Winter

Tim and I, are of course, no strangers to winter weather.  Growing up in Utah we both had our fair share of winters, driving in snow, walking to school and home in the snow.  Being cold.  However, winter in Alaska is a different kind of beast!  We moved here the first time in 2003, and I never really knew what cold was until I felt the chill of a negative degree morning.  

We missed most of our first winter here.  I went back to Utah to have Rylissa while Tim was at Sheppard doing his training (how funny is that?)  We didn't end up making it back to Alaska until June.  I've lost most of my pictures thanks to a hard drive crash, but I do have a couple from our last winter in AK the first time around.  Me in front of a decent snow pile....  Just a hop skip and jump around the corner from where we're living right now!

The two kiddos testing out their very first snow suits.  (I really don't remember Corben, or Rylissa being this tiny!

Skip ahead 10ish years, and we're back.  Going on our 2nd winter since moving back.  Last year wasn't too bad.  We hit -30 once or twice, but it really was a pretty mild winter.  Not too much snow, nothing crazy.  This year though, this year has been strange.  We started out with very little snow.  In fact on our drive down to Anchorage in November, when we should be covered in snow, it was barely covering the ground!  Then we had a big snow storm just after Christmas, and then again over New Years, and it just kept snowing!

The school windows are half covered with snow!

The poor grill....

Then this happened!  HOLY COW!  The first time around we got into the -40's for 4 days in a row!  (I just looked it up, Jan 17-19 averaged at -47)  Apparently though, it hadn't hit this low in a very very very long time.  

 So what is a girl to do in such cold weather?  Get with the neighborhood ladies, strip down to your swim trunks, and sand outside in it of course!  Really though, this is one of those things that you can either do, or not do, and as one of my awesome neighbors said, "You only live once".  Chances are, I'll never live anywhere that will ever get this cold again, and now, I have an awesomely fun memory of the coldest day in Alaska in.... many years.  (One website shows the last time Eielson hit -51 was in 1999... oh, but also I must add we moved here the first time in October of 2003, and no one believes me that it was hot... well according to the same website, the record high for October in Alaska, was 71 degrees... in 2003! Click here to see the webpage)

Just a couple days later awesome neighbors got together again to turn boiling water into vapor instantly... This was fun.  I didn't throw it as far as I should have, but hey, who cares, It's still a cool shot, and again, something you can't really do unless you get to -15 or lower, so lots of fun..... Oh, and I'm standing on a frozen lake while doing this, it adds to the cool factor!

So what I'm trying to say, is while I'm no stranger to winter, no stranger to an Alaskan winter, this one has been full of firsts, and totally awesome.... however we're on something like day 6 of straight -30 and below (with a few hours here and there of -15, only to drop back down) and I'm ready for the spring to start rolling in.  We're going to have movers coming soon, and there's a lot to be done before we PCS, and goodness, I'm ready for some sunshine!