Quick update:
Jan 1, we found out that our landlords had a nanny coming in (I have no idea why thy need a goat), and so we had to find someplace else to live. Thankfully, they gave us a good recomendation to their friend and we were hooked up with a small house on a couple acres here in North Pole about a 3 weeks after starting to look. We will be moving out next weekend. We’re looking forward to a house instead of a duplex, but not looking forward to the move.

Now, on to other things…
This past weekend Denise and I got away for our pre-anniversary weekend away. Thanks to Chris and Jeannie, our friends that no nothing about where babies come from, for watching Anthony!

Chena Hot Springs is a “resort” area about 55 miles from Fairbanks. (see their page here). It is a big tourist attraction for the Japanese and will be booked for the next month with tourists from Japan.

The resort has about 400 acres for hiking, snow machining, horseback riding, etc, and they also have the outdoor hot springs, an outdoor hot tub, and indoor pool and two indoor hot tubs. The buildings are reminiscent of the ’50s and do not remind you of the big city… However, it was a great time just to get away.

We stopped and ate at The Silver Gulch on the way out of town, near Fox. It was featured on Diner’s, Drive-ins, and Dives back around Christmas time. Main course was good, but I have yet to get a hot serving of mashed potatoes in a restaurant up here.

We got to Chena Hot Springs about 7:30, checked in and headed to the springs. It was about 8:30pm and -30* out. The 75′ walk on ice/snow in swim suit and loaner flip-flops is something i will not soon forget. The hot springs are actually a big pond that is about 4′ deep at the deepest points. The bottom FEELS like find sand, but I was afraid to ask for the true composite. I’m guessing the pond is about 150′ x 50′, but there were several dark coves with whispering going on and we did not venture in those…

We got back to the room and Denise found that the thermostat had been set at 90* (NOT by us). She ended up opening the door to the lobby, then our door, and waiting for the -30* breeze to cool the room down.

The one down side was the water. It ALL stunk. I expected the hot springs to smell, but they were really the best. The water out of the faucets needed a hazmat warning.

Breakfast was great. Nothing really outstanding, but good food. Coffee was borderline due to the lousy water.

After breakfast, Denise got us tickets to tour the ice museum. It’s been open continually for the last 4 years. I think it was probably 10* warmer in there than it was outside. Pictures are HERE.

It was real interesting… apparently folks rent the rooms out at times for honeymoons… I ain’t even gonna touch that one.

Well, that’s enough for now.

http://www.1cox.com/Christmas/09/

Click here.

We’ve seen what a blessing it is for Steve to be working at the hospital the last couple of weeks. He was working late on the Tuesday night I had to go to urgent care and get breathing treatments. (I think Anthony got the breathing treatments too because the little exam room was full of foggy medicine   Well, when I got out I swung by the hospital with my prescription list and Steve ran down and picked them up from me, turned them in at the pharmacy and then picked them up before he came home for work. Also, as a Banner Health Employee he gets a discount with prescriptions filled at the hospital and they put it on his account which means it comes out of his check so no up-front charges-which was a great thing because after a little problem with the truck a couple weeks ago, the list of meds I got were kinda pricy.

Yes, the truck is ok now but had to undergo an ignition change as my husband doesn’t know his own strength. Apparently the plug attached to the engine on the truck did not warm up one morning (I don’t know what happened there) and I couldn’t get the initiation to turn over one morning. So. . . Steve went out to start it for me.   Incidentally, it was the same day of my breathing treatments. Thankfully, he had a late shift that day and had the truck fixed before work. Well, he didn’t miss much work.

Lots of adjustments here like changing shoes when we get to work (I keep mine under my desk) and hat, scarf, jacket and mittens/gloves before walking out to warm the car up.    BTW-an auto start is all I want for Christmas this year and I’ve already put in a request from Santa. He lives up here you know?

It’s cold and it’s getting darker. Here is a picture of Anthony playing in the snow after school. (It’s only 4:20PM but getting dark)

We’re glad to be here though. Hope you enjoy the update. We love and miss you all,

Denise

We’ve completed the heating systems for the cars. Only thing left for winterization is new tires for Denise’s car. Probably a couple weeks out on that yet. The heating part is pretty cool – an engine block heater that takes the place of a freeze plug, an oil pan warmer and a transmission warmer, both of which are pads that are silicone’d to the respective area. The three of these go into a 3 plug extension that tied to, and hangs out of, the front of the car. They also change out the coolant and replace it with fluid good to -50. I’ve heard that if try to lower the temp resistance to more than -50, it inhibits your heaters ability to heat. I don’t like that idea.

We’ve had the cars plugged in a couple of nights now. Most folks plug them in when it will be in the single digits, however, it’s proven to be better on your rigs if you plug them in when it’s below 20, so we’ve just been plugging them in when we are in for the evening.

We had some snow yesterday or the day before. It didn’t melt, but most of it kind of blew away. It is so light and dry, that all I had to do was turn on the wiper and the snow dusted off. No streaks, no sign of moisture at all. We have a few days coming up that will be 32-35 for the high, but for the most part, we will be below freezing for the next 10-15 days. The lows look to stay above single digits, so it will stil be nice out side. I don’t know about Denise and Anthony, but i noticed a little difference when it got down below 10 – especially if I was wearing thin slacks. o_O
Snow should be falling over the next 2-3 days too. Should be a beautiful week!

Well, I think thats all the news that’s news for now. Y’all take care!

I guess some of you may already know my last bit of news but, if not, it is my delight to inform you that I’m going to be a grandma again! Jessie and Mark are expecting another baby and I couldn’t help myself; I just had to announce it.  We are so excited!

Well, better leave it there for now. Thanks for checking in on us. We love and miss you! Denise

Our family said our last good-bye’s to Grandpa Thursday. It sounds like it was a very nice time remembering him.

Here, we’ve been busier than a one armed paper hanger in a windstorm it seems…
We were at friends houses both Monday and Tuesday nights, church Wednesday night and then trying to catch up with work stuff Thursday night. Last night Anthony went on a Royal Ranger camp-out and we finished unloading a bed that our new friends at church (the associate/youth pastors Chris and Jeannie) gave us for Anthony. He’s going to love it.

This last week was also the week of the perfect storm for Denise in her looking for work. She had interviews at 3 different places and all three offered her a job and all were the same money. Benefits were the deciding factor and since I have great insurance, she took the one that seemed like the best fit with the most flexibility. She’s working her North Pole Coffee Roasting Co. as the office administrator. I can’t wait for the samples to start flowing in…

I’m enjoying work a lot, but amazed at the lack of urgency and customer service concerns. Again, I think it is the “Alaska time” thing – they are just a WHOLE lot more laid back than I’m used to.

Well, that’s it for now. More to come I’m sure….

To see some more recent pictures, click here