Paddle Parade - December 14, 2018

A local watersports shop sponsors a paddle parade each Christmastime. Folks decorate their kayaks / canoes / paddle boards / rafts / etc with lights and Christmas decor. Then, near sunset, they paddle along the Deschutes.  We stood on a bridge called the "flag bridge" - a pedestrian bridge in the Old Mill District lined with flags - and waved at the boats.  At least one Santa Claus waved back. We only stayed about 20 minutes because it was windy and rainy and cold.  Lucky for us, Auntie Beth is game for lots of adventures.

Turkish Soaking Pool - December 12, 2018

Bend has a Soaking Pool at the Old St. Francis School McMenamins Hotel. We spent around an hour in the warm water. Lincoln had his life jacket and Meta brought a floatie penguin. The tile murals and stained glass were neat to look at. The kids loved the lion fountains. Auntie Beth came too.

McCalvy/Nellis Wedding - September 22, 2017

Our accommodations were along the Ohio River. It's huge. We liked throwing rocks into the water and watching birds and boats wander along.

All dolled up!

Lincoln was the ring bearer, sort of. He actually carried a bubble gun down the aisle that wasn't working. So he didn't get to blow bubbles everywhere until after the ceremony.

I was a bridesmaid and did all the brides-maidy things.

Meta was a flower girl. She had a bucket of flower petals, but didn't quite understand the process. So she just carried the bucket. She tossed petals and blew bubbles with her own bubble gun after the ceremony.

James walked his little flower girl down the aisle because Makaylis was too attached to go by herself. So Brian and James got to walk their girls down the aisle.

McCalvy siblings - spy mode.

McCalvy side - welcome Chris!  James, Jessi, Lincoln and Meta McCalvy. Kathleen and Chris Nellis. Dick and Sharon McCalvy. Garry and Beth Wolske, Nick Aspelund. Brian, Tiffany, Makaylis and Chase McCalvy.

McCalvy/Wolske Wedding - July 7, 2017

James saw this bill on the drive home from work. 1 in the morning, strolling down Northern Lights Blvd. Check out the shadow! (James drove by himself to Glacier View the day of the wedding, kids and I were already there.)

One of my favorite photos from Beth's wedding is the McCalvy siblings. (I knitted Beth's shawl)

Lincoln was their ring bearer. So handsome!

Meta and Makaylis were flower girls. So pretty in lavender.  James and Brian walked them down the aisle.

My job was the official photo assistant (meaning I stood around and fluffed Beth's dress a bunch of times and looked for random things like sticks that would ruin the pictures).

Family photos in front of the Matanuska Glacier.

Fairbanks Trip - May 28-30, 2017

May 28, 2017 - Driving north to North Pole / Fairbanks. Stopped at the playground in Talkeetna and at the Veterans Memorial outside Denali State Park.

May 29, 2017 - The Santa Claus House, Pioneer Park and hanging out with Auntie Beth and Nick.

May 30, 2017 - Driving south again via Glennallen and Glacier View. Checked out the pipeline along the road and watered plants and played legos in Glacier View.

McCarthy/Kennecott McCalvy Adventure - August 8-11, 2016

August 8th - major rain this afternoon. Let's play in the street pond.

Load the truck.

Travel prayer, we're driving to Glacier View to sleep tonight.

August 9th - Lincoln got to sleep on the love seat.

Dad and Mom and Meta slept on the hide-a-bed.

In the morning, Nick put on a cartoon for Meta so we could get a little extra sleep. Thanks!

  Driving along the road to McCarthy, stopping for wiggle breaks.  We're staying at the Behrend's property along Long Lake.

August 10th - Exploring Historic Kennecott Copper Mine - First we drove to McCarthy.  The bridge to McCarthy is closed to non-local traffic, so we parked and then walked the quarter-mile to McCarthy.

The Kennecott Copper Mine is another 5 miles UP the road. There is a shuttle van that costs money for a round-trip ride to and from the mining town.  We caught the shuttle and went to the historic mining town.

We took a guided tour of the mining town and then most of us hiked out to the Root Glacier. Grandma and Beth went back to the cars.

We caught the very last shuttle van down the road.  Meta and Linc were sitting on my lap in a very full van. The road was newly graded, soft dirt, and a jogger was running along the uphill mountain side of the road.  The driver gave her lots of room on the downhill side of the road and the downhill tires got off the road.  The driver was unable to get back onto the road and the weight of the van tipped us all downhill and the van rolled completely over once and came to rest on it's wheels against some small trees.

Grandpa broke his ankle, Tia Kathleen broke a window with her butt, but we all survived a rollover in the shuttle van.  Linc bumped his head and Meta wanted a bandaid for her finger, but we are blessed and not acutely injured.

Daddy, Mommy and Nick are uninjured. Auntie Beth and Grandma weren't in the van and missed this part of the adventure.

James and Nick stayed with Grandpa until they could get him extracted from the van and taken to a small airstrip in McCarthy.  Kathleen, the kids and I, rode down in another shuttle van to find Grandma and Beth. Grandma was then connected to Grandpa and they both rode in an airplane to fly to a hospital in Anchorage.

Later, Meta and Linc played a bean bag toss game that Grandma brought. They both are acting normally and seem to have full range of motion.

Sleeping at Behrend's "guest room"

August 11th - snuggling Dad while we load the cars to drive back to Anchorage.  Our plan to drive to Fairbanks/North Pole after exploring McCarthy has been changed so we can go support Grandma and Grandpa and get the rest of us checked out as well.

Cordova New Years - December 30, 2015 - January 3, 2016

We tried to fly to Cordova on Monday, December 28th, but our flight was cancelled due to weather. So we rescheduled for the morning of Weds, Dec 30th. Our 8 a.m. flight was also cancelled.  We Finally made it onto the evening flight and into Cordova.  Hooray!

3oz desserts for NYE.  Banana pudding pie, Chocolate pudding pie, blueberry cheesecake, lemon dessert. So yummy. Also (not pictured): pumpkin dessert with gingerbread crust. I did dessert today!

Lincoln learned how to play war using playing cards today. Proud Mama here!

Meta fell asleep a few hours before midnight.

Lincoln fell asleep as the ball was dropping. Happy New Year!

Haystack trail - last New Year's Day, we hiked the Haystack Trail to the overlook and we wanted to hike it again today. But it was W I N D Y!!! and too cold. So we only went about a quarter mile, took a picture and went back to the car. We tried.

Grandpa, Grandma, Garry (taking the picture), Beth, Nick, Kathleen, James, Jessi, Lincoln and Meta.

And flying back to Anchorage again. This was fun! Let's do it again!