North to Alaska!

In celebration of their 40th anniversary, Mom and Dad K. took the whole family on an Alaskan cruise.  What a gift!  The pictures really don't capture the beauty very well, but they do capture how much fun we had.

 Here are Sam and Maarti all ready to get on the ship in Vancouver:

So Long Vancouver... see you in seven days!

Jeremy and I from our stateroom balcony. 

Our first day was at sea.  They had "Pets at Sea" (Same idea as "Build-A-Bear") right on the ship.  The kids loved it!  Maarti chose a ballerina outfit for her poodle which she named "Miss Amy", after her Ballet teacher.  Sam chose a racing outfir for his Panda and named him "Race Car Driver Panda".

 The pool was also a highlight on "Sea Days". 

Our first port was Icy Strait Point, Alaska.  We were ferried to shore in small boats... well, small compared to the ship.  You can see our ship, "Radiance of the Seas" in the background.  In Icy Point Strait we looked in the shops and the museum and then threw rocks in the ocean and looked for shells.  When we got cold we went back to the ship for lunch.

Luke got a lot of comments about his cozy bear outfit.  It was perfect for the cool Alaskan weather.

 Jeremy enjoying the beauty of the Hubbard Glacier.  It was amazing... I could have watched it all day.

 Out stateroom attendant was amazing... the kids were so excited about this towel monkey!  We went to a towel art demonstration and even brought home some instructions on how to do it... maybe if you come and see us we'll have one sitting on our guest bed for you.  Actually, don't count on it!

 I was keeping my eyes open for Sarah Pallin and I saw her... all over the place!  I think she was stalking me!  This picture was taken in Juneau.

 Formal night on the cruise was also Maarti's fourth birthday... all my guys were wearing ties for the occasion.

 The kids brought along some spending money and decided on these matching PJs. 

 We had a beautiful morning exploring Ketchikan.  It started to rain just as we were getting back on the ship.  Perfect!

 On our last day at sea the weather was gorgeous so we spent lots of time outside.  There was a mini gold course on the top of the ship.  The kids had a blast golfing and I loved looking out over the ocean from up there.

 There was also a climbing wall on the top of the ship which Jeremy enjoyed.  When he was at the top of the wall he was 200 feet above the water.

We were up early enough to see the sun rise over Vancouver on our last morning of the cruise.  It was beautiful.  We went under the Lions Gate Bridge and then into port at Canada Place.

One last family photo before getting off the ship.

We had a great time on our holiday!  We would love to go again one day, but for now I have some laundry to catch up on!