A picture is worth a thousand words...

I know I haven't posted in a long time and really a lot has been going on but nothing exciting to write about so I'll let you see it instead.

*note* these pictures are NOT in chronological order!

Just to give you an idea of what was happening in these pictures...

• 
  
  Chena Hot Springs
• 
  
  Go Kart
• 
  
  Bowling
• 
  
  -25 to -50 degree temperatures

(no that sign is not correct. It was about -40 that night)

• 
  
  Christmas
• 
  
  Halloween
• 
  
  Muktuk tasting
• 
  
  Shooting a gun
• 
  
  Living Nativity

Thanks for a laugh Becky Jo

My sister-in-law sent me this in an email today. There were more but this one made me laugh out loud.

Remembering Mike Jones

Picture taken with my cell phone soon after he joined my family.

I found out Saturday that my beloved Russian Dwarf Hamster, Mike Jones, passed away. It was very upsetting to have this happen while I am away in Alaska but after shedding lots of tears I realized that he was well taken care of and had a very happy life.

Mike Jones was more than just a pet. I remember the day I got him, two and a half years ago, like it was yesterday. I had been living alone in my first apartment for about two months when I decided I needed some company. So I went to Pet Smart and looked at all the small animals. When I saw Mike Jones I knew it was fate. He was the cutest hamster in the bunch. I immediately bought him, and brought him home. The rest is history.

Thanks Mike Jones for all the times you listened and sympathized with me.
Thanks for always being my running partner, you on the wheel me on the treadmill.
Thanks for running around in your ball and leaving little poop pellets all over my floor, making me have to vacuum.

Thanks for keeping me up at night with all your running on that squeaky wheel.

Thanks for being so darn cute.

So here's to you Mike Jones, my confidante, my pet, my friend. I will always cherish our short time together and I will miss you!

xoxo.

These are pictures from the funeral. My brother sent them to me since I couldn't be there. I couldn't imagine it being any more beautiful. Thanks to my mom and dad, brothers and sister-in-law for all they did during this difficult time.

Aurora Borealis

I stole this picture from the internet. You have to have a really good camera to capture the northern lights, with all sorts of fancy things like awesome zooming capabilities and other stuff that I know nothing about.

Around 3:00 last night I woke up for my nightly (sometimes several) bathroom break(s). I always just get up and go without getting my glasses because I know the way so why do I need to see? It's not until I get back in bed that I remember that I was supposed to check and see if the northern lights are out, but then I am usually too cold and tired to get back up. I have seen them only once and it was just a faint green streak across the sky. It didn't make it any less awesome though! Anyway back to last night, I was walking back to my room and just happened to glance out the window. Mind you with no glasses, I saw this bright green streak in the sky. I was so excited I ran and woke up Annelisa's mother-in-law (who had said she didn't care what time of night, but to wake her if we ever saw the lights) then I ran to my room and got my glasses and we gathered back at the window to watch the lights. They only lasted about 5 minutes but in that five minutes they dimmed, got brighter, and they moved around the sky. It was amazing! It is one thing I will never get tired of looking at and hope to see it many times more while I am in Alaska. I just hope next time there will be more colors and they will dance around the sky as I heard they do!

Stolen from the internet, below is a picture of what I hope to see!

On another note. One night I did remember to take my glasses with me to the bathroom. When I looked out the window the northern lights weren't out, but I did have an up close and personal view of the big dipper. Now, I have a hard time picking out any of the constellations in a star filled night but this was different. I couldn't see ANY other stars in the sky and it was like it was right above the the house, it was so close. It was just as amazing as seeing the northern lights, so I wasn't disappointed at all. I did not get to see the little dipper though. Maybe some other time!

Also stolen from the internet...

P.S. It is already all snowy here in Fairbanks! Pictures to come soon!!

llama llama red pajama

This is my new favorite childrens book. My nieces love it, and I think I have read it about a million times to them since I have been here. It is such a fun book and I think every little kid should own it!

Here is another book by the same author about my favorite llama. I can't wait to read it and see if it is as good as the first.

Good old fashioned Anchorage, AK fun.

I am a very shy person. I have a hard time being in places I don't know and meeting people. There is nothing better than having all the anxiety of meeting new people completely vanish when the people you meet are so friendly and fun to be around.

That happened this weekend.

I went to Anchorage for a long weekend with my sister and her kids. Annelisa (my sister) has a brother-in-law and sister-in-law (Mike and Maggie) that are stationed at Fort Richardson in Anchorage. They have four adorable children Quinton (8), Austin (5), Avery (3), and Jace (1). My nieces had so much fun playing with their cousins. It was lots of fun to watch and play with them.

The reason we went down there was for Quinton's baptism. Because of the special event both sets of grandparents and one great grandma also flew in for the occasion. It was one full house and even though I wasn't family and I was an extra body to house and feed, I felt very welcome there. They are such a great family!

I am so glad to have met so many wonderful people and I had a genuinly good time! I want Maggie to know that I am so thankful to her for having me in her home. She is such a great person and mom!

On the drive there we got to stop at a view point for Mt. McKinley. The most beautiful Mountain in Alaska. We also saw some moose cross the road, just moseying along, taking their sweet time.

While in Anchorage we went on a hike and saw some salmon and lots of beautiful scenerey. Part of the trail was closed due to bears. I wish we had seen one (from afar of course). We also saw some more moose on the way home from church today. No matter how many times I see them, it is still so exciting to me.

Below is a my weekend in pictures. (Sorry, still none of moose.)

Alaska Adventure Number One

So here I am in Fairbanks Alaska (Fort Wainwright to be exact) and I have to say that so far it's been great, granted I have only been here 5 days. I have already seen some moose. They were only about 50 yards away from us as we walked along the trail by my sister's house. Talk about scary, and of course I didnt have my new camera on me because I am not used to owning one let alone carrying one around with me. but if I had taken a picture of one it would have looked like this...

OK well that is a lie because I am not that good of a photographer and neither of them had horns like the Bull in this picture but you can imagine what I saw right? Annelisa and I saw them again later that day while we were driving home from a church dinner.

So Alaska is pretty much like Washington except colder. The first thing I noticed as I left the airport were all the trees which immediately made me feel at home. The weather has been nice, around 60 to 70 degrees and if it weren't for the cold wind it would be fairly comfortable but hey, I'm not complaining. I am excited for fall and winter to come so I can see all the snow. My nieces are so cute and fun to be around. I have already played UNO a million times since being here. I am also having fun being with my sister and just having someone to talk to and hang out with. She is also a good motivator for me to stay in shape!

Here are some pictures of the girls...

Haley Anne age 5

Callie Jeanne age 4

Katelyn Joy age 2

Here is a picture of the three of them all dressed up to go to a princess birthday party. A little friend of theirs turned three and man did her parents go all out. They rented a ball room at the Princess Hotel in Fairbanks and held the party in there. Along with cake and ice cream, they decorated crowns to wear, and they were given magic wands. They also got glitter in their hair, their nails painted, and makeup put on. They also got rings, necklaces, and bracelets. After getting all prettied up they danced around to music from High School Musical and Enchanted. It was lots of fun for the girls and Haley even sang some of the songs she knew in the microphone.

Haley was wearing a barbie wedding dress, Katelyn was Tinker Bell (i know, she's not a princess but that's all that would fit her), and Callie was Snow White.