November in Alaska

The seafood here... amazing. Nothing like picking up your own king crab legs, so much cheaper than at a restaurant and just as tasty.


The first snowflakes fell back in September, but we didn't see anymore until the end of October when it snowed just in time for the first of November. We were at our ward's Trunk-or-Treat when the snow started falling. Since Halloween was on Sunday, they made it a tri-ward Trunk-or-Treat so the kids could get plenty of candy. The chili and cornbread were perfect with the snow. Oakley was a monkey (thanks to a nice fleece costume from Old Navy that kept her toasty) and Brighton was a lady bug... and angry lady bug. She cried the entire time I passed out candy. The parking lot was so icy, kids were slipping and sliding all over the place. On Halloween, not many kids were out. Lots of them weren't wearing costumes, just winter coats, not that you'd blame them with all that snow and cold. After that, it snowed for a week straight. Temperatures in the teens and single digits were common, but really the weather was all over the place. We even got a huge warm up where temperatures reached 40. It was truly awful.

First, we got three days of freezing rain. The atmosphere was warmer than the ground, so it came down in liquid form and froze on contact. The result was inches and inches of smooth, solid ice covering the roads and creating quite a mess. You couldn't even walk across the parking lot without cleats. In one spot of the highway, a pickup truck got into an accident with a sanding truck. Then, a semi came along and slid off the road, right into them. An ambulance showed up at the scene and slid off the road in the exact same spot. They shut the road down after the firetruck slid off as well. They don't cancel school for snow, but they actually canceled it twice that week because people just couldn't stay on the road.

Next, the 40 degree weather melted the top layer of everything. (There was way too much snow on the ground for it all to melt off). Then, it got cold again and it froze ice rink smooth. The neighborhood kids broke out their skates and had a blast ice skating in the streets. Our driveway has just the slightest incline, but it took Dan three tries to get up it one day after work in the little car. I took the girls out for a walk and slid all the way down the driveway with the stroller. Thank goodness my cleats were in the stroller, I never would have made it back up without them. I strapped on these bad boys and we enjoyed a great walk in the warm weather:



They double as self-defense. So convenient too. Just stretch them over whatever shoes you're wearing and go. Those metal spikes will grip anything. Kind of like chains for your tires, only for your shoes. Definitely a necessity here, I've discovered.

Every person in southcentral AK was desperately praying for some snow to cover all that treacherous ice. It finally came... for Thanksgiving!

Dan got a four day weekend for Thanksgiving, and it was the most relaxing holiday with kids ever. We woke up to snow falling, turned on some football and the kids played while I cooked. Thanks to the fabulous idea of the open floor plan, I was able to cook, watch the games and be with my family all at the same time. After the girls napped, we ate dinner with one of Dan's co-residents and his family. The kids played so well together we hardly saw them. Brighton slept. And we were left to enjoy the evening with Jeff and Olga. By the end of the day there was a good six inches of snow on the ground. (Which, of course, no one here blinks an eye at.) Driving home, everything was silent, still and beautiful. At home, Oakley ran straight to bed and fell instantly to sleep. The end. I couldn't believe it. Nothing like a perfect Thanksgiving Day to make you even more grateful for all the blessings in your life.