Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Jumping For Joy.

I am leaving in the early morning en route to Maryland to be reunited with 7 of the 8 quality individuals who I used to share a roof with in the Barbie Dream Mansion; along with many other great friends. We will be celebrating our favorite little red head jumping off the single ship. This is exciting. Watch out MD, the dream lives on. 

Friday, June 24, 2011

Gustavus, Alaska.

"The true Gustavus is not a physical place as much as a chain of actions, conversations and choices about how best to live." I had the opportunity to spend the last 3 days in rural Gustavus, Alaska doing parent engagement outreach for work. This town of less than 400 is so small, quiet, quaint, peaceful and still so full of life. There is no law enforcement, very little cell coverage, a few restaurants and a lot of happy people passionate about living life just the way they want to. Our Gustavus adventure consisted of a gorgeous ferry ride, hours of biking, waving strangers, bright colors, community, story time, glaciers made out of homemade ice cream, lots of exploration and a trip home through the mountaintops on a 6 person plane. 

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Monday, June 20, 2011

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Fathers' Day!

Here's to the most humble, compassionate and hardworking guy I know. 
Have a funny day, Dad. I love ya!

Nature Art

Used nature as a paintbrush with the little ones today.
You should try it, it's a blast!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Springing Into Summer

The view down the channel on my walk into work never gets old. 
It changes every season and every day. 

Loving The 6am Sunshine.

I've become addicted to hiking. 
It's easy to get a fix these days with a trailhead 3 minutes up the hill from my apartment and sun shining well before 6am.
This photo was taken at approximately 6:18 am.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

New Roomies

It was a rainy day in Juneau today! First real rainy day since the fall, which is strange. Rain is usually an extremely common occurrence around here. My mom says it's because she left. Who knows! Either way...we now have 2 new special friends who decided to perch on the railing outside our door all afternoon/evening to stay dry. We chatted with them and they even posed for some pictures. Meet Gerald and Philbert. Gerry and Phil for short. Coolest crows in town. 

Monday, June 13, 2011

Command Central.

I was very sad to see my guests go, but excited to get back to the office to see my wonderful co-workers and get back in the groove. I was even more excited when I walked in to see that my cube had been transformed into "Command Central" while I was gone. My co-workers have called it that for the last few months...I don't exactly remember why, but they decided to make it a reality. It was fully covered in aluminum foil with a joystick, emergency button, lots of glitter, laminated astronaut portrait of myself and many dials that noted things such as the chance I was staying in Juneau, how many times Emily had asked if it was lunchtime yet, what Lori was muttering to herself, etc. Let's just say it was a wonderful welcome back, and it's much more fun to work in there now! 
PRO-DUC-TIVITY!
My favorite part may have been the periscope with eyes on the end so that I can creep on the guests meeting in the "cozy corner." Or the plastic cup & yarn telephones. 

Guest Bloggers...Team Diva

Team Diva Signing In! Barb and McKenzie; we want you to know that we had an amazing time in Juneau with our chameleon Nicole. Our back story is that we have all traveled together more than once and have deemed ourselves the perfect team. We have been in D.C. , Virginia, NYC and happily Juneau was our latest conquest. Our experiences this week have been as funny as they have been enlightening. We approached everything in Juneau with our east coast attitude, things as simple as ordering lunch and as complex as scaling a mountain. As the week went on we realized we were the odd balls and that these Juneauites were onto something. We learned to wait while the coffee was served , the tram driver showed up, the glaciers calved, the eagles flew and the "boys" on the Tracy Arm Cruise noticed us. We learned that Nicole has really created a nice life here in Juneau filled with relationships and experiences she will be sad to leave behind. As one of her colleagues said " there is nobody quite like Nicole." We are so happy Nicole is bringing her sparkling self back east come August!

Guest Blogger...McKenzie Healy

"Everything happens for a reason." Always a firm believer of these words, but my time here in Juneau has made me an even stronger advocate. I truly believe the coincidences and timing of all the events in my hectic life brought me to this breathtakingly beautiful place for a reason. We spent the good portion of my third day hiking to a glacier. The very second we reached the end of the trail and were standing face to face with the enormous glacier, we saw a gigantic chunk the size of a small house crash into the water, followed by several other smaller pieces calving. This was by far one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in mother nature and I couldn't help but think "what are the odds"? Our timing to see this was so spot on and couldn't help but loop this back to everything happening for a reason. There was a reason we accidentally took the wrong trail and had to backtrack, a reason we had difficulties crossing the river, a reason we chose to start the hike at a certain time and a reason we stopped to see a porcupine. All these reasons lead me to a great thing. I have realized how important it is to stop dissecting every little thing and wondering why. Just let it be. Weather its an hour from now, or 20 years, I will know exactly why this happened, because everything happens for a reason. The slower pace, cleaner air, friendlier people and way of life was just the change I needed. 

I have loved "walking in Nicole's shoes" for the past few days. I was able to meet her friends and roommates, eat at her favorite restaurants, walk her favorite trails, and drink at that one bar she goes to once a month. NYC to Alaska was a bit of an adjustment, but its a remarkable place where I have made memories that will last a lifetime.