EARLY MORNING WALK

Last Friday Kathie, Bonnie and I decided to go for a walk on the Eagle River (Kathie's idea).  I was a little apprehensive once we got on it, but the ice was VERY thick and we didn't have a problem at all.  It was cold, but I dressed for it and was actually really warm.  It was so beautiful!

Christmas Tradition

Any of you that know me know that I am not fond of decorating "food" items!  Joshua asked me a few weeks ago if we were going to decorate our Gingerbread house this year.  I thought maybe I could forgo this tradition, but after that I had to go buy one.  We had to do some prodding to get Nathan to help, but they had fun, and it turned out cute!

Thanksgiving

As you can see we had a very YUMMY Thanksgiving.  We got together with 3 other families and had a lot of fun.  We had plenty of food and LOTS of pies!  

Alaskan Sunrise

ACES

Joshua hung out with Spencer last night at the ACES Hockey game. 

Halloween

Joshua got to go Trick or Treating with his friends on Halloween.  Jared was so great and took them all out for about 2 hours.  It was cold, but at least it wasn't snowing.  Joshua dressed up as a cowboy riding an ostrich.  He was so happy!  The night before the inflater fan broke and he was devastated....to tears.  I decided that I would just stuff it with newspaper.  This actually worked great....a little too great!  With all the extra insulation he got really hot and the costume came off half way through the night, and he became just a cowboy!  The all had fun and went home with TONS of handy.  Braxton weighed his and it was 6 lbs.  Now we have to detox!

Amelia Earhart

Joshua had to do a Bibliography Box on Amelia Earhart for school.  He read a book, wrote a report, and crafted this informational box....I think he knows way to much about Amelia Earhart!

Hiking

Jared had Columbus Day off, so he and I went hiking on the Power Line Trail, with our good friends Jim and Kathie.  It was so beautiful, although we didn't see a lot of moose.  We did get to see some, but they were so far away that we couldn't get a picture.  Last year we did this hike about one week later, and we saw TONS up close.  Oh well, it was a lot of fun, and we stopped at Moose's Tooth on the way home!

Glacier Cruise

Our friends Gary and Gwen came to visit us from Iowa City.  We were so happy to see them and catch up.  They did a lot of exploring in Alaska, but on Labor Day we went with them.  We took a Glacier Cruise out of Whittier, AK.  It was rainy, but turned out to be a beautiful day.  We saw otters and porposies.  We ate a yummy prime rib and salmon dinner.  Josh became a Junior Ranger (Nate is way too cool for that!) The scenery was breathtaking and the Glaciers are AMAZING!!!

Rainbow Regatta

Joshua's Scout Troop did a modified Rainbow Regatta.  They made boats out of wood, and then floated them down the river.  They had so much fun!

Jared's "Once in a Lifetime!"

Jared went on a 2 week Caribou Hunt with some friends.  As he will tell you this was a "once in a lifetime" hunt and as you can tell by all his smiles....he was in heaven!  They drove 18 hours to Prudoe Bay Alaska and were literally out in the middle of no where.  He got a caribou within the first few days. He drove it into the nearest town and had it flown down to Anchorage.  Yes, I had to pick it up at the airport and take it to the meat processing place.  Now that is Love!  He also did some sheep and bear hunting, but luckily (for me) he was unsuccessful!  He is still on a high!  And FYI, yes I am letting him mount it and that is TRUE LOVE!  Now between the Caribou, Halibut and Salmon, we are set for years!

I had never seen him with more growth that about 2 days, so I had to take these pictures...but was very glad he shaved it off!

WHAT!!!!!

Watch out Alaska....he has his permit!

First Day of School

Nathan is in 8th grade and Josh is in 5th!

Scenes from Flag Football

Josh is playing Flag Football for the Junk Yard Dogs this year.

Thunderbird Falls

Our last day with Grandpa and Grandma we decided to hike to Thunderbird Falls.  This is an easy 1 mile hike, but it is a must do....so pretty and green.  Grandpa was fascinated with all the different kinds of mushrooms that grow here in Alaska.

HOMER Adventures

The boys and I took Grandpa and Grandma down to Homer for a couple of days.  On the way down we saw two small bears eating Salmon in the Kenai River.  We also saw a gorgeous sunset in Homer.

The main reason for going was so that these two could do some Halibut fishing!  They caught some big ones and we now have a freezer full!  They also caught some sharks and sting rays.  It was quite the adventure.

While they were out on the ocean, they say whales and otters (floating on their back eating fish!)

While they were fishing, we hung out at the beach.  Josh had a blast and he and Grandma collected a bunch of cool rocks.

I did some "Alaskan" Sunbathing!

 And of course we couldn't leave Homer without some AMAZING Fish and Chips!

Birthday's

Nathan and I both celebrated birthday's this month.  Nate turned 14, and I turned 38.  Nathan had a spread out celebration.  We were in Denali on his Birthday, so we took a cake and sang to him there.  We then had a whirlwind few days with a trip to Homer, AK, so his Birthday kind of slipped by.  He STILL hasn't decided what he wants, and he doesn't want money.  I told him he better decide quick or it will be Christmas.  We celebrated with an Ice cream cake at home.

His one and only gift....(thus far)

Denali National Park

While my parents were here we drove up and spent a couple days at Denali National Park.  The pictures don't come close to doing it justice, but all I can say is BEAUTIFUL!  The weather was sunny and warm.  Mt. McKinley wasn't out on our day in the park, but we did get a beautiful view on the drive up.

Our Family at Eileson Visitor Center:

Some of the views in Denali:

We saw a lot of animals: bear, birds, caribou, moose, sheep

One of the things Nathan was hoping to see (and which is rarely seen) is the wolf.  We saw two and got to watch them for quite a while.

If you look close, you can see a moose and bear close by it!

The boys tried to find gold, but were unsuccessful!  

Joshua was a caribou...for a few minutes!

You cannot drive into Denali in your own personal car.  Everyone visiting has to take a shuttle bus.  This was our green bus for the day.  It was a 12 hour trip to the end and back, but well worth it.  Our driver, Kim stopped and let us all go out and pick wild blueberries.  Jared and Nathan were eating all they could find.

Portage Glacier

One day while the others were fishing, my mom and I and our good friends Doug and J'nette went out to the Portage Glacier.  It was a cold and windy (hence the hairdo) day, but it was beautiful!