Living a Full Life

From left to right, my mom, Will's girlfriend Kim, me, Will and my Dad on the deck of Pike's Landing Waterfront Lodge. We're choosing the best way to wait for the rest of the group before our big dinner party at the Silver Gulch Brewery and Grille.

A whole lotta’ lotta’ has been goin’ on! I’ve decided not to say “I’m busy” but say “I’m leading a very full life!” It’s much more descriptive and positive. My parents flew up from Washington state last Thursday for Kristen’s graduation and it was so good to have time with them. We all drove up to Fairbanks (450 miles north of Anchorage) on Saturday morning and drove back late Sunday afternoon after the commencement ceremony. What made it even more special is Kristen had a full slate of friends and family on hand for the celebration including my sister and her family. All 5 of my folk’s grandkids were finally together in one place. We were greeted by the first warm temperatures of the season making for a perfect time to have prefunction beverages on the deck of Pike’s Lodge on the Chena (pronounced cheena) River. We were able to see some of the sights in Fairbanks including a section of the Trans Alaska Pipeline near Fox, Alaska and tour downtown Fairbanks which runs along the Chena River, all under sunny, blue skies. Kristen graduated (here is a link to the commencement ceremony in the Carlson Center) from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) with a Masters degree in Chemical Oceanography.

Right after I dropped my parents off at the airport Monday morning, Gus’ class needed additional chaperones for the end of year adventure discovery field trip. We hiked the Turnagain Arm Trail system from Potter’s Marsh to McHugh Creek and over towards Rainbow…a cool 5-6 mile hike! Holy cow am I out of shape. I was popping a couple of Advil during our lunch break and paying dearly for all of my celebratory eating and drinking over the weekend! Hopefully, it’s back to welding today if I can bend down and reach the steel. I need to finish up a couple of large plant stands for the Market which opens on Saturday. I took another Aleve with my hot tea this morning hoping it takes the edge off my aching knees. What would really soothe my poor aching body is to be back on that sunny deck at Pike’s with the family!