write it all off

One of the kids' favorite things about catching a fish is dissecting it with Tom.  Claire & Owen are holding halibut eyeballs here.

The boys and were reflecting on the weekend shortly after this trip.  I asked them what their favorite thing about the boat was and the both told me "Driving the boat with Dad."  Awwwhhhh....:)

Here are photos of another great weekend on the boat.  The fog completely covered one of our favorite beaches, so we explored a nearby beach that seemed to be fog-free.  As we explored, the fog rolled in, over and then away from us.

Beach treasure

 It was such a warm evening that after anchoring for the night, we decided to go for a hike to a "swimming lake." The girls actually swam, the rest of us just cooled our feet off. Since it was early summer (notice the snow on the other side of the lake!) it was plenty chilly still.  We marched around in gooey, warm mud pots and then washed off in the lake.  Tom shot the pistol with the kids and by the time we got back to the boat for supper, I think it was after 9pm.  On cold, rainy, windy September days like today, I'm grateful for memories of times we gave ourselves permission to write off the schedule, let the kids swim in their underwear, and simply enjoy eachother & the sun.

walk the tunnel

 We were all dressed & ready for church on Fathers Day as we started talking about the day and what Tom wanted to do.  He really wanted to go to Whittier and work on the boat for the day, so we changed clothes quick and headed that way.  It was the annual "Walk to Whittier" Day so the tunnel was open to walkers.  We've always wondered what this was like, so the kids & I brought our helmets (required to walk) and walked to 2 miles through.  It was chilly, but interesting.  Owen hung out with Tom on the boat and was his little helper.  Fathers Day...and I didn't even take a photo of Tom!  Oops.

Train to Talkeetna

 Owen took the train to Talkeetna with Grandma & Gramps this summer.  He talked about it all winter and was so excited to go!  Those giant eyes remind me that this big boy was a tad bit nervous though:)  He had a great time and talks about it still.  Thanks for another fun memory Grandma & Gramps!

Soccer boys

The boys had fun this summer playing soccer.  Both played with good friends which made it all the  more fun!  Both really figured it out by the end of the season and were running and scoring like crazy.  

tide pool treasures

This was a new beach, so it doesn't have a name yet, but it needs one as it was a highlite of this trip.  We all got a healthy dose of our favorite things...The kids spent hours finding treasures in the tide pools, I took loads of photos and Tom found a comfy rock to nap next to.  Life is simpler out here and we love it.

TPECTO krill

 The kids had a little bit of save the planet inside of them, so attempted to throw all these krill back into the ocean:)  We've never seen these little guys all over the beach like they were this day and this is one of our "must stop" beaches every time we go to this area of Prince Wm. Sound.  The kids have named our favorite beaches and this one is TPECTO.

First boat 2012

 Memorial Day is always our first family

boating trip of the year.  We packed in some good memories despite the constant drizzle. We anchored by the Lytles for a day of fun, catching up, and exploring our favorite beach together.  Shrimping was an adventure as the pot-puller died and we had to pull the pots by hand...not once, but twice.  The whale show made up for every mishap, though...We watched a whale and a seal play and feed on krill right in front of us for almost an hour.  It was beyond incredible to listen to their vocalizations above water and watch them roll and surface over and over again.