Hakuna Matata

I am counting down the days until Saturday. Not only and I getting my snow tires put on but I am going to The Lion King! The musical is playing here in Anchorage and friend convinced me to go.

I wasn't sure at first because people pretend to be the animals and I thought that was a little weird. But after thinking about it, I just can't pass up the opportunity! It is showing right down the road pretty much.

I loved Les Miserable and Wicked when I got to go, so I hope I feel the same about this musical. I have heard great reviews from everyone that has gone so far. I will give a full report when I get home!


Back to the snow tires...

It hasn't snowed here yet but there is snow on top of all the mountains around here. It rained the other day on the way to work and when I came out, they were covered. I haven't had time to get good pics yet but here is one of the mountain I see out the living room window. You can see the fall colors and the snow!

Rudolph the White Nosed Reindeer?

The same day I went to the Iditarod Headquarters, I ventured to the Reindeer Park in Palmer. Here are some pictures from that adventure...

When I pulled up to the farm there was a ambulance leaving. Not a good sign but I went in anyway. When I went up to get my ticket to visit/feed the reindeer a lady who worked there walked up with blood all over her hands and shirt. She told us that a man who worked there had gotten gored/trampled by 'Reese' an adult male who was in full rut. I guess the guy new he wasn't supposed to be in there but went in anyway to do something with the water. She said when the males are in full rut they are very aggressive about their territory. Reese the reindeer was in a place visitors couldn't go so none of us were in any danger. By the time I left she had gotten a call saying he was going to be alright. Isn't that crazy!?

This is Rudolph. Apparently, Santa brings him here after Christmas where he lives incognito. Rudolph changes his nose to white so now one would recognize him and try to steal him. When Santa comes after Thanksgiving to pick him up and he returns to the North Pole, then his nose turns red. I bet you didn't know that! :)

This is Bruce. He is just a big old moose who lives on the farm.I told you before, I love the mountains up here!

This is Terry. She was the friendliest of them all. I guess they raised her in their house! She laid on the couch, slept in their bed, etc... And no, I am not making this up! Her antlers look gross because she was shedding her velvet. Yuck! Oh, and something else I learned while visiting was that reindeer float! Their fur is hollow so they can't drown.

Me and some antlers a reindeer shed. Can you believe they shed these every year? How annoying!

It was a fun place to visit. They were closing down the next week because most of the reindeer were going to be in rut. I think that is a pretty good idea or their hospital bills were going to be through the roof!

It's Been Awhile

While I was out driving around the other day, I took some pictures of mountains. It is really hard to capture their beauty. I feel like I don't really do them any justice but I liked this one. Now, I where the photo has been stitched together is obvious. It has been awhile since I have tried this, so be kind!

As always, click the photo to enlarge it.

The leaves are turning now and some of the mountains are starting to get snow on their very tops! And I noticed tonight that it was completely dark by 9:00 pm. Boo!

Where Men Win Glory

This video was brought to my attention and thought it would be an interesting piece to share. When Aaron's former unit at Fort Drum, 3-71 CAV, was deployed to Afghanistan the author Jon Krakauer, came along on some missions for research for his new book Where Men Win Glory. Krakauer has written Into the Wild and Into Thin Air. I have read them both and enjoyed them both.

The video doesn't involve Aaron's old troop but it does involve 3-71's Alpha Troop. It is interesting to see the conditions these guys had to fight in and the people they met along the way.

Click the link below to watch the video. It is about 20 mins but totally worth the time.

Jon Krakauer's Afghan Diary

It made me feel a little sick and definitely gave me goosebumps watching it. I am glad Aaron has a 'safer' job this deployment even if he doesn't really like it!

Headed to Headquarters

Today, I headed out to Wasilla to visit the Iditarod headquarters. If you don't know what the Iditarod is click here. It would be too crazy to try and explain. Just think dogs, sleds, mushers, a very long distance and below freezing temperatures!

It is a huge deal here in Alaska! They do a ceremonial start here in Anchorage. I am so stoked to head into town and be a part of that. I have a while to wait though since the lady today told me it was in March. But no matter when it is I will be there!

Here are a few pics from my adventure...

I found it!

Thanks to the nice random lady for taking all the pics with me in them. She was a little stalkerish but maybe she felt a connection since we were both alone. Who knows! The log cabin behind me held the museum and gift shop.

Here I am with Raimey Redington. His dad, Joe Redington Sr., was the founder of the Iditarod race. He was very nice!

Here are the dogs who took me on a ride. They were all business. They really weren't interested in the people around. Once I sat in the wheeled cart they went nuts barking and jumping around. They were ready to race.

Me in the cart. I was told that this is the way the dogs get exercise to help them get in shape for a race. I was shocked at how fast they pulled us. I could barely hang on. There was no slowing down for the corners. It was pretty awesome!

On the trail!

See the red tag on his collar? They said the red tag meant that those dogs have participated in the Iditarod race at some point in their lives. I thought it was a fun little badge of honor even if the dogs don't care!

Here is a future little contender. There were two puppies running around. They were so cute! I think they gave me puppy fever. I have wanted one since I got home. I am sure tomorrow it will pass. :o)

Beautiful blue eyes! On a random note: I read somewhere that sled dogs are not pure breeds. They are a combination of breeds. The movies always make it seem like huskies are the sled dog and that isn't the case.

This guy was pooped! You would get down beside them and they didn't even care you were there. They were just ready for the next race.

I had a really fun time today! There are so many fun things to explore here. I spent the second half of my day at a reindeer farm in Palmer. I will post about that soon! I hope you all had a relaxing Labor Day weekend.

Flowers and Mushrooms

Sorry I have been MIA lately! I guess I just haven't been up to anything really fun to report. I have been helping paint the Sunday school rooms at church but that really isn't a photo op! :)

Here is a pic though of the flowers my fantastic husband bought me! He had them sent for my kidney transplant anniversary. It has been three years and I am still really healthy! Praise the Lord!! Some days it feels like my transplant was lifetime ago and other days if feels like it was last month. I know that sounds weird...

Are they not beautiful?! They all can as buds so I got to watch them bloom. This picture was taken when a lot of them hadn't bloomed yet. They were gorgeous!

How is this for random: The other day I went out back and found the smurf village! But don't worry there was no sign of Gargamel.

I hope you all are having a great Labor Day weekend!

Holy Cabbage Batman!

Thursday, I spent the day with my fantastic neighbors (Chris, Kirsten and Addison) at the Alaska State Fair held in Palmer. It was a gorgeous day and we had a lot of fun! There was so much to see, we were there for over 4 hours.

The farm exhibits were fun to check out. There were a lot of giant vegetables! Can you believe the size of this cabbage?!

If they wouldn't have labeled this I never would have guessed it. It is a puffball! Can you imagine stepping on this one? You would be covered in the 'puff stuff' that comes out. It was cool!

Addison sitting in front of the cabbage for scale. Of course her baby had to sit up there too! She is the sweetest!

Addison and her balloon.

Chris and Addison feeding the animals at the petting zoo.

Kirsten, Chris and Addy at the petting zoo.

This guy was having a bad hair day! Check out his fro.

Cute little baby pigs!

A funny man and his juggling act. He was juggling fire but by the time I got over there he had switched tricks. I must say, the fire was way cooler!

We went to the Fred Scheer's Lumberjack Show. I had never been to one so it was pretty interesting. I had no idea how strong these guys had to be when preforming these tasks. Here is Cassidy gaffing up the pole. Very cool! He gave his opponent a head start of more than half the pole and he still beat him back to the bottom.

We were cheering for the guy on the left. We were sitting on his 'side' of the arena. He won by default. Winning is winning right!?

When we stopped at a booth to play Rat Race, I didn't think it would involve a real rat! We lost. The rat picked the green hole to scurry into!

Kirsten and I waiting in line to enter the fair.

Mountains surrounding the fairgrounds.

I had a really good time at the fair but it made me miss the good ol' Potter County fair back home!

Pete's Dragon

Did you guys watch this movie when you were young? I loved it! I remember watching it with my grandfather. I was so excited to see it was released on DVD. I bought it yesterday and I can't wait to watch it again. Anyone for a sing-a-long?

Darkness Falls

In case you are curious, it now gets dark around here at 10:30 pm. It starts getting dark around 9:30 pm. It almost seems like back home! I didn't take a pictures because well...not one wants to see a pic of pitch black. ha ha!

Another Beautiful Summer Day

I am becoming obsessed with the mountains around here. I love them! I hope I don't ever take the beautiful scenery around here for granted. I don't want it to snow yet, but I am excited to see all the mountains with snow on them!