Where to begin?

I have SO many different things to talk about from our vacation that I honestly have NO idea where to begin. I will definitely be posting pictures - probably in a slideshow - sometime this week. But that will take a little bit of time.

Here are some highlights:

1) Seattle rocks - seriously, we loved the place. The first weekend we were there we hung out with some photographer friends. Which was cool b/c they took us to some places we definitely would not have seen otherwise. They are Gerald and Airika Pope - check out their site. The Sunday that we returned we did our photo shoot w/ April Greer. Again, we got to see untraditional locales in Seattle and just had an all around amazing time. She has posted the very first shot from our session on her blog.

2) Alaska is beautiful. It reflects God's majesty at every turn.

3) Alex and I were consistently in the wrong place at the wrong times to see wildlife. Here's what we saw: Bald Eagles (cool, definitely), a porcupine (also cool, in its own prickly-rodent way).....that's about it. Here's what other people saw: pods of killer whales, sperm whales, seals, sea lions. Way cooler than porcupines.

4) We took a helicopter ride into the glaciers in Skagway - probably a key highlight of the trip. The ride was really fun - and seeing mountains from above like that is just awe-inspiring. additionally, I definitely didn't grasp the size of the glaciers until they landed the helicopters and they were towering above us.

5) We spent HOURS in the boat's 'Thermal Suite' - a part of the spa that was full of all kinds of whirlpools, hot tubs, heated beds, steam rooms, etc. The Suite had an awesome view from the front of the ship - so you could lay there on lounge chairs and read and watch everything go by - it was very relaxing.

6) Before the trip, I questioned myself at time that I might be overpacking or that I was being overly cautious in packing a heavy winter coat - I was not off-base. It was really cold (in the 30s and 40s). I have to thank Dominique and Ann Marie for lending me their warm clothes for layering - I would have been at a total loss without your clothes. You have no idea.

Ok, that's it for now. Today I'm trying to get started on laundry, dog-washing and re-stocking the fridge to eat healthy foods again. Don't worry, that definitely was not everything that I have to say about the trip!

Shaleen.