The Adventures of Liz & Austin

December 2008...It's a girl!

2008-12-30T11:32:00.005-09:00

We are so excited about the newest member of our family...Masha! She is an Alaskan husky mix of some sort or another, and just as smart as she is cute. She's 2 1/2 months old now, and growing fast. These photos were taken the day after we brought her home. Tonka's pretty happy to have a new friend (even though he thinks she's kind of a pain), but the cats are still reserving judgment!

Summer 2008

2008-12-30T11:32:00.001-09:00

To be filled

April 2008 - One Last Snowfall

2008-11-28T13:37:00.007-09:00

Who would have thought of snowstorms on April 26th?!? We'd already gone through "spring break-up," where the roads melt enough that we can see things like parking lot lines. The weatherman called for 2-3 inches of snow, but we think he misspoke....it was 2-3 feet!

We slowly lost Tonka in the backyard...

Going...

...going......

...gone!

April 13, 2008: Farewell to a Friend

2008-04-13T09:51:00.008-08:00

Ribeye Elliott (October 1997 - April 2008)

I loved my friend,
He went away from me,
There's nothing more to say.
This poem ends, soft as it began,
I loved my friend.

March 1, 2008 - Iditarod!

2008-03-01T15:00:00.011-09:00

Today was the ceremonial start for Iditarod 36 in downtown Anchorage. I braved the crowds to see the pups, but it was the cold that quickly got the better of me! It's been warm for the past week or so (low 30's), but this morning it was twelve degrees and I had to give up after about the first six teams passed by. You can click the photos to see more on our Picasa site, but here are a few pics from the starting line.

Only twelve degrees...Fahrenheit!

February 16, 2008 - Skijorring

2008-02-16T12:22:00.008-09:00

These are some photos from our last skijoring trip. We took the dogs down to Mt. Alyeska where they have a large open field groomed for cross-country skiing. It was absolutely FREEZING, but we had a good time. The last time we were there, it was pouring down snow, so it was nice to have a view of the mountains this time around. Ribeye refuses to wear his booties, so he was especially ready to go home at the end, but in the meantime he's a great sport about pulling me around in that harness!

January 3, 2008

2008-01-03T11:48:00.000-09:00

Happy New Year! We enjoyed a white Christmas in Anchorage, despite a very late start to the winter season. For a while, I was afraid the "white" in our Christmas would be composed entirely of hoarfrost, but the snow finally came to stay and is building up slowly. We can finally use our new X-Country skis at the local parks, although it's not quite deep enough yet for the trails to be well-groomed. I blame it on global warming.......

The fruit tree in our front yard is apparently a great Moose-Magnet, and we had a furry visitor again today. This time, we were able to grab the good camera and get some better shots of him -- a young bull this time. The photo here links to our web album which has some additional shots of the little cutie!

December 20, 2007

2007-12-20T15:26:00.000-09:00

Our church performed its Christmas pageant this past Sunday. I played the piano for some of the songs, and generally managed the "musical side" of the whole affair. These are some photos of the kids from their dress rehearsal.

December 5, 2007

2007-12-05T18:05:00.000-09:00

Well, here she is......I took these pictures of Miss Moosie about a month ago, and we finally figured out how to extract some of the photos off my cell phone. Unfortunately, that's all I had on me at the time, when I pulled out of the driveway and saw her in our side yard. It would have been great to run back in and capture her with the good camera, but then I would've been late for class....

December 1, 2007

2007-12-01T21:41:00.000-09:00

Until the cold weather hit, we were getting lots of visitors to our yard, such as the little squirrel and nuthatch I've posted here. I've become thoroughly convinced now that a birdfeeder is absolutely worth what little trouble they take to maintain. The variety of critters they bring to your yard is amazing, and a great opportunity to learn about the local wildlife in every new place we live! Of course, the bigger critters aren't generally attracted by a feeder....in fact, the one that visited our house was much more interested in the trees in the front yard. We're working on uploading her picture to the site, but all I had on me at the time was my cellphone camera, and they take terrible photos (and they're not so good at transferring those photos either!). Stay tuned though.....

September 25, 2007

2007-09-25T09:05:00.000-08:00

Finally got some more photos uploaded and edited. This a great shot of me, showing off my "prize" bluegill!

It's been busy the past few months, with moving into the new house and going back to school full time. I'm finishing up my prerequisites for Vet School (just in case I actually get into one), but picking up a BS in Biochemistry at the same time (just in case I don't). Austin stays busy with meetings on topics ranging from Wounded-Warrior Transportation to Influenza Epidemics. He's been selected for Lt. Colonel (yay!), so now we're just waiting to see when the actual promotion list comes out (hopefully, later this year).

These photos are from our trip across country from NC to AK, including a photo before we left with all my friends in the Holy Trinity Episcopal choir. These photos also link to the full album, so click on any one of them to see more!

Garrett and McKenna

Austin Fishing at the Lake

The Holy Trinity Episcopal Choir

August 21, 2007

2007-08-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

The setting is Anchorage, AK as our life begins anew. Just a few short months ago we were living in Fayetteville, NC and now, here we are. For all the frustrations that go along with military life, there is nevertheless the opportunity to travel! Last weekend we took a day-cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park and these are the pictures we brought back. In addition to the glaciers, we were able to see orcas, puffins, salmon, a bald eagle, murres, harbor seals, Stellar sea lions, and on the way back home...belugas! To link to the full album, just click on any photo.