It has been quite a year! I’d like to take a moment and look back at all the highlights from throughout 2012.
January
In January, we went on a road trip, the farthest west we have been in Alaska. We literally drove to the end of the road in the little village of Manley Hot Springs.
We were actually looking for moose that day, but only saw one, and didn’t get a shot. A week or so later, my husband went on a snow machine trip and was successful!
And we went out and witnessed the start of the Yukon Quest – the most grueling sled dog race there is!
February
Two weeks after he came home with a moose, the brave hunter came home with a caribou! Needless to say, we bought another freezer.
We attended another Military Ball.
And I started “upping my game” with my photography skills. These were “self-portrait”
This was a “phone pic”
March
In March, the ice began to melt in areas on the Chatanika River, and the birds began to migrate back through to the North.
Tundra Swans
We also went to the annual event downtown in Fairbanks – the North American Sled Dog races!
And with the coming of Spring, that means I absolutely quit sleeping…because I am light-stalking!
April
In April, my husband received a great promotion, and I became a “First Sergeant’s Wife”
And another great highlight of April? I joined the #SundaySupper team!
May
The absolute highlight of May, was something that I never dreamed of doing. I traveled to Hawaii to represent Fort Wainwright at the USARPAC Army Family Action Plan Conference!!!
Pearl Harbor
Waikiki
Another great highlight from May, was when the whole city of Fairbanks came together to show their support for the military community, with a Salute To Our Military Parade.
June
My favorite part of June, was going hiking with my kiddos at Angel Rocks Trail.
July
July was another amazing month of living in Alaska!
First, we went on a road trip to Denali.
But, the best thing, and something I spread over MANY posts, (because I took SO many pictures!) was the trip to Valdez. Between the breath-taking views, and the awe-inspiring wildlife, it was a trip to remember.
The drive was gorgeous.
The wildlife, amazing. Eagles as numerous as pigeons in a city park.
Sea otters
Sea Lions
Seals
And a mama grizzly bear with 4 cubs!
And the frosting on the cake of course, was bringing home a ton of fresh salmon for the freezer!
August
In August we finished settling into our new home – a brand new house on Fort Wainwright.
I went berry-picking on the tundra with my new neighbors. Wild blueberries, cranberries and red raspberries!
I spent some time preserving the bounty of the tundra – and even made some Fireweed Jelly.
September
The highlight of September, was harvesting a bull moose on the opening day of hunting season!
And my son making the rifle team.
October
October brought on the return of dark, and that meant the return of the Aurora!
And on October 15th, it also meant the return of winter. This is the Chatanika River, a couple blocks from my house.
November
November continued with lots of light stalking!
Even in the ice fog, out by the oil pipeline.
And I officially announced the launch and coming move to my new blog!
December
And finally December!
December brought on the shortest day of the year. This photo was taken up on one of the hills at UAF (someone shared this on facebook.) It shows a time-lapse of sunrise and sunset, only 3 hours apart…with the sun skirting the horizon.
A highlight for my elder son, was his competing in the Junior Olympics Rifle Qualifications, and earning a bronze medal!
And last but not least, we enjoyed an entire year with my husband home and not off in a desert somewhere.
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And wrapping things up, my favorite photo that I took this year with instagram…
Down in Valdez, I got a shot with sea lions, a bald eagle, the beautiful mountains, and the hoards of salmon all in one shot. The dark line that you see in the water near the bottom, is thousands upon thousands of salmon trying to get upstream!
And my most popular recipe of all of 2012?
2013
The coming year has lots of things to look forward to with anticipation. There are going to be lots of changes!
Some of the changes will be subtle…like me taking the steps to move my blog into the self-hosted world of blogging.
But some of the changes are going to be major!
My second child, my middle child, my eldest son will become our second homeschool graduate!
But the really, really big change?
We will be leaving Alaska!!
We will have completed our three year assignment up here. And we have no idea where we will end up next!
So sometime in the spring, we will get those important papers. Those papers called “orders” that will send us on our next Permanent Change of Station (PCS) or in other words, a military move!
A few months after we get that piece of paper, we will be packing up and moving, and only God knows where at this point! It could be Alabama, it could be Virginia, or it could be Colorado, or any one of a number of other places.
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And so I leave you with this – Goodbye 2012 – you were quite an adventure!
Hello 2013! What on earth will you bring?
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Want to know what 2011 looked like? See it HERE
Or how about 2010 and our PCS to Alaska!? HERE
While I love your all of your blog, I have to tell you … I love the light-stalking photos the most. When I visited Alaska some years ago, we didn't get to see the Aurora. I hope your next assignment is one to your liking. I'm pulling for Virginia. We don't have too many moose or caribou, the salmon fishing is pretty slim, but we do have a lot to offer.
You know, the next place we are assigned will most likely be our last duty station as active duty. Our very first duty station was Fort Eustis, Virginia! Wouldn't it be neat to end where we started?