Monday, November 15, 2010

Gasp! A post with pictures!

Well, hello dear readers! I'm so glad some of you are still with me....

It has been an amazingly convoluted and action-packed few months up here in the Great Land. We had our trip back east including a jaunt around Lake Michigan. We started homeschool. Amelia started preschool. I'm in the choir at church. Greg is traveling quite a bit with work. Mix in all the other miscellaneous stuff like the fact that the house we are renting is for sale (lots of strangers traipsing through our chaos), some hunting and fishing trips for mostly Greg, plus illnesses and injuries, and you've got yourself a better picture of what's going on up here.... yes, you're right - it's the same ol', same ol'. A lot of it.

All these pictures were taken with a disposable camera, thus the surreal 110 film quality. Classic, huh? Very retro!
Here's the big KING crab that Greg and the girls caught in mid-October. (editor's note: Greg informed me after I published, that this crustacean is indeed an Alaskan King Crab. Yowza!) 


 What happy Alaskan girls! They were so excited about that huge crab!

 Amelia learned how to ride her bike this summer; she is fast and fearless!


And a few pictures from Greg's moose hunt in September.

A new glitch that we hadn't anticipated has recently tossed us like a rogue wave. We have sold our microwave, are no longer using the dishwasher, and have not only gotten rid of most of our plastics and other synthetics (like polyester and nylon), but also are trying not to purchase or acquire any new ones. It is impossible, I'm here to tell you.

Need a hole in the head? Need a reason to find fault with every consumable item currently manufactured? If not, don't read this book: Slow Death by Rubber Duck.

Look at this little guy:
Isn't he just adorable? He's also toxic and likely has known chemical properties that disrupt hormone development in children. Nice!

Seriously, after innocently picking this up off our "new book" shelf in the local library, I can't UNknow what I now know. I have tried for three weeks now to purchase groceries without also purchasing plastics. NOT YET POSSIBLE, at least in Alaska. We have no bread stores where I can purchase fresh loaves in paper sacks. All our cereal, even the bulk stuff is in plastic bags. I've taken to making my own noodles and bread. And crackers. And just how am I supposed to buy meats? The teen/young-adult goofballs at our deli department don't even know what "butcher paper" is. Help! Don't get me started on my Teflon, Ziplocs, and yogurt container issues.

Aside from being exceptionally dangerous to both the immediate and the long-term (like in, "up to three generations after exposure") health of humans, plastics will be with us forever: once plastics are created, they can't be UNcreated. They will NEVER go away. Yes, they can be recycled into lovely hats and sweaters and fashionable eco-fleece products, but what happens when those garments are worn out or become out-of-style? Yes, they can also be reused, given to charity, or consigned to the less fashion-conscious among us (me, thank you very much), but what of them after they serve their useful life?

Greg has this great fleece jacket that he's had longer than he's had me. It's blue and in places, it is worn through so thin that I can see his tee shirt beneath it. Not even a (really tall) homeless guy is going to want it, but guess what? Earth can never be truly rid of it. It will not biodegrade. The only close way to make it be gone is to burn it, but did you know that fleece is a PETROLEUM PRODUCT? Yes, it is made from a combo of two different petroleum derivatives, including antifreeze. So burning would surely send something toxic into the very air we like to breathe.

The next time you see an environmentalist in her fancy Polartec (c) coat, spouting off about how we need to save the trees and birds and animals, let her know she is killing our planet, wouldja? Please, do not get me wrong (or send me hate mail) about this - living in Alaska, being the outdoorsy folks we are, we have basically survived in fleece for 10+ years. I think I knew that fleece was just soft, fluffy plastic all along, but I never realized how invasive and pervasive and dangerous the compounds and polymers in plastic are and how easily they are ingested and absorbed into the human body. It's quite scary, really. (Here's a mind-blowing fact: right now, in the US, the burden of proof regarding the toxicity or relative safety of a chemical, plastic, product, medicine, food, etc is on the consumer... the consumer must prove that something is dangerous before the FDA or the company who manufactures it will pull it from production. CRAZY! With what we know of the hazards of plastics and other toxins, shouldn't whomever wants to utilize it/market it first prove to us that it is safe? I mean, am I way off base here? Did we learn nothing from Agent Orange? Alar? Lead-based paints? Why can we still be subjected to all manner of lethal, insiduous products in such a sneaky, profit-driven way?)

In fact, most plastics do eventually break down. "Fantastic! Finally some good news!", you may think. Sadly, the breaking down just serves to make teeny, tiny sloughed-off pieces that look very similar to krill and plankton. (Take that, ocean creatures!) And to think, only about 25 years ago, plastics were still only rarely used for food packaging, let alone for clothing.

Remember when milk came in glass bottles? Me neither. But remember when Coke did? How about mayonnaise or ketchup? Some of you may know how much my husband loves ketchup. Actually "loves" might be too weak a word. I think "needs" would better describe his relationship with that tangy sauce. You may not be aware of this, but it is extremely difficult to find affordable ketchup in a glass bottle. In Alaska.

I mentioned already that polyester is not a naturally occurring fiber, right? OK, since in AK, cotton is NOT our friend, we are now aiming for all-natural fibers such as wool, linen, silk, hemp, ramie, jute, and bamboo. However, depending on how these fibers are processed, they can be just as harmful to ecosystems as plastics. What is a girl to do?

Well, for starters, here's a great list of how to reduce your dependance on plastics, if you're interested:


Nothing will change if we do not hit the companies in their collective pocketbooks. If we stop purchasing their products due to the unethical packing, maybe they will revert to plastic-free papers, cardboard, and glass.

We can tackle the garment issue in another post. For now, here's a promising brand ...http://www.ibex.com/

Are ya with me?

Oh, wait, one more thing - an incredible irony: What are store-bought reusable grocery bags made of? Yes, polyester! Ha! Gotta laugh at that!

Glad to be back. Hope I can keep this to a regular, once-a-week post, at least. Let me know your thoughts on any of this, will you?

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Randomosity

We had quite a busy summer what with a trip to Prince Of Wales Island, many fishing excursions, soccer, soccer and more soccer, and of course, our big trip Back East. We'll have more on that trip in an upcoming post; for now, here are a few random glimpses of the summer.
The girls love playing outside in the rain with their umbrellas and rain boots.

Mama bear and her two babies out by the Mendenhall Glacier. We like to go watch them catch and eat salmon, and try to figure out what a porcupine is.

One of the last times we were out at the Glacier in the summer, it was a beautiful, flat-calm, clear day. We don't get those very often, so it was definitely a reason for a picture!
Oh, these are a bit older, I guess. Amelia turned three in April, 2010.
And this is the day before we left for our Back East Trip. And oh, what a trip it was! Come back soon for all the details.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Need More Time?

My dad died eleven years ago today. He was 55 years old.

I turned 40 in February of this year. On June 4, I got some lab results that were not good. The first words my doctor said when she called with my blood test results were, "What pharmacy do you want me to send this to?" I looked at my genetic makeup, my poor test numbers, and my two lovely daughters and thought, "Fifteen more years is not enough time with these girls."

I have lost 21.5 pounds since then. From June 4 to July 13, my overall cholesterol went from 176 to 143, and I lost 18 pounds in those five weeks. I have cut out butter, bacon, virtually all cholesterol, SUGAR, and most carbs. The doctor's new decision after this turn of events was, "No meds needed at this time."

My weight has been pretty static since the end of July. I'm down only about three pounds since Aug 1, but I am determined to lose more and get even healthier.

One thing I've figured out from this situation: losing weight is actually easy. Everyone knows how to do it: "Eat Less; Move More." The major sticking point is motivation. Mine was pretty obvious and immediate. Yours may be less tangible and more elusive. Regardless, you are the only one who knows what it is. Nothing that anyone can say to you will MAKE you lose weight.

But if you do, you can get more time too. How would you spend it?

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

POW Camping

Okay. Fine. At long last, here are a few pictures of us! We went camping for about a week on Prince of Wales Island (the US's third largest) here in southeast AK over the Fourth of July. Greg's mom and one of his nephews met us in Ketchikan and we ferried across to Hollis and ran amok on POW. FUN!

Lots of rain, noseeums, mosquitoes, and whitesocks later, we were kind of happy to be headed home. We saw many bear, deer, and met so many lovely people, that we are planning to spend quite a bit more time on the island if we can.

One of our very most favorite pastimes was eating berries. No exaggeration, we consumed many gallons of salmon berries and blueberries. The raspberries were not quite ripe or we would've put the hurt on them too.

Big sister, little sister; a love that never ends...
We have many, many pictures of boo sleeping. She must've just been worn out the whole time.
A girl and her dad with her first gun.
Eating berries by the branch.
Baby deer and mommy deer.
Greg with his wood pile. We cleared a lot of brush on one of our lots.
Opened up the beach and the view.
A little dog found us at our second campsite of the week.
The girls named him Scruffty and wanted to bring him home with us.
Lots of cocoa and s'mores all week long. And yummy pizza on the open fire, too. YUM!

Our next adventure begins Thursday as we fly to Chicago, drive to Toledo, circle around Lake Michigan, stop in Green Bay, and then fly back to Juneau via Chicago and Seattle. Seven states in twelve days and near 90-degree temps with two kids under six. Woo Hoo! Thank God the rental car has AC. We hope.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Eight whole years

Well, it's solstice in Alaska: the longest day of the year. We here in Juneau will enjoy just over 18 hours of daylight today. Sunrise was at 3:52am, with sunset at 10:09. It is the start of winter, really. From here on out, we get less daylight per day, leading us ever onward to winter's dark days. There are celebrations planned all over the state.

We are planning our own little celebration right here. Greg and I got married in a little town (even by Alaska standards) called Moose Pass eight years ago today, at the Trail Lake Lodge. Our ceremony was perfect, complete with a really loud floatplane taking off from right underneath the deck we were all standing on. We had beautiful weather, even more beautiful guests, and a great band. In fact, it looks like the Pretty Damn Close Band is still doing their thing!

Happy Anniversary, PB!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

May in Juneau 4th driest and 7th warmest on record



May's weather in Juneau ended up being significant for how warm and dry it was.


Meteorologist Nikki Becker is in the Juneau Forecast Office says it was the fourth driest May on record with a total rainfall of 1 point 25 inches which is 2 point 23 inches below normal.


The wettest day of the month was the 15th with zero point 5 inches which was a record for rainfall that day.


A trace of precipitation in the form of hail fell on the first.


Last month was also the seventh warmest May on record in Juneau.


The average temperature was 50 point 8 degrees, 2 point 9 degrees warmer than normal.


The high for the month was 80 on the 27th and the low was 29 degrees on the third.

Adventures in Word Coining: The state of being hectic

Hecticity? Hecticness? Hectictude?
Prior to starting this post, I was sold on "hecticity", but I think "hectictude" just won me over. See if you don't agree. Let me use it in a sentence for you: "Our weekend was wrought with Mommy's hectictude."

So true.

It all started innocently enough..... (cue the dreamy music....)

Several weeks ago, I was bestowed with what seemed to be, at the time, quite an honor. A volunteer with the Alaska High School State Soccer Championship committee emailed me to ask if I would help select the player of the game for each of the matches. Since the tournament was held in Juneau this year (for the first time ever!), I was thrilled to help roll out the red carpet for the rest of the schools, parents, and tournament organizers.

On paper, this sounds like a fine way to pitch in, right?

Uh huh. In reality, it entailed me being at every single game (ten of them!) at one particular field and two games at another location over the course of three days. While I really enjoyed it, we are all paying the price this week as I play catch-up on all my normal chores. Each game is 90 minutes long, plus a halftime and overtime if warranted.

I ended up also working in concessions (I may need to get a cheese machine), setting up, taking down, running errands, helping the announcers, filling out the player certificates with my calligraphy skills (huh?!), and otherwise generally being a stellar Gal Friday. I really thought I'd be called on to sing the National Anthem at one point, but the scheduled teen finally showed up, so I was cast aside (whew!). There are times when I'm so happy that it's "all about the kids", as they say.

In a side note, congrats to the Juneau Douglas High School Crimson Bears boys varsity team for their newly acquired state champion status! Congrats also to the JDHS girls team who came in third, I believe.

Throughout my duties at the fields, I thought of Greg and the girls who were having adventures of their own.... (cue more dreamy music).... On Friday, they had a field trip with Gwen's class, out to the beach as part of the festivities for Beach Week. Greg had a few moments of dismay and panic when the kids decided they wanted to play in someone's sewer outfall and none of the other adults seemed to mind. He quickly herded the kinders down the beach a ways, so as to circumvent any pesky HepB situations. Great weather and a small class size + lots of adults and a WONDERFUL teacher = fun day!

Hectictude alert: Friday was also the day we found out that our landlord is moving, the house (a duplex) is being sold, and we need to let a realtor in here to assess the place.

[Incidentally, that remark I made about chores? Seven loads of laundry, one dishwasher load, and three hand-washed loads of dishes have happened in the background while typing this post. So far.]

On Saturday, Greg and the girls went out in the boat. Now that Greg's got this slick (self-engineered) pot-puller, he can pull pots all day with nary a muscle strain. They soaked both the shrimp and crab pots while they trolled for Kings. And guess who ended up with the big fish? Amelia! She got her very first Chinook salmon, dime-bright and weighing in at a little under 30 pounds. Not bad for a three-year-old.

Once they pulled up the pots, Greg tossed a lot of the crabs back since we are not big crab fans. He ended up keeping about 15 large dungeness. The big, juicy (four-inch tails!) spot prawns totalled about 135, and they were so yummy! We had a kingly feast Sunday night in the back yard, and I'm still cleaning up that mess. We have to be extra careful when cooking outside at this time of the year. Boiling shrimp and crabs and sizzling salmon fillets attract lots of hungry things, including bears.

Yesterday, instead of moping around here doing even more chores, we as a family went for a wee hike. Gwen defines "hike" and "walk" thusly: "A hike is not done in a city on a sidewalk, but a walk is. A hike is in the woods with bears and animals and way more fun things than you'd ever find in a city."

Indeed.

As Juneau has many, many incredible hiking trails of various distances, difficulties, and locations, we pulled a trail name out of the air studied the trail info diligently and finally selected the Windfall Lake Trail. If you click the link, you'll see that the trail length was a mere 3.5 miles. One way.

The girls did fantastically! Amelia was a trooper, even without having a nap. She hiked just over half the total distance, but Gwen did the whole thing! We were so proud of them both for their attitude and ability.

Once at the lake, Greg caught two little fish who were not keepers at all but were fun to show the girls. It was the first time either of them had seen a trout. One was a brookie and the other was a cutthroat. Amelia spent most of the time at the lake hunting for leaches. Gwen seemed to just enjoy sitting and watching everything. It was a really beautiful setting and we are glad we pushed ourselves through the clouds of ravenous "maquitos" and blasted gnats to get to the end of the trail. We are happy to have two tough Alaskan girls who we can already take on these marvelous forays into God's country.

Until next time when you'll hear Jenni say, "Let's talk about the weather."

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Party Time Up North

O'er the last six weeks or so, I've hosted a few of those at-home product parties. I thought it would be non-negotiable motivation for me to get and keep our house clean.

Well, guess what? It worked.

We are living in a clean and tidy house. Mostly.

We still have an area of dire concern - the "upstairs". Seriously, the whole second floor depicts the scariest scene from "Hoarders: Too Much of a Good Thing." More on that in some other post. Maybe.

Another area of dire concern around here is how much I really like the party products. Some of you may know that I sell NYR Organic products. Yes, they are seriously pretty awesome and SO good for you and the natural world, as opposed to the chemical poisons that most folks still use these days. Ahem. Sorry. I'm quite passionate about safety in cosmetics and beauty products, and if you have any questions about the poisonous dreck that is sold on supermarket shelves, most of which can be linked to cancers or sight disorders or severe skin problems, let me know. Whew.

But NYR Organic products are consumable. I can use them up. I can get one thing, use it until it's gone, then use the cute blue glass bottle or jar for something else.

Other at-home-party products are just with you forever. It's quite a committment, especially when you're paying the outrageous prices most of them ask.

A few weeks ago, I hosted a Pampered Chef party and just last night, a Longaberger basket party. (If you would like anything at this time, check this website and then email Longaberger consultant Ann Doty to place your order. The show closes on Thursday at 4pm AKST.) Anyhooo, now that my house looks so dang wonderful, don't I need to fill it with nice things? Maybe things that weren't found on a curb? Or obtained at my favorite place ever: FREECYCLE? That's a dangerous line of thinking in my book; however, a few nice pieces goes a long way for me. I've gotten several (read: 'way too many') neat gadgets from Pampered Chef and now for my first Longaberger pieces ever, I'm excited to venture in to the world of wrought iron. Love it!

A important, not-to-be-excluded component of a successful product party is the absence of hubby and kids. Last night, Greg and the girls went to the beach for swimming (didn't) and fun (did). They stumbled upon a smoldered fire ring with a nearby stack of firewood, so they plopped down around the fire and watched the sun set over the Chilkat Mountains. After several minutes, Amelia requested that we as a family "do this every day, Daddy."

In short, a good time was had by all. And there is no longer a towering stack of laundry on the couch. Yippee!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

We've got these fish, see?

Ok, so being that I'm blogging from the wilds of Alaska, and that we are an avid outdoorsy family, you'd think the title for this post would naturally allude to salmon or halibut, cod or trout, right?

Wrong.

I'm talking goldfish today.

About two months ago, Juneau's Glacier Valley Rotary held their 2010 Boat and Outdoors Show. One of the annoying fun things available to entertain the kiddos, while moms and dads perused the boats and accessories they will never be able to afford, was a Zodiac filled with water and, you guessed it, goldfish. Kids tooks turns netting a fish and then could take it home with them. For free. What a deal.

So, we did that. Got one for each girl. They picked out the ones they wanted based on size, color, and behavior. Then Mommy helped them catch the poor little things, and we ended up with two tiny calico fish. Orange and white, both of them. And, this is important: they were each less than an inch long. So exciting for the girls! We brought them home and added them to our existing ten-gallon tank, thoughts of Ick whirling through my brain.

Both of our newest fish friends have names, of course: "Orangy" and "PahtootieTah". Other names of our 13(!) fish are "Spot", "King Baggenburger", and "Princess", who is a Kissing Pink variety of somethingorother and seriously follows the other fish around "kissing" them, particularly Orangy and PahtootieTah. (Greg thinks Princess is actually a boy fish, it being springtime and all, but it's impossible to tell.) Our remaining eight fish are guppy-like and it's difficult to tell them apart so they do not have names.

But back to Orangy and PahtootieTah.... so, is anyone else aware that goldfish will grow to whatever size their tank allows? Is this common knowledge? Because I did not know this and now it seems we have a Koi pond in our living room. Seriously. These two fish are growing SO fast and SO large, especially PahtootieTah. He is almost four inches long and almost as wide. When he eats, he lunges and leaps, just like Koi fish in a frenzy when you toss bread crumbs their way in the mall fountain (which is a funny reference only to people who live in Juneau since we have no real malls, let alone fountains! Ha!).

While it's been amazing to watch the growth and interaction, it's starting to be a little alarming. Kind of like when the meddling kids in a movie continue feeding their science project things like acid rain and nuclear waste and pretty soon, you've got yourself a full-blown, lame, B horror flick.

Did I mention we started off with two tiny snails? We now have at least 17. True story.

Friday, May 7, 2010

New furniture!

Well, new to US, anyway. We got a slightly used couch and matching chair/chaise/ottoman dealie off craigslist.com today and we love them. Of course I have yet to make room in the house for these new additions, so I just can't share a picture with you. (Can you say "chaos"?) However, I can tell you that they are the most stylish, modern, even remotely non-80's-looking furniture we've had since we got these two messy kids. The new stuff is recent enough to be trendy but it was cheap enough that if we end up spilling sticky juice on it or wiping peanut butter hands on it, we will still be OK with that.

I spoke too soon. I will absolutely NOT be OK with that.

I really like these pieces. They are very plain, very neutral, but comfy and versatile and the nicest furniture I've had in so, so long. I guess I'm saying I don't want to say "so long" to them any time soon. I told Greg to just stick a bow on them; that's all I wanted for Mother's Day. As soon as I can get things organized how I want them, I'll have a place to entertain. Actually, I've been wanting to have a nice place for a women's bible study, so this could work. Woo hoo!

We are all getting up early for Juneau Appreciation Day tomorrow. Many businesses in Juneau are offering local discounts and specials all day so we are hoping to rake in the free stuff have a lovely family outing.

One of the participants in this super fun day is The Dipac Salmon Hatchery. We will be chowing on their free chili dogs and snacks all day viewing the aquariums and teaching the girls about the life cycle of a salmon. We tend to visit the hatchery several times a year as they present a great spot for field trips. It's a fun place and there is a gift store on their page that you can check out to order fun, Alaskan trinkets, many of which are made in China.

Big day tomorrow. Good times.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

I QUIT!!

That's it! I did it.... I nuked my Facebook page! And I feel GREAT!

Seriously, it's been about three weeks now and I can't believe how clean the house is! I do still miss my Scrabble buddies, but I truly feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Too bad it didn't lift off my hips.

Being FB-free is freeing and I suggest you give it a try if you find yourself spending WAY too much time there. I'm hoping that I will be able to post more regularly on this blog, but I may become too wordy, because... speaking of regressing even further, technologically-speaking, we are also going back to primarily using 35mm film for picture-taking and memory-saving. We are not techno-heads and we likely never will be. Thus pictures may become scarce here shortly. Did I mention we may also do away with the Internet this fall?

A few more teasers about our life these days:
  • Gwen may be homeschooling for first grade.
  • Amelia is starting preschool this fall.
  • My bulbs from last year are coming up! I feel like I finally have some roots!
  • We have tons of trips planned this summer and fall. (POW Island, maybe Kenai, and of course the whirlwind IL/IN/OH/MI/WI/IL adventure extravaganza!)
  • I quit my job with the soccer league, effective the end of August.
  • Amelia is almost completely potty-trained. (She did it herself in just under four weeks.)
  • I'm anticipating SHAPING UP in the next twelve weeks.
  • We are still looking for a home church, but are getting closer every week.
  • We are celebrating Mother's Day by going shrimping. I hope you are doing something equally fantastic.
Are you still there? Send me a note in the comments if you're still checking in. Maybe I'll just blip this too!

Just kidding.

Or am I?

Waaahhahahhahahahhaaaaa!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Where's that Dad guy?

Rarely if ever have I featured Greg on this blog. Well that is about to change.

He's playing in the 64th Annual Gold Medal Basketball Tournament this week. He's playing for Juneau's Filcom team.... that's sports-speak for Filipino Community. No, he's not Filipino, but the team seems to enjoy having him play with them and he does like the guys quite a bit. They've played one game already (lost by 15 pts) and have their second one tonight. Hopefully they will ease through the loser's racket and be back in it at the end.

He's a shot from yesterday's game from the Juneau Empire:
The caption read: "Hoonah’s Showalter Martin finds a way to stop Juneau’s Greg Lockwood." Greg got drilled so many times he can't exactly recall if there was a foul on this play or not.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Miscellaneous Randomness


Here is the intrepid shutterbug:
We have a severe dearth of technology in our lifestyle. Usually we like it a lot. Occassionally, it's a bummer. Like when we have two digital cameras and no computer to download photos to. Also, when we can't figure out how to print off pictures on the computer (finicky printer) to send to Granny or others. In an attempt to pacify the relatives, here are some random pictures of the girls from Gwen's camera.... she won cash in the derby last year and used it to buy a pink digital camera. Greg loves it!



A great shot of our empty fish tank. Gwen bought this the same time she got the camera, but we went back the next day and got the fish. We started with eight fish and two snails. We now have four fish and seven snails. Maybe I can convince her to get a money shot of the beautiful, full, lush tank....
Little sister playing on the stairs. They worked for the better part of an hour setting up this shot. Great composition, huh?


Last fall we took a hike out to the Glacier and Gwen got this one of Daddy and Boo. She's getting better!
 
I think this was an attempt at capturing a black bear on film. It was awfully dark in the brush off the trail, but he was there all right, eating fish and splashing in the creek.
 
This is the roadside in Hawaii. Gwen was a little excited and you'll see why in the next shot.

Yes, that is a zebra! In Hawaii. He lives with that donkey. They seem very happy.

Stalagtites! In a lava tube in Hawaii.

And here's Grandpa in the kitchen in Hawaii. Not sure what he was headed for or what she was exactly trying to capture.
That's me eating turkey bacon and grinning. Yikes.

 

Friday, February 5, 2010

Christmas already?

Ha! No. Not Christmas already, but Christmas at long last.

We are packing for Hawaii right now, leaving tomorrow, and I am cramming in all the stuff I didn't get done in the last month or more, including posting Christmas pictures on the blog.

Short on words, long on pictures..... cuz that's how we roll.
PS: For my mom and anyone else who doesn't know, you can click on the pictures and they will enlarge so you can really see the detail.
Aloha!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010


For several months now, we've had just the one vehicle like I said in my previous post. Here are a few pictures of a typical afternoon when I have to go pick-up Gwen from kindergarten on foot. Amelia LOVES being in the sled; she falls asleep almost immediately when the sled starts moving. These are pictures from a few different days. The walk is about 1.5 miles round trip. Sometimes it gets a bit tedious for the girls and I have to be pretty dang creative to get them to keep moving and quit whining.




Mush you huskies!!



What a patootie! And she will sleep through everything. Nothing wakes her up... not traffic noises, kinder noises, weather noises or snow falling on her face. She is always very rested once she naps in the sled or stroller this way.