The Alaska Paynes: July 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Fishing the Alaskan Way

Since we are now residents of Alaska, we took the opportunity to go dip net fishing this summer. Even though I grew up here, I had never had the chance to see dip net fishing in action. To dip net, the people fishing take really big nets and wade out into the water. Then they basically wait for fish to swim into their nets and then the drag the net with the fish in it to shore. We took the girls and went with mom and dad. Brian and my dad did the fishing while my mom and I watched the girls on shore.

When Brian and my dad caught fish, we all helped them bring the net in to shore. Kara loved being a helper.

Once the fish were on shore, Kara would hit them on the head with her stick and then keep them company until another fish was caught. Kassi was not as excited to touch the fish, but she liked to look at them.

It was a beautiful day and the girls just loved being outside and being involved in all the action.

Our family was allowed to catch 55 fish. We did not quite catch that many, but we all definitely had fun. Just look at all those red salmon!

We caught all these fish from shore, but later in the day Brian and my dad headed out on a boat to see how many more they could catch with the dip nets. They caught even more and even netted a couple of kings. I was just amazed at how big all the fish were. Here's Brian and Kara with the two king salmon.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Picture Perfect

Kara was born to be in front of a camera. Here are some of her best poses.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Fourth of July

Our summer play group had the kids put on a little fourth of July parade. Kara loved getting her bike decorated and showing it off. Kassi liked just sitting back and enjoying the ride.

For the fourth of July, we headed to a nearby town called Whittier. They have a small town get-together with a parade followed by a free BBQ (complete with salmon, hotdogs, and hamburgers). They had chalk and games all over the sidewalks, so we entertained ourselves while we waited for the parade.

After the parade there were games for the kids to play - a ducky pond, dart throw, pie toss, and a few others - with "cool" prizes. Kara loved the cat glasses that she won and wore them for most of the day.

They even threw out about $500 in change and then let the kids loose to pick up as much as they could. We must have taught Kara and Kassi well because there was not a single penny in their cups.

There was even face painting! I think that everyone had a good time...

Whittier was a beautiful place to spend the fourth of July and I think that we might try to get back again next year.

Friday, July 25, 2008

The Happiest Place on Earth

After the cruise was over, we stayed a couple more days in California and took the girls to Disneyland with Jerry, Denise, Natalie, Adam, Maddy, and Taylor. We spent two days there and Leslie and Evan were able to join us for the second day. Despite the weather being 110+ degrees, Kara and Kassi had a lot of fun. We spent our first day at Disneyland.

Brian and I had never been to California Adventure, so we spent our second day there and I think that the girls had even a better time there. Despite all of the other fun rides, their favorite was the carousel.