We saw Santa!!!

One of the best things about living in North Pole Alaska is the fact that Santa lives just down the street. Santa is very busy this time of year, and the lines to see Santa can get out of control! Last year we went on a Saturday and stood in line for 3 hours. So this year I thought maybe a week night would be better. Anyway it was a success!!! There were 2 other people in line and Santa was able to spend plenty of time with little man! I am sure this is still more for me than him, but it was fun! And of course we have the REAL Santa here!

He wasn't scared of Santa, but he wasn't so sure about sitting on his lap. And for some reason his finger is in his ear the whole time... Once daddy took him he was fine. Merry Christmas!!!

To all the Hero's - May you always be remembered

This post is more for me than anyone else. I just have to get my thought's out of my head.
I cannot begin to explain the gratitude I have for the military and the people who fight for my freedom... Freedom is never free. Someone else is always going to be fighting to keep us safe. People will pay with their lives just so I have the chance to live mine.
I married Jason when he had 16 plus years in the Air Force. He had fought in the desert already, and been all over the globe as an Active Duty soldier. It was a interesting lifestyle, but I only experienced a small amount of it before he retired. I never had to go through the heart ache of wondering if he would come home alive or worry about the terror of the war and my husband being gone. I was so grateful that I missed these parts of his career. When I married him, we spoke about the possibility of deployment again, but somehow we lucked out and never had to endure that. Today I am so grateful for that, it's so selfish, but I am.
One of my old cheerleaders, Breanna, lost her father, Bryant, last night in Afghanistan. He was killed by a road side bomb yesterday, fighting for this country and fighting a war that will never end. Bryant leaves behind 4 kids ranging in age from 18-5 and a wife, Leanne, that has been through hell. I have known them for 4 years now, and I am sure Bryant has been in the desert for 3 of those years. Although I didn't know Bryant well, due to him always being on deployment, I know the rest of the family quite well. I feel so distraught and heartbroken for the pain and loss they are going through. When you see in the paper that someone has been killed, you feel a moment of grief for the loss of another, but by the end of the day, you have forgotten the pain they are feeling, and you have moved on to your own day to day functions.
As I thought about all the McCain family must be going through today, I realized I don't know how I would go on if it were my door they had knocked on. Being a military wife is a job of its own. You have a household that depends on you and you get moved from year to year, you get your husband home for a few months just to get settled back into a routine, and then he is deployed again. You have children that need you to be mom, dad, and everything in between and you still have to function in your daily life of work and home as well. And then to have someone knock on the door, and know the reason they are there is bad news, would just send your life into a spiraling mess. Leanne went through so much while Bryant was gone, and now this is just the icing on the cake. She has to fly and meet the "remains", and then return to a bitter cold Alaska only to pack up her whole life and start over somewhere. The kids are now without a father and  almost too young to understand what happened. Bryant was a father that took his kids on hunting and fishing trips, a dad that sat in the crowd cheering on his daughter as she performed. The kids absolutely adored him, from what I saw. Now the kids say on facebook, "my dad served our country and I am proud of that." I can't help but be proud of them for being so selfless. They could say this war has taken all I had. but instead show pride. I am so humbled by the family. I cannot even imagine. These kids teach me things I never imagined. May god bless this family and so many more that are in the same situation. Please put them in your prayers tonight.
So please, next time you see someone in uniform - Say "thanks"... Don't be ashamed or embarrassed. Walk right up and show your appreciation. They might be just returning from the war, or getting ready to deploy. But either way, they are fighting for freedom. If it wasn't for the bravery of people like Bryant and the dedication of his family we wouldn't have the freedom that we do.
May god bless this family, and may peace fill their hearts in this time of sorrow and loss. I love you Breanna if you need anything we are all here. :)

Northern Lights 2011

The northern lights come out to play when the weather turns cold in Alaska! They were pretty bright last night and I had a chance to get a few good pictures. I am still learning how to use my new camera (love it!!), but I am getting better with every picture I think!!! Anyway, hope you enjoy! These are taken in my back yard and looking over the top of our house and at the ball field just down the street. Enjoy! These are the way they look most nights! 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!!

 ~ Love The Major's (and this cute little monster!)

Major Family Pictures- Fall 2011

We did our annual family pictures in our back yard, and in the neighborhood this year... They turned out fantastic! Shay does a fantastic job at catching the perfect moments! Here are just a few of the hundreds she took!!! Enjoy! 

Denali National Park - Road Lottery

Denali National Park is a beautiful place here in Alaska. It is home to Mt. McKinley and lots of wildlife. Every year after the park closes for the season, the state holds a lottery. 16,000 people applied this year and only 1,200 we lucky enough to get a ticket... We were one of the lucky ones! If you win a ticket you get to drive your own personal vehicle the entire road of 92 miles. I know this doesn't sound like much, but Denali is a "tour only" park. Which means you can only see the park on a tour bus, no personal vehicles allowed... Anyway, we were lucky enough to get a ticket, and I was so excited for the chance to get to see the park at my own pace and without a crowd of 50 people trying to push to get out the door! 

Jason and I decided since we had not been away from Zach since he was born that maybe this would be a good weekend to test it out and see how we all did... So Jay and Carrie said they would love to take Zach for the weekend. I was nervous, but I knew it had to happen... We left Friday afternoon and headed down to Denali. We arrived and to make a long story short, it was a hilarious trip! We had to switch rooms, we were trying to find a heavy set guy who was stuck in a bathtub, we forgot to charge the cameras, and I paid $5.00 a gallon for gas since I forgot to top off the tank! LOL! Great times had by us!!!

Anyway, here are some of the pictures and memories from our trip. It was a great time, and we were able to see just about everything you could imagine.

These are Mountain goats... Little white dots... Again, I need a new camera!

This was our tour guide. This fox ran up the road for easy 15 miles!!! He refused to get off the road and we just kept following!

These are Dahl Sheep... Again white dots!

Momma Grizzly and 2 cubs! This was by far the best moment of the trip!!!

 Yep!!! She brought them right to me!!! They crossed right in front of the truck! I was so excited!!! Although I really wanted to hold that last little guy! He was so FUZZY!!!!!

Mt. McKinley- it was a beautiful morning!!!

Wonder Lake- We stopped here for lunch and hiked a few of the little trails. It was beautiful!

A creek we had to cross. I thought it was pretty.

 This is the end of the road.. It comes up to the runway and just ends... No visitor center, nothing... Just a few orange cones and planes taking off..
 Gotta love the simple things!

BIG Grizzly! in my binoculars!!! LOL! I know Its a crazy picture, but he was HUGE!!!!

That was our trip! And it was a great trip at that!!!

   

Really?!?!

I am just going to tell you all right now,  I will be taking in donations for Christmas for a new camera, as I am going to throw mine out the window!!! We took a ton (137 to be exact) of pictures with my cool little cannon power shot camera while we were on our once in a lifetime trip through Denali... Maybe 20 of them turned out  not blurry or crappy! That camera is just not good with zooming pictures. there are little white dots on the mountain that I could see fine in my screen on my camera, but once I put them on the computer, they were CRAP!!!! Oh so frustrating!!! It's great for birthday parties, and quick snapshots, but that's not enough... So that's my rant for the day.

Mud!!!!

Mud Bogs!!! Jason raced his Jeep in the local mud bogs and of course Zach loved it!!! We also had our good friends little girl Cara with us for the weekend. She loved riding in the races with "Uncle Jason". Here's the mud and more pictures of the weekend.

Zach just can't get enough of the 4 wheeler!!! The big one was put away, so he climbed on his! Cara said she would take him for a ride!!! 

Fair time in Fairbanks!

Our little fair was in August and we took Zach to play! He liked riding the rides, loved the animals, and enjoyed the food too! Jason went on a few rides with him, I went on a few, and then Jason said "lets see how he does by himself." He loved it!!!

It was a great time! And we had tears when all the tickets were gone and it was time to leave. Next year we will bring other kids with us so we aren't the only adults riding the baby rides!!!