After we left ERNC, we headed over to Thunderbird Falls to continue the joy of hiking. :)
We made it! Our group posing in front of the falls....wait, aren't we missing a few?
Jillian in the flowers. I LOVE this picture...I think Uncle Tim snapped this shot. :)
Mr. Luke
Josh carrying Jillian and walking with Ashley.
Before we left Alaska, we had to go on a few hikes. The first was to Eagle River Nature Center. We brought Ashley, Josh's girlfriend, with us also. Left to Right above is Ashley, Josh, Luke, Tim holding Jillian and Joy.
Here we are on the pathway....Jillian barely wanted to stop for this brief photo break.
Joy and I wearing our matching scrapbook sweatshirts, courtesy of our scrapping sister Sharon. We are enjoying the majestic mountains.
Jillian LOVES bears! Remember, they used to say "hi!". :)
The mosquitos in Alaska are terrible! They are the size of small birds and swarm all around you, wherever you go....but especially in the woods! Joy is protecting her baby!
The cute couple.
Jillian wanted in on the cuddle action. She really likes Ashley too! :)
Joy and Jillian looking out at the river.
Magnificent Alaska....one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Jillian LOVES going on walks! Auntie Joy and Uncle Tim took her out several times around the block and to the nearby elementary school to swing. Fun, fun, fun.
Yoshi and Cooper went to play each time as well. Yeah! I think Jillian is holding their leash in this picture.
Looks like Jillian dropped Cooper's leash to run at whoever is holding the camera. Sorry Josh! :)
Josh and Luke took Jillian out while Joy and I started packing for our scrap retreat. Which was a HUGE help, thanks guys! Jillian and the puppies are riding in the awesome Burson wagon....Jillian loved it so much, we need one now! :)
Chicks with Sunglasses! One of our very favorite places to eat in Anchorage is Humpy's....they have the BEST beer-battered halibut served with homemade tartar sauce! YUMMY!!!!! Joy, Jillian, Tina and I being silly! :)
We miss our Corvette Club friends!!!!!!!! They have known Jillian since she was a little peanut in my belly....I think we joined the club 2 weeks before she was born! :) They have been the most supportive friends and we were very happy to see them during our visit to Anchorage! They even brought Jillian a package of goodies to play with at lunch....a Corvette (of course!) lunch box, coloring pencils and pad, and STICKERS! Thanks guys! Clockwise, L to R, is Rick, Dave, Kathi, Margo, me, Jillian, and Jeremy.
We ate at Gwennie's, which is another favorite, and always tickles us to remember that it used to be one of Anchorage's brothels! A very unique, old-time Alaskan place to visit.
We also got to meet with some of my scrapping sisters that were unable to make it to the retreat, clockwise, L to R, is Cindi, Lisa, Joy, Tim holding Jillian, Rosie, Jackie and me. We met at the Peanut Farm. It was great to see you girls, I miss scrapping with all of you!
We couldn't go to Alaska and NOT bring home fresh halibut! :) Jeremy went fishing with our friends Andy and Ron & Brenda from Fairbanks. Jeremy on the boat. :)
Ron went fishing this year....last summer Jeremy and I went fishing with Brenda and her sister Paula. On that day, the weather was COLD and the water was choppy. I stayed bundled in my cold weather clothes and spent nearly the entire day hanging over the side of the boat because I was so sick. I still caught my 2 fish though! :) When Jeremy made plans for this year, I said no thank-you! Apparently, their experience this year was the exact opposite. It was warm, Ron fished in a tank top! And no one got sick. That's the way its supposed to be! :)
Brenda is fishing! :) Last year she was a real trooper and never once got sick, what an Alaskan woman with her sea legs!
Andy in front of all the fish. They take all the fish from the same charter and hang them on hooks....for photo ops.
Here is Jeremy! My man caught the biggest fish this trip. The biggest one was about 35 pounds and he also caught the next one to the left. The fishing was pretty good on the outgoing tide, but then all the halibut got smaller on the incoming. Brenda actually helped Jeremy bring his fish in because their lines were tangled and he did not think that he had a fish until after their lines were untangled and something was still pulling. We brought home 28 pounds filleted.
The Burson's have the coolest fire pit! We had great fun sitting around the fire, talking story and roasting marshmallows. In this picture, Joy and I are cuddling our girls....it is rare for Joy to be sitting (anywhere) without a little Yoshi in her lap. Very sweet! :)
Luke and Josh are teaching Jillian the finer points of marshmallow roasting!
A father and son moment. :)
S'More's! One of my very favorite desserts. Jillian's face is covered in chocolate and marshmallow....another first! YUMMY!!!!!!! :)
When we lived in Alaska I watched a little guy the same age as Jillian. Zachary would come over to play a few mornings each week. Zach and Jillian became little buddies...he is a delight and we enjoyed every visit! His mom, Kay, and I became friends and we were sad to say good-bye when we moved! Thankfully this visit, Kay lent us one of their car seats so we didn't have to travel with one! Hallelujah! Thanks Kay and Eric! On Friday morning, Jillian and I met Kay and Zach to play at Arctic's Gymnastics open play....what a GREAT morning!
Kay is helping Zach swing. Zachary remembered Jillian and ran right up to her and said "Hi Jillian!"
Jillian and Zach playing in the foam ball pit....you can just see the tip of Zach's little head.
Jillian jumping on the huge trampoline.
A big hug to say good-bye!
Many of Jillian's food firsts have been with the Burson's...her first cookie, piece of candy, taste of soda.....well, this is Jillian's first root beer float....and YUMMY, what a winner! Thanks Josh!!!! 
Josh made Jillian a root beer float and then they watched Madagascar....what a treat!
Luke and Jillian clowning around in their orange shirts!
I love their smiles in this picture! :)
Luke and Jillian eating Moose's Tooth (our fav) pizza in front of the fire. YUMMY!
They rode in style! :) 
At the zoo, they showed the map to Jillian and let her pick which animal to see next. She would point to the picture and off they went! I thought that was such a cool idea!
Jillian's favorite was the snowy owl!
Auntie Joy and Jillian
Dall Sheep are awesome!
Uncle Tim and Jillian checking out the black bears.
I was only able to upload this picture rotated this way...I'm not sure why. Its a little harder to see, but if you look closely, you can see there is a black bear in the corner. I'm told he was sticking his tongue out of the bars to gather food....and this cracked Jillian up. :)
I love this picture....Jillian looks so happy, so full of joy! :) She loves spending time with the Burson family and is missing them so much now that we are home in Hawaii. While we were visiting, Jillian was able to hug and kiss each Burson before bed most nights. On the second night at home, Jillian and I were getting ready to read books before bed and she just started sobbing. Thankfully she was able to tell me what was wrong...she was missing the Burson's. So we called Alaska and Tim, Joy, Josh and Luke all got on the phone to say "good night Jillian". It totally made her night and she was able to go right to sleep. Thanks guys!
Movie day! On Wednesday, a group of us went to see "The Happening". Josh and two of his friends, Taylor and Jeff, came with Jeremy and I. This movie is made by our favorite movie producer, M. Night Shyamalan. It was a little creepy and a little gross in a few places...but pretty good overall. All of his movies have such interesting plots, The Happening was no exception.
