A Week of Summer Adventures

This past week, I had the week off from teaching summer school and my goal was to have an Alaskan staycation kind of week.  Monday we packed a lunch and invited some friends to join us at Lake Hood to watch the float planes.  This has become our Monday routine it seems this summer, but it was nice that I didn't have to put some time in at the school before we had lunch this week! 

Tuesday we made a trip to Girdwood (it's only about an hour from our house) to go hiking on the Winner Creek trail.

I had read that this trail was mostly flat and wide - perfect trail for a family hike.  

Papa and I were both very pleased with our little hikers. Their enthusiasm for the outdoors just warms my heart and I hope that it will continue to be a source of enjoyment for them as they grow up.

After hiking in 2.5 miles, the real treat was taking the hand tram across the Winner Creek Gorge. Sister loved this adventure while Brother was a little less sure.  Either way, it was a great experience that the kids have continued to talk about throughout the week.

After hiking in on their own will power, we gave the kiddos a ride on the way out.  It was definitely a great family outing that created fond memories for everyone.

Next on our Alaskan Staycation week was a trip to Seward (About 3 hours from where we live) to the Alaska SeaLife Center. 

The kids really enjoyed being able to see the different types of sea life.  One of their favorite parts was waiting for the Stellar Sea Lion to swim by - he is huge! 

They also enjoyed the touching pools and thought it was great to gently touch these animals.

Thursday found ourselves invited to join some friends for a hike near Eklutna Lake.  The kids were a bit bored with all the walking and not being down by the water to throw rocks and so decided to make dust angels.  Silly dirty kids...

There was more dirty to be found as we had to leave the group early for other plans we had for the day and Momma went the wrong way...

Yep - we some how found the muddiest path back even with all the dry ground around us.  The kids thought it was hilarious and well, I did too. 

The afternoon of this day was some alone time for Momma to hike another mountain top.  My friend, Heidi, and I decided a little cloud cover was not going to stop us from reaching the summit of Flat Top Mountain. 

I will definitely be doing this hike again in order to see all the amazing views. However, it was also an experience to just hike in the clouds. 

It was awesome to reach another mountain summit this summer and be able to share the experience with my amazing friend!

We ended our hike with a visitor! We were so thankful this area formed a circle and we were able to keep ourselves a safe distance from this little guy as he was munching away. 

It truly has been a great week of quality time with family and friends.  I return to summer school teaching next week but not before we celebrate Sister's 5th birthday on Monday! (How can this be?) I'll be sure to post all about her special day.  

Happy 4th of July!