Helicopter-Glacier Tour

Thanks to Mike and Lana (John's parents) we were able to go on the coolest tour ever. "Best birthday present ever!" - John
We were in a hurry to leave (to get a good deal we went standby) and I forgot my camera. We bought a disposable camera but can't get it developed until we reach civilazion again. But it's all good. Anyway...
Seriously, it was the coolest. Something on the list of "things I want to do before I die" that we got to check off.
It was "an exciting excursion to remote glacier-filled valleys and the vast gold rush country beyond historic Skagway. [We lifted] off from the heliport near the Skagway harbor into a rugged region of sheer mountains and glaciers. Waterfalls drop hundreds of feet to the valley floors giving a truly awe inspiring experience." -Temso website
The ride smooth, the sites breathtaking, everything just unforgettable. We landed on Meade Glacier, a 30-minute flight away. From above it looked like a massive snowy road between the mountains. We landed on the glacier and explored for 30 or so minutes. Like the picture I found here it looks like dirty snow and then any cracks or crevasse it's about as pretty blue as you can imagine. We found some streams and drank the water - so clean and fresh and of course, cold. :o) Then we found this big crevasse that had a little snowy bridge and went down 300-500 feet. Our pilot threw this huge rock down and we listened and listened until it finally hit bottom. As we walked around I saw several just little cracks. You'd step over and see just a slither of blue water and see the crack went deeper than you could see. Everything was just so unreal! When I get to a walmart and develop my film I'll have to post more pictures.
This land is just beautiful and amazing. Thank you again Mike and Lana!

A day at Dyea

We have all of our employees now! Wahoo! John will get every Saturday off now (plus Sunday rotations - that's what we get for having LDS employees).
We took some time today to drive to Dyea and go to the beach there. It's only a 10-mile drive from Skagway, but it's a narrow, winding gravel road and there's even a one-lane bridge (so it seemed farther away). Right before we got to the water there were meadows of wildflowers. Irisses and a bunch of other stuff I don't recognize. From there we "off-roaded" onto the flats and played in the grass and on the beach until the girls decided they were done being dirty. It was fun to spend the day together since John will have to work on Father's Day. We're so lucky to have him in our lives. What a great Daddy!
While we were at the beach I thought of my Dad and how he used to say "Ride with the wind!" when he taught me how to ride a bike. I saw Lexi running on the beach and shouted "Run with the wind!" in honor of my Dad.
Happy Father's day to John, my Dad, Mike, TC, and all other Daddy's out there!

Dizzy walk

Kaytlin and I were spinning right before this was taken

Dimples

Wild Flowers

Stopping to smell the flowers

Kid Swap!

John and I watched a total of 7 kids last night here at our house. A seven year-old and 6 kids four and under. We're doing a 3-way kid swap where we get to watch kids one week, then the next two weeks go a date. Love it! Seriously, it's the way to go. They ended up watching a Wallace and Grummet movie which is what they're doing here. We have this sweet couch that is missing it's legs - perfect for kids. It was fun to see Lexi hanging out with her friends. One family had their kids wearing PJs so we put Lexi and another girl in a nightgown over their clothes for the "Jammie Party." They were so good we even got Kaytlin in bed before they all went home. I love kid swaps!

Four peas in a pod...

Playfood

One of the best toys for toddlers and preschoolers is playfood. It's so fun to see the creative and social things they can do with it. We've been happy there's a decent amount of kids our girls' age here which has been fun for all of us.

ps- Lexi has decided to pose for pictures now.

British Columbia Bear

We saw this bear eating flowers on the side of the road on Saturday.

Happy Birthday John!

John is 26 today! He is still working today (he did take a cake break though) so we made sure to have fun this last weekend. We drove to Canada again and went to this awesome Rec center. There was the coolest indoor waterpark. Water slide, rope swing, moving river, etc. Kaytlin was freaked out by the cleansing shower and cried the rest of the time in the pool, so she and I got dressed and took some pictures of John and Lexi. It was great to take a day to just spend together and go at the girls' pace. We went to an indoor playground that Kaytlin just loved after the pool and also hit Walmart and KFC. It was great to be back in civilization again. Beautiful two-hour drive. We saw mountains, valleys, waterfalls, 3 bears and a porpupine on the drive. Happy Birthday John (and Dad!)!

Run Kaytlin Run

She's a Burdick!

Like my mom and her family, Lexi chews her tongue without realizing it. When she's playing hard or running fast, it's wagging about.

What the bear?

On our way home from Whitehorse today...

Hey girl

Lexi painted for the very first time today. I picked her up from the daycare today and she was so excited to show me her picture (it was for her Daddy of course). It was wet from all the paint that was on both sides.
It got up to 85 degrees today and this whole summer so far has just been great weather. I'm loving it!

My crazy girlies