Excuse me....what's THAT up in the sky?!

I've been asking everyone I know here the same two questions. 

1. Have you ever seen a polar bear? 
2. Can you see the Aurora Borealis in Barrow? 

Last night one of our questions was answered and our dreams of seeing this incredible natural wonder realized.

Earlier in the day, Amaury and I went story time at the library.  I've been asking many of my new mom friends about how and when to catch the Aurora.  It typically happens between 10pm-2am.  It has to be a clear night.  It's best seen away from the lights of the city.  Jose had heard from a colleague that there had been an Aurora the last 2 nights.  She was asked to call us immediately if and when she sees the lights.

Jose got home from work around 5:30pm.  The following day is a holiday (Inuit Day) here in Alaska, so we decided to take an evening trip to the AC supermarket to stock up on some goodies for our day off together.  We were going keep an eye out that evening and make ourselves stay up past 8:30pm (well, for me anyway!)

As we stepped out of the taxi at our home with hands full of groceries....Jose looks at me and says, "Baby, look UP!"

And there it was!

It started out very faint, but we could definitely see the green hue.  As it began to fade, we headed inside (hands still full of groceries and an infant snuggled inside Jose's jacket).

We started to settle in and begin another lookout, when Jose says, "I see purple!"  This is when it got really bright.  We put Amaury to bed and suited up to walk outside our house (with baby monitor in hand!)  Here's a glimpse of what we saw.  Jose did an awesome job of capturing the lights.  It was really difficult given the bright lights of the town as well as the negative wind chill!  Also, thanks to our friends for texting us to make sure we knew it was happening! 

It was magical.