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!

Addicted to Starfall!

I love you mommy...

I just love your hair mommy....

you have the prettiest hair....

do you know you smell good

just write 5 more words and then let me play the letter thing okay?

Ack! Mid-Terms!

That my friends says it all! One more exam today and then I go on spring break. Please don't tell anyone I planned an exotic vacation for just me! I'm going to Mexico with all the other college girls. Oh wait I don't know any other college girls. Hmmm, well I think I will have to resort to the tanning salon and hiding out in my garage/sewing room. Aaron is off a few days next week as well but for some reason Kodiak schools wait an extra week and take their spring break the week after everyone else. At least the Anchorage schools and universities. I am planning lots of stuff for just me, like sewing and reading. I going to pretend like my profs didn't give big assignments and say things like. "Don't worry this isn't due until after spring break." Yah right like the day after......

Super Zoom Week

This week was so fast! I didn't even think about blogging really. I went on a mini bloggy vacation! But I did get a new blog design. Isn't it neat? I love it. The kids were pretty great this week actually. There were a few shinny moments. Like today Caleb told me that at church they had talked about mercy. And that he had given his chocolate to Peach because he wanted to show her mercy like God showed him. Then when we got home Peach was having a hard time getting her boots off and Caleb said in the sweetest voice. "You want me to help you?" My sweet boy!
Aaron was home all week this week! It was awesome to reconnect as a family after all that overtime. We went ice-skating two times and a long walk and had a movie night at home with popcorn and ice cream. Currently the kids are in a little competition. Monday nights we go to the ice rink and skate then we got to McDonald's for hot chocolate or french fries. The kids are trying to see which is the shortest route home from McD's. They tell Aaron where to turn and stuff. The first time Eli was the navigator(alligator) he led us home in 3.5 miles. Last Monday was Caleb's turn and he whipped the pants off Eli with an outstanding 3.0 miles!

Aaron and Zach had planned to get together and play WOW but one look at the shiny silver tea service and they couldn't help but brew up a pot of fine Earl Grey.