My Kind of Hunting Trip

This year Tyler got a tag to hunt any antler less moose on Lazy Mountain. That's right, it means any antlerless moose on his parents property. So that means we got to spend the weekend in Palmer, sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee, quilting and watching for moose out the window. Like I said my kind of hunting trip.

It was the most relaxed and easy "hunting trip" anyone could ask for. We drove around a bit in the evenings to look for moose down the road, but most of the time was spend looking out the windows and walking around his parents property. Moose hunting season is open for a month and so we thought we would be living out in Palmer for the month of September until Tyler got a moose. Come to find out all we needed was one weekend.

Early Sunday morning Tyler and his dad woke up and went out for a walk around the property to look for moose. Before 7am Tyler and Chris came back across the property towards the house (they were clear on the other side) and saw two moose by the barn.

Neal and I were fast asleep upstairs when I was woken up by the load sound of a rifle shot...30 seconds later my phone rang. Tyler got his moose!


Not only did he get a moose but he took it down with one shot just 4 feet in front of his parents barn. There isn't a more convenient place he could of shot it.


During the rest of the morning/afternoon, while they began processing the moose, you would overhear Tyler and his dad saying things like, "the 4-wheeler tier is flat...let's get the air compresser." or "this bone is hard to saw through...let's get the sawzall." Those are phrases and tools you would never have the luxury of using if you were out on a normal hunt in the middle of nowhere. Also, the guys would pop into the house every now and then to get a fresh cup of coffee and were glad to be able to have a hot meal and good shower after all their hard work.

This is what the processing looked like (Caution: anyone who doesn't want to see a skinned moose - don't look).


You don't see that everyday do you?

Tyler has wanted a moose for years and this is his very first. I had one happy and proud hunter/husband that day and we are all glad to finally have moose instead of caribou filling our freezer.

A Sweet Treat

If you are like me you remember how fun it was as a kid to get your very own soft serve ice cream cone. I remember getting them all the time with my mom when she was pregnant with my little sister. So, whenever I get soft serve ice cream I think of being a kid and of my family.

Neal had his first, and definitely not his last, soft serve ice cream cone yesterday on the way out to Palmer. He thought the ice cream portion of it was great and then we showed him that he could also eat the cone and his eyes light up with delight.


No surprise that he LOVED it! Good thing we got him his own cone 'cause he was not interested in sharing.

A Rainy Day

It is pouring outside today so Neal and I are staying indoors...


Enjoying coffee, a day in our PJ's and watching the rain from the window.

Our Little Book Worm

Ever since he was a baby Neal has loved to read books. I have come into the room many times to find him sitting down with one of his books "reading" to himself. However, the minute you walk into the room he picks up the book and runs over and asked you to read to him.



I have gone to the store many times this past year to buy new books 'cause I was getting a little tired of reading the same ones over and over again. These are just a few of his favorites - and once you start reading you can expect to read no less then 3 books in one sitting, if not more.


I have to say one of my favorite times with Neal is cuddeling up together with a good book. I think we will be making lots of trips to the library this winter.

AK Zoo

It was a beautiful day on Friday so we decided to take a family trip to the AK Zoo.


This was the first time I have been to the AK Zoo and it was a lot of fun. Neal loved seeing all the animals and getting to walk all around. We say lots of animals, including Ravens and Crows...hahaha, that's right the AK Zoo features Ravens and Crows as part of their animal exhibits (I got quite a laugh out of it). Other animals we say were: Owls, Seals, Polar Bears, Brown Bears, Caribou, Tigers, Yaks and of course Moose.



Neal's favorite part of the Zoo, besides picking up rocks along the pathway, was the petting zoo. He got to pet goats and a rabbit and see chickens and ducks.


There is nothing quite like seeing the joy and excitement on a child's face when they see and experience new things. Neal was glued to the Seal exhibit while the Seals were swimming around right by the glass and would squeal with delight when they swam by him. It was a great day...