Sayonara to Anna...

We've had a good time having FlatAnna in Alaska for the last couple months. It's been lovely having her.. She's such a quiet, considerate houseguest. Sometimes we'd even forget she was here!

Before we send her back to Missouri, we wanted to share some fast facts about the state of Alaska:

* Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.

* If you cut Alaska in half, Texas would still only be the third biggest state.

* The state of Rhode Island would fit into Alaska 425 times. (it's big, folks, big)

* Alaska is responsible for 25% of the oil produced in the USA.

* Dog-mushing is the official state sport of Alaska (think Iditarod).

* 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the USA are in Alaska.

* Denali (or Mt McKinley for those of you lower-48'ers) is the highest mountain in North America. It is larger than Mount Everest (but not taller, Mt Everest has 17,000 foot advantage)

* Anchorage is the largest city in the state followed by Fairbanks.

* Juneau is the state capital of Alaska. It is a smaller town accessible only by plane or boat (the only such state capital in USA).

* Alaska's coastline is longer than 6,600 miles.

* It took the Johnsons 9 days to drive from Fort Worth, TX, to Anchorage, AK, in July 2008.

* Most of the salmon, halibut and crab eaten in the USA come from Alaska.

Thanks for sending Anna on her extended vacation. She'll be leaving Eagle River, Alaska, sometime this week... she's bringing home a box of goodies for Anna to share with her class and her brother :)

I Spoke Too Soon....

Flat Anna and I woke up to about 4" of new snow this morning. I know it's because I posted about break-up. Fortunately, it's all pretty much melted at this point but the weather guy says we'll get more. Oh well :) The pic is of FA (before breakfast) this morning.

Easter and Break-Up

I bet you were wondering what FlatAnna has been up to.. it's been kind of a long time between posts. We (the Johnsons) have been pretty busy trying to fit in the last skiing of the season. The snow is melting fast up here.. and with any luck, it will stay gone! We don't really get a spring in Alaska. What we get is called "Break-Up". You see, unlike a lot of places that get snow, once it snows in Anchorage in the late-Fall, the snow stays. We don't get snow, then it melts, then it snows.. we get snow. And it stays. And more snow comes. And the plows pile up the old snow which makes big piles of icy snow... Well, once the weather warms up (it's in the low 40s now, that is warm!!), the snow and ice start to melt. And it makes a HUGE MESS! Our roads are like rivers.. there is lots of dirt and rocks (what they sprinkle on our roads so they're not too icy) everywhere and there is nothing green. Just brown and gray. Muddy ice. Yuck. Anyway, we can live with Break-Up because we know that summer is coming....

Here is Flat Anna hanging out in our emerging front yard... we haven't seen the river rocks in a long time!

Kara, Olivia and Flat Anna enjoying an after school snack this afternoon.

Flat Anna hanging out amid the Easter rubble.

Flat Anna trying to steal Mr Clayton's Easter candy......