Sunday Jan. 2, 2011

We had a good first Sunday of the New Year.  We went to church at "Church on the Rock" this morning.  The people were friendly, the sermon was good, and all of the kids enjoyed it, so that will be where we attend while we are in AK.  After church, we went to lunch at a very good Italian restaurant.  THEN, came the important stuff (haha)...we went looking for the Palin house...and we found it!  Jeff took some pics. and when we ran out of batteries on the camera, we went to buy some more.  As we were turning back onto her road, we saw Todd Palin turning down the drive in front of us.  We barely missed seeing him.  They live down a long drive with a gate, so we didn't have an opportunity to see anyone else.  I know that the kids and I will see them at the Iron Dog and Iditerod, but I was hoping that Jeff would be able to meet them.  Oh well, it was still fun.  After that, we road into Anchorage and spent a couple of hours snow tubing at the Air Force Base.  It was a lot of fun...even with the FOX standing above us watching.  Andrew LOVED it, too.  He is such a little daredevil.  We started out sledding with him, but that hill was beside some woods.  He didn't like that, because he said "The bears will hear me, they will stop sleeping, and they will come out of the woods".  Something to think about!  When we got home, my mom had made a moose roast.  It was good.  All of the kids liked it, but Andrew LOVED it.  He has enjoyed everything we've done and has been soooo good.   They all love it here, but I know that it hasn't been nearly as cold as it could be.  It's worked out good for us, because we've been able to do a lot without freezing or having trouble getting places.  I just have to wonder, is this the calm before the storm??  Guess we'll see.  I'm not looking forward to Jeff leaving today, but I know that the kids are going to continue to get experiences that they could never get at home.  We are looking forward to Scouts starting next Monday night.  I hope that they meet many new friends and have a lot of fun.  Everyone help take care of Jeff when he gets back to SC!  Have a great Monday.