My oh my. It has been quite awhile..

I can't believe that I've forgotten about this blog!
It's coming close to a year since my last post, so it's time to revive this blog!

These last eleven months or so have been filled with many, many memories and of course lots of adventuring.
My sister and I had the opportunity last spring and summer to take care of a racing sled dog team! It was quite a lot of hard work, but then again hard work is the best kind of work. This next coming month we'll be taking care of them again as their owner travels to China!!

Some of the other memorable moments from summer of 2014 were: going on a fishing expedition with my little sister and stumbling upon a grizzly bear, (boy, did we get out of there fast!) finding an AMAZING secret spot out in the woods which we spent hours at, having spontaneous bonfires at the creek with my friends, building a steel garage with my family (which was HUGE and took up most of our time), meeting and befriending a lovely young lady from Morocco, and soooo many others!

I also turned eighteen in September and my parents gifted me with an absolutely gorgeous ukulele that I am head over heels in love with!
A little over a month ago I finished up my high school career and I couldn't be happier.
I finally decided to read and watch the Harry Potter books/movies, after some persuasion from one of my friends, which to my surprise, I really have gotten into them.

Yesterday, my sister and I decided to go for a run in the rain. We ended up on a long power-line trail (thinking we would end up at the post office) but we ended up on a cliff overlooking the creek. At this point the sun had come out and we then saw a semi-worn footpath along the edge of the mossy cliff, so naturally we followed it as we are highly adventurous. And boy were we glad we took that little path... It opened up into a lovely little trail, that I believe was made by moose, so we ran along the path on the edge of the cliff for a good half of a mile and then found ourselves at the end of the cliff, which is surrounded by the creek.
So we slid ourselves down the edge of the cliff, which was about 50-60 feet high, and then jumped across the creek. We then walked along rocks and frozen parts of the creek until we found the spot that we always have our bonfires at, and then ran down a trail that led to home.
Adventures like this are so priceless. What was "planned" on being a mile or two run turned into a five mile run/exploration and that is why I love living here.

Ah, the busyness of late Spring and early Summer.
It's not the typical busyness of running to different events, but the simple busyness of just things to do.
It's making and drinking sweet iced tea, fresh watermelon smoothies in high demand, going out to lunch, taking walks, waiting up all night to see the vivid colors of a midnight sunset and then waiting up a bit longer to see it rise; There's all of these and so much more. So much beauty in everyday life that we more than often take for granted. 
So much beauty in such simple things.
Like, being around your old friends and realizing just how every part of them is special, or, finding that one new friend and wishing they were there your whole life but you know that they'll be there for the rest of it. Acknowledging how blessed you are by your few close friends: realizing it in the simple conversations you hold. Theorizing together just what is at the bottom of the sea, or planning first road trips across the country. Discussing thoughtful books, and taking long drives, contemplating our beliefs together while eating french fries. 
Of course there's sadness and we lift each other up. Sometimes it's a text in the middle of the night and there's silent tears on each end of the line. But we do our best to help each other and that is the simple beauty   I see.

I love the feeling of being completely disconnected from the world.

No cell phone service, Internet, tv, or strangers. Just the sound of the wind, the birds, wild animals and a sister with two close friends.

Hiking on Saturday was so great. We got up fairly early and drove the long way into the wilderness and hiked for almost four hours.
We then went and had breakfast at a local diner.
All in all it was great fun and we hiked a nice, small mountain with snow.
And after we got back my sister, mom and I drove six hours to visit my other sister for the weekend. So now I’m finally at a point where I can sit down and write out our adventures on paper.

So today we travel the long trek back home. After we check out the new and only Cabela's in Alaska!

Starting a new blog is always exciting and a lot of work.
I'm hoping to be able to maintain this blog without it interfering with my outside life.

So now for introductions-
I'm Grace, your atypical Alaskan teenager. I have a love for God and the outdoor world He created and also His people in it.
This blog will be about my adventures and the adventures of my family also; as we live in beautiful, bountiful Alaska.
I hope that by being a part of this blog you will be able to get a clear picture of life here and Alaska's people. I also hope that you find yourself falling in love with Alaska and maybe even getting a few laughs from the stories of my one of a kind, redneck family.