Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Three Weeks of Family Fun

On July 2nd my DS Brandon & his wife Laura, & daughter Carys (pronounced Care-us), came to visit from Kwajalein. Here she is, our dear little grand-daughter, not quite 2 yet.
The day after they flew in, my show with friends, Kathy Harte, & Judy Wedemeyer opened at Terra Bella, here in Anchorage. Our theme was "It's About Time".


They put on a nice spread, & several people showed up. We each sold a piece.
The sunset was pretty that evening.
On the 4th of July we stayed home. The kids enjoyed the hot tub.Brandon got the urge to dig in the dirt, so he transplanted a few trees for us.
Carys loved the new table Poppy put together for her.
Carys & Grammy had a great time blowing bubbles together.
The next day we went up to Denali to camp at Savage River Campground for 2 nights.
Carys got a kick out of little toy binoculars that Grammy got for her.

She was a good little traveler.
She liked trying on new hats.


Brandon & Laura rode the bus into the park. Brandon caught this fox in the act of catching his lunch.

They had a clear day for the mountain.

Later Laura did a run, then we walked to the river. It was really hot!

Laura & Carys roasted their first hot dogs together.

I found white Fireweed growing in the same place I had found it 10 years ago. It's very rare. I wish I could get some seeds for my yard.
After Denali, we took a ferry to Cordova. We stayed at the Reluctant Fisherman.
This Digitalis was growing in back of the hotel.

I found more fireweed & Columbines too.

Carys liked the big mossy rock.



This was the view from our room.

Saturday Laura ran her first Half Marathon.

She had been training hard for it.

Here she is after her 12.5 mile run. She placed 3rd, & she was thrilled!



Carys hung out at the hotel with us, & had a ball playing with Poppy.
Later we went to the Salmon Festival.
The runners were recognized.

Laura got her award.

Carys went for the pizza.
The next day Brandon & Poppy went fishing for Copper River Reds.

I hung out on shore & snapped pictures.
They got 4 nice red salmon.


They had these big black slugs there.

This was the best place to eat in Cordova.

It was a misty morning when we left.

The sun was back out when we got back to Portage. We stopped at the Wild Animal Farm.

The elk looked bored.

Back home, Carys found Dandelions, & called them "Bubbles"!

We went to the Saturday Market down town. Carys got a Laura Wright Kuspuk.

She also had her first horsey ride!

Carys really likes setting on rocks.

Dinner at the Bear Tooth Grille.

Pizza again, her favorite food group.
After dinner we played in a city park.

July 19th was Carys's 2nd birthday.
She was the rock star.

Her friend Wren came over to party with her.

Wren's parents, Darcy & Max used to work on Kwajalein with Brandon & Laura.

Wren got a goodie bag that included these star sunglasses.
Carys loved her gifts.



The cupcakes were pretty good.

Carys got a V-Tec game from us.


The girls rocked out on the deck.
The kids flew out last night.
All that's left now is her little hand prints. It was a wonderful 3 weeks.

14 comments:

Marsel said...

Wow! What a wonderful time filled with so many wonderful things!

CJ STITCHING AND BLOOMS said...

Hello Deb, WOW, what great family photos/memories!! Your grand daughter is such a sweetie. Of course I loved all the stunning gorgeous photos of Alaska. Kwajalein is on the Marshall Islands??? What is that part of the world like??? Thanks for sharing your wonderful 3 weeks with your family. Hugs Judy

jenclair said...

Sounds like a wonderful three weeks! Carys is adorable--what wonderful eyes!

Stephanie said...

Looks like you had a great time while they were up.

Melodie said...

Glad to see you're home. I need to give you a call sometime soon and ask you about the latest health issues here.
The kids look good! What a fun time!

PatStudio said...

Great pictures. Clear that a terrific time was had by all! What a wonderful place Alaska is ..... summer days seem endless .......

Rian said...

What a fabulous time you all had! My heart feels all warm and runny for you.

Nancy said...

Great pictures! Looks like you all had so much fun!

Kathy -MIQuilter said...

What a beautiful grandchild, I'm glad you had such a wonderful time, looks like the weather was good too. What piece did you sell at the gallery?

BLP said...

We had a great time too! Wish we got to stay longer, felt like we were only there a week.

Some corrections, Laura's race was 13.1 miles and I caught 3 reds and one silver.

Feeling Simply Quilty said...

that brings back so many memories of Alaska. We visited in 2005 and I think I need to go back!

thanks for sharing you pictures and lovely family.

allie aller said...

There is no joy like family joy.
Thanks for sharing!

quiltmom anna said...

Deb,
It sounds like you had a fabulous time with your family- Carys is a real cutie- so many great memories and photos of fun times together.
I will look forward to seeing your new projects when fall comes around.
Warmest regards,
Anna

BLP said...

Carys is still talking about Alaska. She really liked camping, seeing all the animals, and brings it up often.