Ice Sculptures

Our days are almost as normal as the lower 48...a very exciting event! I wanted to include some pictures of our sunsets.

There are two competitions in ice sculpting: single block and multiblock. The multiblock is still underway so we went to go visit the single block. It was beautiful. On the downside, it was freezing. It was around -2, but even with two pairs of socks, hand warmers in my boots, long underwear, gloves, t-shirt, sweater, and down jacket I was still freezing. Will didn't prepare as well as I did and was ready to leave within 20 minutes. We went through the displays fast and took lots of pictures (to enjoy later). I ended up taking a 109 pics, but picked some of the cooler (no pun intended) ones.

There is a complete kids ice park. There was an ice maze which Will was too kind in not running away from me (he was frozen at this point).

There were some groups of people busily working on the multiblock competition. You definitely would not want to mess with a woman and a chainsaw.

This is a neat ice basket. Kids can climb in and get spun like crazy. Will, unfortunately, didn't want to partake in this fun.

Will was so ready to leave. I told him we had to get a quick picture. After a few cuss words, I said make an angry face. Obviously, I didn't have to ask twice.

Will finally was able to use his grill for the first time. Chicken, veggies, and cornbread...yummy!

Up and coming: Will will be traveling to Washington state this week for work and in a two weeks we will be heading out to Mexico!

V-Day Weekend in Anchorage

 

Moose. Oh, our dear sweet Moose. I had to include pics of him enjoying the Olympics, helping us out in the fridge, as well as friendly fun with the dogs. At this point we can’t imagine our life without him.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I was able to capture a quick family picture of everyone on the couch.





Will and I needed to get out of dodge. We planned for Anchorage during Valentine’s Day. Neither will nor myself are big Valentine’s Day people. **However, Dad please keep sending the chocolates.**

Mom, I promise this is not where we live.

On the six-hour drive to Anchorage we saw and heard lots of snow-machiners. One day, Will and I will rent some and become that much more Alaskan. We laughed at the tractor randomly getting gas at Chevron. In In Anchorage there were tons of icicles and an ice sculpture display. There is part of the display where it is intentionally iced and you can slide on it. I tried to get an action shot of Will, but it looks like he’s just walking around. Interestingly enough, the temperature in Anchorage was around 35 degrees. Will and I were walking around in our pea coats. Have we become acclimated? Who knows!

As you can see, the drive back to Fairbanks was spectacular. It was beautiful.

The last pictures include moose that were chillin’ (no pun intended) in our yard and Will actually remembering what a vacuum was. I was so excited to see Will vacuum, I had to take a picture. Yup, it is sad!

Sorry for all the technical difficulties. The powers that be changed the format and it makes it difficult to see what happens until after I publish the post.

Birthday Bash

Our January Alaskan adventure continues...Will and I had issues with the heat. We would have the heater at 74, but the room temperature consistently stayed at 61 degrees. Our landlord came over and said, "It's normal for Alaska." The very next day we had icicles inside our kitchen window. I was so amused and amazed, I had to take pictures. Will put the saran wrap (not an Alaskan term) on the window and since then we've had a very comfortable 66 degrees inside.

A co-worker mentioned a lady she knew that makes cake. Since Will is realizing Texas wasn't so bad and constantly is telling me how much he misses the sun/heat, I had the cake lady create a beach'y themed cake. I had to add Will's and my picture on the towels. Awww. The lady charged me only $10, but of course I gave her more. By the way, the cake was delicious!

Will's newest obsession is the Droid I gave him for his birthday. Much like the IPhone, there are many apps and many other distractions for Will to enjoy. We both had the opportunity to enjoy his phone. I abruptly woke up earlier this week at 5:30 a.m. to the sound of roosters in our bedroom. Not only did it take Will forever to turn off his phone, he said, as I was burying my head under the pillow, "Well, that won't happen again!" Let's hope not, Will. Let's hope not! Did I mention he had his cell phone volume all the way to max? Oh...Will!

We both love the snow and the scenery, but we are both getting cabin feverish. We are counting down the days till Mexico.

Next on our list....Anchorage February 13th weekend.

New Year's Weekend

New Year's weekend was amazing. Will and I ended up on New Year's Eve at Lavelle's (restaurant). Because we made reservations last minute, we were seated at the owner's "Friends and Family" table. With the seven course meal with wine pairings, we were among the elite of Fairbanks: doctors, hospital owners, insurance owners, and other small business owners. Will and I continued laughing throughout the night continuously asking ourselves, "How did we get here?" We rang in the new year with a bang!

Our new friend, Ben!

During our fun-filled weekend, we attempted tubing. It was amazing! There are four tracks and it is encouraged to link up with your friends to go down together. The best part is that you don't have to walk up the hill carrying your tube. On the tube there is an attached rubber leash. You take it to the worker and she/he hooks the handle to a constantly moving pick. You sit in your tube and get lifted up the hill. Nnnnice!

As my hand was falling off from the cold, I tried taking a picture of Will behind me being lifted up. However, my breath kept fogging up the picture. Instead, I took a quick freezing cold one of myself.

On New Year's day, my dear co-worker and friend, Debbie invited Will and me to her and her husband, Jeff's cabin (about an hour away). We played Scrabble and a new game, 31. They invited Oscar and Mattie as well.

They really really hate laying by the fire and snuggling on the couch.

Next is Will's birthday - cha cha cha and trying to survive the drastic cold. It got down to -41 today! Brrrr!