Adventures in Kenai

Ok, so we headed out late Tuesday morning to just get out of town. The only plans that we had were to let Nathan fish at the Russian River, and to stay at a hotel with a swimming pool that night. We had a great time. It took Nathan some convincing to get me to take the kids to the river front because I wasn't to excited about sitting next to the water with the kids, in bear country. But, he promised to stay close, I had the bear spray, and the kids had their life jackets on. So, we went. It was a lot of fun. Especially since we got to see Nathan catch a salmon within the first ten minutes we were there.

Here is Brianna sitting on the ramp to get into the water. It was an absolutely beautiful day!!!

Here is the salmon that Nathan caught within the first few minutes. He actually hooked a few more, but they fought off of the line. We also got to see a couple other guys catch some salmon. And, Nathan also caught a Dolly Vardin (sp???), which is just a certain type of trout...apparently a rare kind. I was really glad people were catching fish, because it helped keep Nate occupied. Otherwise, he just cried because he wanted to get in the water.

Towards the end, Nathan took Nate out into the water and let him touch it. It was cold!!!

So, that night, we went and ate at a fun restaurant called the Bear's Den. They are famous for this huge burger that Brianna got. Actually, we all four shared it. It was really good, and for feeding all of us, it was worth all of the $16 we paid for it.

After dinner, we just went back to the hotel and swam for awhile. The kids had so much fun, and so did Nathan. Actually, I am not sure who had more fun. I forgot to take the camera with me, so I don't have any pictures of swim time. Oh well!!!

So Wednesday morning we slept in, checked out of the hotel, and then went to eat at this little bakery in Soldotna called "The Moose is Loose". It was a really fun place, and they had the most amazing donuts ever. They were absolutely huge, and off course they were delicious.

On our way home decided to just take it easy and stop at various places along the way. One time, we saw some horses crossing the road, and their was a sign for horse back riding, so we decided to stop so the kids could see the horses up close. The people were really nice, and offered to let Brianna take an impromptu ride. I followed along behind her on foot, and Nathan actually got in the car to see her riding for part of the trail. It was a lot of fun. Definitely the highlight of the trip for Brianna. The above picture was taken at an air strip that was nearby. The lady in the picture is Casey, who was her guide.

Overall, we had an amazing time and we are so thankful for the fun times we have had this week. We just took Nathan to the airport, so I am a little sad that he had to leave us. I always hate it when we are separated. I know, being a military wife I should be used to it, but it never gets easy. We don't have too much planned for this next ten days while Nathan is gone, but I am sure we will find plenty to do to fill the time. We'll keep you posted!!!