Spring is here!

 Spring is herrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!  YIPPEE!!  We have had beautiful weather lately and unusually warm temperatures

 Last weekend we went down to check our bear stand and it hadn't been hit yet, so we took Tundy to play and headed home.  On our way through the mountains, we drove through a snow storm which confirmed 

Adam's concern that the bears might not be moving far from the den yet.

 The trip wasn't a complete waste-- we saw this Minke whale in T'urnagain on the way home! 

A video of the whale is below

 Adam cleaning 15 burbot for the fish fry we held for the culdesac!

 Everyone brought a side dish to share so we had TONS of delicious food!  Everyone went home with plates of leftovers!  We had an egg hunt for the kiddos and hunt for the adults! (liqueur shooters hid out of reach from the kids)  We played outdoor games and had a great time in the beautiful weather

The day before Easter and our culdesac fish fry--- these are pictures of us setting up our bear bait stand. 1st load of 2. Hiked 2.5 miles (uphill- gained 400 feet elevation) with some bushwhacking! Total of at least 10 miles that day! My first load was the 30lb barrel on my back, 60lb dog food and chainsaw in wheel barrow. Adam had 60lbs on his back and ladder stand on the meat wagon.  The 2nd load was suppose to be easier/lighter.... but wasn't!  We ended up dropping a bag of dog food and taking it back to the truck on our way out

 Getting everything ready at the truck- planning the trips

 bushwhacking with a ladder stand!

 took a couple tries, a few ropes, and a wench to get the ladder stand up. We parked at 8:30 a.m. and hiked/worked until leaving at 7:00 p.m. with a 10 minute lunch break

 Adam's souvenir from the day setting up the bear stand

 An idea from Mama Harris-- frozen water balloons with food coloring.  The balloons just peel right off!  I made them for my preschoolers and they LOVED them!  They were pretending they were jewels and dinosaur eggs

 My last ski of the year--- handsome pup!

 Even when weather is warm and snow is melting a the house--- we can hike up the mountain to the fresh snow! 

 I always wonder what he is thinking!  Deep in thought! 

This weekend is Adam's sister's wedding!  We head back to Iowa Thursday night, get back with a few hours to spare before rehearsal.  Wedding on Saturday! WAHOO!!  And back to Alaska Sunday night.....work Monday morning! :)  Super excited to be back for such a special/fun event, even if only for the weekend.  The following weekend will be back to the bear stand! 

A video of the whale--- not sure what was going on, it was just hanging out at the surface.

I took my preschool class to the zoo!!!  For those of you who know me well..... you know that I had to do controlled breathing and try to block out this whole fiasco since my kiddos were so amazed and wanted to watch the whole event!  I had to video it for ya'll, but I won't watch/listen to it again!  EEEKKKK!

Winter is slowing down... preparing for summer!

Well winter is wrapping up here. We ended up with an average year for snow... although it seemed very poor since there were very few times the snow was good enough for snow machining or boarding. Anyway, as we watch the snow melt away, we have time to prepare and get ready for another exciting Alaska summer. This year we don't have a single guest scheduled to come visit! It's bittersweet but it will allow for a good amount of exploring and adventure.

Not much has happened in the past month. We are just rotating out the winter toys and catching up on things we put off this winter. My time has been dominated lately from starting my own Mobile Application Developing business called LTH Life. We have a BIG app scheduled to release this summer targeting Alaska residents and visitors. I'll let you know when that hits the app market.

Every other year I head down to Missourri to snag for spoonbill. The opener is March 15. The cold winter in the Midwest didn't provide for very good fishing, but we found a few here or there. Of course, I caught the most and biggest :)

 This is how we do it... Dad and I pulling our gear while Mom drives us around trying to find a group of them. This picture was taken immediately before I had to go to the bathroom... to which dad said, "I can hold your rod." Awkward! 

 Jessi landed  her first ever spoonbill. Her pole was in the water less than 15 minutes before she hooked in to it. It was the only fish she caught the entire trip... but a good one around 45 pounds.

 Grant holding Jessi's fish. 

 Here's our day 1 catch. Jessi with 1, me with two, and everyone else (Dad, Mom, Grant, Doug, and Don) with none. This was the best day of fishing too out of the 4 days we snagged. 

This is a picture of my biggest fish of the trip. It was the last day of snagging. She weighed 66 pounds and had a deformed bill. I also caught and released a smaller one that day as well. 

All and all it was a good trip back to the Midwest. I got to spend lots of family time with my parents, cousins, grandma, sister, aunt, uncle, sister, and brother in law. Plenty of cards were played and beers drank! We also worked our butts of around the cabin too. 

On to what's around the corner here. This weekend we are hosting a block fish fry. We are cooking up the 14 burbot we caught last month to share with everyone on Easter... should be a good time. Also, every free day available we will be hunting for bears (both bear and black). And, my sister is getting married at the begginging of May. Lucky me, I'm officiating that wedding, hope you got tickets to that show!!

Until the next update. Peace and Love!