Bombs Away!!!!

(Mount Redoubt - The last time it erupted)


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Hello!!

It is a pretty exciting time here in Alaska, we could be on the verge of a volcanic eruption within the next few hours or days.

This volcano, Mount Redoubt, is located about 100 miles from Anchorage and last erupted in 1989 / 1990. I remember it's last eruption quite well as it coated Anchorage with a layer of volcanic ash. We aren't in any sort of danger, it may just make things a little crazy for a few days. You are supposed to stay inside as much as possible, wear a mask if you go outside, cover your cars, and keep any electronics inside covered as well. Basically volcanic ash is small bits of rock and glass, much smaller and more dangerous than sand or dirt. If the volcano erupts we will make sure to get lots of pictures to post!!

It has been a pretty amazing January! We had a couple weeks of -20 degree weather, then we had a windstorm with winds that topped 100MPH, then we had 50 degree weather and all of our snow melted, and the other day we had a 5.7 earthquake that woke us up and now we are bracing for a volcanic eruption. One thing about life in Alaska, it is not "normal".

We will keep you updated!!

Warmer Temperatures...FINALLY!!!

So, our "cold snap" is finally over!! It ended up being one of the longest streaks of cold weather EVER in Alaska. Brrrr. We had about 2 weeks where the temp never got above 0. Today it is supposed to be 38, which feels SO warm after what we have experienced. The silver lining is that if we can make it through that, we can make it through anything!! Plus, there was a news story in yesterdays paper about how forecasters are projecting a warmer than normal summer for Alaska, so that is good news!

How we spent $139 on toothbrushes and could not be happier!

So we recently did something that I honestly thought I would never do in my life. We spent over $100.00 on toothbrushes. You read correctly, toothbrushes.

We have a few friends who had received Sonicare toothbrushes and raved about them and how great they work. I did some research on-line and was surprised to see how high the reviews are of people who use the Sonicare products. I expected the reviews to be very mixed, that seems to be the case with most items, but from what I could find the reviews are almost all positive everywhere I looked. I had heard that Costco sold them and had the best prices around so we went to look and they had a 2 pack of the Sonicare Flexcare brushes, the UV brush cleaner and a couple of other accessories on sale for $139.99 (they also had a 2 pack of another Sonicare model for $99). That may seem expensive, but it's actually a great price for 2 Sonicare's.

Bottom line...these are amazing, they work great and our teeth have never felt better! By far the best toothbrush we have ever used.

Things to do inside when it is freezing outside...

Howdy -

So, we are currently in the longest "cold streak" in Anchorage in about 25 years. It has been FREEZING for SOOO long. I don't remember the last time I saw a cloud in the sky. The days here have been beautiful and sunny, the problem is that when it is sunny here in the winter it gets cold. It looks like today could be the last cold day with it "warming up" to the teens and 20's this weekend and next week. Sherri and I have both commented that 10 above is going to feel great after what we have gone through!

One positive of this weather is that it forces you to stay inside and keep occupied. Earlier this week we got the idea to "re-do" our bedroom. Seems kinda strange since we only moved in 8 months ago, but we felt like our new idea would make the room more romantic and just a much more relaxing space. We didn't have a headboard for our bed and we have looked for one that we liked and we could just never find the right one, so, we made one. It was easy easy easy. We went to Home Depot, got a 1/2 inch sheet of plywood, picked out some nice peel and stick floor tiles that would go with the color of our bedroom accent wall, found some curtains that would tie everything together, bought new matching nightstand lamps for next to the bed and a few new candle sconces for around the room, we bought all new bedding to match and we are SO happy with the outcome!! It feels much more like what we wanted our room to feel like from the beginning. Here are a couple pictures of the final product!!

Happy Anniversary Alaska!!!

Today (January 3rd) was the 50th Anniversary of Alaska becoming a state! We have had events going on across the state for most of 2008 and they all culminated with a big "Statehood Day" today here in Anchorage. There were tons of events going on and Sherri bundled up and headed downtown to take some of them in! We are currently in one of the coldest streaks that we have had in years and it was about -10 when we were downtown but we still had a GREAT time!!

Here are some pictures!!

(This is the cauldron that was placed downtown, the flame was lit by leaders from all areas of Alaska and it burned throughout the celebrations)

(This is a huge 30 foot banner that is a reproduction of the newspaper headline here in Alaska the day that we finally became a state.)

(This is inside the main ballroom at the new convention center in downtown Anchorage. They had tons of music and entertainment going on throughout the day."

(This is a chopper built by O.C.C. (Orange County Choppers) to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Statehood. It will be featured on an episode of O.C.C. in March. If you don't know who O.C.C. is they are probably the most known custom motorcycle crew in the world.)


(Here are Sherri and I next to the ice skating rink in Town Square. Notice the frost on the outside of my hat)


(Every winter the city of Anchorage invites some of the best ice carvers from around the world to do pieces that are displayed throughout Town Square. They are amazing to see in person. Here is one of the carvings. They probably have 15 or so each year.)


(This is another of the carvings that depicts Anchorage after the 1964 Earthquake. A lot of the detail in this carving didn't get picked up by the camera, but it was pretty amazing.


(Another carving, this one depicts life in Alaska's oceans, they had it lit with blue lights and it was great.)

(The evening ended with a huge fireworks display shot off from 3 different locations downtown. This is a photo from our local newspaper because Sherri and I decided to watch and enjoy the fireworks together rather then try and get photos of them)

There were tens of thousands of people downtown and with the cold temps and everyone bundled up it just made for a really awesome event. Somehow celebrating Alaska's statehood seemed appropriate at -10 degrees.

This event reminded me how proud I am to be an "Alaskan".

Happy Anniversary Alaska, not a day goes by when something about you doesn't amaze me.

Happy New Year!!!

It's 2009, can you believe it?!?



We had a great New Years Eve. We started at The Crows Nest for a drink with friends. It is the restaurant that Sherri and I got engaged at and it is on the 20th floor of a local hotel that overlooks downtown. We then had dinner at Ristorante Orso with 3 other couples, Orso is a great local Italian restaurant. After dinner we went to The Buckaroo Club and played some darts and listened to music for a little while before heading to some friends house for the traditional midnight toast.