Connell Lake 5.9.2010

Before we moved to Ketchikan we bought a canoe from Quent's coworker for a steal.  On this beautiful afternoon in May we decided to take the canoe for a spin on Connell Lake.  It was the first time I (Christina) had seen the lake and I liked it right away.  We had such a fun time canoeing.  There were all of these little coves to explore and we even saw a beautiful waterfall.  Our experience reminded me of when we lived in Wisconsin and we would go out on the water in a canoe or rowboat--minus the mountains of course.  I love being on the water!

Our walks May 1-2, 2010

Quent and I enjoy taking walks together a few times a week. It's a great way for us to connect. There are so many places to walk/hike in Ketchikan. We are really thankful for that! Our two favorite "leisurely" walks are on the bike path that follows the highway on the south end of town, and also the Ward Lake trail.


Quent took this picture of me walking along the bike path.

This is the trail near Ward Lake.

Downtown Ketchikan 4.28.10

I thought it would be neat to share some pictures of what it looks like in downtown Ketchikan. This is the view from some of the streets. These are the streets we take home from "town" (the grocery store, Wal-mart, etc.).


This is going south. The ocean is on the right (west). From May through September there are 1-5 cruise ships parked there most days. This is one of those areas that we try to avoid when there are like 4 cruise ships docked because it gets super crazy! (Maybe we should take some pictures of that? I think we will!) These pictures were taken before "tourist season". The building on the right is Tongass Trading, which has a outdoor gear and sporting goods. There's also a lot of things for tourists to buy, like cheap Alaskan magnets and postcards. Ha!

Now we are headed east in this picture after going around a curve. See the building on the right side? That's where Quent works. It's the federal building. I was told that the mile markers stop/start at that building. So we live 2 miles south of town, which is 2 miles south of the federal building. The building is referred to as "the pink building" because it's pink. People like to argue that it's actually "salmon" colored, but it's pretty pink! Beyond that building is Creek Street. The mountain in the background is Deer Mountain, where Quent hikes and skis.

Now we've rounded the curve by "the pink building" and are headed south once again. We are passing by Creek Street, just starting to go over the bridge that's over the creek. Lots of salmon swim up this creek in the summer. Most days in the summer we see people fishing off the bridge. And on warm Alaskan days you will see kids jumping off the bridge/dock into the water. And what is considered a warm Alaskan day? 60+ degrees! But I've also seen 7 year olds playing in a sprinkler on 50 degree days.

And this is a picture going south and we are almost off the bridge. Nothing too exciting here.

Baby Owen 4.28.10

My friend Janae and her family (Jason (husband), and children Cori, Gavin, and Zach) were in Ketchikan awaiting the arrival of baby Owen.  They live in Wrangell.  For liability reasons, the hospital in Wrangell doesn't deliver babies, so at least two weeks before the due date, the mother has to go somewhere else to have the baby.  Most mothers to go Ketchikan or Juneau.  So after being in Ketchikan for 2-3 weeks, it was time!  I offered to watch the kids while she and Jason were in the hospital.  I picked them up around 5:30 and took them to McDonald's, and then we went to the park.

We picked up Quent from the airport ferry and then drove over to Totem Bight park where we walked/ran around.  It was a beautiful evening!

Quent took the boys into the woods to be boys while Cori and I stayed on the path and talked.

Cori inside of the tribal house.

We went to McDonald's again because Quent and I were hungry.  We also got the kids ice cream.  We drove back to our house afterwards because we hadn't heard from Jason or Janae.  There was a message on our machine saying that Owen was here!  We drove back to the hospital and as we were getting out of the car Gavin threw up...all over himself!  Poor guy!  I guess he had a migraine, which I wasn't aware of.  So our car smelled like mint chocolate chip ice cream puke for awhile!  Ha!  After we cleaned him up and gave him a shirt of Quent's to wear, we walked up to the maternity ward and met baby Owen.

The kids were in awe of their new little sibling.  Jason was right down there with them just admiring his little one!  Janae looked awesome!  She didn't even look like she just had a baby!  We were impressed!

A couple of days later we had Janae, Cori, and Owen over for dinner.  It was nice visiting with them again!

Owen Zander

21 inches long, 9 lb 14 oz

He was a BIG baby!

Runner

When I was in Michigan I ran a little bit a few of the morning I was there. When I came back home I thought I would "try" to run on the bike path just for a different kind of exercise (for variety). After only two runs I realized that I could run 3 miles without stopping. I was shocked because I never really ran before this, but I guess I had been exercising enough with biking that I conditioned my body to be able to handle that. Years and years ago I tried jogging with Quent in the morning and I absolutely hated it. I never understood how anyone could actually enjoy running. When we lived in Wrangell I began to be interested in it, but only ran maybe 10 minutes at a time before calling it good. So now (end of July) I'm running 3x per week, 3-5 miles each time. I'm loving it!

Here kitty kitty April 2010

It's time for a kitty post!


This is Tigger with one of his famous expressions. I'm just glad he likes the camera!

And his cute little front paws!

Shadow hates the camera. If we have a camera out, she will hide. The other day I saw her trying to hide behind the counter. She's so silly!

Silvis Lake 4.24.10

(There are a bunch of posts that will be out of sequence of a trip Quent went on in April.  He's super busy this summer, and I don't want to try posting those pics since I wasn't there, so I will just continue in order and he will come back later and post.  The show must go on...)

Quent and I hiked up the mountain road to Silvis Lake. I'm not sure the length of the hike. It was a beautiful day! We stopped at the lake and had a pizza picnic.

We walked a little farther down the road to a building that I believe is where the water is pumped down the pipeline that follows the road. There a few parts of the trail that are obvious avalanche areas. I also remember there was a little dog who thought he was the boss. Ha!

Good Friday. Good Times. Best Friend. 4.2.10

On March 31st I flew from Ketchikan to Seattle, and then arrived in Detroit, Michigan early on April 1st.  It had been over a year since I had been back to MI.  I was excited to see everyone!  My dad picked me up and I was able to take a cat nap, which put me at about 3 hours of sleep.  So I was ready to rumble...er...  After a nice lunch with my dad, we drove over to meet my friend Carrie.  I spent the first few days with her and her family.  On Good Friday we drove to Lansing to visit with my sister-in-law, Natasha, and then we went to a beautiful park in Lansing to take pictures.  All of the pictures except for the first one were taken by Natasha.  Thank you, Natasha!!  Oh, and the last few were taken by Carrie.  Thanks, Carrie!