It seems pretty impossible to believe, but the snow is gone and the grass is green here in Alaska! We have been enjoying the most beautiful weather for about a month now. We have seen highs in the mid 50's up to the low 70's with sunshine and light breezes. It honestly could not be more perfect. About two weeks ago I started noticing the trees budding, then all of the sudden one day everything started turning green. By the end of the next day we were fully in bloom.  The sun has changed for us as well. As of today, sunrise is at 5am, and sunset is at 10:50. It stays light out till after midnight though. 
We had a sleepover party for Ralph's 9th birthday this past Friday. We had a bonfire and toasted some marshmallows, but it wasn't dark. The kids played outside until about 11 and it just felt like it was the middle of the afternoon. It is taking a little more getting use to then the darkness, but its not bad- just different. 

Merry Christmas everyone. Let us not forget what it is really all about. The kids and I put this video together last year as a way to learn and remember the true meaning of Christmas. Happy birthday Jesus!
We will be having our first Christmas in Alaska. We Skyped with Milo's family today while opening presents. It really made us feel like we were there and a part of the festivities. We will do the same with my family in the morning. Thank goodness for technology that can bring us together even though we won't be with family.  We are planning to keep things pretty low key, just us hanging out, opening presents, and eating ribs! The weather channel is calling for snow, but we will have a white Christmas either way. We got about a foot over the last week. Sledding and snowball fights will most likely be apart of the days events! 
God bless, and have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

We have been planning this photo shoot for a while. The plan was for more of a fall look. The forecast was sunny, clear, 30's. We ended up with an overcast, snowy, 26 degree winter wonderland! I couldn't be happier with the way everything came out though.  I had wanted to hire a photographer, but Milo was convinced that we could do a great job on our own using my camera on a tripod with a remote.  So, we drove up to Hatcher's Pass with the camera, tripod, and handy little remote. I was skeptical about doing it ourselves, but (as usual) Milo was right. It worked out great! It was so beautiful- plus we got to test out the new snow tires! (They work great!) I didn't get to do the individual shots of the kids because there feet started to get to cold, but I can always do that another time in the back yard. 

I mean, really, does it get any better then that?! We were walking in a winter wonderland! 

The next weekend we drove up to Hatchers Pass. We found a trail head and hiked in about 2 miles along the river. It was so gorgeous! It is hard to believe these places are just down the road from our home. The kids did really great with the hiking, but 2 miles was as far as we could go. We didn't want to get stuck out there after dark, so we headed back. On the way out we stopped by the roadside and got out and climbed on the rocks in the river. We really want to go back and drive up the mountain a little further. 
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For our next exciting adventure, we  drove down to Turnagain Arm in search of Beluga Whales. Sometimes you can see them when the tides come in and out. We pulled off the road at a spot called Beluga Point, it seemed like a fitting choice!  Unfortunately, we did not see any whales, but we had a great time looking. The kids were scaring me to death jumping and climbing all over the rocks, but it was fun. We stopped for dinner at the Turnagain Arm-pit BBQ. There is a huge lack of good BBQ restaurants around here, so we get serious cravings. Lucky for us, we got there on the last day they were open before closing up for the winter. It was really good mmmm. 

Two weekends ago we went hiking with some friends in Arctic Valley. The hike was an "easy" one by local standards, but for us newbies and the kids it was not so easy. Mostly because it was 1.5 miles uphill through quite a bit of muddy terrain. It was fun though. There were still some patches of snow and quite a few blueberries along the trail! At the top we had a stunning view of the valley and mountains.  We were exhausted by the time we got back down to the bottom, but soo worth it! 

The drive up to the trail had a really cool view out over the city of Anchorage and the Bay.

No doubt it has been an amazing month. We have spent the weekdays homeschooling, working, and getting into the daily schedule. The days are getting quite a bit shorter. Sun rise is right about 9am and sunset is around 6:30pm. It closes in by about 6 minutes every day! 

We have had another beautiful week here in Alaska!  The kids started school this week. On Monday, I found out that the local school district was getting rid of all their desks and chairs to buy new ones. So, I went down and picked up three very nice desks and chairs for a grand total of $9! It has been working out great! The desks really help the kids feel like they have there own place and keeps them focused on school.  Not a bad view out the classroom window either! Ralph is starting 4th grade, Katelyn 1st, and Ryleigh is doing pre-K. 

On Saturday, we drove out to Talkeetna. It is a cute little town with little shops and with a gorgeous view of Mount McKinley. When measured from base to peak, Mount McKinley  is the largest of any mountain entirely above sea level at some 18,000 feet. It was so beautiful. Sometime we will drive out a little further to get closer to it, but it was a few hours drive and we didn't want to be out to late.  We walked around the town a bit and stopped into Talkeetna Chocolate Corner for some  chocolate, Yumm yumm! 

On the drive out we saw quite a bit of fall color. It has all started to come out just this week. The leaves in the backyard are starting to fall! It has been a long time since I have experienced a real fall, so it is pretty exciting. I can't wait to crunch through the leaves! Every day we are seeing a bit more snow on the tops of the mountains near the house and the weather forecast for next week shows lows in the 30's!

We have been trying out churches the last 2 weeks. We went to Wasilla First Assembly of God last week, and Church on the Rock this week, non-denomination I believe. We enjoyed both, as did the kids. I am sure we will still do a bit of church hopping until we find jus the right fit for us. We may end up back at one of those as well. We just want to find a place where we can get involved in ministry and enjoy being ministered to as well! 

We had an great day today! This morning we went to the fall festival and the kids got their faces painted. We looked into some things for the kids to get involved in, like soccer and ballet. Then, we drove south through Chugach State Park to Whittier. What a beautiful drive! Beautiful mountains, glaciers, and waterfalls along the Cook Inlet.

To get into the town of Whittier you have to drive through the mountain by way of a 2 mile tunnel! The town of Whittier is a port town. A lot of the cruise ships come in there and then people take the train through the tunnel for excursions. The waterfalls and views of Prince William Sound are incredible! We walked a few small trails to see the river and waterfalls, and then drove to the bay before heading back through the tunnel.

On the drive back we stopped off at a scenic overlook, and ended up taking a trail about 2 miles into the forest. It was so amazing. There were little streams full of salmon swimming upstream, gorgeous waterfalls, a giant glacier, and just all around beautiful views. There were so many different kids of mushrooms, Berries, moss, and plants. So I took pictures of everything, of course! 

Even the drive home from Anchorage to Wasilla is gorgeous. That is one if the reasons Milo wanted to live out here. His commute will is beautiful!

As requested, here are some pics of our greenhouse! I picked a few more tomatoes tonight when we got home. 

We have had a great first week in our new home. We have been out most everyday looking for furniture at every thrift store and furniture store from Wasilla to Anchorage. We haven't had a whole lot of luck yet, but we are still looking. 

We got out internet and Directv hooked up this week, so that is a big plus! We have been to almost every restaurants in town. The house is slowly getting our personal touch as we get a few things up on the wall. I put my china up in my new hutch.

We went to Alaska gourmet subs in Anchorage and Ralph, Kate, and Ryleigh had a reindeer sausage sub, and they loved it! I tried it too, and it was really good. 

Ralph has made friends with our next door neighbor, Brody, who is also 8! They have been working on building a fort in the backyard!

We have a greenhouse, and it is full of the most delicious tomatoes I have ever eaten! There are also habanero peppers, and different types of squash!

We tried building a fire in the firepit, but it started raining :( The girls were Doing a great job of helping us find sticks for the fire!

Thanks to our landlords, Milo and I got to go out to the local theater to see the musical Brigadoon! That was a lot of fun! Our landlord played a lead role, and his wife and their kids came over and stayed with our kids So we could go! We really are blessed with great landlords! The kids had a blast too! They had a dance party

Next week, we will start getting into a routine. Monday Milo starts work and the kids start school. We still have a few more days of freedom though. Tomorrow I am planning in going to a Fall Family Fling at the local sports complex, and we are hoping to try out a church on Sunday.

Ashley

Yesterday was pretty eventfull! I started painting my hutch. I am doing a distressed black. I really like the way it is turning out. The original color wasn't bad, it just doesn't really go in this house. It did have a wierd peach accent color that had to go though.

I am hoping to finish it up today!

We got our DirecTV set up yesterday, AND....we bought a bed, yeah!!!

Then last night, the family we are renting the house from came over for dinner. They have two kids, so the kids all played and had fun. They left a huge freezer full of fish they caught here, so they beer battered and deep fried some. It was sooo yummy! They also brought over so fresh caught caribou steaks! They were delicious as well! Pretty much tasted like a regular steak, very yummy! I am sure I will be trying lots of new meats up here, so I can check caribou off the list.

Here is the view out my bedroom window.

I hope I never get to accustomed to the mountains to enjoy them! They are amazing!

We spent the day unloading the trailer. Most of the stuff is still in the garage, but we brought in most of the kitchen stuff. We drove around checking out thrift stores, and found a couch for $100! I also got a hutch and table that I think I will paint. The only downside to this house is that there is no way to get inside without going up winding stairs. All the doors are single doors, so it is VERY hard bringing anything large inside.

We still haven't found a bed, and sleeping on an air mattress is definantly getting old! Hopefully we will get something tomorrow.

We will be getting our Internet and dish hooked up sometime next week.

We ordered some pizza for dinner and enjoyed the new couch and the fireplace (who needs a TV right?!)

We crossed the border this morning and drove all the way to our new house in Wasilla. We don't have any beds yet, but we are still happy to be at our new home. Penny (our dog) was very happy to be able to get out of the car and run free, so were the kids! We all love the house. They were a little surprised that it wasn't snowing as soon as we crossed the border! Lol I will post more pictures of the house shortly. For now we are going to get some dinner and relax!

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