Flashback: Denali Camping

I wasn't able to do anything on here this summer, but I would still like to share some of the pix from things we did. It was a really insane summer! I guess I should have started with our trip home in April and May,, but I just resized the pix for this camping trip, so thats the one you're getting first. Put on your big girl panties and deal with it. ;-)
This was our first camp of the season and it was a blast. We had the rare treat of seeing a mama brown bear and two cubs by the Savage River Bridge. Its not often that you get to see brown bears this close to the park entrance. We saw some moose and a few caribou and that was about it for this trip. Ask Jerry about the camp robber (may he rest in peace).



Baby Moose


Can you find the bears??


My Mattster


I love this pic of Jer!


Coffee is ALWAYS on...


Somethin's really funny!!


..she finally caught him!!


Stevo expounds on the technical efficiencies of the coffee pot. (He never shuts up.)


My best bud, Dani :-)



"He alternated between two expressions: thoughtful...


...and bemused" :-) (Pat McManus!!)


My favorite pic!


Miss Addy


They live on marshmallows....


...the goofy twins...

1/25th SBCT Deployment '08/'09

Steve left for Iraq a month ago and will be gone a year. He is at FOB Normandy. Please pray for him, his safety and well-being, that the time will go quickly, and for all our troops in the Middle East. Thankyou!

My soldier

I love this pic of Sergeant First Class Miller :-) and wanted to share it with you guys! It was taken a few days ago in the Mojave Desert, California. Everyone please pray that his return flight date gets moved up,, we really need him here to get ready for the wedding and family coming,,,and he sorta would like to come home, and I MISS HIM!! :-D

Ok Ok!

I knew this summer would be insane, but if really would have had any idea I would have jumped out of the plane on the way home from Michigan. :-) My sincerest apologies to everyone who checks this regularly and is sick and tired of seeing me holding a gun. Kaitlin,, thankyou lovey for that gentle reminder. I haven't seen any recent updates in yours, so I dont' want to hear it! :-)

Here's my favorite pic from vacation.. hopefully I can get more of these up soon.

Steve is in Cali for the month,, at Fort Irwin for NTC (training for the brigades upcoming deployment to Iraq) Please keep him in your prayers as he is having trouble getting internet connections and time in which to do his actual job. Also, its pretty dang hot there, this time of year, up to 125F. Fort Irwin is located in the Mojave Desert. It was out last duty station before PCSing to Alaska.

Huns with guns

We're baaack!! We've finally returned from our looong trip home and we are determined to have fun this summer,, even though its going to one crazy season!! So if you're thinking about getting in our way,, think again!! We are BAD to the BONE! (Scared, aren't ya?! :-D )

Some much-loved Hoosiers visit....

It was so awesome to get to spend some time with the Sankeys a couple weeks ago. They came up for IHC services at our church here--North Pole Missionary Chapel. It was a little surreal to see and hear that familiar face and voice preaching, but in a log church in the far north instead of home in Indiana! :-) The school kids really enjoyed the special morning services,, especially the Dove chocolates! ha

We even got to share some Doritoes, cottage cheese and Pepsi. (all requisite Sankey lunch items). Mom was very happy to see them,, she is the oldest living member of FMC, where they have pastored for many many moons. Stephen was only two last time we were home, so he didn't really remember much, but they made fast friends and he even convinced Papaw to try a little Wii batting practice,,,I'll never forgive myself for not capturing that illustrious moment on film,, but we won't forget it regardless... :-D

Lyssa learns to fly

I'm not sure why this is so funny, but we have watched it over and over and just howled.

The kids found this little slope behind the big hill we usually go on. Its shorter, but MUCH steeper and has the little bank at the bottom that shoots them up in the air and they land in the road on the other side. Danielle tried it but she didn't look quite as graceful. :-D

Winter Ball

Alright, alright,, here's the pics of Lord and Lady Dinglethorpe before the 3-21 1/25 SBCT 2008 Winter Ball. These things are SO not me. Can you see my excited face? NOT :-)

More celebrating...

Friday, Kate celebrated some more with a sleepover with 5 of her friends. They are a great bunch of girls! They had a blast and even included the little sis and two little brothers in the fun.
The next day we followed up with sledding over on the flood dike with some more friends and then cake and ice cream back at the house. I think at one point we had 16 kids in the house!

The sleepover crew:

After sledding:

Kate's "big bro", Thomas, with Stephen


Her other big brother, Daron

Ok, this sled is SCARY fast!!!

Kaitlin turns 15!

15 years ago we were holding our first baby, a dark-haired chubby little princess, Kaitlin Rachelle. She was 8 lbs of cuteness!! She's still cute, but a little taller now, kind of blond, and not chubby at all! :-) This year she chose Chili's for her birthday supper. She got her new camera there, (pink, of course) and we had fun! Stephen slept thru dinner and was NOT happy when he woke up in the car, going home! ha

How to tell if you are a Democrat, Republican or Southerner:

Are you a DEMOCRAT, a REPUBLICAN, or aSOUTHERNER?
Here is a little test that will help you decide. The answer can be fond by posing the following question:

You're walking down a deserted streetwith your wife and two small children. Suddenly, an Islamic terroristwith a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you. You are carrying a Kimber 1911 cal. 45 ACP, and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family.
What do you do?

THINK CAREFULLY NOW!




---------------------------------------------------
DEMOCRAT'S Answer:
Well, that's not enough information to answer the question! Does the man look poor or oppressed? Have I ever done any thing to him that would inspire him to attack? Could we runaway? What does my wife think? What about the kids? Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?"? What does the law say about this situation? Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it? Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children? Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me? Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me? If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?Should I call 9-1-1? Why is this street so deserted? We need to raise taxes, have paint and weed day and make this a happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior. This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for few days and try to come to a consensus.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
REPUBLICAN'S Answer:
BANG!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUTHERNER'S Answer:
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!BANG! BANG! Click.
what ??....
(Sounds of reloading)
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!BANG! BANG! BANG! Click
Daughter: "Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips or Hollow Points?"
Son: "Can I shoot the next one?"
Wife: "You ain't taking THAT to the Taxidermist

Indoor Picnic!

It was so warm last week that it put us in the mood for a picnic! It actually got into the 40s, which is really weird for Alaska in February, but thats still a tad chilly to be eating outside, so we opted for an indoor picnic. Daddy grilled hotdogs for us, and we found a campfire, a tree and a blanket. Mommaw always has a stash of cookies, so she brought dessert. It was lots of fun,, but I can't wait for a REAL one at Spring Mill in a couple months!!!

We even saw some "wildlife".. a panther crouched above us:

A big brown bear tried to steal some treats:

We even had a visit from a rare and unusual species,,Pam Walker!!

When moose fly....

The following article is from our local newpaper "The Fairbanks Newsminer".

Falling moose nearly smashes Alaska State Trooper car

ANCHORAGE — Alaska State Troopers see plenty of hazards, but Trooper Howard Peterson was nearly felled by a new one: a falling moose.
Peterson was driving Feb. 2 on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage when something big and black fell out of the sky about 20 feet in front of his patrol car.
“Falling rock!” he thought, ready to steer clear if it bounced onto the highway.
The thing didn’t roll or shatter. It turned out to be a moose that fell from cliffs next to the highway.
Drivers often see Dall sheep on the cliffs but rarely moose. Peterson estimates the animal fell 150 feet or more.
It was windy that night, Peterson said, and a gust may have startled the moose into a fatal fall.
“They occasionally have bad days like the rest of us,” wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott said. “They slip and fall. Maybe he was reaching for a branch and the snow just gave way.”
Sinnott has heard or moose dying in strange ways — breaking through ice and drowning, jumping off railroad bridges at the sound of a train, falling off small banks. Once he saw the remains of two bulls that died during a rutting battle when their antlers got hooked together by a single piece of barbed wire.
A fall off a cliff probably doesn’t happen often, he said.
Peterson treated the dead animal the same way he handles moose killed by cars. After snapping photos, Peterson called one of the charities that salvage road kill

*******************************************


Ok, can you imagine the troopers view of this?? You all are most likely aware of my general thoughts and feelings on wildlife (Can I hear a big "CROCS RULE" :-) ...you just hush Andrew!) but I have to say my sympathy for the moose is really being threatened by the humor in the mental pictures that fly unbidden to my brain! :-D


Note the surmisings of the wildlife biologist: "Maybe he was reaching for a branch and the snow just gave way."


Really?


.....or maybe he was playing truth or dare with all the other teenage moose and he made a really bad decision to go with "dare"!



....or MAYBE he was just a really stupid moose. HERE'S YOUR SIGN!!! :-D






(Seriously,, have you ever seen an intelligent looking moose?? I'm just sayin'....!!) :-D

Superbowl: Football, food, fellowship

I'm really late with this post, but still wanted to share the pix. After church last sunday, we gathered at Mark Walkers house for some Superbowl fun. We had a blast! All three Walker brothers and families were there, plus Sniders and us and two other couples that I don't know well,,,a total of (I think) 32 people! The food was AMAZING and enough for twice as many people! For those that just didn't get the fascination with football :-) there was a game group in the dining room. We played Apples to Apples and Trivial Pursuit. Playing Trivial Pursuit with Alisa and Pam is pretty much pointless for everyone else, but we still had fun. Deb has two litters of Dachshund puppies that were about 4 weeks old at that point and they were quite popular as well!

Michael Walker, Pam Walker, Kaitlin Miller and Brian Walker invade the food line!

Steve, Pam and Kaitlin
Steve and Mark Walker itching for the game to start

Dr. Enlow and Pat WalkerOur best buds, Jerry and Danyielle Snider

Alyssa and her best friend, Mikayla Walker (Mark and Deb's youngest daughter)

Pam Walker,, this is Jonathan's girlfriend (Steve's brother) Yes, she is just as sweet as she looks and then some! :-D

Stevo making a VERY serious food decision

Part of the football fans..

...and part of the games crowd

Me and the biggest puppy,, he is a whopper! lol

Stephen and Sage loving a puppyAwwww!!Nothin' better than puppy kisses! :-)