We’re in Colorado, not enough snow yet but the COLD has been too much BUT our cold is nothing compared to what y’all experienced. Your time sounded like fun, love those times with family. The girls art work is very nice. And congrats on the soon to be new addition, stay well. God bless.

Hi Alex- Enjoyed your latest post espcially since I live in Lake County, CA just about 10 miles from Red Hills Rd! Our county is covered in beautiful vineyards. Congratulations on baby 3. God’s blessings to your family.

I love the forced seclusion . Except for going out to feed and water the chickens twice a day, I’ve been baking bread and crock potting soups and knitting up a storm . I’ve learned how to make socks! Once a weeks we girls meet at a library one town away and for two hours and have a blast! Sounds like your doing all the right things with the kids and having fun doing it this winter. I even love knitting while listening to audio books on my iPad. Love your blogs , oh and congratulations on the new addition to the family ! Maybe a boy this time?

I love the winters here in Wisconsin and I was amazed that we were colder than Alaska for a couple of weeks. Congratulations on baby number three!

Thank You for sharing your visits. Ava and Opal are getting so big. They are beautiful. I love the photo of Opal reading to her stuffed animals. Congratulations on Baby#3. God Bless.
Marilyn

Always enjoy your ramblings…wish I was able to tolerate the cold…give me a hot belly stove day is an any time kind of day to read a good book…got two completed and working on a third..God’s puzzle Solved by Art Mokarow…great reading always comforts my soul..

I am in Colorado. Now that it is February, apparently Winter is having her say. I do love winter…it’s my “down time,” but that really means I’m just busy doing things indoors instead of out. Many of my weekends have been about creating inventory for the craft shows I’ll do this year. That time is very relaxing for me, even when a project isn’t going so great. I don’t watch television/netflix, so that won’t occupy my time. I’ve done an awful lot of sewing, and have a full bin of new inventory in bright, cheerful colors, ready to be on display at the first fair of the year in April. I love winter. It is the only time I actually sleep long nights, instead of very short ones.

Hi Alex,

Oh I was so happy to read that you suffer from the same sort of writers block that I suffer from! 🙂 Sometimes the words just don’t want to come!

I’ve been to Alaska once in the wintertime and I will admit it was very unsettling for me! It might’ve gotten light for a few hours each day but honestly I don’t remember that it did. It seemed like it was dark all day! 🙂 I’m a sunshine person so I really struggled with it.

MaryJane’s cast iron book is AMAZING!!! I’m on the lookout for the Aebleskiver pan too… but was it my imagination or do those look really hard to make??? I’ve got to try for no other reason than to prove to myself I can do it! And for the fact that they look oh so yummy!

Happy Holidays to you and yours Alex!

– Dori –

Happy Yule! Blessings to you and yours!

I agree. This time of year can definitely put you in a funk and I think having small children running around makes you tired in general, which doesn’t help with the lack of motivation. This is exactly how I have felt this last week. What really throws me off is not having snow. We just barely got some snow yesterday. It wasn’t much, but it’s sticking so far. But without snow it makes the holidays not feel right so I hope the little we got will stay. I received the new Cast Iron book as well and I am super excited to dive right in and try the recipes! They are all very drool worthy! Have a wonderful Christmas and great New Year!

Thanks for the lovely trip to AK. It is a beautiful place, to visit! I must admit that I told my husband “Next wife next life, just send money” when he applied for jobs there. I am a sunshine person, so CO suits me much better in the long winter months. I don’t think I could have survived the long dark periods. Staying busy with your little ones is such a blessing. I am an avid wildlife watcher and I think we’re going to try those pinecone treats and see who visits our house!

Many blessings and much joy!

Maureen

Im going to try that recipe…saved it…,for next years Christmas gifts. Thanks for the share. Susana

Hi ! Your girls are so sweet, nature-loving, fun-loving cuties !!! I live in the Northeast and have not had any snowfall as yet, and even my first killing frost came in November. Snow does bring extra work, but I always was happier in the winter with a ground cover of snow. And thanks to your insight, I am looking forward to the magic of winter snow. Whenever it comes !!! Happy Thanksgiving !

Thanks for sharing your snow and stories. I also love snow but live in Southwest Missouri.
We rarely see even snow flakes. I truly miss it being from Northern ILL.
I read christmas books and watch Christmas movies to enjoy snow.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Thank you for sharing your snow stories. I have always loved snow and sometimes I feel that I am the only one who has appreciation for it. You made my day!

Super fun posting! God Bless

Love your posts and pictures from a Great Great Grandma in Washington state…..Happy Fall!!

That’s a lot of carrots and they sure look amazing and delicious! Something went wrong with my carrots this year and they didn’t make it. Luckily, my father-in-law shared some of his with us. I love the feeling of fall in the air and watching all the leaves change. But I am not quite ready for snow yet. Hopefully you have some snow by the next time we hear from you. Happy birthday to your sweet Moki.

Love your posting and my goodness your pictures make want to make a visit! Thanks for sharing in such a wonderful way. God bless.

The walks you take there look strangely like the trails my family and I walk- but we live in PA!! I admit I love the smell of the fall air,too. Such beautiful produce! We had a wet summer here with many storms dumping at least 2 or 3 inches of rain at a time so we had many problems in our garden… and fields… and barns… so I’ll just admire your bounty! Here’s my favorite poem for fall and the end of the gardening season: I loved my garden, so here is my sad ballad:I nurtured it for months and ate it in one salad.-by Arnold Zarett

Happy Belated birthday Moki; Love his picture, beautiful dog. Alex, winter is coming, but slowly – we have some cool days now colder nights but still not the cold we used to have at this time of year. Weeds are dying YEA! Soon will dig up bulbs and transplant to new beds in new yard. May be able to move before Thanksgiving – Hope so! Or at least soon after. Love the poems, all of them. Used to write a few myself. Yes, snow for your next post. Loved the pictures too. Until next time,

I feel the same way. August and September have just flown by. I figured it was because I had so much going on with multiple deadlines but I guess the changing weather and daylight probably play a big role. Every day I kept telling myself that I needed to take my little guys 9 month picture. Well…I finally took the picture last night and he turns 10 months tomorrow. That’s how time has been escaping me. I’m hoping by the first of October I’ll be back on track. I loved seeing all your pictures and adventures. Looks like your family made some wonderful memories. Your girls are growing up so quickly. Thank goodness we have cameras to document all those times.

My day job keeps me busy from mid-August to mid-October, so the whole thing always goes by in a blur. Here in Colorado, our “golden sunshine” has been because of smoke from wildfires, and while we’ve had some cool days, we’ve also had a whole peck of 90+, so it’s hard to think about fall. But my garden is pretty ready – the squash and pumpkins are dying back, the roses are on their last bloom, and the beans have given up production. I will still have tomatoes, and eggplant, and the flowers are glorious. But we need rain. 🙂

I love fall, and the coming winter. It really does mean I get to slow down. At least, after November is over!

Great blog!! We too are mostly autumn! sunny days too. The Aspens are beautiful. Take care. God bless.

Great blog! I felt the excitement and joy in it. It is good to look back to remind us that life it really good.

I was so happy to be there and to help a dearest friend get married. And yes, I was one of the ones who cried through the whole thing — so many tears of joy for a family I love so much!

I loved every word, every photo. I consider myself fortunate to have been invited to your wedding, after the fact, here, on your blog. The photo of you removing hair pins is classic gorgeous. Almost made me teary-eyed. Thank you so much Alex for sharing.

I LOVE it and you all looked fantastic and beaming. Have a great ‘rest of your life’.

Thank you for sharing this post. Ava ans Opal are beautiful. They look so lovely in their pretty dresses. Congratulations to the newlyweds.
Marilyn

Wishing you and Evan all the wonders that sharing a life together can and will bring. A new adventure begins.

Oh my! It was a real thrill to see all the pictures and to read all about it. You were beautiful! I loved your dress. Evan was as handsome as ever. I’m glad he sang. And then there were those two darling girls……..what can I say? I knew I was a wedding crier,too. Now I also cry when I READ about a wedding! Hugs and kisses to all 4 of you.
Aunt Becky

Alex, I am so happy for you and your beautiful family. Thank you for letting your readers have an insider look at to your wondeful wedding. You did a fantastic job of making it beautiful and meaningful. Congratulations!

You were a beautiful bride and the love and fun of the day just pours out in your post. Thank you for sharing your wedding day with all of us and many happy years to the ” Wilders”! Love,
Deb

A woman after my own heart. Didn’t know any other women did the clothing smell test? Bahahahaha

We are now into cutting stumps down and drilling holes to rot out the trunk roots.

Problem is it is now headed up to near 109 F and higher. I got a canopy out to cover us, as it is dangerous heat that can kill.

We will drink, and splash ourselves with cold water and take breaks.
I do try to clean up for errands as they treat you better. And wet paint in the hair is a mess.

Well dirty nails are not that bad, microbes in the soil help to keep us mentally well.
Hope to see some wedding pictures, and the hubs is out working those fields.

I have to mulch as weed pulling is not my friend.
Best

OH Alex, how exciting your getting married this weekend. I hope your day is so special and you all enjoy it.
Lov getting my hands dirty when I do my container gardening, though it can prove a problem for me when I go to work and can’t get the stains off my fingers and hands, despite the extra scrubbing. I do wear gloves sometimes, but they are cotton and the dirt goes through anyways.
Gorgeous pic of your girls, love they’re outside in the dirt. I struggle to get my son outside now, not much for him to do in our yard, I rent and am not allowed to dig a garden though I planted some of my plants in the garden that was here already. The rest I do in containers, slowly learning as I go. It’s winter, so only my snow peas and spring onions are doing much right now, but hope to do more when I warms up a bit more.
Look forward to seeing some of your wedding photos.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Looking forward to some pictures.
Marilyn

I heard that the valley got a thunder storm! Would you believe it didnt make it out to Big Lake? I kept hoping it would! I love thunder storms and was rather looking forward to it! Oh well maybe I will get it next time!
While I dont really like to get dirty, I do tend to wear the same clothes all the time though and I do have to smell test those clothes! But hey we live in Alaska! I like to think its perfectly acceptable to wear the same clothes more than once right? as long as they dont smell?
I was going to ask you, how do you keep the moose out of your plants and vegetables? We’re thinking about trying to do a garden of sorts next year. And are getting ideas for how to keep the animals out of it. That might be hard to do though with where live! So any ideas would be welcomed!

Beautiful photos, and a wonderful post! Congratulations on your up-coming wedding 🙂 I so look forward to your posts!

Congratulations on “making it legal” my partner in crime and I waited TEN years before we did, at his mother’s urging….LOL! No regrets and we have always said that we felt like we were married from the get-go. Love the pictures of your girls and your adventure, what a wonderful way to spend some solo time! It is important to grab that when you can with a young family like yours. Best of luck!!

Absolutely wonderful story! I was there with you in Spirit. I would have loved to be there with you in physical form if I was a lot younger. LOL. That is my kind of alone time or at least it used to be when, you guessed it, ‘I was a lot younger’. I loved the pictures – your dog Moki is a truper; so glad you took him along. Congrats on your upcoming wedding. Wish you and Evan all the best for the future. Don’t give up your ‘alone time trips’ though. They can rejuvenate so many things. Glad you took the ‘turn around’ to go back when it got windy like a hurricane. Maybe you can hike the 11 mile later on and let us know what it was like. I do so enjoy your posts and your outings. Until next time, then!

Congratulaions on your wedding! You are brave to hike on your own. I bet it was great to prove you could do it. Wonderful photos of kids and farming. you do look happy!

Wowie! as my Grandma would say! Thats a pretty amazing hike you took! I have not ventured out into Denali alone yet! I’m not sure if I have the guts to do that or not! I am terrified of the bears. I actually saw one in front of my bedroom window late at night once! That scared me for the rest of my life probably! I did recently buy some bear spray. The bear sighting was two years ago! When we first moved out to Big Lake from Wasilla.
I live in Big Lake Alaska, which isnt too far from Palmer! About an hour drive. You probably know it? Maybe drove by it on the way to Denali! I love your pictures! I always love seeing local pictures of Alaska! I do love Palmer! and if I didnt live in Big Lake, it’d probably be Palmer! If you havent checked it out yet, you should totally go to the Reindeer Farm and hike the Butte!
Happy Summer Solstice!
PS Now I really wanna go up to Denali again!

Best wishes for you and your family! Speaking of hurricane force winds, that describes my wedding day! T.S. Ivan hit our area the night before, but the sun came out as we said our vows. The flooding made for some fun pictures! I love seeing your part of the world… and those adorable little girls! Mine are growing up too fast! The girls are giggling at your bear stories. The local black bear shows up at their school once a year. Enjoy your sunshine, we haven’t had much of that here!

Loved your story! Pretty exciting! And you are quite the gardener/farmer, from the looks of your hoop houses!
Good luck with your wedding plans!

What a fun new adventure coming your way! Good luck with all the packing as well as all the unpacking at your new place. I can’t wait to hear some stories of your new home and see how Opal likes the new country life. Be safe with your travels.

I love the “babies in a box”!!! They were some of my children’s favorite”toys”. Best wishes on your new grand adventure!

Maureen

Good luck with the move. Wishing years of happiness in your new home.
Marilyn

Have a safe trip to the country. Sounds wonderful. I went from the country to now city and would love to move back just land around here is so expensive and may have to go farther out.

I love your pictures! The brown bear looks very beautiful! I never thought of considering the break up and the freeze up as seasons, but your right. They really are just like their own seasons. I hope you enjoy your break from the break up season and have some wonderful bare foot spring weather!

Yes a nice true Spring would be great fun. Thanks for a taste. God bless

Alaska looks to be quite an interesting place to be at this time of the year. I love the photos especially of the animals.

Thanks for the pictures.
Marilyn