Playing Catch Up...

I took some time off from You Moose Be Kidding to regroup and recharge! I think I am now recharged as for regrouped.... One can only hope! Every year I look forward to the coming year with anticipation that this might be a year of great things. This year seems to hold so much promise. Then I turn on the T.V only to find that O'bama is calling a basketball game!! :o.... If he is calling the basketball game who is minding the shop so to speak!!!! I know, I know for someone who swore she was not political I sure am getting political..... ENOUGH!! Back to the blog.

Above is a wonderful sunset picture that I took from the parking lot at the Alaska Zoo. The pink tint to the picture is that Alpenglow I have been telling you about. When the sun is just about to set and it turns the sky a real pretty mauve pink color.

The bottom picture is of the Chugach Mountains that are behind us. The storm had just given way to blue skies and snow that was stuck to everything not to mention the cold. I was waiting for A to finish up helping the 6th graders at Trailside. She helps out on Mondays and Thursdays so that she can earn points for Orchestra.

Our 1/2 Hour Visitor

Just before Halloween the weather had turned really cold and it had rained. A was on her way home from school when she spotted this little fella running around our condo parking lot. He was cold, wet and scared. A brought him inside and we made him warm. Once we had him warm and dry he hung out with us in the living room.
He made no noise so we thought it would be okey to let him stay a while longer until he saw a dog being walked on the path behind us. It was then that we found out he could bark... Rather loudly in fact! You wouldn't think a dog that small would have such a big bark but he did!! And A and I looked at each other and knew that our visit was at and end. We live in a no pets allowed building. Being the Mom of a rebel means that some times you end up as the partner in crime. A bundled him up and took him back out side. And it is there we parted ways with our 1/2 hour visitor. We haven't seen him since.

Academic Letter

This is A receiving her Academic Letter from Principal Pondolfino. She was one of 319 students that received either a letter or a gold star or silver star pin. Before the ceremony the Service High School Concert Orchestra entertained us with wonderful music. After the ceremony we were treated to refreshments.
This is A's Academic Letter. A lot of hard work went into this letter. So many hours of homework are also wrapped up in this letter. We are so proud of you A. :)

Two More Mouths to Feed

That's right! We have two more mouths to feed. A is such a rebel. She sees the words NO PETS on the front door as a suggestion. I really thinks she looks upon those two words as a challenge. So far our rebel had broken the rules with Goldfish. K took her to"Pet Zoo". That is the local pet store. A was looking for more goldfish or so I thought. when she came in the door the first thing she said to me was "Don't get scared". I was thinking tarantula, or worse... snake. I had not even seen what she brought home yet and I was already thinking "I'm in trouble!!!"

K went about the business of helping her set up the small fish tank that she has. Once that was ready she pulled out her purchase. Two small mice. Well to say I was relieved is an understatement. It's been about eight years since she had her rats. They were the cutest things you have ever seen. They were Russian Blue rats. She named them Snoopy and Woodstock. And they were her buddies.

While they settled in she thought of names for them. The names fit them. See the brownish tan one? His name is Wheeler. This is a good name for him because well.... He is addicted to his wheel. He gets in that thing and runs like mad. I wonder if he knows he's not going anyplace?? Then there is Smalls. He is the two toned white and grayish brown little guy. He likes the wheel as well. The only problem I can see for Smalls is when he gets on the wheel with Wheeler. He either has to keep up with Wheeler or if is forced to hang on and ride the wheel while hanging upside down. Poor Guy!!

Termination Dust

Termination Dust has got to be an Alaskan term. At least I think it is. I have never heard that term before. Not until this week that is. All the weather people were talking about it at the beginning of the week. My first thought was those pesky volcanoes!!! Believe me it has nothing to do with the volcanoes. I found out what it means. Termination dust means the first dusting of snow on the mountains that surround us or maybe it is in the mountains in general. It also means that summer has been terminated or ended and winter will soon be here. There is that wicked,wacky Alaskan sense of humor again!

See the picture with the huge diamond center sign in it? It's kinda hard to miss isn't it! Well look to the right. See the mountain with the flat top? Well that is Flat Top. That is the mountain that K and A can't wait to climb during the last weeks of summer. They climbed it about two weeks ago. Next week I will show you there pictures from two weeks ago. They brought me home a present. half a water bottle of wild Alaskan blueberries. I froze them and I am going to surprise them with blueberry pancakes tomorrow. Shhhhh.... Don't tell!!!

Alaska State Fair

During our visit to the fair were were able to catch the Cavallo Equestrian Arts show. I thought it was really good. A's favorite part of the show was the horses.... no big surprise there!!!! She is horse crazy. :) I gave her my camera to shoot all the pictures she wanted. The first 5 or so pictures had people in them. But its the last 20 or so that caught my attention. You see instead of just taking pictures with everyone and everything she took pictures of just the horses. You will see as I post more pictures of the show.

At the back of the fair where they have the rides they have a miniature golf course.

More Views of Seward

While we were in Seward for the day we happened to wander into the National Park Service. This is a real neat building. The building houses a few exhibits, a short film or slide show depending on when you arrive. And a very nice gentleman that stands behind the counter who will gladly answer any question you might have.

I found something that I knew I had to take a picture of. The Kenai Fjords National Park quilt. Isn't it gorgeous? I can tell you right now that I look at this and wonder how who ever made this did it... My Mom on the other hand is probably right now piecing it together in her head. She is very talented like that.

Behind A and K is Resurrection Bay. We haven't seen any whales here but we are told that they are out there... Somewhere! We saw a humpback whale on a cruise out of Valdez. And we haven't seen a whale since. We have decided that we want to do a Glacier Cruise sometime in the next couple of years.
Here is a picture of the harbor.

We haven't figured out which mountain is Marathon yet. But every 4th of July people gather from all over to run up Mt. Marathon to see who can be the first to reach the summit. In the Alaska Activities Guide this is billed as "America's second oldest footrace". The first time I saw this on the 10 o'clock news I thought these people were nuts. The wipe outs were unbelievable. Next time I am in Seward I will make it a point to ask where Mt. Marathon is. When I find out I will post pictures. Hmm... I am now curious as to what the "first oldest footrace" was!!!
This picture reminds me of the opening scene from Gilligan's Island.