The Happiest Season of All

I love this time of year with its Christmas lights and snow.
All the family gathered near

and of course the mistletoe!

Cozy Christmas jammies made with leopard skin and stripes!

And stories of years ago on that sacred Christmas night.

WE MADE IT!

Not that it was hard:) Jason and I celebrated our first anniversary this weekend and we had so much fun! I cant believe how quickly a year goes by. There is never a dull moment with Jason in my life. I am so grateful that he said "YES" a year ago. I would say it again today without a second thought. I love being married and I am sure its because of the amazing man I have by my side.

Nebo Loop Trip

We love being back in Utah where we can drive for a couple of hours and be in a completely different world. This overlook is called "Little Bryce Canyon".

There couldn't be a more perfect time of year to see Tom the wild turkey's many lovely ladies:)
What a beautiful world this is! Jason and I also saw a golden eagle, and lots of deer that we didn't have a chance to snap a picture of. What a blessing it is to have time to spend with my sweetheart.

There's No Place Like Home!!

Hello Utah!!! It's so nice to see you! Our family has grown so much, especially the little ones. We love being able to spend time with everyone. And we have had a lot of chances since the job hunt is so difficult, and we are living with Nanny and Papa (we cant thank them enough). We cant say enough about how wonderful it is to see the sun. With all of the thoughts of gratitude to be back in Utah I cant help but reflect on all the wonderful things I learned in Alaska. So in an effort to share these incomplete and imperfect thoughts here are a few of the life lessons learned in Ketchikan.

Fredrickson Family Totem Pole

1. One layer is never enough!

2. Trials come to every life and if you're having a hard time, look around you. There is usually someone experiencing the same frustrations who needs your help.

3. Don't let the incessant rain stop you from enjoying your life. Put on your rain coat, rain pants, and xtratuf's, and go dance in the puddles.

4. Heavenly Father cares a lot about when and how we come into this world and when and how we leave it. Leave those responsibilities to Him and have faith in how He directs them.

5. Always Remember that "water repellent" means "water absorbent".

6. The gospel of Jesus Christ holds sooo many largely unknown and wonderful truths, and oh how the world needs them!!

7. The important things are worth any amount of money or effort they require.

Random fun in Ketchikan

Sunset beach, this picture is taken in the west

This is the exact same time and place just taken in the east.

One of the Alaska State Ferries headed to Prince Rupert, B.C.

Just Love

Bear Watching at Herring Cove

It Isn't Always That Beautiful Here

I have never seen rain like I have seen in Ketchikan! I don't even know how to explain it. One of my coworkers says it jumps up your pant leg. It comes in sideways and hard, like you are standing in a fancy shower where shower heads spray you from all sides. Things have been miserable and wet here for the last month. The sunlight is fading quickly. We loose about 2 minutes of light a day. The cruise ships are starting to slow down. And all the stores are starting to close their doors and board up their windows. The salmon are rotting in the river presenting poignant whiffs. But with all of this yuckyness Jason and I are happy as could be! We are counting down the days until we get to see the sun, home, and our wonderful family again! Not long now! Only 9 days!!! You can imagine what are thoughts do as we anticipate loved ones galore and civilization:)

24th of July Celebration Alaska Style

Each year the Ketchikan Ward holds a Pioneer Day Picnic on the 24th of July. We had the rare blessing of a beautiful warm and sunny day on Refuge Cove beach.

This year they started the tradition of watermelon and pie eating contests. We couldn't stop laughing when the two cute little girls in our ward devoured their pies way faster than the boys. And as you can tell they weren't shy about it!

These are Jason's cute deacons. They wanted to throw him in the water but he was holding our nice new camera, keeping himself safe and warm.

Me, playing in the ocean as usual. Jason enjoyed snapping shots as I was gathering shells.

New Camera Fun!

Jason and I went out Friday night and wondered around the city enjoying our new camera. It was pitch black outside for all of these pictures.

Beaches and Campfires

Spur of the moment photo with our friends Drew and Sadie. Notice the identical smiles :)

Oh how lovely was the evening. The last rays of the sun, shine on the inside passage.

On our exclusive beach with Drew and Sadie. This beach has been visited annually by Jason. Only the locals know about this one.

I love your silhouette figure... (I would sing it to you if I could)

Last weekend we spent the evening on the beach watching this beautiful sunset, building smores, and enjoying the company of our wonderful friends Drew and Sadie. If only Ketchikan was always this pretty...

Weeks of Anticipation!

This 4th of July held many exciting events. Our ward had a flag raising and pancake breakfast, a parade down Tongass Highway. We went to the festival booths and of course had to go to the classic car show. ( Sometimes I think I married my father!) We had a BBQ...without a BBQer. We actually even had sun so Jason and I layed out on our roof to catch as many rays as we could. And sat with our friends and my cousin Rick as fabulous fireworks flew over head and reflected on the Inside passage. All of this was monumentally fun, but none of it even came close to the excitement and anticipation I felt about the annual Ididaduck Race! Every year the local Rotary club does this fundraiser on the 4th, this year was the largest yet. They sold 4000 little plastic duckies and at 5:00 pm they washed out of the huge tarp and down the river. Jason and I had to see it all so we ran along with the children from bridge to bridge. When the first duck went under the bridge we would run to the next. The end of the race was the historic Creek Street Bridge. Underneath was a big yellow boom that caught all of the ducks as they floated to their destination. The first 35 ducks to the end won a cash prize anywhere from $2500 down to $50. We didn't win anything with our #2257, who knows it could have floated out to sea, but I couldn't stop giggling!:)

Jason's Trip to Skagway

Jason's work took him to Skagway for several days last week. This was the first time we have been apart since we were married. I hated every minute of it, and would be happy if he didn't ever leave me again. However I did get to have a Pride and Prejudice/Bosch party:)!
This is the White Pass/Yukon Train. In the days of 98 it went all the way to Whitehorse. Today it only reaches to Carcrossing.
This bridge is no longer in use, but was the orignal one built when the train started its run up the White Pass.
This is the famous trail where the man walked to get to Dawson City before the railway was built. In order to leave Skagway for Dawson CIty there was one ton limit, meaning everyone who started up the trail had to have at least one ton of supplies to make their way to Dawson. It was said they would pack small amounts of supplies about five miles and then head back down to get their other supplies. Once they had all the supplies they would continue another 5 miles or so. Its about 500 miles to Dawson from Skagway.
This is the United States/Canadian boarder on the train.
It was very foggy morning.
The Yukon river just outside of Whitehorse.
This is Mortimer the Moose. All of our highway tours are taken in these beautiful luxury coaches.
Anne of Green Gables would call this the lake of Shining Waters...I don't know the real name :)

Traveling back from the Misty Fjords was quite cold as the St. Nona reached speeds of 30 Knots per hour. Posing for a picture was very difficult as you can see from the blowing hair and funny faces.

Misty Fjords

A couple of Saturdays ago we decided to go for a long trip to the Misty Fjords National monument aboard the St. Nona. The trip took about 5 hours round trip, but was worth every moment as the scenery was breath taking. You will be able to see in some of these pictures the mist in the air, which is where it gets its name "Misty" the "Fjord" is a glacial lake. All of the islands in the Southeast part of Alaska are carved from glacial melt off from thousands of years ago.

Some of these walls continue there slope far beneath the water surface. Sometimes reaching up to 1500 feet deep.

In the picture you can see the lines from in the rock, from the glaciers melting.
The "New Edie Stone Rock" is the monument that marks the gateway to the Misty Fjords. It stands by itself a couple hundred feet above sea level.