About Wright Now

Baby Mama

2011-05-27T18:56:00.001-07:00

The countdown is over. But still, no baby. Our due date came and went 4 days ago. So, we wait. And wait some more. But, sweet Baby Cooper, you are worth it!!

With your arrival imminent, I decided that blogging may be a good distraction as we wait. As the handful of readers may have noticed, we have not done anything to the blog since our departure from Alaska. No offense, but the flat plains of central Texas don't inspire me quite as much as the mountains, vistas, and ruggedness of Alaska did. But now, we have a new inspiration! Baby Cooper!

So, here's a few shots of you (and some external views of you as prego pics of your mama) to get us all excited about your upcoming birthday!

7 Weeks

Just a little bean!

9 Weeks
Notice the little white dot....you probably can guess why we thought you were a boy from early on!

12 Weeks Waving at the camera!

Kickin' it in my belly!! You've got your daddy's long legs and look at your arms behind your big head! Just chilled out for once!
This is you look right at the camera...but it definitely makes you look like an alien! Yikes!

Week 21
Cooper Foot!
Already perfecting your smile for the ladies!
And this is how we know you're definitely a boy!

Week 18 in Missouri celebrating the life of your Great Grandpa Miesner Your daddy makes me so happy - I hope you are like him in so many ways!

Week 26 skiing at Steamboat
I hope you love to ski or snowboard, so you can keep up with us!

Week 39 (almost)
At the NCAA tennis tournament in College Station. We beat LSU 4-0! Whoop!

So, you've been able to have some adventures with us, but we are definitely ready for you to come out and experience them for yourself!! So, come on, Cooper!!!

We can't wait!

Whore's Frost?????!!!

2010-01-17T17:19:00.000-08:00

Okay, there are some pretty weird things about Alaska. I mean really. This place definitely attracts the crazies. But, even this phrase seemed to be pushing it for Alaska.

When we came back from Christmas vacation, we went and visited my grandpa's cousin, who lives down in Cooper Landing, a neat little town (no stoplights) on the Kenai. It was absolutely gorgeous with this blanket of white everywhere. It is different than just getting another snow. There's something about all the moisture in the air that puts layers and layers of heavy frost on EVERYthing.

So, I hadn't heard anybody use this phrase yet, but my grandpa's cousin (who must be pushing 80, even though she acts like she's 22) just flippantly called it WHORE'S FROST!! My jaw dropped...is that really what she just called this beautiful landscape? And does that phrase come from what I think it does?!?!? Does any one else think that this may be a little crass?? Goodnight! This place is crazier than I realized. So, below are some pics of the beautiful whore's frost from around our house and creek (at 1:00 in the afternoon...dark still):

Our street sign barely read-able b/c of the frost.
This close-up makes it look like a sea urchin.
Willow trees look kinda creepy with the frost weighing it down.
Bridge over Chester creek
Close-up in front of our condo.
Chester creek

Another sea urchin
So pretty!!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these photos and learned something new for the day. I definitely did!!

This may be illegal

2010-01-17T16:55:00.000-08:00

We checked the car's thermometer when we got back inside. Yeah, it was 3 degrees. Brrr. Drives you to do dumb things like this!

It's official...

2010-01-17T15:44:00.000-08:00

This past week, Justin signed all of the documents committing us to serious debt...he bought us a practice in Corsicana, Texas. Now where in the world is Corsicana, Texas, you probably ask?? It's an hour south of Dallas. I am not quite sure what to think about this whole transition. I am not quite yet ready to leave Alaska. I finally have gotten used to the cold and the dark, as unbelievable as that sounds! (And no, I wasn't being sarcastic.) I really have enjoyed living here, which is shocking, given how much I cried the first couple of weeks. This place makes you challenge yourself and rely a little more on God (at least for a wimp like me). Maybe for others they go the other direction and think that they are now tougher! If I can survive in Alaska (The Last Frontier), then I can survive anywhere! I can see why one would think that.

But seriously, it has been an adventure to live, play and work here. I am thankful that God brought us here, even if was just for a short year. I have begun to reflect on that time since we are leaving for good in one week. Here are my top five memories:

1. Climbing Flat Top in the dead of winter (February): Nick decided that we needed to climb this famous summit. Ignorant and full of optimism, we agreed. It wasn't too bad (esp since I put my yak traks on over my tennies) until we got to the last 100 yards or so...which was on an 80% incline. Now, climbing up the side of a mountain doesn't really faze me, even if it is at a steep angle. What scares me is an 80% incline on ice, with no ice climbing equipment. I'm no ice climber, but aren't you supposed to have like a pick ax or some kind of ice pick!!?? So, I started up this incline trying to use the handholds of previous climbers. However, when you have stubby legs, you can't quite make the same moves as your predecessors. So, in my thin cotton gloves with my life flashing before my eyes, I punched holes in the ice, screamed at Nick for putting me in such a situation, and prayed fervently. Since I'm typing this post, you know that I didn't lose my fingers to frostbite and that I didn't die. But, that was one of the few times in my life, that I really thought I might die in the next 5 minutes. I won't forget this moment or how we slid down the mountain (since we definitely couldn't just walk down that incline once we got to the top!) until we fell head over heels (literally) a couple of times, and I lost my cell phone as it fell out of my pocket into the depths of the powder. Thanks, Nick.

2. Flipping our raft on the Kenai: This was another moment where I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Justin didn't want to teach me how to fly fish, so he pawned me off on our friends, Joel, Robbie, and Matt, who all thought it was a great idea to let me row the raft while we meandered down the river. Who knew you actually have to know how to row a boat?? I thought I could just sit there and let them all fish while I enjoyed the ride. I noticed a large tree had fallen right over the river. I assumed (you know what they say about assuming) that we would bounce off the tree like we were a bumper car. The only part of the physics of the situation that I didn't process is that we were not just a bumper car like at Six Flags!! We had a raging river under us that when the boat is thwarted from forward movement by a large spruce tree, the river keeps going! So, the boat totally capsized, and I was caught underneath as EVERYTHING went flying! What a disaster!! Thankfully, no major injuries considering how dangerous this was! The only loss was once again my cell phone (and camera this time too). Thankfully, the guys weren't too mad at me and all are better planners than I. They realized that their stuff could get wet and had it all protected in special, overpriced REI equipment. Thank you, Robbie, for the show shortly thereafter!!!

3. Mount McKinley: no major calamity with this one. We got to see it up close and personal, and all I have to say is that our God is a very big God. Truly awe-inspiring.

4. Moose and fox on my birthday: now, I know what you're thinking. Justin killed a fox and moose, so you could eat it on your birthday! No. But, good guess. We had been living in Anchorage for a little over a month. I really was not too crazy about the place AT ALL. On my birthday, we didn't go to work; we just stayed home and relaxed in our sun room. Out came a beautiful red fox in our backyard and let us watch him suspiciously saunter around. Later in the afternoon came out a teenage moose in our backyard! How cool. It was one of those moments that I began to appreciate more about Alaska and our time here. (Our maybe just because we had over 4 hours of light by then!) :) It was a very different and memorable birthday.

5. Bears and Fishing - I'm not much of a wildlife guru, but it was really cool to watch a wild brown bear (grizzly) playing with and then eating large quantities of salmon along Bird Creek, just south of Anchorage. I had never been so close to something that could eat me before. (At least that I know of! You never know in Alaska!) Also, catching a halibut that was bigger than me!! Never in my life did I think that I would EVER do this. I felt a little bit tougher after that day.

There are others- seeing a wolf and lynx in the wilds of Denali National Park, rafting in glacier suits on the Nenana, skiing in 3 feet of powder, countless hikes with friends and family, country-western dancing in an underground club, learning how to drive and slide on ice, shooting at targets along the side of AK-1, where all of the passers-by could see us shooting my Glock, the vibrant yellows of fall, etc. Man, this really has been a ride.

As I reflect back on this past year, it all seems so fun and crazy. I know that God has another adventure for us in Corsicana. I've got a feeling that it's gonna be a totally different kind of adventure....I hope that means one that will allow us to really give back to our community more than I feel we have here in Alaska. We shall see....it's gonna be fun!

Bear Slay'r

2009-10-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

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?!?!?

Hello Yellow!

2009-10-03T14:03:00.001-07:00

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!

Wrights Watch Williams

2009-08-12T23:13:00.001-07:00

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

J&A Days

2009-08-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

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!

Fathers be good to your daughters (and sons!)....

2009-06-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

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!

Renovations in Progress

2009-06-21T11:08:00.001-07:00

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...

Jane + Holly = JOLLY

2009-06-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

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...

PETA

2009-06-10T02:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a little video we took while halibut fishing...a short PETA advertisement. PETA, as in People for the Eating of Tasty Animals.

Doesn't it make you want to come and get your own tasty animal? (Don't forget your baseball bat!)

2009-06-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

I saw this short video over at Team Alexander's blog, which is an absolutely unbelievable journey, so check it out. I also wanted to post it because I was so touched by his passion and message.

Kickin' butt with the Halibut!

2009-06-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! I have never caught such a huge fish in my life, nor has Justin!! Plus, I have never been so completely frozen while fishing either!

So, we tried a little halibut fishing last month (May), which is supposedly a little early in the season to catch any big fish. We left at 3:00 in the morning, picked up our friend Nick, and headed down Highway 1 to Seward, which is rated the #1 most beautiful drive in North America (or at least somewhere in the top 10). I slept the whole way down since it was 3:00 in the morning unfortunately....the joys of being a resident, not a tourist. You don't feel quite so compelled to do everything today...there's always another weekend trip!

Once we got to the ocean, we hopped aboard, flashed our fish licenses, and staked out our spot in the back of the boat. For some brilliant reason, all the other passengers sat in the heated, dry cabin instead of being frozen solid under layers of wool, gore-tex, and other non-cotton materials. (A common saying in Alaska is "cotton kills" since it doesn't dry out easily when it gets wet and facilitates hypothermia or something like that. Ask your local REI specialist...not me! I like cotton!)

We sped away through the gorgeous, mountainous straits of Resurrection Bay and watched the sea lions, otters, mountain goats, and other wildlife along the way. After 3 hours of breakneck speed on choppy arctic waves and only one sick passenger, we came to a stop and anchored off of Montague Island (the largest uninhabited island in North America, for you Trivial Pursuit nerds!). We threw our lines overboard and waited and waited...this is lazyman's fishing. You don't do a thing...no setting the hook, jigging, or any of other kind of sportsmen's lingo. So, I kinda like this!

After a while, you feel a little nibbling at your bait. You wait a little longer, then start reeling. After 90 feet of line being fought over, the mammoth appears. Here are some pics to whet your appetite in case you've never tried.

Onward ho!

Aggie connection

Captain Hook

Fish bigger than me! Can you believe I caught that sucker! Must have been the polka dot boots!!

Straining with our two carcasses...

Not the prettiest fish...but look better in sepia!

Chillin' (literally) on the ride back to port...

B-E-A-Utiful!

2009-06-02T17:16:00.001-07:00

So, I am pretty much the worst blogger ever. Sorry that I have not done any posts in a LONG time! We have been house-hunting...or rather, condo-hunting. We finally found one the end of April and have now just moved in...and love it! For those of you who may be familiar with Anchorage, it is on the west side of town by Westchester Lake and just south of downtown. We love being close to all of the fun trails; I even get to ride my bike to work now! Moving in wasn't much of a challenge since we left all of our furniture in Texas....I think that's the way it should be!! My apologies to all of you incredible interior decorators out there, but why can't we just all sell our houses furnished...package deal! Life is so much easier that way. Leave the big stuff. If you don't like the way it's furnished, don't buy it. Anybody else with me on this one?

I will definitely put some pics up from around the house. We don't yet have any art up on the walls yet, but you can at least see some "before" pictures, and then I'll post once we finish decorating... probably when we decide to move out, right? ;)

It is slooowly starting to feel like our home. We have 2 guest bedrooms if anybody is headed up here this BEAUTIFUL time of year!!

Plenty-Nine!

2009-03-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, I got to celebrate my 29th birthday - Alaskan style. We went out to dinner the night before, relaxed all day (relax meaning caught up with stuff around home instead of going to work), opened presents, talked with friends and family, watched a teenager moose play (that's the Alaskan part) and had dinner with friends. That's my idea of a great birthday.

Here's some pics of the day!

Justin's so good at making me feel special...3 dozen very long-stemmed roses. Gorgeous! (I will have to say that they don't smell as good up here for some reason??). But they are beautiful to look at!
I felt like an Alaskan princess, so it deserved the queen wave. I just needed my pearls to be complete!And what you really have been waiting for.....can you find him?He was on top of the little hill...that brown glob that looks like a rock!Eating, eating, and more eating...
They even eat the bark off the tree! Bad moose!!But, how can you be mad when they look so cute?!?!?

Next up...pics from Iditarod...what you really missed out on!

Alaska For Fur

2009-03-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

During these past two weeks, Fur Rendezvous (aka Fur Rondy!) has been the big excitement around town. Historically, it was the time of year that the fur trapper/trader dudes began to come back into the city with all of their hides, pelts, and furs. (Now, what is the difference between a hide, pelt and fur?) Anyway, they would bring them back and auction them off to the willing buyers. A bunch of other festivities have been thrown into the mix of this celebration too. And, then it all leads up to the Iditarod, which is this weekend (March 8)!! Don't worry....there will be coverage of the Iditarod to be uploaded to the blog shortly thereafter! But for now, enjoy some pics from Fur Rondy!

Also, in case anyone was wondering, there were absolutely no "indecency or cruelty" to animals hurt in the process of making this blog.
As you can see, there's a short sled-dog race the first weekend of Fur Rondy that is kind of a warm-up to the Iditarod.
I had never seen a sign like this before, especially in the middle of the downtown of a city.
I thought this picture exemplified the lifestyle of these dog-racers - sled on top, dogs in back - ready for their next adventure.
Brr!! A little cold for outside entertainment and dining...even with all the outdoor heaters!
We also decided to check out the fur market.
We even found ourselves at the fur auction....and yes, we got some fur!! (When in Alaska, do as the Alaskans, right?) I would show you the gorgeous red foxes we bought for Ann, Justin's mom, for her birthday this month, but then it wouldn't be a surprise! If you want a pretty good idea of how beautiful these creatures are, check out an older post with pics of the red fox in our backyard.

Sometimes we all get a little CRABBY!!

2009-03-01T00:28:00.000-08:00

Well, in case you couldn't tell, we are now officially in snow crab season.

Justin really got a hankerin' for crab this past week, especially once we saw how cheap it was fresh at the grocery store! So, we have been doing a little experimenting...with pretty good success!! (Mainly because there's very little involved in making crab!) So, here are some pics of our snow crab session:

I enjoyed the snow crab way more than I thought it would. I guess for some reason I thought we could never reproduce the taste that the restaurant chefs create. But, I am now a snow crab snob!! I even like it more than our next experiment: King Crab!

As you can tell, it's quite a bit larger than the snow crab, and God definitely has some pretty cool defense mechanisms for this sucker. It hurt my hands just to try and break a leg off it! I don't know what I would do if I was swimming in the ocean and came up to one of these!!! Yikes!(We had to clean our oven afterwards, so everything that we baked wouldn't smell like king crab!)

Here are some of our snow crab remains!!! Yummy!! We wish we could have enjoyed it with everyone else!! So, come and visit!! We promise we will make you some tasty crab if you do!!

Anchorage...from afar

2009-02-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

This past weekend it was so unbelievably beautiful!!!! Here are some pics of Flat Top Peak, which has great views of Anchorage from the top! If anyone reading this has ever hiked with Justin before you know exactly how this hike went....head straight to the peak, no switch-backs, no following the trail like everyone else...no! We just go one direction, no variation - eyes on the prize! Plus, if you aren't gasping for air, then you're not hiking fast enough! (We did get up that sucker pretty fast though using the Just Right method!!!!) Here are some pics of the scenery from up there!

Our 15 minute ride up to the trailhead from our house. Everyday view of mountains around Anchorage.

We made it to the top!! (record time, of course!)

And here's the view from Flat Top Peak....of more peaks....and

...of Downtown Anchorage. My office building is the one the furthest northwest, right on the water!

BONUS SECTION: pics from our house!

Check out our icicles on our sunroom windows!

And Justin in our backyard by our little creek (which I have already fallen in more than once!! Snow can be tricky...not always solid!). Thank goodness for warm UGGS!!!

Wright Now around Anchorage

2009-02-24T20:25:00.001-08:00

Moose-tracks (NOT THE ICE CREAM!!)

One of the things we do like about living in Anchorage are all the trails around town. We live less than a mile to the Coastal Trail, which is really long and has great scenery along the inlet. We also get to see a ton of wildlife along the trail - primarily moose and bald eagles - and also these HUGE black and white squawky birds too. Here are some pics of the latest moose we saw along our Coastal trail, the trail itself and the inlet (with the gorgeous mountains across from it!). Notice in the last pic the infamous icy quicksand of Anchorage...definitely not going to build any sandcastles down there!

We also got to go to a Anchorage Aces hockey brawl, I mean, game. It was pretty fun....everyone here gets WAY into it. We took the kiddos of the dentist Justin works with. They were definitely into it too!! Check out us with the mascot, Boomer...

This is what I will leave you with....we saw this bumper sticker at Costco the other day. I thought it was a pretty funny rhyme. Enjoy!

Love ya'll!! I hear Texas is getting some early green spring!! Jealous! As you can tell, we are FAR away from any kind of 80 degree weather. Boo. I can't wait to see lots of pics of gorgeous azaleas and daffodils...I think I will appreciate it more than many Texans being up here!!!

Cruise Pics!!

2009-02-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry that it has taken so long to get this little ditty up here. We had some issues....so, pictures from Ecuador and Peru are not included in here. Something about having to re-format the memory cards???? Anyway, we hope you enjoy it!

Next up...more pics from around Anchorage! So, check back very soon! Love y'all!!

Wild Lives

2009-02-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hoooray!! We saw a fox this morning in our backyard!! It was a lot bigger than the fox I have seen on the Wright Wranch....needs a bit more of a winter coat up here!! I hope to actually get some good shots of the moose that roams around our neighborhood. So far, we have seen the moose while we are driving and camera-less!

Isn't it cute?!?

Mountain Woman, I think not.

2009-01-25T21:46:00.001-08:00

Well, we are safely here....in Alaska. Never, ever, in my mind did I think we would actually be living here. We just moved into our temporary digs while we figure out what we are going to do more long-term. It has an extra bedroom in case anybody gets the itch to join us in our adventure! (Can you tell we are missing our friends back home!?!?)

It was definitely an adventure just getting to Alaska, the supposed last frontier. One night in particular seemed rather frightening to me, and required some frontier-woman nerves of steel. J had been driving most of the day from Denver. I picked up the last leg from Salt Lake City onward to Boise. Now, I imagine this drive would be quite beautiful and tranquil if enjoyed during the daylight hours. However, it was already way past dusk when I took the wheel. It all started out okay.

Yet, as soon as we were out of the safety of city lights, it all went downhill fast. We were driving north on an interstate, and I began to notice that there were absolutely no other cars on the road. This seemed unusual since there are generally vehicles on most interstates at all odd hours of the day and night. But, nary a car. No worries though...it was really quite peaceful in the pitch dark. This sweet serenity lulled Justin to sleep at this point.

Shortly thereafter, I noticed a sign to 'Watch for Icy Conditions,' which as a Texas driver, this alone makes me apprehensive. (Repeat no other vehicles (i.e., emergency vehicles) traversing this same course...why??) I continue on definitely on edge. The next mile I get to has no less than 5 different signs warning me of a game crossing -deer migration ahead, watch for game, yellow sign with the huge elk antlers, etc. So, this is when I really get white-knuckled. I begin to think what if I see some type of animal and start to brake only to hit a patch of ice!!! I did not feel up to this task at all.

I questioned again why are we leaving the comforts of the perfect (albeit traffic-laden) roads of Texas. Don't most people want to bask in the sunny warmth of a Gulf State rather than the unknown of the Last Frontier state?? Why did we ever leave?!? Why did I think I could cut it as a mountain woman?!?!?

This continued on for miles with more dangers 'Frequent High Winds', 'Strong Gusts Ahead', and 'Watch for Dust Storms'. Would I ever wake up from this nightmare cross-country? It began to snow as the last element to endure as we closed in on Boise. I felt like I was the character Wile E. Coyote in a Road Runner cartoon with these nonstop dangers...like the Road Runner continued to thwart my attempts to reach the destination and capture it....beep, beep!

Once we arrived to our hotel (The Modern Hotel was AMAZING in case you ever find yourself in Boise.), I began to relax a little more. The past several hours began to hit me that I really needed a reminder of WHO is in control in my life. Why do I seem to forget that so very often? I know I said a lot of prayers that evening (as those types of circumstances seem to push me towards Him), but I still felt totally out of control, instead of feeling the protection of God surround me. I really hope with this next step in life that I will be challenged more and more to truly put my reliance in Him, and Him alone.

So, a little shot to the pride that I am not as tough (or as hardcore driver) as I think I am - in exchange for safety to Anchorage - I'll take that any day!

2008-11-19T12:30:00.000-08:00

We just finished our video recap of 2008!! Enjoy! It is about 8 minutes long...sorry! I had difficulty cutting out things!

Justin's Graduation video

2008-11-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

In case you missed out on the graduation fun, here's the slideshow from his graduation party!