Back to America

Between my stay in Fiji and getting home to Alaska, I went down to the South for a quick visit. Figured it would be a good transition between the extreme heat and the extreme cold. I hadn't planned on the winter storm though that was to hit Texas. Oh well, just a bit of preparation for coming back to the Alaskan winter. 

While in Louisiana I ate some good seafood - crawfish rolls, shrimp pasta and fried catfish. Also enjoyed some jambalaya during that weekend. Yum! that is next on my list to try making. Gotta get that recipe. Also had beignets and au lait, which for those (like me) who don't know French, is donuts and coffee with milk. 

eatin' shrimp, catfish and crawfish

au lait and beignets

enjoying friends

Thanksgiving Day we drove from Louisiana to Texas. So our lunch was a delightful, delicious meal at McDonalds! Okay, so maybe I exaggerated with the delightful, delicious part, but it was actually better than my Thanksgiving meal last year. While traveling we tried to spend some holiday cheer. We gave a loaf of banana bread to a guy at McDonalds and he was really thankful since he was spending the day at work and away from family. The other guy we gave cookies and water to, said they were "kinda hard" cookies. Well, so much for the gratitude. Ha. 

road trip!

stuck in Dallas traffic

I am SO thankful for all the wonderful friends God has blessed me with. 

People are so much fun, aren't they!? :) 

Enjoying the end of Summer

Summer is almost over. 

At least here in Alaska it is. Days have still been in the 60s, but at night it's been quite cool. My sisters went blueberry picking last week. So, last Saturday, we decided to make yummy waffles and top them off with wild Alaskan blueberries freshly picked and powered sugar. 

Now for those of you who have never had Alaskan blueberries - you are missing out! 

Store bought blueberries are very bland compared to those found in our wilderness. 

The next Saturday was another beautiful day. So, we decided to take advantage of the day and of my coworkers offer of his 4-wheelers. We went out for about 2 hours and it was awesome! 

Just the 3 of us girls. We laughed and laughed! 

love the faces!

just another slough in the wild

Lacey showing off her guns

cruisin

uh, yeah not a good thing

And to finish off the great day, we had huge rib eye steaks to grill! Man, they were delicious! 

We may be girls, but you can't beat meat and potatoes for dinner! ;) 

Randomness from Summer

This summer I've been working my regular day job plus a few nights a week I've been working at the airport. I normally get off sometime after midnight, but during an Alaskan summer, that's just when the sun is going down. So I've seen some pretty amazing sunsets this summer. 

God sure is an amazing artist!!

 Tanna has also been working with me at the airport. We handle gate checks, wheelchairs for passengers and clean the plane before it heads out again. It's pretty fun - except for the late nights. :)  

waiting for the plane to leave... 

 And a real first for me this summer.... Sushi! 

A friend and I went out for dinner and I let her choose where. I've never really had sushi before, so I let her order. It wasn't too bad. I liked the bottom one better. The other has too many flavors mixed together in one bite. But hey, I tried it! 

And what would summer be without BBQ!!??

When the rain finally went away, Sarah and I decided we needed to grill something! I'm always up for chicken, so BBQ it was. We also grilled potatoes with onions (in the foil) and fresh zucchini. 

It was all delicious! 

I'm thinking we need to do it again..... SOON! :p

the finished project

Jungle Camp

Right after I got back from California, we began Jungle Camp! 

Monday morning we started and then finished up Friday around noon. We slept outside, some had tents, but myself and some of the other girls had a shelter built out of natural resources and a couple tarps. The weather was a little chilly the first night, but after that it was not to bad for sleeping. Course we had sleeping bags, so it was all good. Though by the end of the week, I was starting to hurt from the hard, uneven ground. But coffee made in a percolator over an open fire makes it worthwhile. :) 

nothing better than coffee around a campfire

On Tuesday, we butchered a pig and 4 chickens. Earlier we had been split into 4 teams, so each team got a quarter of a pig and a chicken to cook for a dinner that night. We had a community meal that night with everyone contributing. Our quarter of pig got stuck thru with a long stick and roasted over the fire. The chicken we started baking in the clay oven, but it didn't cook all the way, so we threw it in a pan and finished cooking it over the fire. 

roasting a leg of pig

carrying the meat to dinner

lots of yummy food

There was so much food. All cooked out the "jungle." Our team did skewered pork, baked/fried chicken, fried cactus (like fried okra, but better), onions & carrots, and (wild) garlic potatoes. Tim also baked a snapping turtle. And Josh killed and fried a snake. 

snapping turtle, anyone?

how about snake?

I think everyone had a great time living in the woods. I know I did. We learned how to make a fire, build a shelter, collect & purify water and snare/trap animals to eat, all with natural resources. Its amazing what you can do to survive with just a knife. 

We also had a great time of fellowship. Three of the nights, we all gathered together and had some singing and preaching. You can't beat singing praises to the LORD when you are surrounded by His creation! 

special song during camp service

our team's natural shelter

our team - #1

I was exhausted that week, since I had just gotten back from California Monday morning and we had some late nights. But it was amazing to be around fellow believers, who have the same focus in life and learn to work together "to survive." I think if I had to be stranded somewhere remote, I'd pick the people from my team to be stranded with. (ok, maybe Tim C. also!) :) 

I don't have many pictures I know, but might post some more soon!

Weekend in Oklahoma

This past weekend, I headed up to Tornado Country in Oklahoma. I really wanted to see a tornado, since I've never seen one before. Everyone told me I was crazy, but hey, life has to be exciting somehow!! :) But I didn't get to see one... maybe next time! 

Friday night I stayed at the Burnett's house again. Always a blast there. I brought them some Alaska Salmon... not sure if they were more excited to see me or the salmon. ;) But we had an awesome dinner with the salmon, asparagus from their garden, garlic mashed potatoes and rolls. 

preparing the salmon

yummy!!

After dinner, we sat around and talked... and talked.... and talked.... until we finally decided to play a game. Which produced lots of laughter as always.... 

But the highlight of my stay with them, was Saturday morning, 6 of us got up early (for a Saturday) and went out to do some target practice. :D I had my trusty firearm and Caleb had a couple handguns. I've been wanting to go shooting all winter, but its never worked out, so I was thrilled! We went thru about 250 rounds in an hour. I shot first and by the end of my clip, I was crying.... lol actually there was a cold wind, so while I was trying to aim, my eyes kept watering and I couldn't focus on the target. It happened to everyone else too, so we were all "emotional." 

Was a great time! and then we went back to the house for delicious breakfast! 

I've decided that the Burnetts are now my "Oklahoma family." I miss the interaction in a big family, so I love being with them. Though they probably think I'm crazy.... but who doesn't!?

Saturday I headed up to Oklahoma City to see some friends at Heartland Baptist College. A few of them I hadn't seen in two years or so and one I hadn't see in 8 years! Most didn't know I was coming, so I got to surprise two girls. They were pretty thrilled I was there. :) Had a great time catching up with them and meeting new people. Then that night headed back to TX. Sleep depraved weekend, but oh SO worth it!!! 

Friends are definitely worth losing sleep over! 

BBQ!

My family loves the BBQ! we grill burgers, steaks, chicken, salmon, whatever! I have missed the grill the past two months, so I decided to spend a little of my PFD and buy a small grill. I'm so glad I did! :) I've already done bbq chicken and corn on the cob and today plan on grillin so big, fat, juicy burgers! Sometimes its the small things that matter. And by the way, charcoal is the only way to go.... no gas grills for me.