We lived in Anchorage for awhile. No way would I consider all you have talked about. You would miss a ton. I would probably fly into Anchorage and rent a car and tour from there. It would be very easy to see so much within 2 hours of Anchorage. Seward is a beautiful little town that runs sight seeing 1/2 day cruises and has a marine wildlife place, Alyeska is a big ski resort that you can take a tram to the top and spend some time. You could flight see out of Talkeetna to see Denali if and that is a big if it isn't fogged in. Hatcher's pass is a beautiful drive, Lake Eklutna is beautiful and has walking trails. Hotels and car rentals in the summer are crazy expensive and it is crowded. If you don't mind the snow go in March and that opens you up to snow machine tours as well as skiing. Look up Hobo Jim and see if he is in the area and playing anywhere.

We are just across the border in LA off of I-10 and woke up to major thunderstorm at midnight with hail at least golf ball sized that went on for over 20 minutes. We then had flash flood warnings on our phone go of about 2:00 although we are high and dry.

It might be easier than you think to get hired right now. I have a friend that hasn't worked in 20 years as a legal something...not sure which position and someone she knows was in a pinch. She is helping them out for the next few months until they can hopefully find someone. Also dh was talking to one of his coworkers about me who has been out of engineering for about 10 years. They would seriously consider me because they can only find people right out of college right now and some of them don't want to show up to work on a regular basis. The market is tight right now and you just may very well get something quickly.

Kraft shredded cheese is definitely gf some others may not be, some vegetable broths are and some are not, if it says food starch don't use it, the adobo sauce I am not sure of...it could be in the natural flavorings. If you can find GF on the can it would be better.

I decided not to vote because I don't know where I fit. I have a BS degree in engineering and dh has an MS degree in Engineering, I worked more then 10 years before having kids and haven't worked in the last almost 10 years. I have tried to get back into it and switch places with dh for a while, but have been unsuccessful so far, because you know who wants to hire an engineer that has been out of the field for 10 years and still pay a reasonable amount. I plan to have dd ready to go into a stem degree by the end of high school if she so chooses. I would rather her not get a degree that has little chance of a well paying career. If she wants to go into a reasonable trade, get a degree that will lead to a good career, start a business, get into sales, etc. I would be happy with that. I know that 10 years of me working helped to put us in a position for me to be home. I also know that we put off trying to have a family and then had a hard time having kids. If we had started younger would it have been different...who knows. I probably wasn't ready for kids when I was younger anyway. I would love for her to have the ability to stay home and raise a family, but that depends on having a husband whom she can depend on and having an economy that is reasonable, there are too many unknowns. I just don't know. I was always told growing up to get a degree and work and raise a family. It took me awhile to really figure out that being a stay at home mom was really an alternative, it wasn't what I was "supposed" to do. I talked to a dad from India who has a PhD in Comp Sci and his wife is a doctor. He is now in the position of stay at home dad although not yet homeschooling (they aren't happy with the school their kids are in so it may happen) He is just starting down the path of struggling with wanting to be a dad and have time with the kids and having a hard core very involved real money making job and asking what was the point of the education. It was their way out of India and they are in the upper class now financially. I don't know if we would be anywhere close to their financial situation had I continued to work. What I am getting at is that I am not the only one I have come across that struggle with it. I do know I am so much happier being a mom than doing engineering or project management.

Thanks everyone, I will look into some of the other recommendations you have suggested.

Dd8 is on a dragon book kick, she has read the Eragon series, How to Train Your Dragon, and Dragon Watch. I came across Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb which is an adult novel. Has anyone read it and it is reasonably appropriate for an 8 year old soon to be 9?

There are lots of great recipes out there for gf foods. We have been doing it for years for DH. I don't remember what else your son can't eat, but if you will let me know I can give you ideas.

I am trying to start doing some video editing of stuff I have filmed over the years. I have a mac and will use iMovie unless someone convinces me something else is easier and better. A big question is if I want to be able to have family view it on non mac computers what is the best file format to put it into? It is most likely going to be put on a USB stick and put on their windows computers or else watched on a TV through a mac or windows computer. Any ideas what would be the best?

Feb is a great time to be there due to it being less crowded. Be prepared for snow. We stayed in Tusayan both times I have been there. I have only been to the north rim in the summer and am not sure if you can get in there due to snow in the winter. Sedona is maybe an hour away or a little longer and is a don't miss if you have time. Skip Flagstaff IMO. Drive 89A from Flagstaff to Sedona, it has beautiful views too.

For PF, I don't know about heel spurs put a lacrosse ball behind your knee and bend your knee around it and hold it and squeeze. Move the ball a little and do it again. I usually hold it there for awhile. It loosens up the calf muscle and really makes a difference with in a day or 2 for me. Do it at least a couple times a day.

I assume you are asking if you should take your own life jacket. I wouldn't worry about it. What ever is on the boat will work for anyone if you feel you need it.

It would probably make you more comfortable if you could get ahold of a mask and snorkel and play with it in a pool for an hour or so before going on it. A snorkel with a purge valve lets you easily blow any water out that would get in it.

We aren't into games, her screen time is mostly limited to an occasional movie, reading books on the kindle, math games to learn math facts and typing.

DD8 just finished up typetastic which has her typing about 9 words per minutes with a 93% accuracy or so. I would like to continue on with something to help her improve, but probably something different. Does anyone have any suggestions.

My brother wrapped up a pack of cigarettes with only 1 in it and gave it to my mom as his last cigarette. He has tried to quit many times, we all really hope he is successful this time. My dh and dd found some Italian cookies that were my favorite growing up. My grandmother made them for me anytime we were getting together. Dd has a couple of experiences that she hasn't done yet, but her favorite item aside from those is probably 2 book lights. She has been reading a ton and using flashlights in the car or after she crawls in bed. She really liked it.

Bring binoculars in addition to a camera if at all possible. We went for the second time this past fall and spent a week. We flew into Salt Lake City, rented a car and drove up. We made sure it was 4 wheel drive because it was to close to the first snow of the year and I was concerned, although we didn't end up needing it. Buy a National Parks Pass it is worth it. We spent some time in Grand Teton Village, some time in a cabin at Lake Lodge and we spent a night or 2 outside the east entrance of the park. It was so split up because I was trying to be economical and hadn't started planning soon enough. The restaurants were crowded and overpriced, we had planned on sandwiches for several meals and eating at the restaurants part of the time, which worked out pretty well. We purchased an audio tour app from Gypsy guide for both the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone that we were happy with.

Praying for you and your husband (((hugs)))

Dd had seen a mini disco ball that she liked before Thanksgiving and I couldn't find the exact one when I went back to get it so we ordered a different one that was sound activated. Well...I found the one daughter really liked when I went in to get the car reindeer kit, so I bought it and we are going to do the sound activated one as the white elephant gift.

I am looking through as seen on TV stuff now.

Our neighbor invited us last night to his house this afternoon for a Christmas party with a white elephant gift exchange and pot luck. I have 1 idea of a reindeer car kit that I can go to party city and get (they say online that they have them in stock in the store. What are other ideas that are $15 or less that I can get local quickly that is funny and doesn't require any prep work? We have Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Bed Bath and Beyond, a mall with Penny's, Dillards, etc. bookstores, Cracker Barrel, etc. I would rather keep it pg and somewhat useful.

They do get more used to it. My st poodle about 55 lbs had to wear 1 this fall for about 2 weeks. They are a pain in the neck IMO. I did see some other ones online that were different but I didn't try any of them. After the first several days we would take it off him when we were able to watch him close so that he could play ball and have a little bit of down time from it.

Dd finished reading a book that left some questions at the end but had deeper meanings that we discussed some. Last night she sat down on her to write another chapter to the book and then she included her plans as an author for another book as a possibility just like the author of the book did. Some of it was really good and some of it was ok, but I am just astounded at what she comes up with on her own sometimes and how well homeschooling is going.

I would like to get a good vegetarian cookbook for a teen that likes to cook but has only been vegetarian for about 8 months. She still eats eggs and dairy. Any great suggestions?

Hmm we do the same but I didn't know there was an issue with generic Mucinex...can I ask what issue you have had with it?