Heat Wave!

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!

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

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

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!

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

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!

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.