW. Heavenly Father's creations are so beautiful, and He created them for us. We are so blessed to be able to see and enjoy them!!

Alaska Chapter Two -- Hubbard Glacier and Juneau

Our first full day on board was a sea day. The day was chilly and cloudy, we even had rain/snow at times. I had been on the internet at cruisecritic.com chatting with some people who would be on our cruise, and Royal Caribbean arranged a "Meet & Mingle" for us. We met with them and visited for a little while. It was fun to finally put names and faces together and get to know some of these people in person.

The ship was moving pretty quickly as we moved up the Yakutat Bay toward Hubbard Glacier, and as I said, it was chilly. We walked around a little, but mostly sat in the Solarium and sipped hot chocolate as we watched huge chunks of ice float by. The Solarium is a beautiful, lushly decorated, indoor pool area. There was so much ice in the water, we were only able to get within about 1 mile of the glacier. I'm not positive, but I think that's still pretty good. It was amazing how huge it was, even at one mile away! The ship stayed at the glacier for quite a while, and just as we were leaving, we were able to see some pretty good calving. It was a beautiful sight. The beauty and grandeur was simply overwhelming! Yes, it was just ice, blue ice, falling ice and floating ice, but it was still gorgeous.

The next day, Sunday, we were in Juneau. We had some time before our tour, so we walked around town a little. We saw the Alaska Capitol, but didn't make it up the hill to the governor's mansion. I still don't think we could have seen Russia from there though, thank you Sarah Palin! Then we took a floatplane to the Taku Lodge. We spent some time just flying around and sightseeing before landing at the lodge. Seeing glaciers from above sure gives a different perspective from seeing them at sea level. It is a remote lodge, and the only access is by air or sea. It was beautiful. We were able to walk around a bit, and then they served us a salmon dinner. Delicious!! The bears often come down because of the smell of the salmon, but we didn't have any such luck. It was still a great day, and a beautiful location.





We had dinner at 8:30 each night, and after dinner we would usually walk on the deck of the ship. This picture of sunset was taken at 10:30 at night!! It was so cool, because it never really got totally dark, just dusky. I loved the long days and all of the sunshine, but I think I'd be suicidal to live there in the winter with the long nights!!