long update

i can't seem to keep up on here for some reason.

emma's birthday was last week. she turned the big 7. last friday, she celebrated with a party. she invited some of her friends from school, a teammate from soccer, and a neighbor. our "ferry friends" also came. she received lots of wonderful gifts, and we are working on getting thank you notes out asap.

our friend, will (navy recruiter, for those of you keeping up), asked ken to be the assistant coach for the basketball team that his son is playing on. emma went along with ken to one of the practices, and she decided she wanted to play as well. so, she is now working on her 3rd sport. she really enjoys it, and she seems to be a natural at not just baseball and soccer, but also with basketball as well. she is a great sport and is also pretty competitive.

a couple of weeks ago, we went on a hike with our friends at the eagle river nature center. all of us, including the 2 year olds, hiked for 3 miles. we stopped halfway and roasted marshmallows (for s'mores) at a cabin in the woods. we had a great time. well, except that last uphill stint.

tomorrow, we go on another hike at the same location, only it will be half the distance. kids can dress up for halloween, except it will be around 20F tomorrow. we'll see how costumes work with our winter gear! at some point, the kids will get to see a "witch" in a hollowed out tree. and we will end the hike with some time in a yurt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurt

tomorrow night, we will do indoor trick or treating at a local warehouse with the same friends. i hope it is more fun than being out in the 20 degree weather. of course, it will be a large building full of grumpy parents and wild sugar filled children. we'll see.

the next weekend, we also have more "halloween" plans. more costumes. parties. candy.

speaking of sticky sugary goodness, ken is getting braces the first week of november. i think the orthodontist gave him the extra time so he could enjoy eating his share of candy. we are fortunate in that the air force is footing the bill. now, if we could only convince them that they should pay for me to have them (again) and for the kids, as i'm sure they will need them as well.

next month, for thanksgiving, we plan to have friends over and some other people that i am not personally familiar with. ken is inviting one of his single airman troops over. our navy friends are inviting some of the people from the recruiting office. we're looking at between 14-20 people. we can't wait!! we wish we could spend it with those of you back east, but this is the next best thing for us.

emma is doing quite well in school. she has homework 4 nights a week in 3 subjects. starting in november, she will add spelling to the list. i have to admit that i'm not fond of the homework, as it's not just homework for emma, but for us as well. she is doing so much more in 1st grade than i did in 1st grade. more homework. more reading. more math. i'm amazed at how much kids have to know today.

spencer is proving to be quite a smart little guy. he's not yet 3, and he is doing puzzles for ages 5-8 and sometimes more advanced than that. he knows his letters and numbers. the alphabet song is quite interesting, as it is a really long neverending jumble of numbers and letters. he's pleased with himself when he sings it, so we'll work on the correct version later. he also can draw really really well. emma wasn't drawing things like this at the same age. he can also mimic almost anything we draw. he's a lot of fun right now.

i think that's it. i made it extra long just for christie, who has been hounding me to update. so, if your eyes are struggling and a headache is looming, give a big shout out to CHRISTIE!! lol

oh, and our dog (charlie) and fish (freddy) are also doing quite splendidly.

it's been a while

it has been brought to my attention that i've not updated this in a long time. we've been really busy the past 2 months.

emma started school at the end of august. she's in 1st grade now. everything is going well with that. ken chaperoned a field trip yesterday to the local salmon hatchery. emma's class will be raising salmon from egg to salmon over the course of the year. yesterday, they retrieved the eggs and watched the process of the mommy salmon being sliced open and the daddy salmon fertilizing the eggs. ken said that all of the kids were amazed and found it to be wonderful. all of the adults that were chaperoning were grossed out. lol

emma had her final soccer game last monday. this past saturday, we had a big party at a chalet here on base. trophies were handed out and plaques for the coaches (ken was one of them) and lots of food and fun.

ken has been gone a couple of times the past 2 months. typical of his time when he's not deployed. as far as we know, he will not be deploying this winter!!! we're all very happy about that. he will be home for both of the kids' birthdays and all the holidays! he's missed the last 2 sets of all.

i recently changed my permissions on my flickr account. this is why the pictures are not showing up on the blog anymore. sorry for how ugly it looks. i'm too lazy at the moment to go through each post fixing them. from now on, just check the flickr site directly to see pictures of what's going on with us. i'll update this with information only.

the pictures of the fishing trip on flickr are from when we went with our friends to a navy recruiter outing. our friend, will, made chief in the navy. after making this rank, each of them is put through many many absurd things. like sleeping in disney sleeping bags in the middle of nowhere, hiking miles and miles. one of the least absurd things was fishing for 80lbs of salmon. they invited us along, and ken caught his first salmon!! he donated it to will so it would go towards the 80lbs. ken bought waders for emma to wear as well. she didn't catch anything, but she had fun. spencer fished with his spongebob pole and caught "plankton" every time. ;)

we're so thankful that we bought the jeep, bc in order to get to these really good fishing spots, we have to have something that can get beat up without us caring. will, lisa, sammy, and charlie drove their van to the parking area. we shoved them into our jeep (8 people and tons of gear and food) and drove through the 4-wheeler terrain. i drove, and i don't think we made it over 10mph. i think even if we'd had an accident (which was nearly impossible), we'd be okay bc we were packed in like sardines.

i will be uploading more pictures to flickr soon...the link is on the side of this blog. don't hold me to the word "soon" though. lol

killer whales aka emma's soccer team

emma started soccer a couple of weeks ago. ken is coaching her team. it's been a great experience for all of us. (our friends also each have a son on the team. of course. lol)

it has rained every single practice and every single game. actually, it has been raining for 3 weeks straight.

here are some pictures.

camping

a couple of weeks ago, we went camping with our friends to otter lake. i have to say it was one of the best camping experiences ever. the kids all had a great time, bc they had friends to occupy them. the men chopped wood. we had good food. boating. fishing. the kids even did some ceramic painting.

here are some of the pictures. there were 3 cabins, so each family had their own. no electricity or running water. however, there was a portapotty.

4th of July

we went with our friends from the ferry (really, i need to come up with a better term than that) to eagle river to see fireworks on july 3rd. here, it doesn't really get dark unless there is good cloud covering. so, festivities were done on july 3rd so that when the fireworks went off at midnight, they were technically on the 4th. worked for us. and we got lucky. tons of clouds filled the sky, so the fireworks were more viewable.

there were many things for the kids to do...bowling, fishing for toys, bounce houses, rock wall, etc. and some things for the older kids between the ages of 25 and 35. sumo wrestling and rock band.

we all had a great time, and surprisingly, spencer did NOT pass out on the way home. emma, however, did. he took a very brief nap on the way to eagle river and was grumpy for a while after that.

i look forward to next year. we will probably go to the same place, bc the kids had so many things to keep them busy. hope you all had a great one!!

alaskan summer

we went out tonight at 8pm to do some exploring at fort richardson. we're on elmendorf afb, but the 2 installations are connected. where we live is anchorage. fort richardson and the other side of our base are alaska. we have downtown. the markets. the businesses. the restaurants. they have wildlife. streams. moose. trees.

we went to otter lake, which is breathtaking. it took us a while to get there, bc the path in is a gravel/dirt road. we had to take our jeep, bc the van is too pretty to take. spencer fell asleep, and emma was bored and worried. she loves being outside, but i guess the rocks hitting the jeep were too much for her. and maybe the "WARNING: BEARS" signs were too much as well.

there are cabins at the lake that are ridiculously cheap to rent. 8$ a night. bunkbeds for the kids. a double in the back room. nothing special, but just right for people who are used to camping in tents. we don't want to use tents here, though, bc the bears are also a bit too much for ME. and ken does not want to have to get a gun just for us to do tent camping.

of course, more pictures to the right in the family link.

going green

that phrase is everywhere right now. in fact, not a day goes by that i don't hear it or read it. people are doing it many different ways. we're trying to do our part.

we had a regular mower at our old house and for every other place we've ever needed one. before moving from utah, we sold ours at our yard sale, assuming that we would buy a better one here. the one we had was just okay.

well, after some research and some thinking, we bought a reel mower today. it's not electric. it's not gas. it's not battery operated. it's not a new concept. people have been using them for decades.

and while it's great bc it is perfect for the environment, it's also perfect for us. no fumes in our garage. no chance of running out of "power" for it. and it is something that we can supervise emma using it.

i believe that after our lease is up on our van, we are also going to heavily research the pros and cons of getting a hybrid. while i'd love to say helping the environment doesn't have a cost...it does. hybrids are pretty pricey. gas prices can no longer be ignored. and i do believe that it's something that has been a long time coming. if this had not happened, i am pretty sure that "going green" would not be in peoples' minds the way it is. when the wallet starts to hurt, changes get made.

we made the switch to the cute little spiral bulbs. not that i'm fond of the mercury inside of them, but they're super sturdy and last substantially longer than the others.

we also are recycling for the first time ever. i'm ashamed to say that. well, it's not the first time ever, but it's been about 5 years since we did it on a regular basis. it's a wake up call to how much is wasted on packaging. embarrassing, really.

anyway, i'll get off my soapbox. here are some pictures of ken mowing the yard at 10pm. oh, that's another thing...no noise pollution!!

we went to the beach!

only, it's not a beach like any i've been to. but we will have to make do, as this is what we have.

we went with the friends we met on the ferry. the kids had a blast. rock throwing. mud stomping. plane watching. it was beautiful, and the weather was perfect. i think the temp reached 67 yesterday, so it was ideal for being outside. not quite bikini weather, though.


there are more pictures to the right...click on the family pictures link.

We are HOME!

it has been a very long time since my last update. 2 months, i believe. so much has happened.

we made it to alaska with no problems. we stayed in temp lodging for 49 days here in alaska, and i am so happy to say that we are finally in our own home. we got in our house on the 29th of april.

i will try to get some pictures up on the site (flickr) soon. we are still getting things done around the house, so it could be a few days.

the kids are doing great. emma loves her new school, and so do i. she is anxious to get out and meet the kids in the neighborhood.

spencer is doing much better. no more er visits or doctor visits for the past week. that's a nice change. hopefully he will be healthier and happier now that we're in a place that is clean and not dusty.

charlie is thrilled to be living with us again, although i think he may miss his other parents, bc they let him sleep on the furniture. lol one of the families we met on the ferry got their house 1 week after we arrived here. we had charlie in a kennel, and when they went to get their own 2 dogs out of the kennel, both the husband and wife were upset at leaving charlie there. they came to us and asked if they could keep him for us. he did okay at the kennel, but charlie is such a people dog that it was hard on him. we said yes right away. they did such a huge thing for us.

for those that may not know...we let scarlet go before we left utah. actually, scarlet went to another home before ken even arrived back from the desert. she did some things that were not cool with me or the kids. i found her a home with a family that had teenagers, and they wanted her so badly. while i never wanted to make the decision, it was something that was best for her and us.

on a different note...we have seen so many moose here on base. spencer now thinks that all antlered animals are moose. one of our other friends we met on the ferry saw a small black bear running across the main busy street on base. with the technology, it's so easy to get snapshots with cellphones.

we were excited at the thought of being able to go camping here. but we are hearing from everyone that if we plan to go camping, we need to not camp in a tent and also have a shotgun. we'll see. maybe our camping will be limited to rv rentals. or hotels. lol

hope you're all doing well.

we move out in 2 days!

we move into tlf (temp lodging facility) on thursday. then we leave utah on tuesday. 1 week from today!!!

did i mention !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we still have a lot to do. our calendar is packed from now until the day we leave, except sunday.

we're all so excited to move. well, emma is excited, but she is also torn, bc her friends are here. it's hard for her to understand that she'll make new friends. i hope this turns out to be an easy transition for her.

we got our reservations!

we leave utah on march 4th. we got the reservations for march 7th for the ferry. i can't believe it's almost here.

we still have so much to do. ken has one more week off of work, and then he returns for a very brief period of time. we have appointments with the moving office here on base. then the packers come. then the movers. then we have to have the house cleaned. inspections. we have to get an engine block heater put on our van next week. get a full size spare tire for the trip, bc of all the bad roads further north. move into temporary lodging while the house is packed/moved. get all of our medical records from the various places we have used. get clearance from the vet. drugs so no one pukes on the boat. i still need to talk to emma's school about her last day. we just found out yesterday that we were leaving on the 4th. we didn't want to tell the school anything until we had a set date.

i have been making lists like crazy. lists of what to take with us in the van. lists of what needs to go on top of the van in the cargo box. i have itemized lists of every item of clothing. every food item. things to purchase before we leave. in 4 weeks, we will be on the ferry. so, less than 5 weeks, we will be in alaska. i'm so excited.

i am still a bit sad that we'll be so far from everyone, but i have no doubt that we will make the best of our stay there. i am looking forward to so many things. maybe not the darkness, but i have a plan for that. thankfully, we will be arriving when each day will bring more light than the day before. and in a few months, we will be experiencing sunlight until late at night.

i even bought myself snow pants and an actual winter jacket. those of you who know me well, you know that i've always disliked the snow. i really don't see any purpose to it. i have lived 4 years in a place where it snows for months out of the year, and yet i resisted snow gear. i even bought snow boots. ken's parents sent us a gift card to llbean.com, and i used the money to buy a toboggan. a large one. which means i will *have* to ride on it. i guess i am giving in to what is inevitable. more snow.

i wish i could make the next month go by instantly so we could just get this move over with. i am ready to be in our new home, and i'm ready to start meeting new people.

ken is home

yes, this is a little late. ken has been home for a week. everything is going great. he has one more week of leave, and then he returns to work.

we're still not sure when we're leaving. ken had been wanting to take the ferry to alaska, and i put off making up my mind. so, bc we (okay, bc i) waited so late, we are now having to wait to see when we can get reservations. right now, we are hoping for march 7th. if that is the case, we leave here on the 4th or 5th to drive to bellingham, washington. 3 day ferry ride, and then we will have 2-3 days left of driving.

during the winter, the ferry only runs every friday from that point. so, if we cannot get reservations on that date, we have to wait until march 14th. we are really really hoping this doesn't happen, bc we will have to stay in our house longer, and we will lose part of our housing allowance to this house.

i put some pictures up on flickr. the link is to the right...i believe it says family photos or something along those lines.

Street Sledding

we have been hit with a ton of snow lately. our cul-de-sac is rather small, so when the snow plow comes through, there is nowhere to put the snow except in the very center. our neighbor has a snow blower, and he also positions it so that the snow goes in the center. here is what a dad with some creativity came up with...a hill for sledding!!

i have been checking alaska's weather a few times a week, and about 90% of the time, we have had colder weather and more snow. they are having a mild winter from what i hear.

this video was from last week. we've gotten much more snow since then. the hill in the center is a lot higher...too high for the kids to play on. we have a couple of feet in our yard. i am actually enjoying the snow this year!