Long Island

Today we had to wave goodbye to Adam and the crew of the Long Island as they got underway.  It looked like a beautiful day to be out on a boat as the water was as calm as can be!  We will be praying they have a safe trip and come home soon!  Adam and I are hoping that actually seeing the boat leave will help Cooper to understand why Dad won't be coming home tonight.  Cooper was very exciting as the boat honked its horn as it floated away!

Damage

As the snow is melting, damage is starting to show up...

 This car probably didn't look great before the snow, but it looks worse now!

A lot of homes have this problem...

 This is one of the few buildings that was destroyed by the snow as the roof caved in completely.

Another picture of the destroyed building.  

Some repairs are already taking place.

This is the fence around our backyard.  It use to be straight across...  

Along with the melting snow we are finding more and more signs of Spring!

Mariah in our front yard! The snow is shrinking, but we have a long way to go.

Mariah and I decided to walk around town today to get pictures of some of the damage, to show what 433 inches of snow can do!  It is incredible how much weight this is and looking at the signs around town and the buildings you can see lots of work that needs to be done.  There were also some pretty flowers in bloom and the trees have buds on them, we are excited for the summer!  There are already people out and about in tank tops and shorts!  I don't think we are ready for that yet, but it is around the corner!

Field Trip to the Hatchery!

Today we got to go to a fish hatchery!  It was under the guise of a "field trip" but I think all of the parents wanted to go more than the kids!  It was neat to see the fish as minnows and then as they grow.  It was amazing to know that the fish are kept at the Hatchery for over 2 years until they smolt.  They were still very tiny at 2 years old, only about 3 inches long.  They keep the water very cold so their metabolism stays low and they grow slower.  Fun facts from the hatchery!

Signs of Spring!

We found some bulbs that have come up in our back yard!  What a wonderful sign of Spring!  

While on a walk the kids enjoy stopping to watch and listen to the water going down the drain!  Another good sign that the snow is finally melting!  

There is a lot of snow to melt though!

We can finally see the 7 foot mark in on our backyard measuring stick!  It seems to be going down about 3-4 inches a day!

We are finally enjoying some real signs of Spring!  Today we discovered some bulbs that have come up in our backyard!  This is an amazing site since this is literally the only ground we can see back there (it is right next to the house where the roof kept a little snow off the ground)!  We can see the 7 foot mark on our measuring stick in the backyard and hopefully will be able to see the fence soon!  The streets and sidewalks are clear, but there is still a lot of snow to melt.  We are gaining about 6 minutes of daylight each day so that much sun is really helping us to thaw out!  It is exciting to go out each day and see the change!

Easter Eggs!

We had a great time dyeing Easter Eggs today!  It started out nice and clean, but we ended up with a fun and messy experiment with colors.  The eggs above are not the finished product.  These eggs were taken out of the dye and put back in many times.  We started using spoons and ended up with dyed hands.  Mariah even felt the need to sample the dye by tasting it!  It was a lot of fun!  Enjoy the pictures!!

Fun in Valdez!

Green Grass!!!  We found this on our way home!

What a fun community!  We feel very lucky to be able to experience all that Valdez has to offer!  Today was the conclusion of Frosty Fever!  There was a fun little parade followed by shovel races!  It was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.