Yesterday, I told Greg I thought we just needed to get out and have fun. We've all been working so hard, and it was such a beautiful day. We needed to get out of our regular routine and just go and enjoy the beauty of Alaska with our family.

I unsuccessully lobbied for the Winter Creek trail hike followed by dinner at the Bake Shop in Girdwood, but Christopher was a pretty strong lobbyist for salmon fishing. He's been dying to catch his first real salmon. So we headed out with some poles towards Bird Creek.

It was pretty much all you could ask for in a day. Great company with the family all together out having fun, a beautiful and sunny day with minimal mosquitoes, and salmon running. Greg helped Christopher by getting the salmon to bite in the middle of the river, and he'd come back to shore to let Christopher help reel them in. He stayed glued to the action in the river. Other kids in similar situations got bored or went off exploring, but Christopher was paying attention to everything Greg did and studying it.

And success! They caught 3, brought 2 in, and brought 1 home. Christopher's first salmon -- a humpy (or pink). Not the most tasty of all the salmons, but Christopher didn't seem to mind. His pride could probably have been seen across county lines.

Oh, and to top off our perfect day? Dinner at Carlos' Mexican food restaurant down the street. Couldn't have asked for more.