zoo.

we've been waiting to take in the zoo this winter.  i kept telling the kiddos as soon as the temps were above freezing, we'd venture around on an afternoon.  finally!

37 degrees and even a little snowfall.  we skipped nap time, and even through a few fallen tears and minor meltdowns, we enjoyed our afternoon.  {and, mama enjoyed the early bedtime!}

there's something magical about fresh air.  it just does something to these kids.  putting aside the springtime arrival of baby 3, we all are ready for the clear sidewalks, 50 degree weather and ditching the bogs; cabin fever has taken its toll on us!

5-some years of being a mother, and my heart still grows with love for these beings.

a saturday in willow

the above series describes my uncle bob without using a single word.  and, as far back as i can remember, he's always been this way.  growing up, we visited his place knowing there would be plenty to do - the latest game system; those racing cars/tracks where you control the speed with a little hand-held contraption (and that you could even shock yourself with - c'mon, you know what i'm talking about!); candy in every corner of the house; rooms with toys still in the box; he even had a drawing table!  he's always been fun uncle bob.  it's so nice to see that overlap with my own children.

with ben out of town on his bison hunt, and with our warmer temps, i thought it would be good to get out of the house and venture up to willow.  after 4 trips to load up the rig with all our snow gear, sippies and snacks, a stop at the grocery store, and a movie playing to entertain (aka to keep the calm), we were off.

we left wasilla, a brisk 17 degrees and pulled into the driveway of the cabin at a tropical and welcoming 27 degrees.  it's incredible what 10 degrees can do for you!

like most of anchorage and the valley, willow didn't have much snow either.  lucky for us, thanks to uncle bob's large driveway and his plow truck, there were plenty of snowbanks to sled down, roll down and dig IN.

sledding fun

 tree house fun

 taking turns fun

 she's just FUN to look at!

i kept close to the fire.  i couldn't help it.  even with all my layers - and yep, THOSE extra layers as well - i was still cold.  it must be a corey thing.  {in my mind, i can practically hear my aunt and my mother saying i'm cooold, with a frowny-face expression.}  jack was great about stoking the fire, carrying armloads of logs over, and i even let him throw a few on.

notice uncle bob's "box" lunch?!

dylan wouldn't come near the fire. not sure if it was the heat or the sitting, but she was on the move all afternoon.  at one point, i lost sight of her and when i finally heard her calling to me, i saw that she had trudged through the snow, ALL the way on the other side of the cabin!  that's a lot of work for such little legs.  she's a toughie, that one.

"mama, i over here!"

super fun way to spend a saturday.  

sunset. and a sunrise.

i'll say it again:  the only nice thing about clear & cold days are the colorful skies.  that's it.  as of late, the kids cabin fever has me at my limit.  here's to some warmer temperatures and the countdown to ben and i's babymoon - in one week, we'll be touching down in 80 degree weather!  here, here!  

on december 16, ben & i had a day-date to celebrate our first date, 9 years prior.  before our lunch at evangelo's, i wanted to capture some of the sky's beauty.  ben asked if we could just do it after lunch.  i explained that it wouldn't be the same sky.  {insert ben's funny face at my comment.}  since it was a special day, and we didn't have "demands from the backseat," he happily obliged.  and, he was even the one to say we should probably capture more sky pictures after our feast.  so, you'll notice the space in time.  pretty nice to have a chauffeur at my request, as i hopped in and out of the negative degree temps!

this first series goes in reverse.  kinda like my pregnancy brain...

hope you enjoy, like i have been.

4:02 pm

4:00 pm

 3:59 pm

 3:56 pm

 3:51 pm

 3:48 pm

 3:47 pm

 1:32 pm

 1:28 pm

 1:26 pm

 1:23 pm

on december 11, i caught the most perfect pink & lavender sunrise from one of my favorite bluff views.

10:07 am - looking north, toward the talkeetna mountains

10:06 am - looking south at the chugach mountains

finally, a snow day.

i'm so thankful for the snow.  not only to cover our icky, brown grass but to bring some relief to the valley.  for weeks, it had been brutally cold, so in addition to the snowfall, we were graced with some 30+ degree weather.  even at one point during the day, my truck read 41 degrees.  i'll take that ALL winter long!  

our antler fell during one of the many wind storms last week.  i'd say we could now get out there and fix it, but our temps have dropped once again... 

{!!!}

i love a nice, thick blanket of snow.  the ol' chevy is under there, somewhere.  with baby 3's arrival in the coming months, we needed to upgrade to a bigger vehicle, so the tired girl is now parked outside.  she looks a little cold, huh?  

sunrise & sunset

lately, we've had some incredible skies.  my camera's been close at hand to capture the colors and wondrous views.  i'm certainly not a fan of the temperatures, but when it's this clear, it's sooo beautiful.

just after 9 am

just before 3 pm, sun's already on her way out.

3:10 pm

a balmy 5 degrees - doesn't this picture just evoke the shivers?!  

3:20 pm

4:10 pm

today is december 1st so that means to us alaskans that in 20 more days, we will begin to GAIN daylight again!  weeee!  i love winter solstice, if for only that reason.  at our "worst" (in my opinion) we will have only 5-some hours of daylight.  blech.  soon, we'll be on the up and up!

overlook trail

can you tell we love this walk?  only, it was even better on this evening because dada came along.  everything's better with the dada.  

my two favorite girls.

 love the cotton candy-colored wispy clouds

 that's some deep snow.

 moose poop is great for kicking.

 dada, i wanna be up dere!

 sorry.  

we had to.

i swoon.

 yay!  new wood stove for the cabin!  

i'm excited.

the hulk is excited.

(and check out his super-sweet danskos!)