Get Ready to Rock

My little rockstars.  Megan

https://youtu.be/ERkjXYmoslU

Guesthouse Living

Come Monday we will have been living in the base guesthouse for four weeks.  We now have a confirmed address at a charming (but small) duplex overlooking the soccer fields on base.  However renovations will not be complete for another week.  So we will continue to make the most out of guesthouse living.  It was Lydia's idea to host a Easter Party with our friends.  She planned all the activities-egg dying, coloring and cooking decorating.  Megan

Alaska Girl

Lydia is going on her forth week at Sonshine Preschool.  She goes every morning, five days a week for three hours.  The preschool is run by a mission so she now insists we say prayer before each meal (not a bad thing!).  This picture was taken during a parade to celebrate Palm Sunday.  The school has horses, cows, goats, sheep and chickens, as well as a beach and indoor gymnasium.  She came home last week with mud all over her pants and boots.  We were so surprised that she wasn't bothered by it.  She is turning into our "Alaska Girl." 

Spring Sledding

Check out how we celebrated the first day of Sping in Kodiak.  Megan

http://youtu.be/S8hLjjeVmes

Part Five - Kodiak, Our New Home

We took one more headache of a ferry-ride, but luckily much shorter, from Homer to our new hometown.  Since arriving in Kodiak, we have been immersing ourselves in base-life.  I am being more social than I ever have, in hopes of making some strong connections here.  We are staying at the guesthouse on base, while our home on base is being renovated.  We are hoping to move in by the end of this upcoming week.  John had his first flight at work this week, in which he was amazed how the base is surrounded by secluded wilderness.  Lydia has returned from her new preschool with seaglass found on the beach and sad stories about falling in the wet grass and getting her pants all wet.  I enjoy my car-rides into town to take Lydia to and from preschool, as the scenery is lovely and bald eagles are everywhere.  I think Kodiak has all the elements to become a great home for us.  Last weekend, we took a car-trip into the mountains so the kids could sled and build a big snowmen.  They loved it.  Megan

Part Four - Alaska!

Our spirits improved tremendously as soon as we de-boarded the three day ferry and had a night on solid land.  We had allotted six days to drive from Haines to Anchorage, a drive which included a portion through the Canadian Yukon.  This was the segment of the trip that was the most unknown as it was weather-dependent.  Luckily, we had beautiful weather and clear roads.  The scenery was gorgeous and we spotted many bald eagles on the trip as well as one moose.  John prepared us so well for this leg of the trip.  The shelf he designed and built for the back of the Xterra came in handy for diaper changes and picnicking on the road.  No tools were luckily needed.    

We were able to reach Anchorage in just three days, allowing us some time to explore the "Big City."  By chance, we were there for their biggest festival of the year, the Fur Rondy.  We got to see the World Championship Dog Sled Race, which was overshadowed by Lydia's first pony ride!  We are looking forward to returning to Anchorage regularly in the upcoming years for shopping, restaurants and Chuck E Cheese.  

Megan

Part Three - Hand me the Barfbag

Do you remember how I was so excited for our poor man's cruise???  Well, I was foolish.  Before we even boarded the boat, it was clear that this portion of our trip was not going to meet any of the expectations we had.  We had to wait three hours in the car just to board the boat, a time in which everyone of us become cranky.  Jack puked all over the car.   After finally driving aboard, we only had a few minutes to unpack the Xterra and lug all our stuff to our room before pushing off the dock. The following days at sea are a blur as I spent them extremely sick with the stomach flu.  John was the only one of us spared by the bug and thank goodness he was.  I have no idea how we would have cared for the sick kids if both of us had been ill too.  Megan

Part Two - A Big Hug from Family

Thank you Dana and Dad for hosting us for four days!  The kids loved the extra attention and the comforts of being in a home versus a hotel.  We had a lovely outing to see Multnomah Falls and eat at Charburger.  Thanks to our time at their home, John and I re-cooperated and reorganized before heading into the third and most difficult part of our trip, the dreaded ferry-ride.

Megan

Part One of Our Big Trip

We moved into a hotel on February 2nd and drove out of San Diego on the 6th.  Since then, we have been traveling and living out of hotels.  I must say I am very proud of how well  all of us did on this big trip.  We rolled with the punches and made the most out of each stop.  Here is the first segment of our trip:

Our first day of the road trip was the least fun due to LA traffic but we did finish strong that day with a stop at the gates of Neverland Ranch at sunset.  It was quiet and beautiful.  Like others before us, we left our mark on the rocks.  In case you are wondering why Jack's name is not on the rock, he was passed out in the car for that entire stop.

Day two we made it to San Francisco and John shared his favorite pizza place with us, Little Star Pizza.  It was incredible.  We stayed at a hotel right downtown, which had its pros and cons.

Day Three was a gorgeous drive up the Big Sur to Monterey.  We stopped at John's favorite little town of the entire trip, Cayucos, for cookies. We saw Elephant Seals and a waterfall.  The kids blessed us with a little quiet by napping in the car.  It was at this point that I realized this trip was going to go well; Lydia and Jack have become good travelers.

Day four we drove the Redwoods and I have very fond memories of that day.  The trees were gorgeous and everyone was in a great mood.  Sadly, the Xterra with cartopper would not fit in the drive-thru tree.

Day five we hit the Oregon Coast and stayed in Bandon.  I was so happy to be out of California!  Unfortunately I slacked off and do not have any pictures of the following day in which we met up with my high school friend, Caitlin, and her new baby, Emilia.  After spending the morning catching up, we drove to Yachats and finally saw some rain.

  

  Day seven we drove through Newport and had a fun afternoon of Mo's and souvenir shopping.  That night we stayed at Otter Crest, just north of Newport.  John and Lydia enjoyed the sunset together on the beach.  

Day eight and nine were spent in Northern Oregon and again I slacked off on picture-taking.  We stayed at a great hotel directly on the coast in Rockaway Beach and the following day explored Astoria.  At that point in the trip, we were starting to drag a bit.  Perfect timing to head to Dad and Dana's in Portland.

Megan