Thawing in Alaska: Sept 2014

This month we are getting back to a routine. Mary Ann came to visit in early September and everyone is settling into school and after school activities.

As winter is approaching I'd like to take a moment and reflect on the road conditions in Alaska... When we first moved up in Feb, you couldn't see the roads from all the snow cover. Essentially, you drive on what you think is your side of the street/road. When the snow melts, most of the lines are non-existent, so you continue to drive on "your" side of the street or road. Road work begins as soon as the snow melts. The studded tires really wear the roads out fast. With it being light most of the time, they work late hours. Then mid summer lines start to appear on the roads. This is an example of the lines painted on my street..

I don't know about you, but driving down a straight road with wavy lines is always how I like to drive. The funniest part of it is the really big curve toward the end... So, as winter approaches and the lines will no longer be visible soon, I thought I'd share.

Speaking of winter coming, two things locals say about the snow. When the fireweed plant dies it's 6 weeks till winter/snow and when the snow is half way down the mountains, snow on the ground in 2 weeks. I guess it's like ground hog's day with these predictions, but I'll take them. Here is what a fireweed plant looks like. Super pretty in the summer, but a MESS in the winter. When they die off, they make this white seed stuff that flies EVERYWHERE! They started dying off late Aug/early Sept, so winter is soon....

Here are some fun things we did when Mary Ann was in town.

Face painting at the State Fair!

Rides at the Fair

Cream Puff at the Fair

Largest Veggies Grown! I've never seen veggies this big!

Jenna had a field trip, so we got to go too!

One of my neighbors has a firepit, so we made smores!

If you remember from last month, I turned 40. Well, so did my best friend early this summer. We try to take a girls trip every year, so we decided to go to Vancouver, BC to celebrate our milestone Bday. She doesn't like to be in pictures, so I'm being nice and just posting a few picts from the city :) We loved Vancouver! The city was awesome. So much to see and do. I definitely recommend it. We did the Vancouver Foodie Tour the first day. Great! They have several options, food trucks, restaurants, or the public market. We did the restaurant tour and sampled all the best places to eat! Yum!