I just noticed that I never posted the below (which I composed back in October! Yikes! Bad blogger!) There's some pretty sick pics below (and I don't mean sick, as in cool, like teenagers say...) I mean they're GROSS! But, for those who are into these kind of things, aka killing wild animals, they are pretty normal. So, don't look at the pics if you have a weak stomach or don't agree with using your canines.
So, Justin came home yesterday, we ate dinner together like we normally do, and then we described our days as if it was any old day. Two hours later this is what happened.
Jenni: Tell me about your day. Justin: No, tell me about yours. (Yes, I know we are so interesting.) Jenni: blah, blah, blah....all the non-exciting things about my day that are only interesting to me. Well, tell me about your day. Justin: I saw a little bear. Jenni: Oh, that's nice. Was it up in a tree? Justin: Um, no.
Justin cleaning the hide (fortunately for you, you don't have to be there to smell the penetrating rank odor.)
Salted hide One weird dude....who does this kind of thing?!?!?
There is most definitely a fall chill in the air. It was 27 degrees this morning when we woke up...don't worry, not in our house - outside! This is one of those times of the year that Texas seems really far away - do you feel me on this one? However, it is utterly beautiful, so I can't complain. Here are some pics that I took on my walk to work yesterday.
First I have to cross Chester Creek: Then up these stairs...they're kinda hidden... Then pass the park strip with a glorious view of this: Here are some other fall pics from a hike with Lauren (makes me miss her even more!): I love this girl! How could you not with a face like this! Thank you, Lord, for brightening up this time of year with fun colors!
While hanging with my grandparents and my cousin, Becca, in San Francisco, we took them to a little tennis match and got to see Serena and Venus Williams dominate!! So cool! Check it out! Venus during her singles match... During their double match up... Serena was such a force! Grandpa was really intent on not getting burned! Isn't my grandma beautiful!!??!! Wrights Watch Williams
When Justin was little, he used to play with a little girl named April. Their playdates were called J&A Day. Well, with John and Ann in town, we had quite a few J&A playdates!! So much fun!!! Thank you so much for coming...we miss y'all so much already and can't wait to see you in September. Enjoy some of our memories with them.... Before we headed off white water rafting on the Nenana River near Denali National Park we had to put on these drysuits. Whoever invented these glacier suits must be one crazy dude....not a fan!! Burning up hot!! Here's Ann with our guide, who pulled her in the glacier-cold river as he fell out!! Unbelievable...plus, her suit leaked!! She handled it with way more grace and panache than I would have! I was way impressed, Ann! Definitely a little hazy from all of the forest fires near Denali... Mount McKinley, also called Denali, is infamous for disappearing. It has its own weather system because it's so huge! Even the National Park brochure reassures visitors that The Mountain is really there. We were able to see the entire Mountain for a solid 10 minutes before the clouds came back over it disappearing an entire 20,320 feet of mountain. You can see the bus we rode in for 8 hours...that's correct, friends!! Stinkin' 8 hours in an old school bus...definitely worth it though!! We were told that we wouldn't see the mountain because of all the smokey air from the forest fires to the north. Our bus driver told us that he hadn't seen The Mountain that clearly since the previous summer!! Woo-hoo!! (Do you think he was telling the truth?) BTW, you have to ride in these buses if you want to go any distance into the park...try to limit human traffic or something ridiculous like that. This is what happens when you're on a bus that long...blackmail.
We also got to see a wolf, lynx, grizzly bears and cubs, caribou, ptarmigan, porcupine and lots of tree huggers in the wild. Not something that you get to do everyday...none of our pictures are that great as evidence of this - either we were too far away for good pics or they were too fast!!
We also got to do some fishing out of Seward and Resurrection Bay. Twinkies! That's a beauty...excuse me, two beauties - John with his lingcod!John with his hunky halibut! John with his Jenni!
While down in Seward, we also visited Exit Glacier... J&A with "the toe"! At Mount Marathon on July 4th weekend, there is an extreme run in Seward where all of these crazy runners book it straight up this mountain and back down...almost everyone who does it is completely covered in mud head to toe. Here's a close up of one of the sections... And comin' back down (sliding on their butts)! Dirty bums racin' to finish...
We did a really fun hike down in Girdwood too. I love this cute pic of Ann! Thank you again for being the best outlaws-inlaws!! We love ya'll!
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!! I am so blessed to have an absolutely, unbelievably kind, generous, godly father. I love you, Dad!! Plus, I was so blessed to have married into a family with another amazing father, John Wright....I love you too!! Thank you both for loving us so well, day in and day out. I know we both are a challenge to deal with, so thanks for putting up with us in all of our 'moments'. We would not be who we are today without you both.
Papa John always watching and staying the course... Dad Miesner leading us on... Dad and sons...it looks like they like each other a little, huh? I love my daddy!! Can you tell we're related... Here's a pic of them together reading scripture they had chosen for us to guide our marriage... Also, Happy Father's Day to my brother-in-law, Richard!! Thanks for being the best dad to my fave niece and nephews! Look what a good daddy he is... Love you all! Thank you for being the best at the hardest job in the world!
We have been spending some time to make our little condo look a little more 'lived in', i.e., no longer having bare, empty walls! So, here's a pic to remind you that we will upload more pics once we actually have made some progress...slow and steady wins the race, right? The slower we are the better then, right? Anyway, here's to whet your appetite...
We had so much fun with Jane (Justin's aunt) and Holly (his cousin) here earlier this month!! We saw lots of moose, including even an elusive baby moose, touched a glacier, hiked a ton, and laughed even more! This probably is best told by some pictures (however, I didn't take as many as I normally do with Jane and Holly being the tourists and all!):
Jane with some really big bluebonnets... Close-up of Alaska's version of a bluebonnet (they call it a forget-me-not, I think, but I forget), but it's the same exact flower just a ton bigger! Holly in iconic pose.... View from the top... Resting spot, especially designed for.... ...especially for Holly! At Beluga Point, Just looking for some belugas... You gotta be careful on these dangerous mudflats...as much as they look like a black, sandy beach, they are NOT! Wannabe-artsy close-up of the flats... Jane on her way down to the beach.... The RAILroad goes on forever...in Alaska.... View of Mt. McKinley from Earthquake Park in Anchorage. To the left of the behemoth of 20,320 feet is Mt. Foraker, at a mere 14,000+ feet....FYI, this picture at dusk was taken at midnight... Baby moose from afar (Holly got much better pics than I did! Can you pass those along, Holly?)... Holly at the "toe" of the glacier in Seward... Thank you for coming and being our "guinea pig guests"!! We loved having you...come back again!
P.S. Thank you, John and Annie, for Justin's b-day present...as you can tell he is definitely getting a lot of use out of his fancy sunglasses...
Justin cleaning the hide (fortunately for you, you don't have to be there to smell the penetrating rank odor.)
Salted hide
One weird dude....who does this kind of thing?!?!?
