Katie's Space

So...everyone asked me why the heck are you going to Alaska in the winter? Well...why not?!? Shelley...my best friend for 20 years is from Alaska and to celebrate being friends for so long we took a trip just the two of us to her homeland. It was AWESOME. Amazing land, animals, people. I LOVED it and can't wait to go back. Really...once you get to zero it really is just cold. The week before we arrived it was 40-50 below. I was informed I arrived for the warm spell temps ranged from 10 above to 17 below while I was there. While I started out a total wimp I hung in there with the best of them and was a real natural by the end of the trip. That said, my next trip will be during the summer. :)

 

So, what did we do? Well...

 

First we started by flying into Fairbanks and then we drove to a town called Healy. Shelley's family owns the coal mine there and she knows a ton of people there including her wonderful family. On the drive to Healy she kept telling me all about the things we'd see...but that snowshoe rabbits were really hard since they blend in with all the snow and there usually aren't many around. For the next 60 miles I think we saw 80 rabbits. Apparently not enough wolves around to eat them. When we got to Healy her cousins John and Theresa hosted us at their B&B. John and Theresa are the best! We stayed up late talking and mixing drinks out of the largest bottle of vodka I've ever seen...I knew Costco sold bulk...but I have to look for the liquor bottles next time I'm there because that's what I'm talking about when I'm pouring...the bottles are huge!

 

While in Healy we toured the town, visited a dog sled team that takes supplies to folks climbing Mt. McKinley, toured the mine...the biggest Tonka trucks I've ever seen and I learned all about coal seams, we went out on 4 wheeler ATV's, we frequented Rose's, the Totem, and were taken out to dinner by her cousins Joe Jr. and Rob. Theresa also was great and fixed me moose (which was really good) and Alaska halibut. I also learned that the last resting place for the man from the book/movie Into the Wild was just a few miles away.  Best of all we drove up to Denali National Park which is just 10 miles away and visited the vistor center/science building and went for a hike. That is when I also spotted my first moose! I learned about tracks and all the animals many of which I would see during the trip.

 

After Healy we headed back to Fairbanks. We toured the town, did some shopping, and went out to two very nice dinner's. A shout out to Bobby's greek restaurant and my favorite The Turtle Club. We drove up to the muskox farm and tried to hike around to see them up close but they wouldn't cooperate...only a caribou came up to see us. Hiking in 10 below can be a bit cold on the one part of me that was exposed...my cheeks so while I leisurely hiked out I practically ran back. :)  We also drove out to the lake where Shelley's family has a cabin. I got my first outhouse experience and also my first time walking out on a totally frozen really large lake. Cool...literally the wind kicked up and we headed back to the car. It was fun to see where Shelley grew up, her schools, the house she grew up in. We were also lucky enough to go to the Musuem of the North at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It is a great museum and it was very fun to see the new art gallery on the top floor that is dedicated to Shelley's grandmother Rose Berry.

 

After Fairbanks we headed to North Pole where Christmas lives all year round. It was Thursday and the Santa Claus house is only open on weekends...we vowed to come back after visiting with the reindeer. Next we headed to Chena Hot Springs about an hour outside of Fairbanks. The resort was a blast. Awesome springs, super relaxing. I got a kick out of my hair freezing while the rest of me was warm until Shelley reminded me to be careful so it didn't break off. Snowball fights in the springs also fun.  We also  toured the ice museum (amazing but the pictures do a better job than me to illustrate how cool it is), went on a dog sled ride, met a bunch of marines and played some very entertaining games of Cranium and Spoons (which I won all of) while we waited until 3am to see the Northern Lights. The masses of Japanese tourists who spoke no English thought we were total freaks but couldn't help and watch 10 big guys diving over each other for plastic spoons in some kind of mysterious card game, I also had the pleasure of talking quite a bit to the marine who was a very happy Windows 7 beta user...Semper Fi. On our last night at the Hot Springs I still hadn't see the Northern Lights so took a ride in a Snow Cat and camped at the top of the mountain to see the Northern Lights. A shout out to Matt our driver who kept us entertained with star gazing and stories...we saw a Northern "glow" but no lights and headed back down at 1:30. I total understand why Shelley is such a night owl now...they do everything really late in Alaska.  While at the ice museum we had the famous Appletini's. They let you keep your martini glass which is made of ice. We decided to see if we could freeze them to the car and keep them intact until we made it back to the airport. We thought it would be great if the next person who rented our car had barware. You'll see from the pictures that one of them did in fact make it two days and all the way back to the airport. :) 

 

We took one final dip in the Springs on Sat. and then headed back to Fairbanks. We stopped by the Santa Claus house but no Santa...he's on vacation. :(  We did a little shopping and then had a few hours to kill...our plane didn't leave until 1am. So, we did what we haven't done since high school. We went to a movie, ate popcorn and diet coke for dinner (okay that part we've done a lot), then hung out in the bathroom and snuck into a second movie. We then proceeded to head to the airport, check in, run quickly away before the airline could charge us for our overweight bags, and hung out trying to sleep until the plane left. Unfortunately the girls basketball team from NNU (????) in town playing UAF had other plans for us...they were really loud. But, we made it onto the plane slept the whole way and got home!

 

I had the best time, and am so happy I was able to spend it with my best friend.  I highly recommend visiting the truly great state of Alaska!

Short update as the New Year has started and we are all so busy after the long break. The holidays were very snowy...lots of hanging out at home. That said we had a good time and still managed to play in the snow a lot and get around and together with our family.

 

New years was spent at the cabin we had a great time with the Helzers, Flynns, and McCarthy's on New Years Eve. The McCarthy's also talked us into a Polar Bear jump/swim to start the year off. Very fun!

Update:

We double bagged Audrey's foot and braved the snow. She loved it. We built forts and had a snowball fight, Tom and I built early fortifications and went head to head...both of us getting snow in the head. Then we found a creative way to deal with Teddy's endless energy and to keep him from getting into trouble by running away up the trail...sled dog. NICE.

 

 

After a false alarm yesterday and no school...but no snow...on the Eastside it has finally arrived! Lots of snow...and Teddy is loving it. We had a very small bit a week ago but this is the real deal and he is in dog heaven....except for when mom makes him wait and dry out before joining the general population. Yesterday we baked cookies, stayed in pj's all day, got some new board games, and watched Rudolph and Herbie best the storm, the Bumble, and deliver misfit toys to all the boys and girls. It feels like Christmas! As soon as the rest of my family gets up we might even try to rig Audrey's leg and crutches for some snow play and a possible sled ride...do we tempt fate though? We don't need anymore crutches in the house. :)

80 degrees, sunny, beautiful, awesome. A wonderful trip and very relaxing...well okay after our first day where we spent most of it at the hospital. Yes, our little adventure girl Audrey after almost an hour surfing and many waves successfully mastered cut her foot on some coral...a 4 inch by 3 inch cut on the top of her foot. This required a rush in on the lifeguard surf board and an immediate trip to the ER. We waited awhile as we needed the on call pediatric surgeon to help stitch her up (Thank you Dr. Johnson). She was a very brave girl...didn't really cry at all except when they numbed her foot to stitch it up...it was bad so she had very strong stuff in 3 needles to numb her foot. Dad and Tom went to grab food and ended up locked out once the surgeon started. Audrey had a severed tendon (the one that goes to your pinkie toe...apparently the least useful one if she had to damage one thank goodness). The boys missed all the action and gore...once I got over the shock it was oddly fascinating to watch seeing as you could see all her foot parts...okay eeewww....I'll move on. She ended up with about 50 or so stitches doc lost count after awhile. She has to be off of it for 2 weeks (no water either) and then has to take a break from sports for 6 weeks. This is killing my very active child but she has such a great attitude. We've come up with lots of ways to stay active and have fun here in Hawaii even while being on crutches, in a wheel chair, or out of the water. Like I said, amazing kid, amazing attitude. Her brother has also been a champ losing a cohort in the waves and pool. He's done a great job wheeling her around and helping take care of her. 

 

Anyway, we are still having a great time and enjoying Hawaii. Pearl Harbor was amazing. Thanksgiving was yummy and I didn't have to do any dishes! There was a parade outside the hotel tonight, that was fun too. Tomorrow the boys head to the Coug vs. Hawaii football game...us girls will shop! :)

 

Aloha!

 

More from Hawaii...added some pics from the game (cougs lost 24-10 :( )  and from our trip to the Dole Plantation...yummy pineapple, a train ride, a tour through the gardens, and a fun time in the maze! We found all 8 stations in less than an hour with Audrey in a wheel chair! :)  We also drove to the North Shore and around the island back to Waikiki. We head back tomorrow.

 

Aloha!

Audrey had a great bday. Can't believe she is 7!. Her morning started off getting to jump into our bed for breakfast and presents (after she was ready for school). Then she had Dad come read and give treats at school. Afterwards we picked her up and headed to the mall for a little shopping before we had a family dinner at Pagliacci's...yum! Then we headed to her basketball game where she had a great time with her team (the Shock) and coach Mom. Very fun.

 

On Saturday we had her party at our house Mrs. Frigon's salon. I had two very good employees Miss Fifi (Aunt Shelley) and Miss Julia (well...Julia). They were a hoot especially Miss Fifi who gave the girls manicures and got all the 1st grade gossip. They had lots of activities including jewelry making, decorating purses and sunglasses, getting their hair sprayed with glitter, manicures, and karoke!

 

HUGE thanks to Shelley and Julia for day of support and Mrs. Cindy "Croker" Jensen for making the awesome doll cake!

Better late than never...enjoy pict from:

Pumpkin Festival at Remlinger Farms

Our Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

Trick or Treating and Microsoft (visits to the Mario game world and the Reptile Man)

Trick or Treating in Snoqualmie with the gang

 

Katie

We recently went to Washington, D.C. for the wedding of Shane's cousin Chuck. It was also a great way to see all of the family from Shane's mom's side...a nice reunion. We were able to see lots of folks we had not seen in awhile. We were also able to do a bunch of sightseeing with the kids.

 

We saw a lot! Sights we hit: