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This weekend was BEAUTIFUL weather!!!  We have all been feeling a little under the weather, but we have made sure to get outside a little each day.  On Saturday we were fortunate enough to be downtown by the cruise ships docks and caught a few glimpses of a humpback whale!  When they bubble feed you can see a ring of bubble start to surface on the water and then they come straight up the center with open mouths to feed.  It is so cool to see them!  They are really big!  Sunday afternoon was a nice drive to all the great spots that we love to view the ocean from.  It was a gorgeous sunset!  Someday I still can't believe that we live here!!!       

For the past 6 weeks Jayne's class (all the 4th and 5th graders) at school have been working with a resident artist learning about the  Tlingit (KLING kit), the Haida (HIGH duh) and the Tsimshian (SIM she ann) native tribes of Southeast Alaska. They have learned how to introduce themselves in the native tongue. They have learned about the art and form styles used in totems and the meanings behind the symbols. They even had the opportunity to make a deer skin drum (Goo-jow), including soaking the deer skin and stretching it over the wood drum frame and letting it set until it hardened. Once it was completely dry they got to draw their chosen native symbol on the drum and the paint it. They look SO COOL! They even made their own drum stick using a stick, fabric, buck leather, and deer tendon, which was used as the string to tie it all together. This past week the students performed for the rest of the school, singing a song/chant in the native tongue. It is a welcome message...

Last night Jay and his co-worker worked through the night bringing the Christmas spirit to downtown Ketchikan!  They hung beautiful snowflake decorations all along the main street.   

 Our Sunday shenanigans took is to Gravina Island to explore.  The island is across the Tongass Narrows from the city of Ketchikan.  The only way to access the island is by ferry, boat, or plane.  The Ketchikan airport is located on Gravina Island.  The road on the island is terrible!  We did manage to keep all of our hubcaps on the van!  The views of Ketchikan from across the Narrows are beautiful!  The view of the open ocean is magical. We passed several active logging sites.  It made me sad to see all the trees cut down but from what I understand, they grow back pretty fast here.  

Our first Alaska Halloween did not disappoint! The girls had fun dressing up as a Fox (Jayne) and a Bat (Jessie) for school.  It was really fun to see all the fun and creative costumers during the Halloween Costume Parade at their school.  Jay helped Jayne and Jessie carve their pumpkins. We never did get any candles to light them up.  The pumpkins didn't last long.  After about 2 days they turned into a juicy drippy mess all over the kitchen table and floor.  ewwww!   There was lots of candy to be had by all!  We started off the Trick-Or-Treating at the school's Trunk or Treat and then headed to town for even more of the festivities.  There is a street here, Jackson Street, that is the main attraction for Halloween night.  The police block the street at both ends and businesses donate candy to the families who live in the blocked off area, so that they have enough candy for everyone in town-literally!  This is the place to be!...

Jay and Jake were invited to go out fishing for the day with Jay's co-worker (Seth) and his 2 boys.  It was a beautiful day and they had a GREAT time!  Jake caught his first fish... a SHARK!  They caught some other fish, some crab, and got to see some whales!  It was a great day out at sea for them!   Jake decided he wanted to try eating shark... so they brought it home and Jay did his very best.  He soaked it in milk for a while.  Apparently if you don't, it takes on a urine taste...gross!  He made up a seasoned marinade.  He wrapped it in bacon.  He added other yummy stuff.... and while we all tried it, and Jake finished his piece, I don't think any of us will be requesting it again in the future.  BUT.. we call all say that we have tried shark now! 

BBQ'ing at the beach was the best way to end this fabulous weekend!  The weather forecast said that this might be one of the last dry days for a while, so we took full advantage of it!  We packed up hot dogs and all the makings for s'mores and headed back to Settlers Cove!  The kids have been wanting to go swimming in the ocean, so this was the perfect opportunity for them to do their own Ketchikan Polar Plunge. The water is COLD.  You can see in the video that Jake and Jayne didn't make it much past their knees!  Jacy was the most brave and actually spent quite a bit of time in the water!  The evening spoiled us with the most beautiful sunset!