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 (: