Home Again February 2010

This February, we were able to travel back to Denver to hang with the family. It had only been six months since we left for Alaska but we wanted Ryan and his twin sister Holland to celebrate their birthdays together. (The family secretly thought that Ryan and I were coming home to announce that we were pregnant.) Sorry for the disappointment everyone, it was still really great to see you!

The air was crisp and the sun was out. It was a perfect day for a walk around the Denver Zoo.

A & M are so big, and smart, we missed the heck out of these two.

Miss Nelson is walking and talking like a pro, she has being growing into a beautiful young lady

Kelly and her big sissy

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Unfortunately we did not take too many pictures while we were visiting Denver. We were too busy talking, eating, and catching up with family and friends. After a fabulous week catching up with our loved ones we took a long layover in Portland, Oregon. A perk to living in Alaska is the ability to have a layover in either Seattle or Portland. We decided that Portland was a good choice since we had never seen the city.

We were pleasantly surprised to see green again! At the end of February, Portland was just beginning spring. It was a nice break to see life again before returning to frozen snow banks.

Off to Alaska, we headed back to the Portland Airport after a nice walking afternoon in a great city. Can you spot us in the reflection!

Snowshoe Adventures

We invested in two pairs of snowshoes this winter. The terrain has been beautiful and snowshoeing has given us the opportunity to see places that are not accessible in the summer. Plus, during this time of year we don't worry about running into bears!

Ryan celebrated his 31st on a bear fishing trail. For some reason he is not easily affected by the cold weather. This trail is usually closed in the summer as it is a feeding/fishing ground for bears.

Kelly snowshoeing in Hatcher Pass, outside Anchorage

We walked on ice bridges covering a trickling river. Have you ever heard the sound of water running through frozen ice? It's a pretty great sound.

Iditarod Trail 2010

We are excited to announce that we have officially attended the ceremonial start of The Iditarod. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race first ran to Nome, Alaska in 1973. This year we were able to see the 2010 start of the legendary 1,180 mile race.