Alaska #2 - The Wildlife

Please note: Clicking on the pictures to see them larger may enhance your viewing experience!

All Alaskan adventures should include gazing at the unique Alaskan wildlife...like this deer we spotted on Day 2 of our trip. Yes, I know, it's hard to see and it's a deer...but it's an Alaskan deer. We had to include it! We, of course, hoped to see whales in Alaska. But despite our efforts of staring out at the ocean often, this mural beheld the only whales we saw. We did see a couple sea lions! And fortunately many others in our party did get to see whales.

In Alaska Bald Eagles are plentiful. See them holding a council down below?

We mustn't leave out our squishy friend Mr. Jellyfish:

Here's Levi proudly showing off his eagle feather...unfortunately, it's illegal to keep eagle feathers as one kind shopowner informed us. So the feather was placed carefully on the cement...for another non-Alaskan to discover I'm sure.

Here's my dad proudly showing off his sea urchin shell. Those shells were spread all over the place by hungry birds!

I know we have deer in Washington, but how often do you get to see a mama deer with twin fawns walking around? (Oh and if you click on the picture you can see a giant crab above the mama's neck...yep, wildlife!)

More eagles hanging out on the rocky beach. The brown eagle is a juvenile. They get their "baldness" with age just like humans. lol!

Eagles on poles...very picturesque:

In conclusion, Alaska really was full of wildlife...like this half-eaten fish Levi discovered on the dock.

Tune in next time for more Alaska fun!

Alaska #1 - The Family

We journeyed to Petersburg, Alaska recently for the Bringhurst Family Reunion. There's so much to tell and show that I'm going to break it into pieces. Today's "piece" features our family - the main reason we left our little home in Mukilteo and ventured north.

As most of you know, I grew up a Bringhurst. The Bringhursts are famous for holding yearly family reunions. I have many fond childhood memories of family reunion adventures with the outdoorsy Bringhursts - camping, rafting, playing cards, singing around a campfire. My expectations for a fun reunion were far exceeded in Alaska. Enjoy the ride!

Our immediate family consists of us four Petersons shown here outside our B&B in Petersburg.

These fine Bringhurst folks are the reason the younger Bringhursts exist (from left: Uncle Mark, uncle John, Aunt KayLynn, my dad (Todd) and Uncle Ron):

Sometimes during family time, grown siblings attempt to throw one another off a dock:

Eleven of the 12 "Todd Bringhursts" in front of a viking ship...mom is taking the picture!

Cousins bonding over delectable bakery items (Levi, Caleb and Levi):

GramB takes a turn keeping Nathan occupied:

Sometimes brother-in-laws invent interesting ways of showing affection...especially during Alaskan crab feeds:

Got bored of looking for whales and posed for a mother/daughter shot:

Christy and I proclaimed it skirt night in Alaska:

The fun thing about having a reunion in a small town was running into our family without even trying (Cousin Ryan and Aunt Cindy):

Jenny and Mark:

Cousins Cami, Lauren and Tierney kept Leah, Levi and little Mark occupied at lunch:

This is basically what Uncle John and Aunt Jeanne's livingroom looked like every night:

This was the first Bringhurst reunion I can recall that had an official sign that we officially used to participate in a parade:

By the way, the Bringhurst family won second place in the "neighborhood" category of the parade. It was either because of our song where we happily repeated, "Bringhurst family. Branches on our family tree!" Or, perhaps it was Uncle Ron's umbrella dance....we may never know!

Sometimes certain family members decline to participate (that would be my dad shown here in the black sweatshirt). But there's always a family member around to do some coaxing (go Juliet!):

There is always competitiveness within families - shown here Cousins Tierney and Cami battle in out in the log roll competition (Cami won 3rd place overall - YAY!!!):

Sometimes families brave hikes together through the Alaskan muskeg at 10:30 p.m., despite the fear of bears and "no see ums" (thanks Pres and Autumn for joining us!)

On our final family adventure, we sat side-by-side and watched the 4th of July fireworks:

We had a wonderful time being reunited with family and even meeting some family members for the first time! More Alaska to come!

It's summer...now what?

School got out last Friday and before I even had time to breathe a sigh of relief, I had weekend company in the form of my wonderful parents. Their visit, of course, was very welcomed and fun! They left on Monday and Ken went back to work Tuesday and suddenly it hit me...IT'S SUMMER!!! Teachers, as I've come to realize, really look forward to summer...crave it even! At the same time, it's weird. Yes, I said weird. Less than a week ago I was waking daily at 6 a.m., rushing my kids to their grandparents' house, heading to one school to teach for three hours, then to another to teach a completely different group of kids, picking up my own kids after school, whirling through afternoon activities, homework and dinner, possibly relaxing for a few minutes or more likely correcting a stack of papers, then finally closing my eyelids to catch some Zzzzs before the cycle started again. No disputing that my life less than a week ago was busy - hectic even. But since summer came, I've realized that I feel a little lost without that crazy schedule. Today I kept wondering what to do. Every time I sat down to read or spend time on the computer, it was a few short minutes before I jumped up and folded some laundry or put dishes in the dishwasher. The day seemed to last forever. I guess I'm not used to spare time or sitting still. I'm not complaining - just saying that I think I know what it would feel like to, within a matter of seconds, be plopped into a strange and unfamiliar new world. Thank goodness for this blog...I now filled another 20 minutes of my day! Happy summer!

Spring Adventures

So, I admit, I've been a horrible blogger lately. Ah, but don't fear for summer has almost arrived. And hopefully for me that means, a little more time to do the things I enjoy...like blogging. We've had many adventures this spring so I thought I'd do a post that gives a brief overview. I apologize, in advance, if it ends up being not-so-brief.

In April, Ken's sister Amy arrived with her five children, including her latest additions Aislynn Chu-Chu) and Amari (Mimi) who we all fell in love with.

Here are some of the bigger cousins all bonding before we had a family picture taken: Here's Amy holding Amari who was still warming up to all of us strange Petes.

Leah was awesome with the babies - a little mommy. Leah and Aislynn:

After Amy's visit, I got to fly with her and all five kids to their new home in Florida to be reunited with Pauly!! Here's the family all together again:

These are my toes enjoying the sunshine at the famous Tampa beaches. My first time seeing the Gulf of Mexico! BEAUTIFUL!

A sideways Chu-Chu and Mimi:

Then that same week I went to Florida, I grabbed the fam and we travelled to Pullman. Christy took some family pics, which turned out wonderful, and my mom stole a snapshot with her camera:

I got to bond with my nephew Nathan, who was only 6 weeks old last time we were in town. Now he's 8 months!

All the Bringhurst were together for a meal. It's rare to have us all in one room:

Cousin time...doesn't get any better than this. "The Peterson's Eat Their Food!" (Levi's famous line from that trip to Pullman. It was ironic he shouted this because he's such a horrible eater!)

Chillin' with Uncle Jona and Cousin Caleb in Palouse:

Jona and Caleb:

As spring went on, Ken became a cook of the finest (and biggest) chocolate chip cookies around:

And Levi consumed a donut the size of his head:

And then Grandma B. came to visit and to attend Leah's final concert of the season with the Seattle Children's Chorus (Nice flowers mom!)

This is Leah and I chillin' after the concert. I sure am proud of my little singing girl!

That brings us to today where my children finally got to experience sunshine and their first water balloon fight of the "summer" (we all know it's probably going to rain tomorrow).

That little schemer is up to something...

More blog fun to come!!!!

We're Sorry!

Our kids were very sorry one day so they decided to write us a book (click on pictures to see them bigger...reading the words is a must - lol!)

We forgave them. : )

Turning Six!

The "baby" of the family, Levi, turned six a couple weeks ago. Of course, along with turning six came the typical celebratory fanfare: cake, presents, friends and family. There was a big, bouncy, birthday party at Pump-it-Up with many friends and family members in attendance. There were birthday cards that arrived in the mail, which spewed out gum and balloons upon opening. There was a free ice cream cone at Baskin Robbins (rainbow Sherbet was the choice flavor). But you know what my favorite moment was??? The part where my six year old read his own birthday card!!! That's when it really hit me - LEVI'S SIX! We love you little buddy! Dad pointing at the letters for Levi to read!

All Levi birthdays include new mountain lions to add to his ever-growing collection!

Trying out his new "wheels!"