Alaska!

Tomorrow I'm off to Alaska for a week. I'm meeting my friend from Texas in Anchorage, and we're going to spend a week in the Denali area, and the Seward area. We're planning on doing some hiking, rafting, kayaking, and lots of sightseeing. Neither one of us has ever been there before, so everything will be new to us. We started talking about this trip about 2 years ago as we were approaching our "40th" birthdays. So I guess this trip is our mini "mid-life crisis." HA! Anyway, it's going to be a blast. I've been planning it for 2 years now and it's finally here. Look for lots of pictures when I get back!

Mackinac Island

About 2 weeks ago we went to Mackinac Island with Jenny's dad and stepmom. They were in town visiting from sunbaked Texas, and it was their first time to the island. Another unique thing about our trip was it was the first time Jenny and I stayed overnight on the island. You might remember we took Jenny's brother and his family to Mackinac Island last year. It's a picturesque island where no cars are allowed. The only means of transportation are bikes, horses, and of course your own feet.
Anyway, our first full day there was rainy and grey. So we took a carriage ride around the island, visited the "Butterfly House," and did some shopping in town. The kids and I visited the Haunted Theatre and the 3D Maze of Mirrors. The kids got a little scared in the haunted house, but they loved the maze of mirrors. The next day was sunny and beautiful, so the 4 of us went bike riding along the picturesque bike trail that hugs the lakeshore. Then before we departed we took Steve and Wendy to the fort at the top of the hill where we ended up having lunch. The fort is my favorite lunch spot on the island. The view is the best on the island.
Staying on the island overnight is definitely the way to go. You get to see the island in all its charm without all the annoying crowds. Our hotel was the Island House, which was first built around 1852. It's got a lot of character, and it was pretty nice. Best of all it's supposedly got a resident ghost that haunts the 4th floor. A ghost by the name of "Charlie The Gentleman Ghost." We were on the 3rd floor so we didn't have any surprises. But just to be safe...I didn't tell Ben about the ghost until after we checked out.

Life At Random

The kids are having a great summer so far. Megan had her first dentist appointment, Ben went to another camp at the nature center, and both kids just finished a round of swimming lessons at the local pool. Ben's also recently got an email address, so I've been working with him on how that works. It's funny watching him figure it out. It takes him forever to write a simple sentence, because he obviously "hunts and pecks" on the keyboard. But man, he gets so excited when he gets a new email in his inbox. It's pretty funny.

Happy Birthday Megan!

A few days after we returned home from our big trip out west Megan had her big birthday party at our house. The theme was "Tangled," the latest princess movie from Disney based on the classic Rapunzel story. Megan invited some of her neighborhood friends, and lots of friends from her class at preschool. The special guest of the party was "Jewls The Clown," a well known clown around town. Jewls made lots of balloon animals and toys for the kids and even did face painting. The kids had fun playing in the backyard and swinging at the pinata. Later on everyone gathered around for some birthday cake and to watch Megan open her presents. The party was a lot of fun, and a refreshing change for Jenny and I. This was really the first time we've held a birthday party that didn't involve pirates, rockets, or super heroes. This time it was all about princesses. Here are some of the highlights.