Nana and Snowzilla

Ice Fishing

Wow, I'm just now realizing how terribly busy my December was. Sooo...SarahBeth's class had a field trip to Jewel Lake where the Alaska Fish and Game hosted an ice fishing thing, as mentioned in this here article.

I figured this was my one and only chance to ice fish, so I drove SarahBeth, 2 other classmates and Jamison to a beautiful frozen lake in the middle of town. There were about 20-30 holes in the ice and each kid got a pole. The adults were in charge of baiting the hook with tiny "salad" shrimp and then the kids lowered the line. For whatever "magical fishing" reason, some kids caught multiple fish, but most caught none. What was amusing was watching the "non-catchers" flock to other holes based on the "catchers" telling them how many fish they caught in their holes. No amount of explaination could get the kids to understand that all the holes lead to the same lake..the same body of water...the same fish supply.

Mary-Kate, Ashley and SarahBeth...

...Olsen. SarahBeth loves to hang out in her jammies. She has a special twist to her lounge wear a la MaryKate and Ashley Olsen.

Snowzilla

The Anchorage Daily News had this article on Monday and then a new one today. After reading the article on Monday, I loaded everyone up in the car for a surprise visit to the 16 foot snowman.

It's really cool-for lack of better words, but my favorite part of the whole thing is not the snowman, it's the decor surrounding the snowman. This guy isn't one bit worried about a sad melting snowman littering his lawn this summer (yeah, it'll probably be there that long) The snowman's yard is comparable to any yard one might find deep in the hills of Kentucky or Virginia (or the Northern Neck). However, this is in the heart of Anchorage, just down the street from a mall. Snowzilla is just one of many many ornaments in the yard on this quiet neighborhood street. Yes, that's the guys house behind the truck and tree. I'm sure the neighbors are thrilled.

Eagle River Tree Lighting Cermony

So, way back earlier this month, LeighAnne's choir sang at the Tree lighting ceremony. Tim was out in the field so I loaded up everybody, including Kenai and headed out. (I also had the fore site to borrow a sled made with a back support for little ones.) There was a ton of snow on the ground and it was contining to snow.

We were lucky to find good parking, but we still had to hurry and finish wrapping up in our coats (and gloves and hats and boots and hand-warmers and snow pants...) With all the layers, it was a little hard for Jamsion to bend at the waist and sit comfortably in the sled, but he managed. The dog was beside herself to be out and about and allowed to socialize, so I put the sled rope and dog leash in the same hand and let Kenai do the work. Everything was OK until we hit the "spectator area". To my suprise, under all the new fallen snow was an ICE RINK!!! We were expected to stand on a concealed ice rink and watch the festivities...remember, I had a grumpy 2 year old in a small sled and a wild puppy attached to it. It was sooo much work just remaining vertical that I was exhausted afterwards, but we all stayed until the very end, after everyone else had left and played under the town Christmas tree sliding across the ice rink with the snow falling all around us. It was two hours well spent.

What Tim wants for Christmas

and he got it!!!

Another blog to check out

(or should I call it Amazing Ramblings and Run-on Sentences)

So I was checking out some of the Alaska Bloggers and found a fellow Anchoragian...Anchorager...Anchoraganee...he works on Fort Richardson and has really captured some of the feel of things around here. He has some of the very same pictures that I have tried to (un)successfully capture. Check it out. Not just this once, but every once-n-awhile and see what he's got.

As a continued sell...we have had this crazy thaw the last week and a lot of the snow has disappeared. Wait, let me back track and tell you about the road maintenance here.

The snow falls...and falls...and falls...everybody has killer SUV's with killer tires to get them thru the falling snow without batting an eyelash. Seems to me, no matter how much snow is falling, the city keeps going. But the snow removal-the same kind of trucks you see in KY, VA, shoot, even Germany-those big trucks you see sitting on the side of the highway just waiting for the first snowflake...well they come out a day or so later. Later, after we have all driven on it over and over and packed it down to a nice thick layer of ???. It's really not that scary to drive on...it's like nothing you've really driven on before. But you learn, and you adjust and you take your time changing lanes because each lane has formed its own groove so you have to thunk-thunk your way between. The main highways get almost cleared completly, but neighborhood roads hardly at all. And they don't use salt. They use gravel. I don't know about you all but I recall most idiot teenagers flipped their cars on gravel roads...so tell me how gravel and snow and ice mix?!?!?!

Now the thaw. The main road get scrapped and scrapped (is that scrape or scrap?-you know what I mean)and have come out with nearly dry roads. The side roads however, not so good. With 3 inches of snow/ice on roads that don't ever get direct sunlight (a whole other post)nothing short of a ton of SALT will clear it. So the temps melt all the nice easy going grooves we've all worked to hard to create and leaves us with a literal ice rink in the mornings. I can go to the "access road" in front of my house and count the layers of gravel suspended in the ice. All I can say is, it's crazy...just put a little salt down...the enviroment and the eagles be damnmed, I have a new Pilot that I don't want dented!!!!!

Anyway, the gigantic tractor machines that they use to "scrape" the ice off are incredible steel monsters that look like some farmers science experiment. The dog goes bezerk when they (rarely) pass by and even my "guk" boy gets a little freaked out, which all brings me back to my fellow Alaskan Blogger who captured the monsters, along with so much of the beauty that surrounds me everyday. It's pleasant to look at...and since I seem to be lacking in the picture department lately...

On the subject of video clips

Have you seen this commercial?

Come on, watch it real quick...I'll wait...


Ok, is it just me or doesn't it bring an incredibly large boo-hoo to your throat? Or maybe it is the darkness getting to me, or just plain old home sickness? None the less, I know a little/big brown haired girl that is getting an extra long hug from me today (and a red head and a blonde boy too!)

Birthday Boy

I feel a little bad not posting Jamison's birthday pictures earlier. I guess part of the problem is the party was more eat cake real quick and open presents kind of party.

We got an ice cream cake and put it on the front porch after the party. Best thing about being somewhere cold is your fridge space really expands during the winter. However, yesterday it warmed up into the 40's(!!!) and Jamison and I were forced to eat chocolate mint and red velvet ice cream cake for lunch.

Well, I guess I should say, Jamison had cake for lunch. Look and see.

Now that you've watched, I need feedback. Does the video come out OK? Does it take forever to load? Do you even bother to check them out? The idea of sharing little clip like this are great, but if it doesn't work well, then I'll either find another image hosting service or just not bother. Post on the comments or let me know.

Rumbling in his Sleeping Bag

The weekend before Thanksgiving Tim and his fellow soldiers had to prove they had absorbed all the knowledge bestowed upon them by cold weather instructors. "Prove" by sleeping out in the open in 20 degree weather all night. According to Tim, they road marched out to the firing ranges...did a little training and then bedded down where ever. Tim told me he was warm enough and his poncho (small thin blanket) draped over two trees provided enough shelter to keep the freezing rain and snow out of his face. He said his biggest concern was some Moose (yes, it should be capitialized) might tromp over him while he slept. Gee, I said, didn't you sleep close enough to other people that a Moose wouldn't mistakenly tromp over a pile of bodies. Nope...these men, in honor of the we're straight-see the chair between us code, sleep several dozens of yards apart. Idiots.

Now, to the rumbling...it was not of Tim's own doing when he felt a rumbling in his sleeping bag that cold Friday night. He felt an earthquake...about a 4.0. Now for my couple of CA friends, I know that's not much...but where I come from, that's pretty cool. Not everyday ya feel an earthquake. Or so I thought. If you notice, I have convienently provided a link to Alaska Earthquakes in the sidebar. Alaska is like Santa's belly at a comedy club (shook when he laughed like...OK, bad, I know) The Cook Inlet is where we are and we seem to be a shakin' and a shimmin' all the time.

Time for another installment of...

Only in Alaska

5 years ago I was listening to 99.7 on the radio on my way to Nuremberg to do a little Christmas shopping, keeping my ears peeled for the words Autobahn drei und neunzig to make sure there wasn't a stau I should be aware of.

3 years ago, I was listening to Christmas music on Lite 104.5 and wondering if Shelbyville Road mall traffic (who puts 2 malls less than a mile from each other?)was backing up.

2 years ago I was heading one last time into Elizabethtown listening to Quicksie 98.5 trying to finish any final Santa shopping before a new little creature consumed all my energy.

1 year ago I was heading to Mecca (Potomac Mills) listening to a litany of traffic reports...all of which made translating German seem easy...to try and decipher if I-95 was backed up to Woodbridge.

Today...today, today, today...I was driving into Anchorage for a little Christmas shopping (are you seeing a pattern) when the DJ advised us all to avoid Northern Lights Blvd. and UAA Dr.(University of Alaska, Anchorage) Why? Why should the city avoid a very busy road during rush hour? Because, stupid, there is a TransAm off the road and two Moose have decided to bed down and watch the tow truck excitement from the median. Ofcourse!

Showing Off

It's been awhile so I though you might need some recent pictures of the kids. While the girls were dressed up to go to The Nutcracker with Popa, I thought I might get a Christmas Card worthy picture...yeah right!

The Darkness

Everyone wants to know about the short days here. We are now at 6 hours of day light and by Sunday I expect it will be less than 6 hours. At one point we were losing nearly 6 minutes of light a day, but it has now slowed to 3-4 minutes a day. I have to say, over all it hasn't been too bad yet. In the mornings we are busy getting ready for school and by the time I drive the girls to school, there is enough light peaking out from behind the mountians and bouncing off the snow that its quite bright, but I still need my headlights. Here's a picture I took today at 9:15 a.m. There's a bit of cloud/fog coverage so it's a little "blue-er" than normal, but you get the idea.




Now I have to admitt, the early evenings are starting to get to me. Two days ago I left the kids with my dad and ran down to the store for bread. As I was heading home, I felt awful for staying at the grocery for so long...it was getting so dark...I must have been in there nearly an hour. Nope-only 20 minutes. At 4:30 I felt like I should be washing the dinner dishes and getting the kids ready for bed. So, I pulled over in my neighborhood and took a picture.



The snow makes everything so bright during the day and when the moon is full it's unbelievably bright. So again, it's not as bad as I expected...I know I have 3 more weeks of light loss and I am looking forward to gaining momentum the other way come December 22!

How Popa spent his Thanksgiving

Here's a picture of Dad shoveling (one "l" or two?..too lazy to spell check!) the snow for the 3rd time on Thanksgiving Day...I believe he shovelled(again 1 or 2?) one more time before the guest showed up.

Kenai was his constant companion. She even got his hat off his bed today (Friday) so they could take a walk.

We had 12 people all together. Three guys Tim works with and their wives...but no kids. LeighAnne asked that I make sure next year to have more kids come too.

PETA would be proud

Found this article in The Alaska Star, a local paper for Eagle River. I won't even bother expanding......this is the best!

Ha, Ha, H-ha, Ha

It's currently 43 degrees in Anchorage, Alaska. What, pray tell is the temp where you are?

(OK, I know you'll still be the winner in the end, but give me this moment!)

Only in Alaska

Our new church is a great place. We are still trying to find our niche, but it offers so much to its congregation and the community. Like this section here...I pulled it off of the web site. See if you can find the uniquely Alaskan service they provide to the community.


CARE MINISTRIES

These are a few of the various ways to care for people within the church.

Care Meals: Help meet a tangible need by periodically providing meals
during the various transitional seasons of life.

Hospital Visitation: Visit with people in the hospital to encourage,
support, and care for them and their families in a time of physical, emotional
and spiritual need.

Military Deployment Ministry: Help support and honor our military
members and their families by prayer, fellowship, and providing for basic
needs, especially when a spouse is deployed to another part of the world.

Moose Kill Ministry: Help salvage and distribute meat from moose
road-kills. Harvested meat is given to families in need. This is a unique
ministry with several ways you can serve such as a dispatching the team,
harvesting the moose meat, and processing and distributing the meat.

Encouragers: Help provide a safe place for struggling people in our
community to seek help in a counseling situation. Receive training and
mentoring in guiding people towards wholeness in Christ.



Uuummm, yeaaah, can you guess which one is at the top of my "no thanks" list.

from Leigh Anne

Hi! Sleding was a lot of fun! We only sled down the driveway. Haley, Sarah beth, and I stood up, and used sticks to have fun. We,or Haley and I,sill sat down. Jamison wasn't so sure about it. One reason, he hates hats. But we all, including daddy had fun in the end.

SNOW!

Well, the first real snow fell today. The other stuff we've had has been so little that it just blew off the roads and never amounted to much. As I write this, the girls are still outside sledding.




Jamison, however, was not as thrilled. His mittens were a little big and he didn't understand how to put is thumb over...his boots were also too big, he had on more layers than he could handle and to top it all off, he was forced to wear a hat!








But these two girls were in Alaskan paradise.

EDITED:Candy please moma

If you haven't seen this yet, its darling. But if you caught it earlier before I changed the format, then it's still the same video; it's just not clogging up the blog.

(P.S. a little blog knowledge-click on the highlighted words to get you to a new page or picture.)

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Halloween?

Crazy Hair Day

For those of you that remember the Stafford Crazy Hair Day, I learned my lesson and the red in the girl's hair was just this gel stuff that came right out. No left over hot pink tinted hair here! (Although SB did try and convice me to do it again)

While on the subject of siblings...

This article was in the paper last month, but I've just found the time to copy it. The baby bear's moma was killed by some fool that gut shot her and left her to suffer for at least 2 days before she died. They found the shooter and he's in jail now. However, the babes have become the sweethearts of the Kenai Penisula and while Alaskans respect the all important food chain boundaries, they (and us all) have come to love the young bears and their antics.

Russian River orphans stick together
Healthy female grizzly helps injured male find food

By DOUG O'HARRA
Anchorage Daily News

Published: September 23, 2005
Last Modified: September 23, 2005 at 08:41 AM



Ever since their mother was gut-shot and killed during the midsummer climax of Russian River fishing, a female bear cub has stayed by her wounded sibling, sometimes allowing the male with a gimpy leg to eat fish she has hauled ashore.


The male cub was shot in the leg the same weekend its mother died, perhaps in the same incident. Since then, the two half-grown orphan bears have remained at the river to feed on salmon. But it hasn't been easy.

The male bear limps and swims slower. Snatching fish appears to be more difficult.

But to the amazement of tourists and bear-savvy locals, the female bear seems willing to share the salmon wealth.

"I've observed her kind of sticking close to him and it seems like she's helping him fend for food," said Cooper Landing fly-fishing guide Stacy Corbin, who saw the two bears recently during a driftboat trip.

"She came out and got a fish, and pulled it back, and then she let the other one eat," he said.

The fate of the crippled bear -- along with the cinnamon-colored female and a third cub that has disappeared -- weighs on the minds of many Cooper Landing residents. Even as birches go yellow and the last sockeye spawners rot in the shallows, people say they're still angry over the shooting of the well-known sow.

"Every day I have more than one customer who comes in the store and says that he's worried about that bear," said Glenda Mitchell, who owns the Cooper Landing Grocery and Hardware store with her husband. "I don't see how he can defend himself from another bear with that leg. And I'm concerned that he can feed himself."

The sow's killing and its aftermath is only the latest major conflict between people and bears on the Russian, maybe the state's most intense and popular salmon fishing stream. A young man was severely mauled two years ago, and anglers have been asked to stop leaving the remains of filleted fish, backpacks and new catches within reach of foraging bears.

"Unless something changes up there, it's going to be the same story year after year," said Jeff Selinger, area wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "If you put thousands of people ... in close proximity with brown bears in essentially an unsupervised area and have a food source available for those bears, bears are going to die and people are going to get hurt."

So far this year, 17 brown bears have been reported killed by people on the Kenai Peninsula, including at least seven sows of breeding age, Selinger said. Brown bears are considered a "species of concern" on the Peninsula with questions about their conservation and population still unanswered.

Selinger said he plans to meet with federal land managers this fall to talk over ways to reduce conflict at the Russian. One idea might require fishermen to grind up the carcasses left after filleting their catch, Selinger said. A goal is to stop people from dumping so much easy-to-get food in the river during fishing season.

This week, fishing has slowed dramatically, but a few anglers still drift the river and cast into riffles. There were rumors that the cubs had recently ripped into rafts parked on shore, though other reports blamed a lone adult bear for the damage.

On Wednesday, several people watched the cubs eating grotty old spawners and behaving themselves.

The bear family had been a remarkable sight for at least two seasons, often delighting anglers with their bold tolerance of people. But the cubs also occasionally misbehaved, according to some observers, raiding backpacks and stealing fish from people.

Corbin, who said he never saw the bears act aggressively toward people, said his clients loved to watch them.

"It was like, 'God, I just hope that those bears don't come across the wrong person.' It's almost like you knew (something bad) was going to happen."

The sow was discovered dead in the forest from at least two bullet wounds during the first week of August. The three nearby cubs were agitated, and one was limping.

A 26-year-old Anchorage man was later accused of shooting the mother on July 31 with a Chinese-made assault rifle and leaving the area without reporting what happened to authorities, as is required.

Last month, Michael Oswalt pleaded not guilty in Anchorage District Court to six misdemeanors, including shooting a brown bear in a closed season, failing to salvage the hide and skull, and recklessly endangering people on the river. His trial is set for Nov. 14, according to the district attorney's office in Anchorage.

Within several weeks of the shooting, the boldest and smallest cub disappeared from the river, fate unknown, Selinger said. But the other two, a male and female, remained, with the male continuing to limp as they foraged for salmon.

Selinger and three state biologists darted the male in late August with a tranquilizer so they could examine its condition. Even as the male went down, the female cub stayed close and ended up darted as well.

The female bear was in good shape. The skinnier male bear had been shot in the joint of its left front leg, Selinger said. The wound was healed over and didn't appear infected. The biologist worked the limb closely to check for a fracture or grating noise. It appeared stiff, he said, but sound.

Selinger said they decided the two cubs had a good chance of making it if left alone on the river.

"That bear will always have a limp, but bears survive that way," he said. "If it can gather enough food and avoid being killed by other bears and stay out of trouble with humans, that bear has a good chance of surviving."

The Baby

The baby was worried about making the blog during his visit...so...

Happy Late Birthday!

Exactly one month late, LeighAnne celebrated her 9th birthday with a costume party.

*Please spare me any fire hazard or hair in the cake lectures. Scroll down 2 entries to see what other health code violations the cake suffered that evening.

The Birthday Gang

We had a few more show up after this picture, but getting the whole gaggle of 'em to stand still for this picture was hard enough.

We had 3 witches and 2 vampire queens. Jamison and one of our neighbor boys went as impossible toddlers...meaning they refused to wear their costumes. Jamison was in a darling little pumpkin sweatsuit when he saw his train shirt and it was all over then.

Uncle Brandon was a real champ and played "bouncer" at the door. He also managed to rally the troops into a game of "frog, frog, toad" (duck, duck, goose) and get a few ghost stories in before present time. Honestly, the whole event would have been a little too hairy without him.



At LeighAnne's insistance we invited all ages. It was important to her that siblings be invited. During the party they became known as the "babies" and were allowed to do just about anything they wanted. They were allowed to leave the garage area and come "help" me in the kitchen. They also got extra candy and a quiet place to play when things were a little loud and crazy. Yes, they were extra work, but tell me this face isn't worth it!

Bad Dog!!

After the party we took a little girl home and left Uncle Brandon in charge of walking Kenai. He told us she wasn't happy to be outside and just wanted to get home...can you guess why? She was atleast kind enough to take a bite out of the opposite side.

In case you missed it

Hard to believe this time 2 years ago!

Karate

Just a picture of LeighAnne at karate. They both seem to love it. Ofcourse 3 nights a week with your bestest friends (the neighbor girls, not each other) can't be all bad.

As per Kent's Request

"Sir, the colors are present"

Activation Ceremony

The Activation of the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment took place at Fort Richardson on October 13th, 2005. Basically, this means a group of soldiers recently came together to form a unit and took on the history and tradition of a previous unit orginating back in World War II.

Here the Brigade Commander and Squadron Commander and Sergeant Major are unfurling the unit colors.

Just take the d@^^# picture

So, with Tim's parents visiting we headed southeast of Anchorage along the Turnagain Arm to Alyeska and Portage Glacier. A little hiking and sight seeing...when we went with Popa we saw beluga whales...but...ahhh...it is October in Alaska and freezing cold rain blowing sideways kind of takes away from the beauty.

None the less, Grammy and Poppy didn't spend hours on a plane, hundreds of dollars, and most of their vacation time to sit around and watch grandchildren sit in front of the TV. So here's what they found at Portage Glacier.



Actually our trip ended up pretty nice, but this was almost the turnaround point.

Most likely my favorite picture to date of Tim's parents.

Cavalry Fitness Test

Tim's newest boss is a proudly sadistic infantryman. He decided there were certian standards that would help any calvary man during his deployment. The follow is what is required of each 1/40th soldier:

**Max Bench Press with goal @ 300lbs.

**40 Yard Dash

**10 mile run in 75 minutes

**8 event obstacle course to include (while dressed in body armor, helmet and rifle weighing around 30 lbs.)
-rope course
-440 yard run while "fireman carrying" 180 lb dummy
-rope climb 8 ft wall

All of this is done at one setting...they start around 9:00 and finish up early afternoon. Tim got his done early and is glad to only have to sit and help each new group.

It's a little frightening when you put it all into the context of war. These events will help them train and prepare for spending days clearing Iraqi villages.

That's all I want to say about that.

Walmart

My view leaving WalMart of Spur Volcano. It's about 90 miles west of us and has been showing signs of life all year long but appears to be no closer to an eruption according to the Anchorage Daily News. Ashes and fire aside, the view is breathtaking. I've only seen it this clear about 5 times. The picture here just doesn't do it justice. And to think it's my WalMart view!!!

Bad Jamison, Good Timothy

This is Jamison with his neighbor Timothy. Timothy has waayy nicer parents than Jamison. Timothy's parents got him an ATV. Jamison's parents got him a stinky non-motorized John Deere tractor from a garage sale. Timothy's parents feel sorry for Jamison and always ask Timothy to share his ATV. Jamison now thinks Timothy's name is share and will start yelling "share!!" when ever he sees Timothy. Timothy dutifully shares his ATV and rides the crummy old John Deere instead. Timothy's parents lay in bed at night and proudly discuss how much better behaved Timothy is than Jamison.

Pajama Party '05

SarahBeth had a sucessful 7th birthday. If I were to go back, this was probably her first party on her birthday and not coupled with her sister. We kept it to the girls in the neighborhood (all 8 of them) and invited all to spend the night. However, being the sly moma that I am, I was pretty sure only one or two would go for the slumber part of the party. I was right-only one. Whew!

None the less, the girls came in their PJ's and had alot of fun. We made special puffy paint non-skid socks and ate chocolate cake and ice cream after 8:00 p.m.(!!) at night. A sleepy 3 year old left saying "Thanks for my first slumber party". SarahBeth called it the Best Birthday Party EVER.

Tomorrow AM, pancakes for SB, LA and the lone slumber friend and then I'm done with one birthday party of a whole 'nother year.

(LA has opted for an October party so she could get to know and invite more school friends.)

Thanks Dad

A couple years ago dad gave the girls a karoke machine. I have to admit, at times I used it more than they (a girl can clean or sing Nora Jones all afternoon!) but today...today the machine truly was the best thing going at "Pajama Party 05". A little Disney singing can make a party a party. So, for the life saver and sanity saver of a life time,

Thanks Dad!

a.k.a "Da Player"

One boy, 8 girls, you do the math!

Whaaat!?!?

I'm not doing anything!

Bubbles

Without further ado...

Kenai Woof-woof Davis

1/2 Lab(duh) 1/2 German Shepherd
100% full bloodied puppy (aahhwww)

We found her via craigs list and I cried when we left her twin brother behind

She's another baby in the house, but I know with enough patience and love, she will be another unruly member of the family in no time.

Introducing...

First Day of School

Well the first day of school came and went with very little fanfare. I guess we are getting to be seasoned pro's. SarahBeth was comforted with knowing our next door neighbor would be sitting next to her in class, and LeighAnne always takes a challenge head on...especially when socializing is involved.

I think Jamison was more upset than anyone else. The morning of the 1st day there were clips of school buses on TV and he pointed at the screen and said "YaYa go" (YaYa is the word for sister) but when we said good-bye to SB, he cried after her. (LA was too cool to be walked to her class room) However, coming home to Popa and the Disney channel all to himself soothed any sadness.

The girls are excited about their teachers and seem to have a great school. Ofcourse only in Alaska would you receive a reminder that children must wait outside the school until the first bell unless it's too cold. Too cold at Alpenglow is -10 degrees!! This includes recess!! Brrr!

Seward

Dad came to visit this last week, so we all went down to Seward. About 150 miles south of Anchorage, Seward is on the Kenai Pennisula. It has the only road access to the Harding Icefield...an icefield that covers about 300 square miles. Ofcourse, the weather wasn't so great, and the most ice we saw was a little blue glacier peaking thru the fog and low lying clouds. But we did see some sea otters, sea lions, mountian goat and a bunch of sea birds while we were on the 3 hour boat tour. The drive there is half the beauty, so coming and going made up for any short comings of the boat ride. When the girls hollered out that they were hungry, they then realized we hadn't seen a MD's since we left Anchorage.

Here's some shots of my personal favorite scenes.

A smile is just a frown UPSIDE DOWN!

Sarah Beth had to gasp clear the table and empty the dishwasher.

We got Mooseinated

Last night as we sat and watched TV, a moma moose and her baby came up out of the woods behind our house, walked across our new grass and headed down the street. This morning when I went to take the pictures of the tracks, she was about 5 houses down, but disappeared into the trees before I could take a picture.

Here's the damamge. Right now I find it amusing that I have moose tracks in my new yard...but if it becomes an everyday thing....well...