Stuffing, Snow, Sled Dogs...and the Northern Lights!

Look who made the trek up north to spend Thanksgiving with us:

The boys arrived on a snowy Wednesday night in a teeeeny leeeetle plane from Anchorage. We had planned to take them out on the town that night, but the plane ride had jostled them up a bit...plus we discovered  nowhere in Soldotna is open past 8pm on a weekday...so we opted for a low-key evening at the house instead.

The next morning we woke up to our first below 0° Thanksgiving. Brandon and I were eager to show the boys around, so we bundled right up and headed out on a moose sighting expedition. 10 minutes later...

Sweet success

The fun didn't stop there. We got back to the house and took advantage of the sledding hill Brandon and I had neglected in our backyard.

After messing around in the snow for a while, we decided it was time to crack down and get serious on some turkey prep. Austin and I handled the bird while Eric & Brandon tackled all that was mushy (gravy, chili, and mashed potatoes).

Shout out to Austin, for taking one for the team, and saving me from having
to stick my hand up you-know-where to place the stuffing

We were amazed at how As expected, the meal turned out AMAZING! The turkey was juicy and flavorful, I got a whole pan of green beans to myself, and we managed to incorporate cheese into every part of the meal from the biscuits to the potatoes. There was definitely much to be thankful for, and just when we thought life couldn't get much better, Eric happened to look out the window..

How awesome is it that the northern lights came out right on Thanksgiving night, when Eric & Austin were in town?! It was about -10 degrees outside that night, but we must have stayed out there for over and hour just staring at them. It mostly looked like a green hazy cloud with a little red, but every once in a while a light ray would shoot straight up into the sky. Hands down, one of the coolest things I've ever seen. And it was only the first day of the weekend.

The next day, we had planned a sled dog ride for the boys with a local musher. Dog mushing is a huge sport in Alaska, and there are races all over the state going on in the winter. They usually range from 100-500 miles in length, but the granddaddy of them all is the Ididarod. The Ididarod is 1,000 mile race across barren terrain in the dead of winter, so you have to be pretty tough and probably a little crazy to attempt it. The guy that took us out with his dogs that day had completed 23 Ididarod races. And robust he was. Also just about one of the nicest people I've ever met. 

We met him at his cabin (which he built), where he introduced us to his 50+ friendly pups. While we played with the dogs, he assembled a team of 12 and set up a sled to take us on a ride. It was quite the experience. Those guys look little but they. are. fast. One of the highlights during the ride was getting to talk to the musher about his Ididarod races. He told us of near death experiences, northern light displays that made loud noises as they danced, and what it was like to keep a team of dogs fed, healthy, and running for 1,000 miles in subzero conditions. 

Future Ididarod racers (and our musher friend in the background!)

Needless to say, day 2 was also a success. Day 3 was the boys' last one before they had to head back home, so we made sure to start the day off right by taking them to our favorite breakfast spot in town.

Hopped up on plenty of coffee and sugar, we made the drive back to Anchorage so that the boys could skip the bush plane this time. It was a terribly fattening and exceptionally memorable weekend. So grateful we got to spend the holiday together (:

Winter is on the Way

It’s official. The nights are getting longer, the lakes are freezing over, and the car doors are getting increasingly more difficult to pry open in the morning.  We still have about 7 hours of daylight (9-4), but the sun stays so low in the sky that it never really feels like daytime. There is dawn and then there is dusk. Nothing in between.

And then of course there is the cold. 

Kasilof River starting to freeze at the edges

So far, it just feels like some of the coldest days we have experienced in Colorado; nothing too crazy. But the locals all smirk at the fact that we are already in our down jackets, as if we were complete cold rookies. So, I assume it gets worse. If you don’t see a blog post within the next couple months, you’ll know we have become Mascarenas popsicles. (kidding, dad!!)Whatever may come, here is what we have learned to be grateful for as winter approaches:

1. Our battery blanket. Since hardly anyone has a garage up here, plugging in your car is essential to protecting it from an icy death. And it works well.

2. Cold gear designed for Alaska. People laugh at the jackets we brought from Oregon and New Mexico, and rightfully so. Here it’s all about down, fur (sorry, PETA), and insulating fleece. The stores even sell battery-powered heat socks.

The journey to the trash is long, harsh, and uphill (both ways)

3. Sunrises. They happen so late in the morning that we get to watch the sunrise every single day, even on the weekends when we sleep in. And as a bonus, the sun rises over the mountains AND sets over the mountains.

Sunrise over Homer's boat harbor

Sunset over K-beach near our house

4.  Clear, crisp nights. Makes for some of the best star gazing we’ve ever seen. Word on the street is the aurora borealis usually happens when the temperatures drop like this. We haven’t seen them yet, but we joined a calling list and are keeping our fingers crossed.

5.The beauty of the freeze. We’ve never seen it before, but this is what fresh snow looks like when it hits the ground and freezes:

Hoping to get more snow soon so we can dust off our snowboards and get outside to play!

Catching Up

Hey all! It feels like the past few weeks have flown by in the blink of an eye. We’ve had so many exciting things come our way – parents visiting, me getting a new job, Brandon FINALLY catching fish, our first snow in Alaska, etc., etc. It’s been an action-packed month, so tonight I’m feeling pretty thrilled to just lounge in my PJs and get back to blogging. Turns out I’m really enjoying this thing...

Since my last blog post, we were blessed to have not one, but BOTH sets of parents come visit us! Mama and papa Mascarenas came first. They were here for a week, so we got to squeeze in a lot of sightseeing, fish-eating, road-tripping, rock collecting fun. One of the highlights was going to Homer, where Sandra and I had a girls day of wine tasting/exploring, while Brandon and Joe went on a fishing charter and caught their limit winter kings! We ate some the same day they caught it, and lemme tell ya.... it turned this non-meat eater into a believer. Yep. Let it be stated in the record right here - I am now officially a salmon eater. 

A few days after they left, it was mama and papa Dodeans' turn! They only got to stay 4 days, but that didn’t stop us from squeezing every ounce of adventure out of our time together. We toured Homer, hiked in bear county, saw LOTS of wildlife, enjoyed 9 am sunrises, visited several glaciers, and beat the Dodeans in cards every single night (-;  We had a blast spending time with both our parents in beautiful Alaska, and felt very blessed that they could both come up and experience it with us.

Once the folks returned home, my work schedule suddenly hit full steam. I got another job at a pediatric clinic....which by they way now holds the top spot on the list of best places I've ever worked. Although its a whirlwind between peds and the hospital, working with little ones is my absolute favorite. There's no way to have a bad day when your daily patient interactions go something like this:

Me: "Is mommy or daddy picking you up today?"

2-year old: "Daddy. He has a big butt. And can you believe its still growing?!"

12 year-old: "I've been thinking its time for me to move out"

Me: "Really? Why is that?"

12 year-old: "I just don't want to be an old loser who still lives with his parents."

4 year old: "Miss Betty, how old are you?"

Me: "I"m 28. Pretty old, right?"

4 year old: "No, you're not old. My mommy is old. She's 32"

It's a pretty sweet job (:

Finally, in other exciting news, we had our first snow!! Only 2-3 inches, but it made everything that much more beautiful. 

First time I've ever seen snow at a beach!

To sum it up, life has been treating us pretty well up here. It's starting to get significantly colder now days, but were looking forward to what winter has to offer in these parts. More on this coming soon!

Fishing Frenzy

Over the past month, Brandon has taken up a new obsession hobby.  Allow me to explain:

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

It actually started back in Bethel. One of the times we went camping, Brandon’s buddy brought a fishing pole along. We could hardly pull Brandon out of the water, but lo and behold –

Brandon's first Alaskan salmon

That fish started it all. He sent his catch home to friends/family in New Mexico, sure that there was plenty more where that came from. But, as luck should have it, he hasn't caught another fish since then. NOT. A. SINGLE. ONE. And trust me, he is putting in his time. For the month that we have been here in Soldotna, I can't count on my fingers and toes how many times that man has gone out fishing. Sometimes even twice a day. And it's not that he hasn't done his research either. He has talked to locals, checked fishing reports, tried different kinds of bait, sought out "hot spots," and event got lessons from Eric & papa Dodean. Still nothing.

So. If you're reading this. Please send some good fishing juju up north for him. 

....and now for some moose news....

I almost hit this little guy on the highway the other morning. He was moosin' around, not paying attention. (Heh. Sympathy chuckle?)

And we carved some festive pumpkins...one of them a tribute to the moose, of course.