Wise Family

Glacier National Park

2011-08-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we crossed the border into Montana around noon. We spent the afternoon in Glacier National Park. As soon as Chris saw the water, he wanted to go for a swim.

We drove down into the valley and found this great little swimming hole with rocks to jump off of.

Chris takes the plunge.

Riley jumps in.

The water was very cold and crystal clear. We had a hard time getting the boys out of the river. It took over 15 minutes for Chris to regain feeling in his fingers, but he was still asking to swim again.
As we passed by Flathead lake, we stopped to buy cherries along the side of the road. $4.00 for a pound of delicious, just picked cherries. When we arrived in Missoula around 8pm, it was still 85 degrees out. The boys were excited to find a hotel with a swimming pool. I was excited that it also had coin laundry. I took Trevor for a long walk and found a park like setting behind the hotel and, yep, you guessed it, a river runs through it.

British Columbia

2011-08-07T22:44:00.000-08:00

Reasons we love Canada #4: Ketchup chips (and honey mustard and dill pickle)

Reasons we love Canada #5: this bench made out of hockey sticks.

Lunch in Jasper

The drive from Jasper to Banff

The only ugly apartment building in Banff are living quarters for the staff who work in hotels and restaurants like this one:

The boys decided they like Jasper better than Banff. It seems more down to earth. They even have a dog park. In fact, everywhere went, people wanted to pet our dog.

When we were eating dinner in Banff, we sat next to a large group of Japanese tourists. I was trying to entertain the boys by showing them how to make a chicken out of a cloth napkin (it works better with a towel). I noticed an older Japanese woman watching me. After made the chicken, I held it up to show her while say "bok-bok-bok-bok-bok". She gave me a thumbs up. I said "origami" which got a laugh out of her.

We spent the night in Calgary but did not go into the city. Tomorrow: Glacier National Park.

Road Trip: Days 2-4

2011-08-05T22:14:00.000-08:00

The boys have done really well on this trip so far. They haven't really even watched that many movies on the DVD player. They find other ways to amuse themselves in the car. For example: building forts in the back of the van and using coffee cup holders to make hats for the dog.

We stopped in Watson Lake to see the Sign Post Forest. Our only regret was not bringing our own sign to nail to a post.

But the real highlight of driving through Yukon Territory and British Columbia is the wildlife. On our second day we saw 4 black bears but they were in places where we could not pull over to take photos, like near road construction areas.

Matt noted that there are no emergency vehicle stations anywhere along the highway. He thinks they just helicopter injured people to the nearest hospital. I think they just let the bears clean up the mess. Why else would bears hang out by the side of the road? Maybe that's part of the Canadian health plan. Just kidding. I am actually a huge proponent of socialized medicine.

Buffalo on road.

Lake Muncho

Stone sheep

We stopped in Fort Nelson for some fried chicken at Dixie Lee.

Our top three reasons for loving Canada? First the wildlife. Second, they have a picture of kids playing pond hockey on the back of their five dollar bills. And third, they have labels like: Antler Ale, One Horny Beer.

From AK to AZ

2011-08-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

Leaving Alaska

Entering Yukon Territory

A brown bear eating berries by the highway near Kluane Lake

The Wises are moving to Flagstaff, AZ. I know it's been a long time. Obviously, I've been very busy. When we were in Flagstaff for Sarah's graduation, we met some really nice people who offered us jobs at their family practice. Two years later, we are moving to Arizona. We are hoping Matt's new job will allow him to spend more time with our family. It's like he is going from four jobs down to one. He will continue to practice family medicine, but give up working in the Emergency room, Obstetrics, Hospital Medicine and Long Term Care. We have had 12 great years in Alaska. Now it's time for us to try something different.

So here we are, driving to Arizona. Matt and I are driving down with the boys and the dog. Maya will fly down with Nanna and the cat in two weeks. We didn't think 10 days in the car was going to be much fun for a 5 year old, who is a lot like the cat. They are both fiercely independent. But unlike the cat, Maya doesn't like to lie around for 20 hours per day.

Yesterday we drove 411 miles, from Homer to Glenallen. Today we made it across the Canadian border. We are spending the night in Haines Junction. We ate dinner at the only restaurant open after 9pm. It is run by some very nice German people (but the food is not German). They used to live in Whitehorse but it got too crowded for them. Tomorrow we hope to be in Whitehorse before lunch, and then spend the afternoon at Liard Hotsprings.

The highlight of our trip today was seeing a brown bear on the side of the road, munching on berries. We have also seen one young bull moose, one cow and one baby moose, two swans and a lot of ravens.

Maya Turns Five!

2011-01-04T10:32:00.010-09:00

Maya turned five on January 2nd. It was a nice way to wrap up a very busy and fun New Year celebration. Her Aunt Kathleen came down from Fairbanks. Her Aunt Kristin came from Palmer. Uncle Michael and Aunt Karyn came from Anchorage with Cousin Boo. Uncle Michael brought fireworks and she stayed up past midnight to watch the fireworks show! We ate lots of yummy food and opened more presents so it was like Christmas and New Year all rolled in one.

On Sunday she had a few friends over for a birthday celebration. She played with all her favorite new toys and ate cake and ice cream. On Monday she celebrated her birthday at Kim's Kinderhaus. Then her friends Zachary and Weston came over to Grandma's and brought cupcakes and a present since they were out of town for her party. Today we will celebrate again with her friends at her other preschool. On top of all this holiday fun, we had a great time "elfing" ourselves with friends and family on Facebook.

Terry and Elizabeth gave us these fabulous birthday candles!

Fun with bendaroos!

We learned to make balloon hats and flowers, haven't learned how to make animals yet.

Playing with my new playdough set and my new Bambi

I love my Dora and Diego cake!

blowing out the candles

My friends Lawson and Lilly

Garden District Tour

2010-10-10T10:53:00.008-08:00

The other thing I really wanted to do in New Orleans was go on a tour of the Garden District. This is where the all the big fancy houses are. It was originally established as the city of Lafayette but couldn't compete with the Port of New Orleans and was eventually annexed. Another town in Louisiana took the name, hence Lafayette, LA.

There are so many interesting things about these old houses. Most of the features (besides decor) have to do with the heat. There are vents below the houses to circulate air. That's why they are called drafty old houses. Windows are very tall, almost floor to ceiling and open from both the top and bottom to let in more air. In the summer time windows are opened and the shutters are closed for privacy. The louvres can be adjusted so they can see out but passers by cannot see in. Ceilings where high because heat rises.

Then there's the architecture. I don't remember too much about this topic except the ones with big columns are Greek Revival. The ones with rounded windows and lots of arches are Italian style. Then there's the Queen Annes. Do not called them Victorians. "Victorian" refers to a era, not an architectural style. Having said that, here's the real dish: the famous houses.

This is the first house Anne Rice bought. It was a previously a church.

This an example of Gothic style, which is usually reserved for churches. So now we have a house that looks like a church and a former church that looks like a house.

This is the house of Archie Manning where Eli and Peyton Manning grew up.

This is the house Anne Rice actually lived in. She lives in La Jolla now.

This is John Goodman's house. It was previously owned by the lead singer of Nine Inch Nails.

Sandra Bullock's new house. Did you know her adopted baby is from New Orleans?

Sorry I didn't take pictures of the house where President Taft died. And the house where the likes of Mark Twain and Edgar Degas partied. BTW: Edgar Degas is the one who married his first cousin. He came to New Orleans to meet his mother's side of the family. He married his cousin, had 5 children with her, 4 survived. His wife was blind. He hired a woman to come and read to her. Then he ran away with the woman who read to his wife and left his blind wife with 4 children. His mother's side of the family took in Degas' wife, changed all the childrens' last names back to their mother's maiden name. The name Degas became a dirty word in New Orleans after that.

Oh, here's a Georgian style house. Georgian houses are perfectly symmetrical, inside and out.

Cemetery Tour

2010-10-10T09:29:00.009-08:00

This is the cover of a book I found in a gift shop in New Orleans:

While we were in New Orleans, I dragged Matt on a cemetery tour. It was really fascinating. I learned so much about the history of New Orleans as well as everything you ever wanted to know about how they bury their dead in New Orleans.

Tour guides will differ in their opinions about in ground v. above ground burial. Some say they bury above ground because New Orleans is at sea level and it was hard to keep the coffins from popping up and floating away during the rainy season. Others maintain that 30% of the Netherlands is at or below sea level and they bury their dead in the ground. It's mostly about space. The above ground mausoleums are natural crematoriums that can be reused over and over. Therefor it's the original recycling program.

Cemeteries in New Orleans (there are 3 main ones that I know of) date back to the early 1800s. Each mausoleum or tomb is purchased by a family. Each time a family member dies, the marble front is removed (it's held on by screws) and the brick and mortar wall is broken. They slide the casket in onto a shelf, reseal the brick wall and replace the marble cover. The tomb should be left sealed for a minimum of one year and one day. This is too ensure that the remains are adequately decomposed. If the tomb is in good repair and has no leaks, it can get up to 200 degrees inside on warm days, creating a natural crematorium.

When the next family member dies, the tomb is reopened, the remains are bagged and tagged, sent for DNA confirmation and then swept to the back of the tomb where there is an opening into the "cellar" or caveau along with all the other deceased family members. After a year in the heat the remains are just ashes and skeletal remains. You can imagine how many family members can be buried in this type of tomb (maybe as many as 200?). If a family member dies within a year of the last burial, there are "rental" tombs you can use in the meantime. Imagine having all your relatives buried in one place. What a great way to track your family's DNA and history.

Cemeteries in New Orleans are still being used today. The tombs vary from one another just like the people of New Orleans, from old to new, simple to ornate. Some have all the family members buried there engraved on the marble cover. Some have sculptures on top or beside them. Cherubs and lambs symbolize innocence, perhaps a child or infant is buried there. An urn represents mourning. An urn with a drape represents deep mourning. Besides family tombs, there are group tombs such as veterans of a particular war, fire fighters, and even one for orphans.

Some tombs have fallen into a state of disrepair. Moisture is the worst enemy of the mausoleum. Some have been restored or renovated. Renovation is when a group of workers come in, re-plaster and repaint the whole thing to look brand spanking new. It's inexpensive and quick. But if the wrong materials are used, it doesn't breath and the whole recycling thing doesn't work very well. Restoration is more time consuming, laborious and costly, but it maintains the integrity of the original tomb.

Now you know almost everything I know about how they bury the dead in New Orleans. Matt and I have always thought traditional cemeteries are a waste of space, as are golf courses. He doesn't like golf because of the whole exclusive aspect. I realize that many golf courses are more inclusive now of the average person. My objections are the waste of water and heavy use of pesticides (how do you think they keep the grass so nice and green and free of weeds, IN THE MIDDLE OF A DESERT?) Matt thinks cemeteries should be combined with golf courses.

I kind of like the idea of my whole family all being buried in one place, instead of scattered all over kingdom come. But Matt reminded me the recycling program would never work in Alaska. We are missing the key ingredient: heat. In fact, when our folks die in the middle of winter, we have to wait until spring to bury them! And well, we have plenty of space. He also wondered if I would be buried in the Manalisay tomb or the Wise tomb. I guess this is where it's advantageous to marry a first cousin. Did I just say that?

Up next, the Garden District, where we'll learn more about history, architecture and even some first cousins that were married! I love this place.

A typical family tomb.

An old tomb in need of repair beside a newly renovated one.

Here is the oldest grave in Saint Louis cemetery #1. It's an in-ground burial.

Angel sculpture.

My favorite little cherub, no bigger than a foot long.

More trivia: Ever since the acid trip of Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in Easy Rider, the Archdiocese of St. Louis no longer allows filming in St. Louis Cemetery. Newer films such as Interview with the Vampire are filmed at the Lafayette Cemetery in the Garden District. My photos are from both cemeteries.

New Orleans

2010-10-06T18:23:00.011-08:00

Matt and I went to Virginia last week for a Sleep Studies review course. Then we took a side trip to New Orleans just for fun. The following blog post is for my kids. Although New Orleans is rich in history and culture, they don't really understand most of that yet, so most of the photos are going to be of funny, weird or creepy stuff. Later I will post photos of my Cemetery Tour and Garden District tour for the history and architecture buffs.

It's warm most of the time in New Orleans. Here is a grove of banana trees. There are also many other types of trees and even some bamboo groves.

Here's a creepy fake mummy statue we saw in a store. He was shaking and making these squeaky noises. He is life sized, about as tall as me! On Bourbon Street it's a party every night. I think it's like Halloween all the time, too.

Check out this skull collection!

This is a crayfish. It looks like a tiny lobster, except it lives in fresh water.

The pastries on the left are called beignets. They fried donuts with powdered sugar on top.

You eat them with coffee. Here at the Cafe du Monde they serve coffee with chicory and milk.

This is our hotel, Maison Dupuy. We are staying in the French Quarter, so everything has a French name. New Orleans was also settled by the Spanish. They brought servants from Africa and later, Ireland! The people of Ireland were starving during a famine. They were told if they came to America they would have jobs and homes and food. Instead, they became slaves with even fewer rights than the Black servants who were already here!

On Tuesday nights people dress up in funny costumes and stand on Bourbon Street like statues. Some of them cover themselves with what looks like silver paint and stand very still like a statue. This man is not covered in paint but he is frozen in that position like a statue. The dog is not real. The bucket is for people to give them money.

You can take a ride on the Mississippi River on this steam boat. You can also take tours of the city riding a carriage drawn by a horse or a mule. You can also take a trolley, a bus, or walk.

Here we are walking along the Mississippi Riverfront. It's almost 80 degrees and we are very hot! It's a lot like Vietnam. We like to walk around, look at stuff and eat a lot! When we come home I will have even more special Mommy blubber. That's what my boys call my fat:)

What the Wises Did This Summer, Part 2

2010-09-05T20:54:00.006-08:00

While Maya and I were in California, Matt and the boys went to Pendleton, OR to visit Poppop and Jean. They did a lot of things there and maybe one of these days Matt will write the blog entry. But I will just give you the highlights in 4 pictures:

They got to drive Poppop's tractor.

They rode around in Poppop's gator.

While they were there, Matt sent me a text saying that Poppop's donkey was fat with big teats. I said, sounds like she's pregnant. Matt said the veterinarian was there and didn't think so.

The day after they left, Sweetness gave birth to Sugar! Look at those ears!
How cute is that? (I still think Poppop needs a new veterinarian). Wish the boys could have been there to see a newborn donkey.

What the Wises Did This Summer, Part 1

2010-09-05T17:06:00.021-08:00

In August Maya and I went to California for my brother's wedding. It was fortunate that two of my friends from childhood happened to be in the San Francisco Bay Area during the same week. Kelly was visiting from Belgium and Lisa was visiting from Portland. I got to spend some time with four of my old friends. Maya and I enjoyed some time away with just the girls.

On our first day my friend Colleen took us to a farmer's market. I was in heaven!

Then my friend Lisa met us at Lake Anza in Berkeley with her family.

Lisa was down from Portland for a week visiting her family and friends.

Lisa's kids Meg and Joel taught Maya how to bury someone in the sand.

The next day we went to Fairfax to visit my friend Robin who took us to a playground with the coolest climbing structure ever!

My friend Kelly was visiting from Belgium and was in CA for one week.

She brought her two older girls Amelie and Claudia and met us at the Oakland Zoo.

The next day we went to Oakley to see my Aunt Pat and cousin Kim. Maya met her second cousins Adam, Nick, and Jessica .

On Saturday my friend Colleen took us to a fabulous place in San Francisco to get manicures before the wedding.

Then we went next door to the tea house for high tea. Colleen brought this cute little tin tea set along for Maya. The waitress filled the pot with hot chocolate and brought whipped cream and mini marshmallows!

Colleen really knows how to spoil little girls.

Here's my brother Jim waiting in the wings of the Blackhawk Grill in Danville for his bride to arrive. It was a dark corner but I lightened it with my photoshop and I love the way it came out. The red eye reduction wasn't working, though.

And his beautiful bride, Elise arrives. This picture does do her enough justice.

During the reception a belly dancer appeared. After performing several dances, she gave the groom a belly dancing lesson. My brother was a good sport. Again the red eyes need work.

Then the bride got a dancing lesson. She went around the room and pulled people up from their seats for belly dancing lessons. Yes, she even got me to belly dance in front of 65 people. It helped to have had a couple of glasses of wine in me.

After the bride and groom got up and salsa danced, we nabbed Jim for this Family Photo.

The DJ started playing Motown so Maya put on her dancing shoes and shook her groove thang!

Stay tuned for Part 2: Wise Guys go to Pendleton, OR!

Late Summer, 2010

2010-09-05T09:45:00.005-08:00

It's Labor Day Weekend. It's raining (again) and Matt's on call (again). Yesterday I took the kids to see Cats and Dogs to get out of the house for a couple hours. The best part was that I got to take a little nap during the movie. I'm hoping the sun comes out tomorrow so we can actually do some manual labor. We are still trying to finish up the rock quarry project we started last summer. If it's raining we will labor indoors. We are stripping the wall paper in our living room while waiting for the plaster guy to come back and finish texturizing our walls before the painters come. We normally try to do our own painting but decided to get someone with scaffolding to help us in the room with 27 foot ceilings. Note to self: my next house will not have 27 foot ceilings, I will not need an extension pole to change light bulbs or dust fans, and the master bedroom will have a door. Preferable one with a lock on it.

Back track 2 weeks. The kids started back to school without a hitch. Chris moved up to third grade which means he is at a different school (third through sixth grade). He and Riley are now at the same school for the first time. This will not happen again until Riley is a senior in high school and Chris is a freshman. Chris did not call in sick until the third day of school. It was a combination of being overly tired and overwhelmed by all the responsibilities of third grade. But he has rallied back and sold over $300 of cookie dough for West Homer Elementary's annual fundraiser.

Riley is happy because he is in the same class as Bradley. He informed me last week that he was out of deodorant. The little sample of Old Spice he got last spring during Sex Ed class was getting low. Funny tangent: one day while driving Matt's truck I thought I smelled men's cologne. I panicked thinking Matt was having an affair. He doesn't normally wear cologne. Then I asked Riley if he was wearing deodorant. He sheepishly said yes, so I was greatly relieved. So anyway, I ask Matt to stop and get some deodorant for Riley so I don't have to take the kids to Ulmer's after school. They want to go to Ulmer's so they can look at air soft guns and beg me to let them buy a rifle. Matt asks me what kind of deodorant to buy Riley. I tell him something fresh or sporty. So he buys Axe "Fresh". Riley said he was hoping for Axe "Dark Temptation". What the heck?

When I tell them the living room is rearranged and their toys are are downstairs so the plaster guy can work on the walls, Chris says "Why does it always have to be a guy? Why can't a girl paint our house?" Riley says "Why can't Megan Fox paint our house?" When did Riley learn about Dark Temptation and Megan Fox? Am I in complete denial that my little boys are growing up too fast?

Maya started preschool at Paul Banks last week. She goes there Tuesday and Thursday afternoons where she gets speech therapy. It's also where she will go to school kindergarten through second grade. After Labor Day she starts back to preschool at Kim's Kinderhaus Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. All her friends from last year are back. She is very social and likes to stay busy.

Sarah is completing basic training at Wells Fargo. She is moving up to a teller position and doing well. I never realized how stressful it is to be a teller. She has a new branch manager imported from the lower 48 who is very pushy. Did you know they have quotas for how many new referrals they have to have per month? Referrals for new accounts, credit card applications, etc. The new branch manager doesn't understand small town mentality. For example, if a 60 year old man who has been banking at Wells Fargo for the past 40 years doesn't have a credit card, it's because HE DOESN'T WANT A CREDIT CARD! Besides, everyone in Alaska has an Alaska Airlines credit card so we can get miles and escape to Mexico and Hawaii from time to time. This new branch manager is so pushy they are actually losing customers! Poor Sarah. We are very proud of her for getting her first "big girl job". I think her double major in Psych/Soc will come in very handy! She could probably teach this branch manager a few thing about the psychology and social aspects of small town banking.

Alaskan Summer

2010-08-03T09:13:00.004-08:00

I don't usually whine or complain too much on my blog. At least I try to balance the negative with the positive, infusing a bit of humor to keep my faithful readers (all 5 of them) reading.
But I have had it with this weather! It's been foggy and rainy for 3 weeks! I have seen the sun for about 6 hours in the past week: 2 hours on Tuesday, 1 hour on Wednesday, 1 hour on Thursday, and 2 hours on Saturday. I'm sorry, but 6 hours a week is not enough to keep a girl from Vietnam/California going. Granted, the sun is shining on other parts of Alaska, like Fairbanks. But half the time they have so many forest fires that they can't even go outside on account of the smoke! And besides, it hardly makes up for their winters of up to -50 below.

On a more positive note, we went pick blueberries on Saturday at our friends Lyn and Darwyn's house on Saturday. I have lived here for 11 years and have never been invited to pick blueberries before. When Matt was a kid, you could go out and pick blueberries just about anywhere. Now so much of the land is developed or private property that blueberries have become a carefully guarded commodity. People who know where to get blueberries are very vague about their secret blueberry patches. If you ask them where they pick, you get answers like "across the bay" or "Diamond Ridge".

My mom and I picked about 14 cups of blueberries and our friends gave us about 4 more cups. Alaskan blueberries are smaller and more tart than Oregon and other blueberries in the lower 48. But I hear they are the highest in antioxidants. I hope they contain some kind of natural antidepressant because I am going to need it to get through this winter.

Next week I am taking Maya to California for my brother's wedding. Matt and the boys are going to Pendleton, OR to visit Matt's dad. Maya has been asking me several times per day if we can go to California yet. I keep telling her, No, not yet. She has her suitcase packed already. So do the boys. It shouldn't take me long to pack either. I'll just dump my bin of "summer clothes" into a suitcase. I have long since realized that summer clothes in Homer means 3/4 length sleeves and capri pants. I think I have worn shorts and a tank top twice this summer, and it was probably in the house. Even on a sunny day I have to pull weeds in a long sleeve Tshirt and jeans so the mosquitoes, flies and noseums don't eat me up. Noseums are bugs that leave bites like mosquito bites only smaller and twice as itchy, and they last up to 3 weeks instead of 3 days!

While I was picking blueberries, Riley and Chris were riding around on 4-wheelers. It's a special treat for them because we don't own any 4-wheelers and wouldn't have anywhere to ride them on our property even if we did. For years now the boys have been begging us for 4-wheelers and snow machines (snowmobiles in America). Now they are begging for guns. Most men in Alaska hunt and fish. That's why they live here. So the boys want to be like all their friends. Unfortunately, they got us for parents. Matt has been way too busy in the past 10 years with all his responsibilities as a family physician, husband, father, son, and brother to even think about going hunting. He hardly gets to go fishing.

I am morally and philosophically opposed to guns. Living in Alaska I realize that many families subsist on fish and wild game since food is so expensive here. So if Matt wants to take the boys hunting some day, that's okay with me. But I don't want to buy them toy guns. Instead I buy them swords and bows and arrows. Matt does not see the difference. To me, swords, bows and arrows are more noble than guns. You have to look your opponent in the eye and you stand equal chance of being killed. Swords, bows and arrows hark back to more chivalrous times; knights in shining armor. They lend themselves to the imagination, battling dragons and other mythical beasts. On the other hand, guns can kill so many living beings from a distance. Guns even kill loved ones up close, on accident. Children who play with guns sometimes cannot tell the difference between a real and a toy gun. That's why even many NRA card carrying hunters are opposed to toy guns. For me, guns symbolized so much death and suffering, I don't want to have toy replicas around my house.

Why am I blogging about this? Because I spend so much of my time explaining to the boys why I won't buy them toy guns on a daily basis. When they are not begging for 4-wheelers and snow machines, they are begging for air soft guns. Air soft guns are the latest craze among boys from 5 to 15. They come in every model from a little Colt .22 to an AK47. They shoot tiny soft plastic balls that can still hurt at close range. Responsible parents make their kids where helmets and goggles while shooting each other.

I know I would be dealing with this anywhere I lived, but I happen to live in one of the biggest hunting, gun slinging states in the Union. Many of their friends already have a real gun or rifle! Sometimes I just want to move away from all of this. But occasionally I am tempted to surrender myself to the inevitable. Move us to the outskirts of town on a piece of property where they can ride motor vehicles all day long (Of course they would have to work and save and buy their own motorized toys!) Everyone we know who lives along Old Sterling Highway has their own lake. I can't believe I'm willing to buy swamp land. But a lake means they can play hockey all day long in the winter time and paddle around on kayaks in the summer time, catch frogs, and I can pick berries!

I also have this fantasy of building a smaller, "greener" house. Use solar panels and windmills for energy. Raising my own fruits and vegetables in a big green house, harvesting fish from the sea and let the boys bring home an occasional moose. There are many, many people in Alaska still living this subsistence lifestyle. One of my friends has chickens, turkeys and goats! Another one has alpacas! And still another one makes her own cheese!

So that's where I'm at. Do I move back to civilization or farther away from town? Do I want to exchange dirt roads and gravel driveways for paved roads and sidewalks? Am I willing to trade in moose, porcupines, pheasants and bears in my yard for affordable groceries and Ethnic diversity? No matter where we live, there will be good things and bad things. But it sure is tempting to move somewhere with more sunshine!

Here's the view from deck every morning the past 3 weeks.

The fog just keeps rolling in, clearing for maybe an hour here and there.

Here's a picture to cheer you up. Maya and Sarah's dog, Lilly

All Stars Baseball Camp

2010-07-22T09:54:00.011-08:00

Two weeks ago I went with Riley up to Anchorage for All Stars Baseball. Little League gave us a group camp site in Centennial Park. Although we were on the edge of town, only one road away from Glenn Highway, we still saw a fox early in the mornings. He did not seem afraid of us at all, so I think he's a regular. One of my friends said they put radar collars on some brown (Grizzly) bears to track their movement and they are all over Anchorage! Yikes! I am so glad they did not visit our camp.

The kids had a great time camping. The big boys played whiffle ball about 12 hours per day, when they weren't playing baseball at the Little League tournament. There were 4-5 families that stayed at the campsite and the rest stayed with friends in town. We shared meals, taking turns cooking and cleaning up. The campsite had showers, flush toilets and hot water! That is my kind of camping. I have an aversion to outhouses and port-a-potties. Enough potty talk.

There were plenty of siblings there for Chris and Maya to play with. Chris was in heaven, knocking down dead trees, dragging them back to camp and cutting them up for firewood. All the kids played with Maya, from the 7 year olds up to the 15 year olds. They took her to the playground at the campground and let her hang out in their motor home, trailes or tents. It was most helpful having them to play with during the games so I could watch Riley play.

Although I brought lots of snacks to the ball games, Maya was begging me for money to buy candy from the snack shack. I told her no and she begged some more. I told her to get a job. Next thing I know she comes back with a quarter and a penny! I asked her where she got the money. She found it under the snack shack which was up on a platform! So she bought herself a Tootsie Pop. A little while later, she found more money and bought herself an Airhead. Can you believe that girl? I don't think she will ever cease to amaze us with her tenacity and resourcefulness.

The starting line up, Riley is the short one in the middle. He is also the youngest.

Exchanging pins with a member of the opposing team, an act of friendship and good will.

Playing whiffle ball 12 hours per day.

The boys brought these dead birch trees from the woods to our camp.

Chris sawing logs. One mom clocked him cutting one section per minute!

Stacking firewood.

Maya got a grass cut on her chin, one of the few times she was sad all week.

Memorial Day Weekend, 2010

2010-07-01T09:05:00.016-08:00

This year we went to a friend's cabin across the bay for Memorial Day Weekend. It was a great getaway for us as a family. My favorite part was that we were "unplugged" for 48 hours. Matt and I turned off our cell phones except to check for messages once a day. (I think Matt cheated and checked baseball scores one other time.) Without a TV or computer, the boys played games and doodled. Riley learned to play Cribbage and Chris learned to play Boggle. They also finished a Scrabble game with us for the first time ever.

It was very interesting to see how the boys responded to being away from civilization. When Karl dropped us off at the cabin and pulled away, the boys got a little anxious. Riley was most worried about running out of water. Chris expressed generalized anxiety for the first time in his life. We were making S'mores around a fire the first night when he said "I have a worried kind of feeling." After asking some questions, I figured out he was worried about us being all alone with no other people around. He seemed to feel better after I reassured him that Karl and other friends who lived in Halibut Cove were only a phone call and a short boat ride away.

We hiked, dug for mussels, played on the beach and looked for bear tracks. Early Sunday morning Matt saw a porcupine on the deck and captured it on film so the rest of us could see the video later. On Monday morning we were blessed with a bear sighting. We watched from the deck of the cabin as he made his way across the beach and up into the woods. The rest of the day the boys made rafts out of reeds and floated them down a little stream. Maya was a little trooper as usual, going along with the adventure. Since she didn't understand what going across the bay to a cabin meant, I had told her we were going camping. So when we arrived at the cabin she took one look around and said "This isn't camping!" She had a super cute name for the cabin and now I can't remember what it was. That's what happens when you blog a month late.

" Timbers" is the name of the cabin.

Our first dinner at the cabin.

Making S'mores

Maya loves marshmallows.

Chris and Mom

The porcupine

Making rafts

Playing in the bear's sand box

Bear prints

And here it is!

Chris' 8th Birthday

2010-06-08T07:43:00.009-08:00

Chris' birthday was on May 20th. Grandma and Nanna came over for a family party that night and we gave him our gifts. Two days later we brought two of his friends with us to Nikiski Pool and water slide. Then we we went to Cold Stone for ice cream. Below are the photos of Chris hamming it up in all of his glory.

As you can see, he is quite a little goofball. He is very loud. He is also very funny. He has a quick wit like Matt. He also got Matt's math abilities. Some kids just "get" math, while others have to work at it. Both my boys "got" math at a very early age. They would know the answer to problems before they could explain how they knew it. He loves science. He likes to get on the internet and look at bugs. He also googles things like: the strongest man in the world, the biggest dog, the biggest snake, etc.

Chris' interests are very eclectic. When he was younger, Matt was worried that he had not found a "niche". In fact, he had too many interests to narrow it down to one or two. Riley was obsessed with balls and sports from the age of 9 months on. Chris was not ready for organized sports until a couple of years ago. I think part of it was that he was frustrated that he couldn't do things as well as his big brother. He seems to forget that he is 3 years younger than Riley. In his mind, they are only 12 to 18 months apart. Although he is following in his brother's footsteps, playing hockey and baseball, he does it his own way. He has an advantage over kids his own age because he has been trained at the school of hard knocks: keeping up with Riley and Bradley. They don't cut him any breaks. They usually put themselves on the same team opposite Chris.

Chris is the hardest working little kid I've ever met. He will usually help out with whatever we are doing whether we are digging post holes or planting a garden. His favorite jobs are cutting down trees and making burn piles. He helps Nanna with jobs around the house. He helped Uncle Michael pull a refrigerator up a flight of stairs and put together two wardrobes. He has a hole on Nanna's property that he has been working on since last summer. He told me this morning that he wanted to work on his hole. I asked him what the hole was for. He said "I don't know, I just want to dig a giant hole."

Chris loves dogs. The first thing he does every morning is come upstairs and lay down down on the floor between the dogs. Either he's petting one with each hand, or one with his hands and the other with his feet. Sometimes he curls up on the floor next to our bed and falls back to sleep on top of the dog bed.

The greatest thing about Chris is his compassion for others. It's hard to see is sometimes because he acts so tough and macho. Underneath all that false bravado, he is a big marshmallow. When we first brought Maya home, he was very kind to her. One time she was crying and we couldn't figure out why. I think someone accused her of crying for no reason. Chris said "Nobody knows how Maya feels. Only Maya knows what's like to be Maya." He recently told me he feels sorry for Maya because she is always getting hurt.

The first PG-13 movie I let the boys see was Avatar. When the Home Tree was being bombed and all the Navi were running for their lives he said to me "This is really sad!" The older boys were more focused on the guns and the bad words. After the movie they kept saying "We're mated for life" and giggling. I told them only Chris got the point of the movie. Riley got it, too but didn't express it in front of his friends.

Sometimes we forget he only a little boy. When Riley was little, he watched Pinocchio and Dumbo. But by the time Chris came along, all he saw was Air Bud and The Sandlot. When Riley spends the night at a friend's house, it's nice to spoil Chris and treat him like a little boy.

Opening presents

A dragon from Maya

A ball and bat from Riley

At Nikiski Pool with Cole and Ethan

Ice cream at Cold Stone

See you later, Bill and Ly

2010-06-01T10:49:00.005-08:00

A few weeks ago we went to visit Bill and Ly. They are moving to Texas. Bill has serious health problems and wanted to be somewhere warm and sunny more than 3 days per year. Ly will come back to Homer every few months until their house sells. We hated to see them go but hope that Bill will feel better there. They were our main link to Vietnam. We had hoped that Maya could grow up hearing the Vietnamese language in person, not just on CDs. I guess we are going to have to go to Texas or Vietnam more often. Ly gave Maya a box of toys and Bill gave her a transistor radio. The same radio she used to play with when she first came to Alaska. It is a very special gift. See you later Bill and Ly; Never Goodbye.

Yi Ly and Maya

Maya holding Bill's transistor radio

Mother's Day, 2010

2010-06-01T10:11:00.005-08:00

For Mother's Day this year I got to sleep in. Then Maya brought me a pretend cup of tea. Then the boys gave me their presents. Riley gave me project he made in school. It was a copy of Time Magazine, with me on the cover! He had drawn a picture of me and the cover of Time. Inside there was an article about me. He said the most important thing he learned from me was "Never give up unless what you are doing gets boring." Not exactly what I said but close enough. The funniest part was my world record. He said I hold the world record for longest time spent shopping at Costco: 4 hours. I beat the previous record of 3 hours 30 minutes.

Chris gave me book of coupons that I can redeem if I want an easy morning, help at meal time, or a peaceful bedtime. They were pages he had cut out of a Scholastic News for kids. Each page had lines for them to write their own ideas for that topic. In addition to helping prepare the meal, set the table and clean up, he wrote: "And I will not eat all the food so you can have some."
After church we went to the beach for our first beach cookout of the summer. We brought hot dogs, chips, snap peas, grapes, and of course: graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate for S'mores. Sarah, Grandma and Nanna joined us for a nice sunny day on the beach.

A few days later Matt and I went to Anchorage with Sarah to consult a specialist. Sarah's tumor was 99% "borderline cancer" and 1% epithelial carcinoma. Borderline cancers are not usually invasive and surgical excision is the cure. Epithelial carcinoma is invasive and we needed to know what to do about it. Dr. Higdon did not think she needed to go in for more biopsies. She just wants to monitor Sarah closely with tumor markers (blood tests) and ultrasound every 4 months for 2-3 years. We are relieved that she does not need anymore surgery so she can get back to normal life.

After the doctor appointment Matt and I went to Costco. I was so proud of myself for remembering to bring the flier with the new coupons. Matt needed new tires for his truck. There was a coupon for $75 off new tires. We set the coupon down in front of the sales girl and she said "Those coupons are not effective until tomorrow." Sure enough, the date said May 13 and it was only May 12. We tried to reason with her: "But we are from Homer and we can't come back tomorrow." No good. Then I tried to threaten her: "Fine, I'll send my daughter back tomorrow with my Costco card." She assured me that they do look at the photo on the Costco card every time to make sure the person matches the card. Finally, I pulled out my last weapon: "But I hold the record for the longest time spent shopping at Costco! I'm on the cover of Time Magazine!" She still did not budge. So I had to prove it to her, by presenting over $100 worth of dividend checks, both from shopping at Costco AND from using our Costco American Express Card. Guess I showed her!

Bradley, Riley and Chris

Maya at the beach

This is one of those days that makes us put up with Alaska the other 300 days per year.

Cinco de Maya

2010-06-01T08:04:00.011-08:00

On May 5th we celebrated our second anniversary with Maya. She doesn't really understand the significance of this yet. To her, it's like another birthday. In the afternoon we went to a birthday party of a friend. Then we had a special dinner for Maya. My mom made her a pink cake with 2 candles that she got to blow out. At bedtime instead of the usual books we looked at a photo album of our trip to Vietnam together. She loves seeing the pictures of herself. She has not started to ask any hard questions yet. I'm sure those days will come.

After 2 years together, we are much better adjusted. Looking back I realize that it took us almost two years to get used to each other. The first year was really hard. The boys had to adjust to sharing their parents, grandparents and their home with another little person. I had to learn how to manage 3 children (now 4 at home). Maya had to learn how to eat and talk. She is now potty trained (during the day), goes to preschool, plays with lots of friends and speaks in full sentences (most of the time). She still loves books, music and electronics. She is still very feisty, sassy, willful and headstrong. She is also very curious, smart, sweet and affectionate.

She asks endless questions. It can be very exasperating. I have to remind myself that she is learning and wants to know everything about the world around her. Sometimes she asks questions she already knows the answer to just to talk, or keep us engaged. Sometimes I don't know what she is really asking me. For example: I showed her a feather that I found. She asked me "Why it feather?". What does that mean? So I asked her, "What do you mean? Why did I pick it up? Why did the bird lose a feather? Why do birds have feathers instead of fur?". Then I say, "Birds have feathers so they can fly and stay warm." She seemed satisfied and says "Oh." Sometimes when I don't get the answer right and she cannot reform the question, she says "Never mind!". I guess she gets exasperated with me as well.

She loves all animals except for flies. She is still terrified of flies. She likes baby worms but not big worms. She prefers playing with dinosaurs to playing with dolls. She loves to swim, especially in the hot tub. She still loves to be in tiny spaces, like boxes and closets. She loves tools of all kinds. She loves to jump on trampolines. She loves water slides. She would probably love roller coasters if we had one. She is not afraid of anything, except flies. She cannot take our word for anything. She has to experience it for herself. That scares me when I think about her as an adolescent. I think my biggest challenge will be finding ways to channel her energy in creative and positive ways, so that she doesn't have to rebel. As her preschool teacher said last week: "I try to avoid power struggles with Maya, because I know who will win."

Love the boots Grandma! Love the dress Nanna!

Maya attends a birthday party on May 5th, done completely in Cinco de Mayo theme

The Birds and The Bees, The Eagles and the Moose

2010-05-01T10:03:00.014-08:00

I love May. It's when the moose start having babies. The eagles have been nesting for a month. There is an eagle nest right down the street from my mom's house. I can't tell if the babies have hatched yet. Most of the time you just see this little white golf ball on top of the nest, which I am assuming is the mother sitting on the eggs. Later on we might be able to hear the babies squawking in the nest.

The moose have not had their babies yet. The mothers have just recently chased off the yearlings. It's a sad time, seeing these young moose walking around looking very bewildered. Kind of like new college grads when Mom and Dad stop sending the monthly check. Just kidding. Sarah was already working double shifts to pay rent. Besides, the last check we gave her for graduation should have lasted 3 months.

Anyway, back to nature. Where do the birds and the bees come in? Riley came home on Tuesday and told us with a sly smile that they had "Health Class" that day. The boys and girls were separated into two groups where they watched videos about their changing bodies. Riley learned about pubic hair and how to shave (their facial hair). They were joined by the Fifth grade boys from Fireweed Academy, the Charter school at West Homer Elementary. Riley said "The Fireweeders were way more immature than us. They were laughing so hard, they had to be separated. They shouldn't have Health Class until they are in Sixth grade!"

On Thursday he learned more about his male anatomy and secondary sex characteristics. The first thing he said to me when I picked him up was, "Mom! Today we got deodorant!" He whipped out his sample size Old Spice Deodorant stick to show me. Five minutes later my minivan was reeking of Old Spice. I am so not ready for my boys to grow up.

Eagle nest on top of this tree in somebody's yard, right in the middle of town.

Heavy with child?

A yearling eating her way across our yard

Jill, Julie and Kristin are down from Palmer for a 200 km organized ride.

Walking to the beach.

The boys get to work on their fort.

Salty Dawgs

Maya and Trevor.

Riley Turns Eleven

2010-04-19T13:40:00.008-08:00

So much has happened since I last blogged, I don't even know where to begin. Let's see, 2 weeks after Riley's State Championship, Homer hosted the Mite D Tournament with 3 teams from the Kenai Soldotna area. That was a blast. Then there was Easter. Then we had a blizzard. Then Sarah got a tumor the size of an ostrich egg taken out, along with her left ovary and tube. Then we celebrated Riley's birthday. I'll just skip to Riley's birthday.

For his birthday, Riley wanted to go to Nikiski Pool. It has a water slide and all kinds of fun things for kids. It's about 2 hours North of here. Riley invited his best friend, Bradley, and his new friend, Matthew. Matthew lives in Kenai and plays for a rival hockey team. They got to be friends during the State Championship which is a really neat thing. Isn't that what the Olympics are all about? Competition, making new friends and promoting peace and understanding. The boys were thinking globally, acting locally.

Sarah is recovering from surgery nicely. She was a champ throughout the whole experience. She is looking forward to getting back to her workout schedules and plans to spend her convalescent time researching graduate schools.

Maya recently had swimming lessons. The high school pool was too cold for her so she did not like it much at all. Then she had a terrible cough that kept her (and us) up for 5 nights. She started antibiotics and is back in school today. She is still dancing once a week but she misses her hockey buddies.

Today it is sunny and warm, about 42 degrees. The snow is melting fast although we have been getting snow, rain or slush almost every day for the past 3 weeks. We are all looking forward to spring time, getting outdoors more, and getting healthy again.

Squirts at State Championship

2010-03-16T09:54:00.012-08:00

OMGoodness. I was trying to copy my blog and send it to someone in an email for the hockey newsletter and I ended up deleting 4 paragraphs about Riley's State Championship. I have many swear words, none of which are appropriate for a family blog.:(
I might try to recreate it after I regain my composure.
This is what's left that I did not manage to delete:

What could we do after the game but drown our sorrow in pizza and beer. Root beer for the kids, of course.

Sarah, envying Michael's beer sampler.

Maya and Grandma.

Riley and Michael B.

Chris sipping on root beer.

Michael A. and Nanna

The micro brew sampler. These are tiny little glasses.

Mt. Redoubt, chocolate cake with a chocolate molten center covered with whipped cream, more chocolate and caramel.

Snow Day, After Day

2010-03-16T09:26:00.010-08:00

This blog is over a week late, but still worth posting. Last week we had a blizzard that went on for days. On Friday, March 5, we woke up to a foot of snow that fell overnight. School was delayed 2 hours to give the snowplows time to clear the roads and the buses time to chain up. Then it was cancelled. Snow fell and winds howled for 2 days and 3 nights. Sunday we woke up to sunshine and blue skies. But it was only the eye of the storm. Sunday night the wind began to howl again and the snow kept falling. Tuesday school was cancelled again! We have not had a snow day for over 10 years! Then two in one week. The kids were overjoyed, until they learned they had to make it up in May. It was surreal. We did not leave home for days. We just kept eating what was in the house. By the third day, the fridge was looking rather bare. We could have lived on macaroni and cheese and spaghetti for another week, but luckily, we didn't have to resort to canned and dried foods.

When Matt and I first got married, he was appalled by my inability to keep the pantry stocked with canned foods. He said, "You obviously have never been in a blizzard." I said, "No, I grew up in California where we could get fresh fruits and vegetables all year round." Lucky for Matt, I am a Costco addict. And you can't get one of anything from Costco. We compromised on a limited supply of Costco canned products. Luckily, we didn't have to dip into the pantry, since our Costco supplies were low anyway. I was afraid that once again, Matt would prove me wrong. I hate it when he's right.

After the storm.

The basketball hoop behind our 5 foot snow berms.

Matt shoveled a tunnel to the our hockey rink we named "The Boat Pad".

Our hot tub under snow.

Mother of the House

2010-03-01T22:55:00.011-09:00

Now that the days are getting longer, I am really enjoying long walks with the dogs. Sarah has been joining me for some of our walks. We are settling into a comfortable routine with her home. When she first comes home it's like a party every night which can be exhausting with 3 small children in school. Now she helps put the kids to bed, cooks, cleans and is generally very helpful and fun to be with. For a while she was intent on kicking butt and trying to get the boys to do chores. Not that I don't do those things, but I am inconsistent.

One night I announced that Sarah had been elected the new Mother of the House and I was being demoted to Resident Adolescent. We stayed up too late watching movies, overslept the next day and were late for school. I got caught speeding in a school zone and was pulled over by a state trooper. When he asked me for my driver's license, registration and proof of insurance, I told him "It gets worse officer, I left my purse at home and all those things are in my purse." He asked me for my name and called in to check my record. He returned a few minutes later and let me off with a warning.

I wonder what my police record says? Irene is an airhead but basically harmless. She has been pulled over a lot for drunk driving because she doesn't take the center divide or lane lines very seriously. (In Vietnam, the lane lines are merely gentle suggestions. Nobody actually takes them very seriously). It was enough to scare me back into being a responsible mom again. I forgot how much I hated getting in trouble as a teen.

Hockey season is almost over. Riley's team goes to their State Championship in two weeks. I am organizing an end of the year tournament for Chris' team since they don't have a State Championship. What do hockey moms do after State? They spring clean and get ready for baseball season, of course!

Weeks 3 and 4 of dance class Maya finally started participating in class. At first she tried to pull her stunts but Grandma would have none of it. My mom asked Maya if she would rather participate in dance or go home and take a nap? Maya marched right back to class and danced! Kudos to Grandma, the original Queen of Kickbuttocity!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Maya having fun with Chris

Riley hiding in Maya's closet.

Our fire-bellied toad died. This is the coffin we are going to bury him in when the snow melts.

Oh please, really? What the...

Maya trying on sun glasses at Safeway.

Irene buys her first pair of reading glasses.

March in Alaska

President's Day Tournament/Week 2 of Dance

2010-02-08T14:58:00.004-09:00

Yesterday Riley's team won the President's Day Tournament in Anchorage. They lost to Fairbanks Phantoms 2-0 in the first game, then beat the Eagle River Mustangs 4-1 in the second game, beat KPHA Ice Hawks 6-0 in the third game, beat Anchorage Mighty Moose 4-1 in the cross over game and defeated Fairbanks in the Championship game 2-1. This is the first time they have ever won a tournament. The kids were so happy. They used to lose to Anchorage and Wasilla teams 15-1 or 16-0 in the past. You've come a long way, Homer Glacier Kings!

Today I took Maya to her second dance/movement class. We got there at 1:01pm and the other kids were already in the studio. One of Maya's friends came in right after us and she joined the class with no reservation. Maya clung to my neck like a monkey, as if I was going to throw her in the deep end of a swimming pool. She refused to let go so I went and sat in the waiting area with the big window and told her we were going to sit there and watch until she was ready to join the class. She walked around, looked in the window of the other studio and visited with siblings of classmates until the last 5 minutes of class when Diane pulled out the hula hoop. Then she jumped off my lap and ran into the classroom.

After class Diane offered to make copies of the songs for me that they sing and move to in class for me to do with her at home. Here's how that conversation went:
Diane: I could make copies of the songs for you.
Me: Do I have to do this at home? Is this like a Suzuki dance class?
Diane: No, but I'll give you a sticker if you do. It might make her more willing to participate.
Me: She likes the hula hoop part, how about you bring out the hula hoop at the beginning of class instead of waiting until the end?
Diane: I do let them play with the hula hoop 5 minutes before class starts.
Me: Okay, my mom can bring her early next time. She's early for everything.

How's that for a slacker mom response? Obviously the hockey mom approach didn't work. By the way, I'm stuck paying for 2 months of classes whether she participates or not. I hope Grandma works her magic.

Getting stickers at the end of class.

Peninsula Winter Games

2010-02-06T12:47:00.005-09:00

Chris and his friend Elijah on an ice sculpture.

Last weekend Chris and I went to Soldotna for the Peninsula Winter Games. Maya was sick so she stayed home with Grandma and Daddy. Matt took Riley to his home games. Chris and I enjoyed a nice Mommy and Chris weekend. It was so good for both of us. We cuddled in bed and read together. I let him order all his favorite foods. We swam together and played in the hotel pool. When he wasn't playing hockey with his team and getting spoiled by me, he got to hang out with his own friends instead of being the tagalong with his big brother and friends. He was such a joy to be with when he didn't have to compete with his older brother and younger sister.

This weekend we are all in Anchorage for the President's Day Tournament, with Riley's team. I'm glad we can all be together sometimes, but I'm hoping to have a special weekend with Riley in a couple of weeks.

Last Monday Maya went to her first dance class. It's called music and movement for preschoolers. She was decked out his her ballet dress (thanks to Marina!) and real pink leather ballet slippers (thank you Aunt Kristin!). Nanna said she spent about 30 minutes admiring herself in the mirror, 10 minutes checking in with Nanna, and participated in the last 5 minutes of class when they were jumping through a hoop. I asked her about it the next day:

Me: Did you enjoy dance class yesterday?

Maya: Yes!

Me: What was your favorite part, kissing yourself in the mirror?

Maya: Uh...

Me: Do you want to go to dance class again next week?

Maya: Yes!

Me: Then get in line and listen to Miss Diane!

Maya: Yes, Mama.

Hey, I'm a hockey mom, not a stage mom. It's going to take me a while to switch gears.

Photos next week.

This is a video of Douglas scoring, for his first grade teacher, Linda Satre, with love!

January and Winter Fun

2010-01-26T10:36:00.007-09:00

Wow! What a wild and crazy month it's been! With two boys in hockey now it seems like we are traveling all the time! This last weekend we got to stay home which was a good thing because we had a special visit from Matt's dad who came all the way from Oregon to watch the Besh Cup Ski Races. Besh Cup is a qualifying race for the Junior Olympics so everybody who is anybody was here! Our nieces Heather and Megan came down from Fairbanks with their dad, Dave. Our nephew, Michael was here from Anchorage to compete as well. Everyone did really well in their division. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny with lots of snow.

After we made our appearance at the races, the kids and I headed another 100 yards up Ohlson Mountain for Extreme Tubing! Maya wasn't supposed to go because you have to be at least 6 years old. I was pulling her around on in the inner tube trying to keep her occupied when the owner gave me permission to sneak a ride down the slope with her on my lap. I had to clench my teeth to keep from screaming all the way down. The first time down is always such a thrill, my stomach gets butterflies and I am convinced the inner tube is going to lift off the ground! Maya had a great time and begged to go again! We played in the snack shack for a while and had hot chocolate and gummy bears. We snuck in 2 more trips down the mountain holding onto the boys' inner tubes on a new trail that whips around and ends at the bottom of the tow rope by the other slides.

We also managed to squeeze in a swimming birthday party for Maya two weeks ago. Her friends from both preschools came. Although Zachary and Weston were out of town, her new friend Matthew came. Maya and Matthew met at Long Term Care where Matthew's grandmother lives and Maya's Grandmother does volunteer work. The two of them probably bring a lot of energy to the folks at LTC! After a good swim they shared cake and ice cream. Then Maya was showered with the customary gifts for a 4 year old girl with a wide range of interests: dolls, fairies, horses, dress ups, and of course, dinosaurs!

The big groovy gong on the ski trails on Ohlson Mountain.

Maya at Extreme Tubing.

Mommy's favorite part, the slow relaxing tow rope ride back up.

The four traditional trails are on the left, the new alternative one is on the right.

Riley and Chris on a double.

Here's all of us holding onto each other's tubes for a triple dip!

Chris' hockey debut

2010-01-09T21:01:00.002-09:00

I've been resisting blogging about Chris' hockey debut, because I feel like a bad mom. Maya turned 4 on the second. We are having her birthday party tomorrow. Partly because Matt was on call, but mostly because Chris had two games last Saturday, and two games today. I am his manager. I scheduled the games. But I didn't have that many choices. You see the dilemma I'm in? Maya has had wonderful experiences the past week. But her best friends, Zachary and Weston, left for a family vacation today, so they will miss her birthday party. I felt just awful when I found out. Tomorrow she will have a wonderful time swimming with a bunch of other friends, but not her very best friends.

But I'm getting way behind on my blogging. So here goes...Last Saturday Chris played his first two games. The first game he was the goalie. He saved 15 out of 18 shots on goal! They lost 3-2. His second game he played on offense. He scored his first goal a minute and 13 seconds into the game. He scored again 5 minutes later. He got a third goal half way into the second period. A hat trick his first game out of the goal! They still lost 5-3.

Today he played goalie in the first game. He saved 4 out of 5 shots on goal. We won 5 to 1! The second game he played offense again. He scored 1 goal. We won 3-2. All the kids are improving so fast! It's so much fun to watch them play at this level.

I keep thinking about that joke Sarah Palin made famous. What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? She says lipstick. I say a lot. Most hockey moms in Homer don't wear lipstick. In fact, most hockey moms in Homer are also hockey players, and coaches, and managers. I am in the minority. I only manage. Most hockey moms also run the PTA, help with Scouting and teach Sunday School. A few weeks ago while plunging a toilet at the hockey rink I thought to myself: I wonder if Sarah Palin ever had to plunge a toilet at the hockey rink? And another thing, pitbulls never have to yell: "No more hockey in the house!".

My Baby's All Grown Up and Going to Thailand!

2009-12-31T07:10:00.009-09:00

Sarah came home on 12/16 for the holidays. A few days later she got her haircut and died it back to her original red color (She was born a strawberry blond). She looks so mature with her new hairdo. The boys and Maya loved having her home. Yesterday she left for a month in Thailand with her friend Gretchen. She left me in charge of my grand-dog, Lilly. I think I'm going to be a better Grandma than I am a mother. Especially if all my grandchildren are dogs! Yesterday I took her for a walk, on a leash and everything! She's my new exercise buddy. Trevor pulls which makes walking on icy roads even more treacherous, and he weighs 100 pounds!

We had a nice Christmas. Santa brought the boys a real hockey goal. It was in our living room for a few days, now it's outside on the homemade ice skating rink where it belongs. Today Matt's siblings will start arriving for our Annual Wise Clan New Year Gathering. We will exchange gifts and feast on King crab and Prime rib. On Saturday Matt's siblings will all go fishing for Winter King, which is the best salmon on earth. It melts in your mouth like butter! We will be in Soldotna for Chris' first two hockey games. He's going to play goalie! I don't know if his ego can take it. Not everyone is cut out to be a goalie. Our coach is going to rotate several kids through the goalie position. I wanted him to play other positions, too, since it's his first year of hockey.

Maya has been resisting learning to skate. We had our first melt down a couple of weeks ago. Last week she did fine once we were out there. She doesn't like the group activities, prefers to do her own thing. I think I'm going to try her in a dance/movement class after New Year's. We can try skating again next year. Maybe she'll actually be able to bend her arms and legs in her gear! She turns 4 on January 2nd. She decided to have a swimming party with 10 of her friends. We are going to have her birthday party next week, since Matt is on call this weekend.

Sarah leaving for Thailand.

Our homemade ice rink.

Now the boys want a mini-Zamboni!

Yes, our whole family fits in a hockey goal.

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"

Maya's new bike

2009-06-19T22:27:00.005-08:00

Maya received a special present today. Aunt Jill sent her a new kicker bike from Tony's bike shop in Palmer. It has no pedals. Kids learn to balance by kicking their feet. How cool is that?!?!? Maya loves it. Even Chris looks a little envious. Of course he had to follow along and give her lots of advice. Thank you Jill and Tony!

Maya rode to our neighbor's house to visit the new horse.

Here's the little foal with her auntie. Then we headed back to our yard to play whiffle ball.

Maya catching.

Batter up!

Finally, a Reality show worth voting for!

2009-06-11T09:04:00.003-08:00

I hate reality shows. But Steven Baldwin has chosen Love146 as his charity. Love146 is dedicated to abolishing child sex slavery and exploitation. The longer Steven stays on the show, the more funds Love146 receives. For more information, go to the Morris Family Blog, or Love146's blog: http://love146.blogspot.com.

How do I vote?Each contestant has been assigned a toll-free number which they will keep for however long they remain in the jungle. To vote, when prompted during the show, dial the phone number assigned to vote for Stephen. Stephen’s number is: 1-(877)5 KEEP 10 or 1-(877)553-3710 .Or log on to www.nbc.com to vote online. Voting will open at the start of the East Coast airing of the show. You can vote up to 10 times per originating telephone number via the toll-free vote method or up to 10 times per e-mail address when voting online. Calls are toll free from landlines.For more on voting see: http://www.nbc.com/im-a-celebrity/vote/elimination/faq-rules.shtml#faqWebsite to vote: http://www.nbc.com/im-a-celebrity/

Baseball and Clamming

2009-05-30T08:17:00.011-08:00

It's spring in Alaska. Not only did our neighbor's horse have a baby, but moose are starting to appear with their babies. I have not seen any yet but Alana and I saw the tiniest moose tracks on her road last week. The boys found a robin's nest under our deck. Riley came in the house holding 4 bright blue eggs in his hands. I freaked out and yelled at him to put them back. He did and the mother is still sitting on them, so I'm hoping they will still hatch. Riley can see the nest from his bed. We have banned skateboards and scooters from the deck for the time being.

We moved Chris up to coach pitch. On the first day he got hit in the head with a baseball during warm ups, thrown by another kid. He cried hard and wanted to go home. I thought, what have I done? I held him for a while then forced him to sit on the bleachers until he decided to play. He got a couple of hits at bat and even got two outs while playing first base. He's having fun now so I'm glad he got back in the dugout.

On Memorial Day we went across the bay to dig for steamer clams with our friends Randy and Marilyn. We weren't finding many steamers so we switched to harvesting mussels. The boys enjoyed exploring the beach at low tide the most. Maya enjoyed the boat ride the most.

I decided to take the boys to Ninilchik to dig for razor clams. Razor clams can get up to 6-8 inches long. They are harder to dig for because they tunnel away from you. The hardest part is not breaking their shells when you dig. I was going to do a whole blog on Razor Clams, 101.

Wednesday morning we woke up to 45 degrees and blowing. It was so cold when we got to the beach, we didn't even want to get out of the car. I put rain gear on the kids in the back of the truck and duct taped the bottom of their rain pants to their rubber boots. I sent Riley and Chris down to start digging while I got Maya geared up. By the time I got down to the beach with Maya, Chris was cold and wanting to leave. I drove 45 miles to dig for razor clams and wasn't going to give up that easily. I was determined to spend at least as much time digging as I had spent gearing up.

So I sent Chris and Maya back to the truck to get warm while Riley and I kept digging. The only reason Riley was still digging was because he was expecting his best friend Bradley to show up with his family. We never did see Bradley. Ninilchik is a huge beach and they were at the other end. After an hour Chris came down to the beach yelling at me to leave. We took our meager bucket of 12-18 clams and headed back to the truck.

On the way off the beach I was driving on soft gravel and got stuck. A kindly older gentleman came up and told me I needed to stop spinning my wheels and ask someone with 4 wheel drive and a tow rope to pull me out. It was early and most people were still digging for clams. So I headed for the only house on the beach. I asked a young woman in the yard if she had a tow rope and a 4 wheel drive. She asked me where I was stuck and said she would start looking for a tow rope. When she and her friends arrived she said her dad told her she couldn't bring his truck down to the gravel. I was obviously stuck in a bad place. She offered to help push me out. I was studying Matt's truck manual trying to figure out how to get it into 4 wheel drive. I finally heard the mechanism engage and was able to drive out without much pushing. The girl told me the key to getting off the beach was to stay in someone else's tracks.

After recovering from the sting and humiliation of a "failed" clamming trip I realized that I had learned a lot that morning. First, I learned that clamming is not much fun for kids unless it is done with a fun group of people, including someone to entertain the little ones. Second, it's not much fun clamming in bad weather. Third, I learned that it's okay to make mistakes.

At the time I was beating myself up. What made me think I could take the kids clamming by myself? I had done it once before and it was no fun. I thought it would be different this time because I was expecting to meet up with this other family. Next time I will arrange to follow them instead of meeting them there.

I was beating myself up for thinking I was a hardy Alaskan. Living in Alaska for 10 years does not make you "bush" worthy. Sitting in the truck with the manual open made me realize that I am still a Yuppie Liberal from Northern California. I thought about the beautiful young woman that helped me out. She looked like she was born and bred in Alaska, directly descended from the Vikings, comfortable around water and boats, salt water in her veins. I thought about people who grow up in certain environments. They have learned the ins and outs of living in their unique environment, from watching their family and friends, and doing it over and over.

I wondered what I was good at. I did not grow up around the water or in the woods. I couldn't survive in the wild for more than 3 days. As soon as I lost my contact lenses I'd be a goner. What did growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area uniquely qualify me to be good at besides parallel parking and eating Ethnic foods?

It wasn't until the end of the day that I was able to gain some perspective. I now know that I can read a manual if I am forced. I learned how to put a Toyota Tundra into 4 wheel low. I learned not to drive on soft gravel. I learned it's better to drive on sand in someone else's tracks. I also know how to ask for help.

I am grateful that I live in a place where people are always willing to help a stranger. Even if you don't have the right tools, a kind word and the willingness to help is balm for the bruised ego. I guess the willingness to try a new adventure is not a bad thing either, if you don't get into too much trouble. A wise person said: Wisdom comes from experience. Experience comes from making mistakes. Sometimes failure is a better teacher than success.

Chris' Hot Wheels birthday cake (from Safeway).

Chris' favorite snack is salt and vinegar potato chips. I bought three different brands and had them do a taste test. Kettle was voted #1, Boulder (health food store) was #2, Tim's was #3.

Slacker mom takes low maintenance birthday party to new low with this big cardboard box.

Maya helps hold the bag open while Marilyn digs for steamer clams. The blue buoys in the water are an oyster farm.

Giant sun stars on the beach at low tide.

Randy let Maya drive the boat.

I love the faces barnacles make on rocks and shells. Spaghetti with mussels in red sauce.

Slugger Chris at bat.

This is the robin in it's nest under our deck.

Back to Alaska

2009-05-21T21:23:00.011-08:00

We made it home uneventfully. The kids finished school on Wednesday. Baseball season just started. Riley had his first game last night. He pitched a few innings, then played short stop.
The baseball park is the second coldest place in Homer, after the spit. Parents watch the games in down jackets and sometimes wrapped in down sleeping bags. Chris started out on a Tball team because he wants to be the best player on the team. We could understand this since he is always trying to keep up with his big brother. But he admitted to feeling somewhat bored and after Matt helped out at one of the practices, we've decided it's a safety issue at this point. He can hit the ball so hard and most kids in Tball are still picking dandelions in the field rather than keeping their eyes on the ball. We are having him moved up to coach pitch.

This picture of Maya in front of a gardenia bush was taken on our second to last day in Arizona.

We discovered this complimentary chocolate fountain with make your fruit kabobs at a Mexican restaurant in Phoenix called Aunt Chilada.

On the drive home from Anchorage to Homer we decided to stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Most of the animals here were injured or orphaned in the wild. It was way better than any zoo we've ever seen. All the animals come right up to the fence. We could have reached out and petted some of them. It was way cool. There were lots of new baby buffalo, elk and musk ox running around.

Many of the animals were shedding their winter coat, like this musk ox.

Even the Grizzly bears come right up to the fence.

This caribou still has velvet on his antlers. So do the moose and elk.

This black bear wants more baby carrots.

Chris turned 7 yesterday. We are having a birtday party on Saturday. Last night we had the family dinner party last night between baseball games. He wanted a cake in the shape of a "stick". I didn't know how to make that work so I line these cupcakes up and told him it was a "snake" cake.

Our neighbor's horse delivered her foal this morning. Here she is only 2 hours old!

Family and Friend Reunion

2009-05-15T06:07:00.006-08:00

Yesterday, we drove from Flagstaff back to Phoenix. Sarah came by the hotel to say goodbye on her way to Las Vegas. She is meeting about 5 or 6 of her friends from high school there, for a second graduation party.

We went back to my uncle's house for a mini-family reunion. My aunt Beverly came out from Massachusettes. My cousin Gary came over after work for a barbecue. It was fun to catch up with everyone.

Then we checked into our hotel at the Hilton Squaw Peak Resort. I booked us here for two nights as a treat because they have 3 swimming pools, a lazy river, waterfall and miniature golf.
Eric Novack, Matt's friend and roommate from medical school came over. He is an orthopedic surgeon here in Phoenix. After meeting the family, Eric and Matt went out for a beer to catch up.
I had to get a picture of the kids in front of a saguaro cactus. I love saguaros. They can get really tall with lots of appendages. This one has buds on top but the flowers haven't bloomed yet. The holes are made by woodpeckers. Cactus wren make nests in them. It's fun to watch the birds flying in and out. I never get tired of looking at saguaros because no two are alike.

Family photo, including Colleen, the Golden Retriever.

Uncle Richard, Aunt Bev, Auntie Marie, my Mom. Doesn't Aunti Marie look like Queen Elizabeth? She says she shrunk so now she's only 4'9". Her feet are smaller than Riley's.

Dr. Eric Novack is a kid magnet.

The Grand Canyon

2009-05-13T20:04:00.012-08:00

Today we visited the Grand Canyon. The kids and Matt took the train from Williams to the Grand Canyon and back. Sarah and I drove and met them there. We hiked a short way down about a mile and back. Maya fell asleep in the baby carrier. She wanted to be well rested for the train ride home apparently.

Before they boarded the train in Williams, there was a staged hold up. Maya didn't seem to mind that too much. But on the way back when the bad guys boarded the train, she was not happy at all. And the arrival of the sheriff did not make her feel any better. She covered her ears and told him to go away. It was interesting that when she got scared, she clung to Chris for protection.

We all met back in Flagstaff for Sushi at Karma. It was delicious. The boys each had their own sushi platter. Maya had yakisoba noodles with shrimp. The adults shared several different sushi rolls. For dessert I ordered bananas fried in tempura batter with vanilla ice cream, and coconut sorbet. Chris took home the coconut half shell that the sorbet was served in. He thought it would come in handy for catching bugs and things.

The train depot in Williams. Maya called the horses moose.

Wise kids at The Grand Canyon

Sarah, Chris and Riley

Maya is squinting in every picture.

Maya fell asleep on the hike.

Boarding the train at the Grand Canyon to return to Williams.

Noodles and sushi at Karma

The boys preparing to eat octopus.

Look at these gorgeous desserts! Maya is making funny faces for the camera.

Pho in Flagstaff!

2009-05-11T21:02:00.006-08:00

Not much to report today. We spent most of the day playing basketball and swimming in the hotel pool. There is a park like area at the Residence Inn by Marriott here that has a hillside where groundhogs burrow. Maya loves watching the groundhogs. She calls them "dwoing-dwoings". (Make the sound of a spring, substitute a d for the b). Riley caught a garter snake today. We don't have snakes in Alaska so that was a treat for the boys.

It's been really fun having my mom on this trip. She keeps the kids entertained so Matt and I can actually enjoy ourselves from time to time. I'm learning a lot about my mom that I never knew before. For example, she is a very competitive basketball player. She even stole the ball from Chris, her own team mate, when Riley and I were catching up, even though they were 6 points ahead of us! Now I know why her favorite "cuss" word is "shoot!".

We found the only Vietnamese restaurant in Flagstaff! Get your pho on Route 66!

Maya pouts because she doesn't have her own "ice skates".

Grandma takes Maya for a spin in Chris' in line skates.

Our favorite duck at the duck pond across from the public golf course. Riley calls him "Anaheim"

Mother's Day at Sedona

2009-05-10T20:45:00.009-08:00

We had a wonderful day. Maya came back from breakfast with a yellow rose for me. I could hear her practicing all the way up the stairs "Happy Mudder's Day!"

Then we drove down the Oak Creek Canyon road to Sedona. It was a beautiful drive. We stopped at a nice little deli for sandwiches, chips and drinks.

Then we hiked down to the river.

There were several swimming holes. The day was hot and the water was cold.

The boys spent most of the day trying to catch fish and frogs.

The boys weren't too sure about the cold water at first but they worked up the nerve to take the plunge.

I made Riley scoot down and jump from the lowest ledge at the front of this rock.

We stopped at Cold Mountain on the way home for some ice cream.

Then we had another fabulous dinner at the restaurant where Sarah works, called Mountain Oasis. This time she got to sit and enjoy dinner with us! What a perfect day.

Sarah's Graduation Party

2009-05-10T06:37:00.013-08:00

The accuweather gadget I put on the blog is rather misleading. While you all think we are suffering from heat stroke, we are actually not in Phoenix. The weather here in Flagstaff is much more pleasant. It's been in the 75-82 degree range with a warm breeze. Instead of cactuses (cacti?) everywhere, it's pine forests, aspen, birch and oak trees around us. The ground is quite dry and the mountains around us are reddish brown.

Friday night we went to Sarah's house for a dinner. She made us a fabulous lasagne with plenty of meat, cheese and vegetables, salad with mixed greens, strawberries and candied walnuts, garlic bread and red wine.

Saturday we had a big barbecue with Sarah's friends and their families. Her boyfriend Ryan's parents and sister came up from Scottsdale. Ryan's brother and his girlfriend and her family came over. Sarah's landlord and his wife came over. Ryan was the grill master and cooked steaks and chicken for us all afternoon.

Then we went to the park where the boys broke in their new in line skates. There was a big basketball game and Ryan and his brother Andy showed our boys how to slam dunk and hang from the hoop. Of course, it helps to be over 6 feet tall.

Next post: Mother's day in Sedona!

Sarah's and her best friend E.J.

Maya took a shine to Ryan.

Sarah and Andy's girlfriend, Katie

The boys had a great time climbing on the rocks behind Sarah's house.

So did Grandma, Maya and I.

Riley tries out his new in line skates

Chris loving the miles and miles of paved sidewalks that we do not have in Homer.

Maya walks a dog her own size: a long haired dachshund named Schnaps McLovin' Wiener

Maya plays at the park.

The big basketball game.

Maya's First Anniversary

2009-05-08T10:27:00.003-08:00

May 5th was Maya's first anniversary joining our family. I was obviously too busy going on 2 field trips per day when I was supposed to be packing to blog about it. I figured between her baptism and her court date, there was enough on the blog that she wouldn't hold it against me. Now that I'm on vacation I can sneak in an extra blog. Especially since Grandma is with us. She has been great about taking the kids out so I can get a minute to myself.

Maya has grown about 2 inches and gained 4 pounds since we picked her up. She went from babbling in baby talk that no one could understand, even the Vietnamese, to 4 word sentences. She can say long words like "accident" and "Christopher". She attends preschool and speech therapy 2 mornings per week. Her favorite part of school is riding the school bus. She can almost count to 10 in English and a little bit of Vietnamese. She visits Yi Ly almost every week to work on her Vietnamese. She sat through an entire dental visit for cleaning and exam.

When we picked her up she was afraid of everything from flower petals that scattered in the wind and butterflies to cats and dogs. Now she pets horses and loves dogs and cats. The other night I asked her "who makes honey?" and she said "bee!". She loves to go bowling. Her favorite foods are noodles, ice chips, cucumbers, and "Sponge Bob Gogurt". She loves books, telephones and all things electronic. She loves to be outside. She loves to swim. She loves to swing and slide. She loves hockey. She is half Curious George and half Ramona the Pest. In Thailand they have a term for petite little girls who are feisty. It's something like Lek Prikki Nu, which means: Little red hot chili pepper. That's sums up Maya Mong Wise!

Wises in Arizona!

2009-05-08T06:24:00.018-08:00

"Family Vacation" is an oxymoron. There is nothing relaxing about being on vacation with your family. I'm feeling a little more relaxed now that we are done with the first part of the airplane travel, rental car and hotel situation. If you don't already know what I'm talking about, just rent any of Chevy Chase's family vacation movies or "RV". I think family vacations are more like school field trips. Sometimes they are fun. Sometimes the kids in your charge are so annoying that you are sorry you signed up to chaperon. But it's always a learning experience.

For example, I learned never again to chaperon two field trips on the day before we leave to go on vacation. I also learned not to sign up for the trip to Mud Bay to view shore birds again. It was windy and cold. The kids weren't really very interested. I had to keep telling them to be quiet so I could hear what the biologist was saying, to stop throwing sand around and to keep their binoculars out of the sand. I also learned to say "No!" the next time 4 boys ask if they can bring a chunk of black clay the size of bowling balls back in my car. You know that low tide smell? Yeah...

So, here we are in Arizona. Maya is such a great little traveler. She's always up for a new adventure. She got on the airplane, buckled herself up and announced "I'm ready!" She repeated herself about 30 more times before the plane took off. She stayed awake for the 3.5 hour flight to Seattle, then fell asleep as the plane landed. She slept through the entire 2 hour layover when she was supposed to be running around and woke up just in time to board the next airplane. She stayed awake for that entire flight as well. We landed in Phoenix Wednesday night and crashed at a cheap hotel near the airport. The boys were so excited, we could hardly contain them.

Yesterday we drove north to pick up my mom at my Uncle Richard's house. We had lunch with Uncle Richard and Auntie Marie. Uncle Richard was one of my all time favorite uncles growing up. He was in the Air Force for 2o years, then the State Department for 20 years, so they have lived all over the world. I visited him when I was in college and they were in Delhi, India. He likes to tease me about sending my Christmas cards in June but I swear I've never sent them later than March. Auntie Marie is from Ireland. She is about 4'11" and says things like "What the hang?" After 53 years of marriage she still can't tell when Uncle Richard is joking. Of course, after Matt and I have been married 53 years, I'll still fall for his tricks, too.

After lunch and a quick dip in pool, the boys ran around trying to catch lizards while Matt and I bored the old folks with our stories. We found out that living in Alaska is not too different than Arizona. Other than the change in temperature and scenery, there are a lot of similarities. For example, our joggers have to watch out for moose and bears. Their joggers have to watch out for rattle snakes and havalinas, which are wild pigs. It's amazing how much wildlife there is around here. There are rabbits hopping around, birds flying around. Maybe if we are really lucky we'll get to see a Wiley Coyote and the Road Runner.

The boys didn't understand why we had to rent a minivan instead of this Corvette.

Maya poses for me in front of this pretty flower.

This picture is for Alana.

We arrived in Flagstaff at dinner time and went straight to the restaurant where Sarah works.

Sarah rushes out to meet us in her usual exuberant fashion.

Sarah attacks Chris at our table while taking our order.

It's mango smoothie time!

Then we drove north to Flagstaff. I love this drive because you can watch the landscape change from desert to pine forests within 2 hours. The temperature also dropped almost 30 degrees. I'm so glad we got to see Arizona is the spring time. Here in Flagstaff the birch trees all have brand new little spring green leaves. In Phoenix the cactus was in bloom. I've always wanted to see the desert in bloom. We will be spending most of our time in Flagstaff with a few side trips to the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Arm chair travelers, stay tuned to see the Wises tearing up Arizona!

Heat Wave!

2009-05-04T21:41:00.009-08:00

Some people say there are two seasons in Alaska: winter and construction. I beg to differ. I say that we have 4 seasons: depression from October through February, agitated depression in March, hypomania in April and full blown mania from May through September. This past weekend we skipped spring and went straight to summer with a heat wave. It hit 70 degrees in Homer and Fairbanks and 80 degrees in Palmer/Wasilla. You have to realize that 70 degrees in Homer is equivalent to 90 degrees in the rest of the world. The boys were sweltering! Maya refuses to wear clothes and runs around naked when we are home.

We have been so busy with school. Riley's class has about 8 field trips between April and May. Chris' class has 4. Since our spring is so short and school gets out on May 20th, the teachers cram all the field trips in during the last 6 weeks. Tomorrow I am driving on two field trips, then finishing preparations so we can drive to Anchorage tomorrow night. We fly out Wednesday morning to Arizona for Sarah's graduation from college.

Aunt Kristin and Aunt Jill came down to Homer for a 125 mile bike ride on Saturday. They brought their friend Tony. We went down to Bishop's Beach at 8am to see them off on their ride. It was not a race but they were timed because it's one of those rides that qualifies you for real races. We have had beautiful weather for a week and the only reason it did not rain on Saturday was because Matt was on call in the ER.

After the bikers took off, the boys, my mom and I picked up garbage for 2 hours. They had been picking up garbage earlier in the week hoping to win first prize for most bags of garbage collected by a family. First prize was $150 that they planned to split 3 ways. They collected 15 bags on Tuesday and Wednesday. We picked up another 7 bags Saturday morning. Two of the bags were just cans and glass so they counted double. We turned in the equivalent of 24 bags at 11am. We found out on Sunday that they came in 3rd place and will receive $50 plus prizes. The boys were disappointed but for me the real prize is living in a beautiful place relatively free of litter.

After the Earth Day Picnic we went to a birthday party for Falcom, who turned 10 today. It was a swimming party at the high school pool. Maya had a blast on this inflatable orca. After the birthday party we met up with the cyclists for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants: Fat Olives, for pizza, salad and seafood pasta. Then Falcom and Marina both spent the night. Sunday morning I taught Sunday school. After lunch the boys went to a matinee: Monsters v. Aliens.

While Maya was napping the boys were hot and bored so I filled up the kiddie pool with water balloons. They had a blast with the first water balloon fight of the year. After the matinee we headed to Nanna's house for dinner. Do you see what I mean about the mania? All this and the trees have not even budded out yet. That doesn't usually happen until late May. This past week has been warmer than our entire summer last year. We are hoping for an early spring and a long hot summer!

Maya's ready for hockey anytime.

And they're off!

Chris, Riley and Grandma picking up garbage.

This yearling just got chased off by it's mother, because she is about to have a new baby. They always look lost and pathetic for the first few days.

Maya loving the orca at Falcom's birthday party.

Her other favorite part of the party was being chased around by Vince holding a broom. I told Vince he should hire himself out to chase kids at birthday parties. He doesn't even need a clown suit!

Tony was one of the cyclist who stayed at our house. He was so wonderful with Maya, I begged him to stay on as our au pair. Check out the sunburn on his face!

The first water ballon fight of the summer. We hope it won't be the last.

She's finally legally part of our family, forever!

2009-04-29T20:42:00.008-08:00

Today was our court date for Maya's final re-adoption. It went off without a hitch. The hardest part was the 8 hours of paperwork I did to save $1500 in legal fees. I am grateful to our social worker for forwarding us the paperwork and holding my hand while I called her every few hours for two days.

Alana showed up to take photos. Both grandmothers attended as well. I did not pull the boys out of school since they are going to miss 10 days for Sarah's graduation in Arizona. It was a nice experience. Maya buttered up Judge Murphy with those Poki cookie sticks you get in the Asian section of the grocery store. Alana brought her the ones that you dip in chocolate. It was a nice reprieve from the usual drunk driving and domestic violence cases they deal with.

The funniest is part is, when Maya saw the judge in her black robe, she bowed her head and folded her hands in prayer!

Belly Science

2009-04-23T17:25:00.008-08:00

It's springtime in Alaska and the moose are starting to wander into town in search of food. Soon there will be baby moose following along behind them on spindly legs.

Yesterday Riley went across the bay on a field trip with a fourth grade class. His class is going May 6-8 when we will be in Arizona for Sarah's graduation. Mrs. Kirkham, another teacher, was kind enough to take him across the bay with her 4th grade class. They will learn about the local marine biology of Kachemak Bay. It is a great opportunity and I am so glad he did not have to miss it.

"Belly Science"

I helped drive kids and gear to the boat. We had an hour of "belly science" before they departed. Conrad is a dynamic biologist who can make inverterbrates more interesting than rocket science. In fact, he taught us amazing facts like how NASA studied the substance that blue mussels make to attach themselves to rocks and other things into a sticky glue that does not melt at high temperatures so shingles do not fall off the space shuttle during blast off and re-entry. Conrad also showed us another invertebrate that makes a toxin that scientists are studying because of it's beneficial effects on the immune system. He pulled a six foot rope out of the water and it was teeming with life! He set it down on the pier and pulled out at least 8 different lifeforms.

This giant fringed anemone can live up to 100 years!

Saying goodbye, see you soon, stay warm, brush and floss, be good!

Last Sunday I gave Maya this little stuffed daschund puppy. It looks like my mom's dog, Heidi. My mom also has a yellow lab named Nikki. Maya calls her puppy "HeidiNikki". Look where I found HeidiNikki, hiding out in the cupboard!

Second Chances

2009-04-19T19:10:00.016-08:00

In many arenas of life, there are no second chances. You get one shot at something. If you don't make it the first time, there are no do-overs. Last week our friend Falcom found out it did not make the list for Jubilee, Homer's annual talent show. He was devastated. I spent the week trying to convince Alana it was not her fault. Well meaning but misguided friends wanted to take action. Sometimes it is hard as a parent to know when you should fight for your child, and when you should just sit. Learning to cope with disappointment is part of growing up. Failure can be a harsh but powerful teacher.

A couple of days ago Falcom was invited to sing at a fundraiser for our local park. He sang "Here Comes the Sun". He did not have much time to prepare and he did a good job. But his ego had taken a terrible blow the week before and his confidence was quite shaken. After the performance he needed a lot of reassurance. Here's where the hockey mom in me was glad I did not have to be a stage mom.

This morning Maya was baptized in our church. It was a wonderful ceremony. One of those events where everyone who was present felt like they were part of something really special. I asked Falcom to sing a traditional baptism song that is a favorite in our church. He choked on the first verse. Our pastor went over to him and said, "let's try that again". Falcom started over and nailed the rest of the song. With each verse his voice grew louder and more beautiful. He was radiating joy as his confidence returned. While holding Maya in my arms, surrounded by my family and my best friends, in front of my church family, I was grateful that in God's arena, there are as many do-overs as you need.

Riley's dyed his hair red for his birthday, for the third year in a row.

Alana gave Maya a tool belt for her baptism present.

A Vietnamese Alaskan Girl!

The Baptism Barbecue party.

Lyn visits with Nanna

Alana and her mom, Mary

Uncle Michael is not grumpy, I think the sun was in his eyes. Vince looks relaxed.

Grandma having a good time.

Darwin gets a giggle out of Maya and Lyn.

Ly came over to visit, too.

Maya's Godparents: Vince and Alana. L to R: Willie, Falcom, Marina and DeeJay.

Happy to you, Riley!

2009-04-13T20:48:00.004-08:00

Riley turned 10 today. Yesterday my mom brought this cake over for Easter dinner. Being the slacker mom that I am, I stuck some candles on it (after mom already cut it) and made everyone sing to him. Maya says "Happy to you!" On Saturday we will have his birthday party, if he can make up his mind what he wants to do. The problem is that he wants to play hockey for his birthday, but the ice is melting away for the season. Our ice rink shuts down from April until September. So he can't decide between a bowling party or a swimming party. That's because both choices are unacceptable to him.

That choice thing didn't work when he was a toddler either. He used to have a terrible temper. You know how the expert books say that when you want a child to do something they don't want to do, you give them a choice between two options? Well, he was no dummy. I would say, "Riley, you have to go to bed now. Do you want me to read you this book, or that book?" He would fly into a rage and scream, "I DON'T WANT EITHER BOOK! I DON'T WANT TO GO TO BED!"

One time he had such a terrible tantrum in the car that he took his shoe off and threw it at my head. The car window was open and the shoe flew out the window. Since it was a hand me down shoe that I didn't have to pay for, I decided it was time for a natural consequence and did not pull over. I told him he just lost a shoe. He loves that story now. But it was not so funny at the time.

He has matured a lot since those days. It's hard to believe he is now my easiest child. He still has a bad temper but has learned to keep it under control most of the time. He can be very sweet and caring. His teacher says he is a kind boy. That is one of the qualities I admire most in a person. Happy Birthday, Riley! We love you! Ooh, I just thought of a third party option. Maybe there is still enough snow on Ohlson Mountain for an Extreme Tubing party!

Roasting my husband

2009-04-13T20:29:00.003-08:00

I'm treading on thin ice. Last weekend we went out to lunch. Matt ordered a Tuscan chicken wrap or something like that. I was surprised. He hates wraps, always has. He says they are "pretentious". He doesn't understand why they don't just call them burritos. So he's eating this chicken wrap and says "This is just chicken and salad wrapped inside a tortilla!" And you were expecting????A burrito perhaps? Oh boy, if he ever starts his own blog, I'm going to be in deep trouble. He has enough dirt to humiliate me and keep you all laughing for the next 20 years.

Thanks Rob for the link to the high pitched noise that only people under 25 can hear. Rob has been thinking up new uses for the sound, like hooking it up to the cookie jar. I wonder if we can somehow use it for birth control. People who can still hear this sound should not be able to procreate. But then, I wouldn't have three out of my four wonderful children (doh!).

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T20:35:00.009-08:00

Happy Easter!
Here are the customary Maya's first Easter photos.

The bubbles were a big hit. Until she dumped the bottle into her Easter basket.

But what I really want to talk about is the saga of biannual family photo. Is it a huge ordeal in all families, or just ours? I only ask my family members to do this twice a year: Christmas and Easter. It's always so difficult in my family, you would think I was asking them to donate a kidney.

First of all, it's hard to get all of us in the same place at the same time. When Sarah was home, we had to wait around for over an hour while she showered, dressed, did her hair and make-up. By the time Sarah was ready, Matt wasn't in the mood anymore.

Today Nanna had to hit the road so we had to do it without her. Just as I announced that we were going ahead with the family photo shoot, Chris hit his head on the corner of the couch and gave himself a goose egg on the forehead. Since there was no blood or broken bones sticking out, I slapped an ice pack on it while he cried and Matt set up the tripod.

A few minutes later Chris was back to his usual cheerful self but then Riley was being uncooperative which made one of the parents mad, I won't name any names. So this is the best we could do. I've included some of the rejects for your entertainment.

I'm comforting Chris while Matt sets up the tripod.

Is the camara on? I better fix Maya's hair!

Okay, everybody smile!

I have no idea what was so funny, but right after this shot things went downhill.

I kind of like this picture the most, except that Maya is not looking at the camara.

Holy Week

2009-04-11T08:57:00.018-08:00

There is nothing holy about this week's blog. But I couldn't help thinking about all the Biblical events happening around here. First, all this ash falling on us reminds me of Ash Wednesday. Then when the cloud of ash covered the sun and day turned into night last Saturday, I was reminded of the events following Christ's death. Wednesday as Matt and I attempted to remove some of the ash from our deck, I felt like there was a plague upon us. Oh wait, that's Passover. I'm mixing up my religions. I'm not trying to be funny.

Last Sunday I did a very un-kosher version of a Seder meal at Sunday School with my class. This was the first year I could not find Matzah in Homer, so I had to use wheat crackers. The real Jews get their Matzah sent up from relatives in the lower 48. When I do it for Sunday school, I explain that Passover is what Jesus and his disciples were celebrating at the Last Supper, and relate it to Christianity. I love tradition and the kids love doing the Seder meal. They look forward to it every year.

Wednesday morning we had a new friend over. Blaze needed a place to go for a few hours so his mom could work. At first he was a little nervous because he only remembered coming over for a playdate once before. Sharon dropped him off clutching a new toy, looking sad and nervous. When I asked it he wanted to watch my Thomas the Tank Engine video, he perked right up. But then I couldn't get the TV to switch to video. As I was calling Matt for help, Blaze asked me "How come you don't know how to turn on your own TV?". Maya kept saying "Watch movie?" After I got it working, Blaze said "I knew you could do it!". Then he sat quietly, clutching his new toy and watching Thomas the Tank Engine. Meanwhile, Maya was taking videos off the shelf, out of their cases, and dumping half a can of food in the fish tank. After the third time I had to repremand Maya, Blaze said "I never do anything my mom and dad tell me not to do." He even has the dimples to go along with that statement. He is a month younger than Maya and light years ahead of her in the language department. But what else would we expect from a 3 year old who's mom speaks English, Hebrew and Arabic?

Ash on snow looks like a moonscape.

Last Saturday we went out to dinner with Vince and Alana for Vince's birthday.

Maya had swimming lessons with her preschool class this week.

Wednesday Blaze came over for a playdate.

Matt thinks I look like a dork in my swimming goggles cleaning up ash.

He looks so much cooler in these glacier glasses!

Maya has been really clingy lately. When I asked her if she was going through another "bonding phase" she said "Yes."

Thursday Riley rescued this bird who hit the window and was stunned. We put it in a warm hat lined with wool socks until it recovered and flew away! This is the third bird we have "saved" in this manner.

Maya got to pet the bird, too. Raising another generation of bird rescuers.

April in Alaska. We wake up to snow. It's mostly gone by afternoon.

Maya learns how to color Easter Eggs.

Riley and Chris are old pros.

Chris recently announced that there's no such thing as the Easter Bunny. I told him he won't be getting an Easter basket this year if he doesn't believe. If Riley doesn't believe, he's keeping it to himself.

Blaze singing Twinkle Twinkl Little Star