Tai&Joanna

2011-10-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

It has been such a long time since I have posted anything! Winnie and I got back to NC in June and have been busy ever since. I took a long term sub. position and started a class for my masters'. Winnie is enjoying swimming in the lake that's not even frozen over! Some of these pictures are from after we got back and others are from when we were still in Fairbanks. Sure am loving this long fall we are having down here in the south! It does not feel like Halloween though because there is no snow on the ground. We are not taking the weather for granted and are enjoying our time here. Looking forward to heading back up north though! Happy Halloween everybody!

2011-10-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

Orange clan at the Fisher House 5k Oct.15

"My dad is my hero."

Mom and I with Nicholas Sparks

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Our trip to the Arctic Circle

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The mighty Yukon

True polar region of the state

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Birch Hill and the Chena 11:00pm

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Family photo after the Mosquito Meander, June 2011

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Our last time at the Salmon Bake

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Hannah and Keith

Tai and our neice Emmie

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The Orange Clan, PCB 2011

Our neice, Blane, and I before the wedding

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The photos below were taken off my cell phone, some before I left AK and some after I got back to NC.

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Eating at the Gulch my last night in Fairbanks.

Winnie is adjusting to the south.

Camping trip to Gatlingburg with the Oranges

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Winnie and her best friend, Gunner

Favorite place to eat in the summertime, Fairbanks

Deployment Ceremony with friends Joe and Ted

KTVF Channel 11 Sunrise and Sunset info.

2011-04-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

Winnie and I after we finished the Beat Beethoven run Saturday.

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My pretty drive to work.

Looking out our front door

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The moose were standing right behind my car. You can see their eyes!

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Mama Moose and her baby hung out around our house for about an hour.

I was trying to get our neighbor dog, Gunner, inside the house, but he wanted to be brave.

Our last big snow. (Hopefully)

Breakup!

2011-04-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Breakup season is finally upon us! The snow is melting more and more everyday with temps in the high 30's. Even though there are no leaves on trees yet and no flowers coming up, we still feel like it's springtime. The sun is coming up at 6:00 and is going down around 9 now. Life is great! Some of these pictures are older from a snow blizzard we had back in Feb.

2011-04-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

The Alaska songbirds have come out from hibernating.

Walking the dog

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Icicles are a sure sign that things are warming up!

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A moose making herself right at home in our back yard.

She was eating a tomato plant from last summer.

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Sweet Keeno came to stay with us for awhile while is parents were out of town.

This is Winnie's Husky neighbor friend, Gunner.

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Walking in our neighborhood

Our house. The snow fell off the roof and right onto my car.

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Our driveway... I spent about 2 hours shoveling so I could get my car out. :)

Tai's truck even got stuck in the snow drift at the end of our driveway.

2011-04-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

Our back yard during the winter blizzard we had in Feb.

My car was buried and would not budge.

2011-02-21T21:21:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody! Over the past couple of days, we have had a gigantic blizzard up here in the north. The snow was over 16 inches in some places! It was a nightmare driving to school, but that's Alaska... Here are a few pictures of the snow.

These are windows in my classroom. The snow was as tall as me!

2011-02-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day from the Last Frontier! I've been counting down the weeks looking forward to Break-Up season which is not "breaking up" like I used to think of living in the Lower 48. When we first arrived here, we learned that Alaska has three seasons: Summer, Winter, and Break-Up. Break-Up is the exciting time when the temperature starts to stay above 32 degrees above and the snow begins to melt. It can last for more than a month, and one has to wear their tuff-boots everywhere they go. Can you tell I'm excited? It will probably begin at the end of March/early April. Right now the sun is coming up around 9:00 starting to stay up until 5:30! What a blessing this is! It does wonders for my immune system. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day y'all!

2011-02-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

Family Photos in our yard :)

Mele Kalikimaka!

2010-12-28T23:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Hawaii! We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas season! Tai got back just in time for us to go on our trip to O'ahu. We had the best time visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center, swimming with dolphins, snorkeling with sea turtles, paddleboarding, climbing Diamondhead, and eating delicious fruit and seafood. The temperature was amazing, and we got a little bit spoiled with all the daylight we got over there! We feel so blessed that we were able to go and that Tai was back on time. Now, it's back to life, and we hope all of you have a very happy new year!

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Tai and his shave ice :)

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On Christmas Day we hiked up Diamondhead.

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Our hotel from Diamond Head

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Everything was decorated for Christmas!

delicious Christmas Eve dinner at Roy's

We spent Christmas Eve snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. It was beautiful!

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Exploring the island :)

We stopped and ate the best shrimp ever out of this truck!

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Below are some pictures of the Waimea Botanical Gardens.

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The water was 30 feet deep!

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Waimea Falls

Heliconia flower

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Tai holding a breadfruit

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Eating breakfast

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The Banyan Tree

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Love it!

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Beautiful sunsets

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Waikiki Beach at sunset

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LOVED our hotel

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Swimming with Hoku the dolphin was one of my favorite parts of our trip!

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Cruisin' around the island

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Ha: Breath of Life show

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Getting our luau pig out of the ground

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Tai learning to hula :)

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Our welcome at the Polynesian Cultural Center

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Pretty scenery

Chinaman's Hat

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Scenery on the way to the Polynesian Cultural Center

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It was cloudy and raining, but I was getting on the beach by golly!

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Waikiki Beach at night

At the Beach Bar

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We met Stevo the Bird Man in Waikiki and took pictures with his parrots. :)

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Pretty trees... There are none like this in AK

Waikiki

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Statue of Duke K. (Hawaii's ambassador of Aloha)

The Banyan Tree

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On the Veranda at our hotel

Beach Bar at our hotel

Our hotel lobby

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The front of our hotel

Tai and his outrigger canoe

Pretty tree at the Outrigger hotel

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View from the Hula Grill

Eating supper at the Hula Grill

It rained the first couple of days we were there.

Pretty Christmas tree in the lobby of our hotel

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The International Marketplace

View from our hotel room

Where we ate breakfast every morning

Eating breakfast

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We were welcomed with fresh flower leis.

When we first arrived at our hotel, the Moana Surfrider

Yay! Tai is home!

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Our street

2010-12-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

Poor Winnie had to have stitches a few weeks ago.

She wasn't too happy.

Watching the snow fall...

2010-09-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

2010-08-28T23:09:00.000-07:00

We have had such a wonderful summer! Both our families came to visit us, we had wonderful weather, and got spend lots of time together outdoors. We are finally getting ONE ripe tomato off our plants. We are quickly running out of time for all of them to ripen. The leaves are starting to change, and the temperatures are rapidly dropping, especially at night. Hopefully this winter will be a mild one. :) I'll post more as soon as I can. Take care everybody! We love y'all! :)

2010-08-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

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Our garden :)

A little marmot found a home under our shed

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Zinnias in our garden :)

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Family photo on the way to hike Angel Rocks on a pretty Sunday afternoon

mmm... It was good!

Tai picking our first zucchini :)

2010-08-28T14:52:00.001-07:00

We had such a good time when Tai's Mom and Dad, sister and her husband came up to visit us in July! We met them in Anchorage and ate at delicious restaurants and walked around the city. Then, we drove down to the Kenai River and spent a couple of nights at a lodge. We had a great time on our fishing charters, even though Hannah and I caught nothing. Our husbands picked up our slack and reeled in some good sized reds. They were delicious! Bill and Kaye had fun on their charter and caught lots of trout! After our time in the southern part of the state, we drove up to Denali and took the bus tour to Toklat. We had a real clear, pretty day and saw the mountain from inside the park. We came back to Fairbanks and did all the touristy stuff up here. It was so good to get to spend time with them! Thanks for making the trip y'all!

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Airshow at Ft. Wainwright July 10th

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At the airport saying our goodbyes :(

Tai and his Mama at the Silver Gulch

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Tai and his dad

Downtown Fairbanks

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Susan Butcher's sled dogs

Float Plane demo

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Riverboat Discovery

One of Lance Mackey's sled dogs

Lance Mackey!

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Winnie playing with Papa

Sunset

Tai and his crew just landing

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At the Santa Claus House

Fishing in the Chena

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Hannah and Keith at the pipeline

Nana and Papa

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Keith, Hannah and Pa at Silver Gulch

Grizzlies!