Spring has sprung!

We are flying out to MN tomorrow for a few weeks so our blog posts will slow down until we get back. Thankfully it's warming up both here and there, so our next shots can be outdoor ones!. During the spring, the park road extends its "open to the driving public" distance to Teklanika Rest Stop at mile 29 as opposed to the Savage River at mile 15. We took advantage the other night and went for a walk with Isabel. We left the camera behind, but it may have helped us pay better attention. While on foot, we ended up spotting a wolf with a snowshoe hare in its mouth and a lynx crossed the road in front of us just before returning to the truck. We also saw a moose cow and calf walking into our yard when we got home. I'm sure the critters are as excited for winter's end as we are.


Isabel loves all dogs and thankfully our dogs love her too.

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day and we are leaving our vehicles parked today and enjoying a little family time, working on our house plans, reading about installing a septic system, bringing electricity from the road to our work site etc.

While working on laundry I couldn't help but wonder "how cute would Isabel look in the basket?" Of course she was adorable.

Yesterday the three of us ventured out to do the Rock Creek Trail loop which is a 2 hour hike across the road from our house. The deep snow coupled with our late winter lethargy resulted in a 3 hour hike! Thankfully we brought a bottle for Isabel.Isabel made it known she was pumped for a hike off the road for a change.

This was our first opportunity to try out the fleece outerwear uncle Jeffy picked out for Bell.

I'm a sucker for emerging from the bath towel swaddled babies, need I say more?

I have been concerned about Isabel's apparent lack of interest in being read to. It turns out she just wants to do the reading herself!

Jaime comes over to visit Isabel on her lunch breaks whenever she can, and Isabel loves it.

Last week we spent most of the week in the Millenium Hotel in Anchorage. It was pretty nice. I got my fill of Law and Order and restaurant meals.

Happy Belated Easter!

Isabel opens up her Easter package from Grandma Priscilla.

Easter is a rare opportunity for Alaskan girls to don dresses.

Easter Preparations

Easter is almost here and spring is in the air. We have traded in the Chariot skis for tires and have put on hiking boots. Winter has been long and we are looking forward to summer; although there is still a lot of snow on the ground. We are getting over 12 hours of sunlight now.

We tried Bell's backpack out for the first time on a small hike with Karen and Jake. Bell insisted that we play it safe, so Scott gave her a short briefing on our route complete with contingency plans in case of an emergency.

All the dogs came along for the hike to provide protection from hungry spring bears.

After the hike we colored Easter eggs with Karen & Jake, and Jessica and Kate. Jake really got into the project, and the project got all over Jake; I don't know what was more colorful Jake's hands or the eggs.

Jake gave Bell several goodbye kisses; he 's a good boy.

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.