As usual, a lot has been happening lately. Brandon and Stephanie are still canvassing for better-paying jobs, though Stephanie will likely receive a significant raise and stay on with her current employer. Chloe and Malcolm continue to grow at an astonishing rate, and through it all we're enjoying the Alaskan summer as much as possible. The animals have been coming out. We told you about the bear who sat next to Brandon during his lunchbreak, and the dead moose (two of them), who hindered his coming and going from work on the same day. More recently, Brandon was nearly killed when what at first looked like a large dog decided to scurry across the highway as Brandon was doing about 70 mph. The large dog became a large black bear, and some last-minute swerving was all that avoided a very nasty collision. The bear was easily twice the size of Brandon, and a crash at that speed would've killed them both. And last week while camping (check out the pictures of us at the lake, complete with seaplanes taking off and landing), we listened to the wolves howl for ten minutes around 2:00 in the morning. It was a haunting reminder of the wilderness surrounding us. Yesterday, we found a fat little frog in the front yard and brought him inside for a while. That's him on Malcolm's shoulder.The house is finally finished being painted. Well, the exterior is, at least. We won't win any awards for a job well done, but it beats Smurf blue any day. And check out the treehouse. Completely hand-built, even the hand-knotted rope ladder. It's a little goofy looking, but Malcolm and Chloe love it, which is all that matters. It needs more roof and a couple new walls. We'll spray it with sealant when it's finished.Upcoming projects include the carport and more interior painting. Until then, however, we're just enjoying being here. We take every opportunity we can to get out, explore, play, go for walks - Malcolm is riding his first bike! He looks awesome in his Sesame Street helmet and pads. So, just your typical happy little family in Alaska. We'll be welcoming lots of guests beginning next week, including Stephanie's parents Barbara and Joe, Brandon's brother Ryan and Brandon's high school friends Maureen and Chris. Only Chris has been to the Great White North, when he visited last year.We hope all is well with everyone down there. Stay cool...we'll try to send you some of our 70-degree weather! Love always,Chloe, Malcolm, Stephanie and Brandon
Moose may be majestic, but they can also create some nasty traffic snarls when dead on the only highway into Anchorage. Brandon was 20 minutes late to work the other day as a result. In Alaska, of all places, why are people not used to giant dead animals on the road? It was stop-and-go traffic for 15 miles. Oy vey.The punchline came at the end of the day, when Brandon was again stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to get back home. The reason? You guessed it. Different moose, same scenario. And naturally, this one (like the one before) was on Brandon's side of the highway. Perfect. But days like today put it all in perspective. At home, brilliant Alaskan sun shining, not a sound or nuisance or care in the world. More exterior painting, the beginnings of a low rock wall, Chloe and Malcolm having the times of their lives. No bears or moose today, but a perfect Sunday of being together as a family, in our own little corner of scenic Alaska.We'll post pictures of the house soon when the painting's finished, plus the yard, treehouse, etc.
We mentioned in lastnight's update that we haven't seen any bears so far this year. That changed today at lunch for Brandon, who shared a seat and a fortune cookie with a 6'-tall black bear at a nearby park. Brandon noticed him just behind the Saab, about a car length away, in some grass and flowers. He was just hanging out, being a bear - rolling around, eating various things. The two shared a quiet lunch together for a few minutes, till a couple drove into the parking lot and let their dogs out. Brandon gently opened the car door, stood on the sill and pointed out the large meat-eating mammal sitting nearby. The hikers didn't see anything until the bear apparently caught wind of the dogs and stood up. The hikers were shocked, to say the least. In the end, the bear took off a couple minutes later. No word on whether he enjoyed the fortune cookie.Brandon also saw another bald eagle driving to work this morning. Is it any wonder why we moved here?We love and miss you all.
Our humblest apologies. As usual, many of you have been kind enough to show your love and concern for us by gently ridiculing Brandon for not updating the blog. And, as usual, our collective life hasn't exactly allowed for the time it takes to do so. That, and Brandon's really lazy.That being said, we've seen a lot of changes up here since our last entry: we moved, started a new school, started a new job, got another car, bought fish and have stayed busy playing, working, improving our new home and just being a family. And Stephanie turned a year older, once again reaching palindrome status. In case you forgot, our new address is 3000 Escondido Ave, Wasilla, AK 99654. Our new phone number is 907-357-2877. Our email addresses have not changed.The house: it was Smurf blue, but that's changing to a very respectable cream color. Brandon risked life and limb to paint the exterior, by balancing on the end of a 16' ladder, which in turn was perched on the roof of the Scout. Not exactly smart, but the only way to get the job done - it's a two story house. Stephanie has been papering and taping the interior, and Brandon's been following behind with the Wagner when he's not outside. The treehouse is mostly finished, sporting a slide, ramp, "rock" wall, rope ladder and firefighter's pole, plus most of a roof. What was once a dirt and weed patch is now a soft, green lawn. Even the vegetables from our garden have begun appearing at dinner. Chloe and Malcolm are terrific. They love their new school, and surprisingly, took to it the first day. Steph has moved offices, but stayed with the same company. She now works 5 minutes from home and the kids. Brandon still drives to Anchorage every day, about 45 minutes, but does so in the new Saab he bought. Well, it was new in 1986. But hey, it's got a sunroof, cost $700 and says SAAB on it. It makes him happy. And since there's no airbag, the kids get to ride in the front.Apparently Simon and Jolly weren't enough, so we bought three fish and two frogs. They eat very little and don't sleep on the couch, which is more than we can say for the dog. Let's see, other wildlife... We had some birds nesting near the house, caught a big frog next to the treehouse, picked up a leech while swimming at Wasilla Lake and greeted a moose in our driveway. He walked past about 4 feet in front of Brandon. Simon wanted to hang out with him, but he wasn't having it and trotted off into the woods. We haven't seen any bears this year, but since we live in the forest now, that's probably a good thing.We went for a drive and a picnic along the Matanuska River valley today, and shot a few pictures. The glacier that feeds the river is bright and massive. On our hike before lunch we scared a ptarmigan out of a bush. That's like a grouse or a pheasant. He looked tasty. Malcolm found a fuzzy black caterpillar and named him Charlie. All of Malcolm's bug friends are named Charlie.Hopefully it won't be another two months till our next entry. It seems we're too busy living in Alaska to talk about living in Alaska. Next month is the state fair. And Tuckerfest. We're going to do a lot more camping before summer's out. We're also considering buying a small boat. Malcolm has really been into fishing lately. Chloe turns two on August 31. By the time Halloween rolls around, we'll be back in winter mode and loving all that comes with it. Till then, it's 20 hours of sunlight, days in the mid-70s and agonizingly short weekends. Gotta go!
This is it! Here are some of the photos we took this morning of our new home in Wasilla, about 45 minutes north of Anchorage. The property is 1.2 acres, and the house sits in the northwest corner of it, facing south. The lot is surrounded by land undeveloped since at least 1982, when the home was built, so we've got forest and wetlands all around us, with our own cul-de-sac at the western terminus of East Escondido Avenue (the "avenue" is actually a sleepy residential road). The other homes in the area are all 80s-era suburban types - definitely the swankiest neighborhood we've lived in so far. We're paying 168k, but it was just assessed at 172k, so we've already made some equity. :-)The first thing to go will be the Smurf-blue paint. We've opted for a more tasteful light mocha color, but will keep the white trim. The interior will get a host of new colors: light and medium orange for Malcolm's room, light and medium teal for Chloe's, and an offwhite with light mocha trim for the rest. We'll replace the carpet too, as well as add a new fridge, washer/dryer, range and water heater. After that, we'll invest in Top Ramen for a while.There's no garage, so Brandon will be busy building a carport, as well as a backyard fence. There's a large entry mudroom (a must in Alaska), and the kitchen, dining room and living room are also big. The kids will have their own rooms for the first time, complete with Cape Cod-style windows recessed into the walls, with slanting ceilings. One bathroom with shower upstairs, one with bathtub downstairs.The front deck is huge and faces the beautiful front yard. There's a dilapidated treehouse in the front, which will be replaced with something of Brandon's cunning, but the awesome steel cable ripcord running at least 60 feet from the treehouse, across the front of the yard and into a stand of woods will certainly stay. Brandon tried it this morning, and can't wait to coax Malcolm into riding it. And for all you coming to Tuckerfest, you can rest assured we'll make good use of it at the party.We'll both be getting new jobs in the area. Stephanie has already begun applying. Brandon is staying with the state, and will commute to Anchorage until he finds a new position. We found the preschool we'll enroll the kids in this morning, too.Thank you everyone for all your recent warm wishes. We look forward to welcoming any and all guests (though there's no official guest room), especially as Alaska shows off it stuff with the coming of Summer.Love,Chloe, Malcolm, Stephanie and Brandon
When winter lasts five or six months, Spring is a pretty big deal. In Alaska the onset of Spring is referred to as "break-up", because of the thawing and melting of the snow and ice in the millions of creek, rivers, lakes and glaciers. Break-up has real effects, too. Brandon spoke with a guy by cell phone the other day who couldn't get out of his home area in the bush because of the swollen creeks surrounding him. In the town of Nenana, south of Faribanks, the Nenana Ice Classic has become the largest single gambling event in the state. It's a lottery based on when the Tanana River will start flowing during break-up. Now that the snow is mostly gone and the weather has warmed up to the 40s, everyone is out in force. RVs are again everywhere, as are motorcycles, and the spirit of getting outside is like a virus. Brandon was shoveling the last of the snow from our driveway the other day in a t-shirt and shorts.
Chloe is talking more than ever. She can say any word if she thinks about it, and understands nearly everything we tell her. She's also taken to wearing clips in her hair, and loves to show them off. Malcolm, also known as Spiderman, is much like his daddy, and loves spending time outside. Both have grown completely accustomed to the cold, and much faster than we'd expected. They're 100% Alaska kids now. Some of the photos here are from our recent second trip to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, like the San Diego Wild Animal Park of the north.
Stephanie and Brandon went house hunting again, and found what they hope to be their next home. We're not yet in escrow, so we don't want to jinx anything, but the 3 bed/2 bath house is about 1600 sq. ft. on over an acre of wooded land, at the end of its own cul-de-sac (no other houses around). In fact, standing on the property, you can only make out the silhouette of a cabin on the other side of a stand of woods, and that's it. Otherwise, it's trees and more trees, with only dense forest to the north. The kids would get their own rooms for the first time, too. And for all of you attending Tuckerfest V, the large south-facing deck and big front yard will host the best little beer festival in the Last Frontier. Wish us luck, and we'll keep you posted.
Stephanie is looking for a new position in the Mat-Su borough, where we're headed, and has already found some very promising possibilities. Brandon has started doing the same, but will stay with the state. The commute from Wasilla to Anchorage is about 45 minutes on a good day, so we'll work to find jobs closer to our new home as quickly as possible.
We miss and love you all, and hope to see many of you this summer. Take care of each other.
Our apologies it's been so long since the last entry. Malcolm and Chloe have the nerve to demand nearly all our time, as if there isn't a perfectly good couch to nap on, or books that need to be read. Alas, we've been having a great time, as you can see from the latest snapshots. Malcolm flies for Alaska Airlines in his spare time (when he's not ruling the seas as Sharkboy), and now that Chloe is walking and starting to talk, she's got more moxie than ever. We've had a couple of moose sightings on our street, which seems strange given all the traffic, houses and businesses which surround us. But the moose here are like the deer back in California. You look and point, maybe take a picture, then get back to your life. No one bothers them, and they don't seem to bother anyone in return. The photos here are taken from our front door of the mama moose in the neighbor's yard the other day. Her "baby" (all 500 pounds of him) was next door. Brandon drove past another (maybe the same adult) earlier this week eating a different neighbor's willow tree for breakfast. She had an ear tag, as we imagine most around here do.The recent heat wave brought temperatures to around 40, and threatened to cancel or delay the Iditarod for the first time in recent memory. Without snow, it's kind of tough to hold a dog sled race. But Mother Nature intervened at the last minute, and all went well. Also, Brandon recently received a promotion, rocketing up the beaureacratic ladder from Administrative Assistant II to III. Not a big deal, but more money is always appreciated.We've also begun the search for our new house in the Matanuska-Susitna ("Mat-Su") area just north of Anchorage. We'll be moving in July.Finally, we're slowly nearing our annual celebration of friends, fun and the art of craft brewing, Tuckerfest. This is TFest's fifth year, and it's sure to be special. A few Lower 48ers are even set to join us, including Ryan and Heather, and "Chilkoot" Chris Lundahl. We'd love to have the usual suspects come toast to life's pleasures with us, so please consider making the trip this August. Alaska promises to be a stunning backdrop to this annual institution.It's a bright, sunny day today, with temps hovering around 10. Perfect for ice skating. Take care everyone!
