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!

2 more weekends of adventure

 Happy March!  I can't believe how fast this school year is flying by! 

We went on a ride with the Anchorage Snowmachine Club.  There were 19 of us altogether.  We rode around 40 miles out to Nelchina Glacier.  The ride started out foggy and then the sun burned through to a gorgeous day!

 We had the fresh "pow" AKA powder to ourselves--- people were having the best rides of the season in 4 feet of powder!...... I am a rookie and a light weight when it comes to shifting weight on the machine for turning, soooooooooooo I got stuck 3 times!  It was a great learning experience!

 cool part of the glacier

 our stop for lunch

 absolutely amazing!  ice crystals

 some people didn't even take a break for lunch-- all of these fresh tracks were ours!!

 A group headed up to the glacier

 Some people felt prepared enough/brave/I don't know what to call it to ride up on the glacier.
No thanks for us, too many people have fallen through crevasses-- including a 9 year old boy last winter

 Adam checking out the airplane wreckage

 On our way back home, I had just told Adam how I hate driving on this road because I feel like rocks are going to tumble down on us.  Adam said something about not worrying so much.  AND THEN-- we drove up and were stopped by this large rock that fell into the road! 

 A cliff with tumbling rocks to the right and a steep cliff to the valley below on the left--- no guard rails.  UGH



On to the next adventure---- up north again to Crosswinds lake for a long family weekend.

 We saw three caribou cross the road in front of us--- can't really see them in this photo though :(

 We rode our machines in 23 miles to a cabin on Crosswinds lake.  This is Adam setting up for some ice fishing!

 This lake is huge--- 8 miles across!  This is a picture from our lake trout spot, toward our cabin.

 And this picture is toward the other side of the lake where the trail meets up.  On our way out, we rode through a crazy windstorm.  I felt like I was going to be picked up in the air- machine and all!  At times I could barely see Adam in front of me!  Looks and felt like Iowa at those moments!

 Tundra thinking-- what the heck is daddy doing?!?!?

 Making a snow angel of course!!!!!!!!!!

 Tundy was warming up his paws by sitting on Adam!  :)

 Then he took his spoiledness a little too far and played "King of daddy"

 Adam called this our fish wagon! 

 We caught 0 lake trout and 14 burbot over the weekend.  Adam came up with a great plan, we will have a fish fry for our culdesac/neighbors when the weather warms up a bit. 

 Proud pup!

 Lots of yummy fish!

 And 1 grouse!  Last year when we came to this cabin, there were a few grouse hanging around but we didn't have a bird gun.  So this year we brought the 22.  There were tracks, poo, and signs of grouse everywhere but we didn't see one, uuuuuuuunnnnnnnntil the very last hour we were there.  Adam was sitting in the outhouse doing his thing (an outhouse without a door) and he heard a grouse fly over, they have a distinct sound.  So then he kept listening and heard one eating, again, a distinct sound.  We would've never known it was around if he didn't have to go potty!  So we had fresh grouse last night! :)

Tundra with his coat and DOGGLES on!  tehe!  He is not a fan of the goggles, but they sure help when he rides on the machine, especially in that wind storm!  He prefers to jog along beside us, but does well riding too when we go on longer trips.  On the way out we came across three more caribou on the trail. 


Another fun and successful trip in the books.  We feel so, so, soooooo blessed and thank God every day for the opportunities and adventures we have experienced.  Who would've known what the future held that day I met my college roommate's friend who was "so handsome with a great smile....... and of course SO TALL"  ;) ;)

In other news.....
-We are continuing to watch the Prairie Lakes service online and are growing in our faith and marriage.   :)
-Adam is going back to Missouri this Thursday to go spoonbilling with his family!
-I am on Spring Break, 1 week short of spoonbilling season:( 
-We didn't draw any of the hunting tags we put in for next fall :( bummmmmmer.  However we will still hunt for spring black bear and Adam will go on a sheep hunt in August.
**For those of you who know my parent's house, please pray for a calm spring WITHOUT any flooding!  They were hit hard last year (well the last couple years) and deserve a break! 
**Our nieces and nephew are growing up WAY TOO FAST!  Kane and Emma will be in KINDERGARTEN next year!  Annie is still spunky and so sweet!  Heidi's volleyball team has been kickin booty and are undefeated!  Breanna and Shanin are what Deanna says, "chomping at the bit" to be riding and are looking forward to better weather!  Brooklyn is playing basketball and is still a goofball!  AND SYDNEY--- is quite the young lady.  She has a boyfriend that our family really likes and he passed my test.  Her dad even likes him;)  She has started track and is thinking about trying 400s and 800s this year.  I can't wait to spend time with all of them this summer!  ****We also have twins- a niece and a nephew on the way!  Adam's sister, Kati, is getting married in May and a surrogate is carrying the babies and due in July!

We hope all is well with each and every one of you that read this.  And that where ever you are, the weather is cooperating (yeah right) and you are living life to the fullest!  TAKE CARE!