Merry Christmas!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!  The snow has been decent so we've been out cross-country and downhill skiing.  We've heard that the Midwest has been getting pounded with storms.  Be safe.  We are thinking about you all!!!!

Arrgh...We need snow!!!

I feel like we are trapped inside of a bubble and can't get out. I can't remember the last time we saw the sunshine. We have no snow--zero, zilch, nada. That means, we can't go cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or sledding. It decided to rain last night, and then freeze, so we'd be risking our life to take the dogs for a walk. Arrgh. Please...wherever you are...do the snow dance for us...send us some snow...please!!!  I can't imagine living in Alaska and not having a white Christmas.

A Morning Visitor

So picture this...I'm sitting at the dining room table, eating my egg and toast and sipping my coffee, and I hear a kaboom. "What was that?" I asked myself. I walked to the front window and saw the culprit...a moose had knocked one of our pumpkins off the porch!! He was right on our front porch, helping himself to our beautifully carved pumpkins. The dogs went wild, as to be expected. At one point, I wasn't sure how we would get out the door and to the car. Twenty minutes later we left for work, with a big moose guarding our front yard. Ah...what a way to start the day!


Our morning visitor eating his breakfast


Hiking at Kincaid Park at sunset


Don't you think we should enroll Cooper in some sort of doggy modeling school?

A Little of This, A Little of That

Andy and I were in Salt Lake City November 1-5 for a friend's wedding. We also had the opportunity to drive up to Park City and do a little wedding planning of our own. We got to see where the reception will be held, meet our wedding coordinator and scope out some options for lodging. Andy was in his friend's wedding so we were quite busy most of the time. The week we got back to school was parent/teacher conference week so we are not doing too much this weekend. Those conferences are mentally exhausting (just like IEP meetings).

We have started a wedding webpage but have a few things to tune up before announcing the address. Stay tuned for that...

I have included a few photos from the wedding. Enjoy!

Andy, Jeff (the groom), Nyk, Sloan


It was a beautiful, SUNNY day for the wedding.


It was great to see our friends again! Weddings are usually the place where we can all be together.

My Wisconsin Trip

I just returned to Alaska from a 5-day trip back to Wisconsin. Family came from all over (Alaska, Arizona, D.C., Minnesota, Chicago) to help celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday. I got to see my aunts and uncle that I haven't seen in a few years. I also got to meet my little cousins from D.C.!! (It's hard to see each other when you live on opposite ends of the country!) We all had great fun!! The next time we'll all be together, again, will be in August for our wedding. :)

Here are some photos...


Each year, from when my sister and I were little to the time we moved away from home, we did a fall run to the apple orchard, pumpkin patch, and cheese factory. My sister and I were both home so, even at age 28, I still enjoyed the fall run.


On Saturday, we had to get Gram out of the house (my cousin drove her around to do some errands) so we could decorate for her suprise party. I didn't know everybody at the pary but it was sure fun to make the rounds and strike up conversation with people.


Even at 80 years old, Gram still loves her Bud Light!

Ahhh...The Weekend

Wow! I can't believe I haven't updated the blog since August. I wish I had some super exciting things to share, but I don't. Lately, it's been school stuff and more school stuff. I can report that this is one of my most challenging years as a special education teacher. It just feels like things are never going to slow down and my head is spinning out of control. Anyways, enough of the school chatter.

The days are getting darker and there is a chill in the air, so you know what that means--winter is coming...really soon! There is quite a bit of snow up on the mountains and it is slowly making its way down to the city. I am excited to get out and ski and snowshoe, but I just wish our fall would last longer. We are utilizing the time we have left (before the snow comes) to get things done outside and around the yard.

I'm off to Wisconsin next Tuesday - Sunday for my Gram's 80th birthday. I should have some more photos to post when I get back.

We hope everyone is doing well!!


Each year at the Alaska State Fair we like to look at all of the giant vegetables, products of the abundance of sunshine we get in the summer.


Just call him Andy, the Tool Man, Tullis! Andy built this fence on the side of our home.


This tree is in our front yard and its bright yellow leaves lit up our living room.

And...we're off!

Well, we have officially started school. The kids came back last Wednesday, August 22nd. Andy and I are still trying to get back into our "school routine" and build our endurance back up so we are not so completely exhausted after a school day. It helps to have Cooper because he is a good excuse to get outside after school. :)

For those of you who haven't heard yet, we have a place and a date for our wedding. The big day is August 9, 2008, at the Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah. We are so excited!! The wedding ceremony will be held up in a meadow, which means guests ride the chair lift up!! Then, on the way down, everyone rides the alpine slide!!! How fun! The bride, groom, and photographer are the only people who can ride the chair lift down but, I told Andy, we should take the alpine slide down.

Otherwise, not too much happening around here. I've included a few photos:


On the top of Flattop Mountain


When my sister was in town, we went on a glacier cruise out of Whittier, Alaska.


Andy and I went fishing with our friends, Jeremy and Angie, one day. A thunderstorm rolled in but that didn't stop us (and all of the other people) from fishing.

Photos from the Crow Pass Cabin

Andy set everything up while Cooper and I were out playing in the snow.


Thank goodness for plastic champagne glasses, otherwise I don't think they would have survived the hike.



Cooper played his role perfectly!


At Crow Pass, on a hike to see Raven Glacier

It's Been a Whirlwind!

We arrived back in Anchorage (from the Crow Pass Cabin) last Wednesday afternoon and then had some good friends from CA, Ryan and Martha, arrive in Anchorage Wednesday night. They were here for only a short time so we were on the go quite a bit! We had a great time, though. Last Friday night, we stayed in a yurt overlooking the Eagle River. The sounds of the river were so relaxing. Cooper came along with us on this trip and, as usual, enjoyed all of the sniffs and smells of the outdoors. On Saturday, we drove down south to the Kenai River/Russian River area for a few days of camping and fishing. On one of our days of fishing, we caught sight of 4 bears!! Bears are known to frequent the Kenai River/Russian River area because they know that fish are being caught and they can find some carcasses. They also know that people usually have food in their backpacks. (In the past, fishermen left their backpacks/bags on the shore while they were fishing and the bears have gotten into them.) There are now rules that you need to wear your backpack and have your fish (that you've caught) on you at all times. That may mean hanging them from rope from your waist. Anyways, a grizzly bear and her cub were the first 2 bears to make an appearance. The little cub was, actually, pretty cute. They got pretty close to the people on the river but as long as you don't bother them they won't bother you. About 5 minutes later, 2 black bears came down to the river. This was only the 2nd time I've seen bears from such a close distance and, let me tell you, it gets your heart pumping. Our friends from CA were lucky to have seen both types of bears within minutes of each other. Overall, we all had a fantastic time and are now awaiting our final visitor of the summer--my sister!

Here are some photos of our latest adventure:


Our friend, Joe, performed at a local bar one night. While there, we ran into a local celebrity. If you watch "Deadliest Catch" you'll recognize the guy in the middle as Captain Jon.


Ryan, Martha, Me, Andy and Cooper in front of the yurt right before we started our 1.5-mile hike back to the truck.


This is one of the grizzly bears we saw at the Russian River. The little cub is behind the mama bear and, unfortunately, did not make it into the photo.

Crow Pass Cabin

We'd like to share our exciting news!! We're engaged!!! Yep, after our 5 years together, we have decided to take the next step. Here's how it happened:

We rented the Crow Pass Cabin for two nights (this past Monday and Tuesday). After our 3-mile hike in to the cabin, we ate some lunch and got our things unpacked. There were still a few snow piles around the area so I took Cooper out to play in the snow for a bit while Andy remained back at the cabin. On our way back, Cooper ran ahead to see Andy (in the cabin). As I was about 2 feet away from the porch, Cooper came out of the cabin with a new collar around his neck. I noticed the new collar and also noticed a ring hanging down from it. Well, that's when I realized what was going on started crying, pinching myself to make sure it was real!! (I have to say that Cooper played his part perfectly.) While Cooper and I were out playing, Andy also got out the champagne and spread paper hearts around the cabin. Each heart had something written on it (places we've traveled to, memories, etc...). It was so romantic!

I'm having some trouble uploading photos so I will post those later!

Quartz Creek Campground

My Dad is up from Wisconsin so Andy and I took him camping at Quartz Creek Campground. It was a great campground (minus the grumpy campground host), with clean restrooms, nice fire pits, and decent-sized campsites. The campground is located on Kenai Lake, which is a beautiful turquoise color. Cooper did a little bit of swimming but he just wasn't into swimming after sticks. A couple of weeks ago he hurt his right back leg. We're not sure what it is but are thinking he pulled something. We are waiting it out and just taking it easy with him so we can, hopefully, avoid a large vet bill.

Here are some photos from our camping trip:

Cooper spent most of his time chasing a little squirrel from tree to tree.


This is about as far as Cooper ventured out into Kenai Lake. It's a COLD lake.


Andy, me, and my Dad standing in front of Kenai Lake

Weekend Warriors

We have been doing a lot of biking this summer. On average, we ride about 8-10 miles a day. This last Friday, we drove about 20 miles down south on the Seward Highway and parked at Bird Point. Then, we got on our bikes and rode about 8 miles to a small town called Girdwood. Every year (around the 4th of July) they have their Forest Fair, so we enjoyed the typical fair food, live entertainment and beer garden. They also have a lot of vendors who sell great handmade (artsy) items.

On Friday night we ventured out to go king salmon fishing with our friend, Heath. Fishing started at midnight (there are so many fishing rules and regulations up here) so, at 11:30 p.m., after setting up our tent and getting on our gear, we walked about a mile through the woods (bear territory) and down to Sheep Creek. We claimed our fishing spot and, while other fisherpeople filled in spots around us, waited until midnight to cast our lines. This was my first "midnight" fishing adventure so I was pretty impressed with myself when I fished until about 1:30 a.m. Thank goodness for Rockstars and power bars!! Neither Andy nor I caught a king. I do have to say, though, that just listening to the intoxicated fisherpeople around us was very entertaining. Around 2:00 a.m. we started walking back to our campsite. It was dusk and made for some difficult lighting through the woods. Our friend, Heath, had a shotgun with him (not unusual up here) so we felt pretty safe. About 1/2 way back to camp we heard a gun shot from behind us. My heart started pumping a little faster and we picked up the pace a bit. Not a minute later, we heard a gun shot coming from up ahead of us. Okay, so now I was a bit more nervous. I don't think I could have even seen a bear if one was near us, due to the lighting. Well, we made it back to camp safely but the adventure did not end there. We got to bed around 3:00 a.m. and, just as I was starting to fall asleep, some other people in the campground decided to start letting off fireworks (even though they are prohibited). People were nicely asking for them to stop. That lasted for about an hour. Finally, some peace and quiet. Not so lucky. So now it's about 4:00 a.m. and some other campers decide to play their stereo as loud it goes. I'm not talking some soft elevator music; this was some hard core music. People were yelling for them to turn it off and have some respect for the other campers. Well, the people playing the stereo had obviously been drinking quite heavily because that didn't go over too well. Swear words were exchanged for a while, the cops were called, and all was silent again, about another hour or so later. So, I think I finally fell asleep around 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. and then we got up at 9:30 a.m. to try our luck at fishing again. We didn't catch anything but I think I can say I've never had a camping experience quite like this one.

I don't have many photos to post right now. Here is one of Andy and I right before we started our trek down to our fishing spot at 11:30 p.m.



My dad flies in tomorrow so I'm sure we'll have some more photos to post soon.
I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July.

Summer adventures so far...

I just thought I would post some photos of things we've been up to so far.


My mom (and 4 of her friends) are up visiting so we have been quite busy with that. This past weekend we went camping in Seward and then near the Kenai River. In Seward we went to the Sea Life Center and Exit Glacier. We stayed at a campground near the Kenai River called Hidden Lakes. We enjoyed the peace and quiet and even saw 2 black bears (a cub and an adult). The fish are in and, boy, is the river ever busy with fishermen. Talk about combat fishing! I have not been fishing, yet, this summer, but Andy has taken a few of our guests out. What an experience for them! I'm not really too excited about fishing when you are standing shoulder-to-shoulder.


Cooper loves camping! So much to see. So much to smell. He gets pretty tired by the end of the weekend.


Last Thursday was summer solstice so we celebrated the longest day of the year by going to a Matisyahu concert at the Moose's Tooth. Awesome!

I'll post more photos as our summer adventures continue...

Andy's Fishing Trip to the Chuitna River

I think we can say the fishing season has begun up here! Our chest freezer has been cleaned out and it is ready to stock some salmon. Andy and some buddies went on a 4-day fly-in fishing trip to the Chuitna River (across the Cook Inlet). They took a small (5-passenger) plane to an airstrip in Beluga. A guy (Kenny Rogers look alike) picked them up in a barely-running Dodge pickup and drove them (5 miles) to the general store to fill water jugs. Another guy took them to the mouth of the river (2 miles) where they set up camp. The weather was hot (and the fishing was slow) for the first 3 days. 3 king salmon were landed but, due to lack of ice, they could not keep them. :( Finally, on the 11th hour of their last day, Andy brought in a 25+-pound king salmon!! It was the day they were flying out so he got to keep that one. They safely arrived back in Anchorage on Sunday night. Andy vacuum-sealed the fillets and they were placed in our awaiting freezer.

Adam, Jeremy, Ben, Andy


Andy and his first (big) fish of the season


Now that's a thick fillet of fish!

Our adventures in Utah...

Our trip down to Utah was amazing! We spent the first 2 nights in Torrey because Andy had a friend getting married there. Then, we (with a friend, Sloan) spent 2 more nights down in southern Utah. We hiked some beautiful places, including some slot canyons where, in some places, you had to take your backpack off your back and walk sideways through the canyon. That is how narrow it got! It was quite the experience because I had never hiked through the desert before. Phew! What a difference it is from hiking up in Alaska!! Not only is it 30-40 degrees warmer, but it took some time to get used to the altitude change. Bryce Canyon National Park was breathtaking! I just don't quite know how to explain it, and I'm not sure if a picture will do it justice.

Andy and I also spent a few nights up at his family cabin in Brighton. It just wouldn't be a Brighton experience without a few rounds of frisbee golf! We also did a lot of hiking but, with it being early summer, snow blocked us from doing longer hikes. It felt great just to relax, too.

Nine more days until our first visitors and I can't wait!! I'm also excited that our flowers are finally starting to bloom in our front yard. About another week or so and I'll be able to make some rhubarb crisp. Yummy!

We are getting closer to summer solstice, which means we are up to 18 hours of daylight. You just can't beat that!

Enjoy the photos...

Hiking with friends in Torrey, Utah


Hiking in Escalante (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument)


Bryce Canyon National Park

Summer is (almost) here!!

The weather continues to be cooperative, so Andy and I have been trying to get out as much as we can. We only have 1 more week of school left and then we have the whole summer to play!! On this particular trip, we ventured out on a hike to Table Rock (about 20 minutes south of Anchorage). It offered spectacular views of the Cook Inlet and surrounding mountains. It was a bit windy, though.

On Friday (May 25th) Andy and I leave for Utah. We have a wedding to go to down in Torrey, Utah, and then we plan on spending a couple more nights camping in southern Utah. I haven't been there but I hear it is beautiful! We also plan to spend a few nights up at the cabin in Brighton and, of course, spend time in Salt Lake. We'll be back in Anchorage on June 5th, only to be anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first guests from the lower 48--my mom!!! I am so excited for this summer and all of the great memories that will come with it!

Where does the time go?

Well, I had good intentions to frequently update the blog. I can't believe it's been so long!! School is going so fast. The kids only have 13 more days of school left!! Yikes! May 25th is the teachers' last day. We started a new calendar this year so we are getting out about 2 weeks earlier than last year.

We haven't had too much going on. Two weekends ago we put some new flooring down in our kitchen and dining room. Andy and I did all of the work ourselves and, I must say, it's lookin' good. The weather has been partly sunny with temperatures in the 50's so we have been biking to work these last few weeks. What a refreshing way to start the day! Today, we took a 17-mile (round trip) bike ride into downtown Anchorage for lunch. (That's what the photos are from.) The tourist season must be fast-approaching because the hot dog and salmon quesadilla stands are already out.

Mom, we are up to 16 hours, 38 minutes and 30 seconds of daylight!

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone has a Happy Easter! We are going to the Performing Arts Center, later this afternoon, to watch STOMP. We'll probably put some salmon on the grill for dinner. Otherwise, not much planned. I've been doing a lot of spring cleaning, which seems never-ending!!

Also, just wanted to show some photos from my birthday celebration in Mexico. Enjoy!

Mom: 14 hours, 0 minutes, 5 seconds of daylight!!!

Kincaid Park

We just had to go to Kincaid Park (with the dogs, of course) to celebrate the day. For the first time since February 3rd, our temperature got above freezing!!! Yahoo! We hit 33 degrees today and it's supposed to be about the same throughout the rest of the week. We still can have hope that spring is on its way! Anyways, just thought we'd share a few pictures of our outing. We hope you are all doing well!

Spring Break

It certainly is not spring up here, so I'll say we went to San Diego for our Mid-Winter Break. :) We had an awesome time, visiting Andy's mom, sister, and friends. It actually worked out that we got to spend some time with my sister because she was in the area for work. On Monday, we went to the San Diego Zoo. I had never been there and it had been years since Andy had been there. It was great to watch all of the animals but our favorites were the orangutans and pandas. On Tuesday, we drove down to Mexico for the day. Ahhhh...the lobster was so delicious but I'd have to say that the highlight of that day was experiencing a Mexican traditional birthday celebration. In a nut shell, this is what happened: The servers brought out a piece of cake and I was thinking, "Oh, that was nice." Then I heard Andy's sister say, "Uh oh" and I knew something was going on. So here I am, surrounded by about 5 servers (plus the 8 people we were down there with), and the servers are blowing whistles. I ended up taking a tequila popper shot, followed by a gentle head shaking (by the servers), which was then followed by me having to take a bite out of the piece of cake (WITHOUT A FORK). Needless to say, it doesn't feel so great to have frosting up your nose! :) It was all worth it, though. On Wednesday, we went wine tasting and played 18 holes of golf. (Is this a good time to say that I beat Andy in that round?) We played another round of 18 holes on Thursday and then spent a lot of the evening watching the basketball games. It felt great to get a little vitamin D and come back to Alaska with a little color on our faces. I shouldn't complain about lack of sunshine, though. We are now up to 12 hours, 33 minutes of daylight!!!!