Ketchikan for Grandma Kay

The last week and a half we spent in Ketchikan memorializing my husband's grandmother, Kay. While we were there, we were able to enjoy some beautiful, sunny, and warm weather.

Grandpa Don and Grandma Kay's view from the cemetery

Siblings

As it was likely my last trip to Ketchikan, we made the most of it and finally got me out to Misty Fjords National Monument on a flightseeing tour with the amazing Misty Fjords Air & Outfitting.

Landing in Rudyerd Bay

Rudyerd Bay

Punchbowl

Eddystone Rock

Ketchikan from the air

While we were there, my husband was able to hang out with both his sisters. The evening of Grandma's memorial service we all went to Refuge Cove Beach to watch the sunset (it is known by the locals as Sunset Beach).

Photo by Andrew Gichard

Photo by Andrew Gichard

Photo by Andrew Gichard

Photo by Andrew Gichard

Photo by Andrew Gichard

Photo by Andrew Gichard

The last full day we were in town we went back to Ward Lake to hike around the lake. It was a great way to end such a trip.

Ketchikan has definitely grown on me and left a special place in my heart. It is a wonderful, unique town that I will miss.

Saying goodbye to Ketchikan

***All photography is property of the author of this blog.***

Grandma Kay

April 23, 2014 Grandma Kay passed away. Kay was my husband's grandmother, but is the woman who helped raise him.

She was of Russian Aleut descent, the youngest of twelve children, and an amazing woman, who will be greatly missed.

Andrew and Grandma at our wedding in 2005

Grandma on her deck

http://sitkasentinel.com/7/2012-05-10-22-08-43/obituaries/7167-kay-gichard

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9MbZRwOyZ3_Z2gybHJ5T1hkdVk/edit

Easter with our ACF Family

This Easter we were able to enjoy the resurrection of Jesus with our ACF family!
We started off the morning with our wonderful Life Group and best friends. "The Walking Dead" service was amazing, and we got to see many friends get baptized, including our friends Liana and John!

Photo by Ross Montgomery, ACF Church

After service, we all headed over to the Neelys to eat, hunt eggs, and hang out.
Lunch was amazing as usual (smoked turkey!), followed by an OUTDOOR Easter egg hunt. This is unheard of in Alaska. It was sunny, "warm", and most of the snow had melted!

Finally, we headed inside (the mosquitos were eating us alive) to hang out, snack, and watch Frozen.

It was a wonderful, laid back day with our best friends.

He is risen - He is risen indeed!

"Spring" in Talkeetna

This past Friday was our day off for spring break. Of course, "spring" is relative in Alaska. It was a gorgeous sunny and "warm" day (highs in the 40s!), so we took off north to Talkeetna with a group of friends.

We walked around the main drag in Talkeetna. Many businesses were closed, but we still had fun playing in the snow and large puddles.

Lunch was nice and filling at the Denali Brewing Company, followed by playing out on the river for awhile. Talkeetna is where three rivers meet; the Talkeetna, Chulitna, and Susitna; creating the Big Susitna drainage. It was a bit windy out on the ice, but it was gorgeous, so we had snowball fights and built a snowman.

Some open water on another part of the confluence

After some time on the ice, it started to cloud over, so we headed back home, just in time for a nice spring snowfall. Some areas of Anchorage got 24 inches! Thankfully, in Chugiak, we only had 4 inches.

***All photography is property of the author of this blog.***