our trip to the alaska wildlife conservation center

during our stay in Alaska we were able to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the wildlife conservation center. it was such a treat! we got to feed the vegetarian animals some brush and threw hot dogs into the bear cages. for more info on this amazing place visit: http://www.alaskawildlife.org


the caribou were so friendly. they are such beautiful creatures.


baby caribou munching some brushi absolutely LOVE the antlers on the caribou! the caribou were rescued from the Alaskan islands, which were becoming overpopulated and were brought here to prevent starvation.these are the rocky mountain elk. my favorite snap shot of an elk

baby elk.... he's adorable, i know
an Alaskan moose. his name is Seymour and he has been featured in many commercials, nature shows and movies.

Chloe feeding some leaves to Seymour

this is Uli, a black bear. she was found wandering the streets of Juneau and was brought to the conservation in 2002.

here is Patron, a grizzly bear.
this is Hugo, my favorite grizzly at the conservation. we walked around the perimeter of the bear cage. Hugo would follow us, stopping when we stopped and running when we would run.

this place was the most beautiful place i could imagine for an animal to go to (besides the wild, ofcourse.) they have plenty of room to roam and their "cages" are incredibly large and unlike any cages you might find in zoos. if i ever move to Alaska, this will be the first place i apply to for a job. i loved it!

alaska: my home away from home

we spent 10 glorious days in alaska this year. endless days filled with fishing, moose watching, gun shooting, beer drinking, and family bonding. it was our best trip yet!

this is our house... its surrounded by acres and acres of beautiful wilderness.

this is clay's cabin. its a one bedroom cabin eqipped with a bathroom. yes, my son is definately spoiled by his grandparents in alaska.

here are some moose that like to wander through our yard.

a mamma moose and her twin calvesthis is the kenai river. its where we do our salmon fishing.

my first king salmon catch. it weighed about 20 pounds.mom caught her first king salmon this year... a 40 pounder.clay's king salmon weighed in at 22 pounds.my other king salmon. it was around 50 pounds.

we sat around the fire pit one evening and made s'mores. grandpa larry gathering some sticks for roasting marshmallows.playing and having funmy kiddies... getting their marshmallow toastychloe and g pa... eating those yummy s'mores

this is our alaska dog: Zoe. chloe taught her a new trick. it was so cute!in bed with g ma and g pa (and zoe)there are so many cool little places in alaska. this was a place that we went one day to just have a little fun.chloe in her rain gear. we were lucky this year and only had a couple days of rain.
another rad thing about our place in alaska is that we can shoot guns on the property! here is clay shooting his brand new gun.even my mom shot off a couple rounds with clay's guni am so lucky to be able to give my children the chance to experience alaska. they love it there and so do i.my kiddies with my "other" parents. i feel so blessed to have them in my life. they love us so much... they introduce me to everyone as "their daughter". we had a fabulous time. until next year!

summertime blues

yep. its summer. and i love summer. but right now i need a change of pace... i'm feeling a little down and out and SOOO looking forward to going to alaska. the endless nights, the peaceful surroundings, the beautiful wildlife that wanders through our yard, the clean, crisp air, and lets not forget... the fishing! its amazing how a change of scenery can revive your soul... and thats what i want and need right now... to come back fresh and full of new energy. kisses to the ones in my life that make me smile. you keep me going in times like these and i love you all!

happy 4th!!

the day started off with a water balloon fight. i mean, thats how most people start their mornings, right?!?


the kids really like those popper things. chloe filled up her baby stroller with them.

for dinner the fam BBQed... i swear, we had enough food to feed a small country. the kids wanted to eat outside so they set up a nice little picnic and we had a scrumptous dinner.


hmm... a little too much ketchup, bro?


after the BBQ we roaster marshmellows and had s'mores. they were delish!!


a family portrait after eating marshmellow yumminess...

chloe is ready for some fireworks!!the butterfly flower! yes!

chloe and clay LOVED the sparklers


time for a tank battle! US kicked Germany's bum!

my favorite picture from the day:

my brother, the pyro
a little more firework action... woot!


all in all, it was a rad holiday.