Good-bye Fall

Out the road to Echo Cove

Tuesday was probably one of the last clear sunny non-rainy days of the year. Bill decided to take the morning off and take me and Marie for a drive out the road. We stopped for a little while at Echo Cove to enjoy the sun.

We got 2 pictures of this crab shell. Bill wanted to put this one on the blog. I think it's so gross that I can hardly even look at it! Still, I guess it's a pretty good picture.

The cove.

A pretty stump.

Family photo.

I think this is a wolf. Bill thinks it is a coyote. What do you think?

We had a really nice drive and enjoyed the pretty scenery. I guess we'll just have to wait until next year to do it again.

Marie's been photogenic . . .

Since we've had Marie, we've had the camera at the ready. This week Marie has been pretty photogenic. Enjoy these pictures.

In the toy box - again.

Pippin has learned that Marie is not the most graceful eater, but he can get little treats out of it.

A little Halloween preview - can you guess what Marie will bee?

Marie has been practicing her mean face. Do you think she looks mean in this picture?

Some ladies came over on Monday night for a Bible study. And look where Marie is! Oh, I hope she doesn't develop a shoe fettish!

Baby Steps

After 16 very long months, Marie has finally decided that she can walk.

She'll figure out a way to eat it

Marie and Pippin

Some things Marie has been up to . . .

Eating Mama's cookies.

Exploring toys from inside her toy basket.

Teething - not so fun.

Help put the table and chairs back after sweeping.

She's been quite a busy little girl!

Marie Videos

Marie loves taking a bath!

You can't see Bill here, but Marie thought it was so funny that he would pop a cheerio up in the air and catch it in his mouth.

Marie's Week

Marie's all-time favorite toy has been a train that was left in the house for Marie when we first moved to Juneau. And that has not changed. The engine has buttons you can press for it to make noise. But now Marie is more interested in pushing the car. She's content to push it around the house in circles!


This is Marie's yes cabinet. She can clear it out a lot faster now than she could a few months ago. But it still keeps her occupied for a few minutes when I'm working in the kitchen.

Bill made this 'tent' for him and Marie. She did enjoy it. But I think the cats liked it more! They kept hiding in it, and at one point actually pulled the sheet off the chairs!

Bill put my shoes on Marie. Funny - I remember that there's a picture of me as a baby with large shoes on. Marie likes to 'help' me with the laundry by pulling everything out of the basket.

She's a sweet little girl. Can't you tell by looking into these baby blues?

Marie found Bill's UGA cap. Go Dawgs! They barely squeezed out a win yesterday. And Marie was right there with us cheering them on.

Taku Trip

Most of you know that I started working again part-time. I've been with the Hospice and Home Care of Juneau since May. Recently, someone donated 10 tickets to our agency for us to go to the Taku Lodge. The trip was amazing and the weather was perfect! We flew on a big float plane that seats 10 passengers. The ride was a little rough at the beginning because the wind had picked up. The flight to the lodge took about 30 minutes. During this time, we listened to an automated tour on individual head-sets. The view below was beautiful! We could see Juneau beneath us, but that quickly turned into an ice field with several prominent glaciers and lots of mountain peaks. When we arrived at the Taku Lodge, I soon realized that this was unlike any tourist place I had been to in Alaska. Usually, tourists are crowded in around you and it is sometimes difficult to have peace. The lodge sits on a big spread of land. There are numerous trails and outlooks to sit at. You can enjoy the beauty of God's creation and easily forget that there are people around. The Taku Lodge itself is a rustic restaurant that can hold between 40-50 people. Therefore, there is ample space for everyone to disperse themselves along the grounds and soak in the scenery in almost a secluded manner.
Well, enough rambling on. Let's get to some pictures!


Here are about 2/3's of my co-workers. They really are a great group of people. And I work with several Christians. While I loved my job as a nurse at AK Regional, working with Christians can make quite an impact on the overall mood of the workplace. Arna, the lady in the back 2nd from the right, is retiring. We used this trip as a little retirement party for her. She has a lot of experience in Home Care. Even though I've only known her a few months, I will miss her a lot!

Isn't he the cutest little puppy? Too bad there was a sign that said 'Please don't touch the puppies'.

Several of us went on a little guided walk after lunch. There were perfectly ripe blueberries everywhere! If I had known, I would have brought some storage containers and brought some home. I thought these trees looked a little creepy with all the moss growing on the branches. Good thing it wasn't dark or I would have really been scared!

Here is a picture of the Taku Glacier itself.

I thought this was a neat picture - the American flag and the Alaska State flag with the very Alaskan background of mountains, water, trees, and brush.

(Those of you who follow our blog - I've been playing catch-up and have posted several blogs before this one. So be sure to look at the older posts.)

Iceberg (sort of) and Caught!

For the last few weeks Bill, Marie and I have been going to the glacier some evenings in the hopes of seeing a bear. Well, a couple of weeks ago we finally saw a bear in Juneau and it was at the glacier. It was only for about 3 seconds though, and it was so dark that the picture didn't turn out. Everyone here says that the bears are everywhere. Well, I think that is just a ploy to get tourists to come to Juneau. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the 'bear' we did see was just a teenager dressed up in costume!
Anyway, we have found other things at the glacier to keep us occupied. One night Bill pulled a little iceberg out from the lake and brought it to the shore.


Marie had fun feeling of the cold ice.

Then I made Bill show off his manly strength by throwing the iceberg back into the lake.

One afternoon I was walking in the living room and caught Marie getting into her diaper bag. She looks like she got in trouble, but I can assure you she did not. We read the book for a little while, and then Marie was a helper and put all her things back in the diaper bag.

The Salmon!!!

At the end of our picnic at Lena Beach last week, we walked over to a little stream that was off to the side. I was amazed at the salmon! I had never seen them that close before, or seen them swimming so aggressively! Now, I don't know if it was the noise of them flapping around or if it was exciting to her, but Marie clapped her hands the whole time we were watching the salmon.

One Year in Juneau

Last Tuesday was another beautiful day like the one before. Bill decided to take this Tuesday off from the office, and we celebrated our one year anniversary by having a picnic at Lena Beach. It was a perfect day. Not too hot or cold or windy. And Marie had a good time too. September 1st marked our one year anniversary of being in Juneau. We quickly grew to love Juneau and our church family. We feel very blessed to be here, and look forward to more happy years. Here are a few pictures - enjoy!

The Tram

Soon after we returned from Cambodia, a friend at Church gave us tickets for the Mt. Roberts tram. Well, we waited and waited for a day that wasn't foggy or cloudy and it finally came last Monday. After I got off work we went downtown.





Juneau from the tram.

Family picture.

Patiently waiting for dinner - although she did not like the spicy baked beans she got.

Funny looking trees. Bill says that when they're sapplings the snow weights them down. But every spring they grow towards the sky again.

Juneau just after the sunset.

Marie's Doings

Well, we've had a little computer worm and needed to re-install everything on our computer. But then we couldn't find the re-install disk. Last night, after many hours of looking, Bill finally found the disk in a small box in the computer box. Now we can get back to blogging! Here are a few pictures of Marie and what she's been up to.



We got Marie a little Cambodian outfit. It's a good thing we put it on her right away, because she could barely fit in it!

Marie loves to eat - anything!

We've had some beautiful days this summer, and it's continuing into the autumn. Isn't Marie cute in how she's picking the clover in a perfect lady-like way?

She never ceases to amaze me. Every day I thank God for giving me this little gir.