SO much has happened this summer, and I have loved every single second of it. There are good days, there are bad days, there are CRAZY days.... but there are no boring days. Ever.
And I know I say this all the time, but I am in LOVE with this place. I want to give in, and start talking like everyone else up here.. about how they are ready to go home. But I'm really not. Not yet. And I know.. I have incredible things to look forward to... but I also have Skagway. Perfect, tiny, beautiful little Skagway. I don't even care if other people are sick of it, because I'm not.
Originally, the main downfalls of this place were:
1. I miss my family
2. There's no Wal-mart.
And really, that's it.
Because let's be honest, there's not much to complain about here. Wait, no. maybe the tourists. You could complain about the tourists. But anyway- the main downfall was that I missed my family.... BUT just a couple weeks ago, they came to visit! [which was the best EVER] And last weekend, I flew to Denver for Rylee's wedding and saw them all again.
So although I still do miss them, I had a solid dose of family time. And now I'm ready for more Alaska.
About my little dip into the real world, though. I noticed a couple of things.
[brace yourself, another list]
- People don't smile as much. Why? Is there less to smile about outside of Alaska? No, I don't think so. There is never less to smile about. I believe it is because people have forgotten the real purpose in living. They are so busy running from place to place that they don't take time to enjoy the moment. Life becomes a list of things to do, places to be, goals to reach... instead of a thing to live. A thing to enjoy.
-As I was in Juneau, waiting for my flight to Seattle... I had an odd, unfamiliar feeling. I realized that I had absolutely NO desire to be in a big city, surrounded by busy people doing busy things. The Seattle airport honestly sounded so unappealing that it was good I was going to Denver for Rylee, or else I would have had no desire to go. Since when have a loved the small town feel? There is something about it though. Something about the slow pace, the friendly voices, the smiling people. Something about the fact that at any time, I know I am 2 minutes away from a quiet spot by the ocean, a lake, a river.... a hike where I can get away and have some good ole Kylie/nature time.
-SO MANY PEOPLE. WHAT THE HECK. everywhere. thousands of them.
-People are so plugged in. Plugged in to social media, the news, their phones, whatever. Take a moment. Breathe. Look around you. Life is beautiful.
-On a lighter note.... FREAKING FOOD. IS SO CHEAP. You can get a meal for less that $20. In fact, you can get a meal for less than $10. And after you order it, its there in like 15 minutes! At a sit-down restaurant. And we won't even talk about fast-food, I about passed out when it was ready after 2 minutes. Hello. That was wonderful.
-FRUIT. Fruit is amazing. And vegetables. We get them here, but they are not great quality and expennnnnsive.
Anyway. So now you've had your dose of Kylie's insights.
What I really want to say though... is overall, great weekend. Great time with family, amazing temple experience, quality cousin time, quality sister time, quality veiws... and quality food. [aka I had King crab for the first time and nothing will ever taste as good]
On that note, some pics.
flight to Juneau, my first time on a little 8 passenger plane. They only go a couple thousand feet up and just cruise right over the ocean, up the Lynn canal. Incredible.
Rode the Mount Robert's Tram in Juneau- we had a long long layover and got to do some fun things! Love my cousin Chris. He is like a big brother.
Please, no bears. No bears on the tram.
We also got to go see the Mendelhall glacier, which was very cool. Glaciers are incredible, always. No matter how many you see.
Took this flying into Seattle. There is always BEAUTY.
My amazing family that was able to be there for my endowment session. It was pretty cool to have everyone there, although I did miss my family from mom's side. Although Nonna was there, which was perfect! Would not have been the same without her. It was also very cool that Rylee was able to be there, because she just took her endowments out two days before.
3 generations. All sister missionaries. Love these two ladies.
And of course, my two lovely parents. I would be nowhere without them.
And here is my favorite picture from Ry's wedding. Love my mom and sister.
Anyway, that's about it. Well, not really. There is always so much in my mind and heart that I want to put down on paper.... but its so hard to express. And we wouldn't want this blog to get even MORE boring ;)
So long for now, more posts to come.
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