Wise Family

On the First Week of Christmas...

2009-12-06T08:03:00.009-09:00

On the first day of Christmas, Chris and Maya both came down with the stomach flu. Maya bounced back after 12 hours but Chris continued to have stomach pain all week and missed 3 days of school. When he wasn't lying on the couch with stomach pain, he was busy putting up our Christmas tree. Since he was under the weather he decided to reuse our fake tree instead of chopping a real tree down this year. Chris doesn't like us leaving the tree lights on all the time. He's afraid we are going to run out of electricity before Santa gets here.

On the second day of Christmas, we got about a foot of snow. We actually got 2 feet of snow but the day before it had warmed up and rained. On the top of the ridge where it never got warm enough to rain, people got up to 3 feet of snow over two days. We also lost power for a few minutes several times during the storm.

On the third day of Christmas the sun came out. It was so beautiful outside with all the new snow. It looked like a Christmas card. Nothing like fresh snow to get you in the mood for Christmas!

Maya has quickly learned about Santa Claus. She tells Grandma about all the toys Santa is going to bring her when she see the toys advertised on TV. At our house she looks through catalogs and puts an M on all the toys she wants with a marker. Right now she is sitting on her potty chair with a toy catalog.

Today we are going to watch the Nutcracker. It is a local favorite production that has been reborn every year for probably about 20 years now. Every year the director adds something different so it's always fun. For example, the year the kids had a visiting circus school and learned how to juggle and ride unicycles, Jill worked a circus theme into the Nutcracker. The boys enjoying watching their friends who are in the performance. The high school boys are cast as King Rat and his army, Russian dancers, Matadors and Spanish dancers. In fact, our high school football coach's son thinks that performing in the Nutcracker ballet is what football players do after football season is over!

The performance is is our high school auditorium which is a world class auditorium used for lots of community events. And then we have the Nutcracker Fair. The high school gym and commons area is packed with local artists and merchants hawking their wares, so you can pick up some unique gifts while you are there.

Chris micromanaging Maya as they decorate the tree.

Chris putting the tree together in his pajamas.

Chris and Riley learning to make gravy on Thanksgiving.

Chris is learning to play goalie. Maya is helping to defend the goal while I take shots on Chris. At first she just stood in front of the goal. But when I learned how to do lift shots to get the puck past her, she started charging me and trying to take the puck from me!

Pilgrim Play/Bonding Through Hockey

2009-11-26T10:37:00.008-09:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Yesterday we attended Chris' Pilgrim Play. He was one of two Indians. He played Samoset and had two lines which he delivered with more style and finesse during the performance than he did during rehearsal at home. Afterwards he served us apple cider, crackers and cheese, meat stick, pumpkin bread and cookies.

Samoset the Indian.

Maya and Chris

Chris also played a crew member on the Mayflower. Doesn't he look adorable in this dew rag?

Look at the boys helping Maya tie her skates.

Maya watches a movie inside a hockey bag that Riley carried to the family room for her.

Riley even taught her how to drop her gloves for a "hockey fight". Riley is even learning how to speak French with a Canadian accent. He says " Martin San Louie" instead of St. Louis. See, hockey has some redeeming value.

Homer, the Banana Belt of Alaska

2009-11-22T15:29:00.007-09:00

Okay, forget about me whining about the single digits. It's actually 37 degrees right now. Matt has been trying to create an outdoor skating rink for the kids on our cement boat pad. I don't know how successful he will be since it's warmed up. Winters in Homer range from 0-40 with occasional cold snaps below 0, but not very often. The snowing, raining, melting and freezing up again makes walking and driving very hazardous.

If you want to see something really impressive, check out my niece in a cross country ski meet at 20 below. She's wearing a respirator and the frost on her eyelashes is so thick she looks like the Fairbanks version of Tammy Fae Baker! For more information about how real Alaskans live at 20 (and up to 40 below), go to the Wise-Edic blog on my list of favorite blogs.

Now for the hockey update. Riley's team just played in a tournament in Soldotna. They defeated KPHA 5-2 last night, Riley scoring 4 of the goals. If 3 goals is a hat trick, what's 4 goals called? A hat and scarf trick? They made it to the championship game and lost to Palmer 5-1. It was a disappointing loss but nothing that a big breakfast at Buckets Sports Bar and Grill couldn't fix. As we were finishing our breakfast, a couple who had been sitting at the table next to us dropped a note in front of me on their way out. It said: I would like to compliment you on your well behaved children.

I just read the Creasy-Duda blog about God throwing us a lifeline. This was my lifeline. I often feel like I have no control over my children and wish I was a better parent. Then once in a while, something like that happens, reminding me I'm not a complete failure. I'm not going to qualify the compliment by telling you it's easy to have well behaved children when you take them to a restaurant where they are surrounded by wide screen HD TVs all playing a different football game on Sunday morning. Or remind you that three of the boys, Riley and two teammates, had just played their hearts out and lost the 8am championship game. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the compliment. It probably won't be long before someone else is asking me to get my children under control.

First Snow

2009-11-19T10:52:00.008-09:00

This blog is about 10 days late. We had our first snow on November 7th. I promised a friend of mine who was out of town that I would take pictures for her. Then things got really hectic. Riley had his first two hockey games last Saturday. Chris' hockey team was split because there were two many kids. I am managing his team now, after I gave up managing Riley's team. Riley's team is being coached by someone way more competent than me. Chris' team is very young and inexperienced so we are not going to do much traveling. I'm trying to schedule a few games for them so they feel like a real hockey team without overwhelming the families.

We've had some dramatic weather around here. First, the longest, warmest autumn that I can remember in 10 years. Then we had several wind and rain storms, one after another. Finally, our first snow in November instead of mid-October. Now, a cold snap we don't usually see until January. It's been in the single digits this past week. Brrrr! I do prefer the cold sunny days to the grey cloudy days, but single digits? Yikes! Matt spent yesterday insulating all our skylights with foam board. My heart goes out to all the families living in substandard housing like leaky trailers, running their heaters day and night just to keep the thermometer above 50, with oil and propane prices they can't afford. I don't know why anyone but Alaskan Natives live here. I don't even know how they've been doing it for thousands of years!

Morning light on a snowy day, it's 9:55am.

Riley and Chris making snowballs.

Instead of "snow angel", Maya says she's making a "snow me". Precious.

Chris' start on a snow man.

Matt bought Maya her own hockey gear because nothing at the rink fit her. Doesn't she look like a transformer?

Halloween, 2009

2009-11-01T18:42:00.007-09:00

Last night we went out for Halloween. Our friends got the flu so their party was cancelled. It was unfortunate because nobody does Halloween like the Greears. First we went trick or treating at Riley's school. Maya saw two of her friends there. Then we went to the Long Term Care facility at the hospital. The hospital is being remodeled so parts of it were under construction. We got lost for a minute and Riley started to get nervous. I wanted to tell him we were going to the morgue but that would have freaked him out too much. There were a lot of Grim Reaper out last night. I wondered what the elderly folks at the Senior Center thought about that.

After the hospital, Riley and Chris went trick or treating in the neighborhood with Bradley and his family while Maya and I went to the Senior Center. We ended up at Ly and Bill's house and helped Ly pass out candy for a while. Maya was mad that she didn't get to go door to door with the boys. I hate trick or treating when it's 21 degrees out. It was cold and clear with a nearly full moon. Since it's so cold here many parents drive their kids around to trick or treat. There are a few small neighborhoods in Homer that get the majority of the trick or treating. So the streets are congested with cars idling and kids running across the street in the dark. It's kind of a nightmare for me. I was perfectly happy to take Maya to a few places then go home to eat her candy.

Two Grim Reapers, a Faerie, a "Mint Witch" and Darth Vader. Bethany's costume bag said "mint witch", meaning green. So she carried a bag of mints around and passed them out.

The Faerie, Darth Vader and the Grim Reaper.

Lawson and Maya

Olivia and Maya

Pumpkin Party

2009-10-25T09:10:00.006-08:00

Yesterday we attended the Annual Sonnen Family Pumpkin Carving Party. It is wholesome fun for the whole family. Karin and Rich served up chili, pumpkin bread, apples with caramel, hot and cold cider. I helped Rich and Karin judge the pumpkins. It is no easy task! The results:

(back row left to right) Jessica: cutest pumpkin, Chris: most unique, JJ: best cyclops.

(middle left) Andy: best triclops, Rachel: nicest eyelashes.

(front row) Maya: best smile/frown, Brad: most resembles a hockey player, Riley: scariest.

Shadow is the perfect Halloween cat. I accused Karin of picking him up from the pound as a Halloween decoration and returning him after Halloween. Here he is eyeing my dog suspiciously.

Spiders and puppy tails

2009-10-22T10:34:00.006-08:00

I have been asked by mothers expecting their first child in the past: Is there really a difference between little girls and little boys? I remember being at a baby shower once, full of intellectual, professional and gentile women. When that question was directed at me, I forgot the company I was with and blurted out: "Why yes! Boys are generally louder, more active, and girls don't go around pretending to pee on the dog!" The last part of my response was accompanied by the full on Elvis Presley pelvis wiggle as I imitated boys pretending to pee on a dog. Of course it totally depends on the child. Sometimes there is no difference. Most children are somewhere in between.

Both my daughters are girly-girls who like to do boy things. Sarah has always had more male friends than girl friends. She was a femme fatale from the get go, picking out leopard print skirts before she was 12 months old. I started to really worry when she started preschool at Montessori and her two best friends were twin boys! My mom said she was super easy to babysit because she just carried an old purse around and filled it with things. But she played dentist instead of doctor. When she was in high school, she wanted to be a marine biologist. I could imagine her, the only marine biologist marching around the research vessel in high heels and a mini skirt. I feel guilty telling her that most marine biologist end up categorizing plankton, not swimming with dolphins. But maybe the real reason she went into psychology was because high heels are not practical on a marine vessel.

On Tuesday Maya had playdate with her new friend E. They are both high energy girls so I was prepared to be on full duty. After feeding our neighbor's horses carrots and broccoli, running through the woods and swinging on our playset for 30 minutes, we came inside to play where it was warm. E. asked if we had any dress-ups. I pulled out our little chest of poorly stocked dress ups: several Chinese and Vietnamese outfits, an old lion costume and an old dalmatian costume. None of them fit E. but she managed to squeeze into the dalmatian outfit which barely covered her tummy, her tights and panties visible underneath. Maya changed into a pink Vietnamese outfit, not the au dai but the pajama style. I carefully hid the fairy costume knowing no amount of diplomacy would save the playdate if E. spied Maya's only girly costume. They started to play doctor.

I was strict about leaving the bedroom door open. They told me they didn't want me to see what they were doing. I said that's why we have to leave the door open. I was agreeable to them practicing any kind of medicine except gynecology. Maya lay down on the bed while E. pretend to cut her tummy open with a plastic knife from the play kitchen set. I reminded them to leave their clothes on and no surgery on private parts. They assured me they were not going to do any such thing. Then they fed each other medicine from wooden spoons. This went on for some time.

Then Maya pulled out her favorite dress ups: sports gear. She put on the boys' old elbow pads and knee pads for skateboarding. I helped E. to do the same. They both wanted the fingerless gloves and they each had one on. I talked Maya into wearing the wrist guards and letting E. have the other fingerless glove. I told her, you can wear the gloves when E. goes home. In classic 3 year old fashion she said what we as adults have learned to keep to ourselves: "I want her to go home right now." But we got past the glove incident and that is when E. father arrived to pick her up.

He could not stifle a chuckle as he asked "My, what are you wearing?" I told him we were seriously lacking in the dress up department so she had to settle for a dalmatian costume 3 sizes too small and skateboarding gear. Like a true doting father he whipped out his cell phone and snapped a photo. He suggested next time maybe E. could bring over some of her own dress ups. Maya can't wait for E. to come over today and give her more medicine.

This picture sums up the spectrum of our boys and our girls.

Chris is into making animals out of construction paper. Here he is attaching the tail to paper Trevor.

Here's Chris' tarantula. I helped with the legs. Note the articulating knees (even slacker moms occasionally overachieve).

I helped Maya with this black widow for her bedroom door.

Riley is finally discovering the joy of reading. Having completed his first book report without any bribing, coercing or threatening from me on "The BFG" , he is now reading "Ruby Holler" with gusto. I complained loudly and frequently last year about our struggles with him being in the "college prep 4th grade". This year it's all paying off as he does his homework with very little help and few reminders!

Learning to Skate

2009-10-17T19:27:00.009-08:00

Today Maya went to her first Learn to Skate lesson. It's a great program for kids starting at 3 years of age. It's a great way to learn to skate because it doesn't hurt to fall down. She loved every minute of it. When you put a bunch of 3 year olds on ice, there's always bound to be somebody crying. Not Maya! I thought she was going to cry when I pulled her off the ice. The gear was too big so she could hardly move. The coach suggested we make some modifications, like using elbow pads for knee pads. One of the mom said to me "She's not afraid of anything, is she?" I answered with "Only flies!".

Gearing up.

I'm ready!

Got my name on my helmet.

Pushing buckets encourages them to move their legs outward in a skating motion.

Making new friends.

Look who else is learning to skate!

No more pictures, Mom!

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-12T15:38:00.006-08:00

Chris has been begging me to carve pumpkins for a month. I couldn't hold him off any longer. So Wednesday night we carved our first pumpkins. They are attending a pumpkin carving party in another week. Maya was into it for about 5 minutes. Then she played with orange home made playdough. I helped finish her pumpkin.

Theses pumpkin carvers are safer and actually work much better than knives.

Maya kind of looks like her pumpkin, except she has more teeth.

I turn my back to make dinner and Maya makes herself a headband out of playdough!

I was not amused at the time but then I realized how funny it would be if it was somebody else's child.

Earthworms and parachutes

2009-10-01T15:15:00.007-08:00

Last weekend I went to my annual Alaska Nurse Practitioner Association conference. My favorite lecture, once again, involved brain chemistry. I am fascinated by the brain and learning what makes us tick...er..well, okay, so the heart is the ticker. I am more interested in learning how we think, feel, respond to the world around us. This particular lecture was on insomnia, taught by a neuropsychiatrist. He was trying to explain anatomy of the brain and the sleep-wake cycle. Most people have heard of the cerebrum, the cerebellum, maybe even the hypothalamus. But did you know about the the amygdala and the locus ceruleus? Judging from those names, it seems George Lucas shares my passion for neuroanatomy.

Fastforward 5 days: I'm now home with the kids. Chris stayed home from school yesterday with a stomach ache. At first I thought he was just suffering from MDD (Mommy Deficit Disorder), but last night he actually had a fever. So today he is home again, even though he is feeling better. After Riley and Maya left for school, he got bored and wanted to go for a walk. He seemed fine so I packed a lunch and we went for a short hike. It's a gorgeous sunny fall day. He held my hand and we walked and talked. I really enjoy being alone with Chris. Being a middle child, so much of his (bad) behavior is influenced by reacting to his older brother and younger sister. But when it's just him, he has no need to define himself in the context of his siblings and is free to just be himself. I never believed in that sibling theory stuff until I had three children who are less than 4 years apart.

Now we are home with Maya and he wants to make a parachute. Yesterday he wanted to know if earthworms can see. So I googled "can earthworms see?" and we got the answer to our question (Earthworms do not have eyes but they have light sensors and can tell light from dark). It worked so well I decided to google "how to make a parachute". I got some directions, it seemed pretty straight forward. Since I am too lazy to read the directions to him (because I'm in the middle of blogging), I look for a video. I click on a video and we start watching it. After about 15 seconds I realize the guy doesn't seem to be making anything that looks remotely like a parachute. There is rock music blaring in the background. I look back at the description of the video and realize I'm showing my 7 year old how to make a homemade pipe for smoking pot. Okay, one more reason why I should NOT home school my kids.

Update on Maya: Maya is loving school. Her speech teacher wrote me a note telling me how impressed she is with Maya's progress in speech. Yesterday she used a 6 word sentence. She told another child "You should get back over there!" Then the bus driver called me because Maya told him to drop her off at Grandma's house. The bus drops her off at Grandma's on Mondays when I am at work. On Wednesdays it brings her home. She was trying to pull a fast one over on the bus driver. On Monday she told Grandma "Grandma, if you that again, I going to kick your butt". I think she got some time out to think about how NOT to talk to grandma. We are obviously still trying to establish the pecking order around here.

Update on Riley: Riley started band this year and chose to learn how to play the trumpet. We dug Matt's old trumpet out of the closet and he was able to make noise with it right away. Now he is working on making music. It's neat to see him excited about something besides sports. It seems music is not his only new interest. Monday he sheepishly said to me "Mom, Bradley is trying to get me a girlfriend." I answered "Why? You don't like to talk on the phone, you can't go on dates yet, why do you want a girlfriend? You tell Bradley I said you are too young to have a girlfriend." He walks downstairs with a smile on his face, looking mildly embarrassed. Then Chris says in classic deadpan, nonchalant Chris fashion: "I have a girlfriend." I said "You do?" He said "Yes." I said "Who is your girlfriend?". He answered "Quinlan". I have learned from past experience that teasing Chris about girls is off limits. So I just say"Okay" and drop it. From downstairs I hear Riley saying "See, Mom? Even Chris has a girlfriend".

I'm not ready for the boys to have girlfriends. I want Chris to keep making parachutes for a long time. He has now finished a plastic one and a cloth one. Now he's busy making homemade ice cream. I better get dinner started!

I can't seem to get the black birds to land in a yellow tree on a sunny day with the blue sky in the background. Matt suggested I hang lunch meat from the branches!

Fall currant leaves against tree trunk.

Trevor got this big bone for his 5th birthday. Chris cut his bangs in school when he was bored. This is how he looks after the fix-it-before-picture-day-haircut.

Maya's new Tinkerbell cell phone.

Let's see which works better, plastic or cloth parachute?

Mom Takes Owl to Show and Tell Without a Permit

2009-09-20T22:36:00.006-08:00

The most exciting thing that happened to us this week was finding a dead Great Horned Owl on the road. Well, we didn't actually find him, Alana did. She sent me a text message that said "I found a dead owl on the road, do you want it?" I sent her a message back: "Yeah!". So we met at Jerami's and I got the dead owl out of her trunk.

It was lying on it's back with it's wings spread out. It was such a beautiful specimen, if you didn't look at it's head. We think it might have been hit by a car. The neck appeared to be broken and the head was kind of smashed. One eye had been pecked out (probably by ravens) and the other looked like an ogre sucked the jelly out of it. There was some dried blood on the head and just a little on one of the wings. But if you ignored the head and just looked at the wings, it was an incredible creature.

I took it home and showed the boys when they got home from school. At first they were not very impressed. They barely gave it a second glance. The next day I took it to Chris' class and asked his teacher if she wanted to see it. She was absolutely thrilled and asked me to bring it into the library. I spread it out on the lid of my tote for the second graders to see. Most of them were duly impressed and there were only a few "ews". Some of the children touched it's leathery feet and long talons while Ms. Boone said "Can you imagine being a mouse being carried away inside that foot?" While the kids crowded around to admire the beautiful feathers, Chris gave me a hug and said "Thanks, Mom." Then I took it to Riley's school and showed his class. Riley's teacher from last year is really into science so I showed her class, too.

Next, I had to figure out what to do with the owl. I wanted to have it stuffed and mounted but Matt informed me there might be laws making it illegal to possess an owl. So I called every scientist in town that I know but kept getting voice mail. Finally, someone called back and told me I needed a permit to show him around and then I needed to turn him over to Fish and Wildlife. I had already taken him to show and tell without a permit. It was kind of exciting to think I had broken the law! I could just see the headlines: "Homer Mom Imprisoned for Illegally Showing Dead Owl to School Kids". I secretly hoped that I could served my sentence in the same prison condominium where Martha Stewart and Paris Hilton stayed, instead of getting thrown in with the hardened criminals.

I brought it to the wildlife refuge research center here in town and the bird expert took the owl from me. I confessed I had taken it to two schools and she said "That's okay. Thanks for turning it in." That was it. The anticlimactic ending. I didn't get so much as a slap on the hand or a fine. It was really cool to have been able to see such a magnificent animal up close like that. I do kind of miss it and wish that I could have had a skilled taxidermist restore it to a fraction of it's previous glory to keep in my home. After it gets tagged and registered, it will be turned over to our local museum. I forgot to take pictures of it so I uploaded some photos from the Internet for the blog. I wonder what manner of creature will wander into our yard next week, perhaps a porcupine?

Another Bear Visit

2009-09-13T19:39:00.002-08:00

Trevor treed another bear in our yard the other day. Matt thinks he weighed about 300 pounds. This is not the cute young bear we had in our yard a couple of months ago, unless he gained 200 pounds over the summer!

Back to School

2009-09-10T06:31:00.005-08:00

The last two weeks have been a blur. All I remember is having a lot of anxiety about getting the kids back to school, and then putting my nose to the grind stone. The kids all have wonderful kind teachers with lots of experience and I am grateful for that. Maya started her second year at Paul Banks Preschool two hours per day, Mondays and Wednesdays, where she gets speech therapy. Her teacher says she has elected herself the class leader. She looks so confident going about her "duties" as a special helper. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 1pm she goes to the same preschool both the boys went to when they were little. It is run by a friend of ours who is wonderful with the children. I was hoping to get caught up on the mountains of work I have been neglecting for the two years. Not a chance.

First, we are still trying to finish up our rock project before the snow falls. At this point I think the rocks will be in but the rest of the landscaping may have to wait until next spring. Second, two of our co-workers are trekking in Bhutan for the month of September so I offered to work some extra shifts while they are gone. This is proving to be epic as we begin the cold and flu season with the additional threat of H1N1, the swine flu. After a 10 year old boy in Fairbanks with no known pre-existing conditions died last week, parents, school nurses and public health nurses are all in a panic. Now every child with a sniffle is suspected of having swine flu. We are rapidly running out of Tamiflu in the local pharmacies. I think I am suffering from the collective anxiety. I spent 3 hours at the office yesterday on my "day off" returning phone calls, calling in prescriptions, sending referrals and writing lab letters. I did not even get to my charting.

There seems to be no end to the amount of work. I have not been able to finish the book "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" or put to use any of the information I was taught at the time management seminar I attended last winter. According to the 80/20 rule, 20% of what we do is the most valuable work. The other 80% is scut work that we do unconsciously. For the past year I have been frustrated with the 80% of my life that is scut work. I feel so bogged down by the repetitious chores that are so tedious and mundane, like housework and charting.

In my quest for higher consciousness I decided to start a writers' group. It started when I was reading a book Matt's cousin published with her writers' group, 5 emerging Brooklyn writers. Reading her work made me feel so alive, I wanted to feel that way more often. The first week only two of us could attend and we had a wonderful time, writing and sharing our work and getting to know one another better. But as a parent of 3 young children it is so difficult for me to make that kind of time for myself on a regular basis. First, you have to line up childcare, then you have to get there. That part was not so bad but the next day I was so tired from lack of sleep that I was essentially useless.

Back to the rock quarry. Last weekend my mom took the kids away for a few hours and I put 7 hours in at the rock quarry. I really enjoy physical labor that doesn't require much thinking. It allows my mind to wander and I am prone to day dreaming. Sometimes I get more clarity in my thinking. It's that old Zen principle, chop wood, carry water. In my case it was shovel rocks, wash rocks, push wheel barrow, dump rocks. I feel at peace with the world during my hours in the rock quarry. I am starting to think that maybe the key to happiness, for me, is not trying to maximize the 20%, but being more present in the moment and finding meaning in the other 80%.

Take picture of me, Mommy!

First day of school, toting supplies.

Vanessa liked my Pujols story so much, she got me my own Pujols shirt!

Eating out of the garden.

It's summer until the fireweed is at the top!

2009-08-18T23:22:00.007-08:00

It's good to be back home. When we were in Fairbanks the fireweed had gone to seed and the leaves were already starting to turn color. I am not yet ready for fall. Back home the fireweed is not yet at the top so we still have a little summer left. The weather forecast predicts the next four days will be sunny. I am hoping to take advantage of this time to complete some home improvement projects.

Our biggest project this summer is what I call "the rock quarry". We are replacing the rocks under our deck which are there for drainage and weed control. But they have been there for over 20 years and so much dirt has settled among the rocks that they were growing strawberries and weeds. Tomorrow a dump truck will arrive with a new batch of drainage rock which we will put over the existing rocks, one wheelbarrow at a time. I have also been trying to simplify my flower beds and the plan is to cover the ground between my plants with weed blocker and mulch so the beds are more manageable.

While we were in Fairbanks the chickweed went crazy in my vegetable garden. My radishes should have been harvested already and now they are the size of racquetballs! Some of the broccoli has flowered and a few of the rainbow chards are going to seed! I need to start harvesting my kale and chard and freezing what we cannot eat right now.

The rest of the week is devoted to getting ready for school. We picked up school supplies today. Part of getting ready for school also included getting all three children their second Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine. I had all summer to do it but waited until the 11th hour. So at 5pm we headed to town for the mass dispensing of the varicella vaccine clinic. The public health nurses anticipated there would be so many of us last minute parents that the clinic was held at our local Elk's Lodge.

The Elks Lodge is a multipurpose facility that hosts everything from spaghetti feed fundraisers to the high school prom. So when I told the boys we were going to the Elk's Lodge for their shots, Riley asked if it was going to be a party. I said it will be a chicken pox vaccine sort of party. Then Chris asked if there would be food there. I said I didn't think so and he was rather peeved.

When we arrived there was no where to park and a long line had already formed outside the door. It was a rather festive atmosphere, waving to friends we had not seen lately. Some children appeared somewhat apprehensive but overall, it was pretty laid back. Inside there were stations set up for registration, screening, administering the shot and checking out. Every public health nurse, school nurse and retired nurse had showed up to volunteer. There were other community members and even volunteer firefighters and EMTs there!

At first I was upset because I could not find the boys' vaccine records. Then I was irritated with myself for not having made an appointment for shots earlier in the summer so I wouldn't have to stand in this long line with all the other procrastinators. Then I felt guilty because I did not think to volunteer to help with the mass dispensing. I had planned to give the kids shots myself but our clinic's freezer broke down and we had to return all the vaccines to the state. Therefor, the public health clinic was the only place the kids could get their vaccines. But there were so many volunteers and the whole thing was so well organized that everyone left in good spirits.

I think having it done that way may have decreased anxiety for many children. There was very little crying going on. Most of the boys wanted to appear tough and pretended that it didn't hurt. Chris was still irked that there was no food. Riley suggested that next time they have someone walking around making balloon animals. But not a clown. We both agreed that clowns are kind of creepy. I had bribed my kids with candy and noticed another child in line clutching a brand new car still in it's box. Afterwards Riley asked if Bradley could spend the night. First I said "No, we have to get on a school schedule". Two seconds later I said "Oh sure, you all just got shots!". Bradley's mom said "Boy, you sure caved in fast!". Like I said, I'm not quite ready for summer to be over.

It's not over until the fireweed is at the top.

Boys with giant jaw breakers, Maya with the World's Longest Candy Necklace

I found a garden fairy!

The best way to get children to eat vegetables is to plant a garden (and have plenty of ranch dressing!)

North Pole Disneyland

2009-08-15T09:37:00.008-08:00

Yesterday we took the kids to North Pole to visit our friends Ken and Kirsten. They have two boys: Kevin, age 11, and Ryan, age 8. Ken is really into hunting and fishing. He has a house, two cabins, multiple 4 wheelers and tons of other rigs, much to Kirsten's dismay. Ken is the ultimate Alaskan Redneck. I told them I would be doing an expose on North Pole Rednecks on my blog. I promised Kirsten anonimity, so you will not see any pictures of her, just everything else.

In Kirsten's defense, I do want to make sure I include the fact that Kirsten has tried her hardest to balance the boy's upbringing with lots of educational toys, art and creativity. She home schools the boys using a modified Waldorf curriculum. There is a play structure in the back yard with a swing on a zip line. Kirsten has a really cool collapsible clothes line. She fed us a delicious moose-vegetable soup, salad and homemade bread. She subscribes to Mother Earth Jones and recyles.

But my kids don't care about any of that. They were only interested in the 4 wheelers and Ken's rusty rigs in the yard. They were in boy heaven. Kevin, who is a very responsible 11 year old, took the boys for rides on his 4 wheeler. Maya happily played inside with all their toys. I had to drag my kids away kicking and screaming. I made the boys exchange email addresses, phone numbers and promise to write. Riley, Chris and Bradley now have two new pen pals. And a good time was had by all.

Hockey camp: that's Riley shooting on Bradley.

Chena hot springs. The kids were not allowed in the man-made lake just beyond this hot tub. They enjoyed the pool and 3 different hot tubs. Matt and I took turns sitting in the hot lake and watching the kids. The last 30 minutes, Nanna sat with the kids so we could go in the hot lake together.

This is Roxie, one of their two rescued Basinjis, a breed of "barkless" dogs.

Kevin takes Chris for a ride.

Boys on the bear rig.

Maya even found a three wheeler her own size (don't worry, it doesn't work anymore).

Nanna's 70th Birthday

2009-08-12T20:49:00.016-08:00

Yesterday was Nanna's birthday. She wanted to take the younger children to Pioneer Park. So we let her. They went on the merry-go-round. Then they played on the playground. When the big boys were done with hockey camp, they joined us for miniature golf.

For dinner Kathleen made us salmon, rice and salad. Nanna picked out a chocolate cake with blueberry ice cream from Hot Licks. Then we watched Weekend at Bernie's. Tonight Nanna is off having fun with her friends.

This morning Chris and Maya went with Nanna to North Pole. She took them to Santa Land where they met with the big guy in the red suit. He asked Maya what her name is. She told him "Tinkerbell". He said "Oh, I've always wanted to meet Tinkerbell". She has been telling us that is her name for the past 3 days. She also insists Matt is Daddy Tinkerbell and I am Mommy Tinkerbell.

This morning I enjoyed walking around at the Botanical Garden at UAF by myself. Then I took Bradley and Riley to Old Navy for some back to school shopping. Tomorrow we are going to Chena Hot Springs!

Megan and Maya

The S.S. Nenana

The Merry-go-round.

Miniature golf.

See no evil, hear no evil, do no evil.

Does anyone know what kind of flowers these are?

Heather on the left, Megan on the right, with her new haircut.

Appetizers: tomatoes/mozzarella and basil, bread, olives, purple carrots.

Kathleen' s wine aerator.

Kathleen's wine cellar.

I was in charge of roasting the peppers. This is what happens when you drink two glasses of wine before dinner.

Nanna's birthday cake.

Tanana Valley Fair

2009-08-11T11:01:00.007-08:00

Last night we went to the Tanana Valley Fair and blew our budget for the whole week. I wish there was a way to just see the farm animals and giant cabbages without having to go past the games and rides. The thing that irks me the most is the rows and rows of tents hawking their wares that have nothing to do with a county fair. Okay, I can understand how this may be a big money maker for people who make pet ID tags for a living, but do we really need Mermaid Imports at the fair? What do things made in China have anything to do with a county fair?

If I was in charge of the world, county fairs would not allow anything not grown or made locally by hand to be sold at a county fair. Heavy equipment would be limited to farm equipment or environmentally friendly machinery that uses renewable sources of energy, like windmills. No hot tubs (cedar built saunas okay), no four-wheelers, no Army tanks. Just rows and rows of honey, goat cheese, wool hats and mittens, jams, pickles, birch bowls, wooden toys, handmade musical instruments, kites, fleece clothing and backpacks made out of recycled plastic water bottles, and organic fruits and vegetables for sale. How about a race track with cars that run on recycled vegetable oil. There would be a steady supply from the food booths. What if each car, instead of being decorated with decals advertising Home Depot, Lowe's, and Old Spice, each car had decals of the stand where the oil came from: Elephant Ears, deep fried zuchini and beer batter halibut.

And another thing: do we really need deep fried Twinkies? Does any other country on Earth take a nasty, artificially flavored snack pumped full of chemical preservatives and dip it in hot grease? 'nuff said.

The annual farm fair family photo.

The giant cabbages. This year's blue ribbon is 46 pounds. The record is 66 pounds.

Maya's new fairy dress with attached wings.

Petting goats

Petting chickens

Driving to Fairbanks

2009-08-10T11:49:00.019-08:00

So here we are in Fairbanks. Riley and his friend Bradley are attending a hockey camp. We haven't been to Fairbanks since Christmas, 1999. It was a bit epic just getting here. There have been massive wildfires in the area that have cast heavy smoke over Fairbanks and closed the Parks Hwy at times. We were not sure we would be able to drive up. The Fairbanks Airport was closed so flying was not an option.

When we were getting ready to fly to Arizona in May, we were not sure if planes would be flying due to the volcano erupting. Funny how we move here for the natural beauty, then are surprised when our lives are inconvenienced by natural disasters. I should speak for myself, Matt's family is not surprised at all. Kathleen tried to prepare me all week for the smoke and haze. Fortunately, there was heavy rain Saturday night that opened the highway and left the air clean.

The drive up was not bad at all. We drove 5 hours to Palmer on Saturday, stopping several times. First, we stopped in Anchor Point to drop Trevor off at Lynn and Darwin's doggie daycare. Then we stopped in Soldotna for lunch. Then we stopped in Anchorage to pick up two more wireless headphones for the DVD player in my Toyota Sienna 7 passenger van. This was a critical key to the peaceful drive to Fairbanks on Sunday (thanks to my brilliant husband!).

We arrived at Jill's house around dinner time. Jill is the friend that graciously put us up during the state hockey tournament in April. She once again opened her home to us and we are ever so grateful. Sunday morning we stopped at Kristin's on the way out of town to visit her giant malamutes, Lupine and Gus. Riley had never seen Kristin's dinosaur egg so I had to get a picture for the blog. It is a truly amazing artifact as you can see from the photo below. Kristin and Gary found it while hiking.

Then we drove 309 miles to Fairbanks. We only stopped once, for lunch at the entrance to Denali Park. We smelled a hint of smoke but nothing like the heavy haze they had been experiencing for a week. Wildfires are common in the interior, but this year was particularly extreme. I'm trying to get an update on the total number of acres burned but haven't been able to come up with the most recent data. The kids were really good on the drive. They only started losing it during the last 30 miles. Matt was trying to nap in the car. They were really good the rest of the trip when I was napping. I am legendary for my carcolepsy. You've heard of narcolepsy? That's when people fall asleep mid-sentence. I cannot stay awake more than 15 minutes in a moving vehicle unless I have a giant bag of jalapeno flavored sunflower seeds and a Coca Cola. Oh well, it's payback time. They usually sleep on the flights Matt has them and fight on the flights I sit next to them.

We arrived in Fairbanks at dinner time. Kathleen made an incredible dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and blueberry crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Kathleen's friend Kathy and her son Alex came over for dinner. The kids jumped on the trampoline, found a fugitive bunny, picked raspberries, played soccer, and groomed Wenonah, the ancient kitty. After dinner Alex treated us to a violin recital. At bedtime they got to watch Ratatouille before bed (We are just a little obsessed with food). Tonight we are headed to the Tanana Valley Fairgrounds to hear Alex play his violin, see the giant cabbages and, yep! you guessed it, consume large amounts of fairground food!

This is Uncle Jack, one of my mom's brothers.

We had to take turns being in the photo. Matt was on call in the ER.

Dropping Trevor off at Lynn and Darwin's doggie daycare. That's their new puppy, Sadie.

Under Jill's apple tree.

Dinner with Jill and Kristin: salmon with dill pesto, wild rice pilaf and salad.

Maya took this photo of the boys with Gus.

Maya took this photo of Lupine giving me a kiss.

Kristin and Gary found this fossil that looks like a dinosaur egg.

The spruce trees in the interior of Alaska are stunted by permafrost.

We stopped for lunch at the entrance to Denali Park.

Maya poses on this very decorative cache. A cache is for storing food where bears cannot get it.

Heritage tomatoes, mozzarella and basil sprinkled with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

The boys caught the bunny that has been living under Kathleen's shed. We think it was someone's pet who escaped. His ears are all chewed up from frost bite last winter.

Kathleen's 18 year old cat, Wenonah.

Alex plays violin for us. Maya is dancing along.

Sarah and Ryan in Alaska

2009-08-10T11:06:00.011-08:00

Sarah visited us for 3 weeks. Ryan came up for the last 10 days. It was cloudy, raining or foggy most of the time. I think Ryan had 2 sunny days. The first sunny day they tried to go disc golfing. We found a private disc golf course in Homer on Diamond Ridge. I kept saying to Sarah, oh it's going to be so pretty up there with all the fireweed in bloom. I forgot about the part where you have to FIND your disc in all that fireweed!

Sarah and Ryan went fishing with Matt's sister Kathleen and Steve one day. They caught halibut and cod but no salmon. They went fishing with Matt one day, got one small cod and several "ugly fish" or Irish Lords. They tried their luck one last time with a friend of Sarah's. Mike put down a crab pot and got 5 Tanner crabs that were keepers.

Most of the time, we just hung around the house, shooting hoop, playing catch, eating massive family dinners. While Ryan and Sarah were here, so were Kathleen and Steve. Then we had visits from out of state friends like Vic Varrick, his son Chad, and grandson Trent. Then our last interim pastor, Richard Gilbert from Wyoming came to visit with his two grandsons from New Mexico. Finally, my uncle Jack visited from New Jersey. That gets us all caught up to where we are now, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Sarah in the fireweed.

Ryan and Maya

Sarah looking good in rubber overalls.

Chris and Riley take Flat Stanley disc golfing.

Now where did that disc go? And where is the next basket?

Trevor enjoying some one on one time with Sarah.

Tanner crab doing pull-ups. By the way, this is what dust mites look like under the microscope, Ewwww, YUCK!

Sarah's back! (And so is the rain!)

2009-07-20T20:35:00.013-08:00

I jinxed myself by posting that blog about the warm weather. It's been raining for 3 days. Tonight there's a heavy fog all around us. I blame myself. I was planning to take the kids camping this week. Sarah says it's her fault because she is home for 3 weeks. Of course, we all know it's probably Matt's fault. He's taking a few days off this week to go fishing.

Never the less, we will try to enjoy our time with Sarah and adjust our activities accordingly. Last week, Chris and Riley went fishing with Matt. They caught a 2 pound trout called a Dolly Varden and a 30 pound halibut. When Matt cut open the halibut's stomach,he found 19 crabs and one candle fish! He's hoping to catch a king salmon this week.

The kids are enjoying soccer. We have a fantastic soccer coach. He carries the little ones around for a while if he sees them clinging to their mother. Then he puts them so they can kick the ball. By the end of the hour, every 3 year old has a foot on a ball. He has them divided into four different groups led by 4 different youths. They rotate through each station so they don't have time to get bored. One of the stations is playing with a giant soccer ball!

Friday night I drove to Anchorage to pick Sarah up. The boys didn't want to go so it was just Maya and me. She was a great traveler. We went to Costco on Saturday morning to load up on supplies. She saw a Disney Princess song book with a pretend Ipod. I put it in the cart dreading the four hour ride home. Once it fell on the floor she forgot about it for a while, thereby sparing my sanity. She enjoyed watching her Tinkerbell movie and Curious George DVD based on the PBS television show, things she doesn't get to watch when the boys are in the car.

Our social worker's daughter, Mara, who is adopted from China, is raising money to go to NY for a Montessori Model United Nations conference. We sent a donation and she sent us a Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley is featured in some of the photos below.

Chris' 2 pound Dolly Varden

Riley's holding a 30 p0und halibut

Maya' new Disney Princess song book with toy Ipod.

Curious kitty looks for Maya behind the book.

Pretend Ipod also doubles as a cell phone!

Driving home with Sarah.

Sarah sweeps the floor upon arrival.

Hulk Smash Hands say: "Don't make me angry! You won't like me when I'm angry!"

Princess Maya

Sarah meets Flat Stanley.

Global Warming Finally Reaches Alaska?

2009-07-14T08:26:00.024-08:00

Well it seems as if global warming has finally hit Alaska. We've had more nice days in July than we had all last summer. I am knocking on wood as I type this, knowing it could all come to an end very soon. The year I moved here, 1999, it rained every day in August. I never got out of my wool sweaters and cordoroy pants that summer.

I was hoping to do nothing but yard work in July. Alana is amazed that I can be happy pulling dandelions for hours. She chalked it up to "a Zen thing". But the boys have decided to play soccer. This is the first time in about 5 years Riley has shown an interest in soccer. I owe it all to Bradley. Chris has decided to play soccer, too. Which means I'll be at the middle school from 1 to 5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My mom thought Maya should play soccer, too. She offered to take Maya so I wouldn't have to start my soccer days at 11am. Of course, I'll have to take her today so I can get her registered. This is going to seriously cut into my gardening and yard work time (which is actually a front for sitting around in the sun not doing very much). I don't know if I can remain sane if I'm totally lackin' in the slackin'.

Here are some pictures from the past week of gloriously unstructured time when we crashed one swimming party after another. First, Alana invited me to Conrad and Gabi's to swim in their pond. They are from Switzerland. Conrad built that house with all natural materials. The rain gutters are hollowed out logs, held up with forked branches. There is not a single weed in Gabi's garden. This is a huge accomplishment when you live in the Banana Belt of Alaska. Then our friend Valda who lives nearby joined us for refreshments by the pond. Valda is from Latvia. So here we are, a Latvian, a Vietnamese and a Midwesterner are having snacks beside the pond of the Swiss. Who says Alaska is not a melting pot?

Long live the bees!

The air is fragrance with fields of clover.

Having breakfast with Iris at Two Sisters

Briar joins Maya for a snack.

Alana maximizes the sun and her awesome deck railing which doubles as a clothes line.

Swimming with Marina in a pond at Conrad and Gabi's

Kayaking with Marina.

Cruising with Alana.

Conrad and Gabi's beautiful hand built house made of all natural materials.

Riding the lawm mower with big brother Riley.

Maya's favorite mascot, Scoop, gets into the sandbox with her during the last Oiler's game we attended.

Tricycle races on the deck.

Joe's pool party. Check out the white Alaskan boys with their farmer tans.

Then we went to Zach and Weston's house so Maya could slip and slide with boys her own age.

Maya had lots of fun after I pushed her down the slip and slide the first few times.

Weston watches while Maya and Zach slip and slide.

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T21:47:00.018-08:00

Happy 4th of July! I took over 100 pictures today. It wasn't easy to narrow it down to these 15 for the blog. We had an incredible day. For starters, it was sunny. In fact, it got up to 75 degrees this afternoon. That's like 95 in America. Then, our dog treed a black bear in our yard. The kids came in to tell me. I grabbed my camara, locked my dog in the car, then I made the kids stay on the deck while I took pictures. See awesome video below.

This 4th of July was extra special because it's Alaska's 50th anniversary joining the Union. That explains the 50's theme throughout the parade route. Celebrating the 4th in a small town can be a lot of fun. Everywhere you go, you run into friends. Kids can run around because everybody is looking out for them (my mom would correct me and say, No, SHE was looking out for them while I socialized). And you don't have to fight the crowds and traffic.

I've always loved the 4th of July. For me, it's a lot more fun and less stressful than the other holidays. You don't have to slave over a turkey and 6 side dishes all day long. You don't have to worry about giving or receiving gifts. I love everything about the fourth of July: barbecues, parades, watermelon and apple pie. The only thing I miss about the 4th of July in Alaska is fireworks. It doesn't get dark here until about midnight. So we have to save our fireworks for New Year's Eve.

In the car on our way to the carnival.

Tiger Wise loves the golfing game.

Riley and Bradley, a Bromance.

Chris dunked two big kids in the dunking booth. Then he decided to try getting in.

Unfortunately, Landon was next in line. He was on Riley's baseball team.

Chris has no idea how cold the water is!

Now he does!

Here's my favorite part: looking for coins in the sawdust pile!

Lining up for the parade: Lucille Ball.

Lots of cute doggies in the parade.

Bradley, Riley and Brenden rode in the pack of a truck in the parade with 8th graders raising money for their trip to Washington D.C.

Mary, Alana and I march in support of PFLAG.

A whole gang of Rosie the Riveters

Maya rides in a boat with friends of PFLAG waving at all her fans.

Here's the little black bear in our yard:

Various and Sundry

2009-07-02T10:04:00.011-08:00

I know it sounds like I'm avoiding responsibility, but I haven't done a "daily life" blog for a while. Sometimes it's fun to capture the little moments, not just the main events. I could call it an update on Maya.

So what's new with Maya? We've been potty training, slacker mom style. That means she mostly runs around naked all day. It's much easier to potty train when you don't have to take off so much clothing. All winter I fought with her to keep her socks on, keep her shoes on, keep her clothes on. We've been having such nice weather lately that I threw my hands up and said, "what the heck?" If you can't run around naked all day when you're three and it's a nice day, when will you ever be able to be this free again? I resisted potty training her before because she had a bladder the size of a pea. I would put her on the potty and she would pee again in 15 minutes. My mom will vouch for me. So I decided to wait until summer when I could leave a diaper off her. Well, it seems that in the meantime she has developed more bladder capacity and can actually go 1-2 hours now without wetting herself. So the potty training is coming along marvellously with very little effort.

Maya is also talking very well. She uses whole sentences on a regular basis. Occasionally I have trouble understanding what she is asking me so I turn to Chris and say: "translation?". It's hard to believe that a year ago she barely babbled and we didn't understand a word she said. But somehow she was always able to communicate with us. The facial expressions convey a thousand words. There's the pouty lip, the evil eye, the sly smile and of course, the outbursts of joy. Now she has words to express her feelings as well. She frequently tells us: "I happy now!" Her repertoire includes: I mad, I sad, I hungy, I tide.

I've been going through stuff to give away to the hockey garage sale coming up. I told myself I wouldn't give away any stuffed animals that had names. All of a sudden, Maya starts naming her stuffed animals. She has a dog that came in a carrier with a leash, a comb, the whole pampered pooch package. Maya named her Brigit. There is a fox that came with a baby fox. I sent Maya the baby fox when she was still in the orphanage with the intention of bringing the adult fox with us when we picked her up. Of course, there was no evidence of anything that we sent at the orphanage, not even our photos. So I had no attachment to this fox. If anything, it represented for me the unfairness of the orphanage system. But Maya pulled him out of the box and said, "his name Papa".

Sunday I went to our local drug and hardware store to get a watch battery for Matt. While we were looking for a match for the battery, Maya found a cute little box for storing CDs. It is green with cute little bugs all over it. She brought it to me and said "Happy Birthday to my Mommy!". I told her we had to put it back but she insisted on carrying it around the store whining plaintively "it Happy Birthday to my Mommy!" Of course I bought the box knowing it was not really a birthday present for me. I filled it with little books and tiny toys we had around the house for her to "treasure". Everybody needs a treasure box, right?

Her latest thing is carrying the kitty around. She holds her in the classic young child manner, around the middle with the rest of the cat pouring down over her arms. Lilly goes limp and just lets Maya carry her around like that. She is normally a very feisty cat and will bite and scratch adults when they play with her. But she never bares a tooth or claw when Maya picks her up and carries her around.

Our dog is very patient as well. Trevor is half Golden Retriever, half Malamute. So picture an extra large, very blond Golden Retriever with twice as much fur. Especially around the rear end. His rear end gets matted and picks up all kinds of twigs and branches (we affectionately refer to this condition as stick butt). So Tuesday he spent the day at the doggie beauty parlor getting a bath and a haircut. I did not shave him but had his fur trimmed way back and thinned out for the summer. He looks fabulous! So what does this have anything to do with Maya? Nothing. But Maya is fond of walking around with a leash hooked to the back of her shirt, hoping someone will take her for a walk.

Finally, the boys. The boys are doing an amazing job of getting through the summer without a TV. It's not that brutal. They still get to watch a movie on the computer almost every night. More importantly, they haven't had Wii or very much in the way of video games. They spend part of their time playing hockey downstairs, using goalie pads they made themselves out of cardboard. The rest of the time they are outside playing baseball, football or soccer. They have a favorite spot in the woods where they hang out doing who knows what. They call it "town". They also make characters out of tinker toys and give them funny names. We have a lot of playdates. The other day our neighbor let them ride the horses bareback. That was the highlight of their day.

Our last but not least favorite thing to do around here is watching for wild life. A couple of days ago, Alana spotted a black bear while they were driving to our house. We don't see black bears very often because she have a fence around our yard, so I think the bear goes around our property. But everyone around us sees bears. The downfall of the fence is that sometimes mama moose and baby moose end up on opposite sides of the fence, putting everyone into a panic. A couple of years ago, my father was visiting us when this happened. He is a farmer at heart and insisted that we call Fish and Game after they had been separated for a whole day. "That baby has not nursed for 12 hours!" my father pleaded. Someone from fish and game showed up but it was not easy to remedy the situation. The mother became agitated if we came too close to the baby, and she would not get far enough from the baby for us to "herd" them towards the gate. Finally Matt had to break down and cut a hole in the chain link fence.

This week, a mother pheasant and her chicks came into our yard. They walked the entire perimeter of our fence and at one point the chicks ended up on the outside while the mother remained inside. Fortunately, the pheasants were reunited more quickly and easily than the moose.

Update on baby robins. We started with 4 eggs. One egg disappeared. 3 chicks hatched. The next day all three chicks were gone and the nest was abandoned. I am afraid the chicks were victims of nature's ruthless food chain. Unless robins are known for relocating with newly hatched baby chicks? The mother frequently left the nest, I assumed in search of food. My sister in law, Kathleen, asked where the male was, why was the mother always leaving the nest unattended? I never saw a male hanging out with her. I am afraid she was a single parent which left the family vulnerable. Many species of animals raise their young as single parents, the father disappearing soon after the mating ritual. As a nurse, I did just fine as a single parent before I married Matt. But nature is more harsh, I guess. Still, you can see the literary symbolism in that story.

There are a lot of words I could use to describe Maya: feisty, energetic, stubborn. Those are all good traits that helped her survive being a 2 pound premie and rule the orphanage. But the quality for which I am most grateful is that she is extremely forgiving. While the first set of qualities make her tough, the last quality keeps her tender. She bounces back quickly after scoldings from impatient brothers, tired grouchy parents and exasperated grandmas. For me, she embodies the spirit of the Vietnamese people. Resourceful, resilient, and very, very forgiving. They do not seem to harbor resentment towards any one, not even the superpowers that oppressed them for thousands of years, not the Chinese, not the French, not the Americans.

"Mom! Take picture of Maya!"

Singing. Note the elbow pads, knee pads and ballet dress.

Making characters out of tinker toys.

Pheasant with chicks (she had six total).

Patient kitty.

Chris in cardboard goalie gear.

Trevor looking gorgeous after his day at the beauty parlor (Lilly says: you smell funny!)

Maya has a fetish for sticker tattoos and bandaids.

The treasure box.

Hailing in June

2009-07-01T22:25:00.003-08:00

01 July, 2009 Last week we went for a hike. It was sunny when we started. We could see dark clouds at the top of the hill but didn't think much of it. We hiked up through the bog, then the forest, then the meadow, until we got to our picnic spot: the Ruben Call Memorial. As we were fininishing our salmon salad sandwhiches, it began to hail. Then it poured down rain and hail. The kids were alternately freaked out and delighted. We waited out the heaviest part of the downpour, but when it showed no sign of letting up, we began to hike back down. When we got to the bottom, it was sunny again. Apparently, the rain cloud was just at the top of the hill.

Baseball ended last week. We now turn our attention to hiking, cookouts on the beach, gardening and home improvement projects. Fortunately, we discovered the Alaska college league. It's like college ball only it's not affiliated with any particular college. The nearest team is 80 miles away, the Peninsula Oilers. Last Saturday we enjoyed a double header in the sun against the Anchorage Glacier Pilates. It's a small park with box seats for $3 and free admission to the bleachers. They have two inflatable jump houses and a sandbox for the kiddos. $1 per child and a release of liability buys unlimited trips to the jumphouse for little ones who get bored watching baseball. Maya loved it. Unfortunately, I could only see part of the game from the sandbox! The older boys enjoyed looking for foul balls.

This weekend: Fourth of July parade and carnival.

July 15: Sarah comes home for three weeks!

One more baseball story. My boys have terrible potty mouths. They are stuck in what Freud calls the Anal Stage. Everything that comes out of their mouths is about poop, farts, or ends in "hole". Last week I was yelling at them for calling Chris "Pooholes." They tried to tell me that was the name of a player. I told them they were going to get in more trouble for lying about it. Later that day I was doing the laundry. As I folded one of Chris' Cardinals jerseys that a friend of ours gave him, I noticed the name on the back of the jersey: "Pujols". I guess I owe the boys an apology!

Wild geranium and chocolate lillies in bloom.

Maya and Chris take shelter. We usually eat lunch on top of this bench.

Riley and his BFF Bradley.

My mom and Maya.

I have proof that it was hailing!

Back at the bottom of the trailhead, it's sunny again!

Father's Day, 2009

2009-06-23T08:53:00.006-08:00

On Father's Day it was raining and blowing. Not good weather to take kids out on a skiff. So we took Dad to Soldotna for Go Kart racing. Then we went to Fred Meyer's. Riley got a bat weight and a pair of jeans. Chris got new sweat pants. Maya got an umbrella just her size. (She loves playing with my umbrella). I got a ton of perennials at a good price. Oops, looks like everyone got to do what they wanted except for Dad...

This year for Father's Day, I want to salute all the dads that help with Little League. If it wasn't for you, there would be no Little League. I don't know how it works in other places, but in our town, Little League baseball is entirely run by volunteers. Little League teaches kids so much more than baseball skills. It teaches teamwork, sportsmanship, and perseverance. And for many children who are growing up in single parent homes, this is a great opportunity for mentorship. I still remember with fondness and gratitude all the dads that coached softball or went along on my Girl Scout camping trips when I was a girl. So, even if you don't think you can coach, help with crowd control in the dugout, bring snacks! Get out there and play ball!

Love the toothless grin on Chris!

Riding with big brother Riley!

Uh-oh! Mom at the wheel!

Maya's new "unguella"