Fur Rondy

This past weekend we celebrated the big "Fur Rendez-vous" (shortened to Fur Rondy) celebration along with the rest of Anchorage. They've been doing it for many many years. It was basically something to look forward to each winter, where everybody came together and got out during the long winters. Technically, it's still going on, but we haven't been part of anything else since Saturday. We bundled the kids up, (but not enough, I should have put their snow pants on) and set out for the day. We were glad that Kenny gets free parking downtown, since that's where he works. We caught a bit of the parade going on, then walked over to where they were doing the dog sled rides. We stood in line for a long time and paid way too much, and Ty and Bryn each got a turn taking one loop around the park in the dog sled. They loved it though, and I'm glad they got to experience it. We walked over to some random building to warm up, and it happened to have a bunch of taxidermy, which the kids obviously thought was cool. Then we walked over to the mall and had lunch in the food court. That sounds simple, but it took a really long time because of all the people. Once we were all full and warm and rejuvenated, we went to the Anchorage Museum to see the cultural fair thing they had going on. There were booths and kids doing songs and dances representing all the various countries they came from. I really am surprised at what a diverse place Anchorage is. I had no idea. It turned out to be a pretty dang cool museum and since we had all gotten in for free, we spent the rest of our time there, till the kids were worn out and ready to go home. It was a really cold day...like a high of 22 or something so it definitely could have been more enjoyable. I'm so not a fan of the cold, especially with little kids. It's hard pushing a stroller around in snow. The wheels don't spin, you just push it through. It got some contractions going, all that walking around downtown all day, so that's good. But I just keep telling myself to get over it and get used to it, because cold and snow and ice is my new life. And I just need to learn how to love it, because there's no avoiding it. We really did have a fun time, but we were sure worn out by the end. We stopped at the little cafe that was giving out free hot chocolate to kids. Ty and Bryn each got a nice cup (with whipped cream too!) for the ride home and they loved it. It was a great family day and I'm glad we did it. Once again, I'll load the pictures whenever I'm able. We were planning on going back for the fireworks after we had dinner at home, but we opted out since everyone was tired and we didn't want to keep the kids up late.

There were lots of other things going on that we didn't take part in that sounded cool. They have snowshoe softball game, snow sculpture contests, a figure-skating show, you can go on helicopter rides, a little play, and there's fur rondy royalty girls that wore big pretty fur coats. There's a ton to do, but most of it costs a lot, and is not feasible to do with little kids. I think we got our fill though. This celebration goes up until this weekend, when the Iditarod starts on Saturday.