God Bless You All!

Isn't he the cutest!? :)

I hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A Trip Up North

This past weekend, Cherie and I traveled up to Fairbanks, AK to visit her friends. Fairbanks is about 6-7 hours north of Anchorage. Let me tell you there is a huge difference in temperature and in daylight hours. The second day we were there it got to -36 degrees! It was insane! I never thought I would be out and about when it was that cold. I bundled up so much I could barely bend over. It was totally worth it! Also, right now our sun is setting around 4 and there was setting around 1:00pm. It was nuts to see a sunset at noon.

I have lots of pics to share but I think for this post I will focus on our trip to the North Pole.

We made our way to Santa's house!

I waited patiently for my turn!

Me and the jolly one! I think I was on the naughty list though, he gave me a candy cane at the end. I hate candy canes! Isn't Santa supposed to know these things!?

Lots of fun names for streets and restaurants that play off the Santa theme.

Proof it is a real place!

The coolest street lights ever!

The whole town was cool! And how cool is it that I can say I have been to the North Pole!? There was a lot that went on this weekend. I will post more pics soon! I am headed back east for Christmas! See you in the new year!

The Real Deal

In the beginning of December, Eagle River had their Christmas tree lighting ceremony. I wasn't really sure if I was up for it because I knew it would be cold. But once I heard Santa was going to be there I had to go! And some good friends agreed! We started out the night eating at a local bbq restaurant and drinking sweet tea. We were trying to think warm, southern thoughts!

Kristin, me, Cameron, Amanda and Cadence waiting patiently for Santa to arrive.

We visited with the sled dogs while we waited. Isn't he beautiful!?

Finally, Santa arrived!

And he arrived with REAL reindeer! So cool! Here I am hanging with Prancer. We tried to love on Dancer but he wasn't feeling the love that night.

The tree was really disappointing but it was a lot of fun. And in case you were wondering, yes it was cold but it wasn't as bad as you would think. I had three layers on the bottom and four on the top! I also had hand warmers in my gloves and in my back pockets.

Good friends+Santa Claus+8 tiny reindeer= Good times!

UPS's Claim to Fame in AK

I have seen signs like this around here a lot!

A Full Moon

9:25 am yesterday

Random Pics

Sorry I haven't been doing a good job updating my bog. I have just been feeling kind of blah lately. I am missing my babe and the holiday season isn't helping. I have been busy but I didn't figure you wanted to see pics of me Christmas shopping or hanging out with friends watching movies. I really need to get out and get you some more pics of snowy AK. I promise I will, it is just a little difficult when the sun starts to go down around 3:00 pm.

I will shake myself out of this funk soon! Until I find some fun stuff to post, here are some random pics and some ramblings.

A snowy day in AK. Surprisingly, we haven't gotten a lot of snow yet this year. I am going to regret saying that I have a feeling. One think I really like about the snow around here is that it stays on the trees longer. There isn't a lot of wind so the trees stay covered for days. It really gives you a sense of a winter wonderland.

My new, unconventional Christmas table centerpiece. Do you recognize it? I can give you a hint: That is Linus's blanket around the bottom. I love it!

Do you see what I see? :)

Boone must have been feeling very protective of his Kong at this moment. He sat there for quite awhile with it snuggled by his side. Silly dog!

I'll always think of you and smile

"I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I kept the faith."
-2 Timothy 4:7

CPT Benjamin D. Keating
3-71 CAV
KIA 26 Nov 06 Kamdesh, Afghanistan

Our 3:45 PM Sunset Yesterday

Sorry for the poor quality photo, I took it with my camera phone.

My First AK Snow!

Around the bend to Eagle River.

Driving into the housing area.

View from my front porch.

Mountain view while driving down the highway.

Random things you probably don't care about...

I feel like I haven't been up to much. At least not anything I feel you guys would be interested in. But then I thought, the beauty of having a blog means I can write what I want whether you like reading it or not. :)

So here goes nothing really interesting...

*I feel like the best way to relieve stress is to have a good cry.
*I am still trying to figure out my talent.
*I miss my old apartment above the funeral home garage. Although, there is no way Aaron and I would fit.
*I want to make God proud of me.
*I am surrounded by people who love me yet sometimes I feel alone.
*My dog sneaks behind my back and eats my paper towels/napkins. I don't know until the evidence is in the back yard.
*Who thought to put honey and mustard together? It is seriously disturbing to me.
*I couldn't wait to leave Shinglehouse yet I miss that place and the people in it.
*I wonder if my cousin Amanda is hanging out with my grandparents in heaven.
*I didn't rake one leaf this year and I don't feel bad about it.
*I don't understand hate and never want too.
*I think Nerds are the best candy ever made.
*I have a lot of great craft ideas yet never follow through with the project.
*I own no shoes I love except my slippers.
*I am awed/inspired by nature yet do nothing with my inspiration.
*Some weekends I sit in my bath robe for many hours.
*I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
*I think being an Army wife is hard, really hard but I am grateful and honored to be one.
*I rarely toast my poptarts.
*I feel most at home at my Aunt Sally's house.
*I am so proud of Aaron that some days I feel like I don't deserve him.
*If I could live and not turn into a crazy person I would replace sleep with reading.
*I would eat lunch everyday if I could have a picnic.
*I checked out cartoon movies from the library Friday because I felt like a cartoon weekend.
*I would love to get into an RV and go to ever crazy tourist site in the US.

No more rambling tonight. I am off to watch Mulan II...