Wednesday, July 15, 2009

North to Alaska

Today, Elodie woke up from her nap with some exceptional bedhead. She had taken out the darling princess hairdo (thanks to my niece Alyssa for teaching me another way to do her hair!) which resulted in some gravity-defying craziness off to the sides. I told her that she looked like a mad scientist. "No, I'm a happy scientist," she informed me. I realize that this story would be cuter and funnier with a picture, but our camera went North to Alaska. With Aaron, who is so alone up there in the Last Frontier that he has to take pictures of himself. Here he is in front of the Alaskan Native Medical Center where he is doing a clinical rotation in surgery. Yesterday was his first day, so he just observed. But since today was his whopping second day, he actually got to assist in surgery. I kindly (bluntly?) asked him if these surgeons knew that he has no idea what he's doing. Aaron assured me that you're fine if you just follow their instructions to a tee. Wow--he's definitely getting some good experience! The top-notch surgery department and unmatched hands-on experience offered by these Alaskans is definitely a huge plus, but I'm pretty sure that the main reason Aaron is up in Alaska is to convince me that living there will be a dream come true for the whole family. This is the home where he's currently staying. Our bishop hooked us up with some friends of theirs in Anchorage and they've offered him a couch--and food--at no charge. I'll admit, this house could be a dream come true for a large family. I love the wrap-around porch! Aaron is also trying to disprove my notion that Alaska is all glaciers and tundra. You can actually grow a garden up there, believe it or not. Check out the size of their rhubarb!And he claims that these raspberry bushes are taller than he is. Maybe this IS a dream come true! YUM!Every time I talk to Aaron he tells me how gorgeous the views are--mountains jutting straight up from the ocean's edge, with a glacier nestled right in between. Of course cameras aren't very good at capturing spectacular--he assures me that this view is awe-inspiring in person. Which means that all of you will just have to come visit us when we move up North to Alaska so that you can see the views for yourself!

2 comments:

Marliese said...

wow, it is beautiful...just so far away!

merathon said...

that does look like a house right out of a movie! if all the houses in alaska look like that then you're set!