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Category Archives: Family

The BIG One!

This is it!! No, not an earthquake…  The big 1-0-0 th post. I’m a little behind schedule in getting here, I thought I would coincide with our one year anniversary and make it a super big post of sorts. Well that didn’t turn out as planned, so here it is.

100PostWe have been super busy here of late. We moved to Soldotna to be closer to work and school and all the fun things we find ourselves doing all seem to be focused over here, so it made sense to move closer. It is nice to only have a few minutes drive to anywhere and anything, better than half an hour!

We’ve spent a fair amount of time indoors these past few weeks due to the poor air quality resulting from the Funny River Fire, but thankfully the fire is fully contained now and only smoldering in a few spots, being fully managed by fire crews. Amazing enough as it was, no homes or businesses were lost in this massive fire. Over 700 personnel were brought in to fight it and it got way too close for comfort for many families. Our friends who live up Funny River Road (the cabin we built last fall) were evacuated but thankfully the fire was stopped about a half mile from their home. Much too close! But all is well that ends well. We remain a grateful community to all of those firefighters, volunteers and incident team workers who were able to keep homes from harm and eventually with the help of the rain get this monster under control.

Time enough has passed, the fire teams are gone, new things are happening and for most of the community the fire is “old” news.

We celebrated the girls’ birthdays this month. I can’t believe that I am the Mother of an 11-year-old! Time does seem to fly. And a five-year old who seems to have discovered mischief in a new way. Little Bit has always been the easy-going, doesn’t get into much trouble, sweet little cutie pie that everyone loves. Here lately she has discovered that her cuteness only goes so far. 😉

Last weekend for Little Bit’s birthday we spent some time at the Kenai River Festival. We didn’t get to go to this last year as we really weren’t here long enough to know about it. We discovered that it was a great thing to go to! The kids had so much fun and could have easily spent all day there. As it was, three and a half hours was enough fun for Mama… The festival is full of learning opportunities and activity booths designed to educate young ones about our water ways and salmon, our livelihood around here in many ways. They learned the life cycle of salmon, why properly fitted and worn life vests are so important, how to properly poop in the woods (yes, there is a proper way to poop) and what an 8.0 earthquake is likely to feel like.  The festival was a lot of fun, but the best part about it came afterwards… and I’ll tell you about that in another post!

That pretty much sums up things for us now. Father’s Day found me emotional and sappy. Thoughts of Dad, this time last year I was spending time at his cabin. Also about Richie, my awesome step-dad. I sure do miss his fuzzy mustache kisses and “face spanks” as he calls them… 😉 He’s the sort of step-dad I always wanted growing up and never had. I guess I can truly say good things come to those who wait. I can’t wait until he brings himself here for a visit. He will love the great outdoors, fishing and community, he’ll fit in like a real Alaska man. Love you Richie!

 

Field Trip

Way back on May 6th we went on our first official home-school field-trip here in Alaska,to the Anchorage zoo! The trip was organized by our home-school group IDEA and was focused on Alaska’s nocturnal animals. We got a  behind-the-scenes look at several of the zoo’s exhibits and a good show by the brown bears!

Wolves

Wolves

Brown bears. The zoo has one Kodiak, one Grizzly and one "brown bear". Although they are all officially "brown bears".

Brown bears. The zoo has one Kodiak, one Grizzly and one “brown bear”. Although they are all officially “brown bears”.

The younger male decided that just lying around was boring, so he got up, sauntered over to the female (who was laying on this log) and bit her right on her rump. To which she responded by getting up and giving him a good show of teeth and growls. The larger male Kodiak came over to see what the ruckus was and they all swayed around for a bit before the young male plopped down on the aforementioned log. It seems that all he really wanted was this wooden pillow. The kids were all rolling with laughter, as if the show was choreographed especially for us! Thing 2 was especially enthralled as the brown bears were his favorite!

Learning time!

Learning time!

The kids learned a great deal about the habitats and habits of nocturnal animals. They even got to participate in making a treat for the red fox! They made a huge tub full of straw and little goodies for the fox to dig around in and enjoy, called “enrichment”, and included things such as quail wings, fur, spices and feathers. They also made little treat balls for her to eat, these were quite messy and much to Thing 1’s dismay, smelled horribly bad, she had to wear gloves in order to participate. 😉 Besides this minor set-back, her favorite part of the zoo trip was seeing the pretty foxes and her most favorite, the snow leopards.

Mr. Pickles, he was quite a ham.

Mr. Pickles, he was quite a ham.

The biologist who gave the lecture brought in Mr. Pickles for the grand finale`. He is a young porcupine and all he wanted to do it seemed was to climb out of his enclosure and get to the kids sitting around, he wanted to play. We all had a good laugh over his antics! Mr. Pickles won the heart of Little Bit, she giggled so much over his antics! Her version of “porky-pine” is too cute!

Fun at the Alaska Zoo!

Fun at the Alaska Zoo!

The weather was a bit dreary, some scattered showers and cooler than we expected, but we still managed to have some fun. After-all, this is Alaska!

The best part for Mom was the fun of getting to know new friends and getting to go shopping at Costco after the zoo! Ha!

Father’s Day

457512_10150908465489620_1632525941_oI made this photo collage of my 2 Dads  back in 2012 and it is still appropriate for today!

And here’s a new video wishing my Richie a very Happy Father’s Day!

So thankful I have a great step-dad!

Missing Dad still…

To all of you guys out there who are good Dads and Fathers, have a great day… one filled with fishing, backyard barbecues, funky ties that you will never wear and most of all love!

There’s something like a line of gold thread running through a man’s words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.

— John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery, 1994

 

Happy Anniversary!!

Today is our one year anniversary in Alaska!

This was our first glimpse at the beauty surrounding Homer last June.

June 2013 overlooking Kachemak Bay

June 2013 overlooking Kachemak Bay

We’ve seen all four seasons cycle, bears, moose, a wolf, a few caribou, and so much beautiful scenery. One never grows weary of it all! We’ve been awed, inspired, stuck in the mud, stuck in the snow, on adventures we never even dreamed of… Alaska is a good fit for us. Being surrounded by nature, learning, exploring, living and loving…. a great way of life!

We are looking forward to new adventures this summer! Spending time at the beach searching for treasures beyond measure, maybe doing a little fishing… who knows??

To all of our loved ones, we miss you and send you lots of loves!! XOXOXO

John & Claire

Happy Anniversary to my Seester and her wonnerful hubby John.

On their wedding day.

On their wedding day.

These two are the goofy-est and well-suited for each other!

Claire & John

Claire & John

And I love them and miss them!

Here’s to many more fun and fabulous years together!!

Dad’s Cabin: Work-In-Progress

During March and April we spent three weekends going back and forth to the cabin, when we could actually drive a vehicle out! We spent lots of time working on the outhouse and have very little left to do. We added bats to finish out the front and sides, only have about 3 more to add to the back (we ran out!). We also put shingles on the roof and insulated the inside roof and walls. It is nice a cozy inside!

Adding bats to the door.

Adding bats to the door.

I think Dad would be pleased!

The last weekend out we started sanding on the cabin. The kids helped and actually did most of the sanding.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 sanding the logs.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 sanding the logs.

Then together we put a coat of sealer on. Wow, what a difference!

A fresh coat of sealer!

A fresh coat of sealer!

Dad had started the front of the cabin so we only have to finish the gable end on the front, then the rest. One side down, the second side started sanding (we started putting sealer on the porch/sunroom part) and then the back-end to do.

And for our valiant efforts (mostly on the kid’s part) we had some awesome pizza for supper!

Homemade pizza!

Homemade pizza!

 

Remembrance

I wanted to do something special to mark the one year anniversary of Dad’s death. Going out to the cabin seemed like the most appropriate but with my schedule this week I couldn’t make that work. So I planned a cook-out at Captain Cook Discovery Picnic area. We had a fire and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. The sky was clear, just a bit hazy across the inlet. The tide was coming in.

Reflections

Reflections

The kids got to play and roam around exploring. We took quite a few pictures!munchkins

We enjoyed a fire, a hot meal cooked over an open flame, and then for the grown-ups, an extra special treat:

Rhubarb wine

Rhubarb wine

Jake gave us a special gift, a bottle of Dad’s rhubarb wine. Dad had spent time showing Jake how to make his famous wine and Jake still had a few bottles, so he gave us one. It was the perfect toast!

A very fizzy rhubarb wine!

A very fizzy rhubarb wine!

The sunset was beautiful. A perfect ending.

"Life has to end, she said. Love doesn't." ~Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet In Heaven

“Life has to end, she said. Love doesn’t.”
~Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet In Heaven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last of the “Firsts”?

Over the past year I have had several new “first” experiences… Father’s Day. Dad’s first birthday after his death. My first birthday. The first Thanksgiving… so on and so forth. I thought to myself the other day, wow, a whole year has passed, the “last” first is coming up. But will it truly be the  last first? I doubt it. I am sure my life has other new and exciting experiences to offer me, things that I would surely have shared with Dad, if he were still here to hear about them, or participate in them.

I am sure this wont be the last “first”… but it is a momentous one.

The one year anniversary of Dad’s death.

Remembering the man that we loved… and always will.

 

Photo credit: Tim Stringer

Photo credit: Tim Stringer

 

 

The wreath that the kids and I put together. Little Bit helped me mostly.

The wreath that the kids and I put together. Little Bit helped me mostly.

The little flag is a memo book so if anyone stops by, they can leave a few words if they would like. Dad’s picture  is in the frame Little Bit painted for him. The pewter star is about Grandfathers.

The cabin door and wreath.

The cabin door and wreath.

Watch the video tribute from Dad’s memorial last April: CNW Memorial

And for a good laugh, here’s Dad singing karaoke: Chuck Sings

 

What we’ve been up to…

Working on finishing Dad’s “two-seater” outhouse. Adding corner trim and bats…

Adding corner trim.

Adding corner trim.

Next we needed to cut out the second door, put in the Plexiglas windows and add sealer.

The other side, still have to finish the center partition.

The other side, still have to finish the center partition.

 

All trimmed out.

All trimmed out.

We all helped to paint on one coat of sealer, next time we will finish the back side trim, add a hand washing station and another coat of sealer. Notice we even have a light! That is for those extra dark nights, so three little kids wont be scared of “bares” out thare! 😉

Cabin Spring Cleaning and Other Projects

We drove the truck to the cabin last weekend. The trail is fairly smooth and it is so much nicer being able to drive in comfort and warmth!

There are so many things to be done, we got started on some of them. I spent Sunday morning and afternoon cleaning the kitchen area. All of the cupboards need de-cluttering and cleaning. I found a new roll of shelf liner that Dad had bought and I got started on cleaning out the cabinets. I started with the dishes, what a hodgepodge of stuff! Alaska glassware at its best!

clean.cupboardOnce the dishes were organized and new shelf liner installed, I started on the food storage areas. No wonder Dad hadn’t done this yet, it is a little difficult to get way back in there to clean the shelves, especially on the bottom. Being a contortionist or a small child might be helpful for reaching those hidden areas. I found some interesting icons from another era… fruit preserves and jelly from as far back as 1993! I went to visit Dad in ’94, so in theory, this stuff could have been there when I first saw my Dad’s place. Wow!

The kids spent most of the time outside playing.

Girls swinging.

Girls swinging.

The temps were in the thirties, sun shining, no wind to speak of, it was glorious. Dean got started on finishing the outhouse. He added corner trim and bats on one side and a handle on the inside of the door, next time we’ll finish the rest and hopefully if it is warm enough, put on some stain and sealer. The outhouse is a “two-seater” and is designed for a center wall separating the “pointers” from the “sitters”. The second door still needs to be cut out and the dividing wall finished.

Adding corner trim.

Adding corner trim.

We cut and peeled some Alder and smoked a turkey in the smokehouse for a few hours to give it a nice smoke flavor, then finished it in the over. We ate well that night with coleslaw and potato salad on the side of our barbecued turkey. Pealing Alder was a new experience for me.

Cut and pealed Alder, ready for the smoker. And a Camp Robber looking for a morsel.

Cut and pealed Alder, ready for the smoker. And a Camp Robber looking for a morsel.

 

Smoking!

Smoking!

I also spent some time working on the braided rag rug that I’m making from Dad’s sweat shirts. It is a work-in-progress. Each time I’m out I get a little more braided and stitched together. So far I have 6 sweatshirts involved. Dad has a couple more out there that I can add to it. It wont be huge, but it will add some color to the floor and a nice place to put your little footsies in the morning! 😉

I have two braided rug projects going on at once now. The other is a T-shirt yarn braided rug that I started last year back in Kansas. Teresa mailed it to me a couple of weeks back and I have started stitching it together. The T-shirt yarn is already braided together, so I’m just stitching the braid, but still it takes time!

I decided to make the braided rug out of Dad’s clothes since some of them weren’t worth wearing, and he had so many, I thought it would be a good way to re-purpose the clothes without sending them to the landfill. Thing 1 has also been up-cycling some of his T-shirts into pillow covers and covers for the chair pads on the metal chairs at the cabin. Waste not, want not!