World Ice Art 2009

On Monday, Scott and I decided to head north to Chena Hot Springs to celebrate 7 years of marriage. The resort has a large spring surrounded by rocks outside and two small hot tubs and a swimming pool inside. Children are not permitted outside so we took turns holding Isabel inside while the other person ventured out showered and wet and made the freezing windy walk down to the water, which was approximately 75 feet away. The water itself was quite comfortable but there was snow covering the surrounding rocks and the wind was gusting, causing your hair to immediately freeze. It was difficult to leave the warm water as it was cozy and you knew the wind would be less than pleasant on your soaking wet body, but we each took pity on one another waiting inside which wasn't very warm either. Around 10pm, there was a loud knock on our door followed by knocks on the neighbors' doors. Only then did I remember that I had agreed to be notified if the northern lights were visible. The rooms had no phones, so this was the notification system. I immediately went outside to see. The aurora came out in full force in horizon spanning ribbons of green. It was very cold and windy but I couldn't help but watch for awhile. We don't often see them, partly due to not being outside a lot at night. On our way home, we stopped at the site of the 2009 Ice Art Championships and checked out the ice sculptures in Fairbanks.

It was pretty chilly, so dad bundled up little Bell in her fleece outfit, surrounded by a snowsuit sack, surounded by Scott's wool coat!

It's difficult to see but Scott was particularly impressed by the thin rope the boy is holding made of ice.

This is a caribou being pursued by wolves. It actually got 1st place in the realistic category in the multi ice block competition.

This one is a woman surrounded by horses with a pair of totem poles in the back.

This was one of my favorite single block entries. I am a sucker for the delicate ones.

This was my favorite multi block entry. It received 2nd place in the realistic category.

King Kong received 5th place but also got the Governor's award. This was Scott's favorite. There are skyscrapers below and he is holding onto a plane.

This was titled Subsistence. The last elk has an arrow going into it.

This is a kingfisher with a fish in its beak.

Another of my favorite single blocks. It was called Tranquility.

Stairway to Heaven was impossible to capture on film. There are crosses surrounding the whole thing, Jesus on the cross, two angels standing guard, and each step bore a commandment.

After Scott put Bell in his jacket, she fell asleep pretty fast. This was taken right when we got back to the truck and she just woke up.

-27 degrees on March 19th!

Okay we are gaining our light back, with daylight from 0800am to 8+ pm, but -27 degrees late in March come on, you're killing me! Having just purchased land and finally pinpointed a house design we intend to move on......we will be staying awhile but these winters are making that awhile shorter all the time. This moose cow and calf in our backyard this morning reminded me why we put up with the cold. Cow moose enjoying some winter browse.

Calf standing in front of cow.

Calf down on her knees sniffing the ground.

You can see our dog run. The dogs are usually on it but since it was so cold today they get to enjoy being inside so the moose can enjoy being outside.

I took and then published this photo before I knew they would come all the way into our yard.

Scott and Bell's yoga ball routine.

I just looked at Isabel's early photos and she is not only much bigger but she has lost a lot of hair and it's coming in lighter. Note her adorable little shoes from Denise.

Snow Angels

Jenny showed Isabel how to make her first snow angel after we went on another family ski down the road.Matt came over to meet Isabel for the first time and give her an afternoon snack.

Jake came by later and helped Isabel play with some toys. Isabel seems to have a little crush on Jake, she watches him run across the room and giggles every time he does something. Future play sessions will be chaperoned until Isabel turns 21.All the new babies got together for a potluck dinner to welcome them into the park community.

Isabel turns four (months)

Isabel is four months old now, unfortunatly we didn't have a large party or anything for the big occasion. We had a quiet day at home and dinner at some new friends' house. We had a fillet of salmon and some spinach wrapped in a pastry crust; yummy!! Bell decided on formula, her choice.

Luke and Emily came by on the weekend to do some skiing in the park and visit. Scott missed them because he was on a three day patrol, but everyone else went for a ski.

Isabel enjoys small periods of time in her new walker toy. She will probably really love it when her feet touch the ground and she can actually move it around.

Cleo and Sisu spend a lot of time outside when weather permits (warmer than -10F). They enjoy watching the squirrels and catching voles. They were keeping close tabs on a red squirrel in this picture.

Scott does some patrols by snowmobile. He went out recently with a local State Trooper who was kind enough to document what happens when you take a heavy snowmachine, add all the extra ranger equipment, and ride it in deep snow in mountainous terrain. He is actually only mildly stuck. It only took about 5 minutes to pack the snow down hill from the machine and get it pointed down hill and unstuck.