Berry Picking and Hiking

To close out summer we have been doing a lot of berry picking and hiking. Around the middle of August it seemed that all of the berries were ready to be picked. In our yard we have a row of raspberries and we did get a few from there; additionally, not too far from our house there is a forested trail where they grow wildly in a few large sections. We went a few times as a family and Rebecca took the kids alone a couple of times too. I think in total we ended up with about 20 cups or so. Most have made their way into our freezer, but we have already had two raspberry pies. This year we also discovered high bush cranberries which grow wild around here. On the father and son camp-out some of the members of our church ward showed us what they looked like and I was surprised to discover that they are really all over the place around here. They taste very similar to regular cranberries only they are about half the size, their outer shell is much softer, they are juicier, and they have one seed right in the middle. One day we gathered a couple of cups of them and made some cranberry bread. We also tried, unsuccessfully, to find some blueberries again this year. Last year we had managed to find a few on "blueberry hill," but most of the plants were already picked over by everyone else. This year we tried a different spot that we had heard about, but we still didn't find any.

Here we are looking for the blueberries. There was a slight drizzle and it was probably only about 50 degrees out so we all tried to bundle up.

I didn't get Julia in this picture because she was sobbing at the time. I think all of the children really wanted the blueberries and so they were not in the mood for hiking and picture taking after we couldn't find them.

The road up to this spot is just rock and dirt. Somehow a rock the size of a golf ball got stuck in one of our tires. Luckily we had a spare and a 80,000 mile Costco warranty on the tire.

Rebecca's brother Ryan and his friend are now up here visiting from Nevada. They will be traveling all around, but they were here in Anchorage with us yesterday. It was pretty clear outside and so we decided to seize the opportunity and hike Flattop mountain. Flattop mountain is about 3,500 feet and it is only a 1.5 mile hike from the parking lot to the top; it is actually the most frequently hiked mountain in Alaska. The hike does have some difficult spots though. We have gone a few times by ourselves and with our parents when they visited in June and July; and while Julia had made it to the top on one of our previous trips, Ethan and Christian had not. At the start of the summer I set a goal that I wanted to be able to make it all the way up as family this year. So, with Uncle Ryan and his friend here to help, I was able to convince Rebecca that we should give it a try. It was pretty hard: Christian had to be carried the whole way and Ethan was carried for some of the parts (the last quarter of a mile or so you have to scramble up rock and there are some steep drop-offs), but we made it. It was freezing on the top due to some strong wind so we only stayed up there for about five minutes before heading down.

View on the way up.

All of us on the summit. Christian was in a Snugly inside my jacket. He managed to squeeze in a nap during the hike.

Julia only needed someone to hold her hand. She was a great hiker and climber.

Ethan was a great hiker too. I think we only carried him as much as we did because we were a little worried about him falling.

Maybe next year Rebecca and I will have to try it with four children age five and under?

Father & Son Camp-out

A couple of weekends ago our church ward had a father & son camp-out. It was a great way to end the summer before I had to start teaching for the Fall semester again. On Friday afternoon Ethan, Christian, and I headed out to the site; it was by a glacial lake back in the mountains about 45 minutes from our house. We all had a great time. That night, we played some games with the other fathers and sons, took a walk to the lake where Ethan tested out a homemade fishing pole, and roasted marshmallows by the campfire. We had our huge tent just for the three of us to sleep in and I was surprised at how well Christian did for his first time in a sleeping bag. The next morning we ate breakfast (bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes with wild cranberries, and Costco muffins), played around a little more, packed up, and headed home. We were all exhausted by the time we got back.

Our huge 10 person tent got quite a few comments from the other fathers and sons.

Here is Ethan playing with some of the other boys. I think there were three boys that were about his age and then probably five or six more that were right around 12 years old. Ethan loved playing with them all.

Christian was definitely the youngest one there. He had a good time though. There were some huge puddles right next to the campsite (you can see them in the picture of Ethan) and I frequently caught him making a dash for those. Sometimes I was quick enough, other times I was not. Luckily we brought a few sets of clothes for him.

Our Children

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Some of you may have already heard, but for those of you who have not, we are expecting another baby! The due date is January 12th and according to the ultra-sound, it is a boy.