Christmas tree!

Well, we FINALLY got our Christmas tree up and ready for the year, but I don't have pics on my computer yet. I'll have to have Brandon M downlaod them from his camera (he took some decorating it) and Sam needs to download the cutting ones so that we can put some up. It was fun!! We took the snowmobiles out and went back into the middle of nowhere and found a lot of great Charlie Brown trees. I was getting pretty dicouraged... I wanted a more full tree because 1. that's how they're supposed to be, and 2. we actually had room for a big one! Anyway, after a few hours of riding (well, Sam was driving and I was riding... except for the 8 times he dumped me into the snow, but who's counting...) we finally found some great trees. It was funny to read Michelle's post and see that there was no snow, then compare it to ours and I was walking through snow that came up past my knees. To check out the trees. It was nuts. Sam's coworker and his girlfriend came with us. They're about the same age as us, and we had fun getting to know them better. They're pretty funny. I can see why Sam has a ball with him at work... the stories he comes home with... oh man! It's great. So anyway, it was great to get out all my old ornaments from growing up and going through them. I think that's one of my favorite parts about decorating the tree. All the ornaments from when I was younger bring back memories, and it's so cool. Expecially this year, being able to share them with Sam. I'm so lucky... he's so great! :)

The shot and pics

Here are pics from the trip. There are musk ox, caribou, us in Deadhorse, the pipeline and sunset at about 3:00pm, and Happy Valley (there is a small DOT station and airport there... people live there). Enjoy! :)




So here's the video. It doesn't show the shot real well, because he's kind on the top of a little hill and the caribou was coming up at him. He shot it at about 10 FEET!! You should make sure your sound is on while it's playing- it's lots better that way. Make sure you pause the music though!
OH... I almost forgot to tell you how cool this was! After Sam got his caribou I was standing up by the road waiting for him, and the caribou started coming right at me. I crouched down with just my camera and started taking pictures. They literally were coming RIGHT AT ME! I was debating in my head whether or not I needed to move out of their way, stay where I was and they would go around me, or if I was going to get trampled by them. I must have moved just a bit because all of a sudden they stopped and just looked at me. I kept clicking pictures, then they turned and ran back down the hill. After they left I stood up and counted my steps (I take two steps to Sam's one) to the herd. 12 steps!! 12 steps away from 8 wild caribou!! It was nuts!

Finally...

So here's the thing... I typed up this whole long post, all about Sam's hunting trip and everything that's gone on lately, and it took forever, and then because our internet is SO STUPID, I went to save it and the internet disconnected, and it deleted it all. Since then I haven't been able to connect at all!! LAME! This is the funniest part though... Sam and I came down to Anchorage this weekend to go to the temple and brought my laptop in case we wanted to watch a movie in the hotel room... turns out they have wireless internet! So, I'm taking this very rare opportunity to update our blog! You all better appreciate this! :)

Okay, on to the updates. We're supposed to close on the house in a few weeks, we're waiting for the inspector to get the papers back to us. I'm super excited, it's nice to be able to relax every now and then! We love it. It's cool to step back and look at what's been accomplished.

Here's Sam's great update: He shot 2 caribou this November on the North Slope. We drove as far north as you possibly could and did not see one single caribou. That's insane... usually there are bunches! As far north is about 500 miles north of here, to Deadhorse, AK aka Prudhoe Bay. We were about halfway home before we saw a small herd in the middle of the road. There were 10 caribou, one bull, eight cows, and a calf. Sam was able to shoot the bull and one of the cows, which was nice to be able to share the extra meat with some of our friends who needed it. It made a really long, boring drive A LOT better!! It was super exciting. Sam hasn't ever killed anything with his bow before that, so he was really excited, and I'm super proud of him!! I'll try to get some pictures on here for you as well. If I'm super smart, maybe I can get a video for you. He's got a cute little dance he does! :)

Thanksgiving was great. It was really quiet- there was only us, Sam's brother Brandon, and another friend of ours, Monica. We made a yummy deep fried turkey, and all the great goods that go with it. I also made my first pumpkin pie... it was fantastic! I'm proud of myself!! We just hung out, ate, and watched a movie. It was a good, calm day! We truly are grateful for all the things that we have. We both have amazing families, our friends are great, we have a beautiful home, good jobs to provide for our needs, and the wonderful gospel to guide us daily. Thank you all for all your love and friendship... hopefully each of you feel ours as well!

Quilting...

So, many of you know I started a quilt a LONG time ago (like 3 years) and I still haven't finished it. Things get busy these days! I really really need to start it up again, it's going to be SO pretty!! Anyway, if you like to quilt, or want to get into it here's a site that's pretty cool. And they're doing a giveaway with some really pretty patterns and stuff. You should check it out!http://thevillageshopblog.blogspot.com/

MOOSE!!!

So the other day I was driving home from work and talking on the phone. When I pulled into my driveway I stayed in the car for a few minutes to finish up my conversation. While I was sitting there, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw a momma and a baby moose run across my driveway right behind me!! It was so cool! A few minutes later another baby ran across after them. She had twins! :) I love Alaska! I get to see all this cool wildlife right in my yard! We are definitly blessed to live here and experience so many awesome things that were created for us! Sorry I don't have any pictures, my camera was inside the house. Lame.
I'll try to get some next time!

Our House!

Here it is!

Well, now that 1. we finally have time and access to the internet, and 2. the house is FINALLY done, here is a better update on the blog including a slideshow! :) There are still a few small things that need done (the inspectors like it better if you have smoke detectors and a cover over the crawl space), but all in all, it's there. We've come a long way from a lot FULL of trees that we had to cut down and clear (you think I'm exaggerating, but I'm really not), to a really nice house. Up here they do energy ratings based on how tight your house is and the amount of insulation and all sorts of stuff- the rate from 1-5* (it goes up like 1, 1*, 2...) and ours is a 5 star! We were really proud of that, it's the best! :) It's got 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a BIG walk in closet in the master bedroom, and a lot of room downstairs. One of the spare rooms has a twin and a ful bed, a dresser, and a small entertainment center in it- that may help you imagine how the rooms are sized. There's a little extra room in it, but not a ton! :) On the slide you may wonder why I took a pic of our big empty wall, and what the electronic stuff is hanging from the ceiling in the other pic. It's our movie projector! We don't go to movies anymore- we just shoot them on the wall! :)

The color is growing on me... it turned out a little more yellow than I expected. I told Sam I wanted to paint multiple colors and he didn't like the idea a lot. So instead, I told him that one of his hunting trips he was going to come home to a painted kitchen. So- he went moose hunting and came home with one moose. I came home with 26!! :) He likes our moose in our kitchen. It turned out cool. They're just little wall paper cut-outs, and luckily they matched out paint perfect! He went on the hunt and a friend and I hung pictures, drapes, towel rods... plus some baseboard trim and cleaned the garage! Too bad the garage didn't stay that way! It's getting to be winter and cold and I want to park my car inside!

Another bit of info on the pictures... there's the one of all the trees is looking out the spare bedroom window towards the street. That's about how dense of trees our lot is. We only cleared enough for the house and just a bit more for room to move around. Can you believe it's barely October and we have snow!! We better get used to it- I'm afraid it's here to stay. Next time we see the ground will be April at the earliest, most likely May. Ugh... we better get our own internet hooked up by then!!

Update:

So here's the deal... we don't have internet. (Or a TV- Tyler says we're living in the stone age, I say it's just at the bottom of my priority list) But, our project is finally complete, and I will try HARD to get some pictures online this week. But, I have to coordinate schedules with some friends so I can get online again.

Things are SUPER FANTASTIC up here though. But still really busy. The beginning of September most of my family was able to come up and visit. The boys wanted to go caribou hunting, so since they have a built-in guide (aka Sam) they decided to make the trip this year. It was a great trip for them, all successful with really nice caribou! Sam decided he would wait until November so he could have an excuse to go back up again. When I sau "up again" it means a 400+ mile drive ONE WAY to find a stinkin caribou. The drive is really pretty, and Sam loves it up there. Crazy boy. He did have a successful hunt this year with the moose hunt- he came home with a small (antlers) moose, and a grizzly bear. The bear is really pretty. We're going to tan the hide on it, then who knows what. :)

While the guys were up north, the girls headed down south (ish) to Valdez. It's LOTS prettier down there, and it was a great trip. I do have to say how impressed I am with Brandon and Angie's girls- they had a long trip (one's 5 and the other 17 months), and they were REALLY good. It's about a 7 hour trip one way down there, and they didn't cry or complain at all. We went on a glacial cruise and it was really fun. We were hoping to see a whale and some puffins, but nope. We did see sea lions and otters and dolphins. Oh, and some bald eagles and a black bear, so that was cool.

It was a really fun trip and it was so great to see everyone (we really missed you Michelle!!), and can't wait till the next trip.

Sam's little brother moved in with us on the 23rd of September. It's kinda strange having someone else around when you're not used to it at all. But, he's a good kid, and he's fixing our 4wheeler that Sam broke, so I guess he's good for something! :) Brandon got home from his mission in July, and decided Oakley wasn't for him, so he followed Sam's lead and here he is. I'm not sure what his family thinks about this... it's starting to become a trend down there!

Well, I gotta run- it's Sunday night which means it's almost time for our weekly homemade ice cream party! (Every Sunday we make homemade ice cream and our friends come over and hang out) It's a great way to stay in the loop with our single and married friends, and most of you know how much I love to be around people. We have a lot of fun with it and have made some really great friends along the way. We are really blessed up here, and are so grateful for the amazing friends and family we have ALL OVER!! We love you!!

It's coming... are you ready??

Sam and Melanie Mullen


Okay, Okay, we thought maybe we'd start up a blog. It seems like all the kids are doing it, so we thought we'd start one, too, and make it all the "cool kids!"

BUT... you'll have to wait... we're a little busy. We'll continue the blogging with a proper unveiling!