Happy Father's Day!

First of all, Happy Father's Day to my Dad, Andrew's Dad, our Grandpas, Uncles, Cousins, and everyone who is a father! Although we cannot be with our Dad's we hope they have wonderful days and Andrew and I know how blessed we are to have such wonderful dads and father-in-laws.

Updates in our lives...there are many!

This weekend is the official Summer Solstice for the interior of Alaska! That means, we are experiencing the longest days of sunlight! To celebrate the Solstice, a few friends and us decided (very last minute) to take part in Fairbank's annual Midnight Sun Run, a 10K race through the streets of Fairbanks. Many runners decide to sweat and grunt in heavy costumes, as it is the traditional twist to the race.

As of 2:00 PM on Saturday we decided to dress up like Toy Story 3 characters. Andrew was Buzz Lightyear, I was Jessie the cowgirl, Shannon and her husband were Barbie and Woody, and Gabe was Mr. Potato Head. We surely did a nice job of promoting the new movie, taking TONS of group pictures with children and adults, and of running 6.2 miles in costume (with only two pit stops along the way). While many runners run the race for time, we were just running the race for the experience. Fairbanksians lined the streets and it was more like a parade than a race. The race started at 10:00 PM and we crossed the finish line at 11:29. Not bad for a bunch of toys!

Midnight Sky :-)


Buzz and Jessie Post-Race


Our Supporters, Mrs. Potato Head and Nicole :-)


Entourage Style (minus me)


All of us (It was hard to find Barbie!)

Toy Story 3 at a Theater Near YOU!


It was the most fun we have had since living in Fairbanks and the run is a must-do for anyone here! Lots of jokes were made on the run and lot of laughs were had. We were in need of a restroom and of refreshments so our two pit stops happened to be at local bars...Toy Story unedited/unrated? May be.

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I am especially thankful that I visited Pennsylvania a few weeks ago.
My grandfather passed away this week and I did say a very special goodbye to him when I was home.
My family is currently at the beach celebrating his life on our family's annual Avalon, New Jersey beach outing. Andrew and I wish we could join :-)

With some of the grandkids

At the beach

My favorite picture of us, big band swing dancing in Florida :-)


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Andrew and I had a visitor at our home for a few days:




Although there is a "no-pets" policy for our townhouses we figured a 2 pound dog could be easily concealed! Kia is an adorable black Chihuahua puppy and we were sad to see her leave us for her more permanent home. Thanks for trusting us Tony and Tonya!

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Doing a little tye-dye with the neighbor kids (and Nicole made adorable tye-dyed onsies for her soon-to-be baby boy)


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Trying to sleep....at 11 PM! I still need to put up blackout paper!


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Andrew's family arrives in Anchorage on Thursday! They are hanging down there for a few days and then heading up to Fairbanks on Monday! We cannot wait! I still need to hang some curtains in their rooms or else heavy doses of sleeping medicine may be needed (the time difference and the constant light throw people for a doozy)!

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Lastly, I visited the dentist this week. I am the one in the family who brushes her teeth multiple times a day, flosses, avoids sugary drinks and coffees, and pretends to be in Colgate commercials on a daily basis; whereas Andrew brushes his teeth on an as-needed basis (gross I know). What do you know, I have three-in-a-row cavities on my back teeth, bringing my grand cavity total to about 9 or 10 during my lifetime. That news really brightened my day (it especially made Andrew chuckle...)!

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We now have TWO cars! I can't wait to show you our newest put-put! Coming tomorrow :-)

Valdez, Alaska

After I arrived back on Thursday evening, Andrew and I packed up the car and headed for Valdez, Alaska on Friday morning. Google Maps told us it would be an 8 1/2 hour drive...considering the highway speed limits here are usually 45, 50, or 55! Even with a few stops (outhouses on the side of the road, literally, Andrew would not let me take a picture...picnic lunch on a mountain top, and a few stops by scenic outlooks) we managed to get there in about 7 1/2 hours. The drive was beautiful but unfortunately we saw no wildlife except big fat porcupines scurrying across the road. That is until we took our glacier cruise on the Prince William Sound!

Pictures from the drive:








Andrew caught a rainbow!



Valdez was a very quaint, VERY small, harbor town, surrounded by beautiful snow-capped mountains on every side. There are just a little over 4,000 residents. All I knew about Valdez before visiting the town had to do with the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. I can only imagine what those native residents think about the newest U.S. oil spill. Although we did not see any damage from the 89' oil spill, our boat captain told us that wildlife and glacier damage can still be seen from certain areas of the Sound (areas that our boat was unable to travel to).

Around 1900, Valdez became the first port that could connect gold seekers via a land route to the interior of Alaska, aka Fairbanks, where we live. Fishing runs the economy and it almost reminds me of the harbor town in the movie, Perfect Storm. In 1964, a 30 foot tsunami was the result of an earthquake (tremors are very common in AK but we have yet to feel the ground shake). The tsunami destroyed a large portion of the town of Valdez. Therefore, the Army Corps of Engineers helped the residents reestablish the town about 1 mile down the road, in a safer inlet. "Old Town Valdez" is posted near the new town and the remains are basically boards.







In 1977, the Alaska pipeline was finished (see the pipeline route below). Since Valdez was an accessible port (many ports froze over in the winter), it became the final stop. On our drive we basically followed the pipeline the entire way to Valdez. The Valdez Oil Terminal is the departure point for tankers of oil which are then transported to various American ports. While on our boat cruise we passed two huge oil tankers. Enough of the history lesson (although I had to refresh my memory using Wikipedia more than once...).



Oil Terminal view from the water...



Our main reason for visiting Valdez was to take a boat cruise on the Prince William Sound. We boarded the boat (capacity 86 persons) on Saturday morning and headed out for our 6 hour tour. It was definitely the highlight of the trip (as it should be) and it is a must-do for anyone visiting Valdez (if you are visiting Valdez you are either doing a boat tour or a chartered fishing tour because that.is.it). Our tour below...



Some pictures from our excursion.

We saw MANY large and in charge sea lions...







A lot of humpback whales...although they were difficult to get pictures of.




A few bald eagles...



Also a few porpoises, puffins, sea otters, and a bear far on the coast (all too quick or too far away to get a decent picture).

At one point, as we were close to the Columbia Glacier, we were floating in a sea of ice, everywhere! It was actually quite eerie, considering Titanic was the movie playing at the hotel the previous night.







Holding an iceberg (I was the only person older than 16 to brave the coldness and embarrassment!)


We got off the boat around 6:00 PM, grabbed a bite to eat, and braced ourselves for our 7 1/2 hour drive home. We didn't think it would be too bad considering it would never be dark! We only stopped once to take this picture of the sunset, approximately 12:30 AM.




Of course, when I saw this:


I immediately thought of a cruise to a warm, tropical, and sandy destination. I hope that will be in our future, maybe a VERY belated honeymoon :-)

Although Andrew and I are not the most experienced fishermen (not like my dad!), we do hope to do a fishing charter while in Alaska. Our friend was in Valdez the same weekend on a fishing charter, and he caught hundreds of pounds of halibut, three of his halibut weighing in OVER 100 pounds! It would be quite an experience to actually catch fish that weigh about the same weight as me. Stay tuned for that post, assuming I survive :-)

To end this post on a cheesy family picture and a video of a whale:

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NOW is the time!

It is about time I decided to start typing a new entry! It has been way too long and there are so many things to talk about that I am feeling rather overwhelmed. So each day (I promise I will write...it is summer and I am not working so there is no excuse) I will write a post about what is/has going/gone on in North Pole, AK (or other places we have been).

School ended on May 14th, and I couldn't resist to miss the last day of school, so on May 13th I boarded a flight and red eyed it to Pittsburgh. Fifteen hours later I touchdowned (spell check is saying this is not a word?) and began the "everything I miss and love about Pennsylvania" story. Of course I missed all the shopping, the restaurants, my family, my friends, and most importantly Andrew (but I knew that I would see him in two weeks and not the rest for 1/2 a year!).

In fact, I loved the shopping so much that I came to PA with one suitcase (50 pounds, 15 pounds were gifts for family), and I returned to Alaska with two suitcases (50 pounds, and 40 pounds)...hmmmm. Before I knew it I was saying goodbye to my parents and I excitedly headed back to my more permanent home. Andrew had informed me each day that the weather in AK was beautiful, 70's and 80's, and sunny ALL the time! I knew that would be no problem for me.

The highlights of my trip, in no particular order:
1. Enjoyed my stay in wild, wonderful, West Virginia with Aunt Pam, Uncle George and the cousins, relaxed with Uncle D. and Aunt V. too!
2. Spending time with the O'Neill family (having Lauren visit too!)
3. Eating the top portion of OUR (Andrew + Danielle) wedding cake with The O'Neills (we had too or else it would have been freezer burnt and to make it extra special, Andrew tapped in via Skype...)
4. Taking a 6 hour train from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg! Yikes!
5. Enjoying the comforts of my (old) house and the people that live there ;-)
6. Seeing friends and catching up on life
7. Shopped in a mall with more than 9 stores!
8. Ate a Rita's Italian Ice Gelati
9. Celebrated my Dad's Birthday (with the family)!
10. Spent time with my Grandparents (Andrew's too) :-)

While I was away, Andrew fended for himself quite well. Although going to the grocery store was not at the top of his priority list (he didn't go at all), he did keep the house clean and neat (with the exception of his Rockband drumset looking large and in charge in our living room). He even had a nicely wrapped present waiting for me on the counter :-)

This has been short and sweet and there will be more tomorrow!
Have a great Thursday!

A preview for what's to come tomorrow...

Happy Mother's Day!

It is a beautiful, sunny Mother's Day in North Pole! I am hoping it is the same weather where all of our favorite mom's live! Today is our relaxation/catch-up on everything that we have needed to do around the house but have not yet done day! As I speak/type Andrew is reading a book for work, I just threw in a load of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and am now taking a break to write a blog.

Yesterday was an eventful day as Andrew and I decided to build 1 of 2 fences. Our townhouse is great but the backyards are just a little too close for comfort. A little privacy boarder was all that we needed. We built it in a way that when we move we can just take the wood with us (or I say, quickly build something before moving day). The posts are attached to spikes that Andrew hammered into the ground about 2 feet. We were both nervous about the possibility of puncturing the septic tank that is neatly tucked in our backyard (all the random black posts in our backyard are a constant reminder). All worked out and there have been no holes yet...but we still have our another fence to put up for another day.


Thank goodness for citronella candles...saving us from the evils of West Nile carriers. Perfect resting place = septic tank poles :-) Now that is classy!



Just need to cut the last board, screw it on, and add some lattice to the top!

I am looking forward to tiki torches, a grill, plants, and a colored umbrella to finalize our outdoor area! With constant daylight, the backyard will surely become another room for us to enjoy.

Speaking of daylight, we were at the Wardwell's house (just four doors down) for a cookout last night. It was a great evening and it had everyone looking forward to the summer gatherings. Take a look at these daylight, I mean, night-time photos!


10:30 PM, sun is still there!


11:30 PM, enjoying the fire, and the camera flash was NOT used, promise.

Lots more daylight to come! We are also very excited by the fact that we have made it through one Fairbanks winter! Only two left! If the winter flew by I can only imagine how fast these warm months will go!

Andrew had a soft pretzel craving this morning. Yep, no Auntie Anne's unless you make a 7 hour drive to Anchorage (not anytime soon). I decided to look up a recipe and by luck we had all the necessary ingredients to make soft pretzels. It was quite the baker's experience and they turned out very tasty even if they were misshapen with extra growths.


Baker Andy, Boiler Extraordinaire
No pictures of me since I was still in pajamas with morning hair and all.


Before baking...


The final products...cinnamon sugar, garlic and onion, italian seasoning, and regular old salted. Who knew we could really make pretzels...it was always that type of food that I always bought frozen or at Auntie Annes!

I am headed home THIS Thursday! I am very excited to see our family and friends! VERY EXCITED! Andrew will be well taken care of and he is headed home in August so my guilt level is minimal right now! Goodbye Alaska for 2 weeks! Hello hometown state of Pennsylvania :-) ALSO, Congratulations to all my friends who are graduating college!

Have a great week everyone!

May 5th Snow Squall!

Hello! Happy Thursday! As I walked to school today, the sun was shining, and it felt like a mild 45 degrees...not bad! Yesterday we had a few hours of SNOW! Lots of wet, gross snow on May 5th...ew! To top it off I had recess duty and of course I picked a cute outfit of capri pants and loafers with no socks...YIKES I was freezing! Apparently the latest date it has snowed here is on June 9th so we'll keep our fingers crossed that it stays away until October or November or even December (doubtful!).

Since we are a one-car couple FOR NOW, Andrew surprised me with a bike! I actually had been asking for one for awhile. I found a decent-looking one on craigslist. I sent Andrew to check it out after work yesterday and he came home to tell me that it wasn't worth a dollar. He told me the woman selling it said she had only crashed it once and the handle bars were bent. I just laughed, believed him, and went back on craigslist to see if any more bikes were posted. Then, on our way out to dinner, I see a bike lying in the back of the car. Ah-ha he was pretty convincing and I was tricked! I haven't had the chance to give it a pedal yet but from the looks of it, it will be perfect!

Most of our friends live within a walk/bike ride away and Fort Wainwright is only two miles down the road. I'll be like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz minus Toto, and probably in a more secluded area than Kansas...ugh!

The school year is winding down (only six more days, and three of those days are 3/4 days) so there is not much to do in the resource room! That is exactly why I have found the time to type this entry now! Back to work :-)

May, May, All the Way!

Wow...May 3rd ALREADY.
Wow...over 20 hours of light!
Wow...green grass beginning to show in our backyard.
Summer is almost here and life is good.

Over the weekend we had a cookout at Stefanie's house...conveniently located in the woods for some great moose sightings! A baby and a mama moose were waiting for us in the side brush.






Eight more days of school and I'll be headed back to the home state! Unfortunately Andrew will be staying in Alaska but he'll make a visit home in August. We'll have our family visiting here in June, July, and August! It's going to be an amazing summer! We have tentative plans to travel back down to Anchorage/Kenai, visit the fishing paradise of Valdez, and take many visits to Denali (only two hours away!). We'll have to see if we are the "camping couple type." It all sounds good in theory but you never know how you'll feel when you're being eaten alive by bugs, sleeping in a cramped, wet tent, and unable to enjoy the comforts of a modern bathroom. I'm up for trying it though!

Fairbanks will soon hit high temperatures of 80 and our vegetables will soar to new heights, literally. The interior of Alaska is known for its award-winning extra-large veggies because of the constant sunshine. I will definitely take pictures at the Farmer's Market, which opens this Saturday!

I know I've previously mentioned all the children that run through our neighborhood. Have I also mentioned that they enjoy knocking on my front door a few times each week? They are usually selling stuff, just saying hello, or asking if I need help with anything. Andrew bought a beautiful rendition of a Dr. Seuss book cover, handmade with originality by our eight-year old neighbor. Cost...$1.00, Chuckles...Priceless. Our friend, Greg, was about to leave the neighborhood on a run, when he overheard two of our neighbor girls talking. They said something along the lines of this: "How can we make money?...I think we should ring peoples' doorbells and when they open it we should sing and dance...We gotta go to Mrs. O'Neills because she buys anything..." Ughh...Andrew and I are softies when cute kids come to the door.

Well my two favorites visited my doorstep on Friday and I put them to work. They asked if they could help me with anything and I handed them two plastic bags and asked them to pick up all the litter that has been buried under the snow for the past 6 months.

Operation Child Labor...Success! I paid them in candy of course!



Here are our curtains and I am in love with them! I will admit they are an at-first-glance ugly pea soup color, but they compliment the duvet cover so well and they add some color in our room!



I am currently watching the news about the flooding in Nashville and I just cannot imagine the live footage that they are showing. Despite all the craziness that is going on in the world, we hope that you are staying healthy and happy. Enjoy the first week of May!