When something goes wrong...

The worst Skagway has to offer...

Well, in the summer, that is.

Earlier this week we had beautifully NASTY weather! I say "beautifully," because there is something about raw nature that I LOVE!! The wind was blowing, it was frightfully cold, and we were completely fogged in. I'm sure the planes weren't flying (delivering people and mail). To illustrate this, I had to take a photo. Notice the cruise ship parked at the end of the street. Next, notice that you can't see anything else behind it (like the large mountain with a glacier, etc).:

The very next day was clear(ish) and in the mid-60's...spectacular summer weather for us!! So, to show you the contrast, here is a photo of the next day (please notice the now-visible mountain behind the cruise ship):
Aw...Skagway. Gotta love it!

Random Acts of Kindness (and Generosity)!

A couple came to our store a few weeks ago, and I mistakenly didn't get their credit card back in their hands before they left the store. Once I realized I still had it, I tried to track them down on the streets, but had no luck. So, I put the card in an envelope, and took the envelope to Cruise Ship Services, a liaison company for cruise ships that come to town. They managed to track down the customer's ship, and delivered the envelope to the ship (to be returned to the customer). This has happened a few times in the past, and I know that it safely gets to them (I even had a customer return to our store this year, who thanked me for getting the card back to their ship a few years ago). Anyways...no sweat...it happens, and I take full responsibility for failing to get the card back to them...they have enough to worry about with bags, etc.

Anyways, long story short, this most recent couple sent me a sweet card, and a $50 GIFT CARD!!! Wahooo! How's that for "Random Acts of Kindness"? Jared thinks we should keep everyone's credit cards, then return them, and see how much we can make...hahaha...JUST KIDDING!!! :-)

Alaskans love Palin!

In Alaska there has been a huge surge of fun T-Shirt designs, chocolate bars, and mint packages that bear images such as this:

Summer Re-Cap?!

I'm trying to avoid work...really...
So I decided to do a blog post...and well, a long one, at that. It just keeps going and going. I recapped about 3 month's worth of life in Skagway:


Ella riding her first bike ever! We took an overnight trip to Whitehorse, Yukon in July (110 miles north of here...our closest "BIG" town). We were in a second hand shop, and Ella spotted this kid's bike with training wheels. Of course we gave in and got it for her! She still LOVES it!!

We took it out in the parking lot of the Aquatic Center that they built for the Canadian Olympic Games. It is a fabulous swim center, with a lazy pool, a huge slide (with absolutely no lines!), and the biggest hot tub I have ever seen! We love it!! Here is the happy girl:

A photo I shot out the window on the drive home. Sometimes I take it for granted, and I have to remind myself that this is my backyard. WOW!!!

Ella at her Mexican boyfriend's birthday party. She was a bit timid with the pinata, but she got pretty good at throwing an airplane (it was an airplane party) into the hula hoop decorated with streamers:



Maiya enjoying a strawberry with our friend, Norcuzia, at the party. Norcuzia lives with her husband in St. Thomas (Virgin Islands) half the year, and Skagway the other half. They have almost completed a beautiful home right on the water that has been a work in progress since before we met them! We will have to go see them in St. Thomas some day! Wohoo!
Our home, for anyone who wonders what we live in during the summers. My friend, Morgan, tries to tell me to think of it as "camping." But really, it's just simple living, and we love it!
Ella is a total ham. If I pull out the camera, she loves to pose, and won't act "normal" for me:
And WHEN they get along...they get along great!!!....Ella sneaking into Maiya's pop-up napping bed at work...
Here's Maiya's best friend, Kinley, who is just 2 weeks older than her (of course, she may not realize she's her best friend yet...but I'm sure they'll be best buds in the future!). Her parents work for the train, and she is delivered to our door at 6:30am three days a week. Luckily, she keeps sleeping, and when we get up for work, we take her in with us. She stays with us until 1:30, when her mom shows up and takes both Kinley and Maiya to her house until we close the store around 7pm. It works well! Kinley is typical character around this place. In fact, every family prayer that Ella says includes Kinley as part of the family! Very funny!A typical Maiya pose:
A sight you might see at the store:In the coolest playpen ever (thanks to Lara, Lea & Jenny!):
An usual day at the store. Why is it unusual, you ask? Because there is SUN coming in! We have had perhaps 12 days of sunshine this summer. Yup...TOTAL. Pathetic, don't you think?!!
More photos from our backyard (the neighboring valley of Dyea):


And some photos that Charlotte Aldrich took of us before leaving Skagway:
A photo she took as she left Skagway. (Sigh) Home sweet home!
Some photos that illustrate that Fall is not just coming, it is HERE!

The dying rhubarb:SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN!!
I'M CRAVING SUN!!!

Two more weeks of this mad house.
Well...more like 3,
but I'm trying not to think of it that way.

I love Skagway...but can I turn off the tourists, yet?
Thank goodness there is a long winter to recooperate!

A New Tag...

I got tagged by my cousin, Joni!

The rules are you have to take ten pictures of the following things. And you have to do it right away. No straightening, cleaning or wiping your child's nose. Then you tag five others.

I have to admit I didn't take all the photos right away (I don't take my camera home from work very often, since I basically live at work in the summers)! However, I didn't do any straightening before the photos were taken, so I think my photos are still valid! :-)

So here it goes:

1. The kitchen sink.
Sure, there were some dishes that weren't done, but I'm more proud of the fact that most of the dishes WERE done, and just needed put away!

2. The toilet.
Oh, the joys of trailer-living! When sitting on this toilet, I have about 2 extra inches beyond my knees, until I hit the bathtub. Imagine how it is for Jared...

3. The laundry room!
Ooops...I don't have one of these. I should have taken a photo of our clubhouse where we do our laundry. But that would have taken another month to remember to take those photos!

4. Inside of the fridge.
Major space limitations. But our shopping trips are usually fairly small. this is a packed fridge, compared to normal (it's probably because there are several leftovers that need to be thrown out...yuck yukc...).

5.What are your kids/spouse doing right now?

Well, I took these photos about a month ago when Joni first tagged me. It was the end of a business day, so Ella was at the store, and was very proud to have just learned how to crawl up on the back room counter to help herself to some snacks... And not more than a few minutes later..."rearranging" our displays...

And Jared working in the back room, pricing new product...

6. Favorite shoes!
Oh, these SOOO need to be replaced...but I can't find any others ne arly as comfortable. They're made by Ecco of Denmark. I have a black pair, too (but it's even more worn down...because they're really my favorites...but they weren't sitting out when my camera was ou t and about).

7. Favorite room.

Hmmm...perhaps my "great room" at home...the living room/kitchen/entry way/kid's bedroom. Hmm...something like that:

8. Your closet!
Oops! I forgot about this photo! Oh well, if I wait to take a photo of it, I will never get this tag done. Just know it is cram-packed with all of our shoes, clothes, and laundry.

9. Dream Vacation.

Ooh...MEXICO!!! If you've read my previous blogs, we said that we were going to go full-time RVing this winter in Texas. However, we've changed our mind. We've always wanted to go to Mexico...and we decided...why the heck, not?

So, We are going to be living near Lake Chapala in central Mexico, this winter. We will be there from November through mid-March. We will actually be in a little American/Canadian community called Ajijic (Ah-hee-heek), with 20,000+ English speakers. Ella will be attending bilingual preschool, and we will doing some exploring, etc. We are usually on our computers all winter long (doing accounting, preparing orders for next year, shopping for new products, and building websites, etc), so we figured...why not do it in Mexico? (And as a side note...if you want to tell us that Mexico is scary...don't bother, unless you have BEEN there, and experienced it yourself. We have plenty of friends who have driven there, lived there, and loved it there.)

Alisa's biggest dream: fresh fruit and veggies...

10. Self Portrait. Oops...I forgot to do this. Hmm...I'm stuck. I'm at the front register, and again, chances are limited that I will actually get this photo done at a later date. Hmm...what to do?

Oh...I just remembered that a friend from the branch here drew a caricature of me the other day. Do you think that works? And if I post that...I might as well post the one of Jared, too (it's on the same paper that I scanned into the computer last week)...and one of Ella!

So, there it is! Now, I tag Tiffany, Lisa, Yasmine, Stacey, and Morgan (that should be fun, considering she's in the middle of a move!)! Have fun, girls!