Just a normal Sunday afternoon

This past Sunday was a gorgeous day and Michael and I didn't want to waste a chance to be outside. Our options of physical activity are getting more and more limited due to my pregnancy, so we took a drive up to Euklutna Lake. It was absolutely breathtaking, as usual. Michael threw the ball to the dogs for a good 45 minutes! They were in heaven! This area is a usually all water, but the lake hasn't defrosted yet! This is a great area for the dogs to run because it is so large! Here are some of our photos:

Moose Moose Everywhere...in the city!

Amy and I went for a brisk walk this afternoon on the coastal trail in Anchorage. As soon as we got there, we see this giant moose butt staring us in the face...I mean, our faces were staring at it's butt! haha!

When we were finishing up our walk, we walked around the corner to that same moose right in the path to our cars! We had to backtrack and take a small "hidden" path back to the parking lot!

When we get back to our vehicles, look at what was staring at us! We think this was a different moose, though, because it appeared a lot larger than the other one we saw! So, if you come visit us and want to see a moose, we will take you to the city because the moose all seem to reside in town! ;)

Car Cat?

Not sure if we've ever told you about Riesling and car rides? She LOVES them! Anytime we have had her in the car, she has freaked out being in her carrier and insists on being let out. Most of the time when you let a cat loose in a car, she will be all over you or trying to hide! Not Riesling! She likes to look out of the car windows! When we moved houses, we had the dogs and the cat all out and about in the car. Riesling actually pushed the dogs out of the way so she could look out of the window! We know who runs this house!

Random Things...

This past weekend was the Spring Equinox! Woohoo, summer is on it's way! Michael and I went with a few friends to a bonfire on a beach in Anchorage. The beach up here is a little different than a North Carolina beach! haha! We had to walk about a mile and then go down a pretty steep hill to get to the water. There is still plenty of snow on the ground but it is slowly melting! We took the dogs out with us and they loved it!

The area where we had the fire is near the mudflats. These mudflats are like quicksand and you have to be careful around the flats. We stayed on the hard ground in the snow! No quicksand for us! (The mountain range in the background of this photo is the Talkeetna Mountain range).

Michael and Freedom near the fire.

Michael works in the valley which is about 45 minutes north from Anchorage. Michael has a gorgeous drive to and from work everyday! This is one of the views!

Another view on Michael's drive!

There are TONS of American Bald Eagles up here in Alaska. This eagle was actually hanging out at the McDonald's parking lot! He was craving some Mickey D's french fries! I hear you baldy!

New Look

Yes, you are at the right page.

Since I check my own blog several times a day, I get very bored, very quickly with the look of my pages. I have been trying to find a blog look that I am satisified with. After looking at a fellow blogger, Erin's page, I have learned about these websites that have free backgrounds for your blog! I should have known!

Now that I have this new found knowledge, I hopefully will never get bored with the look of my blog again! So sit back, continue to read our blog, and enjoy the view! :)

I hate moose!

Okay, so I'm totally lying, but they do piss me off!

When we lived in Anchorage, we saw moose all of the freaking time! We then buy a house about 30 minutes outside of town in a nice suburbia neighborhood where there will surely be tons of moose, right?

WRONG!!! Not one damn moose...

until we are kicked out of our house for a little while so our friends can set up for our baby shower. Then the moose shows up in our side yard! Damn these moose! I hate them all! (not really...I still heart them so much)!

March Roller Derby

We went to the latest roller derby bout this past weekend. I love roller derby! Heart it, actually! Once I have this baby, I think I'm going to try to roller skate again. If I can get good at the skating, I think I'm going to try out for the roller derby team. :)

What better way to get all of your frustrations out, then to skate around a rink and push or knock people out of the way!?!?!

The theme of this bout was "Brawl of the Wild". A few of us ladies made costumes to wear to this event. Don't we look "wild"?? Rarrrr!

Many people think I'm nuts for wanting to do derby, and I'm not saying I will definitely be able to do the derby. I have not roller skated in a really long time, so I may not have the skating skills. However, if I can get good at my skating, I would like to try out for the roller derby team. We'll see. ;)

Iditarod 2010!

It's that time again! The 2010 Iditarod started this past weekend! Michael had to miss the ceremonial start in Anchorage last year, so we went to check it out this year! The musher with the number 49 on his bib is Lance Mackey. He has won the Iditarod for the past three years. We wonder if he'll be able to win it again this year?

Michael enjoying a reindeer dog from a street vendor! We have made reindeer dogs at our house, but they're never as good as they are from the street vendors! Our favorite vendor is hot dog man located on 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage.


Us watching some of the teams race by!

Luckily, it was a lot warmer this year than it was last year for the Iditarod!

Who are these girls on my man?!?!?!

Wait! Those girls are our friends! :) (Jill, me, and Amy (left to right))

Have you ever seen "Cool Runnings" with the Jamaican bobsled team? Well this is a Jamaican dog sled team!!! Awesome!

Fur Rondy!

Amy and I went to see and participate in some of the Fur Rendezvous festival activities (Michael was working, as usual, so he didn't get to go with us!). We visited the snow sculptures.

Unfortunately, a lot of the sculptures had melted due to our very warm temps during Fur Rondy.

However, some of the sculptures were still standing!

One event we wanted to see was "The Blanket Toss".

This blanket is made out of several bearded seal skins sewn together to make one giant blanket! The Native Alaskans are permitted to hunt whales, seals, and walruses to survive. These hunts are a very ceremonial and traditional part of their culture. The Native Alaskans truly do respect and honor these animals.

People, or the tribe, all gather around this blanket and pull together in unison.

This blanket is so strong that it can hold a grown woman (Amy, in this case)! The pullers pull and pull (kind of the same motion as rowing a boat) until...

they pull one hard time, and BAM! The person in the middle is thrown up into the air! It's kind of like a trampoline, but not as bouncy or soft when you land! (Due to my pregnancy, I did not pull or bounce...I just took pictures!)

What a busy weekend!

A couple of things...

First off, when Anchorage's minor league hockey team scores their first goal of their game, fans throw fish heads onto the ice. Yes, I said fish heads.

Secondly, I'm not sure if I told you guys, but I have never had a cavity in my life...until I moved up here! Then, I got FOUR within six months!! I've been really baffled by this phenomenon and just attributed it to getting older. However, there really is a real reason for this decrease in dental health. There is no fluoride in the water up here! Well, damn, no wonder my teeth have been rotting out!

Hell's Belle's

Friday night, Michael and I went with my online girl group to see an all-female AC/DC cover band at a local club. The band was AWESOME! The above photo is with some of the ladies that were at the show! The club did get super crowded, but we did have a great time with all of our friends.

Fur Rendezvous, or Fur Rondy!

Every year, Anchorage has a festival called Fur Rendezvous. Even up here in the frozen tundra, they have fair rides! At first, I was like "hell no, I'm not going to ride any of that stuff because it is cold!". Then, Michael reminded me that I couldn't ride any of the rides, anyways, because of being pregnant! Damnnit! If you look at the thing in the left of the photo, that is the snowboard ramp. We watched this show on Saturday. It was pretty cool. Snowboarders and some skiiers from all over the state came to compete in this board show. After seeing these stunts in person, I am even more in awe of the Olympians!

A Friend's Birthday Extravaganza!

Our friend, Kelly (the one in the red shirt), turned 33 years old so we all went out dancing to celebrate. Originally, I did not plan on staying out all night, but we were having so much fun that I didn't even notice it was 2 in the morning! I ended up being the DD for a couple of our friends and being the photographer of the evening. I kind of liked this job of photographer and mind-filler in person! Haha!

Michael and I even danced a few times! Notice the liquid courage in Michael's hands!

Running of the Reindeer

During the Fur Rondy festival, they have this race called "Running of the Reindeer". This is exactly like it sounds! Runners race down a couple of blocks in the city and a few reindeers are released in the street to run through the runners! The runners don't run very far and the reindeer are nothing like the bulls in Spain! I think these reindeers really just wanted to get the heck out of the crowd and get back to their reindeer trailers! A lot of people also dress up in costumes for this race.

The three cowgirls waving in the photo above are three of my really good friends that competed in the race. I really wanted to compete, too, but the pregnancy put a stop to that. Oh well, next year.

One of the reindeers running through the streets! Run, runner, run!!