Busy Month

Hi Everyone! I figured I'd better update this blog since everyone is starting to think I've fallen off the face of the earth. I will just post pictures later since I am at work and don't have access to them at the moment (sorry!) Anyway, the last month has been a blur. My mom and her boyfriend, Dan, paid us a visit a month ago and it was really great having them here. It did rain the entire time, however, so that was a bit of a bummer. It didn't slow down Dan, tho, when it came to going after the salmon! The first full day they were here we went downtown to explore Creek Street. He could not believe his eyes when he saw all the salmon coming up Ketchikan Creek. He'd never seen so many fish in one place! It wasn't long before he figured out you can rent a poll and fish off the bridge. He was tickled PINK and he and Jake fished off that bridge for an hour. They got about 7-8 fish (Humpies) and had a grand time doing it. It was POURING down rain the entire time. Not my idea of a good time but...Whatever! He was happy and that's all that mattered. After that...Dan's fishing bug got worse. We had contacted my fishing friend, Malcolm, and set up a day to go out. Dan went to Walmart and bought rain gear to boot. Good thing he did because it was NASTY the day we went out. It rained and blew and we were all soaked (except Dan) by noon. We did catch pink after pink and had so much fun, tho. Dan was in his element that's for sure! We stopped fishing pretty early that day because it slowed down and we were so wet and tired of being on a boat that was rocking and rolling. So, back home we went and we were so grateful to Malcolm for helping us get fish!! The next day Dan rented a skiff and went out again (alone this time.) He just couldn't get enough. I ended up going back to work this day and my mom stayed home with Jake. By the end of the week we were all pooped. Dan had more than enough fish to keep himself busy and did all the cleaning and vacuume sealing himself (they stayed in the B&B downstairs) which I am forever grateful for!! That's a LOT of work! Anyway, we did lots of sightseeing...saw bears out at Herring Cove...ate lots of good food...hit the stores downtown etc..etc...we never did do any tours of any kind (unless you count the Lumberjack show) but we still had fun. We were all exhausted by the time they left but it was good. It was sad to say Goodbye to mom but I promised her it wouldn't be another year before I saw her again. Dan went home with 52 pounds of fish...he was a Happy Camper! Not to mention he loved it here despite the rain so that made me feel good.

While mom and Dan were here, Soccer began. We had a beautiful day for the first game but it didn't last. It sprinkled on us but I had my trusty umbrella. So started a VERY SOGGY soccer season. Jake is on a good team this year. I haven't really kept track of wins/losses but that's not what I care about. Jake seems to be liking it so-so...not sure if we'll continue after this year but we'll see. He just doesn't seem to be "getting into it" like I'd hoped. He's also tired of Judo already. Not sure what I'm going to do with that kid! He wants to try tennis next so I'm going to sign him up thru the rec center. It's an indoor "sport" here...YAY!! I'm all for that. We may try basketball again, too, this year just to keep him active. We'll see. :)

After mom and Dan left we had somewhat of a breather. Tony and I had an audit at work and that was mentally draining and consumed most of a week. We passed the audit with flying colors (I knew we would) but it was nice to see the auditors go at the end of the week. Then school started on the 28th of August. I was the least prepared I've ever been. Not travelling south this summer really messed up my order of doing things...buying school clothes etc...so I was scrambling at the last minute to get everything. I ended up ordering all the wrong sizes for pants b/c Jake has grown so much this summer. We made a last minute trip to Walmart for jeans and I had to actually make Jake try them on...something we've never had to do before. Not all jeans are created equal I am finding out and it's VERY frustrating!! Not to mention he's growing like a WEED!! :)

So, my baby started 4th grade much to my dismay. Despite the terrible weather, this summer has gone faster than any other I can remember. I was very glad to get back to a regular schedule and routine and even Jake seemed not to be bothered to go back. I'm sure he missed his friends. He has the same teacher this year...Ms. Grethen Klinger...so that is nice we didn't have to "break in" a new teacher and Jake already knew what to expect from her as well. :) It wasn't long, however, before he was out for two days while my dad paid us a visit (he also got that long weekend for Labor Day!) He was very excited grandpa was coming but I think he was even more excited to miss school!! :)

Dad arrived on the 6th of Sept and stayed until yesterday the 10th. It was a very short but nice visit. The weather was actually pretty nice while he was here, too, which was nothing short of a miracle. Once again, I called my favorite fisherman friend and we were able to get a discounted rate on a charter on Monday. Dad was in awe of the size of the silvers we caught! He had no idea how big they get. We ended up with 7 by the end of the day. It was A LOT of fish and I think he took about 42 pounds of fish home. It was AWESOME!! We did have fresh fish one night for dinner. It was TASTY! :)

So, that's pretty much it in a nutshell. We are looking forward to the tourist season ending and getting our town back. It has been CRAZY this year. With the new berth downtown, there are more ships docking near town now.

Well, I suppose I should get back to work. I will post pictures as soon as I'm feeling up to it. Maybe tonight since we are having leftovers. :) Hope all is well with you and you are having a nice Autumn. I'll make sure I do better updating this blog now that life has settled down.

Over & Out from Alaska~ Nan

P.S. Did you all see how much we are getting back from the state this year? Governor Sarah Palin tacked on $1200 to our PFD this year giving us a grand total of $3269 EACH. We are more than a little excited about that. Thank you, Sarah!! It will be going into our account tomorrow. We will be paying off our car and most of our VISA card with it. It will be nice going into the winter with a little extra in our pocket to cover the high cost of fuel. Don't y'all wish you lived HERE now? LOL!!! Just kidding. It's still not worth putting up with all the rain!!! :)

Peace-Out!!