Way Up North

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T21:00:00.000-09:00

I am not a big Valentine's Day person. It seems that it can get a bit over the top quickly. But I like some of the smaller stuff, like sugar cookies, paper hearts, little gifts. We had a good day at our house today, celebrated in my low-key style. We started last night by making sugar cookies for Oliver's class at daycare. Oliver had fun cutting out the cookies. He really wanted to help put them on the cookie sheet, but by the time they got there they were ~~slightly~~ disfigured. He also enjoyed eating the cookie dough. This morning we had delicious heart shaped pancakes for breakfast. Oliver is beginning to develop a love for breakfast meats (bacon and sausage). Until a few weeks ago he had no interest in them, now I have to ration him. Tonight when we came home from work we had a big surprise. Our good friends the Moore's (Chelsea and Andy, I think Brig was at work) had decorated our entry way and dinning room. It was a great surprise and made all of us smile. They even brought us chocolate covered strawberries. I am thankful for good friends to brighten our days. We finished the evening off by going for a walk. Oliver cannot get enough of the outdoors. He cries when we bring him inside (which makes us proud).
Hope you had a great day, whether you like to celebrate big or small.

Stealing Julie's Thunder

2012-02-09T16:54:00.002-09:00

It's a Girl!!
jake

When it gets cold in Alaska...

2012-02-05T16:09:00.000-09:00

This past month was cold in Anchorage; the average temperature was 2.5 degrees. It was the 4th coldest January since they began keeping record in 1917. The lower 48 has been experiencing a much different phenomenon this winter, temperatures much warmer than usual and no snow. In all honesty, I feel a little sorry for everyone in the lower 48. Since living in Alaska, I have grown to love winter (I know some of you are thinking I have lost my mind). But I love that I wake up every morning and know there is going to be snow on the ground. I love knowing I can plan on going skiing, sledding, or snowshoeing any day of the week. I don't have to wait for the snow to make plans to go out and play. The snow is there everyday and I get to pick the best days to go out on and I love it.
Now, back to the cold month of January. While the cold is cold, it can present some fantastic opportunities. Last weekend, we were able to enjoy one of those opportunities. Since we have lived in Alaska, every winter we have wanted to ski Glacier Creek. Glacier Creek is the creek that runs through Girdwood and under the hand tram. In order to ski Glacier Creek the conditions have to right. It has to be in the -20s (yes, you read that right negative twenties) for several days in order for the ice to freeze over parts of the creek. Last week, our fifth winter here, we were finally able to get out and ski the trail. It was awesome. We started later in the day and it was somewhere between -2 and -9, so the we did not make it as far up the trail. However, what we did ski was amazing. It was a sunny afternoon and there is something about being surrounded by everything covered in white snow that is so peaceful. Normally I would be a little nervous about the parts where you have to ski over the creek on the ice bridges, there is something unsettling about skiing over moving water, but is was not bad at all. Maybe, I enjoyed it because it is not typically ski. When you can only do something under certain conditions and you have waited several years, it makes it more cherished or enjoyed. In the end, it was a great ski, one I look forward to going on again.

Jake and I enjoying ourselves. Love the icicles on Jake's eyelashes - mine are not as noticeable.

Jed. Notice the creek on his right.

Taking turns going over the creek.

Ethan - this is his favorite trail, winter or summer, in all of Alaska.

Veggies in my Oatmeal

2012-01-30T13:04:00.001-09:00

At our house, we tend to eat pretty well-rounded. However, I feel like I never reach the goal of 5-6 veggies a day. We certainly eat our vegetables, but there is always room for improvement. In an effort to eat more vegetables, I am always looking for ways to sneak more vegetables into our meals. A friend of ours passed along a cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld (as in Jerry Seinfeld's wife) entitled Deceptively Delicious. It is about adding more vegetables into our diet. She uses a lot of vegetable purees and adds them to her everyday recipes. One recipe that we have fallen in love with is oatmeal. Before this recipe, I could never get Jake to eat oatmeal; my oatmeal was reserved for cookies only. I also love this recipe because we get in some veggies at breakfast. Enjoy!

Oatmeal

1 C. milk

1/4 C. firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 C. canned pumpkin or sweet potato puree

1 t. vanilla (optional)

1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

1 C. old fashioned oats

2 t. peanut butter (optional)

dried fruit and nuts (optional)

maple syrup for serving (optional)

1. In a pan combine milk, sugar, pumpkin or sweet potato, vanilla, and spice. Bring to gentle boil, add oats. Reduce heat and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, until oatmeal is soft and creamy. Stir in peanut butter if using.

2. Spoon oatmeal into bowls, sprinkle with dried fruits and nuts and serve with warm maple syrup.

3. Serves 2.

I tend to use all the ingredients, save for the syrup. It seems sweet enough without it. The recipe calls for natural peanut butter, we tend to have Jiffy, so that is what I use. Like I said above we love the recipe and the boys even ask for it.

Top 10 of 2011

2012-01-01T21:29:00.001-09:00

This holiday season was a little hectic and to help alleviate some of the stress, I did not send out Christmas cards. On one side it makes me very sad; I love getting Christmas cards in the mail and reading and seeing what our friends and families have been up to the past year. On the other, it did help free up some time and not cause me too much stress.
Anyway, in lieu of cards, I was resolved to at least make a top 10 list of the past year.

*Note to reader: These appear in no particular order.

10. White water rafting Six Mile

This past summer we rafted down Six Mile River near Hope AK while Jake's family was in town. It was a great trip and one which we all survived. There were a few moments when we thought we were going to lose people off the raft, but we all made it safely to the end. It was an adventure.

9. Salmon fishing in Valdez

We love Valdez, we love fishing in Valdez, and we love the excuse to visit our friends Anne and Weston. This summer while my parents were up with our niece and nephew, Kendra and Levi, we rented an RV and went to Valdez for a few days. We had a great time, caught a ton of fish, enjoyed some great weather, and saw lots of bears, sea lions, and moose. The RV was a great way to go.

8. Remodeling the bathroom

For those who have been to our house prior to our remodel know it was, bluntly stated, ugly. During the spring we set out to gut it and remodel. It was of course more time consuming than intended, but the results have been well worth it.

7. A year of firsts for Oliver

It has been a year of firsts for Oliver: crawling, walking, talking, feeding himself, passport, etc.(you get the idea). He has been gaining more independence everyday and has kept Jake and I on our toes. He has truly been a blessing and brings so much joy into our home. As you can tell in the picture above, he likes to help in the kitchen when we bake.

6. Road trip to Skagway

I realize those are railroad tracks in the background, but we did drive to Skagway to meet up with my sister Kaycee and her family. Once there we took a ride on the White Pass and Yukon train. Oliver was trooper through all the long hours of driving; maybe it helped we turned his car seat around and he could see where we were going. We enjoyed our time along the way camping, swimming in the hot springs, playing at the park, and stopping for TimBits at Tim Hortons.

5. Jed

This past year Jake's youngest brother, Jed, has lived with us while taking classes at the University of Alaska Anchorage. It has been great having him around and he is a huge help with the house and with Oliver. Oliver loves him and makes sure he gives his uncle Jed a flying elbow (a wrestling move taught by dad) every time Jed is laying down. Jed has also excelled at making eclairs and biscuits this year. I really feel I am bringing him along in the kitchen.

4. Jake's private practice

At the beginning of the year Jake started to look for office space to begin seeing clients privately. He found some space close to our office and began seeing clients. He has slowly built a website and is beginning to establish a practice.

3. Trick-or-treating on Embassy Row

We found ourselves in DC this Halloween and went trick-or-treating on Embassy Row. We figured it was not every year that you can go trick-or-treating on foreign soil. I made Oliver's monster costume and he was big hit.

2. Winter ski trip to the public use cabins

A few years ago our friends the Tyler's invited us on a winter ski trip to a public use cabin. We loved it and have tried to go every year since. Last week we skied into Byers Lake with our friends the Moore's. We again had a great time and are already planning our trip for next year (get ready Becky and Terry!).

1. Baby #2

We figure Oliver has survived the past 18 months with us, so we would try for number 2. Our second is on it's way and will be joining us in June 2012. Oliver (pictured above) and baby #2 will be two years apart. We are excited and will be sure to share more details as we find out.

4th Annual French Thanksgiving

2011-12-10T08:39:00.001-09:00

Since we moved back to Alaska we have celebrated Thanksgiving by cooking a french feast from Julie Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Typically the meal is four or five courses, depending on how ambitious James and I are feeling. James is my partner in crime when it comes Thanksgiving dinner. We begin plotting months in advance, preparing our menu. We end up taking several shopping trips to various stores all over town to find all of the right ingredients. The first year James had to bring some duck fat back from Seattle because we could not find any in town.
Now, you may be asking "why french?" We recognize the French were not involved in the traditional American Thanksgiving feast. However, James is a lover of french food and I love to cook. And than for no other reason that we cooked a french meal the first year, we have continued the tradition. We have had fun with it over the years. In the past we have cooked duck, lamb, and crab. This year we returned to duck.

Our full menu:

Cheeses (brie, cambozola, gruyere, and havarti with dill)

Soupe a L'Oignon - French onion soup

Caneton Roti a l'Alsacienne - Roast duck with sausage and apple stuffing

Haricots Verts A La Provencale - Green beans with tomatoes, garlic, and herbs

Rolls

Gateau Fourre a la Creme d' Orange - Spongecake with orange-butter filling

Homemade vanilla ice cream

Oliver helped me with the cake.

Jake's favorite part of the meal is when he get to use his blowtorch on the soup.

Washington DC and Toronto

2011-12-03T15:14:00.001-09:00

It is has been nearly two months since I have updated this blog. I am not really sure why I have fallen behind. I will do my best to update and am even going to take the time to write a few posts to catch myself up over the next week. So as a starting place, we went to Washington DC and Toronto in late October/early November. Jake and I both had conferences to attend to for work (in two different cities) and they overlapped by a few days. Jake's parents meet us in Washington DC to help out with Oliver. We had a good time and enjoyed some great weather. Toronto was equally as fun, but somehow we did not take as many pictures. *As a disclaimer this post is mostly pictures.

Commuter bikes we rented. Made it easier to see more of the mall.

New MLK Jr. monument. Very busy, but very impressive.

Oliver enjoying the down comforter at the hotel.

National Cathedral. It was closed the public because of damage to the building during the earthquake over the summer.

Spoiled.

Trick-o-treating on Embassy row. (I may devote entire post to this adventure.)

Oliver helped by carrying his own passport at the airport.

Poutine. No trip to Canada would be complete without poutine.

We bought the poutine from the blue food bus in the background. Street food, yummy.

Away with the locks

2011-10-09T21:35:00.002-08:00

A few weeks ago I decided to cut Oliver's hair. It was a tough decision for me. I am not really sure why. The back of his hair was really long and he was on the brink of becoming a mullet. I am not a lover of the mullet, the thought of a mullet makes me cringe. I am not sure why I let Oliver's hair get so long. Maybe I was in denial; how could my adorable baby have such bad hair. When his fly-aways were little, curly rories they were too cute. Or maybe it was the fact that a baby just can't have a mullet. Really, have you ever seen a 15 month old and say, "hey, that baby has a mullet." I recognize these are bad excuses, but I did not want to cut his hair. Until I had too much and realized it was time. He did pretty well partially due to the fact I bribed him with Red Vines. I thought Dad and Uncle Jed would have helped by holding the licorice for him, to help keep him still. Instead they let the kid have free reign. I did not save any of his hair for a baby book because that would require a baby book, and everything was a little sticky from the licorice. We did take a few pictures of the process but somehow failed to take a picture of the end product.
15 month stats: We have been moving down and remaining steady on the growth chart over the past 6-9 months.
22 lbs 13 oz (20th percentile)
29.5 inches (5th percentile)

Making Julia Child Proud

2011-09-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

Growing up as a little girl, our monthly trip to the grocery store was never complete without the purchase of toilet paper. When we would get home, we would take the toilet paper down to the storage room and pile it next to all the other packages purchased over the previous months. Our dad has a fear of running out of toilet paper and it is always a must when you go to the store. Now that we are older, we sometimes give our dad a hard time about the toilet paper and laugh. Over the past few months, I have realized I am just like my dad. Every time we go to the store I have to stock-pile. But for me toilet paper is not what I buy, I buy butter and bring it home and put it in the freezer next to all my other blocks of butter. Salted and unsalted. I think part of my problem is the fact I do not believe in margarine and the prospect of using it does not sit well with me. Butter is just so much better and it is natural. What is margarine even made out of? Either way I think Julia Child and my dad would be proud of my butter supply.

Fall

2011-09-07T19:52:00.001-08:00

Termination dust in the mountains. Leafs on the bike path. We are canning. It must be fall. Fall has always been my favorite season. I don't know if it the Friday night football games, long sleeves and sweatshirts, the changing colors of the trees, or the cooling temperature, but I love this time of year. Although our summer ends a little earlier than for most, I am happy the season change is here. Monday night we went for a bike ride and the path was covered with yellow leafs. I think it happened overnight, because I hadn't noticed them before. Now, as I look around me the colors are changing everywhere and I can't help but to be a little excited about it.
I also love fall because we are canning for the coming year. I don't know when I took to canning, but I can't imagine buying jam, salsa, or sauce at the store. This year my raspberries went wild and we have had an awesome harvest. I made 3 or 4 batches of red raspberry jam and a batch of yellow raspberry jam. We stumbled across a patch of yellow raspberries on a walk one day. They are sweeter than red raspberries and are wonderful. We have already canned our blueberry jam, salsa, peaches, and chutney for the year. Chutney was a new one for us this year. I am pretty excited about it, Indian food is a favorite at our house. We have sauce, apple sauce, soup, and maybe some apple pie filling to go. I am looking forward to the next few months and fall.
On a side note, because I can't post without talking about Oliver, he has decided to start walking. I think our life as we know is about to turn upside down.

Roadie

2011-08-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

Which one is your favorite?

A good friend of ours gave Oliver these awesome shirts (thanks Rob). Over the past few months I have tried to capture some pictures of Oliver in each one and have finally succeeded. I wanted to document that we started at a young age to help Oliver appreciate a love for good music.

The first time he wore the AC/DC shirt to school, one of his teachers commented the next day that "he looked like such a little gentleman". It wasn't until I was at work that I realized he had been wearing his AC/DC shirt; she must not be too familiar with their music.

Road Trip Review

2011-08-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

Our first road trip was a success. We had a lot of fun and did a lot of driving. Camping was challenging in the beginning, but we (Oliver) eventually got better about going to sleep. Every time we put him in the tent, he would get a little hyper and crawl all over the place with a huge grin on his face. He felt like the tent was a playground. We only spent one night in the rain and were only ran out of two campgrounds by bears.

Our destination was Skagway to visit my sister Kaycee and her family. They were on a cruise up to Alaska and we thought it would be great to spend a day with them in one of our favorite places. We took a ride on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. It is a beautiful train ride and the kids had been looking forward to it all summer. I enjoyed the ride and tried to pay as much attention as possible. Seven years ago on our way to NY, Jake and I hiked the Chilkoot Trail and took the train back to Skagway. Because we had to be to Lake Bennett by noon and had to hike out 7 miles, we got up really early. Plus I was tried after a 33 mile backpacking trip. I slept a little on the train ride back to Skagway and Jake has never let me forget it. Anyways, the ride was just as phenomenal as I remember the first time.

On the way into Skagway, we stopped and hiked International Border Falls. As the water melts off the glaciers up in the mountains, it pours down the mountain side as a series of calm waterfalls. At the very bottom the water flows in two directions, 1- towards Skagway and the ocean and 2 - towards BC and the Yukon and the Yukon River. It was a fun hike and was especially welcome after a few days of driving in the car.

A few other highlights of the trip were going to the hot springs outside of Whitehorse and swimming, Tim Horton's, turning Oliver's car seat around, going to the park, and hanging out as a family. It was great adventure. One we will repeat.

And when Jake got tired of driving, Oliver was willing to help out.

Road trip

2011-08-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

We are heading out on our first road trip with Oliver today. We are headed to Skagway and will get to finally use his new passport. We plan on camping along the way. Again this is a first with a mobile baby. We are excited but are a little nervous about the rainy weather we may encounter. We tried all week to find rain gear in his size; it was harder than it sounded and we are hoping to find something along the way if we really need it. I will be sure to document the trip and share it all with you in a week and a half.

Summer Happenings

2011-07-25T20:43:00.001-08:00

We have had a busy summer. Both our families have been up to visit and we have one more big trip planned for next month to Skagway (to meet family). In between all the company we have found time to keep playing. Here are a few pictures of our summertime fun.

We made our annual dip netting trip to Kenai. The first try was unsuccessful due to 4-foot waves breaking on the beach. We did enjoy some family time and saw 3 brown bears on the way home. Attempt two was much better, 51 reds.

We are lucky to live within a block of two parks. We have had a lot of sunshine and have tried to make the most of it. Oliver has quite the tan lines.

Oliver loves to brush his teeth. In the picture below, he found Jed's toothbrush in the shower and tried it out. He seemed to do okay with it, but I think we will keep to the smaller size.

Watermelon has become a favorite fruit. And we love to share everything with Norah.

We are making an effort to try new trails and hikes around Anchorage. Below is Thunderbird Falls. We took my mom, niece, and nephew along on our adventure. Last Saturday we biked a new to us section of the coastal trail, it was awesome.

While Jake's family was in town we white water rafted down Six Mile. If you are looking for an adventure and you are not scared of the water, this is the ticket for you. It is a series of three canyons with class IV and V rapids. Jake's dad and I made it through the first two alive and rode the bus while the others braved the third canyon. I think the toughest part was the swim test at the very beginning.

We have another month to go and I am looking forward to it.

Bathroom

2011-07-15T16:08:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we remodeled our bathroom this spring. All in all, it was quite the endeavor. We only have one bathroom at our house, which made for a few crazy days without a toilet and a long week without a shower. It took longer than anticipated, but home improvement projects always do. We set a new record for the most trips to a home improvement store in one day - 8. At one point I was trying to keep track of the total number of visits, but after an 8 trip day, I stopped. I repainted the walls twice - the first color was horrible and there was no way I was putting that much effort into the bathroom and not have the walls an acceptable color. Jake finally was able to use the blowtorch for something other than french onion soup or creme brulee.
We are fortunate to have Jakes's brother Jed living with us. He was a huge help. His specialty is tile! I am also grateful to all of our friends for letting us use your showers and making us midnight snacks. For about two weeks, our typical bedtime was between 1-2am.
It was a beast of a project, but we managed to come through in the end. And, I am happy with how it all come together. I was a little worried. We bought things at several different stores and even converted an entryway table into a vanity. Here are some pictures of the bathroom, before and after. While uploading the pictures below, I have already forgotten how ugly the bathroom was. I should also mention our washer and dryer are in our bathroom, so we also have a new laundry room.

before

demo

Jake working on the shower pipes

apparently Jake stopped shaving during the remodel

new floor and tub in

new shower tile

painting the second color

after

O is for ...

2011-07-04T00:18:00.000-08:00

Oliver is One

Yep, that is Oliver in his Alaska Grown t-shirt hanging out by his tree. We planted a tree last summer when he was born; so we could watch our baby grow and watch his tree grow. We liked the idea of the little tree representing our little boy's life. Jake "picked" it up one day on a bike ride; we were happy the tree survived the winter! The past year has gone by so quickly and Oliver has grown so rapidly. It is hard to imagine what our lives were like without him. We often question what we did before we had Oliver. He has brought so much joy and happiness to our family. I think we were truly blessed with this little boy.

We celebrated his birth last week and had a dinner party with Jake's family, who were in town, and a few friends. We made him a little lion cake, which he enjoyed. He was hilarious eating eating it, he decided it was better to approach the cake with no hands. I could have watched him eat the whole thing he was so cute. But he let us know when he was done. After a bath to rinse off the frosting and the cake, he opened his presents. And was he spoiled. We are going to rotate through some of the gift because he had so many. Our house has exploded. I think it was a great first birthday and we are looking forward to the coming year.

Family picture at dinner.

The cake, thanks Grammy for decorating.

Starting with the frosting.

No hands!

He was getting really serious about it, I love his wrinkled nose.

active.outside.everyday.

2011-06-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

Today I had the opportunity to guest post on my friend Brooke's blog about staying active and getting outside everyday. It was a fantastic reminder of why I love living in Alaska. Reflecting on one of my favorite outdoor activities (I am not saying what I wrote about, you have to visit Brooke's blog to find out) made me realize there is so much in the State that I want to do. It seems as summer, or any season really, ends we find ourselves naming all the places we should have gone and all the things we wanted to do. So, in an effort to avoid that in a few months, I have made a little to do list. I hope to cross of most of it. I am not sure if I will get everything done, but I am looking forward to trying.

Lost again

2011-06-22T23:36:00.001-08:00

We have yet again miss placed our camera. Remember this post? It was only a year and a half ago. We have some track record. I have not been diligent in my blogging because we have been consumed by remodeling our bathroom and I wanted to share my before and after pictures with everyone, but I have no camera. I even took the pictures already. I will not draw any pictures of the remodel this time, but know as soon as we locate the camera I will update you all. And I will say I am very happy with the result.
Also, I hope we find the camera before Friday, Oliver is turning 1 and I want to capture his big dinner party. Keep you fingers crossed for us and our camera.

Vegas Baby!

2011-05-25T22:04:00.002-08:00

A few weeks ago we took a last minute trip to Vegas. When we cancelled our Japan trip we were sad not to go to Japan, but I think we both felt robbed of some family time. Our good friend James was headed to Vegas and invited us to join along. We had a great time. We stayed at the Wynn property at the Encore. The hotel was awesome. If you go to Vegas, stay at the Wynn properties. Our room was bigger than our house in Girdwood. My "To Do" list consisted of four items:
1. Go shopping at H&M,
2. Hang out at the pool,
3. Go to Hoover Dam, and
4. Go to the Valley of Fire State Park.
I can happily report we were able to check off all the above items, plus have a few wonderful meals. In addition to staying at the Wynn, I would highly recommend going to eat at Rosemary's Restaurant. It is off the strip, in northern Las Vegas and is in a strip mall. It is fantastic.
When we booked the trip, I could have really cared less about where we were going, but I was pleasantly surprised how much fun we had. I would make a return to Vegas.
Here are a few pictures of the trip.

Huge

2011-05-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

My baby is getting big. I think this picture sums it up.

Easter

2011-04-25T20:36:00.000-08:00

We had a great time celebrating Easter this year. We dyed eggs on Saturday and Oliver was happy to help out and get his hands a little dirty. Maybe, a little too dirty. Jake tried to help him grasp the wire egg holder, but he opted to just drop the egg in the dye. He ended up splattering dye all over himself. It wasn't about ten minutes later we had the realization we should wipe his face off; a little too late. But it wore off before church on Sunday.

Sunday morning he had fun playing with his Easter basket. His favorite part was the cheap plastic eggs. We wanted to get him a new toy, but had not luck. Instead he got a new church outfit, Annie's Bunny snacks, sunglasses, and empty eggs. Apparently the empty eggs was all he needed. He loved them. We even took one to church with us to entertain him. It went great until it hit the ground and rolled two pews in front of us. Oops.

Oliver is on the verge of becoming mobile. I think in reality he is beyond the verge, but we are still in denial. He is crawling, although it is not overly coordinated at this moment. I am sure by the of the week he will have it down. And he has two new teeth. It was a big week at our house.

9 Month Stats

2011-04-14T20:34:00.003-08:00

Here are the numbers:
Length - 28 inches = 30th percentile
Weight - 19 lbs. 13 oz. = 30th percentile
Head - 45 centimeters = 50th percentile

He seems to be well proportioned. We were surprised when the doctor told us he was in the 30th percentile; we think he is getting big. Here are some pictures and a little update on what we have been up to.

Oliver hanging out, waiting to go to school.

Oliver trying his hand at art. Although he seemed more interested in getting the paintbrush in his mouth. I tried to make sure it was not the bristly end of the brush. Don't worry, the water colors are non-toxic.

Enjoying the first hike of the season. Okay, there is still snow on the ground and he is in his snowsuit, but it was a gorgeous day. There is no doubt spring is around the corner. We are starting to see the lawn at our house!

Along the same lines, we bought Oliver his first bike helmet and went out on a ride last week. It was awesome. I did not get too many rides in last year after the c-section, so I am looking forward to this summer so much.

He love boxes. Best. Toy. Ever.

Norah had her third birthday. She is growing up to be such a nice dog with a few quirks. We celebrated her birthday by making her a banana smeared with peanut butter topped with dog treats. Kind of an ants on a log, dog style. She waited patiently while we sang and blew out the candles.

Passport Update

2011-04-05T16:36:00.002-08:00

Oliver's passport arrived and he looks very handsome in the photo. Unfortunately, he will not be using his passport this spring; we cancelled our trip to Japan. Rest assured he will be using his passport this summer. We are making a trip to Skagway, AK and will need it to get in and out of Canada. I am optimistic he will use it for other trips as well.

Passport

2011-02-15T13:40:00.006-09:00

This spring we are going to Japan. So last week we sent off for Oliver's first passport. I was surprised at the long line of people waiting to send off their paperwork at the airport post office on a Tuesday night. There were a dozen or so people in the line. Apparently Tuesday is a very popular day to get a passport. We are too cheap to pay someone else to take Oliver's picture, so we did it ourselves. A few notes about the following pictures:
~ Oliver is in his pajamas, who doesn't want their passport photo taken in their most comfortable outfit.
~ Oliver wanted to position his arms in an outward reaching motion, like Frankenstein or a Mummy.
~ It was past his bedtime.
Needless to say, a very successful photo shot. Here are a few of the outtakes.

Funny baby

2011-01-23T22:10:00.002-09:00

Over the past month, Oliver and I have traded turns being sick. To help out at night, Jake has been kind enough to bring Oliver to me so I can stay in bed and nurse him. It is has been wonderful. For everyone who knows me, knows I really like to sleep. Now that I am no longer sick, I am still okay with Jake bringing Oliver to me; I may be taking advantage of my husband's kindness.
Last night was a perfect example of how we (Oliver and I) have become too comfortable with this new arrangement. This weekend began with Oliver throwing up on me Friday morning, me picking up Oliver early from daycare because he had a temperature, and an inconsolable baby. Oliver is a happy, go lucky kind of a kid so this was unchartered territory for us. He did not eat or sleep much over the weekend. As the weekend progressed, Oliver seemed to show signs he was feeling better. Last night we kept him in bed with us; night-time seems like the only time we could get him to eat. I had switched sides of the bed with Jake so I could feed Oliver and keep him in the middle of the bed. As the three of us lay in bed, Oliver turned and rolled over to Jake, opens his mouth wide and tried to latch on to Dad... Dad laying in Moms spot. Oliver quickly looked up and gave us a little smile like he knew what he was doing. Jake and I laughed. This little baby of ours is hilarious - I love it.
Maybe it is time I get up at night and go to Oliver's room again to feed him.

A really long update

2010-12-18T09:16:00.011-09:00

In order to catch up, this may be a long post. However, it will contain mostly photos because that is what everyone wants to see.
In mid-November we got out and went on a hike on a gorgeous day. The following week we were leaving for Baltimore/DC and we knew Oliver was going to be spending a lot of time in his Ergo Carrier. We used the hike as an opportunity to strap him in for a few hours.

I had work meetings in Baltimore and did not want to go without Jake and Oliver; the logistics of breastfeeding and being away for 4-5 days did not sound awesome. So they came along. Jake's youngest brother, Jed, met us there. While I was in my meetings, the boys spent their days in DC. Here are some of the highlights:

Jed returned home with us to Alaska. We got home on Saturday night and Sunday morning took off to ski into a cabin at Byers Lake. It was a little over a mile in. Jake had built a ski converter for Oliver's chariot and a ski pulk for all the gear. He took the kid, I took the gear, and Jed was responsible for himself. We had a great time and managed to exhaust ourselves, which was great because our lantern did not work and we only had our headlamps and crank flashlight. So it was early to bed for us all. We stayed two nights. The second and third day it snowed like crazy. On our way out we faced knee-deep snow, and after a long mile we made it out.

We went to Girdwood for Thanksgiving this year and continued our tradition of a fancy French dinner. The menu this year included: cheese, cured meats, French onion soup, knife and fork salad (that is what I call it), stuffed lamb, potatoes, asparagus with hollandaise, rolls, and pie (pumpkin, pecan,and apple) and cheesecake. We did not go without.

We finished the week by taking Oliver sledding, attending the annual tree lighting ceremony, and cutting down our own Christmas tree.

Oliver is being to start solid food. I wouldn't necessarily refer to it as solids because it seems soupy to me.

He also does this.

and is sleeping like this.

As an aside Julie threw a sweet Dr. Seuss themed baby shower at work, this is just a smidgen of her decorations.

She let us help with the fun stuff

We are looking forward to our families first Christmas. We will have more photos soon.

The Blog Roll

2010-12-17T11:44:00.002-09:00

I hate it when I look at a friends blog roll, see our name, and then see below that it has been 5 weeks since we posted last. I was already feeling like a slacker anyways; the blog roll just seems to rub it in. So in response to the 5 weeks I will be posting soon with lots of pictures.

4 Month Stats

2010-11-07T21:54:00.002-09:00

Length: 25.5 inches, 75th percentile
Weight: 16 lbs, 75th percentile
Head: 42 cm, 50th percentile

Halloween Fishing Trip

2010-11-01T21:22:00.003-08:00

The rational for the costume: Most of you know story about how my mom thought that the ultrasound of Oliver was a fish. (If not see Christmas posts) After she was so disappointed to find out it was baby we thought the least we could do is make him a fish for Halloween. (This is also how she had a girl for a day, you can ask her or my brother about that, I think Jed is still scared) Seeing how Oliver is an Alaskan fish our only option was a salmon, which Julie made. Here are some pics of our catch.
We tried to sell him at the Girdwood Halloween Carnival and Trunk or Treat at the church, but to no avail. Needless to say we failed as fish mongers so our families can expect fish for Christmas.

Pictures

2010-10-21T19:10:00.003-08:00

We went to the park today with Oliver's cousins to take some pictures. Here are a few.

Blog-dump

2010-10-17T20:41:00.004-08:00

I recognize we have not be diligent in updating our blog on a more frequent basis. In my defense, it was easier to blog when I was not working or had a baby. Yet, on the other hand I am happy to be back at work and would not trade Oliver for anything. The past month has been pretty quiet around here. We have been working on the house in an attempt to complete our weatherization project. The State of AK has a great program to help residents to increase the winter efficiency of their homes and provides up to 10K to do it. Plus the Feds have the $1,500 energy rebate this year. So there has been some motivation to work on the house. We are about halfway done, but with all projects it is taking longer than we anticipated.
In addition to getting the house ready for winter, we are also getting Oliver ready for winter. We bought him his first snowsuit. I don't think he will be wearing it too much in the snow, but he will stay warm as we subject him to our winter adventures. Oliver had is first cold this past week, which he shared with me. I have not been this sick in a long time and it seems to be sticking around longer than I would like.
Norah has gotten in tune with her "bird dog" side over the past few weeks. She is a hunting dog. We are afraid to take her hunting because she would probably eat whatever she was supposed to retrieve. That being said, she has cornered the squirrel that lives in our back trees several times. She is like a maniac with a high pitched bark - not her usual bark. She tries climbing the fence to get closer to the squirrel. He antagonizes her and replies in a similar high pitched squeak. It is all very entertaining but we fear she is now on the verge of obsessing over the poor thing. Winter will be here soon enough and I don't think we will see the squirrel for too much longer.
Here are a few photos...
The snowsuit

Everyday

Norah is trading in her dish for a bigger one.

Check back for Halloween pictures in a few weeks, I am attempting to make Oliver his first costume. (Which if I can pull off will be awesome.)

September

2010-09-21T21:59:00.003-08:00

So the events of the month are as follows: Silver Salmon fishing with Anne & Weston in Valdez, Julie returning to work and Oliver starting school (we call it school because by the time he is done there he could have paid for a fancy college degree) Norah losing her wag for a week, and Fall.

I did catch a bigger fish the second day, thanks to Capt' Anne's fish finding navigational skills.

The classic Alaska Xtra Tuff tan in progress

The boy and the fish were about the same size

Seriously, enough with the paparazzi picture taking

Before school and work, day 1

and after.

Norah without her wag (Don't worry it's back)

Hurray for Fall! - Who's kid is that anyways; Beenie, REI jacket, he probably isn't even wearing shoes? (He wasn't)

We stumbled onto this during our walk around the lake last night (there was a calf too but I couldn't get a picture of it safely)

This is probably a more accurate picture of the family dynamics.

A trip south

2010-08-25T10:53:00.009-08:00

This past month Oliver had his first flying experience. We headed home for a wedding, to bless the baby, and visit the family. I should really say families; no trip to the lower 48 is complete without a drive from Boise to Salt Lake to see both sides of our family. Here is our documented trip.
The flight there (and back) were uneventful! Oliver was great, he slept most of the flights. When we was awake he was nice and calm. One guy said to me on the way off the plane that he "did't even know there was a baby on the flight." I was happy Oliver was so cooperative and realize this may not always be the case.

The main reason for the trip was for Jamie's and Chad's wedding. The wedding was wonderful save for the heat. It was close to 100 degrees out. I really can't remember the last time we were in temperatures that hot, I would say close to three plus years. Here are Jamie and Oliver looking good at the reception.

While we were in Utah we blessed Oliver. It was great to have all of Jake's family and most of mine there for the blessing. Oliver wore the same outfit Jake was blessed in, his mom held on to it for us.

We spent the rest of the time visiting with family and enjoying the nice weather. This is my favorite picture of Jake and Oliver hanging out at the park.

And we of course took Norah. She was fast friends with Jade, Jordan and Lexi's new puppy.

Five Weeks

2010-07-29T15:13:00.004-08:00

We have made it to five weeks today. As I thought about it this morning, I was somewhat proud of us. I think we are getting the hang of having this little guy around to take care of. While at times a little stressful (I know it will only increase with age), it has been a lot of fun. I am amazed at how quickly the time has gone, I see my maternity leave rushing by. Here are some new pictures of Oliver.

Oliver at four weeks hanging out on the bed. We celebrated his month birthday last Saturday with cake and ice cream.

His first year dipnetting, a true Alaskan adventure. Although he did not help too much this year, we do get an additional 10 fish. Maybe next year he can help out more. We are going to have to brain storm what kind of a job we can give him that does not involve beating the fish or using a knife. Maybe he can help pack the fish with ice. I am sure you will get an update in a year.

And Norah... well she is adjusting too. Oliver has not taken to his pacifier, however Norah has. A few days after this picture was taken, she enjoyed the pacifier so much she ate the rubber nipple.

More Pics

2010-06-25T11:31:00.001-08:00

The new arrival

2010-06-25T10:48:00.004-08:00

Just the facts and then pictures
Male
7lbs 15oz
21 inches long
9:25am
Lots of dark hair
and a name
Oliver J. Atkinson

Mom and baby are both healthy and doing great.

Forty weeks plus...

2010-06-18T23:04:00.003-08:00

We have entered a holding pattern. Not much is happening with the baby, other than the fact that he is still not ready to enter the world. I am enjoying the time with my mom while she is here. Although Jake has pointed out, she came to see someone else. We are running out of errands to take care of and somewhat fearful of going too far out of town.
Jake is growing out a "playoff beard" until the boy arrives. Heaven help me. I sometimes don't think through all that I agree to with my husband. For example, he would like to cut the umbilical cord with a pirate patch over one eye and a knife. I agreed to the pirate patch and said no the knife; like it was a compromise. Really, who needs two eyes to cut an umbilical cord. I guess I was favoring sterile tools over aim. In the end, I am grateful the doctor will perform the circumcision, who knows what he would have come up for that.

10 Days and counting...

2010-06-06T21:37:00.005-08:00

So we will get to the 10 days stuff in a minute but first a little about our crazy month. Depending on who you ask, as of May 21 Julie and I have been married for 5 years. It has been fun and my fear of "Forever" has begun fading away. We spent the weekend at the Tyler's house (who happened to be taking out the Hippie Wagon for the inaugural run of the summer.) It was a much needed break from Anchorage and working on the house. We were able to go to dinner at one of our favorite resteraunt's (Maxines) and relax with the dog. Norah discovered the fish tank while we there and would probably have watched fish TV the entire time if we would have let her.

As most of you know we have been working hard to get the house (and garden) ready for the Boy and we are starting to see some of our hard work paying off. So while I was doing work like this...

to get this...

Julie was doing this...

and this..

the same stuff she has been doing for 37 & 38 weeks.

Okay she also helped plant the garden and other stuff too.

We also have the nursery about 90% done all we need to do is inert the kid. Which is where the 10 days comes in. She is due on the 16th and the way things are looking now she will probably be pregnant until then (or longer if she is anything like her sister.) At which point I will get to start growing a playoff beard but that is an entirely different post; I will let you know in 10 days how that is going. So back to the nursery this is what it looks like...

and this is how Norah feels about the whole thing...

The growing belly

2010-05-27T22:14:00.003-08:00

This may not be the most exciting post on our blog, but here are a few pictures of me over the past few months.
After spending a week and half in bed after my surgery, this was my first day back at work. 30 weeks.

32 weeks

35 weeks.

36 weeks.

Week 37... missing. Don't worry, I think we have a few more to go!

Cinco de Mayo Baby Shower

2010-05-05T22:33:00.006-08:00

Our office put together a baby shower for us today. As you may know, Jake and I love Mexico, Mexican food, and all things Mexican really. When given the options to have our shower one day this week, we chose Cinco de Mayo. Everyone from our office got into the theme and we had a blast. We had a potluck and everyone brought their favorite Mexican dish, or Alaskan-Mexican dish - we had a caribou taco bar and a nacho fountain to name a few of the highlights. Jake stipulated we needed the nacho fountain.

Our co-workers also got into the decorations. Some got together one night after work and made felt animals to hang from the ceiling. Other people made animals at home and brought them in over the next week to help decorate with. They were really cute and we get to keep them and make a mobile out of them for the nursery.

One of the gals made us an awesome cake. The pictures really show it best.

In addition to going all out for the party, they also spoiled us. They bought us our Chariot which was incredibly nice. We did not anticipate anyone would buy it for us, but maybe give us some gift cards to help cover the cost. In addition, there was a huge pile of gifts. Jake's mom was sneaky and sent a couple boxes of gifts up for us. She even included the wrapping paper for the boxes. The research team and the clinic staff, whom we work with most closely got together and made us a quilt. While we were home in January they meet and one of the ladies taught everyone how to embroider. Over the next week they got together everyday at lunch to work on their quilt squares. I had done well up until this point, but this was too much and of course I cried.

We also played some games and they had set out a table for people to make scrapbook pages for a baby book. This was a great idea because it is not a strong suit for me and now all I will have to do is add some pictures. When we brought everything home, Norah was scared of a baby balloon. She hid under the table, barked at the balloon, and ran around. She eventually got over it and popped the balloon. All in all, a great baby shower. It reaffirms for us that we work with wonderful people. Really, who shuts down their office at 3 in the afternoon to throw a baby shower? Thank you to everyone who help put it together.

Surgery update

2010-04-07T17:11:00.003-08:00

I had surgery last week to remove a cyst on my left ovary. The surgery went well. They were able to get the cyst out and keep the baby in. I have never broken a bone, had stitches, or been to the hospital (other than to see other people). I had no idea what to anticipate. Jake was kind enough to document some of the highlights.
I was hooked up to the baby monitors prior to the surgery to get a baseline of the baby's heart rate so they could monitor it throughout the surgery and after. The circle on my side is the approximate size and location of the cyst.

This is me, all fancy in my hospital finest just before going into the operating room.

After the surgery, I was on a liquid diet. They were kind enough to give me some green Jello, my family knows how much I love the green Jello.

And this last one is a picture we took earlier last week, thought it was better than the stick figure drawings.

New Rugs

2010-04-07T16:48:00.002-08:00

The rug in our kitchen died after only owning it for about seven months. For the past year I have kept my eyes on the rugs made by Flor. It is a great concept. You buy the rug tiles (20x20) and make your own rug. You get to choose your texture, material, color, and pattern. My great dilemma with the Flor rugs was the fact that, of course, there is not a distributer here in Alaska and they did not ship here. While annoying, this is not uncommon (i.e., Ikea, Pottery Barn). Last spring while we were home we found a distributer in Salt Lake and went to look at the rugs. I loved them, but how do we get them to our house. In the end, I came to the understanding that I would not have a Flor rug and would have to find something else. Which I did, and it only lasted seven months - great investment. In the search for a new rug for our kitchen we again got online and looked at the Flor website. They now ship to AK!!!! These are the new rugs we ordered for the kitchen and the nursery. Jake was nice enough to put them together for us, I supervised.

The Belly Picture

2010-03-17T19:50:00.004-08:00

Now that I am a week shy of the last trimester and clearly pregnant, there has been a request for the belly picture. My disclaimer to the picture below - we lost our camera somewhere between Hawaii and Utah, we have yet to purchase another.

A lesson on animal identification

2010-02-22T20:46:00.004-09:00

As an update to the previous post here is the final product of the nursery (at least the painting part. Apparently some people(Dad Atkinson)have had a hard time identifying the animals. So we have a lion (not a sun) a giraffe and an alligator- how can you tell? well because I said so and after looking it up found that "As a general rule, alligators have shorter, blunter, heavier heads than crocodiles, which have long, tapered snouts lined with sharp teeth." Which makes ours an alligator.

Just for fun this is what we started with, my art degree is defiantly paying off. It is a good thing that Julie can draw

New Year Resolutions

2010-02-20T16:46:00.005-09:00

As one might suspect, this year I made no new year resolutions. However, we do plan on continuing to post on the blog in an attempt to keep you all informed about our happenings. We went to Hawaii this Christmas with Jake's family and had a wonderful time. I think we will devote another post to the trip here shortly... this one will mainly be taken up by other pressing matters in our life. We are going to expand our little family. No we are not getting another puppy, we are going to have a baby.

It has been a heck of a five months until now. I think the reality of it all is slowly setting in. By and large, we understand all that is or will be happening, we are just a little fuzzy on the details. Yet, I take comfort in the fact that parents have been doing this for hundreds of years; we'll figure it out. The advantage for me being the last of the sisters to have a baby, I have a wealth of information to tap into, plus two mothers who knew what they were doing. Now we are coming to reality that our little boy will be here in a few short months, we have decided to clean out our back room. Until now, it has been a storage room for the last of the boxes we have not unpacked. This past week, I went to DC for some meetings and Jake stayed home and began to paint the nursery.

As you can tell we have more painting to go, but it is slowly getting there. We'll be sure to post more pictures in the next few days once we (Jake) has finished. On a side note, Jake's art degree is paying off!

Hello Again Hello

2009-11-16T18:59:00.004-09:00

Apparently my father in-law has requested new "wallpaper" for our blog. I will agree, while the fall picture is beautiful, it does little to tell you what we have been up to lately. Here is a recap:

I know we have made mention in several blogs that we are excited about being true Alaskans. Now we finally have that piece of paper that says so! Thank you State of Alaska, I will enjoy my trip to Hawaii.

It is winter again. It is supposed to be -20 tonight. It has snowed, but not too much. We have started skiing again and are already making plans for some long ski trips this winter. I am especially looking forward to a ski into one of the State public-use cabins. We went two years with the Tylers and I hiked most of the way because I was still learning how to cross country ski. But I have it down now and am looking forward to the trip.

We have learned that Norah suffers from being an "only dog." She gets very jealous when other dogs visit and we pay any sort of attention to them. Also, she does not share well. She wants whatever the other dog has and will pout until she gets it. Ultimately I laugh about this. How do you explain to your dog they are being a brat? We still love her, but look forward to having other dogs over to help Norah learn some etiquette.

Jake was still fishing strong into the fall. He caught some trout in the lake across the street from the house. As you can see, Norah was excited about his catch.

Jake and I went to the Halloween carnival in Girdwood with a chicken. We were drawn to the green goo booth and spent most of our time playing in the ooze. While fun to play with, the green is not ideal for the chicken suit.

Fall

2009-09-15T22:38:00.003-08:00

We went on a drive on Sunday and enjoyed the fall colors. This was my favorite picture.

One more reason I love Alaska

2009-09-06T20:33:00.004-08:00

Growing up in a LDS family canning was normal. We did it every summer. I remember picking beans and spending hours snapping beans. We also made pickled beets, salsa, peaches, grape juice, and I am sure other things I have forgotten. As I got older, I came to the realization, most people do not can. I understand that canning is rather time consuming, and heck, you can buy it at the store. This sentiment was shared by most people in the places I have lived (ID, UT, NY, and WA). Yet, in Alaska canning is alive and well... and I love it. When I share with people that we canned over the weekend, they share their stories and recipes. I am not overly surprised that so many people can in Alaska; the berries, fish, and wildlife are abundant. It is the way of life, people stock up for the winter.
Looking back, I always enjoyed canning with my family. I am a person who finds a lot of joy in my food and all I can say there is nothing like homemade grape juice and pickled beets (not in the same sitting). I get excited this time of year when we get to can. Another reason why I enjoy canning so much, is that Jake is right there along side me, helping me out. So far this summer we have canned salmonberry jam, strawberry jam, raspberry syrup, peaches, applesauce, and salmon. We will probably can some spaghetti sauce and salsa before winter sets in. Not too bad. Next year will probably produce a longer list as we try our hands at a garden.

Update

2009-07-21T16:44:00.003-08:00

Yes, there is duality to title of this entry. I have decided the blog needed an update, not sure if I am done or if I will continue changing the format, layout, etc. Art is really Jake's thing, but I like to think I am creative too. I know that is a loaded statement, this creativity thing does not happen frequently and when it does, yes I use the template provided for me. My creativity comes in the format of ripping someone's good idea off. Jake tells me this is what all great artists do, nothing is really their idea in the first place, they copy someone else and tweak it just a little bit.
Enough about creativity and art. Update... we are mighty fisher-people. No not the Fisher Price little people, but dip-netting warriors. We made our way to the mouth of the Kenai River last week and caught 27 fish in about 4 hours. Not too bad. We are excited to finally put some fish in the freezer we bought a month ago. The trip was quick, but a lot of fun. It was crazy to look around you and see people running in and out of water catching fish without, what it seemed liked, even trying. I guess you are putting a 5 foot net into the water and fish just swim into it. I can see what "purist" don't agree that it is really sport fishing, but to me I don't care. All I care is that I am going to be eating salmon all winter, yummy.
Norah has finally taken to the water and is swimming. Jake and I are a little gushy and quite proud about the whole thing. It is great, she swims after a ball or a stick, ... did we mention she is a bird dog, the other day she went after a duck at the dog park which is a bird sanctuary and apparently frowned upon. We called her off before anything happened. Inside we were both happy with her swimming skills.
(Sorry for the lack of pictures, maybe next time.)

How far do you have to drive to get 3 fish?

2009-06-30T17:16:00.003-08:00

So as most of you know we decided to try our hand at the great Alaskan past time of dip netting. This is one of those perks you get for living here. You get to catch a lot of fish (30 this year) with a net. Sounds simple right? Dip netting, you dip the net in the water and bring out a big ol' fish. Now this is a deal as the current price for 5 lbs of red salmon is about $70. For those that are not so good at math let's just call that $70 a fish, a decent sized red. So you can see how this can be a pretty great deal. So we are off to get a screaming deal on fish, all we have to do is drive 5 hours stick the net in and hit an expensive fish on the head. The only problem with this is that the fish have to be running, last weekend they were taking a leisurely stroll, to be generous. Then you tie yourself off to a tree and half repel down a cliff to a ledge. At which point you stick your net, with a handle that is longer than our car, over the side of the cliff and hold it against a very strong current. Then you wait, and wait, reposition the net as it gets washed out of position and wait. At some point in time fish are supposed to be swept in your net. This happened rarely for us. Actually once. Our friend Weston got a couple of Reds and three kings (which he had to throw back). We called it a night around 2am when it was starting to get dark and then started again the next morning. After no luck we called it a day, packed up our gear, and made the hour long round trip ride on the 4 wheeler (I think Weston made the trip about 6 times) and headed home. Julie hiked the five and a half miles out, rather than going on the 4-wheeler. We were very disappointed to leave empty handed. However I had been to the Russian River a couple days earlier and the Reds were running, Julie and I decided to make the drive down there. Our thought process behind it was this the limit is 6 a day and we can have 12 at a time making 24, almost as many as dip netting The Russian is only a couple hours from Anchorage but 8 hours from the Copper river. So we pull into the Russian campground around 11 pm and fish again until dark - 2 am. No luck, zero fish. So we rearrange our car and dog so we can lay down in a cramped position and get a solid 3 hours of sleep, real restful stuff. Then wake up and try our luck again. This time we decided just to have fun so we stayed away from all the crowds and found a nice little hole and caught 3 Reds. It was still pretty amazing to watch them run up the clear water in big groups. When the fishing slowed down we went and got Norah and took her for a walk in the stream and tried to make her swim a bit in the river, somehow Julie and I also did a little swimming. We ended the trip with a fresh fish BBQ at the The Tyler's and with James and shared stories about their new "Hippie Wagon". I forgot to mention our hunt for bear loaded .44 magnum bullets and the old guy that fell out of his camper and we called 911 to get him some help but he just drove away and probably missed some other good stuff but I will save those for another day. So the answer to the million dollar question is 875 miles, that's how far you have to drive in a weekend (that's round trip) to catch three fish. Maybe next time we will get 12.

A tribute to Zephyr

2009-06-17T13:25:00.002-08:00

This was sent out by our friends the Tyler's. Any of you that made it up to visit us this summer met them and their amazing dog Zephyr. We will miss him.

We had to say goodbye to our dog Zephyr this week. He had been sick with what we thought was a bug for the last couple weeks, but after further inspection, it turned out to be cancer, and we made the decision to let him go.

Zephyr will always be known as the “ABA Dog” as Margaret got him while I was in Chicago at the American Bus Association conference (ABA) while she was supposed to be getting an oil change.

He was the best dog I ever had, having some sort of predisposition to need to please, at 4 years old, was an avid tail chaser, and was simply just a joyous soul. For this, we forgave him for his explosive shedding and tremendous otter-like coat.

The problem with having an overly loving and underfoot dog, is that when they are gone, you REALLY notice it.

Zephyr is survived by our 12 year old cantankerous lab / dane mix who has now outlived 3 dogs close to us of similar or younger age. A word of warning – she could be looking to outlive you too.

Fun then house

2009-06-07T22:20:00.011-08:00

So today was beautiful day over 70 and sunny. It was our last week attending the Girdwood Branch and afterwords we spent the day with our friend James (We also ran into the Tyler's and Luke and Jules.) So on our walk we found a great swimming hole for Norah. If you can't tell be the look on her face she loves swimming (can you see the fear) She even started jumping in (well I threw her in, see dog olympics post for training ideas)

Last week a members husband brought some Hooligan fish, also known as candle fish. Rumor is that hey are so oily that when dried you can light the spine as a wick for a candle. They weren't too bad, breaded them and fried them, then you eat bones and all. Once you get past the idea it was not to hard to do, you can tell I enjoyed them. Norah and Zypher also enjoyed them. I may be giving the dog whipserer a run for his money with these training tricks in my bag.

Here is one last shot of us working, I am attempting to texture the ceiling while Julie is ...... giving moral support.

Here are some pictures of the mostly finished house. Not to much has changed except that it is full of stuff to move around and put away.

Living room

Kitchen

Bedroom, okay we are sleeping on a real bed now, but you get the idea of what it looks like.

Hall, the walls aren't really blue.

We would like to thank James our photographer for taking these pictures and sharing them with us from his magic iPhone.

Day 2 & 3

2009-05-13T21:28:00.006-08:00

So I uploaded thess pictures about a month ago and never posted them. I wont take time to explain them but you can see the work we had been doing. It looks way better now and we will hopefully get soem new pics up sooner than a month from now

The past few weeks

2009-05-10T21:46:00.006-08:00

So in the past two weeks it has turned from winter to summer. So far we have seen warmer and sunnier days this spring than we did all last summer. This is the payoff for the dark winters, and a good reminder for why we live here. (The salmon will be running soon and that is also a great reminder of we why live here.) But back to the past few weeks... awe yes summer I mean spring. Well our biggest adventure was last weekend when we skied across Portage Lake to Portage Glacier. Oddly enough this happens to be in Portage Valley about 15 minutes South of us. It was one of the few places that didn't get any ash from the volcano so everything was pristine white compared to the grey ash color the rest of the South Central mountains seem to be. So we skied the trip in about two hours and Norah ran ahead looking for soft spots in the ice. Nobody found any and the trip was a success and probably our favorite ski of the year. Maybe it had to do with the warmth and amount of sun, the whiteness of the snow against the blue of the glacier, or having an entire lake to ourselves; whatever the reason it was great.

And then winter was over. Our friend James reported that Portage lake was again a lake and there are giant chunks of ice floating around. As a side note we also bought a house this week. It needs a lot of work and we will be posting before and after pictures. But so as not to overwhelm you with the amount of work we have to do pictures will only be posted when we have something to compare them to.

You can see the overwhelming look in Julie's face.
(she is in our very yellow kitchen)

We spent all day Saturday working in the yard and dog proofing the back.
But first the front.
This is what we stared with.

This is what we have now after James washed the outside of the house, watered and raked the lawn; Julie also raked and whiel do so was working on her "Honey Do" list, by tearing parts of the porch off. (she says it was an accident)

While Julie and James where in the front and at the dump I was building a fence so Norah couldn't escape under the house.

Julie and I also worked on cleaning up the back yard; which Norah could then enjoy.

Which she did

Once we got out...

2009-04-19T15:50:00.008-08:00

We had a great trip home to visit our families. With all the rescheduling of flights, we took a few extra days which were well worth it. Save for the one day of snowy-rain, we had really nice weather. Or at least Jake and I thought we had great weather, our families did not always seem to agree with us. But then again, when you leave 20 degree weather, it all seems better. Plus, we came home a little tanner. We spent our time with our families playing, picnicking, going to T-ball games and track meets, dyed Easter eggs (Jake got out the modge-podge and showed off what he learned in school), walking and biking with Norah, went to the temple with Jake's family, shooting (my first time), and had a lot of fun. Norah was a trooper through it all. She was great with the kids. We learned that Norah is not broken and she does pant; a phenomenon rarely seen in Alaska. She was awesome when we went shooting and did not freak out. Which is great news, because we learned that I was the best shot out of Jake's family and there are lots of places to go hunting up here. Here are some photos, plus Jake put together a video of me shooting the .308 rifle.

Holding our breath

2009-04-01T23:16:00.002-08:00

We are currently sitting at the Anchorage airport anxiously waiting for our flight to leave. This is the closest we have been since beginning the adventure of going home to visit the family. Norah is with us; heavily sedated, but with us. She is in her crate drooling all over herself. Apparently one and a half pills was enough to do the trick. We had a test run with the drugs the other week and we felt that one was just not enough; one and a half is the most we could give her. It seems to have worked. Today has been a long day. I think I have checked the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) website every hour, each time holding my breath that there is no report of a new eruption. I really got the computer out here at the airport to check again, I have become a little pessimistic about the flight situation. All looks well. Jake is going to take Norah out one last time, we are hoping she doesn't fall down the stairs or get caught in the escalator. Hopefully our next blog will be about our bliss arrival in Boise!

Vacation

2009-03-29T14:59:00.004-08:00

We are on vacation. Yesterday, I went on a great cross country ski with Norah and Jake hit the mountain. The snow was great and the sun was out. Now, some of you may be thinking " they are supposed to be in Boise and Salt Lake - what's with the snow?" Your correct. We are still in Alaska but technically we are on vacation.
This...

... got in the way of this...

... which means we have rebooked our tickets 7 times. Rather than being overly upset by the whole situation, we have decided to enjoy our "vacation." Apparently Mt. Reboudt could continue spewing ash for several months, wouldn't that be fun. We are going to try one more time to fly out, if we don't make it, we may be done trying for awhile. We were told we could now call ourselves 'Alaskan' because we have delayed by the volcano. So, in the meantime we have been having a nice vacation here in Girdwood, we went on a date to dinner and a movie and are enjoying the snow. Did I mention there is a blizzard warning in effect today. All sarcasm aside, we are grateful to be safe and stranded here, rather than in some airport or in the middle of an ash cloud.

Slackers

2009-03-23T20:02:00.004-08:00

I think that is the only way to really sum up what has been happening here on our blog - we are blog slackers. I will admit, we have been busy the past few months with work and play. Here are some pictures of the fun stuff that we have been doing. (I figured nobody wanted to see me at my desk running a statistical analysis)
Iditarod. It was a beautiful sunny day. Norah enjoyed the dog sleds.

Norah knitting in the rocker (or watching the birds outside). She sometimes reminds me of an old woman.

A ski trip to an igloo. Jake had plans to stay overnight, I thought the day trip was great.

More skiing - we have done a lot of cross country skiing.

Waiting for Julie, a boring post.

2009-02-04T17:10:00.005-09:00

So we have been slacking in the blog posting, I recognize this. Since coming home it seems that our activities don't compare to those in Mexico, not to mention that we seem to be in a routine which involves working 5 days a week (not sure how much I like that). Also Julie has been traveling (or attempting to travel) a bunch the past couple of weeks. I am currently waiting for her to finish work for the day so we can go home and walk the dog, eat and sleep. See what I mean about being less exciting. I have been hanging out with the dog and playing bachelor with Mr. Minton while Julie is gone, however I don't remember going to bed at 9 last time I was a bachelor. Some exciting news is that there is a volcano that is supposed to erupt any day now (that has been the news for the past week or so) which which will eventually cover us with ash, creating a big mess. We are just waiting but starting to think it may have been a false alarm. So with ash free air, the thermometer hanging around 0 and a sliver of light still in the sky we are off to make the beautiful drive home.

Jake and Julie's Mexico Adventure

2009-01-11T23:02:00.005-09:00

We are back and after some climitizing we are proud to present to you Jake & Julie's Mexico Adventure: The short slide show.

This action adventure comedy film is Rated PG: Due to some bullfighting scenes and lasts about 6 minutes. so go to the snack bar and have yourself a treat, get comfy in your chair and Enjoy.

But first a preview for "THE GREAT IGUANA HUNT"

Please remember to silence your cell phone.

And now after some buffering the feature presentation.

Homeward Bound

2009-01-05T08:07:00.003-09:00

As our final hours in Holbox wind down, we thought we would post a quick update. We have had a great time here and have enjoyed the slow pace of life on the island. But, I think we are both ready to head home. We are going to Cancun tonight and fly out tomorrow. We are actually dreading going to Cancun (or should I say S. California).
Anyway, we are coming home a little bit darker (not as much as we anticpated, oh well), a lot less stressed, and ready to see everyone - even Norah. All in all, it has been an awesome trip for us. We hope to get some pictures up on the blog soon, so we can share it all with you. For our families, we will be sure to bring all the photos when we come home and make you all suffer through them - a slide show set to some mariachi music! (Hey sisters, does that sound like anyone we know? Hahaha)

For those in Girdwood

2008-12-31T15:28:00.003-09:00

Thank you for watching out for Norah, there have been no new reports of her terrorizing the skiers on the mountain or chasing moose. We have also noticed that it has been pretty cold (feels like -19 the weather report says). It is a bit humid and occasionally muggy here.... we will leave it at that. But man my tan is going to be good, Real Good. Also we heard rumor of a 29 foot snowman in Anchor town that´s better than the ¨orange globe in the sky¨ that they have here. (if this is at all rude, Jake wrote it)

Holbox

2008-12-31T15:14:00.002-09:00

We have arrived here in holbox and it is great. The house we rented is bigger than ours in Girdwood, we are enjoying the space. It is very low-key and it is a nice change of pace. After one day of laying on the beach and napping, we are going to be a bit more active for the rest of the time here. I think we are going to try to go kayaking tomorrow, maybe some snorkeling, and bike riding. Jake and I got two bikes with our house. I have a fun pink cruiser with a basket, reminds me of my red bike at home, and Jake has a manly purple low-rider with a basket too. He was eyeing the white bike at the hotel, but the tires were flat and ended up with a purle bike instead. He likes to assure himself by saying that purple is the color of royalty.
The mosquitos here are awful. We had read that we should bring some repellant for the the hour or so they are out at night. We bought some, but also thought ´we live in Alaska where the mosquitos are horrid, Holbox will be nothing.´ Wrong, these are little nasty guys that are crazy. Jake and I had dinner last night outside, by the time we were done Jake and I (more Jake than me) looked like a pin cushin. Boy they went to town. We are now carrying the repellant with us.
Anyways, tonight as we were walking into the main part of town (our house is out on the beach, and is kind of by itself, which we love), we remembered that it is new years eve... We have completely lost track of time. Hope you all have a great new years and we look forward to seeing you all when we get home.

Hello Yucatan

2008-12-28T17:53:00.002-09:00

We have arrived here safely (here being Valladolid) and are enjoying more sun and sweating in the heat and humidity. (Things we forgot about in AK) We spent 1 night in Marida amd then decided it was to busy and left to our present location. WE decided to splurge and take a firt class bus to get here(it was like $2 more and half the time) as we rounded the corner we saw the bus stop that we thoguht was still anohter block away, this was nice as we were already sweating from caring or backpacks in the noon heat. We got on and started driving in a circle and stopped 5 minutes later at another bus terminal in the same town. THen the wheels sarted turning in our minds and we began to connect the dots and rapidly check the trusty guide book. By the next stop (which is whenever someone flags it down, much like Greyline in AK) WE had figured out that we had taken a second class bus on accident (our bus station was really another block away) so our 2 hour bus ride turned into a little more than 4. However there were no chickens on board as MR. James had assured us there would be. We went out to some more ruins today Ex balm and got scammed by the taxi driver and had to pay almost double, but what are you going to do. The town is pretty small and they have a big to-do in park/town square and sundays so we have been enjoying that today and just relaxing some before we hit the other big pyrimids at Chitza Nitza tomorrow. Then off to the Isle the next day for the real vacation part, hopefully we get the right bus this time.
(again the spell check is not working for me and I apologize for my bad typng and proof reading skills)

Goodbye Mexico City

2008-12-26T00:54:00.002-09:00

We are rapidly typing this post as we wait for our taxi to the airport for the second half of our adventure.
Christmas turned out to be great. We had breakfast atop a building across from the Zacolo (central square). It was very nice. We ventured to the the bascillica guadalupe and then to the LDS temple. The latter was a bit harder to find. We ended the night by listening to the mariachis and eating some delicious burritas. All in all much better than we had anticapted. The city came alive again last night. cabs here....

more lessons...

2008-12-24T11:56:00.002-09:00

I may have given Jake some bad advice on the shorts the other day, but my advice about the sunscreeen the day we went to Teotihuacuan was good. However, this time he did not listen and now, two days later, still looks like a lobster. He now is putting on the sunscreen when we go out.
Next lesson, do not eat at a Chinese buffet in Mexico City, we will just say it was not the best experience and I think I am close to recovered. We stopped at WalMart and bought some stuff for PB&Js.
Yesterday we ventured out to Xochimilco. There are a series of canals and boats (kind of like Venice and the gondolas, but in Mexico). We took a ride, it was great. We are too cheap to pay for a mariachi band to sing to us as we floated along, we enjoyed those around us who did pay.
We are not sure what to anticpate for tomorrow, it being Christmas day. We do not know what will be open, so the PB&Js may come in quite handy. Who wouldn`t want to trade clam chowder and crab legs in Alaska for PB&Js and Pringles in Mexico?

if you find yourself in Mexico

2008-12-21T11:35:00.004-09:00

Just incase you find yourself in Mexico you should know htat alt+6+4=@. This is helpfull to know incase you need to check your email or update your blog. This would also explain why we havent made any reports of our trip. Now that we are all educated we can begin...
After landing and spending an extra 2 hours at the airport to buy plane tickets to Merida we left the airport to the hotel(via cab, per James recemendation) We then showered and ordered a cheap and delicious room service and slept. The following day Julie wore brand new shoes and gave herself blisters before they day was half over. BUt she does look cute in my socks which seemed to help. OUr other fun incident for the day also occured whole getting dressed. Julie recomended that a wear shorts do to the heat and I took her advice. Sadly to say I was the only one in Mexico City wearing shorts that day (we found a couple other tourist in shorts in the afternoon) When I mentioned this to her she let me know that most people wear pants year round. NOt that I dont stick out like a sore thumb already.

Yesterday involved more mueseums and strolls trhought the park, and everybody selling there wears on the sidwalk. We attempted to go to s futball game but htere was none playing so we bought tickets for the bull fight this evening. We also attempted to order food from the food vendors with some succsess. We ended the evening American style by getting a hamburger and going to a movie.
TOday has been pretty low key. we spent sme time at Mass and walking aroud the Zacola.

THe weather ahs been warm and sunny so far and everything is great. We are off to the bull fight
Happy Solcstice everyone.
And I apoligize for the spelling (spell cjeck is not working)

The holidays

2008-12-17T15:47:00.015-09:00

Sorry about the lack of updates, Julie has been working feverishly to be able to leave the office for the upcoming trip and I have been playing with the dog. So before we get to the big holiday let me just show you how thanksgiving went.
and that was just shopping for supplies!

Below you will find the a partial invitation (put out by James) for the 1st Annual French Thanksgiving Charity Dine & Drink Bonjour!

You are invited to gather at to watch Chef Julie and me attempt to produce Confit de Canard… all while trying not starting a grease fire!
Attention! Reserve S’il Vous Plait!
Ou: Chez Moi
Quand: Thanksgiving evening (duck day) –It’s an open house – come when you can depending on family obligations etc. Plan on 6pm for the menu, but vraiment… who knows. Le cuisine de France… it takes time.
Qui: Vous… moi… and anyone you would like to bring. Really, we will have food for tout le monde. Don’t be shy if you know of folks who don’t have a duck of their own. But this is a BYOChaise event if we grow beyond 6.
*No chiens s’il vous plait. Except Madame Anja… we only eat because she allows us to anyways… and I think she has her own key to my/her condo!
Vestments: Semi-clothed or better. Please put on your best Alaskan duds to show our Seattle guest how “fancy” we are. Duct tape discouraged out of respect to the ducks.

Le Menu (low fat, low carb and vegetarian options not available):
Plat 1: Cured meat and pickles
Plat 2: Soup a l’onion
3: Salade de stinky cheese
Plat Principal: Confit de Canard avec plenty o’ fat du Canard and risotto
Le desert: Crème Brule de maison and remaining stinky cheeses

Julies Duck Confit was delicious and over 5 courses and 4 hours everyone was happy and full. (If you switch the ravioli for a couch you have pretty good picture of what we all looked like by the end of the feast). The entertainment was fantastic, provided my Miss Rebbecca Tyler, and a good time and conversations where had by all.

Now what you all (by you all mean Mom Atkinson) have been waiting for...The unwrapping of the Christmas blanket.
But first the waiting...
Then the unwrapping..

Then the posing...
Finally the Enjoying...
Oh by the way did we mentioned that it had snowed? See if you can find the white car while you enjoy the world premier of a new Olympic sport "the dog toss."

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! We will keep you posted throughout our trip in Mexico and will put up pictures when we get back (I will be the tan one.)

Pat your Belly and Rub your Head...

2008-11-25T17:16:00.005-09:00

The other morning I was getting ready for church and was running a little late. While I was drying my hair, I noticed my skirt had some Norah hair on it and thought I should get out the lint roller. To save time I decided I could dry my hair and de-lint my skirt at the same time. I was able to successfully peel off the old unsticky paper. Without too much thought (obviously) I turned the hairdryer on my skirt and the lint roller in my hair. When I say in my hair I really mean it, I think I moved the lint roller back and forth a few times, like you would a hairdryer, before I realized what I had done. Note to self, sometimes mutlitasking isn't worth it.

One year and counting

2008-11-09T19:41:00.004-09:00

As winter solstice approaches (Dec. 21st) I am beginning to miss the sunshine. It is that time of year when we drive to work in the dark and drive home in the dark. Which isn't the end of the world, it is just the way it is. We were blessed this weekend with some glorious sunshine and high 20's. We went out on a nice "wood stomp" with some friends and three other dogs. It was great, Norah ran the whole time and we got to enjoy the beautiful weather.

When we got back, we hooked Norah up to the kick-sled and made her pull Jake around (just to make sure she was worn out). It seemed to work best when I ran in front of her and she could chase me. We are not sure if she is going to make it as a sled dog, but Jake is going to keep trying. Notice Norah's flapping ears because she is going so fast in the picture.

And last but not least, we are officially Alaskan residents! We have been here for one year... the time has gone by too fast. But we are now looking forward to cheap fishing/hunting licenses, dip netting, and the PFD (that's the $$$).

Identity Crisis

2008-10-14T21:22:00.003-08:00

We think the dog may be having an identity crisis; either she wants to help with the electrical work or to join the pirates in Somalia. We are undecided. (Yes, that is a knife.)

October Snow!

2008-10-14T21:11:00.003-08:00

It has started to snow at our house the past few weeks. Last week we woke up to enough snow to get the cross country skis out. We had a good time. Norah is loving the snow. It is hard to imagine, but our dog bounces even more in the snow, I think she could play for hours. This is great news considering it is snowing in October and probably is not going to stop until April. Plus, if it is going to be cold, give me the snow so we can play.

I think we may begin to count down for our trip to Mexico... summer never really came so we are looking forward to it.

Fixing the Fixed

2008-10-05T20:12:00.005-08:00

Last weekend we took Norah to get spayed, and she is now fixed. A few weeks ago, as we headed out on a hike, one of the local "stray" dogs decided that she was looking good and prime to be the mother of his pups. We obviously have other plans for Norah and promptly took her to the vet to get fixed. The surgery was successful and left Norah a little punch-drunk when we picked her up. Hands down, she was great the rest of day and did not get into any mischief; then again she was so drugged she could barely stand on her own. It took about 24 hours for the drugs to wear off before she was back to normal. Luckily, she had some in house nursing.

One of our friends felt Norah needed a little treat to help her on her road to recovery. We just laughed and were, well grossed out, but Norah loves it.

Summers End: Termination Dust and the first day of fall

2008-09-22T10:09:00.009-08:00

It has been 5 lovely (and by lovely I mean rainy) days since Julie left Norah and I here in AK for her "sweeaterless vacation." As she flew out to suffer 90* weather a burly storm blew into our town. Upon awaking in the morning I was greeted with leaves covering the ground and Termination Dust topping the mountains. That's right friends Summer's End is here. Snow on the peaks of Alyeska. Yesterday I awoke to find the snow as low as the tram terminal, topping Max's Mountain and near the CPG cabin that the Tyler's and I (and of course the dogs) had hiked to the day before. Apparently today is the official first day of fall. Sadly our fall is all but over and Norah and I were greeted with frost covered cars and slippery steps this morning. Julie returns home to night and will be greeted with a chilly suprise, Luckily she took that one sweater so she will be able to wear it on the car ride home tonight.

Sweaters

2008-09-16T20:12:00.003-08:00

It has been raining here in Girdwood for the past two weeks. The best part of all this rain, is that fall is in full swing and it is gorgeous here. (I hope to have some pictures to share soon.) I am heading home to my parents tomorrow. I decided to check the weather, not sure what to pack. It is going to be in the high 80s almost 90s... I am a little perplexed. I have not seen weather that warm in over a year. I wore sweaters to work on and off all summer and now I am back to wearing one every day. I feel a little funny about not taking a whole bag full of sweaters with me on my trip. However, I did manage to find those crazy things called shorts and am taking them with me. In the end, I also packed a sweater to take with me to be on the safe side; I am not really sure I can go five days without wearing one either.

Blueberries

2008-09-05T16:20:00.005-08:00

This past Monday we went out in search of blueberries. Rather than going to the meadow, we decided to head up the mountain. After a hike up the mountain we began our search. After a few trips off the trail, we thought we had made a mistake hiking up the mountain and not walking down the street to the meadow. Eventually we found blueberries. Some were still very small and not ripe, but we managed to find enough to make some jam. Norah and Zephyr (Norah's best buddy) were helpful... no bears fought us over the blueberries. However, once Norah understood that blueberries were edible and delicious, we had to fight her for them. If you haven't met her yet, she is a bit obsessive. It was a little ridiculous how many berries she was eating.

Once we made it home, Jake allowed me the honor to wash and clean the berries. My only question is where do all those worms come from? The berries went further than I thought and we now have yummy blueberry jam. All in all, I would say it was a successful trip on a beautiful day and we won't have to go through the winter without blueberry jam for our waffles. In case you were wondering, Norah is almost back to "normal" too.

Well, it was kind of a summer

2008-08-24T20:49:00.004-08:00

This summer has been one of the coldest in state history. Even though it was chilly, we still managed to have a great time. Thank you to all of you who made it up to visit. To the rest of you here is some of what you missed.

What is a blog title?

2008-08-19T12:53:00.008-08:00

As some of you may know, Jake was raised on John Wayne and Johnny Horton. His favorite John Wayne movies are Big Jake and North to Alaska. (I find this ironic and somewhat humorous.) One of his favorite Johnny Horton songs happens to be North to Alaska, the title score to the movie. The movie takes place during the Alaskan gold rush. Big Sam, John Wayne, goes to Seattle to pick up some mining equipment after he and his partner, George Pratt, strike it rich. Along the way he is supposed to pick up George's fiancee, Ginnie, and bring her back to Alaska, while George stays behind to build a honeymoon cabin. Come to find out Ginnie is married and Sam decides to bring another woman to Alaska for George. Along the way Sam falls in love with her, thus causing a big problem. I will not tell everyone the end, but it is a good movie and a must see if you live in Alaska.

The reason I am going on about John Wayne, Johnny Horton and North to Alaska is that the movie and the song have become favorites in our home. Every roadtrip will involve Johnny Horton and us singing along (see lyrics below).

Way up north, (North To Alaska.)
Way up north, (North To Alaska.)
North to Alaska,They're goin' North, the rush is on.
North to Alaska,They're goin' North, the rush is on.

Big Sam left Seattle in the year of '92,With George Pratt, his partner, and brother, Billy, too.They crossed the Yukon River and found the bonanza gold.Below that old white mountain just a little south-east of Nome.

Sam crossed the majestic mountains to the valleys far below.He talked to his team of huskies as he mushed on through the snow.With the northern lights a-running wild in the land of the midnight sun,Yes, Sam McCord was a mighty man in the year of nineteen-one.

Where the river is winding,
Big nuggets they're finding.
North to Alaska,
They're goin' North, the rush is on.

Way up north, (North To Alaska.)
Way up north, (North To Alaska.)
North to Alaska,
They're goin' North, the rush is on.
North to Alaska,
They're goin' North, the rush is on.

George turned to Sam with his gold in his hand,Said: "Sam you're a-lookin'at a lonely, lonely man."I'd trade all the gold that's buried in this land,"For one small band of gold to place on sweet little Ginnie's hand. "

''Cos a man needs a woman to love him all the time."Remember, Sam, a true love is so hard to find."I'd build for my Ginnie, a honeymoon home."Below that old white mountain just a little south-east of Nome."

Where the river is winding,
Big nuggets they're finding.
North to Alaska,
They're goin' North, the rush is on.
North to Alaska,
They're goin' North, the rush is on.

Way up north, (North To Alaska.)
Way up north, (North To Alaska.)
Way up north, (North To Alaska.)

It is really a catchy tune and one you will be singing as you are trying to fall asleep at night, especially the 'Way up north, (North To Alaska)' part. I happen to know this due to personal experience. Anyway, as you can see the title of out little blog is really a tribute to John Wayne, Johnny Horton, North to Alaska and countless hours of blissful entertainment they have provided us. Plus, I thought it was a name more suited for a blog than our dog, Jake was trying to convince me to name her Waya or Wayup. I am very happy with Norah.

Here's to happy blogging

2008-08-17T17:05:00.008-08:00

We are trying to find a way to keep in touch with all those we have met over the years and have decided to try blogging. Although we come from the computer generation, neither Jake or I would consider us computer savvy. So, please be patient as we begin and learn 'how to blog'. As most of you know, we returned to the land we love, Alaska last November. After four days on the ferry (aka love cruise) a drive through the Yukon Territory and a night at -17 degrees, we arrived in our beloved Girdwood, AK. I am working for the University of Alaska as a research professional and Jake is working as an Art Therapist. We acquired our only family member in the spring, Norah. She came to us at ten weeks old from Iowa. She is a Vizsla and is looking forward to this winter.
As mentioned before we will do our best to keep you informed about what is going on here. So here's to happy blogging.

Trent- how tough (tuf) is that Jeep?