We are home from Disney and the Beach

We had an AWESOME time! Enjoyed family, and family drama and crowds and plans that didn't go exactly as planned. But we had fun! Apparently we took over 700 pictures. I won't bore you with all of them but as soon as Aaron comes home with the laptop I can post a timeline of pictures.
Now that we are back to to "normal" we are busy. For the last few years we have participted in the local community theatre. This year the production is The Christmas Carol. We are really excited for a Christmas show. Eli tried out for the part of Tiny Tim and was chosen, Caleb is experiencing his first year, he plays in the Childrens Ensemble. We are proud of both of them, its a busy time of year with lots of practices but the next few months are dark and gloomy and this keeps us busy.
This is at Great Grandmas pool in south Florida we spent a week down here after Disney.
We had Muffins for Moms. Kindergarden is so much fun.

The First Day

Standing on the porch waiting to get in the car. As soon as we arrived at the school she said “Okay Mom I got this see you later!”

 

A sweet little note Mrs. Patrick gives all the mom’s and dad’s”

Naomi and her best friend Grace were all smiles.

I know she is going to do awesome in school. She was so excited to be there and see her friends.

Summer is over!

In an effort to condense two months worth of blogging into one gigantic blog I decided to create a slide show. With a few highlights.

I'm a little bummed because I really wanted to go camping this summer. Unfortunately it just didn't work out for us. I'm not ready to admit that we are "not camping people" just yet though. I just would prefer to camp in a cabin or a camper, with hot water, and a toilet. We did spend allot of time out of doors, we just came home and slept in our nice comfy beds. I'm not really a morning person I don't enjoy waking up hours before the kids to work out or clean house Preparing a hot breakfast is not my forte. We eat cereal and pop tarts A LOT! Does oatmeal count as hot? Summer time breakfast rolls around about 9:30 meanwhile I'm drinking my coffee and facebooking.

Peach turned 5! We had a kitty cat party and it was so much fun. Probably one of the best parties we have had yet for the kids. The boys start school on Tuesday. The summer has been awesome. Kodiak has had the BEST weather with little rain and lots of sunshine! For some reason I can't find Eli's camera with pictures of him going off to Camp Woody but he did that this year too.

This is what I call a two part blog because I started this post a week a go and came back to finish tonight. We just got back from a fun family weekend with our church at Camp Woody. Sadly someone ran into our car while it was parked in the 72 hour parking lot. The boys have been in school a week now and Peach starts her first day tomorrow. She is super excited to spend "All Day" at the big school.

Hike up the Old Woman

Last week we decided to take a hike up one of the local trails to the top of a mountain they call Old Woman. I'm not sure why they call it that but my kids were calling Old Lady mountain. Its a pretty steep trek up but not terrible we reached the top in about 30 minutes. Since it has been so warm probably 75 that day we were going to attempt to make it to a snow melt pool at the top. Well, we thought it was at the top. In our minds we would get to the top and be greeted by a beautiful snow melt lake to swim and cool off in. WRONG. We made it to the top with a lot of encouragement given to Peach and ended up meeting another group that was hiking back to the lake as well. Oh no worries they said just go that way and you can't miss it. Well we ended up walking another mile and a half to get to the lake. It was worth it to splash around, throw snow and swim in a warm pond all at the same time.



A view of Kodiak from the top.


The BEST view in Kodiak!









The kids acted out a story I read to them about Abe Lincoln. Caleb was Abe!

Summer Day's

Okay, time for a blog update. I know it's been forever but here we are for all the world to see. Life in Kodiak (at least for the last 10 days) has been glorious. With temperatures in the low 70's and a perfect ocean breeze to cool you down just when you need it.
In June we went to Anchorage and visited Grandma. The weather was warm and we spent some time at Goose Lake and visited about 10 parks.

Naomi at Goose Lake

The back deck gets really warm we had an inflatable pool to fill with water. Caleb and Naomi loved it but Eli was a little to old this year and didn't play to much in it.

A little product placement here!

We added a new member to our family. Our new little kitten is named Kiki and after a bit of a rough start with or other kitty Zuko she is fitting in quite well. Naomi loves her or rather tortures her all day.
With July we have summer soccer. Being a soccer mom requires you to spend 3 hours a day 3 days a week on the field. This last week was so worth being outside. The kids are having a blast and I get to enjoy visiting with the other moms or walking around the track.

May Mayhem!

Mostly just a picture update. Things have been a little nuts around here. I finished my fall semester. I received all A's! I had one week off and then started my summer classes. This summer I am taking a Children's Literature class which so far is really interesting and I will also be taking a 5 week Art for Children class in June.
Naomi was in a performance of Alice and Wonderland. She was a teacup and was so pretty. The boys just finished school this week on Wednesday and are already enjoying there summer break. Aaron had a visit to the Emergency room for some heart problems. He has atrial fibrillation he's had it for about 8 years. Every 4-5 years he has an episode and in May he had another one. This time medication was able to get it back on track but the doctor here wants him to go see the specialist in Anchorage. We may be looking at surgery. The surgery involves sending a wire through the femoral artery to basically electrocute the nerve that causes the problem. Apparently it is pretty common solution but we will see. Please pray for us as we determine what the best solution is and that the doctors will have wisdom as to what to do.
So next week he heads over for a ANG one week drill and to see the doctor. Me and the kids are hoping to catch the C130 and fly over to spend about 2 weeks with my mom and then I can go with Aaron to the doctor.
Peach graduated pre-school so now all of my kids are "in school." I think it will really hit me come August when I drop them all off. The boys are in baseball this spring and really having a good time. Caleb took a really good fall off the top of the monkey bars and Eli accidentally hit a kid with a bat at the first practice but hey life is exciting around here. We had almost two weeks of super nice weather in May but unforutnatley the wind and rain blew in and Crab Fest was kind of bust this year. Sunday cleared up a little bit so the kids and I headed downtown. The rain blew in pretty good just after we finished up the rides. There is a curse about Crab Fest. If it is sunny for CF then it will be a rainy summer. We shall see we had alot of rain for CF so we should have a great summer. The Koehlers have been hanging out with us quite a bit and we have enjoyed backyard fires and yummy dinners. The kids Gabriel and Donavyn have a name for me now! They call me Mimi!
Well that was May in a nutshell. It was a crazy month at our house. I am hoping the June calms down a bit and that we can make it off the island for a few weeks.
If you can't see the slide show follow the link to here

Tag: I'm IT!

I know I am so lame. I haven't blogged in a whole month but it has been crazy and well raising kids and keeping a house clean and a husband happy is a lot of work. A. Lot. Of. Work. Wow I always want'ed to write one of those super punctuated sentences and I finally got the chance. Anyway I got tagged my friend Cheri to find the sixth picture flolder and publish my sixth picture so here it goes.

Ah our first Halloween in the new house in Kodiak. Eli was a pirtate and Caleb was a cowboy and Peach was just a twinkle in our eyes. That day I remember because it was a day like today. The wind was just whipping like crazy, but like all good parents we took them downtown to get candy. It was Halloween after all. Eli's hat blew away but we had fun...at least for a little while.

Today is CrabFest. It's really a small carnival with a few rides and really good food an fun stuff to look at. Its more about the running into people and chatting. Sadly today the weather is crummy. Normally we go the parade today then go have lunch and put the kids on the rides. And after alomost two weeks of super amazing weather today it rains. Not just your plain old rain. Were talking straight up Kodiak Island style where it blows 30 mph with gusts to 50 and a nice balmy 42 degrees with a 31 degree windchill. Yah were staying home this time. Maybe it will clear up and we can get down and enjoy the fun before they pack it up on Monday!

Carmens The Champion

Anyone out there remember that guy! I am sure you do. My old church used to put on these dramatic mini operas with his music. He was really cool especially back in the day. Anyway Aaron found one of his songs and we played it for the kids last night. We told the they had to close there eyes and picture it in their mind. Then we talked about it and used it as a time to share a devotion and talk about the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for us.
Eli got very emotional he is very sensitive and so open to the Spirit. We prayed and had a really neat night just sharing our faith with the kids. In case you wanted to hear it again here is a youtube video. Try closing your eyes while you listen.

Easter Sunday And Guess whose Birthday!

Well tomorrow is my Birthday but we had dinner out and I got one of my gifts from Aaron. I have been trying to take a picture of it but I can't seem to get the flash to turn off.

Oh I here I got it to work! Its a past, present and future ring. I have always wanted one and for my 30 years birthday I got it! Honestly, I was so surprised. Which is unusual for me becasue I am one of those people who is really hard to surprise. I think I would have made a good spy!
You know what I did speaking of spys. I totally took 10 pictures of the kids on Easter and had no CF card in the camera! Silly Me!

Peachies Easter Dress

I made Peachies dress this year. I worked really hard on it because I wanted it to be just right. I am really proud of how it turned out. We curled her hair and took a few pictures to show of her cute little self.

More You Know Your From Alaska.....

only because I don't have a lot to say and I find these funny.

11. You know the four seasons: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and Construction season
12.Shoveling the driveway constitutes a great upper body workout.
13. You design your Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit.
14.You know that the term "Break Up" has more to do with the weather than personal relationships.
15.There is a bottle of Avon's Skin-So-Soft in your tackle box.
16.You power wash your car by parking driver's side into the rain in the morning, and passenger side into the rain in the afternoon. (I think that could work in Kodiak.)
17. Your idea of good date night is dinner at one of two places, a walk on the dock where you get snorted and charged by an angry male sea lion and three strolls around Wal-Mart.
18.You install security lights on your house and garage, and leave both unlocked. Or just leave the keys on the dashboard.
19. You carry jumper cables in your car, and your wife knows how to use them.
20. You’ve seen the northern lights, and you know why they are such a "big deal"
21. You know the term "studs" isn’t referring to hot guys.
22. You literally can't leave the house without seeing someone you know.

You Know You're From Alaska When

1. Your idea of a vacation means going to Anchorage for the weekend.
2. You see people wearing hunting clothes or extra tuffs! at social events.
3. Buses leaving school are delayed because a bear is in the parking lot
4. You tell people you live in an igloo for kicks
5. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
6. You think bald eagles aren't that great
7. You didn't know what the word "county" meant, and we were never taught about "area codes"... 907 is all you had to know
8. Salmon isn’t a delicacy, it's a staple
9. Halibut is beer battered rather than cooked some fancy way
10. 70 degrees is equivalent to 90 degrees in the lower 48

Jus Chillen

You can take that literally. Spring has not come to Kodiak. You know the saying March comes in like a lion out like a lamb? Not so much this year. The snow should last for quite some time. The kids and I weathered the storm okay. Aaron has been working really hard because another captain is out with an injury. He was home last night again after another 80 hours at work or so. We celebrated by taking the kids out of school early and making a yummy dinner of crab, taters and cheesy broccoli. He is back to work today but then will be off for his full four day break this month. Yipee!

Correction and Update

Remember when I said it was a 20 year storm. Apparently it is a 50 year storm.



When your man is at work for 80 hours you have to take matters into your own hands or muscles.






Kodiak Tries to Dig Out
Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Jay Barrett/KMXT This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Much of Kodiak is essentially shut down today after one of the biggest winter storms on record hit the island. A foot of snow has fallen since midnight, according to the National Weather Service in Kodiak, with 20 inches total since early Monday. The all-time total for this date is 17-point-8 inches in 1956.
The State Department of Transportation reported an avalanche blocking the Chiniak Highway just past the Coast Guard Base. One lane was opened by 7:30, and it was cleared a couple hours later.
Deputy Harbormaster Lon White said one small boat sank at Saint Paul Harbor because of the snow load, and several others are in peril of going under as well. He urged boat owners to check their vessels as soon as they can. The snow was so bad during the height of the storm overnight that White said it was impossible for the four-by-four harbor trucks to make it to Saint Herman Harbor on Near Island. He said the harbor crew is “digging out, like everyone else,” today.
Airport operations have been suspended, and crews were still plowing the runway at noon. A spokesperson at Era Aviation said they expect that to be done by 2 p.m.
School in Kodiak was canceled. Parents got the word from an automated phone message sent to them at 11 o’clock last night.
Kodiak Police Chief T.C. Kamai said his department has not seen many accidents, but has mostly been dealing with vehicles stuck on or beside the roadways. He said even a couple of his department’s Ford Expedition SUVs got stuck, something he said he never thought he’d see happen.
As for road conditions, the chief says they are marginal. He said they are drivable, but slippery. Roads in the city’s residential areas are narrow to begin with, and with snow removal crews plowing, they’re even harder to navigate. He recommends people stay home if they absolutely don’t need to go out.
Debra Marlar, the city clerk, e-mailed saying the city offices were closed and that tonight’s council work session has been rescheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. The city is operating on a skeleton crew. The Kodiak Island Borough offices are closed, as well.
Also closed: the city’s A. Holmes Johnson Public Library, the Saint Paul Preschool Daycare, Kodiak Christian School, the Kodiak Baptist Mission school programs, the KANA offices, as well as the WIC and Infant Learning programs, State Job Service Center, Kodiak Island Housing Authority, Kodiak College and the Kodiak Senior Citizens’ Center. The senior center will not be making home delivery of meals, and its Island Cove is closed as well. The Community Health Center at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center is closed, and specialty clinics have been cancelled. The emergency room is open.
But it’s not just offices and schools that have been shut down due to the storm. Many residents find themselves trapped at home by the snow, which was whipped into five- six- or even seven-foot drifts in some places, making driveways impassible. Commercial snowplow drivers are being stretched thin, and some are reportedly assisting the city and borough.
White’s advice to those who absolutely don’t need to leave their homes: Hunker down and enjoy the weather. The forecast is calling for five more inches of snow today and tonight, with mixed rain and snow Wednesday.

Just to let you know Kodiak schools have only closed for weather twice in 12 years. The last time was in 2006.

And then we have this little gem on the way.

FLOOD ADVISORY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
343 PM AKDT TUE MAR 24 2009

AKZ171-251800-
/O.NEW.PAFC.FA.Y.0005.090324T2343Z-090325T0930Z/
/00000.N.RS.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
343 PM AKDT TUE MAR 24 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ANCHORAGE HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD ADVISORY FOR RAIN AND MELTING SNOW ALONG THE KODIAK ROAD
SYSTEM...


* IN EFFECT FROM 1000 AM WEDNESDAY TO 500 AM AKDT THURSDAY

* A POWERFUL STORM CURRENTLY OVER THE NORTH PACIFIC IS TRACKING
DIRECTLY TOWARD KODIAK ISLAND AND WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF
STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY PRECIPITATION. SNOW WILL BEGIN TO FALL
OVERNIGHT IN THE FORM OF SNOW...BUT WILL QUICKLY CHANGE TO RAIN
BY TUESDAY MORNING AS WARM AIR SURGES NORTHWARD AHEAD OF THE STORM.
STEADY RAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THEN DIMINISH
TO SHOWERS ON THURSDAY AS THE STORM MOVES PAST KODIAK ISLAND INTO
THE NORTHERN GULF.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1.00 TO 1.50 INCHES ARE EXPECTED FROM THIS STORM
ALONG WITH TEMPERATURES WARMING TO NEAR 40 DEGREES WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON. ALL OF THIS RAIN WILL BE FALLING ON TO A VERY DEEP SNOW
PACK...WITH UP TO 20 INCHES OF SNOW REPORTED FROM THE LAST STORM IN
KODIAK CITY. STORM DRAINS BLOCKED UP BY SNOW AND ICE WILL PROVIDE
NO PLACE FOR THE WATER TO DRAIN. THEREFORE...THE COMBINATION OF RAIN
AND MELTING SNOW WILL CAUSE CONSIDERABLE PONDING OF
WATER...ESPECIALLY IN LOW LYING AREAS AND NEAR CULVERTS AND DRAINAGE
AREAS.

RAIN WILL CAUSE CONSIDERABLE PONDING OF WATER IN LOW LYING AREAS,
NEAR CULVERTS, AND ALONG SMALL CREEKS AND DRAINAGES.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

A FLOOD ADVISORY MEANS PONDING OF WATER IN URBAN OR OTHER AREAS IS
OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT.

Snow Crazy

I don't know how much snow has fallen yet. There isn't an official count as far as I can tell. I know at some spots there are 4 foot drifts. I know that our house is not protected from the way the wind was blowing. This caused the drifts to get really big. At least four feet and right outside the door and over the window sills. Aaron is still at work and will be until Thursday. Officially I can not get out of the house let alone drive the Durango out. Good thing I stocked up yesterday. You see not only did Kodiak get a storm we the likes of which haven't been seen in 20 years the Volcano..Mt Redoubt erupted 6 times yesterday. Thankfully the eruptions are being pushed high and blowing north so we don't have to worry about ash fall out where we are.


Last night durring the worst part of the storm. Its only about 5 pm but see how dark it was already.


What daylight revealed.






My best effort to get us out was not even close to enough.



Kids on the porch before I shoveled the snow.

Comments Are Accepted

Hey Family! Yes Grandma G and others on the east coast. Grandpa Dennis in Texas. Any other family that reads about our island lives.
I know you come over here and check up on us so for goodness sake LEAVE. A. COMMENT.
'Nuf Said.

I leave you with a video



Wow the house is a little messy in this one!

We Are Just So Boring!

Yep not a whole lot going on around here. Here is what everyone is up to.

Me: ( I have to go first since I am the star of this here blog!) Well I was on Spring Break last week so I spent a couple of extra hours at the school. I helped out with picture day and at the book fair. I enjoyed spending time with the teachers and kids. I also figured out my embroidery machine. The machine is so intimidating but I decided to figure it out this week and I had the best results.

Aaron: A. has been off for the last 8 days. We have had an awesome time eating meals together every night and then after putting the kids to be watching movies and hanging out at home. He is heading back to work on Thursday and will restart a 3 day on 1 day off schedule again so this break at home was well needed.

Eli: We had parent teacher conferences before SB and Eli is doing great. Third grade is kind of year where you really build on what you already know. Eli's teacher said he was doing everything he needed to be for a third grader. He is highly motivated and his GT teacher had equal good things. We do need to work on the amount of time Eli spends talking in class. He has brought home many a blue card this year for visiting withe his friends in class.

Caleb: Another good report for Caleb. His reading fluency has gone up so much this year. We are very proud of the work he has been doing and he is constantly getting better and better. His favorite subject right now is Math! Which being a non math person I just can't believe.

Peach: Peach is now in an afternoon pre-school class. Its at the same school just in the afternoon. Her teacher is taking a job in the school district so we decided to move her to a class that wouldn't have a substitute for the rest of the year.

As a family we have tried hiking the Near Island trail but it was so icy and dangerous. Especially since a couple came through with 5 dogs all little yappers not on a leash. The dogs proceeded to try and intimidate us by barking and rushing at us. I was this close to sending one off the trail with my foot. Especially since the part we are on was treacherous with ice. That was not cool.
Another challenge that we have been attempting is NOT shopping Wal-Mart. We don't have anything against WM. We just are trying to be a little more careful about shopping to meet emotional needs. Its so easy to find a reason to just go up to Wal-Mart for a nothing in particular. Once there we start putting things in the cart to make us happy. So far we are 10 days Wal-Mart free! And you know what we haven't "needed" anything.
It snowed a lot today and we got no mail. If the weather is bad then the mail plane doesn't make it in. We tried to go sledding but there just wasn't enough snow what with the big melt we had a few days ago. The snow is beautiful and typical for this time of year. We almost always get a huge snowfall over spring break. It happens just about every year.
This has turned into a multi-day blog post. We got our snow! In fact it is snowing now. Yesterday Wednesday was a the most beautiful day. After snowing and blowing all day Tuesday it was gloriously sunny and warm at 33degrees. We headed out to Fort Abercrombie and walked around on Lake Gertrude and enjoyed the "warm" weather. It was awesome! Then we went to Wal-Mart!


This is the icy trail. There is about 4 inches of solid ice under that snow powder.
Coming up soon....A retell of a Kodiak date night that involves, eagles, sushi and an angry male sea lion! Scary!