The Iditarod

The Iditarod starts this Saturday at 10am. There's a ceremonial start in Anchorage, which runs about 20 miles through town. Then, they pack the dogs into their trucks and restart up in Willow. (There didn't used to be a need for a restart, but the Glenn Highway has gotten so much busier these days. They can't close it for the race, the dogsleds can't share the road with cars, and apparently there's no other trail north from Anchorage that wouldn't have to cross open water.)

I was frustrated by the lack of information on the route through Anchorage. Most people must watch the start downtown, but I expect that'll probably be VERY crowded. Lacking a map of the route, I used the route information on this page to put one together on Google Maps. In some places it's pretty iffy, especially at the end, but it's probably pretty accurate in the places that spectators can reach. If you'd like to see the original, I can add you as a "collaborator" on that map. Otherwise, here are some screenshots (3 in "terrain" view, then repeated in "aerial" view).

If you want to read more about the Iditarod, the official site has info on the 1,100-mile route, as well as the history of the race (search for "serum").

December 27th - January 2nd

More from the backlog.  Most of these are from Maia's second first birthday party, with the Ramsays.  Gran and Gramps even came down from O'Fallon!  It was about a month until her actual birthday, but who can say no to a party?  There's also a bonus movie at the bottom...


I'm one!


Ramsay family portrait.


This little piggy went to market...


Is this supposed to be food?


Tastes like food...


Squishes between my fingers like food...


Smushes into my hair like food...


Yay!  Cake is food!  Yummy, yummy food...




Everybody loves cake!



Oh no!  Does Mommy think I'm made of cake?

December 14th-26th

More from the backlog, these from December 14th-26th.  Enjoy!


Maia holds a meeting and delegates authority.  I think Mickey and Raphael are bearing most of the load.



Maia loves her "Jingle Bell Jing-- Jingle Be-- Jingle Bell Jingle Bell Jingle Bell Ro--"




Ready for church with the Ramsays.



We swear, we didn't plan for them to match!



Taking care of Maia is exhausting!



Santa never saw such blue eyes.



Yay!  Christmas presents!



It's naptime!  (Time to chew on my new shoes.)



Pick-i-nick baskets are fun!



Can you find Maia?

December 5th-13th

Here are more videos and pics from the backlog, between December 5th & 13th.  We had our Christmas Morning #1 on the 13th, and left on a jet-plane on the 14th for our three-week break.


Politically incorrect at a Braves game, but fun when you're one!



Leaping tall furniture with a single bound!



When Maia wakes up in the morning, she often pretends to be asleep.




From the Ramsay-family's "We're sure they're brilliant" series.



I think this was her first Christmas present.




"Two presents??  I'm so excited, I have to fall down now."



Maia-in-a-box.



Our ginger bread house.

Catching Up

We've been bad about posting family pictures and videos lately, but now we're trying to catch up on the backlog. Here's some goodness from around December 4th.


Maia plays with some of her favorite toys:  Tupperware!



She's shy, and then plays asleep.


Keeping her out, or the tree in?


Is she waiting for us to balance a beach ball on her nose?


Not sure this stocking is big enough...


Sitting down for a good read.  Go Cubbies!


Aussie baby!


Wouldn't you buy toilet paper from this cute kid?

Happy Birthday Aunt Erin!

Happy birthday to Becca's sister Erin! Hope you have a great day!

Its cold!

Its cold here.  We shouldn't be surprised, since this is Alaska, but -22 degrees is pretty cold, even for here.  There is lots of snow on the ground (about 50 inches in January), but its too cold to ski or sled.  The sun has been out, and the days are getting longer, so we have that going for us, which is nice.

We are trying to keep ourselves entertained, but cabin fever has set in.  Luckily, Maia has figured out how to slide down her slide, so once she gets going, that entertains her for about 20 minutes at a time.  We've also made a trip to the indoor water park.  They have special toddler time 3 days a week.  Maia loved it, by the end she was brave enough to walk around in the water by herself (its about a foot deep).  She fell a couple of times, but the water in her face didn't bother her at all.  I hope to head over to the water park once a week or so.  Hopefully we'll see temps above the single digits soon!