Indian River Hike

Went out to enjoy the snow today on a hike on Indian River. So beautiful that I had to post some pics. And yes that is Deuce swimming in the river. He just loves the water-no matter how cold it is!

Winter Fun

It's been nice weather here until the past few days. Our snowy weather has turned into rain and more rain. Here are a few pics from when it was nice, including when we took Deuce out onto Swan Lake when it was frozen. He really didn't know what to think about it. I also took the dogs to the beach to get that pic of snowy Mt. Edgecumbe, but I couldn't let them go down to the rocks because it was sooo icy. All of the water trapped in the rocks was frozen solid. It was really beautiful. There is nothing as beautiful as winter weather to this Texas girl!

Christmas break

We were lucky enough to go home for three weeks at Christmas this year. It was so nice being with family. We have the two cutest nieces in the world, Annalee and Kate (very soon to be joined by a third, Allyson), who kept us thoroughly entertained. At the end of our trip, MC and his brother Jim, went to Arkansas for a duck hunt. Here are a few pics from our Christmas break.

Alaskan Adventures

Some friends took us out on Sunday to recover a HUGE bear they shot the night before but couldn't move because it was too big. We had a great day. Saw the sunrise and sunset on the water. Saw orcas, humpbacks, otters and even caught an octopus on our skiff anchor. And of course the huge bear. The top pic is the recovery effort of getting the bear out of the low area it was in to a flat spot. What a day!

Back from Hawaii

Now I see why people flock from the cold to go to Hawaii! We had a fantastic time, and the weather was so nice. Just posting a few pics from our trip (more are on facebook). We did a helicopter tour (which was super turbulent and a little scary for me-of course it didn't bother MC at all), some hiking and ziplining (which was SO much fun!). I can't wait to do ziplining again! I hope we are able to go back to Kauai before we leave Alaska because it really is a perfect getaway. We only have a year and half left here though so who knows. Time really flies up here. Now that we are nice and tanned, we are ready for winter (lots of snow on the mountains already but none in town yet).

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weather here was SO nice, and MC and I were both lucky enough to have the day off. He headed out fishing, so my friend and I decided to hike Mt. Verstovia (elevation 2500). It was FANTASTIC. Hard but well worth it. AND I was actually able to get out of bed this morning. Pretty amazing since I've never attempted anything that requires that much energy! :) Here are some views from the top (kind of a panoramic view from up there). What a great way to end the summer!

End of Summer

Of course Labor Day weekend is here, which means summer is over! Boo! We have had other clues to that, mainly the days getting shorter. Right now the day length is probably normal, but I know that dark at 4pm is around the bend! The weather has also been getting yuck with a few absolutely gorgeous days sprinkled in. I took some pics on my walk this morning to show how one of these fantastic days starts out (quality is not so great b/c it's on my phone-when will I learn to always go out with a camera!. :) The other pics are of us enjoying a beautiful summer day hiking Beaver Lake/Herring Cove. A nice day here is worth the rainy ones. :) However...we know that the fall will be long so we've planned a break to HAWAII! :) It will be just what we need when it's been 30 rainy days in a row. :)