Our Life in Alaska and Beyond

A few Sundays ago it was nice and clear and sunny so we decided to take a drive to Willow to see Denali. (Denali is the highest mountain in North America at 20,310 feet!) It was a perfect day to see the mountain and it was nice to get out of the house for a bit, even though it was a little chilly. The sun is sure making a difference though. The snow is almost all the way melted here, and we can't wait for summer!

For the 4th this year we decided to go with our usual tradition and head up to Willow. They didn't have the running races this year 😔 but we were still able to go to the parade (short and sweet), and then we drove the road from Willow to Hatcher's. It was so pretty and so hot, haha. Enjoy these cute pics of our red, white, and blue!

So grateful to live in this beautiful country!

After church on Sunday we decided to drive to Willow and watch the Iditatrod Restart. On Saturday the racers have the ceremonial start in Anchorage where they go about 10 miles, and then they restart the next day in Willow. The whole race is almost 1,000 miles from Willow to Nome. It's pretty amazing that they can go that far by dogsled, and the winners do it in about 8-9 days!

We had a very fun 4th of July! Like we've done the past couple years, we decided to go up to Willow. The girls ran the Kids K, and then Scott ran the Freedom 4 Miler. He did great and got 4th place overall! The girls also did great! Ruby ran her fastest the whole time, and Noelle got a little tired about half way through and had a little break down on the way back, lol.

After the race we watched the parade. We love this small town Alaskan parade. The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes and we saw lots of fun "floats." Enjoy the pics!

All ready to race!

Happy Independence Day! We had a great one! It was a really big, fun day! We started it off in Willow with a race. Ruby ran the Kids K and did great! Scott ran it with her and she never stopped! We're so proud of her! After the Kids K was the Freedom 4 Miler, which I got to run! I haven't been running too much this summer, but I still placed 3rd overall! Yay! It was really small and low-key, so there weren't any official times, but I think I finished around 32-35 min. I loved hearing Ruby cheer for me, "Go Mommy!" as I started. Scott said she kept yelling it after I was out of sight, lol. Love my little cheerleader. :)

After the race we went to the parade in Willow. It was so fun! I love how it's so small and home-towny, not crowded at all. The girls got tons of candy! After the parade we decided to skip the community BBQ and just head on our way to Hatcher Pass. We drove from Willow all the way back through to Wasilla. It was so pretty! We stopped at Summit Lake for a few minutes, too. We love Hatcher Pass! It was kind of cloudy, so it was perfect for the race and parade, but it was a little chilly up top at the lake. Still so fun, Happy 4th! We're so grateful to live here in the USA and get to celebrate our freedom!

Last Sunday we were able to go to the Iditarod Restart in Willow. We went to the Ceremonial Start in Anchorage a few years ago, but we had never been to the Restart before. It was so fun! Thanks to our good friends, the Forbush's, we had a prime spot, about 1/2 mile after the actual starting line where we were able to be really close and see the dogs and mushers as they raced past. I loved it! Ever since 2nd grade, where my teacher had us choose a musher and follow along, I've always been interested in the Iditarod. I also loved Balto (the movie) as a kid, ha!

Enjoy the pics! Unfortunately, the girls had been sick (Ruby threw up all Saturday night and Noelle had a fever) so they weren't quite themselves, but I think they still enjoyed it. It was so cute to hear Ruby cheering and saying, "Go Dogs!" :)

#45, DeeDee Jonrowe, a fan favorite :)

Love DeeDee's pink!

We spent our 4th of July in Willow, AK. It was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun. Scott ran a four miler Freedom Run, then we went to the local parade, and we finished it off with a BBQ at the park. :)

Ruby's favorite thing to do: throw rocks in the water.