Inca Dove

This is an Inca Dove that Dan photographed in the aviary at The Desert Museum.

For the Birds

The kids and I have been studying birds in science this year. Well, all flying creatures of the fifth day. (Exploring Creation With Zoology vol. 1). It's been really fun. When we first moved to Tucson the newspaper here ran an article on the most popular birds of the area. So we cut them all out and taped them to index cards. The kids had to learn all of the birds before we could go on our first field trip here, The Desert Museum. It was awesome to have my children identifying birds for everyone in the aviary. We have discovered that even if you don't really get into birds, once you start to learn more about them it becomes more exciting. We also have started putting bird seed out in our back yard. This has been the most fun! We've been able to watch and identify all the various birds that hang out in our yard now. We have a family of Rock Doves and several Mourning Doves. A couple of families of House Sparrows with babies, and two families of House Finch. We keep hoping that eventually we will attract some new and interesting birds. We are dying to see some warblers or cardinals. It's been a blast to learn with my kids.

Family

Bradley

Bethany

Miss Bailey

This is Miss Bailey Adams. We had a great time watching her while her parents were away.

Before We Left Alaska

This was taken on the highway on our way out of Alaska.

These were taken in Haines. The city where we boarded the ferry.

Phoenix Zoo

We stopped in Fresno to hang out with Dan's parents and my Dad. It was fun getting to see his new house and just spend time with everyone. Dan's sisters Julie and Charla came to Fresno to see us. We even did a little Christmas with them. Then we headed out and intended to see the Grand Canyon on our way to Tucson. But as is the truest irony for an Alaskan family, it was snowing the day we were supposed to go. So, we decided to stop in Phoenix for a couple of days instead and check out the Phoenix Zoo.
The beginning. This was a really awesome zoo. We had tons of fun!
It was raining off and on. We had just visited the petting zoo but some of the animals were inside where it was dry.

My gator wrangling children. They are so brave.

More Phoenix Zoo Pics

Yay! I can't believe they got me Kettle Corn!

This is the Bradley that I know and love!

Santa Rosa

Our first stop in the states was in Oregon to visit with Dan's Uncle Ken and Aunt Cheryl. It was really super to see them and get a chance to visit their camp. Then we headed down to Santa Rosa. Most of Dan's family lives there. I love spending time with all of them. They are so neat!
Dan's Aunt Rozanne was moving to D.C. to take a new position with the FBI and his cousin Jolene was home from China. So we were coming through at just the right time. It was a great excuse for a big Kinser party. It was so great to see Jolene. What a sweet person she is. It was a lot of fun catching up with her. I'm really glad that we got a chance to see Rozanne as well. It was a fun time.
What a blast it was to see everyone!

Ferry

We made it out of Alaska. The roads were quite iffy the week leading up to our departure. So, we decided to drive all the way to Haines in one day. This proved to be very smart on our part since they ended up closing the roads. It was a trip to drive down streets that had snow walls that were taller than me. The ferry ride was great. No one threw up this time. It was nice to get a chance to read and hang out. I was able to do school with the kids which was great.

The ferry boat we had this time around was much nicer than the one we had on our last trip.

We got to get off the boat and walk Hannah whenever we were in port. This is a pic of Hannah and me in Sitka.

Poor Hannah had to spend the entire trip locked away in the car. She handled it like a pro. What a great and wonderful puppy she is. This is a pic of me and the kids feeding her.