Some of Breeann & Brandon's engagements

I have not been very good at adding pictures lately. Here are a few of their engagement pictures. I have two CDs with over 400 pictures to choose from!

Brandon is really ticklish and Breeann is having too much fun with that!

There were lots of kissy pictures. I told the photographer that I bet Brandon was embarrassed by that. She said, "No, I think he was pretty comfortable. That's why we don't invite the parents to come for the engagements!"

My last day in Alaska--at Ward Lake

We spent the day at Ward Lake playing today. It was my last day here and again, the weather cooperated and was really nice. Usually it rains every day here, and it hasn't rained except during the night last night at all since Bliss got here 15 days ago. That is unheard of. I am so glad it has been such good weather while I was here. This is Braden playing on a log. Love those boots!

I added these pics backwards, oh well. This is after Shea fell in.

She was doing so well rolling that log.

You really can't tell how beautiful it is here by a picture. It just doesn't do it justice, but it is amazing!

There is water surrounding this area, and everything is covered in moss. So there is green under, around and above everything. Amazing!

Bliss & I walked around Ward Lake. Its a really nice walk, which we did 8 years ago when we last visited here together. That time everything was flooded because they had gotten so much rain that year. We were actually able to catch a fish with our umbrellas (ha ha) That is a fun story!

You can sort of see the moss that is everywhere in this picture

This is an old, old tree that fell over and the roots are all exposed.

Bliss, Me, Shea and her friend canoeing around the lake. We didn't even tip over!

We lit a fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. It came in handy after the kids had fallen in the water and were cold. It was cloudy and a little cool, but really a perfect ending to a very fun week!

Braden & I climbed up the mountain a little ways looking for wood for the fire.

A relaxing day...

I love looking at and listening to the eagles, they are everywhere and so beautiful!

We started out the day on another hike to look for berries and bear bread. We picked a lot of blue berries, they are so good!! Bear Bread is a type of fungus (kind of like a mushroom) that grows on the trees. The kids like to paint pictures on it. I'll take a picture of it and add it later.

The cabin we are staying in has a beautiful forest right behind it and I went out this afternoon and took a nap in the hammock. It has been a relaxing day.

We went beach combing at low tide. I have never seen a purple star fish before!

It's not a sandy beach, but good for finding treasures...

Braden coming out of the Clan House at Totem Bite

Inside the clan house they have performances. We sat in there and it smells soooo good! Its all made of cedar.

The view is pretty behind us, and the flowers are called fire weed (they are everywhere)

Bliss, Braden & I went to Saxman Village where there are tons of Totem Poles

Yikes, it has my hand!

A little bit of heaven...

We started off our morning going on a hike. It was another nice morning, just a little cloudy.

We picked some berries along the way. And obviously the bear had been picking from the same area (we saw several piles of his droppings).

We saw this bear and atleast one other up the hill from where we were hiking. Bliss cropped in on this picture (he was really quite a ways away). It made me pretty nervous to see him even at this distance.

Just a view from our hike...

Bliss and I drove to Herrings Cove to see if we could see bear at low tide fishing. No such luck. But we did see this tree full of eagles.

I love looking at all the boats...

We also did a little shopping. This area is called Creek Street. I remembered this from the trip I did here 8 years ago with Bliss and Kristi. One of my favorite memories from the last trip here was, the HOT CHOCOLATE! It is so yummy. I don't know if it is the atmosphere, the weather, or if it is just the best hot chocolate on earth. So, of course, my number one priority for this trip is to get hot chocolate as often as possible! We sat in the New York Cafe and enjoyed it while looking out the window at the boats! These houses used to be brothels in the early 1900s. Now, they are just shops and they look really quaint.

After a yummy salmon dinner (caught yesterday) we went to Ward Creek and tried some trout fishing.

I caught one little tiny fish (which Robert took off the hook and turned loose). Shea didn't understand why we had to let him go, she wanted to keep him as a pet I think. He was pretty cute.

Day 2 in Ketchikan

I started my day out by going for a walk with Shea and we picked tons of blueberries and Salmon berries. They grow wild everywhere! We have made blueberry muffins and blueberry pancakes! YUM!

There are also lots of pretty flowers everywhere. We picked some daisies and I don't know what the other ones are called.

For the rest of the day, we went fishing! We rented a boat for the day (and got a great deal!).

Bliss did most of the driving while Robert & I fished. (Or atleast attempted to fish). I guess you have to know where to go and how far to drop your line. We thought we had gotten pretty good instructions, but everywhere we went looked pretty much the same. So we tried to just go where we saw other boats.

Bliss & I relaxing in the cabin of the boat.

Shea talked me into going out and sitting on the bow of the boat. The weather was absolutely perfect! The sky was blue and it was in the mid 60s.

We didn't have any luck catching a fish for the first 4 hours. We were getting very discouraged, and decided to go back to the dock for a potty break. While we were there Robert talked to several people for some advice. Then we went back out. I promised Shea that if we caught a fish, I would hug it. I really didn't think we'd catch one though. And then all of a sudden.....we did! I tried to hug it, but it was bloody and slimy! It was a pink salmon.

Braden and Shea really liked going fast on the boat. I don't like that, it makes me seasick. So, I had them drop me off at the dock for awhile while they went speed boating! Braden drove the boat and had a blast. While I was sitting on the dock, I watched a small skiff get too close to an island and get stuck on some rocks. It sank! It was pretty crazy as everyone was running around and several boats were trying to help. That must have been a bummer for him! Glad it wasn't us!! By the end of the day, it started getting windy, but it was still a great day! We only caught 2 pinks, but had a great time!! We were all exhausted, but happy.

First day in Ketchikan, Alaska!

I arrived in Ketchikan this evening and the weather is absolutely perfect!! My best friend Bliss Sawyer and her family have rented a house here for the month of July. This is where Bliss grew up, so she wanted her kids to experience some of what she loved as a kid. The last time I came here with Bliss (a long time ago!) it rained every single day and we never saw blue sky. But today, the sky is blue and it was about 70 degrees and felt about 80 because of the humidity! We went to South Point Higgins beach, had a fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Shea found me a littly tiny star fish and I had to bribe Braden to take a picture with me! There was a buoy hanging from a rope on a tree and Bliss talked me into swinging from it! Yikes! Oh, and I was only there about 5 minutes and was walking around looking at the beautiful surroundings, in my flip flops, and jammed my toe into a tree branch and ripped the end of my toe open! Ouch!

Tending Brooke

Brooke started walking right before her mom's wedding and would take a few steps now and again, but she really walked a lot while here! The second day we had her she got really sick with a high fever so she slept a lot and was fussy when she was awake. Poor baby! Tanner was a good helper and laid down with her and they both napped together. It was too cute!! Today she took a 5 hour nap after sleeping all night. But when she woke up she was happy and seemed to feel a lot better. She went to stay with McKay's parents for a few nights then I will have her back again Monday and Tuesday. The kids already miss her, she is a lot of fun! She is at that mimicking stage and she tries to say lots of words. Her favorite thing to say is "kitty kitty". And she loves cell phones, so Tanner loves to give his to her and as soon as he gets a text (it buzzes) she will hand it right back. Tanner thinks she is a genius!