A Few More Christmas-Related Pictures

This picture is from about two weeks before Christmas in the hospital lobby. This is Jaycie's first "Santa experience." As you can see, it didn't go very well. As expected, she didn't like the large stranger in the overpowering red suit. Oh well, maybe next year.

Jaycie watching her new Elmo DVD with her two sled doggies that she got for Christmas. She is kind of outgrowing her bouncy seat, but she is used to lounging in it while she watches movies.

Christmas morning. You might not be abel to tell, but it is snowing pretty hard outside. it continued all day. By the next day, I had about 10" of new snow to shovel. Thank goodness it was so cold. The snow was a nice, light powder.

By the way, the farthest house on the right (through the window) is where I saw the black bear last August. He was sniffing around their flower bed (probably looking for berries).

We are all finally feeling a little bit better from our Christmas sicknesses.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas treated us well this year. Even though we were away from family, we sure enjoyed the special day with our little family. Unfortunately, we were all sick together. Me and Shannon have sinus infections (got antibiotics the day after Christmas) and Jaycie got pink eye (thankfully, a vey mild case).

Aside from the sicknesses, Christmas morning was magical for one little girl. Jaycie is now just starting to understand the gift opening part and Daddy has been trying to instill the Santa tradition with her. She had fun and we had fun taking pictures, filming and laughing with her as she opened her gifts from eveyone. Here are some of the pictures. She was very excited and very cute with her gifts. It snowed all day on Christmas and there was 10 inches to shovel by the next morning.

Thank you all for the gifts and cards. We missed you all, but you wouldn't have wanted us around you all (we pretty much were the walking dead with our sicknesses). And I am glad we weren't stuck in the Seattle airport on our way down.

Well, we hope you all had a fun Christmas as well! See you all in January when I come down for my business meeting on the 16th.

We Have Felt our First Sub Zero Days

It has been COOOLLLDD!! We have had a few days in sub zero temps when I have gotten up to go to work in the early morning hours. Anchorage temps are a little more mild than in Eagle River. Eagle River, being inland from the coast a few more miles than Anchorage is about 3-5 degrees colder. I actually made the mistake to wash our car when it was only about 10 degrees. The water almost instantly froze when it hit the car. I went to one of those car washes that you pull your car into an enclosed port and use the high-powered jet gun. I guess it was just too cold, even with the water being hot coming out of the jet.

We are making the most of it, however. We had a warmer day a while ago, that we took advantage of. We took Jaycie sledding for her first time. There is a gentle sloped hill just behind our house that is perfect for little ones. Jaycie had a great time. So did Mom and Dad. We can't wait to go again, but we need it to be at least 25 degrees.

We are also planning on going to the local ski resort. We have some neighbors that are going to swap babysitting duties with us so we can both have some ski and snowboarding outings. As you can imagine we are looking forwarding to getting out on the slopes.

Photos from our Thanksgiving Trip Home

Jaycie sure had fun with Sunny. Sunny was a good sport and tolerated her rough housing.

We enjoyed our trips to the zoo with Nathan and Amy. Jaycie loves playgrounds now.

Shannon made sure Jaycie saw her favorite animals, bears.

More fun with Sunny.

Most of all we enjoyed being with family and being somewhere sunny and snowless! What a great break.

Halloween Pictures (Finally)

When we were home visiting family, it occured to us that we hadn't shown anyone any pictures of Jaycie in her costume. So, we wanted to post them for everyone to see. She was a kitty this year. The costume made good sense due to the fac that it was relatively warm and we could layer some clothes under it. So, she kind of looks like Randy on the Christmas Story. She is very well bundled up and looks like a well-fed kitty cat.

Jaycie dressed and ready for her first trick-or-treating adventure (we just went to a few houses around our neighbrhood).

We then went to the Trunk-or-Treat that the ward organized. As you can see, I am trying to keep her hands warm (it was probably 30 degrees). Her cheeks ended up getting a little rosie. however, she threw a tantrum when we left, so we knew she had a good time.

Jaycie organizing her stash of goodies that she brought in that night. She wasn't interested in eating them, just organizing them into piles. She especially liked organizing the suckers.

A Few New Words to the Repertoire...

Jaycie has been saying a few new words and phrases lately and we wanted to share them with you. She can say, what's that, uh-oh, bear, and num-num. She for some reason has decided to no longer say a few words as well. She doesn't say doggie anymore, but she will say woof, woof when she sees a doggie. She also hasn't said drink, kittie or horsey for a while. We are not sure why. Maybe she thinks that I have said it before so why repeat it?

Anyway, we are excited to see you all in two short weeks!!

Doing a Little Catch Up.

As you know, I haven't been very diligent in keeping up-to-date with how we are doing. So, the next few posts are over the past month or so, but all posted today. First of all, we are ecstatic about the fact that we finally caught a break on airline ticket prices and we are coming home for Thanksgiving. It will be so nice to spend time with our families again. I am sure that Jaycie will remember you all as we have been away for only five months. I will have to pull out a family picture and help her memory before we come down for our visit.

My job is going well. I have been given some hefty projects and am happy to be getting busy. The first few months have been orienting myself with the various departments and staff members. I hope to be getting more duties soon (I don't want to stagnate). I guess I am still young and wanting to prove myself (maybe I should know better?).

Shannon is doing great as well. She has become good friends with some of our neighbors and had some chances to do some fun stuff with some other moms in the area (hiking, swimming, museum trips, etc.). We have also been able to have some interesting date nights. The hospital sponsors the symphony here in Anchorage, so we got free tickets to see the cultural symphony. It started as a traditional symphony, then incorporated some local cultural performers at the end. We saw native american dancers, hawaiian dancers, eskimo dancers, etc. all dance to their native music. It was pretty awesome. Tomorrow night we are going to a Boy Scouts of America silent and live auction dinner (usually a pretty posh event, also sponsored by the hospital). Maybe Sarah will be there?

I have still been doing some hiking/hunting, it is a little tougher now that the morning mountain temps are in the teens. I have mostly been looking for grouse and snowshoe hares. I haven't had a lot of success, but seen a lot of moose. I am still learning the areas, but can't wait until next year and hope to try my luck at moose and caribou hunting and maybe even a bear hunt. We will see.

For Halloween , we are planning on going to the ward trunk-or-treat event and going to just a few houses in our neighborhood (bundled up, of course).

Jaycie is growing like a weed. She has now four upper teeth and two lower. One really noticable change is her hair is growing quickly. It is at the stage where we don't know what to do with it. She is now walking like a pro and exploring new ways to play with her toys. Her new thing is to take all her soft toys (stuffed animals, dolls, etc.) and put them in a pile then, one or two at a time, move them to another area of the house and put them in another pile. She will even lay on the pile sometimes. Here are some pics...

Here Comes Winter (Earlier than My Body is Used to)

We started getting some freezing temps the first week of October and snow by the 6th. Here are some cool pics of the heavy frosts we got just prior to the first snow storm...

I guess the ground was just warm enough that the frost didn't reach the ground, just the tips of the branches. Makes for a cools scene.

Fun in the Leaves

These photos are from about a month ago. Just in the nick of time, we raked our leaves in the backyard before the cold snap hit us and has since never left us (probably won't until May). Of course, we let Jaycie experience for the first time playing in the leaves. She had a ball!

Spruce Grouse

This is mainly for all the Moon boys. Me and Tyler, my neighbor went our Saturday to try to find some grouse. After a nice hike in the pristine Alaska forest, we found one. Tyler was gracious enough to let me shoot it, because I had never shot this kind of species of grouse before. Here are some pictures showing its coloration and distinct differences from Utah ruffed and blue grouse species:

Happy hunter with the grouse. It was a male, so it has some cool markings...

Notice the tale has no bars, but has a cool golden band across the tips of the tail feathers.

The feet have a lot of extra feathers. This makes it easier to walk on top of the snow. Almost like wearing snowshoes (weight displacement).

The grouse also had a bright red "eye comb" above its eyes (not pictured).

Thought I'd also throw this pic in for the Moon boys. This is the grayling I caught in the beautiful waters of "Ling Lake II" a few weeks back. Tyler was able to get me a copy (he took this picture on his camera). If this fish was just two inches or bigger, I would have gotten it mounted. It was a striking dark iridescent color. I caught him on a Uintah-type fly on my second cast.

Needless to say, I am going to be sure to head back up to our grouse spot more this year. I am anxious for the snow to fly so I can walk the logging roads and try to cut their tracks. Alaska also has ruffed grouse, but not very many. Most ruffed grouse stick to the aspens, which almost every place I have been hiking so far are birch and spruce forests. Hence, spruce grouse.

A Busy Little Girl

Kinda funny story...Shannon was watching Jaycie while she was getting a few things done around the house and decided to leave her unattended in her room (harmless, right?). After just a few minutes, Shannon came back into Jaycie's room to check up on her and found this...

Jaycie had effectively dismantled just about everything within the grasp of her little hands. Who can blame her? She is just a little explorer/scientist at this age. At least there wasn't any permanent damage.

Apparently, she was excited to have located her Johnson's Baby Shampoo.

First Steps

Jaycie took her first steps this past week! Previously, she had been standing up by herself as well as using her walker unassisted. She has now started to put "2 and 2 together" and will now stand up, and with some coaxing from Daddy or Mommy, walk a few steps at a time to us before falling down onto our legs or into our arms. It has been fun to see her progress.

She has also added a few more words to her vocab. She says "eez" for cheese and "deen" for drink. She also blew us away the other night by saying Jesus (in perfect pronunciation) when I pointed at our Greg Olsen painting in the family room and asked her "who is that?" This stems from a lot of time spent in the hallway at church with Daddy looking at pictures. She now gets fussy at church when she can't crawl whenever or wherever she wants, so I take her out in the hall during these fussy moments. To make the most of the time, I have been showing her pictures of Jesus and asking her "who is that?" Then I will say, "Jesus". I guess she has picked up on that.


Jaycie with her walker. She goes all over the house with this.

...All over the house
She, as many babies do at this age (so I've heard) goes through everything and pulls things out of cabinets and drawers. One of her favorite places to do this is in the kitchen with pots and tupperware.

Yellow and White...Hatcher's Pass Trail

Once we saw that the leaves were starting to peak, we decided to take a road trip up and over Hatcher's Pass. This road leads over some mountains near Palmer, AK. There was some gold panning and mining activity here in the gold rush years awhile ago. In fact, there is a mining museum on the mountain, but was closed for the season. Here are some pictures of the fall colors and the snow we hit at the top of the pass...




A lot of yellow. Almost all of the trees in Alaska are birch, which turn yellow. It looks really cool with the contrasting dark green pines.


Shannon and Jaycie in the snow. Jaycie was so cute...I picked up some snow in my hand and she was anxious to feel this new substance. She found out quickly that it was cold and was hesitant to touch it again.

Neat picture of the other side of the pass as the road proceeds down into the town of Willow, AK. We saw a lot of moose hunters on this side of the mountain, but no moose. Must all be hiding where the lazy hunters aren't willing to hike.

This picture shows where Fireweed gets its name. It is a beautiful green plant with vibrant purple flowers in the Spring, but turns bright red in the fall.

Daddy's new wheels. We almost had to put it into 4-wheel drive up over the top in the snow, but we weren't that lucky.

Fall In September

I hope my family in Utah is enjoying the nice mild temps because we are fully experiencing fall right now. It is a big adjustment for me to see cooler temps, rain and autumn leaves in early September. The birch trees are turning bright yellow and the tundra brush on the mountains above timberline is bright red. Next to the dark green evergreen trees it paints quite an awesome picture.

Jaycie started to stand by herself unsupported and even took her first steps last night. Shannon and I were sitting on the family room floor playing with Jaycie. Jaycie likes to push herself to a standing position using our legs or shoulders and then balance in a standing position for as long as she can. We decied to let her stand and balance between us and then we would scoot a foot or two away thus, prompting her to take a step or two towards us to then resupport herself on our legs or shoulders. It worked! At least twice she took a step or two toward us. She was smiling the whole way. I think she was proud of herself.

Shannon has also taught Jaycie to feed herself banana's with her spoon. Shannon will put Jaycie's spoon in her hand and help her get some banana on it and then Jaycie will put the spoon in her mouth all be herself. I got some good video of it. I will have to see if I can post it on the blog. Not being very technically savvy, I may have some trouble, but we will see.

More Family Fun, and You Guessed it, More Fishing!

We were very fortunate to have two sets of family visitors the first summer we have been in Alaska. Besides the fact that we got to be with the people we love, the highlights of the visits (at least for me) was fishing with family (sorry for all those who don't fish, as there are still more fishing pictures to share with you).


Me with my biggest Sockeye (Red Salmon). Our Mahay's guide, Rhett showed us how to "floss" them as the reds don't typically bite once they start up the rivers to spawn.

Me, Dad and another guy that was part of our guide group awaiting a lesson from Rhett on how to "floss" reds. In other words, how to get the fishing line to drift into the fish's mouths so when you set the hook, it hooks their mouths. By regulation, you can only keep fish that have been hooked in the mouth. The beautiful glacier fed Talkeetna River in the background.

Nice set of black bear tracks lining the gravel bar where we fished. Good thing he had already passed through long before we arrived. We also saw a few bald eagles along the river, as well as more bear tracks.

My first silver of the day, caught on salmon eggs ("roe") two feet from the boat.

Dad with Rhett, our guide. he reminds me of a Jeremiah Johnson in training - the guide, not Dad.

Well, I hate to disappoint, but this may be the last batch of fishing pictures until next season, unless I can sneak away and do some ice fishing.

Pictures of Jaycie

Just wanted to include some newer pictures of Jaycie. She has been a lot of fun. She is now starting to pull herself up to standing position and then letting go and balancing for a few seconds. She has also been throwing a ball back and forth with me (Daddy). She is developing quite an arm. She aslo has learned to say "ball" and says it often. We went to the Alaska State Fair last Saturday and while we were there, Jaycie kept saying ball. I couldn't figure it out because I didn't see any balls. After a while, Shannon figured out that she was calling some balloons, ball. What a fun, innocent little mind.

A little helper helping Shannon with the dishes

A cute picture of Jaycie with her jungle animals

Jaycie wrapping Mommy's sweatshirt around her. For some reason, she likes things wrapped around the back of her neck. She is also slowly getting longer hair now, as you can see