First Soccer Season

I hesitantly signed Miles up for soccer.  He wanted to play; I wasn't excited about it.  His first game was 3 Saturdays ago.  He started out really timid... hands over his mouth as his anxiety was taking over. 

Then the ball found itself in front of Miles' feet.  Instict took over and he dribble the ball from one end of the field to the other, then he scored!  Miles decided that soccer was great, and went on to score twice more.

Well, that was the first game.  Each successive game, Miles has become more and more timid.  He still likes it though.  He still manages to score goals... for the other team.  So long as he's having fun, right?

Costa Rica

While we were off enjoying Alaska, Jonathan was having his own adventure in Costa Rica.  He spent 10 days there on a "Eco Tour".  He visited jungles, nature preserve, hot pots, volcanoes, the beach, a cloud forest, a school, and more.  He went kayaking, ziplining, and whitewater river rafting.  He saw a plethora of animals... sloths, lizards, parrots, hummingbird, and more.  Unfortunately, since he's not here, I can't give details of his trip.  Here are some of my favorite pictures that he took...

Portable Fruit Stand

A Sloth

Blue Butterfly

Poas Volcano

Horse Parking!!!

Monster Sized Leaf

Parrot

Iguana

Washington!

We planned to spend 2 days post-cruise in Washington.  The first day, we planned to visit Mt. Rainier.  We drove to the park, but it was a typical drizzly Washington day, so we couldn't see the top of Rainier.  The weather forecast in one of the visitor centers said the next day would be lovely.  We changed our Seattle day plans and decided to make a return trip to Seattle/Vancouver, Canada, and spend another day at Rainier.  We left Rainier and drove to Mt. St. Helens to see if it was less obscured by clouds.  It wasn't.  So we decided to drive to Oregon and eat dinner (mark off another "state visited" for the boys).  The next day, as predicted, was gorgeous.  Loved seeing Mt. St. Helens,

and Mt. Rainier, as well as the entire park, was gorgeous.

Obscured Mt. St. Helens

"Character" of the day!

Alaska 2014- Odds & Ends

The most random thing was that Nolan ran into someone he knew on the cruise- Mrs. Linville, the lady from his junior high that runs the 4-H program

Thanks to Aly, Miles got a surprise delivery from the cruise director- a trophy, a medal, and a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries.

Nolan was an adventure eater- lobster, escargot, frog legs, shark, scallops, tons of shrimp, mussels, calamari, oysters, and crab cakes.  

Miles was not an adventurous eater, unless you count the ice cream and french fries creation he ate.

Miles had a thing for the ship's chapel.  Don't know why, but he wanted to visit it often and "read the scriptures".

Sometimes, even on vacation, Miles needs a time out.

We had awesome servers who made Miles rats and squirrels out of napkins, and an origami boat, chihuahua, and transformer.

The Mad Hatter's Lounge decor is ugly.

Miles still likes to knock over the large chess pieces.

The sun sets super late in Alaska- after 11 p.m. and rises at 3:55 a.m.

Wildflowers are awesome!

Sometimes the ice looks like a whale tail!

Random "animals" were found wandering the decks.

Sometimes Miles was bribed with Froot Loop art to eat.

You gotta watch where you step in Juneau or you'll be cleaning bear poo off your shoes.

Victoria has a groovy sculpture.

Victoria has funny signs.

The scenery is amazing!