Sam

Sam turned 7 today.

His 7 favorite parts of the day:
1. Getting "the mostest best"Lego set from his "favorites" in Alaska. Thanks so much for thinking of Him!!!
2. Phone calls from Grandparents.
3. Getting sung to during Primary (church)
4. Picking the menu for tomorrow
Breakfast: Swedish Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup
Lunch: Ramen Noodle Soup
Dinner: Cheese & Broccoli Soup
5. Getting an EXTRA-LARGE root beer float.
6. Wrestling with his Dad
7. Looking forward to his Lego Party

P&Q

This little boy has ALWAYS been our talker.
Always.
and he's always been loud.
But I think within the last month he's stepped it up a notch.

I'm trying really hard to. . .
not cover my ears and run out of the room screaming.
Because it is always really important things like,
"Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom. . . "
(I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt that I really didn't validate him until the third mom, but somewhere in there I surely said, "What Hyrum?"
But it continues, "mom, mom, mom, mom."
I finally get his attention. I'm not sure if he is talking to be heard or just talking.
He goes on, "Mom. .. ummm. . . I don't like my sandwich." or "Mom. . . umm (I think he's trying to think of something to say). . . the sun is shining." or "Mom. . . umm. . . I like Sam."

Do you know what I like? Peace & Quiet.

Not Yet

Nope, not mine.
(My sister Kari's little Cooper)

Baconbit #6 is still stubbornly inside.

The clothes are washed. The diapers bought. The porta crib/bassinet set up. The bottles boiled and bleached. The carseat by the back door. The camera charged.

And not so much as a contraction.

Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.

We have 14 people coming to stay with us this weekend. . . so I'm sure it will happen during the most inconvenient part of the weekend. I am so antsy. Not so much to get the baby out, but to have an end date. I'm the girl that LOVES being induced, but my midwives are holding strong to their "natural" ways. Give me a break. Strap me up to that Epidural and let's get things going!

Heaven help me if I make it to August.

Aleknegik 2009

This captures just a taste of our GREAT ADVENTURE in Aleknegik this summer.

It started over a year ago. My brother-in-law was building a cabin in Aleknegik (just outside of Dillingham, and hour plane ride West of Anchorage). He mentioned that we could use it anytime, but with it not being on the road system, we knew our opportunities to make it out there would be few and far between.

One day, I casually mentioned to my sister Kari that I would be interested in spending a summer at a cabin (something that Majorie Pay Hinckley did with her children and had always inspired me). I was thrilled when she said that they would love to go too.

The planning began. 5 weeks. Fishing. Hiking. Cabin Living . . .

I had to call my sister in January to tell her that our 5 weeks would be cut short on account of Baconbit #6 arriving. Dillingham Hospital. . . No Epidurals. . . No Way. So our little family only stayed for two weeks. . . but it was two GREAT weeks.

Just getting there was an adventure. A plane ride to Dillingham. A 25 minute drive to Aleknegik. A boat ride across the wood river. A four wheel ride to the cabin. This was true Alaska Adventure.

We all had a great time. Casting. Rubik's Cube Conquered by Eric, Fishing for Dolly Varden. Playing Games. Dock Jumping. Reading all of Fablehaven. Four Wheel Rides. Hiking. Food. Watching Home Videos. Family Kickball Matches. The Crawl Space and Playing Chess. Subsistence Net (Eric's type of fishing), Quarantining Sick kids & Eric, Tipping Over the Canoe. Mosquitoes and 4 cans of Deet Bug Spray.

Kari and Kids

My sister Kari and her kids came to Alaska a week before our big trip together to Aleknegik.

The majority of the week was spent packing and shopping and packing and shopping, but we did squeeze in a little Alaska. It was fun to see the kids having so much fun with their cousins and it is always a treat to be with one of my sisters.

Biggest moment, never to be forgotten . . . My sister, her husband, five kids, 30 pieces of luggage (yes really 30 pieces of luggage), and a Alaska Airlines employee saying, "I'm sorry, you missed checking in your luggage by THREE minutes. I'm sorry, you won't be able to make your flight."

Fun With the Folks

My parents came last week and we had a blast enjoying our hottest summer in Alaska.
Highlights were Swimming (yes swimming) in Mirror Lake, Winner Creek Gorge, Slurpees (of course), 14 Mile Bike Ride on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, Eagle River Nature Center, Bear Paw Festival & Parade, and Thunderbird Falls.

We also fixed the the pop-up trailer canopy, the crib, the ride-on toy, the digital piano, and my mom did a years worth of mending. Did I mention that my flower beds have never looked so good?

Sam and Grandpa were on the piano several times a day playing duets, and Grandma soon became Warner's favorite person I think because of the endless walks and book reading.

Wish you were still here!

Adventure is Misfortune Correctly Understood

Tanner and Warner at the Sealife Center in Seward

Eric and Woody

Our Clan at Exit Glacier

Sam, Hy, and Christian . . . a few of the Fjords National Park Junior Rangers


Trip Details (an excerpt from an email to my parents):

. . . on Thursday we drive, drive, drive, drive to Seward (2 1/2 hours away). get there. the kids are famished. we are all sick of being in the car. i pull out the premade tinfoil dinners so they can eat while we get the pop-up trailer popped up. NO CRANK. i repeat, NO CRANK. Eric said it was there when he left Seward two weeks before, but no amount of searching can find the crank. . . . that right there was a sure fire indication that this wasn't going to be the blissful trip we had planned. . . (I had to keep reminding myself of a quote my favorite Young Women Advisor would say, "Adventure is Misfortune Correctly Understood.")

. .. so, Eric goes in search of a crank while the kids and I play at this discovery type park on the beach. it is a nice evening and the kids are having the time of their lives (oblivious of course that anything is going on). Eric comes back, this is no surprise, saying that everything in Seward is closed (it is 7 p.m.) and that we can stay in a cabin. Sounds good to me. . . anything other than getting back in the car for a long drive sounds good to me. The kids continue to play at the park while Eric is putting the camper back on the van. After a few minutes the kids are anxious to "get camping" so I corral them down the coastal bike path to our campsite, and what do we find? a mostly popped up trailer. Eric in a last effort attempt decides to try and use some of the jack rods and wallah they work (well mostly, we probably got it up 98% of the way, which only effected the door which we were able to jimmy rig).

At this point I'm thinking wow, that was the biggest gliche of the weekend. Done. Over. And to be honest, it really doesn't get any worse, but for the next 12 hours it didn't get any better either.

The kids are falling apart, so we get ready for bed. During all the changing of clothes and brushing of teeth and setting up beds, Warner discovers that he can crawl out of his porta crib. Huge-Uh Oh. TWO HOURS later we finally get him to sleep (after driving all around Seward. . . the kid just wasn't one bit tired and it doesn't help that it isn't one bit dark). And then sleep is relative. He began crying when we put him down, so guess who slept with me? on me? all over me? Warner. I probably got about two hours of decent sleep and while I'm laying there with my 1-year-old sucking his thumb right in my face and jabbing me in the ribs I'm thinking, "Is this really worth it?"

The next day we did some great things. . . we walked the bike path, went to the Sealife Center, hiked Exit Glacier, and got Ice Cream at the Creamery. The boys got Jr. Ranger Booklets and were so excited to earn their badges. Warner played with the rocks and the boys played football with Eric. It was a good day (other than the side effects of a lousy night of sleep).

We got the kids ready for bed early, let them watch part of a movie on the laptop and then headed to bed. Yup, we all headed to bed. Especially our sleep deprived Warner who I had layered up extra well, not allowed to have a nap, and had given Benedryl. He slept for 14 hours. It was heaven. I woke up so much more in love with the idea of being a camping family and especially more in love with that little boy. Ahh, the blessings of a good night of sleep.

The kids spent the morning at the park while Eric and I took down camp. About halfway home, at Girdwood, we stopped and got the boys slurpees. They each got their own and I found out later that was the HIGHLIGHT of their trip. . . slurpees. It was a fun little weekend. Glad to be home and in my own warm bed. Glad to be in Eagle River where the sun is shining and the weather is spectacular. But really, I'm glad to be in a place where my kid cannot get out of his crib and I sleep at least 50 feet away from him. That to me is heaven.

Noteworthy. . .

Here's Hy at Preschool Graduation/Celebration.

Sam at the Recognition Assembly. He got an award from the Music Teacher. He's hoping to get asked to be part of the school choir next year so he can sing along side Christian and Tanner.

Christian reading a poem at the Poetry Cafe with his best friend Harry.

Christian at the Recognition assembly. He's the 7th from the left.


Can I confess that I am glad that school is over. These pictures were all taken on the same day. . . I went to the school 6 different times that day . . . 2 recognition assemblies, drop Hy off at preschool, volunteer for field day, Hy preschool celebration, AND poetry cafe in the evening.

Ready, Aim, Blow. . .

Nothing quite says family love and bonding like a good Marshmallow Gun Fight

The kids had a great time trying to "take down" Eric. Unfortunately their father was on his A Game and was shooting with incredible accuracy. Ready, Aim, Blow. . .

Warner is more of a Love and Peace Advocate. . . so he happily ate all the ammo he could get his hands on.

Action Shots

Here are Eric and the boys. . .

Last Batch

Boys at the Falls. (the little fellow in the red is a school mate of Sam's)

The entire Male Alaskan Baconbit Clan

Funny Face Contest. 1st and 2nd place winners. . .

More Thunderbird Falls

Christian

Tanner

Hy

T, S, and C

Catch Up

Our cell phone has been lost for a couple of months. After looking all over the house we were convinced that it had run away with my Columbia Rain Jacket (I am still mourning the loss of such a companion). So with some gentle persuasion (thanks Dad) we bit the bullet and got a new phone. Eric LOVES it (please note that we are about as Loyal to it as we were our old phone).

Of course, less than a week after purchasing a new phone, Sam was assigned to vacuum the stairs and pull up the stair runner so I could wash it. What did he find? Yup, the old, lost phone. Warner now loves his new phone.

I thought it was so cute when I found the boys playing Risk a couple of Sundays ago. I sat down and taught them the rules and then the playing really began. After a nine hour game. . . it wasn't so cute anymore. It started out Christian, Tanner, and Sam. . . then turned into Christian, Tanner, and Mom. . . then ended with Christian, Tanner, and Eric. During the evening I would periodically check in. Eric would reassure me, "The game is almost over. I'm going to take over this next turn." Two hours later. . . another confident declaration, "No, really, this time they don't stand a chance." There never was a final victor, but eventually at the end of nine hours, Eric was eliminated.

Summer hiking has begun. We took the boys to Thunderbird Falls on a whim one Saturday afternoon. They are great little hikers.

Father & Sons

Tanner at the Alaska Sea Life Center. Eric said he just LOVED watching the seals. This was definitely the highlight of his trip.

A quick trip to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Eric and Tanner at Exit Glacier

No. . .the Fathers & Sons campout isn't until this weekend (and how lucky am I to be the mother of FIVE sons?). . . but LAST weekend Eric had a teacher inservice meeting and afterwards a couple of the men planned a quick camping trip to Seward.

Tanner has beyond excellent the past month. He's our happiest helper and is so wonderful with Warner. As a reward, I packed up a backpack of goodies, prizes, a new hoodie (he's been begging me for one for months) and dropped him off in Anchorage so he could join up with his Dad and go camping for the weekend.

Playing in Plaid

Summer Goals

2009 Summer Goals



1. Back by popular demand. . . NO T.V. (includes no xbox too). We had a phenomenal summer last year with this as goal. Always a little adjusting at the beginning but incredible results.



2. Stay up too late, never get up too early, and savor the simple moments.



3. Read outloud atleast THREE books with the boys (the new Fablehaven, the new Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and The Giver & Number the Stars (done))



4. Explore something new in every direction (North: Byers Lake, South: Exit Glacier, East:? and West:Aleknagik)



5. Stick with Traditions: Midnight Fireworks, Bear Paw Festival, Family Bike Rides, Cubscout Daycamp, Winner Creek Gorge, Library Reading Program, Family Cul-de-sac games of kickball and baseball, Music in the Park, Free Movies, Slip & Slide, Park Days, Picking Blueberries, and Biking the Coastal Trail.

The Present of Presence

I've never had the luxury of being the model School Volunteer. Why? Lack of Devotion? Lack of Desire? Lack of Dedication? No. No. No. It has something to do with my three-year-old pulling all the teacher's books off the bookshelf or the baby in the stroller that the Kindergarten Girls insist on swarming and touching. Yup, I'm a Mom. And most of the time when I volunteer it is a family affair.

But with my boys I've realized that it isn't the Quality of Volunteering or even the Quantity, it is the mere effort of presence. They love seeing me at their school. They love the little hand symbol of "I Love You" or the extra special smile or wink in their direction. It isn't that I'm an amazing reading specialist or can grade papers extra fast. It is that I am there. . . just there.

I've been a Monday regular for Reading (in my more ambitious days), the Flouride Swish Lady, the BookOrder Orderer, and Field Trip Driver. I try to eat lunch with them a couple times a year and attend their special in-school openhouses showcasing projects, and their quarterly awards assemblies. It doesn't matter what Volunteer Hat I'm wearing the sparkle in that little boy's eyes when I walk through the classroom door melts my heart every time making me realize that sometimes the greatest present is presence.