Feb, March,& Iditarod 2011!

Last weekend we flew out to watch the Iditarod mushers along the Yentna River. They were only a couple hours into the race, so everybody still seemed pretty jazzed. The kids had a blast.

(Photo courtesy of Chris Z - Thanks!)Friends Chris Z, Ernie & Carolyn, Kent & Amy (w/Jack), Andy & Celia (w/Wayne & Anita), and Paul Anderson (w/Brianna!) all flew out as well. Lots of airplanes, kids, a sled, a ball, and cheering for the passing dog-teams.Paul & Brianna headed to Yentna Station to camp out while the dogs passed.Kent & Jack (backseat) headed back to Anchorage.

And our herd of turtles squished into one cub for the flight back to Anchorage.
Coal was loving the 3rd seat mod of the supercub. His carseat fit perfectly and he was chatting up a storm with the old headset papa shrunk to fit and outfitted with automatic noise reduction.

On the way home...

Teal in her angel light.

Beautiful sunset as we approached Anchorage...

Other random events over the past few months...

Ski for Women 2011
We went low-key this year, as most of the team was out of town or just had a baby. (Our 2011 theme: "On Maternity Leave")
Even without the usual elaborate costumes, the Anchorage Daily News gave us some press and the Ski For Women folks honored us with leading the costume parade. Next year we'll be back to going big again.
Coal went in drag and rode on my back.
The view behind us. (Pretty fun)The view in front of us - equally interesting (not pictured); it included the midwife that delivered Coal waiting to ski out with her daughter and a woman dressed up as a carrot. Coal thought the whole thing was a hoot! He kept saying...
"More costumes! More costumes" the whole car-ride home
...or maybe that was me.
I love costumed athletic events!


Visiting Jody Oyen's new baby Quentin Danger.
He and Teal were only born a few days apart, and though his due date was March 6 (he was way early), he's already passed Teal for weight. (Jody and I really didn't make them hold hands).

Doing a work flight for USGS.
Fun to fly friend Tom Fondell out to test some GPS radio transmitters they're planning to put on geese this summer.

Putting the transmitter (attached to a goose-collar) just off the runway so we could center around it easily from the air.

The Boys: Paul, our neighbor Ron (Hamish), & Coal doing some flight planning one evening.The naked reader...
Coal can't get enough of these Richard Scarry word books...
(Thanks Craig, Jackie, and Pat)

Skiing and hiking with my lady friends.
Hurray for this high pressure system, sun, and warmer temps. Highs in the 30's
...glorious.
Svia & baby Stella on the trail ahead of us
So this is what zone defense looks like.
(Skiing with Teal in the front carrier & Coal in the Chariot)Coal & Stella yakking it up after the ski
Hikes overlooking Turnagain Arm
Gaylee with Teal in the front carrier...while Coal chatted us up out of my backpack.
(Nice to have another helper for taking two on hikes...Thanks Gaylee).