Martin Buser and the trickery story

Guess what? Our family decided to go out on the Iditarod trail this year! Only, not exactly on the trail, but in the air above it. The four of us flew along in our Cessna 180, and went checkpoint to checkpoint as we followed the race. We stayed with the leaders, of course! :)

The above video is a former Iditarod champion, Martin Buser, telling a story of trickery along the trail. This was at the checkpoint called Rainy Pass, which is actually Puntilla Lake, AK. It can only be accessed by sled dog, snowmachine, or airplane.

I will post more pictures and the full story of our trip soon.

Winter Scenes

The days are getting longer! Spring is not here yet, but the promise of it is starting to grow on me. Seem like a reality. I love that...

Duvall wants spring to come so we can ride everyday!

I seem to have a lot more energy. I catch myself racing around the house, getting a TON done and not just wanting to take naps. My hibernation period is over..ha ha. I want to be outside, and now that its getting dark so much later, we all have more time to do that. We can ski, and not end up skiing home in the dusk by 3 pm.

We have three moose hanging around our house. Larry, Curly, and Mo. They seem to think its the place to be. They can be kind of a pain, because we have to be careful when we go outside to see where the Stooges are hanging out. We have to watch when the dogs are loose. A moose can kick a dog and maim or kill them easily.

Penelope took this picture of Mo. I was being lazy so she took Griswold (my camera) and ventured outside. I told her to be careful. Its awfully easy to think of them as gentle and harmless. But they can be very very dangerous.

Our poor lonesome lawn swing. Neglected and eager for summer. Our family spends lots of time on it during spring and summer. We have breakfast there. We sit and read books. We have a snack and talk on the phone. We lay down for a lazy swinging nap. We take family photos on it. We decorate it for the Fourth of July. We tie mini horses to it, or dogs. We have picnics here too.

I love Chickadees. They come everyday to eat from our bird feeder, or the suet hangers. They are so pretty, and they sing such a cheerful song. This is a male. The females are much more shy, but they are a bland, soft brown color.

Winter scenes. Enjoy it while you can...I have it on good authority that SPRING is coming!!!

Sledding Partaaay!

One of our traditions between Christmas and New Year's is to have a giant sledding party. Everyone just brings sleds, all types of sleds, warm gear..and lots of energy for walking up the KILLER hill. :)

We always have a ton of fun. Its usually mostly family because, well..that's plenty! We are a big crew. We have all ages, if they can walk..they can walk up a hill. Or we pull them up on sleds. It can be dangerous walking back up, dodging missiles as they go zooming by. You have to hope they know how to steer!

"Hi Auntie! Goodbye Auntie!"

After they get worn out sledding, the kids start "surfing" down the hill. On anything they can get their hands on. "Runner sleds" are popular surfboards, oh MY. I have to snap a picture, then close my eyes and look away!

Of course the adults have to jump in and play too. But SOME might cheat and snag a ride up the hill....lazy bum. JK.

We all know its time to go home when the kids start trying to impale themselves on trees while boarding down a cliff. Okay, party over...see you next time.

(but there is ALWAYS time for a white-washing victim or two..)

Winter Solstice Eclipse

IT was a dark and cold night. Seriously cold! But since we were having a lunar eclipse on the VERY same day as our Winter Solstice, and that would not happen again until the year 2094 (figured I might be busy that day) I thought I should watch it. Even take a few pictures.



But after I took a few, I FROZE my fingers. I ran in and warmed up by the woodstove but they hurt as they thawed! I'm a baby, so that was it for me. I think the temperature was -7.



It was such a beautiful experience to watch the entire eclipse happen. Our girls went down on the lake with the neighbor kids and took their sleds to play in the unique moonlight. Michael and I sat in the yard and watched the display while we talked about Christmas plans.







Just a lovely, lovely night.

We Wish You a Pixie Christmas

Pixie was asked to come and be one of Santa's elves at our annual Christmas Comes to the Kenai event. It is the kick-off of the holiday season, the day after Thanksgiving.

We took her in the mini van, and she did very well. When we got there, I didn't know we were going to be inside! But she let me lead her in and get her settled. She had her picture taken with around four hundred children. And she posed with Santa and the other elves. She was so calm and sweet. She wore her hat and wreath and didn't even try to eat them. Much.

On the way home she got a few bites of candy cane. She considered it a good day's pay. :)

Our Family Christmas Card

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! And of course to my blogger buddies, you guys are the BEST!!!! I'm sorry I have been a bump on a blog lately. I am going to visit everyone's blog and see what you have all been up to. :)

Merry Montage Christmas

Shutterfly has classic, elegant Christmas invitations for your party.

View the entire collection of cards.

May your season sparkle with joy and happiness. Praise the Father for his gift of his Son.

I'm Thankful

I keep thinking I will have time to post some pictures of all that we have been up to lately..but then its another day, another late night and, well you know how it goes. So I decided to just do a quick post about a few things I'm grateful for right now. I have a smooth round stone in my bathroom, in a pottery crock with some other stones and water in it. The stone says "Gratefulness". Its just a simple reminder to myself to ALWAYS remember my simple (and profound) blessings God has given me.

SO just twenty quick things I'm thankful for RIGHT NOW in my life.

* My goofy, fun, complicated, wonderful, loving, HUSBAND. Love him so much.
* My three spirited, opinionated, loving, smart, active, crazy KIDS. They crack me up.
* A tiny little spunky cute miniature horse, who has helped to heal my heart in many ways.
* Tastefully Simple's Oh My Chai tea. Heaven in a cup, and I'm not kidding about that!
* Woodstove and lots of kindling that my hubby chopped for me before his trip to S. Dakota
* Being able to homeschool my girls, and the neat experiment we did extracting DNA from an onion...so COOl.
* Folding laundry with the girls today, and suddenly all squealing and piling on my bed.
* Canned salmon in the pantry to have in the winter months ahead. SO yum.
* Warm boots when I go out to feed my horses in all this SNOW.
* My mom, who came over tonight to watch a movie, after we went out for pizza on a wim.
* Chena's experiences on her new basketball team, playing for my old high school. Nostalgia!
* My grandmother's dress that she wore to my wedding..she's gone now but I have that dress, and it still smells like her house. That dress has so much meaning for me.
* Friends who show me the true meaning of friendship and loyalty, and those who do not. Both.
* The new Taylor Swift song, Speak Now, which reminds me of what a goofy girl I once was at a certain somebody's wedding.
* Pizza boxes that burn quickly in the woodstove, destroying the evidence of ordering out. :)
* Chena playing the piano and singing yet another Justin Beiber song to me..
* My clean van. And also when its a pigsty.
* My lipstick, Wet and Wild 505A. Which is not made anymore, by the way. I'm making it last!
* Celebrating 16 years of marriage to my sweetie.
* Blue toenail polish with silver sparkles on top, applied by my fashionista daughters.
* Eggnog. It just came out on the shelves for the holiday. Mmmmmm.
* My new fleece sheets. Seriously cozy. And I'm waaaaay into cozy...
* A camera at least as fast as my daughters on the basketball court.
* Reading Treasure Island aloud to my girls on the couch, and doing the pirate accents. :)

What's on YOUR list of "I'm thankful" this year?