saddlepotatoes

Martin Buser and the trickery story

2011-03-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Guess what? Our family decided to go out on the Iditarod trail this year! Only, not exactly on the trail, but in the air above it. The four of us flew along in our Cessna 180, and went checkpoint to checkpoint as we followed the race. We stayed with the leaders, of course! :)

The above video is a former Iditarod champion, Martin Buser, telling a story of trickery along the trail. This was at the checkpoint called Rainy Pass, which is actually Puntilla Lake, AK. It can only be accessed by sled dog, snowmachine, or airplane.

I will post more pictures and the full story of our trip soon.

Winter Scenes

2011-02-09T01:10:00.001-08:00

The days are getting longer! Spring is not here yet, but the promise of it is starting to grow on me. Seem like a reality. I love that...

Duvall wants spring to come so we can ride everyday!

I seem to have a lot more energy. I catch myself racing around the house, getting a TON done and not just wanting to take naps. My hibernation period is over..ha ha. I want to be outside, and now that its getting dark so much later, we all have more time to do that. We can ski, and not end up skiing home in the dusk by 3 pm.

We have three moose hanging around our house. Larry, Curly, and Mo. They seem to think its the place to be. They can be kind of a pain, because we have to be careful when we go outside to see where the Stooges are hanging out. We have to watch when the dogs are loose. A moose can kick a dog and maim or kill them easily.

Penelope took this picture of Mo. I was being lazy so she took Griswold (my camera) and ventured outside. I told her to be careful. Its awfully easy to think of them as gentle and harmless. But they can be very very dangerous.

Our poor lonesome lawn swing. Neglected and eager for summer. Our family spends lots of time on it during spring and summer. We have breakfast there. We sit and read books. We have a snack and talk on the phone. We lay down for a lazy swinging nap. We take family photos on it. We decorate it for the Fourth of July. We tie mini horses to it, or dogs. We have picnics here too.

I love Chickadees. They come everyday to eat from our bird feeder, or the suet hangers. They are so pretty, and they sing such a cheerful song. This is a male. The females are much more shy, but they are a bland, soft brown color.

Winter scenes. Enjoy it while you can...I have it on good authority that SPRING is coming!!!

Sledding Partaaay!

2011-01-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

One of our traditions between Christmas and New Year's is to have a giant sledding party. Everyone just brings sleds, all types of sleds, warm gear..and lots of energy for walking up the KILLER hill. :)

We always have a ton of fun. Its usually mostly family because, well..that's plenty! We are a big crew. We have all ages, if they can walk..they can walk up a hill. Or we pull them up on sleds. It can be dangerous walking back up, dodging missiles as they go zooming by. You have to hope they know how to steer!

"Hi Auntie! Goodbye Auntie!"

After they get worn out sledding, the kids start "surfing" down the hill. On anything they can get their hands on. "Runner sleds" are popular surfboards, oh MY. I have to snap a picture, then close my eyes and look away!

Of course the adults have to jump in and play too. But SOME might cheat and snag a ride up the hill....lazy bum. JK.

We all know its time to go home when the kids start trying to impale themselves on trees while boarding down a cliff. Okay, party over...see you next time.

(but there is ALWAYS time for a white-washing victim or two..)

Winter Solstice Eclipse

2010-12-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

IT was a dark and cold night. Seriously cold! But since we were having a lunar eclipse on the VERY same day as our Winter Solstice, and that would not happen again until the year 2094 (figured I might be busy that day) I thought I should watch it. Even take a few pictures.

But after I took a few, I FROZE my fingers. I ran in and warmed up by the woodstove but they hurt as they thawed! I'm a baby, so that was it for me. I think the temperature was -7.

It was such a beautiful experience to watch the entire eclipse happen. Our girls went down on the lake with the neighbor kids and took their sleds to play in the unique moonlight. Michael and I sat in the yard and watched the display while we talked about Christmas plans.

Just a lovely, lovely night.

We Wish You a Pixie Christmas

2010-12-18T23:31:00.001-08:00

Pixie was asked to come and be one of Santa's elves at our annual Christmas Comes to the Kenai event. It is the kick-off of the holiday season, the day after Thanksgiving.

We took her in the mini van, and she did very well. When we got there, I didn't know we were going to be inside! But she let me lead her in and get her settled. She had her picture taken with around four hundred children. And she posed with Santa and the other elves. She was so calm and sweet. She wore her hat and wreath and didn't even try to eat them. Much.

On the way home she got a few bites of candy cane. She considered it a good day's pay. :)

Our Family Christmas Card

2010-12-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! And of course to my blogger buddies, you guys are the BEST!!!! I'm sorry I have been a bump on a blog lately. I am going to visit everyone's blog and see what you have all been up to. :)

Merry Montage Christmas

Shutterfly has classic, elegant Christmas invitations for your party.

View the entire collection of cards.

May your season sparkle with joy and happiness. Praise the Father for his gift of his Son.

I'm Thankful

2010-11-14T02:21:00.000-08:00

I keep thinking I will have time to post some pictures of all that we have been up to lately..but then its another day, another late night and, well you know how it goes. So I decided to just do a quick post about a few things I'm grateful for right now. I have a smooth round stone in my bathroom, in a pottery crock with some other stones and water in it. The stone says "Gratefulness". Its just a simple reminder to myself to ALWAYS remember my simple (and profound) blessings God has given me.

SO just twenty quick things I'm thankful for RIGHT NOW in my life.

* My goofy, fun, complicated, wonderful, loving, HUSBAND. Love him so much.
* My three spirited, opinionated, loving, smart, active, crazy KIDS. They crack me up.
* A tiny little spunky cute miniature horse, who has helped to heal my heart in many ways.
* Tastefully Simple's Oh My Chai tea. Heaven in a cup, and I'm not kidding about that!
* Woodstove and lots of kindling that my hubby chopped for me before his trip to S. Dakota
* Being able to homeschool my girls, and the neat experiment we did extracting DNA from an onion...so COOl.
* Folding laundry with the girls today, and suddenly all squealing and piling on my bed.
* Canned salmon in the pantry to have in the winter months ahead. SO yum.
* Warm boots when I go out to feed my horses in all this SNOW.
* My mom, who came over tonight to watch a movie, after we went out for pizza on a wim.
* Chena's experiences on her new basketball team, playing for my old high school. Nostalgia!
* My grandmother's dress that she wore to my wedding..she's gone now but I have that dress, and it still smells like her house. That dress has so much meaning for me.
* Friends who show me the true meaning of friendship and loyalty, and those who do not. Both.
* The new Taylor Swift song, Speak Now, which reminds me of what a goofy girl I once was at a certain somebody's wedding.
* Pizza boxes that burn quickly in the woodstove, destroying the evidence of ordering out. :)
* Chena playing the piano and singing yet another Justin Beiber song to me..
* My clean van. And also when its a pigsty.
* My lipstick, Wet and Wild 505A. Which is not made anymore, by the way. I'm making it last!
* Celebrating 16 years of marriage to my sweetie.
* Blue toenail polish with silver sparkles on top, applied by my fashionista daughters.
* Eggnog. It just came out on the shelves for the holiday. Mmmmmm.
* My new fleece sheets. Seriously cozy. And I'm waaaaay into cozy...
* A camera at least as fast as my daughters on the basketball court.
* Reading Treasure Island aloud to my girls on the couch, and doing the pirate accents. :)

What's on YOUR list of "I'm thankful" this year?

Mini in the Mini Van!

2010-10-31T19:09:00.000-07:00

My blog has been dormant for quite some time, and life has been moving way too fast. Here we are at Halloween already?

Yesterday we took our miniature horse, Pixie, to a Halloween Carnival, to promote our pony ride operation that our horse club was doing.

My horse trailer was put away for the season. Besides, its soooo big for such a tiny bit of Pixie dust. :)

So, I decided to take her in my mini van. After all, it seems so fitting, doesn't it? Now with horses, and plans, its best to be just as ready to NOT do something, as you are to do it. So I decided to give it a try, and if it didn't work or she got upset, we would just leave her home.

It worked! She loaded up, right in the middle section, with the girls just holding onto her from their seats. We put a tarp on the floor, a hay bag in there, and had a shovel to catch any tiny road apples. Off we went! It was only a six mile drive, so it was a nice test to see how she would do. She stayed very calm, and seemed to enjoy her outing.

When we got there, she didn't want to get out! A crowd started to gather as she stood and peeked out. Finally we brought a pony over, and she whinnied a greeting and was persuaded to disembark from her carriage.

We had a lot of fun. She was petted and hugged by close to five hundred children in costume. Their hats, wings, tails, swords, balloons, bags, and noise didn't bother her at all. She was sweet to each and every one of them, and I think she was getting a kick out of it all.

Some new friends:

Me and my Pixie, at the pony rides.

"School Pictures" for Penelope

2010-09-27T14:12:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I have an annual tradition of taking my children's pictures out in the woods near our home. Always in the fall, because fall is my favorite season..and also because I simply cannot resist the simple but profound beauty in the brilliant colors of autumn. I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame, and wish I could somehow stop time and stay in this season for a year or more. The air is clean and crisp, the sky is a blue that defies description, and the woods is afire with the yellows and reds and oranges of summer's last breath. The air smells of cranberries, dying devil's club, mushrooms, and the winds of change. Its intoxicating! Really! Our lake lays calm and submissive to what comes next, cold in its depths but with recent memories of splashing children and long evening canoe rides.

Its my happy place, being out in the woods and taking pictures of my children. I stop and think of what they looked like this time last year, in their pictures, and marvel at the changes. I love their goofy grins, serious faces, or perfect poses. As I snap away, I wonder what shots will end up being my favorites, huge on my wall or on a canvas...I never know which ones will capture my heart and attention, and best CAPTURE, snare, hold down, just for a moment, who they are at that very second in time, at that age of their life.

I took Penelope's pictures already, and have yet to do Chena's. Following are some of my favorites of Penelope. She is 11, nearly 12. She is spunky, opinionated, fun, goofy, joyful, sometimes passive-aggressive with her sister, and serious when she wants to be. She loves animals, especially dogs and horses. She has a passion for her Rat/Fox Terrier, Pluto, and her bunny, Mossy Meadow. Penelope is super smart, with an amazing memory..and she loves absorbing new facts and applying them. This of course makes her a joy to teach! She has two pen-pals, and takes them quite seriously, writing them letters, sending them treats, and decorating their letters and envelopes with a dedication to her art. She has a knack for catching the "joke" in everything, and is so clever at puns and plays on words. A "wordy girl" like her mama, I think. Penelope is generous, forgiving, and has a sweet soft side..tender and kind. Did I tell you she is an amazing cook? This past year she has excelled in the kitchen, and now she can make whole meals when I'm not even home to supervise.

Penelope is changing so fast, before our eyes. She just outgrew my shoes..and is getting taller by the day I think. I asked her to wear her hair in french braids for these pictures..and I think it was just because I know this might be the last time she wants them. Just look at my "baby" in these pics. Oy.

Oh yes, could you please tell me a few of your favorites, to help me decide what to send to the grandparents, etc? (and if you are ONE of the grandparents, please tell me what you like!)

Its Not Fair

2010-09-16T00:21:00.000-07:00

Okay Moms, you know how to respond to that. After all, don't our children whine "its not fair" every once in awhile? And we have the standard "mom" response, don't we? All together now..shout it out in unison... LIFE'S NOT ALWAYS FAIR! See, I knew you had that one in your mommy bag, ready to pull out at a moment's notice.

And, I know it too. But I'm still struggling with losing my Mukluk, and its not fair. Its not fair that he was only three, and I thought I had so much time with him and now I don't. Its not fair that he's gone, and I'll never see him again. Its not fair that I feel like I got punched in the stomach when I think about it.Its not fair that all the tricks and games, and fun things I taught him will never matter again. Its not fair that I'm left with a broken heart and an empty feeling. Its not fair that I can't look out the window in the morning and see him standing at the gate waiting for me to come and see him. Its not fair that there will never be another Mukluk, and it really is as unfixable as it gets.

But life isn't fair. And there are far greater disasters in the world than this. And real tragedies. I have friends suffering far more agonizing losses in their lives right now, than a pet horse. And I need to get a grip and shove it all back into perspective and move on.

But in the interest of keeping it real, I'm just simply not "dealing" and the only shoving I'm doing is to stuff my emotions and try not to show my children how sad I feel. How much I miss him. Because I don't want to make their grief worse, and in fact I do what I can to distract them and keep them busy and happy. I can do that. But...

I'm just kind of shut down. I feel knocked flat, defeated, deflated and probably a host of other d words. When you choose to love fully, you choose to take a pretty big tumble when they suddenly go missing from your world. Mukluk was "just a horse". I must say that a hundred times a day, but its not sinking in.

I kept finding myself driving out to the mini farm where I bought him. Where he was born. Where I first fell for him. And its been good for me out there, because I can get some mini hugs, and just hang out in a place where they understand what the expression "a fool for minis" means.

And it was there, the other day, that the owner of the farm suggested I "borrow" a mini for awhile. Just pick one. Take one home. Do some training, playing, and just take off the "vacancy" sign on the mini corral. And I thought about it, went home and thought about it some more, and then decided to accept her kindness. So I took my trailer, and went and picked out a "loaner" mini to bring home.

Her name is Tiny White Lightning. She is a yearling pinto filly. A real sweetie. She has settled in and is doing great here, and we all are enjoying having a mini to hug, and brush, and play with. The first time I sat down next to her and hugged her, I wanted her to "fix" me, and make all of this sorrow go away, but she can't do that. And its NOT FAIR to expect it. She can, however, make me smile..make me laugh, and give us all a good dose of cute-ness to carry us through the day.

I know the next question..and the answer is that someday I will have another mini. And no, I don't know if it will be her. Because I definitely have some things to work through first. In the meantime, she's pretty darn easy to have around. :)

A Loss Too Big for Words

2010-09-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

I am quite simply, heartbroken over the loss of my miniature horse, Mukluk. There are no words.

So I just wanted to share some images, unspoken stories, and memories that he gave us in his short life.

That is all.

(please scroll down and pause my music player, as there is music on the slideshow)

Slideshow made with Smilebox

August..What the HECK?

2010-08-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

No way. SHUT UP! It can't be August already!! I am not sure what I did in July, yet. I'm not ready for that month where people start saying "back to school" all in one word, and leaves start to turn..well, a color other than green (can't bring myself to say it yet). I'm so not ready. *stomps feet in a pile of leaves*

This week has been crazy busy, but that's how I like it when my Michael is gone away for hunting season. He will essentially be gone for the next two months, so we try to stay busy and distracted and time goes faster.

Monday I took Duvall to Ridgeway Farms, a riding stables where we like to hang out. Its about 40 minutes from home. Chena rode him and did some of the jumping courses there for awhile. We got him settled in his stall, and then we drove on out to Sterling, where we picked up a new miniature horse, Stormy Night's Delight "Stormy" to bring home for me to do some training with. He is recently gelded, and still acting a bit like a stallion, and I told his owner that I would do some clicker training with him to settle him a bit. He's a super cutie. :)

Penelope worked with Carhartt at home on some on-leash heeling, and learning to sit each time she stopped, with him beside her. It went very well. He was picked up by his family that evening, so now we only have Pluto at home. From four dogs down to ONE! That's wild. Before long we will have our three again, and then in mid November we will add 1-11 puppies..if all goes as we hope. If I could pick the magic number, I think I would choose 4.

Tuesday I worked with Stormy a bit in the round pen, and got him introduced to the other horses. He met Mukluk, with both of them on lead ropes, then one tied and the other loose, and then finally face to face and both loose. I wanted to determine which one would be dominate and bossy, and who would rule the pecking order. At first Stormy scared Mukluk, but he quickly bounced back and remembered that he can even boss around our full size horses, so he turned the tables and now he's in charge in mini-land. :)

Mukluk and Stormy getting to know each other, face to face! (waaaay face to face!)

We had a meeting at the homeschool office, and we picked up our brand new laptop we are leasing for the school year. Yippee! The girls picked out some movies and books to get started with in the new school year, as well.

Wednesday we went back to Ridgeway stables with the trailer. Chena rode a new horse she is helping to train, an Arab named Topanga. She's a beauty! After she worked with her, Penelope had her lesson on Topanga as well. I see a real friendship in the works for those two! She hung out by her stall for a long time after she put her away. Chena got Duvall out, and rode him for quite awhile. She was trying him on some bigger jumps. She did great! I was supposed to do some dressage on him, but time got away from us and it was time to head out again.

While we were there, one of our friends at the stables was getting all dressed up to have her senior pictures taken with her horse she boards there. I could not resist following the photographer and grabbing some shots of my own. Her dress was super duper cute, and she even did some jumping. Interesting riding attire...I love it!

This one I had to change to black and white...she looks so ethereal to me in it.

I drove over to see Dandelion, which is near Ridgeway Farms. I miss her SO MUCH! I don't know if she is quite ready to be bred yet, but getting close. I told her to "get it on" so she can come home! LOL. I'm pretty sure she winked at me.

Back at Ridgeway, we hooked the trailer back up (I had to drop it to run errands) and loaded Duvall. It was around 5 pm and barrel racing/pole bending started at 6:30 at the rodeo grounds. Chena wanted to run Duvall so we headed that direction, so we could have time to warm him up.

She had a great time, and improved on her times in both events. We are not serious barrel racers, its just for fun...and she likes to do it once in awhile. They have it every Wednesday night, all summer long. Most are competing for points, to win saddles and other awards at the end of the season. But there are a few, like us, who only show up a few times a summer. Everyone has a good time, and cheers each other on!

Here's Chena on Duvall doing barrels...
And pole bending...

I visited with my horse buddies while we watched our girls ride. One of my friends said she was going team penning the next night, there at the rodeo grounds. I had heard about it, of course, but never really considered doing it. Well, she told me I would LOVE it, and she worked hard to convince me to try it the next night. I finally said okay. She even said she would pick me and my horse up and bring us.

So Thursday night, she picked us up with her trailer, loaded Summer in with her two horses, and off we went. I was nervous as heck. I had never done it before, and everyone else had been doing it all summer. My horse had never chased a cow! I had no idea what to expect. I got there, tacked him up, and then headed out into the warm up arena. After I had galloped around a bit, did some circles and got him warmed up, I was not as nervous and I was raring to go!

It was a TOTAL BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot say enough how much fun I had. We rode, wild and fast, and rounded up cattle, (they wore tags, and we had to "cut" out the cows and drive them into the pen, by their numbers.) working in teams of 3. Summer did a great job, for his first time, and he was not afraid at all. We had a "draw" so we didn't know who we would be riding with each time. Or what cows we would be cutting out of the herd. I felt like a kid again, riding the way I used to ride when I was fearless and free. And shouting and hollering at the cattle! It was a rush, I tell ya. I can't wait to go and do it again.

Now its Friday night. The girls were invited to a sleepover, and I was invited to my mom's house for pizza and hanging out. It was great, but I came home early. Its been a busy week and I'm tired! (and a wee bit saddle sore..) So I'm munching on Poppycock (popcorn treat) and contemplating bedtime since its after midnight. Tomorrow is my niece's 15th bday, a bowling party (or a beach party if its not raining....fat chance!) in town. I have to pick up the girls on my way. Sunday we are bringing Duvall home, because we have a horse show on Wednesday. Its our last one this summer!

And I leave for Portland and the AMERICAN IDOL CONCERT in one week!! Its in all caps because I'm SO stinkin excited!!!!!!!!!!

Here, There, and Everywhere...Pets

2010-08-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

Its pretty funny right now, around here. We have extra animals, and some of ours are in various places. Its kind of hard to keep track of everyone! So here is the rundown on the Litzen Zoo:

Dandelion (Pembroke Welsh Corgi) is at a friend's kennel being bred for possible November puppies!

Charlotte (Yellow Lab) flew out to our lodge with Michael, and wont' be back until end of Sept!

Pluto (Rat/Fox Terrier) is home.

Duvall (Arabian horse) is at a stables in Soldotna so we can do some jumping and dressage.

Mid Summer Night's Dream (Quarab horse) is home..and missing Duvall.

Mukluk (mini horse) is home and missing Duvall and harassing Summer.

Stormy Night's Delight, a friend's miniature horse, is here for a month or so while I do some training with him. He needed a mini friend for awhile too. (will have pics of him soon!) He's so cute!

Carhartt, a friend's Wolf/Akita/Husky dog, is here for two weeks while they are on vacation.

Remember Carhartt? We got him as a foster puppy, then adopted him out.

When we had him:

And NOW!

All the other pets; bunnies, cats, and frog, are here at home.

Random Summer Moments

2010-07-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

What have we been up to? I have to look at my pictures to remember! Summer is going too fast, as always. Its been kind of a rainy summer, quite cool and windy too. But we don't seem to have slowed down much, we try to ignore the weather and just go and have fun anyway. Here are some pictures from summer so far, just random shots of moments in time that I didn't want to forget.

Penelope and Mukluk at the SEA horse show. I like how Mukluk's french braids turned out.

Dandelion among the clover. A weed among weeds..lol.

Chena on Mid Summer Night's Dream, in English classes.

Chena and Duvall in Western classes at the SEA Show in Soldotna.

Duvall's pretty mane, ready to go for the horse show.

Friends who came to stay for a week! Such fun we had with these wonderful guys. We don't get to see them often enough, so getting to have them here was AWESOME.

Chena and Charlotte leaving in the float plane, on the way to the cabin overnight.

One of our hay crew, during haying week. I got to drive the truck and trailer, while the crew slung bales on the back. We got over 300 bales, and it feels so great to have our hay for the winter! Its always an adventure, and this year we are done so early. Its awesome.

We spotted these guys near the side of the road, on Turnagain Arm. Its cliffs on one side of the road, and water on the other.

Midnight (that's right!) at the float pond.

Penelope out "mudding" on the flats, at a beach near us. A favorite spot to go!

Mt McKinley, from the plane as we flew to Fairbanks. It was so very clear that day. Spectacular sight.

Drive in dog wash. Poor Pluto.

Wow, her hair is getting so long! She let me put some of my favorite Pansies in it.

The girls, getting ready to head out to the hangar, for a "sleepover" at home. :)

Seldovia boat harbor. The seagull posed just for me, I think.

A flowering onion. So pretty! I love taking pictures of unusual flowers.

Me and the girls on the Fourth of July, in Seldovia.

I love that place!

Fourth of July Picnic..on the Third of July!

2010-07-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

We had our annual BIG family picnic at our house again this year. This is our 14th year hosting it at our place! We love having family here, and I love that someday all of these children will be grown up, and they will have fond memories of "Aunt Geri's house" and the fun we had here each Fourth of July.

We held it on the third this year, because the fourth was on a Sunday, and we would not have had as much time, after church and annual parade.

We had our son home! Lex was on leave from S Korea, and got to see the whole family while he was home. It was really neat timing, that he could get in on the picnic..he loves it.

We had games for all ages, going all day, and prizes for each game! Lots of other activities too, including group photo (I hired a photographer to come on location), miniature horse trick show, volleyball tournaments, "Guess the Watermelon Weight" contest, and much more. We had a great turnout! And the weather was not super sunny, but pleasant..and no rain..so we'll take it. :)

I took a ton of photos, but here are a few favorites..of some of my favorite people in the world..FAMILY!!!!!!

This was part of our big scavenger hunt, the whole team had to make a pyramid and have their photo taken, to cross it off of their list. I do the scavenger hunt each year, and its a favorite with the kids. They are all eager for their 8th bday, because then they are old enough to "hunt".
Balloons waiting for the waterballoon tossing contest, and the FIGHT that follows!

My beautiful daughter and her handfuls of FUN. :)

The winning balloon for the teenagers...his trick was to warm it up in his pocket (shhhhh!)

A cutie on every step. :)

She did what she was told, holding her tiny hands just "so" and waiting. But when the balloon burst on her T-shirt, she had a few sniffles. Next year she will understand the whole thing a bit better. :)

Sisters waiting their turn. Sooooo sweet.

Penelope won the watermelon contest this year! She guessed the weight right ON!

Winner and still CHAMPION! This cousin of mine has never been defeated in the pie eating contest. This year he was challenged three times! And he kept winning! That's THREE pies! Ugh. But he loves it. (even beat his grandpa this year!)

The crowd is always fun to watch during the contests!

Classic. Little Oceanna and her first pie. She didn't win, she was too dainty..but oh so fun to watch her sweet approach.

Babies in a sack! Getting them ready to someday hop over the finish line on their own. Future champs!

The little guys race for the finish line!

Winner! She was SOOOOO proud of her wading pool she got as her prize. She carried it around with her throughout the day.

Mukluk makes some new friends.

Maranatha loved the airplane swing. She's such a happy little girlie!

Look how happy that little "driver" is! (and the passenger hangs on for dear life)

My handsome Daddy and my sweet Chena.

Spontaneous show of affection. I caught this cutie in the act of smooching on her little cousin. She's so sweet!

He's all BOY. I think I'm loving this more than if I had captured a smile. :)

Flying high! I love her cute shoes.

Friends, and this year's lawn decorators...good job girls!

Brothers, pals, and wrestling partners. I was so surprised when they smiled and posed for me suddenly..(in the middle of a smack down!)

End of the day. Worn out from all the fun!

Hi Ho Horse Camp...Awaaaay!

2010-07-06T19:54:00.001-07:00

I decided I had better try to catch up a bit, my blog is waaay behind our adventures. :) I promised to post some pictures from horse camp!

Me and my girls (and boys!)

We had such a great time. Chena went to horse camp first, to the Advanced Camp, and took our Arab, Duvall. I stayed there, with a friend in an RV. It was neat to see Chena work with Duvall, and to see their teamwork advance throughout the week. They did lots of English equitation, work "on the flat" and some jumping. They even did a cross country jumping course! They also did vaulting sessions, and helped train some beginner vaulters on the vaulting barrel. At the end of the camp, they had a horse show. That Saturday, we took our other horse, Mid Summer Night's Dream, "Summer" to the camp, so that Penelope could show him, and also have him ready for her Junior Camp to start the next day. We took our mini, Mukluk, along too. He was going to do a little trick show for the campers, so he got to come to camp this year too. :)

Its about an hour and a half from our house, to the camp, so we decided to keep our other horse down there too. That also gave me an opportunity to ride him in the evenings, after the campers were done. That's my idea of fun!

The horse show went great, and Chena and Penelope had a good time. Penelope showed Mukluk in Halter Geldings, and got a blue ribbon. She did really well in all her Western classes with Summer too. Chena showed Duvall in both English and Western and placed well also. They mostly enjoyed more hanging out with all of their horse friends, both old ones and new ones!

Penelope and Poppa

After the show, Penelope and I got our horses settled in, and then went to a friend's cabin to spend the night, so we didn't have to run all the way back home, or leave our horses unattended. We stayed about a mile away, so we could check on the horses and be back in the morning. It was a VERY cozy cabin, and we slept great!

Sunday started Penelope's camp, and she could hardly WAIT for everyone to show up. Because we were there so early, we had time to play around, and I took a few pictures of her and Mukluk at camp. She was so excited when the other horse trailers started pulling in. Its always a very fun day, that first day, because everyone gets to meet everyone's horses, and everyone pitches in to help the campers get their horses in their stalls, find their assigned quarters, etc. Nothing better than lots of kids and lots of horses, to me!

Penelope had a wonderful week at camp as well. I especially loved it too, because my mom comes every year to stay with me, and brings her RV. We watch Penelope ride, help at the camp, visit, play cards, go for walks on the beach, and just have GIRLY fun! We park the RV so that we can see the arena from the windows, and we can sit and have our coffee in the morning while Penelope starts her classes. Penelope did all kinds of activities at camp, like trail rides, crafts, gymkhanna events, ground handling classes, ribbon races, horse "soccer", and much more.

Penelope did lots and lots of riding, and she and Summer worked well together. She is ready to move into the Advanced Camp next year. In addition, she had the care and upkeep of her horse and his stall. They really make the campers work hard, and always put their horse first. They have to feed their horses before they can eat themselves. They have to bed down their horses before they can put themselves to bed. Its a wonderful camp for teaching them responsible horse ownership!

Mukluk did a trick show for the campers, and that was a LOT of fun too. It was neat having him there this year, because I could go to his stall anytime and get to see him. The campers loved having him there too.

Penelope's horse show was great too! I was impressed with how calmly she did each of her classes, and memorized her patterns for each class. Summer even got spooked at one point, and bucked a bit..and she stayed on admirably. :)

I already posted about how horse camp ENDED for me this year, with a severe concussion, and a few weeks of recovery, so I won't go into that again. Suffice to say that I'm glad it happened, if it had to happen, after both girls' camps were over for the summer. We sure had FUN! Can't wait for next year!

Who Turned out the Lights?

2010-06-24T00:45:00.000-07:00

So there I was. Unconscious on the floor of the horse trailer. I do wish I could remember what happened, but I don't know exactly. I do know I brought my horse in the trailer and clipped him up to the trailer tie. I don't remember doing that, but we later found the clip dangling neatly from his halter, so he must have broken the rope and took the clip with him.

It was the last day of horse camp. I had been in Ninilchik for TWO horse camps, because both of our girls did a camp, and each brought her horse. We also had Mukluk there, because he did a little trick show for the campers.

My horse was high energy, and had been in a stall all day long. Then we took him out in the yard for just a short time, and straight into the trailer. And he walked by his barn buddy on the way. He wasn't ready to load, not really. I should really have been paying more attention to how he was feeling/acting. But I was just checking things off my list. Girls packed. Check. Bunkhouse cleaned out. Check. Stalls cleaned. Check. Trailer hooked to truck. Check. Tack loaded. Check. And so on. I was proud of myself for getting ready to go so quickly, and the last thing to do was load my three horses. So I guess that's why I was distracted.

We think my horse broke the rope, and while pulling back he hit me on the left side of the face while facing him. My nose/eyebrow/forehead was sore/tender/bruised on this side. Then, I went flying into the inside of the metal trailer, and hit HARD on the right side of my head. This is where I ended up getting the severe concussion. I know this part because my mom said my Life is Good horsie hat flew out of the trailer escape door..I hit so hard. Dang hat knew to get out while the getting was good! :) I got knocked out cold, and fell to the floor inside the trailer.

I was taken to the emergency room, and they did a CAT scan, xrays, etc. Nothing broken, just a yucky concussion. I am not allowed to ride for three weeks. This happened two weeks ago, now, and I have not been up to blogging a lot. I'm really doing SOOO much better, because at first all I could do was sleep. A lot. And I had a lot of nausea for about a week. And a very swollen egg/bump on one side, and tender/sore/owies on the other too. So I could not find a spot on my pillow to put my head! Or a spot on my head to put my pillow, I guess you could say. It was hard to get comfortable.

And every day I found new scrapes/abrasions all over my body. But I was really lucky not to get hurt worse, I guess.

I'm okay. I'm fine. I sure don't like getting stopped in my tracks, because I like to go about a hundred miles per hour at all times. So I'm learning to take it slow and I'll be wearing my helmet in the trailer from now on. That's what my husband says, anyway! :)

PS Pictures from horse camp to follow soon. We really did have fun!

Boat Trip-Floating Science Lab!

2010-06-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

The day finally arrived, one we had been waiting for, for months! Our homeschool group went on a Marine Science Day field trip, on the waters of Ressurection Bay..out of Seward, AK. The Kenai Fjord trip is a popular one for tourists, but before the tourists arrive, they do an outstanding science program for school age children, which has won many awards for its content and approach.

You can always hope for wonderful weather, but the truth is its hard to find it in this part of our state. The mountains rise straight up from the bay, and they make their own grey, cloudy weather-complete with plenty of harsh winds. That's the normal weather..but we had a PERFECT, GORGEOUS day out there!!!

We were able to see lots of wildlife, including mountain goats (with new baby "kids" on the block), dall porpoises, sea otters, sea lion, and all kinds of water fowl. The porpoises were with us all day, playing in small groups around the bow of the boat, and jumping and flipping with joy in the wake behind us. They were SO entertaining!!

See the brand new baby mountain goat by his mama? He was so darling..I wanted to hug him!

The kids went to various "stations" on the boat, where they were instructed in all kinds of marine science knowledge and hands-on application. They learned about palangic and non-palangic sea birds at one station, with real (stuffed) birds so they could observe wing and foot structures.

At another science station, they used a net to drag the water and collect krill, then used the onboard microscopes to analyze and identify plankton, phytoplankton, and zoeplankton..to be specific. They LOVED that one.

At another, they took samples of sea water, and checked the salinity, turbidity, and temperature, and talked about how to find each.

At yet another, they learned difficult new vocabulary, pertaining to ecosystems, then went to an onboard tank to identify various ecosystems, and learn about the crabs, snails, sea stars, anemones, and more living there.

The scenery was unbelievably beautiful. I always wonder if I, having grown up on the Peninsula, can scarcely take it all in, how do the tourists not just slip into a coma at the splendor?? Its a mystery to me. I truly cannot tell you how much I love our mountains, beaches, bays, and wildlife. Its like a gift each and every time I observe it, and I will never ever tire of it as long as I live.

We had a WONDERFUL, fantastic day on the water, and loved every minute. We visited with our homeschooling friends, and took lots and lots of pictures. The boat took us from cove to cove, and even up to a glacier, then back around and out to the Gulf of Alaska, before returning to the Seward Harbor.

We were tired, sun-soaked, and happy, and drove the two and a half hour drive back home dreaming about our next boat trip.

And Your Little Dog Too!

2010-05-31T02:20:00.001-07:00

Just a little Wizard of Oz humor...because when I looked at this picture it made me think of that famous line.

I have been neglecting my blog, because I was going to do a long post with lots and lots of pictures of a recent boat trip we went on. But I have been too busy, and then too tired at night when I finally come inside! Summer has arrived, and with it the crazy frantic lifestyle of the average Alaskan..who has seen too much cold and darkness and is out having FUN in the SUN at least twenty hours a day. Its true. Ask any of us. If you can catch us as we roll out the driveway with a boat, a horse trailer, an RV, a pair of jetskis, a four-wheeler, or a Harley. :)

So I am just going to throw this little blog update out there, with one recent favorite picture, and then my guilt for ignoring my blog will be gone. For a bit.

This picture is a result of having eight giggling girls over to play, putting two huge totes of dress-up clothes outside on the lawn, and telling everyone to put their favorite thing on for the picture.

As you can see, not even Dandelion was spared in the fashion frenzy.

If Its Called Homeschooling, Why am I Always in the Van?

2010-05-19T13:31:00.001-07:00

I saw that on a bumper sticker once, and it cracked me up. So true! We do tend to be on the go a lot, and its always something that I consider a learning opportunity. Well, isn't all of life just that, though? I am a learner, I love to learn, and as a homeschool mom I never stop!

What have we been up to? I officially ended school on April 30th, and we wrapped up our year with a super fun weekend trip to see The Wizard of OZ in Anchorage.

Michael is gone this month, and we miss him A LOT!! So to stay distracted, we have been busy with all kinds of activities both at home and away.

Over the weekend we started this season's riding lessons, and rode quite a bit at home too. We went to our annual 4-H tree sale, and both sold and bought trees. Yeah! It was a ton of fun.

Its morel (mushroom) season, so we have been hunting for them a bit, usually at night. Lots of fun, and something we totally look forward to all year!! I dream about it! Its a real challenge, and that appeals to me a lot, because its like a treasure hunt in the woods. And being out in the woods is wonderful!

Sunday we hooked up our horse trailer, and got it ready to go for the riding season. We worked with Mukluk to get him ready for a Monday trick performance. We also cooked all day, to get ready for our last American Girl party.

Monday we were up and raring to go very early. Penelope had been invited to take our mini horse and do trick shows for the annual Agricultural Appreciation Days at the rodeo grounds. So we brushed him until he glistened, and loaded him in the trailer. Chena stayed home, getting the last minute pies done, house tidied, and decorations up for the party. She had a friend spend the night, so they waved goodbye with aprons on, as we pulled out the driveway with truck and trailer.

It was about 45 minutes away, and we got there right as all the school groups arrived. We did four trick performances, and had between 300-400 elementary school kids. It was a lot of fun! Mukluk did eight tricks we had chosen: "Stepstool" "Wave on Stepstool" "Play Piano" "Get in the Tub" "Chase Target" "Spin" "Rear on Command" and "Bow". He did very well, since it was his first time with such large groups. We let the kids pet him and ask questions. Penelope did all the handling, and it was great for her 4-H project which is minature horses this year, as well as dog training and cooking.

Back home about an hour before the BIG party! We were doing "Molly" as our last one of the year, and boy we had a blast. I will post pics and more of that later.

The party was over a bit after five, and off we headed for our local high school's graduation. We knew quite a few graduates, so we had to go cheer them on and send them off on their next grand adventure. It was a great ceremony, but toooo long and I was tired from the already long day.

Our foster puppy, Carhartt, has a new home and will be adopted by one of our FAVORITE families. They are picking him up soon, so we will say goodbye and keep loving him, albeit from down the road a bit. I can't wait to see how he grows and develops.

Now we are enjoying a few days with my niece and nephew staying with us. The four kids have been playing outside non-stop, riding horses, playing with dogs, helping me plant trees, wading in the lake, hide n seek, hanging out in the tent, playing with bunnies, eating watermelon, and spraying each other with the hose (brrrr, its not that warm out yet!). Now they are making shave ice with lemonade, and I want to head out on a horseback ride myself.

Still to come this week; 776 Gals (our FUN friendship club), a boat trip around Ressurection Bay, a cousin's bday party, and a horse show. Summer is already wearing me out. I love it. :)

Duck, Duck,

2010-05-18T01:04:00.000-07:00

GOOSE!

Penelope at the annual 4-H tree sale and petting zoo. A new friend.

Meet Carhartt the Puppy!

2010-05-13T20:02:00.001-07:00

Introducing Carhartt, a temporary addition to the family/zoo! He is a Wolf/Akita/Husky mix cutie pie, and we are fostering him while we find him an adoptive family. Yes, we are in love with him already, but we have a pretty full house around here, so we are not getting any new canine buddies. :) I will just have to love him from afar. I do hope we find a home near us, so I can watch him grow and develop. He is going to be quite a striking, handsome fella. And a nice friend.

Carhartt really is beautiful, with his legs that look like he stepped in fresh paint, his mesmerizing blue eyes, and his "heart" on his chest. He has a sweet temperment, likes to cuddle, and gets along with other dogs. I'm really enjoying the nice puppy fix, and so are the girls. We have had puppies for three out of the last five years, so we are used to it. We are spending some time training him a bit, so that he can be pleasure to his next family, and will be well on the way to being a well-behaved and well-socialized family dog. He already likes to be a reading buddy! :)

River Side Bike Trip

2010-05-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

Because Michael wasn't going to be home for Mother's Day, we celebrated early with one of my favorite things. A family road trip! And even better, a family BIKE trip!! I had gotten a brand new bike, and was eager to try it out.

So we put all the bikes in the back of the truck, stopped to get some lunches to pack along, and headed out.

We stopped about half way there to eat a quick lunch at a picnic spot, then kept on going. We knew just where we wanted to be, and it was a couple hour drive to get there.

When the tourists arrive in Alaska, there are a few places that local residents avoid, and Russian River campground is one of them. Its one of the most popular places in the entire world for red salmon fishing. Campsites are reserved at least a year in advance. Tourists arrive in droves, and its combat fishing all along this river. They come with their huge motorhomes, with built in extra freezers to take home all the salmon they can catch. Its crazy. And busy. And Alaskans just don't venture near very often.

But, before the tourists arrive, in early May, and before its even OPEN at all (shhhhhh) we sneak in and find it absolutely blissful.

The campground was totally empty, but clear of snow, and it was a beautiful, perfect day. The scenery around us was glorious, because as you bike you are dwarfed by the mountains on each side. At the end of the campground there is a long set of stairs, leading down to the Russian River, and the boardwalk that runs along it.

Some of the pictures, like the one above, are taken with my blackberry (especially if I was riding and shooting!)

After biking all over the campground, we carried our bikes down the loooong set of stairs and then we rode along the boardwalk next to the river. I really can't describe how free and wonderful it feels to ride along, with the sounds of the river and the sights around each corner. There was a tiny bit of snow on the bank, but the air was warm and we were in our t-shirts.

Can you look closely and spot the victim of a nap attack?

My awesome new bike..love this thing.

We reached the end of the boardwalk, which is the mouth of the river, and we parked our bikes and just enjoyed relaxing together. The girls played and waded, while Michael and I sat in the sunshine on the bank and talked together. The girls gave me a Mother's Day gift they had snuck in the backpack, and it was a necklace set they had seen me looking at in the store one day.

Crazy Penelope, wading in some REALLY COLD water!

Later in the afternoon, we carried our bikes back up the stairs, and rode back to the truck, parked on the other side of the gates. We headed to Seward, a VERY favorite spot of mine. In fact, we go there every Mother's Day...as a tradition. I had always wanted to bike along the path that runs around the Ressurection Bay, so we parked and unloaded the bikes and took off. We rode all around Seward, and finally stopped and had a late dinner of fish, chowder, and chips. Seward is an absolutely amazing town, with stunning scenery. It sits in the shadow of enormous mountains that rise straight up out of town, and is flanked on the other side by the pristine bay and quaint harbor. I love it so much.

How handsome (hot!) is he?? He was tasting some of springs new grass..hee hee.

Chena riding along the path near the bay

I can't think of a more perfect (early!) Mother's Day. We headed home, stopping for icecream cones and arriving back quite late. I can't wait for our next trip. We have quite a few planned for this summer!

Swan Song

2010-04-27T23:41:00.000-07:00

I spotted these guys walking across the ice, looking for a bit of water for a dunk. By the time I got my camera, they were in the water, happily bobbing their heads for snacks on the bottom. They are in such a tiny pond, surrounded on all sides by ice.

Sighting this pair is a sure sign of spring, and I LOVE IT! I hope we have a pair in our lake again this summer.

I'm pretty sure I heard a swan song over my head last night as a couple flew by.

My favorite kind of spring music. :)

Snowshoes, Super Cubs, & Shoveling!

2010-04-20T23:31:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, my dear followers, that I have been such a "bump on a blog" lately. You see, a short get-away turned into quite a crazy adventure, and although I have been home for a few days now, I finally have the time and emotional fortitude to write about it.

My Mom and I were planning a few nights away at our fly-in cabin. We took books to read, knitting (Mom), scrapbooking/stamping stuff, (me) and skis (both!). We were super excited to just get away together, and spend some time relaxing.

our cabin:

And that's just what we did, at first. The flight there was gorgeous, my sweet hubby flew us in our Cessna 180, and we were amazed at the perfect clear weather. Spring had obviously arrived and the sun shone brightly on the nary-a-cloud-near-them mountains, as we landed at the cabin. I was so pleased that there was so little snow there, and we easily walked up the path to the cabin, stowed our stuff, and started a fire in the little woodstove.

As Michael was getting ready to take off, he kissed me goodbye and said he would be back in a few days. He remarked that we were getting low on wood, so we should cut a few dead trees down the next day. "Okay, goodbye! Love you!" I said, as he climbed in the plane. Mom and I watched the plane take off, and did happy high-fives to each other as we anticipated our retreat from the outside world.

a happy little skier..

The next morning we got up early, had some killer coffee (she brought real creamers!), and got our skis on to head out for wood. I got the bow saw, a hatchet, and then pulled along two toboggans behind. We spent the morning chopping down small trees, hacking up the kindling, and skiing back to the cabin with the wood in the sleds. It was hard work, but we could see clouds starting to shimmy down the mountains, so we figured we should get it done.

By mid-day the snow started to fall. It was so beautiful, but I could not help but notice how quickly the sun disappeared, the birds were strangely quiet, and the sky grew darker and darker. We could not even see the end of the lake that the cabin sits on.

the path to the outhouse:

Mom was a happy camper!

the path to the lake:

sledding in "the tunnel" as we called it:

pine trees covered with heavy snow:

At nightfall I tried to light our Coleman lantern, but after many attempts, decided to just light candles. We had a wonderful night, playing Scattergories, laughing until our sides hurt, and having wine and smoked oysters. It was so relaxing. The snow kept falling...harder and harder. Outside the cabin looking in, it was like a postcard..candles flickering and snow beginning to stick on the window. We popped Jiffy Pop on the propane stove, and played cards (Nine Holes of Golf). We slept very well after all our wood-gathering, and the cabin was cozy!

In the morning, I was shocked when I woke up and looked outside. We had gotten over a foot of new snow!! It was like the cabin was wrapped in a white shawl, that was pulled up around its shoulders. We shoveled and shoveled, trying to keep the path clear to the lake, and to the outhouse. But the snow built up on the cabin roof and then SLID down into our path, making it necessary to start the process all over again. We could not see anything but snow. I used the cell phone to check in with Michael, and tell him what the weather was doing. He said yes, a major storm had set in, and where our cabin was would be hit the hardest in the state. Wow. Not welcome news, but if there is anything I have learned from being the wife of a pilot, its to expect the unexpected, and be ready for anything.

The next day, more snow. Same story, but more, more, MORE. And more. We had a nice day, snug in the cabin, visiting and watching the snow pile up. I scrapbooked a bit, and Mom knitted. She had thank-you cards to write, so I made homemade cards for her to send. We knew we would not get picked up anytime soon, so we determined to figure out how much food we had, and I wrote it all down on a list. We started planning small meals, filling up on broth, and rationing a few things. Of course we had been out of water for awhile, but melting snow on the barrel stove gave us water for drinking, cooking, and washing dishes. There was certainly plenty of that!

a card I made:

Another day, and still no stopping the white stuff. And we were out of wood. By now it was impossible to go anywhere that was not shoveled out, so cutting wood was out of the question. It was time to make a new plan. I told Mom we would have to travel to a cabin near us, where there was wood stored but nobody there. We would just have to "borrow" and replace the wood later.

My snowshoes..sure came in handy!

I took down the snowshoes that hang on the wall by the loft in the cabin, and strapped them on. I could not figure out the bindings, they were much too big for me, so I wrapped them around and around and tied them on. Then I set out to stomp out a trail toward the other cabin.

Hours and hours later, I gave up and came in for a lunch of a moose-dog (hot dog made of moose meat) and some stale Cup O Noodle. I was exhausted, and had only gotten half way there. Step. Stomp. Shift. Pack down. Shake snowshoes. Stomp. Repeat. It was a HUGE job. To say the least. I didn't want to give up, but the weather had only worsened and I could not see anything..it was a total white-out. So we decided to wait for the weather to clear, but after a bit we knew it was no use, so we decided to take our skis and sleds and do what we could. I told Mom I thought I was a "snack on snowshoes" out there. Did I forget to mention all the wolf tracks? They made me nervous. Wolves hanging around a dwelling usually meant they were pretty darn hungry. :(

Well we headed out on skis and went along the deep tunnel, er, trail..that I had stomped out, until we ran out of that and I began to break trail on skis. The snow was up to our waists, and silly me..I had left my snowpants at home, thinking I would not need them at the cabin. In my defense, I had green grass on my lawn when I left, and I was not in survival mode. Dumb. So, we were pretty cold, wet, and exhausted when we finally reached the other cabin, and the extra wood. There was so much wood! We were thrilled, but quickly realized we could only carry a little on each sled if we were not to dump it while pulling it behind us on skis.

Oh how we rejoiced when we got back to our cabin!!!!!! We felt so victorious, although soaked and weak, for sure. I stoked up our puny little fire, and we had the luxury of putting in a few big dry pieces. The snow was only falling harder, so we went out to measure how much snow we had gotten. Nearly 4 ft of now snow since we had arrived!!! YeeeeIKEs. That's a lot of snow.

I got the lantern started that night, and we were able to see to play cards so much better. We found some old (and I mean old) coffee lacquer, and spiked our hot cocoas in celebration of our new wood. Mom laughed and laughed when I said "Man, being a criminal is hard work!". We were some seriously happy thieves. :) There was not much food, and we ate little.

The next day was SUNNY! And clear! And beautiful! It was going to be a perfect day to go home. I called Michael on my now-nearly-dead cell phone, and he confirmed that he had checked the weather, and it was a go. He would arrive about 11:30 am, and we needed to be ready. So, we cleaned and packed the cabin, washed the dishes, shoveled the path once again, put on the bear-protection boards, swept up, cleaned up crumbs to keep the mice away, and all the preparation to leave the little cabin alone. We had really had a wonderful, if not relaxing, time and dearly loved our time together, but were ready to head on home. I missed my girls a LOT, and Mom had her radio show to host too.

We saw Michael flying over us around noon, and he buzzed us cheerfully, flying low and waving his wings. We waved and stood on the cabin porch to watch him land. He started landing at the far end of the lake, still on step and zooming along. I remember hoping that he would pull up close to our path, since the snow was way too deep to get our stuff carried to the plane if he landed further out. As he got closer and slowed down the Super Cub (he could not bring the Cessna, the snow was far too deep) suddenly our mouths dropped open in dismay! The plane sank up to its belly! The prop was spinning into the snow, and Michael quickly cut the power so it would not snap off. Oh boy. I could not believe my eyes. I knew the first words he would say as he climbed out, and I was right. "Girls, we got BIG trouble." he said gravely. His long frame sunk deep into the lake snow as he struggled to get to the path.

The plane: (I did not get a picture of it while buried, it was not a good time to take pics!)

Well, he came up to the cabin and we waited for instructions on what to do next. Everything had changed so quickly, and now we needed to work as a team and do whatever it took to dig our way out and make it home again. He went and grabbed his snowshoes off struts of the plane, and I strapped mine on again. He told us we needed to make a 600 ft long runway, down the middle of the lake, about the width of the plane. In addition, we needed to make a ramp to get the plane from where it now lay like a floppy wounded white goose, to the runway. We would also need a mock windsock so we could see where the wind direction was, and how hard it was blowing. So Mom got her shovel and started to dig out the plane. She did a great job too, but no matter how hard we worked, it was just not possible to make it happen before dark. Michael and I snowshoed up and down, up and down, up and down, each time widening it a bit and packing down our previous tracks. Oh how we wished our snowmachines still were working, but the bears had eaten them beyond repair, over the years, and we had not replaced them. My poor tough husband had to do the worst part. He had to break trail, and the only possible way to do it was to attach bungee cords to each snowshoe, and with EACH step, do the backbreaking job of pulling each shoe up and out of the deep deep trough. With each step, there was about 30 lbs of sticky snow to pull back up. It was rather a nightmare, to be honest. And I don't know many men who could do it for all the hours he did. I followed behind, stomping down the steep ridges he left, and widening, packing, falling (at times). About half way through the day, the snow began again. Hard and in pellets. Angry. It made things a bit tougher.

Finally, just before dark we admitted that we just could not leave. There was no way.

During this time, my dad had taken his car and driven the five hours to the spot where Michael was to fly Mom out. The Super Cub is just a two-seater, so he was planning to ferry Mom to Talkeetna, and then come back and get me. But that was not happening yet, so we let Dad know and he drove back to Anchorage to get a hotel and await tomorrow's news.

Now our Mother/Daughter retreat had become a Mother/Daughter/Son-in-Law/Husband retreat!! We thought that was pretty fun, and we welcomed him aboard. He was a good sport, and put up with our girly giggling, although he would not let us give him a pedicure no matter how much we told him it was part of the retreat. Overall, we were just exhausted. And with very little food. And no real plan, because the weather was giving us a slap down no matter what. The wind kept changing direction, making it necessary to keep widening the runway, and trying to second-guess where we would be taking off. It felt good to hit the pillow, and let the chips fall. Overnight the weather would have its way, and we would have some more answers (and probably more questions) in the morning.

Our hard-earned runway:

Morning had still more snow. We could not see the end of the lake. We called Dad and told him it was no good. A no go. No way. The wind raged, and we could not see a single mountain or foothill in the distance.

All day we just tried to keep shoveled out. Ate a little food. Filled up on broth. Found some stale coffee. Read the back of the last Bisquick box to see what we could pull together for dinner. We had three moose dogs left. Nothing else.Stayed packed for a quick take-off, if possible. Widened the runway. Cleaned the airplane skis and wrapped them in visquine so they would be clean and slick. Strapped our skis to the struts. Used more wood. Melted more snow. Tried to melt enough to stay hydrated with the extra work we needed to do. I decided to melt enough to wash my hair! No shower for too many days makes me crazy. I can do anything, but give me a bad hair day too many days in a row and I might be a bit hard to live with... So, I melted snow, and Mom washed my hair for me over a dishpan. It was the highlight of my day.

Suddenly, around 5 pm Michael called my dad, and asked him to go to a new runway, in the town of Willow, and see if there was a chance of landing there. It was a new mission for poor dad, who had been hanging around, driving back and forth, and waiting for days. When we heard back from him, he said the runway was good, but there was light snow and poor visibility. We waited a bit, and then Michael suddenly sat up and said "Lets go, Mom. We are going". I was slightly surprised, then worried. After thinking it could not be done, now it seemed risky. Still, I trust my seasoned pilot husband to know what he's doing, and I knew he was taking everything into consideration. Even me, who would be staying alone until he returned. When he kissed me goodbye I said "Come back for me" and he said "No matter what". I grabbed his coat and said "No, not no matter what! Don't take chances. I can survive here until its safe." And he smiled, gave me a final hug, and was off down the trail to the plane. Mom followed, with her gear in the sled and ready to go.

I stood and watched while they took the plastic off the skis, then helped pull the tarps off. We had no wing covers, so had been using tent flys, sleeping bags, and anything else we could find to keep the wings from icing over while the plane sat snug in its wide hole on the lake. I marveled at how deep the hole, where the plane had come to rest. It seemed amazing we had been able to dig it out at all.

Michael told me that if the wind changed, or he misjudged the runway length, or any number of things, they would dive off the end of the runway, and be really stuck..maybe snap a wing off. "If that happens, strap on your snowshoes and come out" he said. I sucked in my breath at the thought! He said "I bet you would cry!?" And I said "every step!".

Mom crawled in the Cub. Michael took the small engine heater out, then climbed in. He closed the door and they put on their headsets. I was soooo nervous. I didn't want to be left overnight, but knew I could manage. Maybe even another week..I could be there. I was afraid they could not take off. I shivered and watched them move along, slowly. The first turn on the ramp (I had worked and worked on that turn) went smoothly..so far so good. Then they were on the runway and gaining speed. I had my camera out, ready to record a success, but my heart was racing. They went faster and faster and I prayed as I watched for the skis to leave the ground. YES! They were off, and enough time to clear the trees at the far end of the lake. They quickly disappeared.

This is a long story, so if you have made it this far I will wrap it up and say we made it. I called and found they had gotten there safely, after flying through a snowstorm at only 500 ft at times, and Mom told me the glad news that he was on his way back! To get me! To go home! The weather had changed and suddenly the way home was clear and safe for both of us.

I heard the plane about an hour and a half later, and as Michael circled the cabin he could see I had gotten the news, for my stuff was on the porch and the cabin was nearly ready.

My skis strapped to the struts in flight:

Two hours later, around 10:30 at night and just at dark, we landed back at home.

Sunset flight:

And I can tell you that was the most enjoyable shower ever! First I raided the cupboards and made a nice snack, then I hit the hot hot shower, and finally went to bed without worry. A very nice homecoming indeed.

Bunnies, Eggs, & Puppets, Oh My!

2010-04-08T10:19:00.000-07:00

Easter is always an especially fun time for Alaskans, as it marks the end of a dark dark winter and beckons us into a brighter time of year. Ah, the spring season! And what a wonderful segue for me to teach and discuss with my children about the death of Christ on the cross, the dark skies and heavy grief among his friends and followers, and then the beautiful bright Resurrection from the grave. We love to celebrate with traditional bright happy-colored eggs, hidden gifts, and get-togethers, but I don't ever want my children to forget the events that took place to give us the grace, forgiveness, and promise of eternity that we have received.

We have a tradition of watching a claymation movie called "The Miracle Maker" every Easter Eve, after the eggs have been dipped and decorated. Its wonderfully done, very detailed in showing the key characters involved, and quotes exact scriptures. I love the family discussion that follows, and the opportunity to answer our children's questions that arise.

We colored four dozen eggs, and they were all hidden by the 6'2" hubby bunny to be found on Easter morning. Our girls are so good at finding them, so he hid them in very tough spots this year. We are still finding them! The girls also got "baskets" to find, which this year were pastel-colored baseball caps full of goodies. I always find practical things, instead of actual baskets, and its a fun challenge for me each year. I have done riding helmets, bike helmets, bike baskets, sand buckets, party hats, and etc through the years.

We had Easter dinner with the whole family at my folks' house, with the annual outside egg hunt, huge meal, and inside hidden gifts for each grandchild. And of course, the traditional puppet show. I am not sure when the puppet show started, but it was at least 15 years ago. I remember we got puppets for Easter when I was a little girl, one year. I got a rabbit and my brothers got ducks and giraffes. Those original puppets are still used, and are in pretty good shape!

An egg hidden in the snow. The eggs had money in them! I was tempted myself. LOL.

A puppeteer with "Claude" peeks from behind the couch:

The puppet show is a behind-the-couch affair, and each year it is acted out by different cousins. We all love it. My mother writes the script, and she has a quirky sense of humor...so we never know what will happen next, or what those crazy puppets will say.

This year the puppet play was about "Claude The Dog" who was a very naughty dog. He got into all kinds of mischief, like chasing the neighbor's chickens, tearing up the trash bags, making all kinds of messes, and eventually landing himself in the pound. His owner never gives up on him, though, and pays the price to get him out of the pound and save his life. My little neices and nephews did a great job, and of course the story illustrates the redemption story.

Puppets take a bow!

Well, there is still snow everywhere, but I am in a blissful state because we have NEW GREEN GRASS peeking up in some spots. Its a start! And I love to look for new signs of spring every day.

We got our bunnies, Mossy Meadow and Tippy, out in their lawn cage for the first time. That is definitely a sign of spring! They hopped all over and then flopped over happily to soak up the sun.

Another sign is that our driveway is not icy at all anymore, and we can get our horses out and ride. Its time to get them in shape for the summer riding season, and horse camps. Chena and I worked with our new horse, Duvall, and then she rode him a bit yesterday. He is such a good boy, and we are crazy about him...and excited for all we get to do with him this summer!!

Summer is still a good distance away, but if "spring comes on little cat feet" (what poet wrote that? Somebody famous, I know.) then summer comes on the pounding of hoofbeats, and I will soon hear them everyday. Hooray!

Alyeska Ski Get-away!

2010-03-31T00:55:00.001-07:00

After Michael got home from the Iditarod, we were due for a family trip. We just wanted to get away from the busy-ness of life, and spend some time together.

We have been doing lots of Nordic skiing this winter, but we all really love to Alpine ski as well, so we decided to just take off and go for a few days.

Turnagain Arm:

We drove (about three hours) to Anchorage, and spent the night there at a favorite hotel. It was so relaxing, just to hang out together, eat snacks, watch a movie and plan the next day. The girls giggled and played until they were exhausted. Our niece came to visit us at the hotel, and it was sooo wonderful to see her, and catch up a bit.

Thursday we were up early and packed quickly. We ate a big breakfast at the restaurant near our hotel, then headed to Alyeska Ski Resort, which was less than an hour back the way we had come.

Our family on the mountain:

There is nothing like the view at Alyeska, or a day spent skiing together. We had such a blast! A few times Michael and I left the girls to ski on the lower mountain so we could take the lift to the top. It was a sunny, gorgeous day, and we didn't even need to wear hats...even on the lift! I consider it a pretty cool date to ski with my husband, and I pride myself that I can still keep up with him. He's a speed demon, and used to hang out with all the ski racers..the "experts" who went on to be Olympic ski coaches. :) I was probably slowing him down a bit, but he didn't let on.

Spring skiing is my favorite time to go, and we sure had a perfect day for it!!!

Mt Redoubt view as we drove back home:

Chena's Cake

2010-03-19T18:57:00.001-07:00

By some miracle, I have raised a baker. I like baking once in awhile, but this girl LOVES LOVES LOVES to bake. She is a wizard in the kitchen, adores cute aprons, invents her own recipes, and almost always bakes from scratch. She has so many recipes memorized, I count on her like a walking cookbook. She is on her third district 4-H medal for cooking projects. I'm pretty proud of her!

Well last week, she got a phone call and hung up the phone with an excited squeal..then started flipping through cookbooks. She had just gotten her first paid baking job! She was to make four or five cakes for an event honoring volunteers at a big banquet. She could not stop smiling.

She did an awesome job. A few she made were a lemon cream cake, a mexican chocolate, a pumpkin spice, and a cherry vanilla. Everyone loved them.

That's my girl!

Winter Whine

2010-03-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, its time for winter whining. There is a joke that is told here in Alaska. It goes like this: What's the Alaska state bird? The Ptarmigan. What is the Alaska state motto? North to the Future. What is the Alaska state wine (whine) "I wanna go to Hawaiiiiii".

Anyway, its still winter here, and everyone is posting beautiful pictures of tulips and daffodils on their blogs elsewhere. But that's ok. I am going to keep trudging through the snow, slipping on the ice, shoveling snow in the driveway and wood into the woodstove...and not complain. Much. And you in the lower 48 states, don't you worry your little sun-bleached heads about it. :)

Its been busy. Michael is on the Iditarod, flying clients along the trail. My friend is visiting us from Fairbanks, and she brought her little dog, Windsor, along. So its a bit crazy with four dogs but we are enjoying the entertaining aspects of it. Had a fuel leak in the hangar, so a bit of a panic there..but now its repaired and I have been trying to do the clean up. Scrubbing diesel off the floor on my hands and knees is kind of hard work though!

Yesterday we played outside most of the day, because you know, winter always looks better from the outside, than from inside the house looking out. I played with and trained Mukluk a bit more. We had a major breakthrough! I taught him to roll on command. I will post a video soon, but in the meantime, here is Mukluk just loose and wild and having a ball. If only we all had his energy!

Going Going Gone

2010-03-11T02:34:00.001-08:00

Digital, that is. I will probably never stop scrapbooking in the traditional way, its just a part of me. There will likely always be glue dots in my hair, ribbon wrapped around my toes, and glitter under my fingernails. But that said, I am LOVING digital scrapbooking.

I recently had a digital scrapbooking party for my friends, through a company called Heritage Makers. We had a lot of fun. Okay, a BLAST! And my friends got hooked, like me. We are now all daydreaming about our next project.

Which leads me to the collage I just made. Its going to be a canvas wall hanging, in a 16x20 size. I'm excited.

I take annual "school" (we homeschool) pictures of my girls, in the woods behind our home and sometimes at a local park. These are last year's pictures, not this year. I dearly love them, and love the memory of the photo shoot with my two goofballs.

Now get out there and go digital! OR, tell me all the projects you are already doing! I can't wait to hear about them!

Slide Down Memory Lane

2010-03-10T02:01:00.000-08:00

Just a little slide down memory lane. Gosh, they are growing up so darn fast! That was then.....

And this is now...

The Demise of Moldy the Frog..Dissection Time!

2010-03-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

For Science class yesterday, we had a frog dissection. But first, we had to make our frog. That's right, I don't do real well with real dead animal dissections, so since I'm the teacher I got to decide to go a gentler route.
We "made" our frog by putting him together, organ by organ, then the skeletal system around him, and finally by creating his gelatenous "skin" and "tissues". We named him "Moldy" because we made him with a mold. (and, we figure, if we left him around long enough he would probably get moldy...)

Putting Moldy together...

His stomach goes on next.. now here we are mixing the green gunk that will become his skin and tissues..

After the mold is poured, we wait for an hour and a half for him to set up, and await his slow and agonizing death.

Heeeeres Moldy!

Sorry Moldy, but its for your own good. Well, its for the good of our students at Litzen Homeschool, anyway. Now just grin and bare it. (ha ha)

The first incision is made in the middle of the ventral side (underside) of the frog beginning just below (posterior) the back of the jaw all the way to the tail (caudal) of said frog.Thanks, Moldy, for all you did today. Your memory will live forever in our hearts. (and in yours, which we kept)

My Kind of Silence

2010-02-28T13:48:00.001-08:00

I love my little spot in this world. I sit with my coffee and watch the Pine Grosbeaks eat their sunflower seeds on the birdhouse. Before anyone gets up, I sit and listen to the quiet snapping of the woodstove, as I give it a boost of air and it wakes up with me.

This morning I went down to feed my horses. A storm is coming, so I checked to make sure everybody (the three horses) is ready for the winds to come. The snow danced past my cheeks and tangled a bit in my hair. My breath mingled with my horse's breath as he took a bite of breakfast and then turned to regard me with his huge brown eyes and frosted eyelashes.

It occured to me as I stood there near Duvall, watching his mane toss a bit in the breeze, that there was nowhere else I would rather be. This spot in the world belongs to me, and I belong to it, and of all the places earth has to offer, my home and its surroundings are the closest kin to my soul. I drew in a deep breath and listened hard, and the only sound was the wind through the trees and the whisper of his quiet chewing..and I thought once again, this is my kind of silence.

This is my kind of silence...

Waiting for Breakfast

2010-02-22T13:15:00.000-08:00

Yep,

I guess the pictures speak for themselves...

Horse Soccer!!!!!!

2010-02-15T00:16:00.001-08:00

What a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon with our horse buddies. We all went riding for awhile, then it was time to just throw the soccer ball out there and have a BALL. Some of the horses are naturals, while others think the ball just might be a monster out to eat them.
Winter equine sports at its best. Bareback of course! And while it may never be an Olympic event, it sure gets the big thumbs up from our kids and our horses.

Snow Flower

2010-02-13T00:30:00.000-08:00

One lone Dandelion, standing out in the snow. Dandelion, the prettiest weed in Alaska. :)

Embrace Life..Always Wear Your Seatbelt!

2010-02-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

I just could not watch this and keep it to myself. In fact, I challenge all my fellow bloggers to share it on your blog, at least for awhile. Its so important. This video made a huge "impact" on me, and I was touched beyond words by it. The simple message is very very powerful.

I watched it. I had my children watch it. I shared it with everyone I could.

We have all lost people in auto accidents, been in an accident ourselves, or had a near miss. Wearing your seatbelt has probably already saved your life at some point.

Watch. You might want to grab a Kleenex...

Sweeties in the Sunset

2010-02-02T15:42:00.001-08:00

This was the last sunset of January, about five minutes from my house. My niece had came over for a sleepover. She and Penelope are three months apart, and really good friends. We went to the bluff to watch the spectacular sunset together.

I didn't want to forget this moment, and my sweeties in the sunset.

Find It Friday!

2010-01-30T19:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome to a new feature I will do every Friday. Or until I forget. Or until I don't even remember what Find It Friday was, or what I was talking about.

But for now, its all the GOODIES I find at the thrift store on Fridays. I love going to the thrift store. I always have an idea about what I need, but end up finding treasures I didn't know I needed until I am trying to stuff them in my car and drag them home. Good times.

I bought six new dining room chairs! That I really needed, and they even match my table. Thanks to my sister, her good eye, and her cell phone to alert me.

I found this adorable purse! You can see why I love it, for the initial of course.

Had to take a picture with my bb and send it to taunt my Facebook friends. Its just so stinkin cute, don't you think?

After that, I found an Addie costume for our next American Girl History Club party, which will feature the "Addie" books and character. Its Addie's pajamas, but that works, right?

Then I found three shirt for Chena, and she picked out belts to match. Belts were two for one that day, only because there were too many to stay on the rack. When they start falling down, time for a sale I guess.

One thing we actually came in for were more winter boots for Chena. She outgrew and wore out (which came first?) her Sorels. Sorels are wonderful boots. They are water-proof, bullet-proof, and can handle our winters and crazy conditions. Well, we actually found some more Sorels for Chena! And only $8.75 as opposed to $69.00 new. Sweet!

I found a .50 straw hat for another American Girl doll outfit. Actually Penelope found that, but was too shy to ask the price. I asked and got it cheap. Fits too. Not me, the doll. :)

Well that's our Find It Friday. Sure was lots of fun!

Musical Miniature Horse...Look Out Mozart!

2010-01-28T00:41:00.000-08:00

This is Mukluk. This is Mukluk on his piano. Any questions? :)

Duvall, Spirit of the Wind

2010-01-26T19:03:00.000-08:00

If you want to take his picture, you had better be fast!

Sunrise, Sunset!

2010-01-24T14:58:00.000-08:00

Its pretty exciting that we are getting more daylight now. I watch each night to see what time the sun is setting. Its almost past five o'clock now, and that's a milestone as far as this girl is concerned!

The other day my girls had basketball practice and book club, so I dropped them off and raced to catch the evening light at the mouth of the inlet. It was so peaceful, so beautiful, so welcoming with its warm and yet cold evening show. The sun seemed to linger, as if teasing me with its long slow dance.

Oh What a Week

2010-01-17T18:29:00.000-08:00

Monday, we started new units in school, and its been a ton of fun. I wanted to dive back into school after the holidays, with a bit of fun and a detour. I thought it would be neat to see where the girls' interests lay right now, so I let them choose any topic they wanted to do a two-week mini unit study. Chena chose Rainforests and Penelope chose Bears vs Pandas. I will have to post some of their projects on the blog, after I take a few pics. I had them design a chart, with pockets on them. On each pocket or lift-the-flap, I wrote a subject area. So we had Social Studies, Math, Art, Language, Writing, etc. Then Monday night I wrote an activity for each subject area and tucked it, hidden, behind the topic area. So each day they can choose whatever subject area they want, but they have no idea what the task or project will be. They get so into it, its pretty neat. They don't get to peek, so all they know is they are going to choose Art, because they are feeling crafty, or Math, hoping to make a graph, or Social Studies..hoping it will be a history movie..etc. They have had some surprises but they have loved all of it.
Monday night was our 4-H dog club, "Puppy Power", and it was the first night for the club members to bring a dog. We met at our local kennel club where we have done agility classes, obedience, etc. We did a mini clicker training demo for our club, and we took our Rat/Fox Terrier, Pluto.

Tuesday, Chena had her piano lessons. It especially exciting for her right now, because..guess what?! We bought a piano! Chena takes lessons from my mom, but we have only had a keyboard for her to practice between lessons. We have been impressed with her enthusiasm for it lately, so we decided to buy a used piano..and we found the perfect one! Its in great condition, which was important to me because its a piece of furniture I will be looking at and dusting for many years..lol. Its really pretty! Both of the girls have been having lots of fun with it, playing and singing together. I never learned to play, but Michael says I should go back and give my mom another chance to teach me. :)

Wednesday we had to go into town for errands, and I had things to pick up from the library. The girls have a monthly book club at the library, so they talked to the club leader about how they were doing on the current book, etc. Then we had to go to the feed store to buy food for the bunnies, and we had to get some horse feed too. SO many errands!! But when we go into town only a few times a week, things pile up. I went to the thrift store and got a few dowels to use for clicker training (making "targets" with tennis balls glued in the end), and was looking for a few other things. I always get things while "thrifting" that I never set out to find! I love it. While I was in town, I decided to splurge and buy some king crab for dinner. Oh what a rare feast! Not something we buy very often, but we all love it.

Thursday was our Nikiski Homeschool Fellowship meeting. The girls each had a presentation prepared to share with the group, and we had lots of fun with our homeschool friends. Then we headed over to pick up one of our horse club buddies to come and spend the night. Michael was headed out of town to drive an airplane engine to Wasilla, to our mechanic there..so we decided to have a sleepover. We made mini pizzas and played board games until quite late!

Friday was a great day to just play outside with the horses. We didn't have to go to town, we had nothing we HAD to do, so we did a few errands just here and there. I walked over to my neighbor's house, and had a cup of coffee and a visit with her, while the girls sledded with their friend. Then I worked with Mukluk, clicker training, and working on some new tricks. He learned how to spin! I'm excited about this, as it will lead into other tricks I hope to teach him. He was getting so excited, since he learned to "bow" he will follow me around, bowing and bowing until I distract him with a new job. Friday night we were going to go to a concert, but the roads were so icy, we decided to just listen to them on CDs at home instead, and order out for hamburgers and shakes to be delivered. It was so cozy just to hang out, and wait for Michael to get back home from Anchorage. He took Charlotte with him, so we missed both of them, alot! Chena helped me work in my scrapbook nook, with an overwhelming task of organizing layouts into albums. I have done about 25-30 12x12 albums, but often just threw the pages in as I completed them, and they were not in chronological order. So we worked hard, and got a lot done. Sometimes we played detective, trying to figure out the dates of the photos, etc. I usually write the date on every page I create, but there were soo many where I forgot to do it.

Saturday we were up early and headed to town, with Pluto with us. It was our Peninsula 4-H Rally Day, a yearly event where all the kids come together for a day of various "classes" on all kinds of topics. For example, I taught a clicker training class, using Pluto for demonstration, while Chena was in another room teaching "Pop Up" cards, and our friend taught "Geocaching..Hiking with Purpose". We had Pluto go through a small tunnel, jump on his mini trampoline, and do a few other of his tricks. The kids loved it, and I gave them a chance to try out the clickers, and see how they worked. There were classes of all sorts. I usually teach a class or two, but in between that I like to walk around and see everything that is going on. Its a blast!!

We headed home after that, and I was tired. But, did I mention it was my birthday? I kind of forgot myself, with all of the Rally Day events. So when we got home the girls pampered me, let me rest, while they did chores and took care of some laundry. Penelope even gave me a pedicure and a foot massage! She painted my toes pink with purple flowers. Then we all got ready, dressed up, and headed out to town to take me out for my birthday. We ate gourmet pizza and homemade root beer at my favorite spot, then went to Coldstone to get icecream to take home. I don't like cake, but oh boy...I love sweet cream icecream with Resees mixed in. We bought two quarts, but since we were still 40 minutes from home, my silly (and very practical) husband TIED the icecream to the top of the car to keep it cold. So all the way home, we kept begging him to pull over so we could check on it, and see if it was still there!! He was enjoying the suspense, so he made us wait. Oh what joy and relief when we got out and saw that it had held on all the way home! :)
We spent the rest of the evening until quite late playing board games, eating the icecream, and opening my presents. Yes, he made me wait for that too! I had spotted a package that came in the mail, and it was from my miniature horse tack store..so I had some idea, but was not sure. I was hoping for a harness for Mukluk..and it WAS!!! I am so excited! My goal is to teach him to pull a cart by summer. Michael said he will build me a little cart or sleigh!! I was so jazzed, I wanted to try the harness on him or the kids but they said no. :)

Well today we skipped church because we had a pool party for my niece at 1 pm, and it would have been hard to get there on time. We went to the pool party, and all the cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents had a ball there. Its a wonderful pool, with a 300 ft slide. Its even free for residents of our tiny town, so its a popular place in the winter.

Tonight my mom is having some of my friends over, along with my sister and sister in laws, for a game/snack night for my birthday. I better go and get ready. While I'm gone, the rest of the family is going to take the Christmas tree down. Yes, you read that right. Grin. I told you we have been busy (and its kind of a silly tradition to leave it up until my birthday, because I love it so much.) In fact, I think I had better go sit and admire it one more time, before I head out.

Mountain View Ski Trip

2010-01-14T00:02:00.001-08:00

We bought the girls new ski sets for Christmas. Although they both have skied a little bit, it was only with my gear. We could never go together, because they always had my skis and poles. We wanted to go out as a family and ski, so we are looking forward to it. We have trails behind our house, and we also ski on our lake and at our cabin.

But this week we went about five miles away, to my parent's house. They live on a hill with a fantastic view of the inlet and mountains, and they have wonderful ski trails. My dad goes out and breaks trail with the snowmachine.

So Mom, me, Chena, and Penelope had a wonderful time skiing!!! It was a crisp, clear day, but quite windy at times. Mostly gusts. We had a lot of hills to negotiate, and I was glad when we all made it back in one piece. There was one hill, and when we got to it, my Mom told my girls "When your mom was young and crazy, she would always ski down this hill. I thought she would break a leg!" Well, that was enough to get me going. I was determined to take on that hill! I knew if I looked at it very long, I would be afraid to do it, so I closed my eyes, shoved off and ZOOOOOM whooshed down the hill. I cannot believe I did not fall. Seriously, thank you Lord for steering from behind and keeping me standing. It was the greatest feeling, and pretty darn good for my ego too, since I had not skied a hill like that in years.

Here I am on the hill. You can see Cook Inlet and the mountains behind me. I didn't have a camera, so my blackberry pics will have to do.

What a great day! Can't wait to go again. I want to scare my mother some more. :)

Scrap Happy

2010-01-11T01:53:00.001-08:00

Wanted to make a collage of a few favorite Christmas moments, so I decided to do it digitally and share it here. I am going to enjoy printing it and maybe just hanging it on my wall for a while to relive all of our fun over the holidays.

Tuesday This & That

2010-01-05T21:17:00.000-08:00

We are off and running in the new year! Getting the girls back into school and sports, 4-h, history club, math club, leadership council, piano lessons, etc. The list goes on. Before all that started though, we decided to take a short trip out to our cabin. More on our cabin trip later, but for now a few quick pics.

In flight:

Our lake, plane, and Mt McKinley in the background.

Mt McKinley, on a very clear day, from our cabin porch.

My parents celebrated 45 years of marriage on Christmas Eve!! Way to go, Mom and Dad. You are an inspiration for and an example for all of us, and we are so proud and happy for you. I took this picture, but had to get mom to quit kissing his neck for a minute. Crazy in love, after all these years.. (and don't they look young?)

We did a clicker training clinic for our horse club, and took our miniature horse, and our Arab, Duvall along. Lots of the girls brought their horses to ride. It was great to get together and ride, because its hard to do in the winter. Chena is on your far right, riding Duvall. Everyone is bareback using just halters and snap-on reins or leads.

Yesterday on the way to a friend's house, we saw an eagle feeding on a carcass in the woods. I had my camera with me, so I could not resist a shot of him.

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

Watch Out! Look Sharp! Porcupine!!!

2010-01-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

We were out sledding the day after Christmas. Since it was so icy out, the runner sleds were going extremely fast, and would even jump off of the roads and make it down onto the lake. It was wonderful sledding conditions! But even so, I was making sure to take turns, so there was always somebody down on the runway, looking for both planes and vehicles before telling the sledders at the top of the hill to take off.

We had been going for awhile, and it was my turn to be look out. The girls were riding double, sitting up on their runner sled, poised for take-off. I looked right, then left- did a double take and shouted "STOP!!" to the girls. They stuck their feet out, slid a bit, and stopped, yelling "Car?" But it wasn't a car. Directly in their path around the corner where they were headed was a HUGE HUGE porcupine!! He looked like a dark round ball as he scuttled across the road. We trotted down and over to him, staying a safe distance of course. He walked into the woods and then ZIP, he skillfully shinnied up a tree.

Well, I couldn't let this pass by. I sent one of the girls to get my camera, as I watched him closely. He stayed in that tree for a long time, so we wandered off. He was too far up for me to photograph him.

But then, he came down. He padded through the woods and up onto the bank near us. Then back up another tree, but a much smaller one. I got some pictures, and then hid until he came down and crossed again, and came up to our house.

He was amazing to watch! His colors were beautiful, with blond tips on the end of his quills. He had the roundest eyes, and looooong sharp claws. I love nature up close!

He went under our horse trailer, then scooted back out, crossed under the bunny hutch, and ambled along beside the hangar, then up another tree. The next morning, he was gone.

Here's Chena, and the porcupine:

The porcupine:

And a few more pictures of the prickly passer-by

Our Own Circus

2009-12-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

My sweet husband has been teasing me about running a circus around here. So I guess by teaching my mini, Mukluk, more tricks I am only giving him more reasons to do so! Even so, its been really fun, and a great thing to do with my girls. We have all learned a lot, and hope to learn more along the way.

Here is Mukluk's latest trick. I want to get them all on video so I can record his (and our) progress for Penelope's 4-H project journal. (It was 40 degrees out, very unusual for us, so my Alaskan girl was perfectly happy to be in shorts..silly girl)

Its Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas

2009-12-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

I love the days and weeks leading up to Christmas! I think it came way too fast this year, as I was still enjoying the process of getting ready. Some favorite moments from this year:

* listening to Josh Groban's Silent Night, while sipping cocoa and writing cards
* Watching the puppy try to figure out what a Christmas tree is all about
* Seeing the girls make their gingerbread houses
* Homemade eggnog milkshakes!
* our annual tradition, watching Charlie Brown's Christmas
* Making homemade fudge for friends and neighbors
* Sneaking around while planning gifts
* seeing the girls giggle and tell secrets
* hot buttered rum made by my sweetie, then sitting together by the fire
* driving around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights
* getting cards in the mail, and putting them all up in our dining room! Love it!
* putting up my Willow Tree nativity set
* decorating the house with some of my favorite snowman things
* looking at all of our own cards from Christmas pasts, and scrapbooks too

Penguin enjoying the Christmas tree

some of our cards..we like to put them up by the hidden light panels in our dining room

our advent calendar

a fun snowman throw I found at the thrift store!!

I like non-traditional colors, and look for alternatives to red and green. I love my door wreath.

this Victorian santa is over four feet tall, he is a favorite around here, and the first piece of decor that we put up.

I strung our previous years' photo cards, in order, to this year's card (on right)

our "door" which is actually a tall wooden photo album, full of past Christmas photos

We love Alaskan ornaments, such as these moose and our funny whales..

My grandma Margaret, and my mother in law, Sue, both loved Raggedy Ann dolls. Grandma Sue has a sweet collection of the dolls, vintage cuties. Grandma Margaret made dolls each year, making a total of 50-70 to give to each granddaughter in the family. Raggedy Ann dolls have a lot of meaning to all of us, so this ornament holds great memories.

Clicker Training our Mini

2009-12-21T20:05:00.000-08:00

We have had SO much fun clicker training our miniature horse, Mukluk. He loves to learn tricks and is very smart, and easy to teach. We use Nilla Wafers for a treat, and he will do anything for him. Watch the video: This trick took about ten minutes to teach, from start to finished voice command.

We used this trick for a 4-H presentation, for our horse club, and everyone liked it. So, we are doing a mini clinic with our horse club and their horses, on Clicker Training, right after Christmas. We are excited about teaching it and seeing everyone's ideas!

A few Clicker Training tips:

1. Start with a treat they love. If they will sniff it and walk away, its the wrong treat. :)

2. Use a high rate of reward-click and treat, click and treat, click and treat, until they know a click will always be followed by a treat.

3. Once they know what the clicker is, choose a trick or behavior to do. Its best to start with something they already do naturally, such as pawing the ground or tossing the head.

4. Reward for the slightest indication of what you want. Then ask for more and more until you have exactly what you wanted.

5. Have fun!! You can use Clicker Training for dogs, horses, etc. Its easy and fun!

Don't Moose Around

2009-12-20T20:22:00.000-08:00

There is a joke in Alaska, about never seeing enough pictures of moose in the newspaper. If the news is slow, and they don't have any other ideas, you will always see a moose on the front page! Moose in yards, moose by cars, moose with other moose, baby moose, mama moose, papa moose, moose heads, moose hineys, moose running, scooting, waving, and sailboating! Well, you get the ideas.

Anyway, all my Alaskan friends will say "so what? another moose pic?" when I post this. But I have always been fond of moose (you know this if you have followed this blog awhile..remember the ka-YUTE baby moose?) and I just never get tired of them. We see them just about every day, but I rarely stop to take a picture.

This guy made me laugh though, with his funny whitewashed face. And when I pulled over the car, instead of running into the wintery wood, he turned to face me and posed.

Goodbye funny fella. Maybe you will be on the front page of the news when I get it tomorrow.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

2009-12-14T12:55:00.000-08:00

I don't have much time to post, Christmas is almost upon us..and I am trying to keep the kids focused on school for one more week (while visions of sugarplums dance in their heads..hee hee) so we can be at a great stopping place in our unit studies.

We went out tree hunting yesterday, and I could not resist some winter pictures. Our weather has been unusual lately, in that we have had heavy fog trapping cold air in the woods, and causing frost build-up on the trees. We also have not had any new snow, to cover up the frost or cause the trees to droop. Then, the temps have been low, around ten degrees, so that made the sky very VERY blue! So beautiful. All of that delicate frost elegantly adorning our trees. I'm an Alaskan-born girl, and after living here my whole life, I still never tire of our scenery.

Its truly like walking in a winter wonderland.

That was Then, This is Now

2009-12-05T12:03:00.001-08:00

That was then. Fun!

This is now. Sigh.

A Turkey, Some Cousins, & a Trivial Pursuit Victory

2009-12-02T23:45:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about it, and I think the best thing about Thanksgiving this year was when we were preparing for it. My girls were SO darn sweet about not wanting me to "do too much". They put on their favorite aprons and dove in! We were going to my folk's house for the big family dinner, so we only had to bring a few dishes to contribute.

We made 24 Hour Salad, 10 lbs of mashed potatoes, and Penelope made a big beautiful layered banana pudding. Chena peeled a mountain of potatoes, then whipped them up in our Kitchen Aid. Gotta love that thing. I sure do. We listened to Christmas CDs and danced around the kitchen together. I'm so lucky to have my kooky twosome.

We had lots of fun this year, even with a few changes from our normal family members who attend. My Dad was in Michigan deer hunting, a gift for his birthday, and my brother Rich was at work on the North Slope. His wife and two kids didn't come, as they went to her parents' house..so there were some people missing. My son Lex is in S Korea in the Air Force. But we had some special guests too. My sister's two young foster children were there with us, so we had some extras. We all love them and consider ourselves blessed with extra kiddos!

After dinner, the gals challenged the guys to a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit. Only it wasn't too rousing, because we started trouncing them immediately, and they all acted bored to hide their pouting. My poor husband would have rather had his fingernails pulled out one by one, than play a family board game, but he was a good sport and managed not to fall asleep. Of course we won, and we girls tried not to look too smug.

The girls hung out with their cousins, while they all tried to figure out "who got who" for our annual Christmas drawing (they each draw one name, and only buy a gift for that one cousin..but its a secret..or supposed to be). Then they watched the movie "Up" in the playroom, and a few went downstairs to play fuseball.

My Mom was leaving early the next day to go join Dad in Michigan, so we were lucky enough to divide up all the leftovers, and even got a whole pie to take home!

On Black Friday I hopped out of bed early ( hopped=dragged in a loopy fashion) to pick up my sister and head to town to catch the sales. I'm real thankful for free coffee at the stores, it was the only thing that got me through the first five or six hours. Its all fun though. Can't tell you what I bought here, (shhhhh) but I was able to find some great deals!

Friday night was fireworks at our annual Christmas Comes to the Kenai parade and festivities. Everyone goes to it, so we always see tons of family and friends.

Lots of nieces, nephews, cousins and second cousins watching the display in the sky!

I call this one "The Dying Jellyfish".

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOH" you could hear the kids say....

Dandelion Litzen | A Dog Named Christmas

2009-11-27T15:09:00.001-08:00

Hallmark is having a canine photo contest, and if you want to vote for our Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Dandelion, here is the link: Dandelion Litzen A Dog Named Christmas. Oh yeah, ignore the other cute doggies and just vote for her. Ha ha.

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Birthday Girl!

2009-11-15T13:31:00.001-08:00

Last year for Penelope's birthday party, we went to River City Cheer with all the cousins and a few friends too. She loved it so much, she wanted to go again this year! All the cousins were hoping for that too, so we booked it early and could hardly wait for her big day.

It was SOOOO much fun. They have a huge room with wall-to-wall mats, a big foam pit, a huge swing to swing over the pit and jump in, an extra long trampoline, rings, poles, balls, and more! It's definitely a place where a kid can be a kid (and a few adults can too!)

After all the crazy play, we went to the party room. Penelope wanted a tropical party, so we had fruity Starburst candies, water bottles with colorful fish stickers, a HUGE monkey balloon, and coconut icecream! It made me want to go to the islands...

Penelope got some new riding boots from us, and she was pretty excited about that..and has big plans for them! We also got her the traditional stuffed animal she loves, this year it was a BIG Beagle which she named Emmerson. Her sister even bought him a collar, and he had birthday charms on it too, for a sweet extra touch.

It was just a really fun party. I still cannot believe that she turned 11 though!

After the party, we had to hustle up and head right out. It was the 4-H Awards Day too, and Chena was one of the announcers. It was an extra special day for Penelope too, because she received her Northwind Riders Horse Club riding jacket! It takes a year to earn it, and she did a great job and was so excited and eager to get the coat with her name on it.

Looking at her name!

Happy Birthday sweet girl of mine. You really are a "Penny From Heaven" as your birth announcements proclaimed.

Squishy Face Meets the Black Beauty

2009-11-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

Duvall: "Come a little closer, I want to kiss you.."

Charlotte: "Bring that thing over here, I want to bite it. I'm not afraid of anything fifteen times bigger that I am. I could chew its mane off, and that bridle looks like a nice chew toy too.."

Us: "Uh, okay, that's probably enough of a meeting for now, you think?"

Surprise! Its a New Puppy!

2009-11-03T22:39:00.000-08:00

Incredibly, we added two new family members to our household on the same weekend. I was up in Fairbanks, visiting friends and buying a new horse, and Michael and the girls were plotting to sneak a puppy into our lives.

Meet Charlotte!!!!!!!

She is an eight week old yellow Labrador Retriever, and just about the most precious girl you can imagine.

Mike was thinking about getting a Lab puppy, but was not sure it would be this year, he thought he might like to wait for next year. He asked me to just check around, see what litters were available, etc.

I made one call, to Dandelion's puppy instructor, who is a Lab breeder. She got back to me recently, and said she had a litter, up in Willow. I thanked her, but didn't give it much thought.

While I was up in Fairbanks, she called me on my blackberry and told me she was driving to Willow, to evaluate the pups for show, and would I like her to bring a pup back with her? I told her no, we were not ready, and didn't want a female (all that she had left), and etc. I gave her our home phone, and didn't think about it much again.

Turns out, she was quite the salesman! She called him, told him about the pups, and directed him to her website. He said he didn't want a female, and she told him to check out her program, look at her gallery of photos of her females, and call her back. He did, and was intrigued. You might even say hooked. He wanted to go and see the pups. They were located over four hours away. That is, by car. So he and the girls jumped in the airplane and flew into Willow. The breeder who had collaborated with her, who owned the mother Lab, turned out to be Dee Dee Jonroe, a well-known musher and Iditarod contender. They were picked up at her private airstrip and wisked away to see the "babies". The girls played with the puppies. Michael talked about bloodlines, genetics, size, weight, temperament, etc. The girls didn't worry about any of that, they were already in LOVE. Together, they all decided on a little girl puppy. The deal was made, and they climbed back in the airplane, with a new precious addition, and flew home.

All this was unbeknownst to me, and it was decided to keep her a secret and surprise me when I got back home.

And so it was that when I pulled into the yard, after a long two-day horse hauling adventure, there sat my big tough husband on a hay bale...holding his newest love in his arms...little "Sharlie" girl.

I was SHOCKED. He just doesn't do things on a wim, and it was a pretty major decision to become a three-dog family, just like that. I jumped out of the car and ran to him, not sure if I wanted to kiss him first or the sweet golden baby with the huge dark eyes and floppy ears! She was the cutest thing.

Well, they wanted to wait and let me help them name her, because I'm good with naming animals (lots of practice!) but they all got tired of calling her "Baby" and waiting for me to finally get home. So they brainstormed a bit, and came up with Charlotte. The girl we bought our new horse from is named Charlotte, and the girls really liked her name. Plus, Michael's favorite movie of all time is Charlotte's Web, he used to watch it almost every day when Lex was a toddler, and he has the whole thing memorized.

So Charlotte it was, and it really fits her perfectly.

Charlotte with her feather:

A face just about anyone could love!

Who? Me?

More Charlotte stories to come! (and yes, I know we are spoiled rotten..that's not lost on me right now.......

New Horse...Meet Duvall!

2009-10-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

Its a long crazy story, but for now I just want to say we have a new family member! He is a beautiful registered Polish Arabian gelding, named Duvall. We are all in love with him already, and he just got here!

He's settling in great, he really loves Mukluk the mini. They had fun getting to know each other.

Chena and Penelope rode him for the first time today, I got to ride him before we bought him, and Michael can't wait to go out on him.

Friends already!

He had no trouble getting to know Summer, in about ten minutes they were scratching each other's necks in perfect contentment. Silly geldings.

He's quite the guy...he has a fun goofy friendly personality, and he is very curious. Super sweet, and well trained with a willing energetic spirit. We are going to have so much fun with him!

It was a Drive By Shooting

2009-10-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

The dogs were starting to drive this little orphan crazy, so as he went running by I started shooting!!

Its a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2009-10-15T00:44:00.000-07:00

I love fall, the way the colors of autumn flow up a hill, each one just a shade different enough to set off the next beautifully. I am soaking up this scenery into my very pores, to hopefully last me until the long winter is gone and trees will flutter with leaves once again.

Kenai River, near Cooper Landing

Tern Lake, at the Seward "Y"

School pictures...Chena!

2009-10-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

Time for Chena's annual "school" pictures as well! Boy, has she GROWN since last fall. Now she is not only wearing my shoes, she has outgrown most of them. :)

Since her buddy, "Buddy" is such a big part of her life, we took him along to include in some of her pictures. She just adores him. ( Buddy is our neighbor's dog, and she walks him two to three times a day)

She loves hats, luckily..since I have been putting them on her since before she had any hair. Everyone used to say to me when she was a toddler "How do you get her to keep those cute hats on?" and I'd tell them "I tell her, leave your hat on!" and she does. (although one time she had the sweetest little hat that looked like a strawberry, and when she was seven months she yanked it off of her head and threw it out of her stroller when I wasn't looking at the Washington State Fair. Never found it)

Anyway, here's Chena Danae, at 12.

Loves- horses...anything to do with horses but especially JUMPING. Also loves training, riding without tack, dressage, trail riding, and especially enjoys hanging out on horseback with her horsie buddies. Also loves reading, (speed reader!) walking Buddy, science, basketball, games, drawing, climbing trees, playing with Mukluk, her pets, her vaulting team, her 776 Gals club, babysitting, mom/daughter lunch and shopping dates, swimming, and loves loves loves baking and cooking.

Hates- thrift store shopping, putting on a coat in cold weather, or rain gear if its raining, avacado dip, most kinds of cheese (except on pizza then its fine and good) being interrupted in the middle of a good book, running out of baking supplies, spelling, super long plane rides, socks, going to bed, making her bed, organizing!

Especially good at- riding and showing, making special dinners for her family, making food "pretty", running fast, writing stories and poems, memorizing scripture, drawing horses and landscapes, logical thinking, helping Dad work on planes, planning events for her friends and making things happen, public speaking/presentations, keeping mom on the schedule, getting up waaaay early!

Friendship skills and qualities- full of compassion, energetic, enthusiastic, fair, funny, quick-witted, peace-keeper, forgiving (to a fault), soft-hearted, sweet, kind, loyal friend to her little sister, always thinking of special things to do for people, especially those going through hard times.

Quirks- likes to dress up in aprons and skirts to go out and play "pioneer girl", pick berries, climb trees, etc. Hates the color pink, loses her stuff everywhere she goes, loves arranging her school desk, different every day, needs to know the daily schedule, especially what time we are leaving the house (drives mom batty), saver and hoarder of money, but will give it away, never ties her shoes, falls off of things, like chairs in the middle of dinner..bar stool, couch, whatever..she can fall off of it.

Favorites: the color orange, Toby Mac music, her best friend Sadie, moose roast and potatoes, Cotton Candy Kidz Cream milkshakes, pizza crusts, babysitting jobs, her Wintec saddle, Buddy, soft pajama pants, Fourth of July, our cabin, Janet, Jillie, and Lilah Bean.

Growing, Growing, Gone!

2009-10-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

As crazy at it sounds, we have been growing mushrooms in our upstairs shower. No, not because there is mold there because I need to scrub my shower....I'm talking real, live, mushrooms. :)

Its a science unit we are doing, all about mushrooms. We have been doing spore prints, taking classes and workshops, making charts, going on hunts, scavenger hunts, mushroom "stamping" and more. I did a class and there I built a take-home kit to grow Oyster mushrooms on straw. In a bag. Swinging in my shower. Well several times a day, then we move them right outside the shower. They do best there, because they need humidity, 95% in fact, and we can mist them several times a day.

It took about eight days, and then we saw them start to spring to action. First, the bag turned white, as the innoculated mycelium (on sterilized rye berry) began to spread throughout the straw and ripped up cardboard pieces. Next, the holes in the bag (evenly spaced, that we had poked in the bag) filled, and the mushrooms POKED right on out of the holes!

They doubled in size every day. At times I would stop in my tracks, as I re-entered the room after only a few hours...and they had POPPED out even more. Jaw-dropping! Truly amazing! Wonderful and a bit freaky.

Well today is the day of harvest. We will carefully cut the biggest ones off, and fry them in oil and garlic. Then they will have another "fruiting" and up to three more after that.

Doncha love science?

Annual Fall Photos

2009-09-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

Boy, do I remember it well. Standing in line, waiting for school pics. Wearing something I hated, that mom picked out. A teacher moving swiftly down the line, combing each of our bangs straight down, and telling us to straighten our clothes. Then, it was the dreaded moment. Climbing up on that torture device, otherwise known as a stool. With some stranger grinning stupidly at me and saying cheesy things to get a cheesy smile. The stool was too high, I could not touch the ground. My feet dangled awkwardly. Everyone else in line was watching. I tried to sit up straight, but geez! How do you sit up straight and SMILE, under such conditions?

And oh boy, do I ever remember the day we got our pictures back. Ye gads. Everyone getting that little envelope, with the clever "frame" cut out, so you could see your hideous self right away in the plastic window. Trying to hide it from your friends. I never liked them! It never even looked like me, I swear.

Then it was climbing in the car after school, hoping Mom would not notice that all the other kids coming out of the school were carrying that flat white envelope. But, she would. Then she would excitedly ask to see mine. I would hand them over, waiting for that dreaded word to come out of her mouth. RETAKES! So yeah, the whole bad experience could then be repeated. Lucky me. :)

My kids are so lucky! To them, "school" pictures means putting on their favorite clothes, grabbing some snacks, and heading out for a walk in the woods, with their mom, their dogs, and maybe a kitty or two along.

Of course, they do have to smile like, 317 times in a row. Did I mention that?

I started with Penelope this year. She's 10..and so much fun to photograph. She just sparkles!

This is my Penelope!

Loves- banana chips, flowers, spelling bees, riding Daddy's dirt bike, baking, buying presents for her friends, 4-H, her pen pal, riding and training her horses, collecting small treasures, pockets, her bunnies, bible verses, Mukluk the mini, and her dogs. Actually, all things to do with dogs! Training, agility, showing, all breeds, everything!

Hates-raisins (likes the texture, hates the taste) getting up early, wearing socks, barn chores, going outside in the dark, cleaning her room, sudden changes in schedule, soda pop, super long chapter books...

Favorites- the color green, vacationing in Hawaii, cookies n cream icecream, American Girl movies, science, just- cheese pizza,

Especially good at- writing poetry, spelling, training animals, identifying dog breeds, making guacomole, baking cake from scratch, organizing drawers, being thoughtful of others, sharing, designing doll clothes, using Power Point

Friendship qualities- fun-loving, generous, enthusiastic, easy-going, sweet, kind, playful, HAPPY.

My Neighbor's Dog

2009-09-29T02:31:00.001-07:00

This is Buddy. He is a big part of our life, but he's not our dog. He belongs to our neighbor. He was her husband's dog, and his best "bud" too. Her husband died of a heart attack last winter, and oh boy, was Buddy ever sad. He grieved for months, and searched everywhere.

Chena walks him for our neighbor, so three times a day he comes to play with us, and we love him alot. I decided to "sneak" him out in the woods and take some photos of him, as a gift for our friend, his owner.

He posed pretty well, and he is such a handsome boy. I printed the picture and gave it to her, and she was super excited. We are always looking for ways to bring a bit of a smile to her face.

Good boy, Bud.

Jump for Joy

2009-09-26T23:39:00.001-07:00

Mukluk jumping "at liberty" in our new round pen. He can fly!

And So Goes September

2009-09-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

Can you believe its so far into September? My husband could be home tomorrow! We have not seen him for a month, and he will only be home a few days, then gone again. But I shall enjoy him while I can.

Last Monday we had riding lessons for Penelope, and Chena spent some time riding our own horses, then it was off to my nephew, Oliver's bday party. He turned 9! We got him a giant checkers game, and he was immediately challenging everyone to a tournament. Such a cutie. My sister designed a fun party game called "WWOS" or What Would Oliver Say. We all had to answer questions to show how well we knew Olly.

Tuesday the girls had to be in Soldotna (45 minutes away) by ten, to get started with a brand new year of Geography Bee study, at our local homeschool office. Its such a fun group, and the girls learn so much..which is good because I am their teacher and I am geographically challenged. I can lose my car in the parking lot of a restaurant. Hee hee. After Geo Bee, they have lunch, then its right on to Math Olympiads, which is another wonderful program we take advantage of. I went to visit a friend at her gift store, did some errands, and had a lovely break.

Wednesday was the first day of the girls' book club, but as we were about to leave I heard thundering HOOVES (which is never a good sign when you have horses..or even if you don't I suppose!) and the whole dang herd ran right past my kitchen window. With all four horses on the loose, we ran for halters, lead ropes, and Honey Nut Cheerios to lure them in. We got them quickly, but we were too late for book club so we settled for board games and a trail ride.

Thursday was a busy school day, again. I have my classroom pretty well set up, still need a few organizers but mostly under way. I had to buy a new bookcase on Craigslist, or quit collecting books. Since that is NOT an option, I guess I will just keep finding new ways to keep them! We went to a two-day mushroom workshop, called Mushroom Mania, last weekend. So I bought new books from that, and we have been growing Oyster mushrooms in our shower. Great science project..and I love love love cooking with them, so its a win win with garlic and butter on top! That night Chena had her weekly vaulting team practice (which is trick riding on horses, but its the off season so its stretching and gymnastics on a vaulting "barrel")

Friday we had a bunch of friends, fellow homeschoolers, over to our house for the Mushroom Scavenger Hunt. I created a scavenger hunt, then the kids took offf with their clipboards, rulers, and gathering baskets through the wooded trails near our house. We moms went too, and we all had a great time, learning to recognize various species of fungi, gathering, testing, crossing off items on the scavenger hunt list, and examining discoveries. We all went home, did some spore prints (the "seeds" or spores from a mushroom falls onto colored paper and makes a print), and I made moose hot dogs for everyone. It was a really FUN time with our friends. Later we met up with my mom at our local pizza stop, and had dinner with her. Then we hit our favorite icecream shop for swirled cones, and then finally home to watch Bolt with my mom..who had never seen it. We were all tired but could not stop laughing. I love that movie!

Saturday my friend had a garage sale, so I scooted over there to steal all her treasures from her. She is feeling overwhelmed with junk, so like a good friend I brought her stuff over here so that I could feel overwhelmed with her junk for awhile. That's friendship, right?! Actually I found some neat books and things. End-of-season sales are best..just when you think there are no more garage sales. :) We came home and the weather was SOOOO beautiful. I could not go in the house, even though laundry beckoned with its dirty fingers..so I got Mukluk out and did some training with him. We taught him how to do some free jumping at liberty in the round pen, taught him how to accept his new winter blanket, and started initial saddle training. We also clicker-trained him a bit, and then clicker-trained Summer too. It went great. I have been watching training videos to help me with the steps to clicker-training, and its really amazing and I love the challenge! I hope to get all of my horses doing three basic tricks by snowfall: Shaking hands, Nodding head, and Touching targets. Wish me luck....

Sunday was kind of sad. It was Joker's last day with us. After spending over a month with him, we made the hard decision not to buy him. He is a wonderful boy, tricky and a bit wild, but truly sweet and lovable as well. He has some special hoof issues, and we ride too much..he needs to go back to where he is only ridden very lightly if at all. So we all went out on a trail ride, our last one with him. It was a blustery crazy-windy day, but I loved it. The horses were feeling fiesty, and they thought every leaf was out to get them! It put me in high spirits as well, it did! When we got home from our ride, we hitched up the truck to the trailer, loaded Joker, and drove the hour to his farm. We hugged him, said our goodbyes, and then decided to go out for Chinese food, since we were so far from home. I was glad I didn't have to go home and cook, it was just too long of a day and I had to haul the trailer back home in the dark.

And now its Monday again. Wow. Call me nutty, but I actually adore Mondays. I love starting a new school week, getting my "lists" made (so I can ignore them...that's my MO) de-cluttering, figuring out the week's agenda and schedule, etc. We got our school week off with a bang, working on Scientific Classifications, Probability, American Revolution review, Mushroom Spore Print Art, work samples and more. Riding lessons were canceled due to rain, so I made some phone calls to finish up my Pampered Chef show. Then, the sun peeked out just enough to dry its hair, so I decided I'd better take advantage and do my "school pics" after all. I do annual fall photos of the girls in the woods behind our house, down by the lake, by the barn, etc. Chena wanted to go out riding instead, so I just took Penelope and headed out. I had the best time! I love fall photography! I'm not sure how much Penelope would agree, but she gave me over 300 smiles so she wins the award for patience today. I will post those pics soon! :)

Reading back over our week, no wonder I'm tired. Yawn. We are going to play a game of Blokus and eat some popcorn. Its getting dark so early now. I could barely find the Sparrow after Pluto chased her up a tree. I'm not ready for winter...but I sure do love fall.

What's Cuter than a Miniature Horse?

2009-09-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

A miniature SADDLE, of course!

I wrote about my fantastic find at the state fair, in my last post, so thought I would share my progress getting my mini to actually wear it. Ha.

I have been clicker training Mukluk lately, for all kinds of things but working up to some tricks and jumping. So, to get him started with the saddle, we got some Honey Comb cereal, the clicker, and his winter blanket. I had not tried the blanket on him yet, so it was a good place to start.

We clicked and treated him for touching the blanket with his nose, having it brushed by him, and eventually put on him. He did just great! So the next thing was his little saddle blanket. Same thing..we clicked him and gave him the cereal for each motion he made, first touching the blanket, then having it close to him, and then on his back. He didn't care, he just wanted his Honey Combs!

After those two things had gone succesfully, we were ready to move on to the saddle. Its a bit heavy, and he has never had anything on his back before now, so I wasn't sure how he would do. He barely flinched at all! He touched it, sniffed it a tiny bit, then reached back out for his treat. I settled the tiny saddle on his back, timed it for just two minutes, then removed it. Of course I did not cinch up any straps or anything. That step will wait for a few more days, maybe even a week.

But LOOKIE! Its on his back! I'm so proud of my little Mucky-Boy.

For Now

2009-09-13T00:47:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have so much to blog, you don't know what to post so you get kind of stuck? Life has been zooming by and everyday stuff happens..and I have not blogged due to exhaustion and stuck-ed-ness (yes of course its a word, I'm a TEACHER, remember? Heh heh) So anyway, I am going to just ramble a bit now, and then you can go back to your reality tv shows or dirty dishes, or other blogs where people are not quite as lazy. I forgive you, in fact, do YOU forgive me?? Why thank you! I knew you would. :)

Michael has been gone since August 5th, except for a few days. You would not think I would post that, since you could hunt me down and come in and steal my silverware. Oh well, if you do take that awful set, I can get myself some good stuff, right? Besides, I know how to shoot. (Pictures, that is but at least it sounded threatening) But I digress. Lets just consider this whole thing a digression and keep those expectations nice and low. I told you its a bum post.

So he has been gone and as is my habit this time of year, I try to make up for missing him by having a wonderful time pursuing fun with friends and going on road trips. Road trippin is what I do best!!

So I drove up to Anchorage, and a friend flew in from Fairbanks, and we all went to see the Lion King play. It was FANTASTIC. We don't get professional theater up here very often, and this was the first of its kind my children had ever seen. I think their jaws dropped open from the opening scene on, and my eyes actually filled with tears a few times at the magic of it all. We had the time of our lives.

After that, we stayed at a B & B, and the next day we drove to Palmer to the state fair. It was a hot day, and we moved quickly and covered a lot of ground and were able to see so much! I think I'm used to my honey slowing us down, he eats his way through the fair, gets a new goodie at every booth, and then has to lay down and nap it off. Me, I only had to hit my absolute favorites, bacon-wrapped scallops and crab cakes, and Pioneer Peak stuffed breadsticks, and I was good. No napping necessary!

I was going from booth to booth, and rounded a corner and there it was. Shiny and rough, and smooth at the same time. It glistened. It gleamed. It was as cute as a bug's ear. And the words from an old movie came into mind "You will be mine, oh YES, you will be mine!". What is this fascinating object you ask? Only the thing I had been looking at and dreaming about on Ebay for months. Only the thing I had checked into at online stores but never "added to cart" because I could not find the perfect specimen. Only the one item that shipping to Alaska was totally outrageous for....a miniature saddle!!!!!!!! For Mukluk! I swooned. I think I caught myself from falling by grabbing onto the tiny perfect saddle horn and lowering myself on a cloud of nine. I was smitten. It took no time at all for me to decide I didn't need to eat or buy a smidge of anything else that day except my prize. And I carried that sweet little baby right to my van with a huge grin on my face.

After the fair we raced out (as fast as you can race in fair traffic) and headed out toward Hatcher's Pass. I had an appointment to see a horse for sale there, an Andalusian/Thoroughbred cross that I had been dying to see. Since its four to five hours from my house, this was my only chance to meet him. So I was able to see him, and ride him, and fall for him. I'm not sure in that order but I told you this blog post was full of digressions. (and confessions it seems). I'm not sure he is going to be our next horse, but I am certainly interested and I will keep you in the know. He's sweet, and beautiful, and needs training. I love to train, and love a challenge, and am very fond of Andalusians and Thoroughbreds, so it looks promising....

We got home quite late, I only stopped once to take a picture of the beautiful full moon. It was gorgeous, just stunning..and was so gracious to light my way home when I knew I should have left much earlier. Its a dangerous highway, has claimed so many lives this summer alone, and I hate to drive it in the dark. I always try to leave the city in time to drive home before the sun is down, so I can manage the tricky curvy roads through the mountains safely, and so I won't be too sleepy.

As it turns out, I owe the full moon more than casual thanks for shining so brightly. We found out the next day that right at the turn-off to my road, there had been a terrible fatal accident. My friend's teenage son had a head-on collision and lost his life early Sunday morning. When I saw what time the accident had happened, my heart raced, and I had to sit down. It was less than five minutes from when we had turned down my road. He was less than five minutes behind us, following the same bright moon. He crossed the center line, his fiance asleep beside him, and another younger teen in the backseat, and hit a lone taxi cab head on. The cab driver is going to be okay. Jeff's fiance is going to be okay. The teen boy is still fighting for his life. And Jeff, 19, a motocross racer, a future stock car driver, a brother to his 15 yr old sister and 11 year old brother, was killed on impact. He was a sweet kid, his mother adored him, worried about him, and fussed over him. He was a dare devil, he had broken his arm and both legs racing motorcycles before. We don't know the details about what happened, did he fall asleep? Get distracted by something in the car? Send a text? Search for a CD? Details will come later.

I guess I didn't know where this post was headed, I saw it more as random thoughts about all the things we have been doing lately. I didn't want to be sad. I didn't really want to dwell on how close we came to disaster because I drove home way too late. I didn't want to talk about another boy who is gone from us forever.

But since that's where I ended up, please offer up two prayers. A prayer for Jeff's family and their comfort, as they grieve. And a prayer of thanks that God still has plans for me, my two precious girls, and my dearest friend, Janet, and he sent the moon to light our way.

Locks of Love

2009-09-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

Chena had been asking us all summer if she could get her hair cut, short. I tried to hold her off, told her how beautiful it was, how much she would miss it, etc. I gave her a waiting period, so she could see if she really really wanted to do it. (can you tell I loved her hair??) Sure enough, she was completely determined, and told me she wanted to cut at least ten inches off, so she could donate it to Locks of Love .

So we made the appointment, and she was so excited, bouncing up and down and eager to have it gone. No second thoughts at all, unlike poor Mom! :) Everyone at the salon gathered around when they made the cut, and there it was...a gorgeous looooong thick blond ponytail. The ponytail that got swished at me when I made her mad, the ponytail that hung down below her riding helmet as she won blue ribbons at the horse show, the ponytail that hangs over her pillow and off the edge of the bunkbed when I tuck her in at night, the ponytail that I can barely glimpse through the leaves of her favorite climbing tree...when she is playing tree fairy, the ponytail that flies in the wind as she gallops bareback up the driveway on the way back from a trail ride, the ponytail that I see last as she rides off on the motorcycle with her daddy, the ponytail that comes in the house and shakes hay all over my clean livingroom carpet after barn chores, well...you get the idea. Sigh. A mommy has to be willing to let go and move on, even with the little things that mean so much to her....if they mean equally as much to her child. :)

A few pics from this summer (because I know we all love "before" and "after" pictures!)

And here is Chena's new look!! (I have to admit, its pretty cute..but I wish she didn't look so (((((shhhh)))))) old!) I'm going to have to face it, she's growing up. I know it, but I don't have to love it. Hee hee.

I took these outside right when we got home. I think she kind of glows with pride and happiness!

She told me she feels so much lighter and she basically danced around the first few days. Silly girl. Who knew so much gravity was in 11 inches of hair?

Bye bye ponytail, off you go!

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

2009-08-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

Its been a rough week, we had tried to be productive but it was hard to think of anything but the loss of Mattie. Michael only had a few days left with us, before his month-long guiding trip. We decided to get away from it all, if only for a day. I had been dreaming about catching a silver salmon, so we packed up our Cessna 180 with snacks and fishing gear, and headed out across the inlet. It was quite a gorgeous day, so we got going early to catch the right tide near where the inlet meets the river. Chena was not feeling well, so we left her home this time.

The view as we flew across the inlet, of Mt Spur, the Cook Inlet, and an oil platform far below.

The river where we were headed, from the air.

We landed beside the river on a grass airstrip (if you can call it that!) and set up our poles. The river was so serene...beautiful, but I wanted to see some salmon splashing or at least making a small wake. We ate blueberries and pb and j sandwiches, while we waited for the tide to change. Mt Redoubt was crystal clear in the background behind us, while Mt Spur had only a few tiny clouds caught on its tips. It was the kind of day and the kind of scenery that takes your breath away. And you know, it still does, even after I have lived here all my life!

After we had fished a few hours, I wandered away and was taking some pictures, when I saw the tip of my pole bounce a bit. As I started running back to it, propped there on the side of the bank, it really started whipping around, and I grabbed it just in time to fight a big silver! They like to fight hard, and you have to keep the line taut, or you will lose them. You have to set the drag on your line so you can let them run a bit, then reel them in a bit, then run, until you can work them close to the bank and bring them in.

Its a nice one!

Later, Penelope caught one too. She was pretty excited! Her fish was a fighter too, and she needed a bit of Daddy's help to keep her line steady and keep reeling...

Good job, Baby!

Later, Michael cleaned the fish so we could have them for dinner, and took the eggs out. Both were female, so the eggs can be cured and ready for the next fishing trip as bait.

We fished a bit longer, but only caught one Dolly...poor Michael got skunked except for that! I didn't tease him..much. :)

A majestic swan landed in the nearby lake.

There he is........

and there he goes!

Such pristine beauty, the early fall sky is especially blue right now, I just love it.

Daddy and daughter off for a walk, you can see the glacier beyond.

We had to fly home fairly early, to get ready to go to Mattie's memorial service. I'm glad we got to get out and have a nice family day, after a very emotional and difficult week.

Goodbye Mattie

2009-08-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

There can be no other post today, because I cannot think about anything else. Friday morning, a nine year old boy we know, who is in our 4-H club, was killed at our local fair.

Thursday we drove to Ninilchik, about 1 1/2 hours, to take our fair entries. The fair started on Friday, but everyone always sets up on the day before, does their judges interviews, gets their animals in their stalls, and etc. We were all thrilled with the sunny weather, and it was a bustle of activity everywhere you looked. The 4-H club children were all excited, bathing their sheep, cows, and pigs for the showmanship classes on Friday. My girls stopped to play and laugh with Mattie, a nine year old friend of theirs. He was hanging out at the cow barn, eager to show them his prize cauliflower, excited and raring to go. The cutest little toughie farm boy, he is small for nine years but makes up for it in energy.

It was the first day of our small county fair. That morning, Friday, Mattie made a dire mistake, one that would cost him his very life. I am sure it seemed innocent at the time. In his little boy mind, it made perfect sense to tie the short rope from his milk cow around his waist, instead of standing there holding the rope while she grazed. But the huge cow got spooked, and she bolted. Mattie was dragged and trampled, while at least a hundred people ran and screamed and tried to stop the cow. By the time it stopped, the cow had gone quite a ways, and had crashed through a fence. When people rushed in, Mattie was not breathing. He had terrible injuries. His dad was the one who untied the rope and started CPR. Help was called, but there is no hospital in the tiny town, and the helicopter seemed like it took forever. Mattie was rushed to Anchorage, but his head injuries were too severe, and he died that night.

Our community is in shock and agony. Mattie is the youngest in his family, they are a wonderful family who has been some of the biggest leaders in our 4-H family...and very active in our horse groups too. They have always raised horses, cows, sheep, pigs and llamas. We hope and pray that they can be swept up on the wings of thousands of prayers right now, prayers for their comfort, for peace, for the strength to carry on moment by moment and day by day without their precious little boy.

My mind whirls and tries to take in this unreal event. How can he be gone in the blink of an eye? How do we 4-H parents wrap our brain around the idea, before a distant possibility, now a stark reality, that our animals can kill our children? That a farm pet can destroy dreams, rip up a family, and shred hearts? Its staggering.

This is a small town, a small close-knit 4-H family. We all know and love one another. All of the children, especially, love each other and support each other, and know each other's animals by name. Its hard to imagine how each child will process this, having been there and witnessed the tragedy in person.

Please join me, this family needs our prayers. His older sister, who saw this happen, needs our prayers. Our community needs your prayers. Each child and our 4-H families and leaders need your prayers. It will be a struggle and a challenge to make sense of this, and we probably never will be able to let go of the what-ifs. Only God can give us peace when the world offers none. He promises us the peace that passes understanding, and its for situations like this that he gives us this resting place. We surely need it now.

Goodbye Mattie. Your smile will never be forgotten. You will be mourned by us always.

The New Kid on the Block

2009-08-14T01:44:00.000-07:00

Introducing "Joker"!!! He is a 6 yr old Welsh/Paint cross pony who wandered into our lives and hearts. We brought him home today for a lease-to-own try out period. We have to see if he is a good fit with our other horses, and see how he is trained. I plan to work with him quite a bit, and finish up some training too. He might be a nice guy for our Penelope.

Who could resist this face????

I think he is JUST BEAUTIFUL! I love his tri-colored body, his black mane, and his white socks. He has black knees...he does! So cute-as-a-button. He is not quite 14 hh, he is fun sized. Ha!

The gang checks him out...........

Summer is watching "his" mare quite carefully, thinks he is a stud-muffin now. What a goof. We have not started the "real' introductions yet, I will let them all snort and squeal and stomp through the fence overnight. Then tomorrow I will start by letting him meet Mukluk (the mini) and we will go from there.

See the knees? And he has some real pretty black streaks in his tail too.

Goodnight, Joker. Don't let those jealous horses get to you. Soon they will love you like we do. :)

Lex!!!!

2009-08-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

The biggest highlight of our summer was LEX coming home!!! It was so hard to believe he was really here. He has been in Germany for so long, and we were so happy to get him back with us. His Air Force tour in Europe is over, and he is now just getting settled into his new assignment in Osan, South Korea. Boy oh boy, that's a long way away too! But he will only be there for 15 months, and then he will be back in the United States for good.

Lex was stunned at how grown up his sisters have gotten, but they are never too old for him to settle right back in and start teasing them as a big brother should. It was so neat to see them all together again, out playing basketball or chasing the dogs around. Getting the five of us back together as a family made this mama go around grinning from ear to ear- its hard to explain unless you have been there...but its just this feeling that everything is exactly as it should be. And, for those days that he was back home, I didn't have to worry about him at all! :) That was a nice peaceful feeling.

Grandpa Jim was here from Washington at the same time, so "the guys" got to hang out and talk about Lex's future plans, and do a bit of flying around. Lex and Michael flew out to our cabin for an overnight trip, and Lex was happy to see the cabin again. I think it missed him too!

The days flew by and Lex had to head back to Anchorage to get ready for his flight out of the country. It was pretty hard to let him go, poor guy...he knew he would not get out of here without me bawling my eyes out...but I could not help it. Its such an emotional thing to have one of your children so far away and unreachable, out in this often strange and confusing big world. I trust the Lord to keep him safe, and I trust Lex's judgement and decision-making as well. He has grown from a boy into a man in a few short years. I miss that boy but I'm proud of this man. :)

Lex, I know you are reading this. We love you!!

August Already?

2009-08-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

I'm shaking my head that July is behind us! On the other hand, when I think of all that we have done this summer, its kind of amazing that we still have a month to do more of it! Hee hee! :)

We just did another horse show, and while it was more of a rollercoaster ride than the last one, we all had a lot of fun.

Chena was warming Whisper up in the warm-up arena, and had done several jumps, and was humming along when her horse tripped a bit, just as she was approaching a jump, and kind of fell through the wooden jump. Chena tumbled over her head, and fell, but she was not hurt. She waited for her first class, and went in the arena..but as she was riding, we could both tell Whisper was favoring her front left, and our eyes met several times as she passed by the bleachers. We both knew she was done for the day.

So Chena came out, took off her tack, and went to scratch her other seven or eight classes. I was SOOOOO PROUD of my girl. She could have argued, or tried to get me to let her ride in her trail class, or make excuses, etc. Instead, she immediately did what was best for her horse, no questions asked. Horses certainly build character in kids! Its not the first time I have seen it. As she put Whisper in a stall, and got her hay bag and water trough, I could see how determined she was not to cry or feel sorry for herself. I got so teary watching her inner strength show on the outside, I had to turn away and busy myself at the trailer.

Later, she was talking and laughing with some friends, and she asked if she could borrow a horse, just to mess around and play a bit in the warm-up arena. The friend didn't have her extra horse, but another girl heard Chena and said she could use her gelding. So Chena rode him a bit, was having some fun and I was pretty happy that she could smile and relax and play a bit. Then, her riding instructor came up to her and suggested she enter back into a few classes...just Western as the English were just about finished. Chena asked me if she could, we cleared it with the owners, and off she went! They said he was a bit stubborn, and wouldn't do well, but she could go ahead with him.

So she jumped right in there, with a strange horse she had never ridden before, and she WON second place. Wow. I know a mama's prayers were a big part of the judging, because I sat on the bleachers and asked the Lord to just let her have a bright spot in her day, so that her sacrifices would not be her only memory of the show that day. We were so excited when she came out of the ring with that beautiful ribbon, I think it will be my favorite for all time. She went on to another class, and won fourth place on him! What a fun day it turned out to be.

Chena on Whisper in her first class:

Chena on "TJ" in Western classes:

IN other news.....we are about to start our guide business field season, so Michael will basically be gone from now until the middle/end of October, with two short visits home in that time. The girls and I are used to it, but really you just can't ever truly get used to that kind of separation. We stay very busy, and I tend to just go go go as a way of coping until we are together as a family again. The last few days have been spent putting up the last of our hay, taking the Super Cub off of floats and lifting it out of the lake, and making plans for his long absence. I felt sad as I saw the Cub sitting in the lake on its last night on floats. The fireweed is getting tall too.

It means Michael will be gone soon. We try not to think about it! Tonight we are all going out for a VERY special dinner, (that story next!) and bowling/mini golf.

A few nights ago, we were sitting at the table after a late dinner, just talking. We heard a motorcycle in the driveway, but we thought it was a four-wheeler and it was friends of ours stopping by. But then we heard running footsteps, and then loud pounding on the door. We all jumped up and opened the door and there was a young man, in his twenties, and he gasped out "Please help, I'll pay you anything to help us, my girlfrend just crashed her motorcycle in the woods on the trail. I think she broke her ankle or her leg! Help please!" We all sprang into action, I grabbed blankets and pillows and was in our van and headed down our runway to the trail in just minutes, following him as he raced ahead to show me the way. I was shocked to hear her screaming all the way from our house! (its a long way)

I parked and ran down the trail, Penelope following me close behind. I could see her crumpled up in an awkward ball, but as I got close she begged me not to move her. I slipped down in the mud and bushes next to her, with my body kind of under her (she was on a slope) and I put blankets under and around her, and pillows under her head. She moaned and cried and tried to sit up but I told her to relax, and I held her hand, and got her to lay her head on me, with the pillows supporting her. She had no helmet, so I was concerned about her neck, especially. She was white as a sheet, and in shock, and she gripped my hand so tight it hurt me a bit. Then she said she was "so dizzy" and she suddenly went limp and her hand slipped out of mine, and I knew she had passed out from pain and shock. She came to screaming again. Michael had called 911 back at our house, and he rode HIS motorcycle to the end of our road to direct the ambulance in so there would be no wasted time. I told "Casey" she would be okay, I prayed with her, I stroked her hair and tried to comfort her. She was in agony, and pretty terrified as well. She told me she had heard her leg snap, and she knew it was broken. I then told her to breathe in and out slowly, and as she exhaled, she should listen for the sirens and she did as I told her....and soon we heard the sirens and the emergency vehicles started arriving.

They raced down the trail to us, and after checking her out, one of them mouthed to me over her head "Its broken", and I could see it was really bad. Her boyfriend, who had been absolutely frantic when he first came to us for help, had completely relaxed and handed her over to me, so I reminded him to get in there and hold her hand, and I climbed off the slope and we all helped take her on the stretcher to the ambulance. They had a C-collar on her by then, and stabalized her body for shock, and we could see the very bad break.

We took their two motorcycles to our house, and told her boyfriend to ride with her in the ambulance, and he could come get the bikes at anytime.

So last night, we were gone, and when we came home the bikes were gone. I was really wishing I knew how she was doing, but the hospital would not give me any information, since I was not a relative. But as we walked up to our door, I saw an envelope there. Inside was a gift certificate to our nicest restaurant here in town, and it was for $100! We were shocked. The note said thank you, but that was all. I loved the thoughtfulness of the two of them, but really we would have all preferred a note telling us she was doing okay, and how she was feeling.

Well, I'm just glad we could be there when we were needed, and that she was not hurt any worse than she was.

Tonight we are all going out for a very special dinner, compliments of "Casey" and her boyfriend. It will be a great opportunity to talk to our girls about motorcycle safety, huh?

SEA Horse Show

2009-07-31T17:19:00.000-07:00

We had lots of hot dusty fun at the horse show! I enjoyed seeing how all of our horse club members have come so far with their horses, and they show such neat teamwork. Our horse club, the North Wind Riders, had the best placings in the whole show. Cool!

Chena and Penelope entered lots of classes. Chena did mostly English classes, with lots of jumping (of course!) and Penelope entered Mukluk in Halter Geldings, and Summer in Western classes and trail class.

It was especially a HUGE treat for us, because Lex was home to see his sisters do the show! He has finished his four year tour in Germany, and is on his way to Korea next. He is amazed at how his sisters have grown up since he went away. We were all SO happy to have him there!!

Another WONDERFUL part of the show is that Michael's dad, Grandpa Jim was here from Washington!! He is a horse trainer, he breeds cutting horses, and we call him our "walking horse encyclopedia" because he is such a wealth of knowledge. I enjoy him so much, and Michael and I sit and pick his brain for hours on various horse topics.

Penelope and Mukluk in halter class

Chena and Whisper, in a cloud of dust. Kind of ethereal, huh?

Some of our horse club buddies

Chena in Western class on Whisper

Penelope in Trail class

Penelope and Mukluk with judges. She won sixth place with our little boy...

Lex and Chena

Horses lined up for judging

Penelope riding Summer in a Western Pleasure class

The Best Day

2009-07-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

Tell me something, when you get hooked on a song, do you start by loving the music, and THEN the lyrics, or do the lyrics grab a hard hold of your heart and pull you right into loving the tune?

For me, its usually the song, and then I realize I love the words too. But not this time. I bought a new Taylor Swift album, and was listening it to the first time when these words fell softly over me like a welcoming rain, and I fell deeply in love with this song. In fact, its the one you are hearing right now, on my blog. Its about mothers and daughters, and its so beautiful. Its a daughter singing about her mother. It makes me want to cry. And draw my children to me and hold them close on the couch. I don't know why exactly, except somehow it makes me feel wonderful and terrible all at the same time. It makes me search my past, my present, and my future with my precious children.

I want to be such a good mommy, and stumble along doing whatever I can. But I fail. Sometimes I could just kick myself, when at the end of the day I realize I have not been gentle enough, or patient enough, or at some point I completely lost it over something dumb. I forget to really "hear" what they are saying, and I want to really get it, you know? I want to remember what its like to be ten and twelve, and put myself in their pink polka dotted shoes, so I can truly understand. To climb a tree with them, to hear their thoughts from their point of view. To climb into their tent in the backyard at night, and listen to their secrets about boys. To feel the tender aches that they feel, and to remember how vulnerable they are to my sighs, frowns, or admonishments. To give out more praise than points to ponder.

We sure have some great times together. They are some of my favorite people. Nobody can be as silly as I am, except my children. They get me. I hope and pray that when they are all grown up, they will look back, as I do in my memories with my mother, and treasure those off beat moments of us just being us.

I am crazy about my three children, and someday, I hope they will say they had the best days with me.

The Best Day

I'm five years old its getting cold I've got, my big coat on
I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you I run and run
past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides look now, the sky is gold
I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home

I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you're not scared of anything at all
don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
but I know I had the best day with you today

I'm thirteen now and don't know how my friends, could be so mean
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys
and we drive and drive until we find a town, far enough away
and we talk and window shop 'till I forgot all their names

I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school
but I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you
don't know how long its gonna take to feel okay
but I know I had the best day with you today

I have an excellent father
his strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my little brother
inside and out he's better than I am

I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run
and I had the best days with you....

there is a video I found from back when I was three
you set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me
its the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs
and daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world

now I know why the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side even when I was wrong
and I love you for giving me your eyes
staying back and watching me shine and didn't know if you knew
so I'm taking this chance to say that I had the best day with you today

Life, Love, and Changes

2009-07-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

I know that life is about changes, but I have never been good at them. I am a sentimental fool, to a fault, and I'll keep a gum wrapper for 15 years if it has significant meaning! Yep, that bad.

So, you can imagine how it feels to me when I lose one of my animals. It hurts. I mourn, and it takes a long time for me to feel like life is okay again. But life is about changes, even when you love something. God stretches us until we think we will snap, but at the same time he holds our hand and lets us slowly catch our breath before he stretches us again in another direction.

All this to say that we are selling one of our horses.

I really love this horse. She has been a great part of our family, and I will not let her go until another family falls in love with her and shows me that she will be dear to them as she is to us.

As you can see, Winter's Whisper has kept us busy! And we have kept her busy too.

Here is a picture from Saturday's horse show. More on that later....I have lots of pics to share.

Chena won the blue ribbon for English Equitation! I'm proud of this powerful team, my daughter and this mare.

I will keep you guys updated as I struggle with this change. Life, love and changes. They combine beautifully to help make us who we are.

Home and Away

2009-07-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

Busy every day, but I promised myself I would not be a "bump on a blog" this summer, so must try to post more often!

Chena did her first exhibition run of pole bending, on Summer, and had a wonderful time. They knocked one pole down, but his turns and flying lead changes were pretty nice, and he is ready to learn. Its a 45 minute haul in the trailer, to get to the arena where they run, so we will just go once a week until fall.

We had a great time in Talkeetna when we flew there for a camping trip. Its such a fun, beautiful, and quirky little town. Of course, when you have a CAT for the town mayor, that's saying something.

Our tent was in the prettiest meadow of flowers, right next to where we tied down our Cessna 180. We like to camp near the plane.

The girls played under the railroad bridge, in the Susitna River.

We had fun walking around the town, eating icecream (it was HOT) and seeing all the historical spots. Plus people watching is a blast in Talkeetna...all the locals are pretty colorful characters! I thought this was a funny sign: Moose Gift Store. Come in and Browse. Hee hee!

and I love to look for humor around me, just bits of human nature..which provide a giggle and a grin, and capture it with my camera. This man and his little girl were so cute going by me!

I took some fun pictures of the girls out in our yard a few days ago. I got the idea from my friend Carole at Carole's Thoughtful Spot. She had her American Girl dolls all lined up in front of the tv. We had nicer weather...so we opted for out on the lawn swing! The girls dressed up as their favorite American Girl dolls. Penelope wore a "Samantha" outfit, and Chena wore a "Kirsten" outfit. They just put them together themselves, but looked quite authentic.

Here's the dolls: Molly, Elizabeth, Kiya, Nellie, Ruthie, Nicki, and Felicity..plus two minis.

and ya know I cannot resist a fun play with photo editing..

The girls and the dolls:

Chena and I went on an overnight horseback/camping trip to the Caribou Hills. Its a popular spot for winter snowmachine riding, and many people have cabins there..but no homes. We went with our horse club up there. Its about three hours from home, the furthest I have ever trailered our horses, but it all went pretty well. On the way there, 15 miles up the gravel road, I got the flattest tire you ever saw in your life. We had to unload the horses, unhitch the trailer, and fix the tire. It was a big pain, but it all turned out okay..thanks to some awful good samaritans who helped me loosen the lug nuts. I could not even budge them! Glad for the helpers...we re-hitched the trailer, loaded the horses back in, and continued up the dusty road.

The trip was a blast! Chena and I had a wonderful time together, riding and laughing, and racing each other. It was gorgeous weather, and we all loved it. There were 13 of us on the ride, and a lot of different horse breeds and personalities. My horse, Whisper, was raring to go, and she ran my legs off. Such FUN!

Caribou Hills is a high forest fire area. I love the contrast between fireweed, and fire-eaten in this picture.

Blurry with smoke, but the sky was so vivid it was stunning.This is at midnight.

Happy Trails and THE END

Independence Day!

2009-07-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

Sure was a wonderful Fourth of July! This was our 12th year of hosting our family picnic, and we just love it so much. Its amazing to see how all the children are growing and changing, and its important to me that they get together with their cousins and just have plain old good fashioned FUN. It tickles me to no end to think that someday when they are all grown up, they will have fond memories of picnics at our house, the same way I have terrific memories of yearly picnics at my aunt's house when I was a little girl.
We had volleyball, a sawdust money pit, egg hunts for the toddlers, waterballoon tosses and fights, sack races, guess-the-watermelon-weight contest, pie-eating (and smashing all over your face) contests, basketball games, wild rollercoastering, our personal petting zoo, and much more! It was so much fun to run around from one thing to the next, with my camera clicking like crazy, all the while making sure everything was running smoothly. Its worth all my organizing each year, because when it all goes off as planned its such a huge blessing to just be with my fantastic family and friends year after year at this event. I absolutely love it.
I wanted to get pictures up right away, as we have so many relatives in the states who cannot make it to all the picnics, and so guys.......this is for you! I would label each picture but it would take forever, so if you want to know who somebody is, just email me or leave it in your comments. I *think* I know everybody who was here!! LOL. Don't quote me! The little ones change so much, I spend lots of time connecting faces to their parents, and trying to remember each adorable smile!
So there you go. Sorry you missed it, my dear ones who may be reading this blog and feeling homesick for Alaska....we missed YOU TOO! Sorry you could not be here to see the whip-cream-covered toddler faces as they battled for pie eating victory, or cousins tackling cousins as payback for a shocking waterballoon full in the face, or babies falling asleep in the hammock in the shade, or little girls in matching skirts giggling wildly when a mini horse licked their sticky fingers, or a kiddo finding a dirty candy-containing egg from LAST year's hunt, or Sammi's cute new Jack Russel puppy, or "sparkler" decorated pretzels, or camera wars, or parent-child waterballoon teams, or the most adorable flower-smelling (no picking, mama said!) one year old, or the smoky face of Uncle Beaver as he managed three grills at a time, or all the sawdust-covered kiddos looking for shiny change, or the sack-racers tumbling over the finish line, or the whirlygigs on top of the cupcakes, or the shower cap on Mom's head as she fought like crazy but lost in the pie-eating contest! So there you go, world's longest sentence but hopefully it made you want to fly up and join us next year. We miss each and everyone of you.