It seems the colder it gets (usually in the 10s and teens these days), the more moose come out of the woodwork. Let's see, there was the bull moose standing at the entrance to the hospital parking lot, just daring someone to get out of their car and gawk. There was the unfortunate female struck by a car (not ours, thank you) while we were driving to work. Brandon had three, a mother and two babies, loitering at his work and eating the willow bushes. The mother was wearing a big yellow tracking collar. One of the babies relieved himself of his breakfast in front of an employee entrance. There was another yesterday morning near the highway, which prompted a couple motorists to pull over and point. The best, though, was the one Brandon got all to himself. Well, for a few minutes anyway. He dropped the Subaru off for a service on MLK day. It was about 9am, and 14 degrees outside, which was actually pleasant. He decided to walk the couple miles home. Excercise never hurts. After about 30 minutes, he came upon a small park, and standing in the trees nibbling on some bushes was a fully grown female moose. Since it was morning, and a holiday (and 14 degrees), nobody was around. She checked him out for a while, and kept one eye on him as she went back to her breakfast. They were about 30 feet apart, and she couldn't have weighed less than 1000 pounds. It was amazing. And to top it off, when Grizzly Adams got home, he had an ice cube for a beard. We wish we'd taken a picture.As you can see in the photos, Chloe is walking. She can do it by herself, but she prefers to hold hands. We're really happy to have her walking more and crawling less. It's wonderful to watch, and it keeps the pet hair off her clothes. Malcolm also loves to play dress-up. If you think the cowboy outfit is cool, wait till you see him as an airline pilot. We've also had some good snow over the past few days, and were out in it today. And as you may have heard, our very own Mount St. Augustine has been exploding a bit lately. No waves of lava in Anchorage yet, though.These days it's snow, work, school, movies at home (mostly Wallace & Gromit) and the frequent and ever fascinating moose. And if you've ever been curious how BIG they are, or you think we're exaggerating a bit, imagine a horse, but taller. And wild, instead of domesticated. And often protecting their young. And sometimes with a rack six feet wide. And looking at you as if to say, try it, schmuck.We miss you all.
We've gotten an earful from everyone for not updating the blog for over a month, which I take as a compliment - it means you're reading it! At any rate, life is wonderful up here. It's not quite the frozen north you might expect. Brandon's friend Chris recently visited, and brought above-freezing temperatures with him. It hasn't been snowing much, either, but what snow does fall stays on the ground, instead of melting. So there's always plenty of sledding to go around.Our latest winter sport is skating. Malcolm got a new (used) pair of hockey skates last weekend, and he looks AWESOME in them. Stephanie and Brandon are getting some used skates this Saturday, and we're all going to the downtown rink for music, kids' games and falling on our butts. As Alaskans, we figure it's mandatory that we start learning to skate. How's Brandon going to teach Malcolm the perfect slapshot otherwise?The kids had a great Christmas. Malcolm was very excited for Santa, and even Chloe got into unwrapping presents. Otherwise, it's life as usual in the tundra. We sled A LOT, watch movies, play inside and generally enjoy being together. CHLOE IS WALKING! She stands on her own, and can take several steps before collapsing, only to push herself to a standing position again. Malcolm has started playing with friends on the weekends, and of course sledding is the activity of choice.Stephanie still loves working at Immediate Care, helping manage personal care services for the elderly and sick, and Brandon is still very happy with the State Troopers, helping out wherever he can and applying for promotions.We visited the big New Year's Eve celebration downtown during the afternoon, where several events were held for kids for free. Malcolm played his first hockey in an indoor, carpeted "rink" with other kids, and rode the ferris wheel with Daddy. The fireworks were a bit loud for him, but Chloe didn't seem to mind. She likes everything loud, especially herself. ;-)We love and miss you all, and look forward to welcoming more guests after "break-up", when the temperatures start rising above freezing (Chris and Brandon's Mom having been the only two brave or foolish enough to fly up so far). We expect to move into our new house by June or July, and would really enjoy seeing some of you. Until then, we'll keep loving every minute of life in Alaska. Happy New Year to everyone! Love always, Chloe, Malcolm, Stephanie and Brandon
