My Family Visits Alaska!

Nothing has made Alaska feel as much like home as having my family come visit! My mom came for a lovely few weeks in November, my sister came for a week in February, and my dad came for a week in July.

It was wonderful to have my mom here for most of November. There wasn't too much snow yet, so we were able to travel around the state to see and do lots of things. With it being the "shoulder" season (between summer/winter) and the winter season delaying its arrival, life here seemed to slow down a little bit. I had to work a lot of the time Mom was here, but I did get a few extra days off here and there and because she was here for a few weeks, it gave us a lot more time together! It takes a brave and optimistic person to choose to visit Alaska in the winter, and/or a mama eager to bless her daughter with her presence during the holidays!

One day we decided to drive to Talkeetna. It is an eclectic community north of Anchorage. Here we are at a pull out a mile or two from the town center. Denali was looking gorgeous! I was so excited to show the mountain to my mama. 

We kept a close watch on the aurora forecast. I wanted so much for her to see the Northern Lights while she was here! And, let's be honest, I wanted to see them, too! They were oh-so-faint and nothing really spectacular, but we still got to see them!! 

Mom and I did a not-so-little pre-Christmas celebration together. She surprised me with many gifts and being able to share a Christmas morning together (even if it wasn't December 25) was really special. I loved having her here for Thanksgiving, and celebrating Christmas early made it really feel like the holidays. 

One day, Mom, Emily, and I drove to Seward and went to the Sea Life Center. We did the behind the scene tour and loved it! It was so cool to see all they do there and how they operate. 

Mom's trip became the standard that I modeled the future trips for family after... Even though I got to enjoy her for 3 weeks, and the others would only be staying 8-10 days, we were able to pinpoint what the must-see's were: Talkeetna, Seward, and of course, Girdwood.

In February, my beautiful sister and her boyfriend, Brian, came for a visit. My sister tends to be more like my dad, enjoying the 90 degree weather more than 50 degree weather, and much more than 10 degree weather. What compelled her to come visit in February? Not quite sure, and as fun as the trip was, I am pretty sure her next one will be in the summer! The day she and Brian flew in was a gorgeous day. The days leading up to their visit had been full of clouds and precipitation (mix of rain and snow) so I was really grateful for the good weather! I had a lot on the agenda for their visit... sight seeing, learn to ski, and get in some snow machining. Mission accomplished!

Making our way to Girdwood from the airport in Anchorage along the Turnagain Arm. Please note that Jen is in like 5 layers... and I'm in a tshirt and hoodie. :) 

Brian, Jen, and me cross-country skiing in Moose Meadows, Girdwood

Making snow angels!

(Jen, Me, and Emily... Brian took the pic!)

We were heading to Talkeetna for pizza and hopefully a view of Denali (pizza was good, mountain was hiding in the clouds). We stopped here along the Turnagain Arm because the water was so still and there was such a beautiful reflection!! And... because we decided to turn around, go back to Girdwood and get different layers. Emily's family invited us to Willow to go snow machining! 

Brian, Jen, me, and Emily getting ready to head out on the snow machines!

During their stay, we were able to eat out at all of my favorite places (thanks, Mom and Dad!) and travel to Seward and Talkeetna. When we went to Seward, we did the behind-the-scene mammal encounter and got up close and personal with the stellar sea lions and the harbor seals. We saw several amazing sunsets and even a sunrise. The Northern Lights were out one early, early morning. We spent a few days on the mountain downhill skiing and some time in Moose Meadows XC skiing. They went on a snow machine tour while I worked and then we got to spend time with Em's family in Willow snow machining all together. While in Willow, we got to see some of the Iditarod trail, and the Saturday Jen and Brian flew out, friends of mine took them to the ceremonial start of the Iditarod! It was a jam-packed trip, but I loved having them here and getting to share with them a lot of the active stuff I enjoy here! 

This July, Daddy came up for a visit! With the summer work schedule (4 10-hr shifts per week), and some personal time accrued (and an amazing boss), I was able to take off most of the time he was here (only had to work 2/8 days)! His first full day here we were planning to take easy and give him some time to recover from the travel, but the weather was nice... :) ...so off we went to Talkeetna. 

Here's a pic of us from the same pull out I went to with Mom. 

After getting a few pictures at the pullout, Dad and I went into Talkeetna where Emily met up with us. She showed us a spot down by the river where we got another gorgeous view of the mountain!

Emily, Dad, and me

We went to my favorite pizza restaurant, Mountain High Pizza Pie, on the main street in Talkeetna. There is a lady working there that has been there several years, and though I am no local to Talkeetna, I took Mom there in November, my sister and Brian there in February (with Em), and then Dad (and Em) there in July. She definitely recognized me and Em, and remembered meeting Mom. It was fun to introduce the remaining family member to her as well. :-) The next day I showed him Whittier, Portage Valley, Bird Creek, and a few other close by areas. That got us both pretty worn out, and I had to work the next two days anyway! I figured that was enough rest time for him, so Wednesday we headed out to Seward. We went to the Sea Life Center, and then on a Kenai Fjords tour of the Prince William Sound. The tour included (though not guaranteed) calving glaciers, orcas, breaching humpbacks, seals, sea lions, otters, puffins, and gorgeous weather... it was definitely a wonderful cruise! Thursday we took the tram to the top of Mt. Alyeska before going to a local favorite restaurant, Jack Sprat, with Em and Tara.

At the Sea Life Center (same place as pic of me and Mom, just different angle)

On the cruise at Holgate Glacier

From the top of Mt. Alyeska

I so enjoyed having my family all come visit. I really have the best parents and sibling ever. I loved sharing my life and loves up here with them. Though everyone went to Talkeetna, Seward, and spent some time in Girdwood, each person's experience was SO different that the others' due to the time of year they came to visit. I don't think I'll get Dad to come visit in the winter, but I am thinking I can get my mom and sister up here next summer maybe. It'd be fun if they ALL came at ONCE, but that would take nothing short of a miracle!! It's so much easier for me to head south for a few weeks than it is to get all 3 of them up here! (Besides, what would we do with our babies aka the puppies?) Fortunately, I have a visit planned home in October, and I can't wait to see them all, especially after looking through the pictures of their visits here!