M+M Daily Favs 9.30

MN=being line leader having Mr. B over for dinner

MR=going to school

Today was MN decided to bring in grapes, popcorn, and apple juice boxes for snack. She showed her yellow Belle horse wearing a kid sized purple skirt for show and tell. She had a blast being line leader and was very excited to have Mr. B over for dinner again to tell him all about it.

I am so thrilled that MR's fav was simply going to school. I really sweated the decision to switch school and i'm so happy that she's happy!

A little bit lost, but a lot bit fun...

Yesterday, A and i started East Glacier Trail the hard way. Today, we tried the easy way... But couldn't find it! We found one entrance to EGT by chance, and took a chance we would find the other way just as easily.

We took a right when we should have gone the same way as yesterday and ended up paralleling the road in and out of the glacier. We wandered around in the rain following little dead end trails. It was a little frustrating, but in the end we found the right way and plan to try again on Friday.

we climbed down, then back up this rock trail

a meadow where someone had once camped

trash from animals stealing garbage

a nice find

part of the Trail of Time: where the glacier used to be

saw this sign yesterday after we hiked - yikes!

to get to NCT, you must follow EGT... Friday we will find it!

Here's what A had to say about yesterday and today: http://exploringak.blogspot.com/2009/09/wrong-way.html

The Hard Way

Today was the kind of day that erases all memories of miserable weather. It was clear and cold and bright and clean.

A and i met again this morning with a specific trail in mind, the East Glacier Trail. It starts across the lot at the glacier and winds up along the east side of the valley affording tremendous views of the lake, the glacier, and the mountains.

Since the girls were at dance class, we only had an hour. The trail is approx a 3.5 mile loop and we think we made it a little less than halfway through the loop. There was a lot of climbing, and we later learned from A's neighbor that we took the more difficult route. The view was worth the effort. Tomorrow, we are going to meet and try doing the whole trail the easy way. :)

M+M Daily Favs 9.29

MN+MR=dinner party

The Coast Guard Judge Advocate General is visiting Juneau, and we hosted a dinner tonight for Bill's office. The girls had a blast seeing Mr. G, Mrs. A, Mr. B, CDR, and meeting the Admiral. I think the best part for them was watching a show and eating dinner on mom and dad's bed and having chocolate cake for dessert!

M+M Daily Favs 9.28

MN=decorating my horse

MR=doing all the line leader things at school

Today was MR's day to bring in snack and be the line leader at school. She brought in her talking Diego elephant for show and tell, and shared colored goldfish crackers, cheese sticks, and apple juice boxes for snack. MN's day for snack, show and tell, and line leader is Wednesday. She has decided to bring in her yellow Belle horse and is getting him ready.

Snow capped mountains, waterfalls, and bears... Oh my! :)

A and i met Monday at the glacier, and decided to have a walk around.

From the visitors' lot, we headed toward the edge of the lake and the trail that is under construction. We skirted around the water and the workmen and happened upon this rock slide:

We got closer to the falls than i have ever been:

After walking for about an hour (out to the falls and back, around the Steep Creek walkways), we decided to cross the street to head to the East Glacier Trail. We were talking about the bears when A suddenly said, "Look!" and pointed to the bear family crossing the lot toward Steep Creek. We approached the walkways again hoping to catch a better glimpse, but didn't enter the walkways as we had just seen the bears hoping on to them at the other end:

Our patience payed off as the mother and her 2 cubs eventually walked right below us:

I was so excited to see the bears again and can't believe how big the cubs have gotten!

A and i are meeting again tomorrow to try the East Glacier Trail.

Pretty Skies

Although the weather wasn't great last week, i did get to see this pretty sunrise:

and some rainbows:

This was the view from the Buoy Deck at the Coast Guard station last Friday night:

Here is Douglas Island and Gastineau Channel from Mt. Roberts on Sunday afternoon:

This was the sky at about 6:30 am AST this morning:

Last Day of the Season...

Today was the last day of the season to ride the Mt. Roberts Tram. We bought season passes and had a great time riding this spring and summer. It was a rainy morning, but cleared up enough in the afternoon to enjoy the ride up and walking around. Until next year...

M+M Daily Favs 9.27

MN=going up the tram

MR=getting my goody bag

The girls' friend A celebrated his birthday in late August. We sent him one of our favorite Alaska books, and he sent the girls goody bags! M+M were so excited that it took them an extra long time to fall asleep for nap (i said they could have it after), and they had a blast playing with all their new little things.

Today was our last trip up the tram for the season. We brought our friend B along for the ride and the girls had a blast showing him around.

Snow on the way...

I started this entry on September 26th, am posting a picture taken September 28th, and writing this entry on October 9th. I've started seeing snow on all the mountaintops now,

but this is the best picture i have.

When i get back to Juneau, it will be interesting to see how much more snow there is!

Mendenhall Glacier:

M+M Daily Favs 9.26

MN=getting my snake

MR=playing with my "yusic" box, my "shrinky", and my balloon

We had planned to go to the tram today, but it was closed. The girls were disappointed, but then we decided to go to the museum. That was also closed, so we gave up and headed to the mall. We bought the girls shoes for my brother's wedding (they are going to be flower girls and needed white/ivory dress shoes, which i obviously did not have on hand!), Bill found a great pair of pants on sale (he always find the best stuff!), the girls were given balloons (there was a bridal expo going on), and they each go to pick out a little trinket at the book store. MN picked out a new snake and MR picked out a heart shaped plastic slinky. After nap, the rain took a break and the sun came out, so Bill took the girls for a walk around the neighborhood and to the playground. Despite the wretched weather and our false starts, i think they had a fun day.

M+M Daily Favs 9.25

MN=eating lunch

MR=going to the airport to pick up Daddy

Bear in the 'hood...

Today after i closed the door for the girls nap, out the window i saw a giant black blur run across the street and behind the neighbor's house. It took me a second to realize that the black blur was probably a black bear! I ran downstairs to see if i could catch it on film, but this is all that i was able to get... Big, furry bear butt!

Seeing bears is pretty common in Juneau, even downtown, but i still think it's really neat!

Time on my hands...

I had a few minutes before i needed to be at school to pick up the girls, so i drove over to the glacier to enjoy the view...

M+M Daily Favs 9.24

MN=reading the story

MR=skating

When i was a little girl, my mom played books on tape for my sister and i at bedtime. I vaguely remember "reading" a story in kindergarten... I had memorized the tape! When we lived in NJ, i would take books on cd out of the library all the time for the girls to listen to at playtime. The libraries here have tapes and we don't have a tape player; thank goodness for birthday gifts and itunes! The girls were given a set of Disney storybooks with cds and love listening to them in the car. MN especially enjoys Beauty and the Beast. Belle is her favorite princess, even though she has never seen the movie! Last night she grabbed her Little Golden Book copy of Beauty and the Beast and "read" the story to us. The cd version that we have is different from the Golden Books one, but she used the pictures to guide her and retold half the story all by herself. She got tired and asked Bill to finish reading the rest. We were very impressed with her recall of some difficult vocabulary words! I guess it's time to download some new stories!!

Last winter, MR flat out refused to finish her ski lesson. Bill and i have been so pleased with her determination to learn to skate! She is so nervous without the bar, but she's really doing a great job. She tends to be our kiddo that falls a lot, so it's nice to see her taking to the ice and staying upright!

Tot Skate 2

Bill and i took the girls to their 2nd tot skate today and we al had a great time! After the ski lesson debacle earlier this year, i was very worried about skating... The girls had really wanted to try it, but i was afraid it would be torture for all of us!

MN loves to fall down... Sounds crazy, but it's true!

This is not a picture of her crying on the ice:

She is looking at all the cuts in the ice and making some of her own.

She did a great job moving across the ice without using the bar!

MR loves the bar:

She is actually skating with it!

We need to boost her confidence so she will try to hit the ice without it.

Both girls were very curious about why we had to dress so warmly to stay inside...

Lots of talk about solids, liquids, and gasses led to this experiment...

Watching and ice cube melt:

After a few minutes, the girls got bored and left Giraffe in charge of taking notes: