First Month of the New Year

We are already a month into 2019, and I honestly can't tell you how we got here. It just went by so quickly! It was a month packed full of family, friends, and fun! Our new year is definitely off to a great start, as you can see from the following highlight reel of January:

We spent the first week of the month in Houston,
making special memories with our Watts family

Ruth gave an Instagram tutorial to her aunt and Mimi.

Clay was glad to get back to school. He was excited to work on his reading,
discover a new love in Ken-Ken puzzles, and teach us all a money game.

Jeff spent two weeks in Mexico in an immersion Spanish class.
The vendors wouldn't approach him because they said he looked like Secret Service!
Nevertheless, he was able to track down all kinds of fun surprises to bring home.

We celebrated Max's 11th birthday with doughnuts, cake balls, and gifts.
And we spent the day at Corky's, playing arcade games,
throwing axes, and escaping from Alcatraz.

Weston and I got to attend Ruth's CAP banquet, where, among other things,
we saw her march in with the color guard, be recognized with her CyberPatriot team,
and receive an award for "Americanism" from the American Legion. We are so proud of her!

Max got a baseball pitching machine for his birthday,
and the boys have had a big time trying it out.

We somehow managed to survive WINTER STORM 2019. 

We made out like bandits at the library used book sale.

Clay adores his big sister and couldn't resist surprising her with flowers!

Mimi and Grandpa came to visit twice during the month,
and we had so much fun hanging out with them.

We attended the Minutemen Disaster Response open house and had a great time.
We were especially impressed with the 28-bed bunk trailer.

Ruth achieved the rank of Master Sergeant and
the title of First Sergeant at the CAP promotion ceremony.
She also gave a recruiting speech to encourage cadets
to attend Airman Leadership Training in the spring,
which is an event she will attend as medical staff. 

Clay started golf lessons and is absolutely the cutest little golfer ever!

The boys got new dressers, and I acquired
some new skills by putting them together.

Ruth brought me these beautiful tulips for no reason!

Weston spent hours climbing every tall tree in the woods.

Weston spent a ton of time working on Scout stuff this month.
He attended a Merit Badge College, where he worked on three
different merit badges. He hiked a total of 65 miles to complete
his hiking badge. And, he went on the monthly campout with his troop.
He also interviewed and was accepted to be on staff for one of the summer camps,
making him one of the youngest Scouts to receive such a position.
He has already attended one training session and begun practicing his speeches.
He loves Scouting so much, and we are so proud of his hard work and dedication!

One of my book clubs got together to throw axes, and we had so much fun!

Salt Lake City

We spent the afternoon and evening in Salt Lake City and had a great time. We started with lunch at Crown Burger, which is credited with being the originator of the must-eat food for Utah, the pastrami burger, from our list of what to eat in every state. Then, we walked over to Temple Square and took a look at the impressive Mormon Tabernacle. After that, we drove out to Antelope Island for a close up view (and smell!) of the Great Salt Lake and Garr Ranch. Finally, we headed back into the city, to the Olympic training center, for our curling lesson, which was such a blast! They didn't ask is to join the Olympic team on the spot, but we're expecting a call just any time.

Home of the original pastrami burger

The Mormon Tabernacle

The Great Salt Lake

The black line along the edge of the water
is brine flies, which is one of the few species
that can survive in the lake. They flew up in a
wave as we approached the water
and effectively kept us away.

Bison are frequent visitors to the salt
flats left when the water evaporates.

This chair at Garr Ranch made
my big girl look small.

Horses at Garr Ranch

Looking across the lake toward the city

Ready to deliver the stone

The art of curling

Curling is Jeff's all-time favorite
winter Olympic sport, so he was
thrilled to have the opportunity
to attend a lesson at Utah's Oval,
using actual Olympic stones.

Demonstrating the
 "Super Man" technique.

Jeff delivers while the boys sweep

Ready for the Olympics

Jasper and Banff National Parks

Yesterday brought us to the end of the Alaska Highway and into Alberta. Today brought us into Jasper and Banff National Parks, and they are absolutely gorgeous. We saw several Dall sheep and a couple of elk in Jasper, as well an incredible waterfall and so much beautiful scenery. In Banff, we stopped at the lovely Lake Louise, before heading to our campground inside the park.

Our first Canadian elk spotting

Tangle Creek Falls

A gorgeous reflection in Jasper National Park

Is this water even real?!

Athabasca Glacier

Lake Louise

Lunch at Lake Louise on a beautiful day

Killer views in Banff National Park

Hot and Cold

We spent the morning hiking the Angel Rocks Trail with our new friends we met on the cruise. It was a beautiful hike, and we had so much fun hanging out with another family we seem to have a lot in common with! I have been very surprised at how warm it is in Alaska, and we did work up a sweat. I always just have Alaska pictured as frozen tundra, but in truth, it has been one of the warmest places we've visited this summer.

Ruth and the "bear" rock

On top of the world

Max the mountain man

Little man on a big rock

After the hike, we headed over to Chena Hot Springs Resort. We grabbed some lunch in the restaurant, took a tour of the greenhouses, animal pens, and geothermal power plant of the self-sustaining property, and then visited the Aurora Ice Museum, where we definitely had a chance to cool off. The building is kept at 25° F all year long and is a fascinating ice wonderland. We loved seeing all the ice sculptures and watching the sculptor work. Today, he was turning out ice martini glasses, which the ice bar serves Appletini's in. The whole experience was so delightful!

Donkey love

The resort is trying to build its reindeer herd,
so they can start serving the meat in the restaurant.

The lettuce room

Aurora Ice Museum

Jousting knights ice sculpture

A full size igloo

Weston jamming on the ice xylophone

My little Eskimos

Polar bear bed

Aurora Ice Bar

Cheers!

Just chillin'

Mesmerized by the sculptor at work