Family Pics

House Pics

SNOW!

Alas, not at our house, but in the Chugach mountains that border Anchorage and loom outside our windows. This morning was the first to show snow-capped peaks, as you can see in the photo. We imagine we'll have snow down here before long. Halloween will be interesting as a result - all the families pour into the malls for trick-or-treating instead of going outside. By the end of October, we'll be well into winter.

I'm adding a few new pictures of our house, too. Sorry I forgot until now.

The Dangers of a Free Society

Some of you may have noticed a disturbing (though admittedly funny) image in the "My Profile" section over to the right recently. Needless to say, I did not put that image there, nor would I ever, considering younger members of our families (hopefully) take a look at this blog from time to time. If you haven't seen it, and are wondering what in the world I'm talking about, send me an email. Otherwise, I apologize for the offending visual, and can only offer this: in a free society, there's no telling what you may come across. Just be thankful it's not communist China.

-b.

The Weirdest Town in Alaska

Today we drove to Whittier, a small coastal town about 45 minutes south of Anchorage, and separated by mountains. The area is one bowl after another, all surrounded by mountains and glaciers. The views are spectaular, though the only photos we got were on our 35mm camera. Sorry.

Anyway, Whittier was cut off from the rest of the landlubbing world until recently, when a 2-mile long tunnel was blasted through the offending mountain (which, by the way, is a one-lane tunnel - cars and trains must share the lane, which means Anchorage-bound cars, Whittier-bound cars and the Alaska Railroad vie for time slots every fifteen to thirty minutes, and the road and the rails run together). The town was built in the 50s as an Army base with an ice-free port. One big apartment building housed all the personnel, which today houses nearly all the residents. Small shops, a pharmacy, doctor, etc., are found in the building, and tunnels connect different areas of the town. During winter, much of the activities are done underground or in the one building. It's crazy. But it's encircled by massive mountain peaks, glaciers, waterfalls and Prince William Sound, so the backdrop is stunning.

We also hit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, kind of like the San Diego Wild Animal Park, but with moose instead of giraffes. We got to see our first grizzly bears, who played right in front of us, with only a fence between. There were also elk, caribou, a bald eagle, a porcupine, rare wood buffalo and musk oxen.

And while Brandon was out grocery shopping at the end of the day, Chloe and Malcolm were having a blast with shaving cream, as you can see.

Getting Ready for Winter

We put new winter tires on the Subaru, readying it for our first Alaskan winter (which in Anchorage, we're often told, isn't much different from a New England winter - Fairbanks, however, is another story). And because the Scout hasn't been as leak-proof or as willing to start as one would hope, I've ordered a cover for it so it can sit out the winter. Which brings us to our new car. We got a black Saturn Ion Red Line, which was also shod with ice tires this morning. We're happy to be driving a Saturn again, and the supercharged 205-hp engine doesn't hurt.

We're going to sign Malcolm up for skating lessons soon at an indoor rink in one of the malls. We think he'll really love it. Chloe is a terrific crawler now, and has mastered "bye-bye", "Malcolm", "Mama", "Daddy" and a few others. She also does a spot-on horse impression. Steph starts her new job on Monday, and is very excited. I should be moving into a new and much cooler office soon, working with photo line-up stuff, background checks, licenses, etc.

The weather has been steadily getting cooler, and we expect snow within the next few weeks. We'll have heavy showers and bright, crisp blue skies several times in the same day. Our respective drives to work aim toward the nearby Chugach mountains, and the sun rising up from behind them is a beautiful way to start the morning.

Brandon's mom is coming to visit in a couple weeks, and we expect more family and friends to do the same. We're making new friends here, but we're always thinking of you all, and would love to have you up for an extended stay. If you're ever considering it, please don't hesitate to let us know.

Take care, and keep in touch.

Love always,

The Tuckers

ps. There's nothing like a little laundry hamper indoor slalom session on a rainy morning, hence the great photo from today.

Riding the Alaska Railroad

Sorry I've been lax about updating our adventures here. Every weekend we try to get out and see something new, but with that and our new jobs, it's tough to find time for blogging. Last weekend we visited Fairbanks, about six hours north by car. While at a construction stop, we saw some ground birds called spruce hens by the side of the road. They looked tasty. The scenery is beyond beautiful, as the Parks Highway cuts through literally a sea of forests, mountains and rivers for as far as the eye can see. And because the birch trees are changing colors, it paints a dramatic backdrop of oranges and yellows, sliced up with the dark green of spruces. I can't exaggerate how big and picturesque everything is.

Fairbanks is nothing special, though the little downtown part is cool. The university has some nice architecture, too. Otherwise, it's pretty boring. But we took the Alaska Railroad from Fairbanks to Denali National Park, which was awesome. The ARR has the last "flag stop" in the country, where you can flag down the engineer to pick you up when you're out in the bush near Talkeetna. It's also very popular with tourists, kind of like the Orient Express of the North. We saw dall sheep clinging to a river gorge wall. Denali couldn't be seen thanks to the clouds and mountains in the way, but the park there is great. We went for a little hike and checked out the terrific visitor center there, complete with a big movie theater showing a documentary about life at Denali.

Speaking of new jobs, I've mentioned that I'm the newest employee of the State of Alaska Department of Public Safety. It's fun, and I'm excited to be there. Stephanie has done me one better (as usual), by getting her newest new job as a teacher with Denali Family Services, helping special-needs kids and making crazy amounts of money. Her schedule will also be much better (home before 5:00 instead of 6:20). She starts on the 19th.

Other than that, we're one big happy family. Chloe is crawling like a champ, Malcolm is officially pacifier-free and doing great and for the first time in our eleven years together, Steph and I aren't broke. It's very refreshing, to say the least. And if all continues to go well, we'll start trying for another baby probably within the next year.

We love and miss you all. Take care of each other.

-The Tuckers

OUR GIRL TURNS 1!

Chloe turned one year old yesterday! It's been a fun time lately up here. Yesterday we enjoyed the usual birthday festivities - she got a new birthday outfit, took special muffins for her baby classmates, listened to her teachers singing to her, ate a delicious chocolate birthday cake (with help from Malcolm to blow out the candle) and rode her very first birthday present, a car/walker thingy.

We also went to the big State Fair this past Saturday. The weather was gorgeous (sunny and in the 70s), and we had a blast. The fair is the largest annual event in Alaska, and they have all the rides, food, booths, shows, music and animals you can imagine, including the obligatory 70-pound cabbages and 3-foot zuchinnis. We even saw huge tomatoes and chiles on display. The Donnas performed, but we didn't think the kids would have appreciated it as much as we might, so we skipped that.

In other news, Stephanie has her latest interview tomorrow for the dream job of the universe, so wish her luck (not that she needs it). Brandon just started his new job today with the State Troopers, and so far it's great. I'm making more money, earn 24 paid days off and 11 paid holidays off a year and can look forward to a ridiculously good retirement package, if I decide to stick it out that long (and if they don't kick me out).

I've also been working on another website. I'll save you the details, but if you're curious and have a few minutes to spare, you may get a kick out of it.

The weather is starting to turn, but slowly. This morning when I got to work it was 36 degrees, but this afternoon it was in the mid-60s and brilliant. We'll have snow before Halloween.

We miss you all. Take care of each other.

Love always,

Brandon, Stephanie, Malcolm, Chloe and Simon