First Frost

This was the first frost of this season.  This photo was taken on 9/27/2011 at 10AM.  We could make a little contest, since Dan wants more postings, and see who can be the first one to post photos of snow for this winter.  Also if someone is creative they could set up a prediction grid or graph of when we will get the first 1" or 1/2" of snow.  Just some ideas to get more traffic and readership and participation.

Mt. Marathon Race

After many years of trying to get a spot in the ladies race Holly finally succeeded. She was number 444 which ironically was the winning time in the men's race. The top man finished in 44 minutes and 40 seconds!







Here she is waving from the second group. There were two waves of about 150 runners in each group. The second wave started 5 or 10 minutes after the first wave.















They are off and running.












Mt. Marathon in Seward is 3022' tall and it is only? a 3 mile race. The hardest part is running the 1/2 mile plus in the streets at the bottom of the mountain.

They hike up the left trail and run fast down the right side.







After the race Holly doesn't even look winded. She wants to do it again next year!

She finished in about the middle of the pack. They have to finish in less than 3 hours to get a spot next year. She wanted to do it in less than 2 hours and would have been real happy with 1:45. She did it in 1:37!











You might be able to blow this up if you want to read more.

Emery has moved

Grandma painting Emery's toes.
Emery looks a little sad about moving.
Showing Christoffer her doll.
One of my favorite things was watching Emery peel a mandarin orange and then divide it into sections. She uses all her muscles in her tiny fingers and hands, and concentrates on the task at hand. Grandpa taught her how to do it.

If most of you have been checking out Facebook you know that John and Heidi have moved to Tacoma Washington. John is now a regional director for Samaritans Purse - Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. We are missing them and especially Emery. Hopefully we'll get down to see them often.

Cold, Muddy Waters

I don't know if it's the brown seawater or the foam turning into ice that keeps this beach from becoming a sunbathing hot spot.
Pothole art.

More Alaska News

The biggest news for the summer was that Heidi, John, and Emery have moved up to Alaska. Here is a photo of Heidi and Emery at the Anchorage airport. Hidalgo the dog flew up also. They arrived on July 16.
Here is the moving van with their car that John and a friend drove up. He arrived on Sunday, July 19. I think they made record time after dropping off Heidi at the airport in Seattle.


They are working with Young Life up here on the Kenai Peninsula. For 3 weeks they stayed at Christoffers house while i worked on the bathroom etc. at the cabin to get it ready to live in.

Typical Alaska photos

The volcano was steaming pretty good on this clear day.Some newborn twins walked through the yard.
Emery is pretty excited about dandelions. Way more excited than me.

First Trip to Alaska

The tired travelers arrive at Anchorages' Ted Stevens Airport. They came up for about a week during Thanksgiving.Emery's first time in the snow.Christoffer with his puppy Chompers, and Heidi holding Emery.

Babies change a lot, even in a few days Emery has gotten bigger and stronger it seems.

Moose - 1 month and 4 months

These moose were in our yard at the lake house on the morning of June 25th.
I believe this is the same family below on Sept 19th, almost 3 months later.
They grow up pretty fast!!! They will stay close to mama (on the left) until she has new babies next spring. They usually have twins unless there are too many moose in an area then they have only one.
Today i went golfing and there were 3 caribou on the course. They were probably looking for lost balls. Didn't have the camera with.