with my parents and sister

time with dad

If you asked David what is favorite part of the trip was he would say spending time with Jake.

around the boat

Jake loved being released from his stroller and being able to explore the boat. In the week we were gone his walking improved drastically. Even now as I am looking at these pictures his arms have come down so much more.
The crew loved him, by the end of the week many of them new Jake by name.

By far his favorite activity was opening and closing doors...the good thing was something was wrong with this door and it would not shut all the way so I did not have to worry about him pinching his fingers.

On our way to Victoria, BC the weather finally got nice. I tried to get some pictures of Jake playing with the giant chess pieces that were as big as he was but he was kind of scared of them.


This was suppose to be a sprinkler it was too cold for that but still fun to play in.

Ketchikan

another bear, we were not nearly as close

an eagle flying thru the sky

Seattle Rainbow

Kristin and Erika went on a zipline challange

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Not happy with blogger...maybe it is my stupid computer...anyway I have lots of Alaska pictures still to share and some new baby Tyler pictures too. Not happy right now.

what is going on

Why are you making me sit by Tyler? I am not happy with you mom. You better hurry up, I am not going to sit here long. This is not what I want to be doing...

Tyler 2 weeks, Jake 16 months

bottle free!

I packed away all of Jake's bottles today. It was a little bittersweet, it was long overdue but still hard to believe. I tried to pull the bottles at 12 months but he was just not ready. Then I said after Alaska. So yesterday the bottle were pulled cold turkey, he now only get milk in the sippy cup. I must say so far so good. I would have done it sooner but for some reason he just would not drink the milk for the sippy only water.

sleepover guest

I am trying to stay on top of everything going on. So a quick break from Alaska posts.

Jake's friend Enzo slept over on Saturday night when his parents went to a party. Enzo was such a good boy. Jake wished he did not have to go home so early in the morning. He was so happy to wake up and see Enzo. Neither boy was happy when I was trying to get a picture. So this was the best I could do.

Glacier Bay

Thursday we were in Glacier Bay, park rangers boarded the boat to give a lesson on the effects of global warming on the glaciers and how scientists predict the glaciers will be gone in a few hundred years. This is what you come to Alaska to see, the unspoiled natural beauty. We spent most of the day out on the decks taking it all in. The was a sense of peace and tranquility as we watched the ever changing scenery.



we saw tons of whale tails dancing thru the water










iceberg

Kensington Sprinkler Park

David had the day off so we decided we needed to do a family activity. We went to the petting farm first which was always fun, then to cool of we went over to the sprinkler park. Jake could not get enough of this place. David is already talking about taking Jake back next week.

a fair to remember

Thursday night we went the fair with some friends. Jake went on his first marry-go-round, ferris wheel and train ride. There was just so much excitement to take in. Jake and Lily were so good we even stayed for fireworks. Jake was in awe of the fireworks, I was not sure if the noise would scare him, but he did great. There were also tons of animals exhibits that captivated them. Jake and Lily were more into the animals then in to the rides.

Just chilling out with some sticks...so Jake

Watching the fireworks

On the train with Lily and Scott

This is the first time Jake stayed up late enough for the fireworks, when they were over he kept pointing the sky for more

Skagway

Skagway welcomed us with more rain and fog. Are you beginning to see a trend here? Several people recommend we take a train ride, we decided it would be a good idea to only take the 3 hours vs. the 9 hour. After the train ride we walked around downtown Skagway which was all of six blocks. Jake thought the train was pretty cool, especially since he was not in a car seat and was able to walk around. We lucked out that our car was half empty so we had a lot of room to move about.

Juneau

In Juneau we went to the Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall is the only glacier accessible by land. Our tour guide let us know the last group he took out to the glacier saw some brown bears on the nature trials. The salmon are spawning right now so the bears are all over the place. I was a little disappointed because I knew we would not be able to go on the nature trials with a stroller. But to my surprise a bear came out of the woods right by where we were standing! I think this might have been a highlight of my trip. This little brown bear was only about 2-3 feet from me. There was a park ranger keeping us back or I probably would have gotten closer:)

Did you know that Alaska has a rain forest. Yup, neither did I. But that is why they get all the rain all the time.


Our boat from a look out point in Juneau


Mendenhall Glacier Park


Another view of the glacier





My little brown bear. I was so happy the bear was kind enough for me to take his picture.

Welcome Aboard

On Sunday afternoon, August 10th the three of us along with my parents, my sister and her friend embarked on a 7 day journey of Alaska's inside passage. Be fore warned that blue skies are not to come. No bathing suits were worn on this trip. It was chilly and raining almost everyday. But I guess that is what summers are like in Alaska. The weather did not stop us from seeing any of what Alaska had to offer. But first we had to get there. The first 48 hours on the boat were just hanging out and getting settled in.



Hanging out playing cards


With Seattle behind us


Kristin and Erika playing wii, Jake loved watching people play wii, (David do not get any ideas we will not be getting a tv this size)



The ship had a pretty cool play structure that kept Jake entertained on sea days