Thankful Thursday

 1, Paul, Pop Pop, and I enjoyed watching the boys in their performance of "The Museum of His Story" at our church on August 2.

2. I was thrilled to see Nadia on August 3 and hear about the four weeks she spent at Camp Susque. 

3. The week of August 4 we watched a few movies at home as a family - IF, Fall Guy, and Unsung Hero.

4. We enjoyed having dinner at Texas Roadhouse on August 7 to celebrate Oliver's 12th birthday. I am so grateful that he is part of our family!

5. Oliver had an uneventful physical on August 12, and I had an uneventful dentist appointment on August 5.

6. I enjoyed having lunch with Tab on August 13 to celebrate her birthday! 

7. The five of us plus Cheri enjoyed a We are Messengers concert at a church near our home on August 13.

8. I'm thankful that we have the resources to pay for getting new rear brakes and three new tires on Paul's car on August 8. That car has been used very little over the last year, but that has changed recently as we've been having Nadia drive that car even though it's a bit uncomfortable for the five of us to ride in that car at the same time.   

9. Nathaniel and Julianna spent several hours at our home on August 8. Friends are a blessing!

10. Nadia, Ian, and I served as Compassion volunteers at a concert on August 16. Paul and Oliver also attended the concert. 

11. We got our very first picture of the six of us - meaning our first family picture that included Milo! A friend organized a Sunflower Festival, and we got our picture taken there on Sunday afternoon. 

12. We had a safe drive to Maryland on August 19 and were able to walk through the Utz factory en route to the Towfighis home. Joe graciously got up very early on Tuesday morning to drive us to BWI. We had a safe flight o Anchorage and were able to see Denali from the air! The weather was gorgeous on Tuesday and today (sunny with a high of about 61 degrees). We're so thankful we are able to travel to see this beautiful state and that we are getting very close to achieving the goal of visiting all fifty states! 

13. The Seiberts are watching Milo for us. We'll return the favor for them and watch Cooper in November. So thankful Milo does so well with them when we're away! We're also thankful that our neighbors are giving some food/water to Lily, and their son is also mowing our lawn once in our absence. 

14. We have liked the two places we've stayed so far in Alaska - an Airbnb in Girdwood and Tides Inn in Seward. 

15. We were able to see three moose on our hike in Girdwood yesterday morning, saw a bear cub this morning when we were driving to the zip lining course, saw salmon in Anchorage, saw some fish jumping in Seward, and saw an otter in the harbor near our hotel this evening. The bird we've seen the most often so far has been the magpie. We hiked to the Byron Glacier, and we hiked toward the Exit Glacier. 

16. Today we went zip lining! It was the first time Paul or I had done this, and it was the most exciting one the kids had ever done. We zip lined eight times. Some were as short as 65 feet long and others were as long as 1,100 feet long. We also walked across three suspension bridges and rappelled twice - once down 60 feet and the second time down 40 feet. 

17. We have enjoyed the pizza we've eaten, and we had delicious gelato last night. Oliver enjoyed his clam chowder this evening. 

18. The kids each earned a Junior Ranger badge as well as a patch at Kenai Fjords today. 

19. We encountered a LOT of flies during our hike with a park ranger to Exit Glacier today, but otherwise we haven't encountered any pesky insects. 

20. Everything went smoothly with the TSA on Tuesday, and we are all healthy!