Shawn's birthday and Fur Rondy

 Adam played on two basketball teams this winter.  This team went to the championships and played one heck of a game but lost by a few points.

Angel is one happy kitty... the sun FINALLY rises above our mountain and we get direct sunlight again!

 

On our way to the Fur Rondevous Festival- a man was making giant bubbles- the kids loved it!

 I was also in awe....when the bubbles popped they kind of "smoked" away as you can see in the bubble above the girl.  When one was in the air long enough, it started to freeze and turn crystal white.  Super cool!

 Erin and I in front of the "Big Air" jump- skiiers and snowboarders competing.

 We saw quite a few bad crashes as the jump landing seemed a bit off in accordance with the lip.  However, there were still some successful crazy tricks!  In this picture you can see a snowboarder back flipping, the ramp they start off of, other contestants being lifted to the ramp, and the carnival rides!  Quite the WINTER festival! 

 We grabbed some beers and watched the fireworks from a balcony--- it was snowing and perfect!  The photographer couldn't capture a full firework in the background though.

 A great group photo... minus a firework!  Oh well!

 Beautiful!

 Buddies!  The pup on the right is Zeke, as you can see, he fits right in with the other two!  The girls went cross country skiing w/ the pups while the boys went snowboarding.  We then met at our cute lil cabin for a night of food, games, and hot tubbing!

 A bluebird day on the mountain for Shawn's birthday!  The snow was literally sparkling in the sun!  This was the second day, when I went out.  The day before it snowed all day-- so not only was it sunny, the snow was just right!

 Happy boarders!  It was a PERFECT day and soooooooo much fun!

 Beautiful view of the inlet as it started to cloud over.

Hope all is well for each and every one of you........... can you believe March is almost here?!?! 
LOVES!

exactly 1 month later.....

 Hello peeps! 

Well this winter has been TERRIBLE......little snow and varying temps between negatives and 30s....not ideal for snow!  We finally got a few inches and have been taking advantage as much as we can since the weather has ruined some of our winter plans. :(

Here are some pics from a few adventures...

 The view from our lil cabin in Hatcher's Pass

 This was our cabin for the weekend- pretty cozy!  The boys were getting ready to board

 A XC ski with some friends that met us there for the day-- up at the old mine

 The view for the boys on their first day out boarding-- hiking up and boarding down.  Adam in snowshoes w/ board on his backpack and Shawn w/ his new split board!  Another couple met us for that day and he skiied w/ them.

 Tundra saying-- "Hurry up, what's taking so long??!?!"

 The lil dots are the cabins and lodge below!

 The pups love hiking up and full speed chasing the boarders down!

 My bestest pal and I enjoying the view!

 An ice fishing excursion--- in the hut w/ the heater on- check out the temp below!

 brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... even worse- we didn't catch any fish!

 Not too cold for a snow angel for Mama Harris!

 We weren't happy to find these critters in our holes-- fresh water shrimp the trout were full on!

 My first try at the auger!

 Adam w/ his fishing buddy!

 A trip to Hatchers w/ our snowmachines... planning on snowmachining up and getting some snowboarding runs in.  Weather changed our plans!  BUT we got some great road runs in!  Our friend Kim went with.

 Road runs are.... snowboard/ski down and hitch a ride back up to the top.  Check 'em out- piling into the pack of this truck!

 Tundra w/ our neigbor- Eve!  They are too funny!

 Adam's bear skull--- has been working on it for 1.5 years!

 Another fishing trip w/ Adam's surgeon and his girlfriend-- 28 mile round trip to the lake.  Started out with RAIN and WIND.....what the h!?!?  Ended up being a great trip!

 3 of the 4 fish caught... lost 4 too :(

We had a great time!  It was their first time ice fishing!  We had 3 jiggin holes inside the hut and 10 tip-up holes outside. 


Gots ta go... it's Valentine's Day and King Crab is on the menu!   PEACE

Iowa Holidays 2012

 Happy New Year everyone!  We wish you all the best in 2013!!

We had a GREAT trip back home to Iowa!  We spent a lot of time with family and friends....although we did miss seeing some of you--10 days just isn't enough time!!!  We were in Des Moines, Ottumwa, and Traer.  We got to celebrate Christmas with both the Kuceras and Harris' .......played with our growing nieces and nephew.  Unbelievable that the youngest- Kane is 4 (Emma will be 4 in April) and the oldest-Sydney is 13!!!  They are all growing up to be beautiful and kind young ladies!  Kane is quite the little man and so much fun!  Here is a summary of what we did and out of 200+ photos! 

 We spent a lot of time outdoors.... this was a creek walk with Deanna, Mom and the kiddos!

 The girls in their new Alaska jammies... butt flaps!  They had moose caboose or bear bottoms.  Kane was running around somewhere with is booty hanging out... literally!  So cute and fun!

 Uncle Adam helping Emma bowl at Bass Pro in Des Moines

 Adam playing one of the tasks in the game "Minute to Win It" that Jeanette put together for New Years!

 Of course.... Adam won!  This was his trophy! 

 Adam saw steer wrestling on the NFR when we were in Vegas and asked Brandon and Deanna to do it while we were home and watching them calf rope....well it worked out!  He learned how to wrastle steers on his 28th birthday!  This was the smaller one that they put fake horns on.

 And the true test- the big steer with REAL horns!!

 Brandon- the bestest calf-roper EVER!

 The group of deer hanging out on my mom and dad's land!

 best buddies taking a rest!  Adam and my parent's lab.

 They are so curious of the camera!  Loves of my life = horses!

 Jumped on Derby for a quick bare-back, bridle-less ride!  Hung on to her mane and squeezed my legs while the other girls tried to get her spunked up!  She's a great horse and took it easy on me, despite them!

 The deer at my parent's bird feeder! All of the kids were peaking out the windows at them.  Smart deer....nice and safe on my parent's land that sits JUST on the edge of town!...cuz..................

 Brandon had a muzzleloader tag!  He only saw does

 Adam went out with him one morning in hopes of a buck.... per the landowner's request.

 sledding at hickory hills with the Kucera kids!

 Sledding in the back yard of a neighbor w/ Emma!

 the hills were boring... so tried behind a horse!  Brandon/Deanna's horse- Coal did really well!

 Well then the horse got tired, so Grandpa had to bring out the truck!  We had SO MUCH FUN!  If you weren't on a sled, you were in the back of the truck throwing snowballs at the sledders!  Danae got to join us for this morning of fun!

This gnarly bruise was from a sledding accident.............keep in mind I bruise if a fly lands on me and this looks much worse than it was!  Just had to show-off the pretty colors and appear tough!

We were very thankful to be back in Iowa with family and friends--- we had sooooooo much fun and it was hard to leave, as always!  We love you all!

We are back in Alaska and as we speak, Adam and I both had an ice-day off from work.  The weather this winter has been HORRID!.... as in NO SNOW!  In September we had an early snow which made us excited for winter playing.  Then it got terribly cold, negative 10-20s for a few weeks.  Before we left for Iowa we got a foot of  beautiful snow and Adam got out for a quick snowboard run.  While we were in Iowa, Anchorage temps soared into the 40s! YES..the 40s!  So we got back to patches of snow.  Now it has been windy, rainy, and icy.  I haven't had my skiis, snowboard, or snowshoes out AT ALL this winter and have had to buy ice cleats to go out and "play"!  We went from 10 feet last winter to this and are very disappointed!  Well... Alaska has 3 more months of winter, so we'll see what happens! :)

Again- HAPPY NEW YEAR!