Our friends, Joe and Jennifer Germain with 7 kids, arrived safely after their long flight from Davao, Philippines to Alaska. We picked them up in Anchorage on Tuesday and came home with a bus full! We had driven up on Monday so that we could load up on groceries at Costco, then stayed overnight at my sister and brother-in-laws house in Palmer. We had a fun evening with Charlie and Kristen, catching up with them and getting to enjoy their company. We picked up the Germains in the afternoon...it was so much fun to greet them at the airport and watch our kids immediately pick up where they left off. We all went to lunch and then a quick stop at Walmart before our drive home. The kids finished out their long journey well and seemed to just enjoy the long ride home. We put on a story for everyone to listen to and that kept them somewhat occupied for hours.
We arrived at our house at 9:30 and of course with the long days of light, who would be ready for bed? So the kids ran and played outside while we unloaded the groceries that needed to go in the freezer and then made a light dinner before bed. The kids all settled down in bed well and we enjoyed a quiet evening of catching up with Joe and Jenn.
We have spent the rest of the week just hanging out around the house...unpacking, putting things away, chatting, watching kids play, cooking, baking, doing laundry, and more... It has been enjoyable just to relax and let the kids run and play.
We celebrated Meghan's birthday yesterday, although her birthday was June 10...close enough to still celebrate!! Meghan is now 4 and all girlie...her and Alyssum have so much fun playing dolls. Alyssum was laughing and laughing today as Meghan was the mom and kept saying, "Now sweetie...."!!
We are looking forward to the time we have together over the next couple months....
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Kids Night Out
All kids like to go for a bus ride...right? Well last week our bus that we use when the Germains are here got fixed (it hadn't been running for quite awhile), so we decided to invite a few kids for a night out. We drove around town and picked up 13 kids plus we had our own 6...to make a bus full of 19 kids! We picked up nieces and nephews and friends whom we had called ahead of time. The kids were all so excited to be picked up in the bus and to have a night
out (the parents were excited to have a quiet night at home)!! Our first stop was McDonalds for ice cream, but their ice cream machine was being cleaned and wouldn't be ready for 20 minutes. So we loaded back up in the bus and headed for Bishops Beach. It had been very windy so wasn't sure if the beach would be cold, but the wind seemed to calm down for the evening and the kids had fun in the sand and water...of course!! After shoes and socks were sufficiently wet it was time to go back to McDonalds...21 ice cream cones for our large crowd. Then it was back to the bus for the return route of dropping everyone off. We all agreed that we couldn't have found a better way to spend our evening!!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Birds
We have had so much fun watching our bird feeder host lots of guests recently! We always have plenty of pine siskins and a few nuthatches, but recently we have also had pine grosbeaks and a few redpolls as well. It has been fun to identify the different types of birds and observe them as the greedily snatch the seed from the feeder. We have observed that some are neater eaters than others and some pitch the food everywhere. If you click on the bird's name it will take you to a page that identifies each bird.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Baptism
Ann Marie decided to make a public commitment to Jesus Christ by going into the waters of baptism. Ann Marie was very nervous, but did a great job! She even had to wait in the baptismal for several long minutes while Mom was still downstairs getting the younger kids to come up to watch!! The first picture is Ann Marie and Aaron (the youth pastor and her cousin) waiting, and the second is the expression Steve caught on her face just before going under!!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
The Chef
Tyler is our chef, at least it seems to be working out that way! He is always wanting to try to cook new things or wants to be given the opportunity to attempt to bake something on his own. When Tyler was pre-school age he would help me make bread except he wasn't interested in just helping me put cups of flour in my bowl, he wanted his own bowl! So we would put little bits of yeast, sugar, flour, water, etc. in his bowl and amazingly he always made a wonderful small loaf of bread. Now Tyler has moved on to bigger and better works of art in the kitchen...he can mix up two loaves of bread for our family and do most of it on his own without any help...he loves to mix up cookies or a cake...and of course pancakes for breakfast or helping out at any meal is great fun.
Well, the other day Tyler got this idea that he wanted to make up his own recipe for soup. He wanted to make it just one serving so that he could cook it up in his small camping dishes that he had gotten for his birthday last year. His plan was to be able to cook it over the fire outside. For the trial run of his recipe we decided to try it over the stove inside...
Here is Tyler's recipe:
Simple Soup (serves 1 person)
1 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
half tomato chopped (or about 1/3 can tomatoes)
1/4lb hamburger or cubed meat, cooked
chopped chives
1 beef bouillon cube
1/4 tsp. pepper
a small handful frozen corn
pinch garlic
1/8 tsp. basil
Simmer until done.
After Tyler made his soup, he ate it for dinner and we all tried a spoonful, he then decided he could add more ingredients to his soup. He did a great job and enjoyed the results!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Signs of Spring & Summer
...Green grass coming up among the dead grass of winter...piano recital...tilled soil...end of school reports...buds on the trees starting to open...grades are in...longer days of light...last day of school...boat rides...expectant mother moose wandering through our yard...kids sleeping outside in tents and forts...bear in the yard...
We have been busy with the end of school activities and the beginning of our summer fun! School ended for us this last Friday. Ann Marie, Ethan, and Tyler had piano recitals the previous week and they all did so well on their pieces. The kids finished well this year for school and even though we were gone for several months in the middle of the school year we still managed to finish on time. This last month we changed our schedule for school and did alot of work on our Geography that we had been working on. It was alot of fun for all of us to focus on one subject mainly and to learn alot about US geography as well as many early American explorers. We celebrated the end of the school year on Friday with a picnic and I handed out certificates for completion!
Steve is out the door every morning by 6 to give his crews the run down for the day. The warmth of summer has been a little slow in coming so his crews haven't been too busy...yet! Next week he will be picking up 8,000 annual flower plants to be planted by the end of the week, after they are hardened off. The older kids get to get in the action when it is planting time...watering flats and flats of plants, planting, and just helping out wherever they can. The green grass and the little green leaves starting to bud o
ut on the trees is always such a wonderful sight this time of year.
Last weekend we got to go on the maiden voyage of my dad's new boat, Cyane...an aluminum landing craft. We took a quick ride over to Sadie Cove to look for mountain goats and bears on the mountain sides. We didn't see any bears, but had fun finding the white dots of mountain goats perched on the edge of the rock faces. Because my dad's boat is a landing craft we got to experience the fun of pulling up to a beach and running down the ramp onto the beach to do a little beach combing. The wind was terribly cold so our fun was short lived, but the shells the kids collected were beautiful especially since it was beach rarely stepped on by human feet. We zipped back across the bay and we all got a turn at the wheel. I'm sure there will be more fun adventures on the Cyane this summer.
Every spring the boys can hardly wait for the weather to get warm enough so that they can sleep outside in their small tent on the lawn. They slept their first night last weekend and then put the tent away until school was over. So Friday night once again the tent came out, except this time Kailee and Alyssum got to take their turn at sleeping outside...they were a couple excited little girls! (Mom wasn't so thrilled with her precious little girls sleeping outside, but Dad reminded her that the boys slept outside at that age!) So the girls slept in the tent and the boys slept in their fort or "cabin" as they like to call it. It is actually a very nice fort with an upstairs carpeted area for sleeping...many Filipinos would probably call it home if it were in the Philippines! The kids slept great outside and no one came in complaining of being afraid! Saturday night everyone wanted a repeat, but we decided the girls needed to stay inside for the night and the boys could sleep in their fort. Little did we know how important that decision was...at 10:30pm we heard a loud banging outside the window as the lid to our homemade dumpster came crashing down! At first we couldn't figure out why the boys were in the garbage, but soon realized it was not the boys. A beautiful black bear was looking for a midnight snack!! Seeing a black bear in our yard really wouldn't have been a big deal except the boys were sleeping in their fort just over the side of the hill. We haven't had a black bear in our yard since we built our house in 1996, and we were sure surprised to see one! Steve went outside and chased it off just by clapping his hands, although the bear was rather reluctant to leave his find. Steve then went down and woke up the boys who were not too alarmed, but were bummed that they missed seeing the bear. They are really hoping it will show up again so they can see it this time!! Boys!! And sorry to say, but in all the excitement I forgot to take a picture...oh well.
So now we are off and running as our summer officially begins since we are finished with school...camping trips, bike rides, gardening, playing at the river, and just fun in the sun are on the schedule for the summer.
We have been busy with the end of school activities and the beginning of our summer fun! School ended for us this last Friday. Ann Marie, Ethan, and Tyler had piano recitals the previous week and they all did so well on their pieces. The kids finished well this year for school and even though we were gone for several months in the middle of the school year we still managed to finish on time. This last month we changed our schedule for school and did alot of work on our Geography that we had been working on. It was alot of fun for all of us to focus on one subject mainly and to learn alot about US geography as well as many early American explorers. We celebrated the end of the school year on Friday with a picnic and I handed out certificates for completion!
Steve is out the door every morning by 6 to give his crews the run down for the day. The warmth of summer has been a little slow in coming so his crews haven't been too busy...yet! Next week he will be picking up 8,000 annual flower plants to be planted by the end of the week, after they are hardened off. The older kids get to get in the action when it is planting time...watering flats and flats of plants, planting, and just helping out wherever they can. The green grass and the little green leaves starting to bud o
ut on the trees is always such a wonderful sight this time of year.Last weekend we got to go on the maiden voyage of my dad's new boat, Cyane...an aluminum landing craft. We took a quick ride over to Sadie Cove to look for mountain goats and bears on the mountain sides. We didn't see any bears, but had fun finding the white dots of mountain goats perched on the edge of the rock faces. Because my dad's boat is a landing craft we got to experience the fun of pulling up to a beach and running down the ramp onto the beach to do a little beach combing. The wind was terribly cold so our fun was short lived, but the shells the kids collected were beautiful especially since it was beach rarely stepped on by human feet. We zipped back across the bay and we all got a turn at the wheel. I'm sure there will be more fun adventures on the Cyane this summer.
Every spring the boys can hardly wait for the weather to get warm enough so that they can sleep outside in their small tent on the lawn. They slept their first night last weekend and then put the tent away until school was over. So Friday night once again the tent came out, except this time Kailee and Alyssum got to take their turn at sleeping outside...they were a couple excited little girls! (Mom wasn't so thrilled with her precious little girls sleeping outside, but Dad reminded her that the boys slept outside at that age!) So the girls slept in the tent and the boys slept in their fort or "cabin" as they like to call it. It is actually a very nice fort with an upstairs carpeted area for sleeping...many Filipinos would probably call it home if it were in the Philippines! The kids slept great outside and no one came in complaining of being afraid! Saturday night everyone wanted a repeat, but we decided the girls needed to stay inside for the night and the boys could sleep in their fort. Little did we know how important that decision was...at 10:30pm we heard a loud banging outside the window as the lid to our homemade dumpster came crashing down! At first we couldn't figure out why the boys were in the garbage, but soon realized it was not the boys. A beautiful black bear was looking for a midnight snack!! Seeing a black bear in our yard really wouldn't have been a big deal except the boys were sleeping in their fort just over the side of the hill. We haven't had a black bear in our yard since we built our house in 1996, and we were sure surprised to see one! Steve went outside and chased it off just by clapping his hands, although the bear was rather reluctant to leave his find. Steve then went down and woke up the boys who were not too alarmed, but were bummed that they missed seeing the bear. They are really hoping it will show up again so they can see it this time!! Boys!! And sorry to say, but in all the excitement I forgot to take a picture...oh well.
So now we are off and running as our summer officially begins since we are finished with school...camping trips, bike rides, gardening, playing at the river, and just fun in the sun are on the schedule for the summer.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Life just keeps going...
After three weeks of silence I suppose it's about time I write on here again! We have now been home almost a month...kind of hard to believe! Where has the time gone!?
The first week home the three older kids had the SBA testing required by the homeschool program we are signed up with. We did a day of practice testing at home, and then they spent the rest of the week with other students in their grade and a teacher giving the tests. They all seemed to enjoy the break from regular school! It also gave me a chance to finish getting things put away at the house and get myself organized again for school and life!
The next week we were off and running with school every day, speech therapy for Adams, piano lessons, writing class, and a few doctor appointments thrown in there just for fun! Adams had an ear infection that wasn't really bothering him a whole lot, but it was affecting his hearing. So we got him on antibiotics and it cleared up...he seems to be able to hear so much better now! Ann Marie and I both got hit hard last weekend with a nasty virus...she ended up with strep throat and I had a bad cold with lots of congestion. We ran her to the doctor as well and got her started on meds. Her throat was so painfully sore for many days, but she is doing much better now. I had a tiring week of fighting my cold and I still haven't kicked it completely...it just seems to want to keep hanging on. Maybe a little more rest might help, but I always seem to come up short on that! Amidst Ann Marie and I getting sick we also discovered that we had brought lice home with us! Such nice little friends they are to make their homes on several heads! So began our week of shampooing and picking lice out of the hair...fun, fun, and not like I had anything better to do with my time! But I believe we won this battle and hopefully the lice are gone for good! I think they were enjoying our company more than we were enjoying theirs! :)
Spring finally feels like it is in the air, and maybe summer might be not too far away. The last several weeks we were wondering if winter would ever leave us as we watched the snow continue to fall and such cold frosty mornings! We were bundled up with sweaters and wool socks just to stay warm as we did our school work each day! The kids are so glad for the warm sunshine, the longer days, and the melting snow. With the melting snow brings LOTS of mud which inturn brings muddy boots, coats, pants, and kids! Oh well...summer will soon be here, right?!?
The first week home the three older kids had the SBA testing required by the homeschool program we are signed up with. We did a day of practice testing at home, and then they spent the rest of the week with other students in their grade and a teacher giving the tests. They all seemed to enjoy the break from regular school! It also gave me a chance to finish getting things put away at the house and get myself organized again for school and life!
The next week we were off and running with school every day, speech therapy for Adams, piano lessons, writing class, and a few doctor appointments thrown in there just for fun! Adams had an ear infection that wasn't really bothering him a whole lot, but it was affecting his hearing. So we got him on antibiotics and it cleared up...he seems to be able to hear so much better now! Ann Marie and I both got hit hard last weekend with a nasty virus...she ended up with strep throat and I had a bad cold with lots of congestion. We ran her to the doctor as well and got her started on meds. Her throat was so painfully sore for many days, but she is doing much better now. I had a tiring week of fighting my cold and I still haven't kicked it completely...it just seems to want to keep hanging on. Maybe a little more rest might help, but I always seem to come up short on that! Amidst Ann Marie and I getting sick we also discovered that we had brought lice home with us! Such nice little friends they are to make their homes on several heads! So began our week of shampooing and picking lice out of the hair...fun, fun, and not like I had anything better to do with my time! But I believe we won this battle and hopefully the lice are gone for good! I think they were enjoying our company more than we were enjoying theirs! :)
Spring finally feels like it is in the air, and maybe summer might be not too far away. The last several weeks we were wondering if winter would ever leave us as we watched the snow continue to fall and such cold frosty mornings! We were bundled up with sweaters and wool socks just to stay warm as we did our school work each day! The kids are so glad for the warm sunshine, the longer days, and the melting snow. With the melting snow brings LOTS of mud which inturn brings muddy boots, coats, pants, and kids! Oh well...summer will soon be here, right?!?
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