Nature Walk

Cool fact about Ketchikan: you are never far away from nature. Without leaving town, we took the kids on a little nature walk today. We drove up a hill, parked the car, and there you go. Pretty cool, huh? There is stuff all over Ketchikan like this! It was beautiful and we saw lots of cool things. Here is Jake and Kaitlyn sitting at the trunk of a tree.

Big brother, little sister. So cute. Posing on a bridge for mom.

I had to beg Kelly to post his picture, but I told him if I'm willing to put this hideous picture of myself on here, he had to. Besides, he looks cute!

I have lots more pictures, which I think I will post on Facebook.  There are too many to put on here. Hopefully someday everyone can come and visit and we can show you all these cool Alaska things!

More Baseball

We love baseball! Jake had another game tonight, and they won again. They are undefeated! Jake played first and then pitched one inning, and had two great hits. Kaitlyn ran around and played and cheered for her brother.

Room With a View

I know I sometimes complain about living in Alaska. While it's true I miss our friends and family, there are definitely some cool things about living here in Ketchikan. I love living by the ocean. I don't exactly know how to explain it, but there is something about it. When the weather is nice we literally have a beach to go to within 5-10 minutes of our house. Granted, it is kind of rocky and the water can be freezing, but it's still the ocean and the kids love it. There is wildlife everywhere. Sometimes it can be a little too close for comfort (ask Kaitlyn about the time she opened the front door and a bear was standing there looking at her), but if you're careful and aware, it's awesome. We can stand on our deck in the summer and see mama bears with their cubs walking through our yard, and eagles grabbing fish out of the ocean. Which brings me to today. We have a wonderful view from our house. I saw a tour boat turn around quickly and cameras flashing so I got up to check it out. There were Orca whales playing! This happens quite often. We can even hear them sometimes! They're not always Orcas, which makes it even cooler. I actually got my camera quick enough to get a couple of pictures. Only in Alaska can you stand on your deck and take pictures of whales!

Play Ball!

Jake had his first baseball game of the year! It was so exciting! He has suddenly decided that getting his picture taken is no longer cool, so I don't have many to put on here, but the few I have are pretty good. He did so well. He started at first base. He had two awesome hits, one of which was a triple that could have been a home run if he had hustled a little more. When I asked him why he didn't run harder he just smiled at me and said he was so sure it was going over the fence. Gotta love that Smith family confidence!! What was REALLY cool was seeing him pitch. Jake has wanted to for a while, but I just wasn't sure....yeah, I know nothing apparently. They put him in and he did awesome!!  He stayed calm and confident the entire time he was in and helped his team pull out a win. Go Sidewinders!