Friday, April 30, 2010
Monica Spoils Us!
Monica does a great job bringing our house back into a condition fit for living in every other week. She also spoils Zach and Sam. Tonight we got home to find a clean house and a fun tent with attached tunnel tube. The boys were really excited about their new play place. Thanks Monica!
Career Day
It was career dress-up day at Zach's school. He went as an airline pilot! Isn't he handsome.
After school, Zach came over to Halliburton with me for a little. He stopped in by Donna' office, his favorite person, to say hello. I think Donna has a thing for guys in uniform!
After school, Zach came over to Halliburton with me for a little. He stopped in by Donna' office, his favorite person, to say hello. I think Donna has a thing for guys in uniform! Thursday, April 29, 2010
A Full Bed
Zach always has his friends all tucked into bed with him while Sam is just good with having random stuff!
Let There be Light!
Now that the boat is at our house, it is time to work on all the projects. The front hatch had a self repair job involving duck tape due to previous owners having had an air conditioner in the hatch. Doug installed a new hatch.....a big job, but it looks and works great!
Summer is coming, bring on the dogs!
You know summer is on the way when a line starts to form for the reindeer dog cart downtown! A great place to walk to for lunch!
Construction Update
I was up in Prudhoe Bay on Wednesday and Thursday, the pilings for our two new buildings are almost complete!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Billy and Aimee Fish
Billy and Aimee are back from Vermont for a week or so. They came over for dinner last night and to watch LOST! We had such a good time with them that we forgot to take a picture! We are so excited that they are most likely moving back to Alaska from Vermont this summer!
They stopped by Doug's work on Wednesday to drop off a Ben & Jerry's pin for his birthday vest and a bottle of REAL maple syrup from Vermont. We can't wait to see them more this summer!
They stopped by Doug's work on Wednesday to drop off a Ben & Jerry's pin for his birthday vest and a bottle of REAL maple syrup from Vermont. We can't wait to see them more this summer!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Austrian Flag
Zach was beaming ear to ear when I picked him up today and for good reason! Around his neck was the Austrian flag! He earned the flag by speaking 20 days of only German in the German 1/2 of his school day! Way to go Zach!
Monday, April 26, 2010
It is HARD to be 2
It is SO hard to be 2. I am not sure if the terrible twos are harder on Sam or us! This outburst came about when his REALLY dirty shirt had to be removed after dinner time. Another shirt was just not as good as the one that he had been wearing!
J-E-L-L-O
I headed out early this morning to be at the Pilates One Studio by 7 am. Cecile and I are in a two week "Pilates Bootcamp" class which is Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 7 -8:45 am. It is fun to have a friend to do the class with. The boys were just getting up as I was leaving. Their clothes were laid out, lunches made, breakfast casserole in the refrigerator, should be easy on Doug.
After work, Zach and I took the car to a new car wash I had seen this morning. There was a Grand Opening special of $5, just my price!
We then stopped by Carrs to get a few groceries before heading to get Sam and then go home. Zach liked this cardboard display that looks like a gas grill. As we were walking around Zach mentioned that I had forgotten to put the orange Jello we made into his lunch. He then told me "but, that is a alright, I had some for breakfast." I asked if he also had the breakfast casserole - nope just Jello. Doug was quite surprised that I knew that little secret, apparently everyone laid in bed a little too long and then didn't have time to heat up casserole. A container of Jello at 10 calories is not enough for breakfast! Zach burns more than that just getting out of the car! No matter how much I prepare, some mornings it just doesn't work!
We passed Doug on Bridgeview so he turned around to say hi. He was heading off to get the boat from the maintenance shop. Zach hopped in with him and Sam stayed with me. Sam looked so handsome in his new rummage sale sweater. Busy night!
After work, Zach and I took the car to a new car wash I had seen this morning. There was a Grand Opening special of $5, just my price!
We then stopped by Carrs to get a few groceries before heading to get Sam and then go home. Zach liked this cardboard display that looks like a gas grill. As we were walking around Zach mentioned that I had forgotten to put the orange Jello we made into his lunch. He then told me "but, that is a alright, I had some for breakfast." I asked if he also had the breakfast casserole - nope just Jello. Doug was quite surprised that I knew that little secret, apparently everyone laid in bed a little too long and then didn't have time to heat up casserole. A container of Jello at 10 calories is not enough for breakfast! Zach burns more than that just getting out of the car! No matter how much I prepare, some mornings it just doesn't work!We passed Doug on Bridgeview so he turned around to say hi. He was heading off to get the boat from the maintenance shop. Zach hopped in with him and Sam stayed with me. Sam looked so handsome in his new rummage sale sweater. Busy night!1% for the Arts
The Anchorage Museum renovation is required to spend a portion of money on the arts. A large statue like structure was erected the past couple of days in front of the museum. The verdict is still out, we still haven't decided if we like it or not.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
It Got Quiet in Here
I was making dinner and Sam was having a snack at the kitchen table. All of a sudden it got real quiet in here. Doug and Zach had been out 4-wheeling with Dustin & Ian this afternoon. All that fresh air must have worn them out, they were fast asleep on the air bed in the living room!
Bird 4-wheeling
It was a nice day so Doug & Zach, Dustin & Ian headed south for an afternoon of 4-wheeling and playing in the snow.
Fancy New Clothes for Church
We arrived at church early today as we had signed up to be greeters. Several of the ladies involved in the rummage sale were having coffee as we walked in. We all had to show off our "new" outfits from the rummage sale.
(L-R) Barbara Knapp had on her new blazer, I had on my new spring flower skirt (it really is great, I like it a lot), Debbie Pintsch (Zach's favorite person at church) had on a pink and white pok-a-dot sweater, Henretta Smay had on a new sweater and Zach had on a rugby shirt. Henretta and her husband, Bob, are two of the original founders of our church. They have 7 children, 22 grandchildren & 17 great-grandchildren! They are great people and do a lot at the church, I often wonder if they ever leave the building as they are there whenever I am there!
We took the east doors and greeted everyone as they came in. Even Doug got into the rummage sale spirit by wearing his new L.L. Bean gray fleece vest. Doug and Zach took one side of the doors.
Sam and I took the other side. We brought Sam's stroller so that we could greet everyone without having to chase down or hold a 2 year old! Sam looked quite smart in his new red sweater, 1 of 5 sweaters he got for the next couple years. During the church service it was announced that the sale made $2,200 for mission projects. As Debbie said "$2,200; one dime at a time"; with our cheap prices we moved a lot of stuff to make $2,200! Then all of us who wore our rummage sale finds stood up to show them off. A little fashion show!
During rummage sale clean-up, Zach had put the above ring toss game into his take home bag. I didn't really know what it was at the time, so didn't check that all the pieces were there. We got home and sure enough we didn't have part of it. I remembered the white plastic stakes and knew that they had been packed with other toys in a rattan basket. After church, we went out to the Arc of Anchorage truck and slid open the huge back door. We were quite fortunate that the basket was on top, but in the middle of the truck. Doug saved the day by reaching it and we found the missing parts! For some reason it felt as if we were dumpster diving. I had to silently laugh when another family showed up at the truck looking for part of a K-nex construction set. I knew what they were looking for, but they weren't going to be as lucky as us - the box they needed was on the bottom near the front of the truck -perhaps they can contact the people unloading the truck at the other end!
(L-R) Barbara Knapp had on her new blazer, I had on my new spring flower skirt (it really is great, I like it a lot), Debbie Pintsch (Zach's favorite person at church) had on a pink and white pok-a-dot sweater, Henretta Smay had on a new sweater and Zach had on a rugby shirt. Henretta and her husband, Bob, are two of the original founders of our church. They have 7 children, 22 grandchildren & 17 great-grandchildren! They are great people and do a lot at the church, I often wonder if they ever leave the building as they are there whenever I am there!
We took the east doors and greeted everyone as they came in. Even Doug got into the rummage sale spirit by wearing his new L.L. Bean gray fleece vest. Doug and Zach took one side of the doors.
Sam and I took the other side. We brought Sam's stroller so that we could greet everyone without having to chase down or hold a 2 year old! Sam looked quite smart in his new red sweater, 1 of 5 sweaters he got for the next couple years. During the church service it was announced that the sale made $2,200 for mission projects. As Debbie said "$2,200; one dime at a time"; with our cheap prices we moved a lot of stuff to make $2,200! Then all of us who wore our rummage sale finds stood up to show them off. A little fashion show!
During rummage sale clean-up, Zach had put the above ring toss game into his take home bag. I didn't really know what it was at the time, so didn't check that all the pieces were there. We got home and sure enough we didn't have part of it. I remembered the white plastic stakes and knew that they had been packed with other toys in a rattan basket. After church, we went out to the Arc of Anchorage truck and slid open the huge back door. We were quite fortunate that the basket was on top, but in the middle of the truck. Doug saved the day by reaching it and we found the missing parts! For some reason it felt as if we were dumpster diving. I had to silently laugh when another family showed up at the truck looking for part of a K-nex construction set. I knew what they were looking for, but they weren't going to be as lucky as us - the box they needed was on the bottom near the front of the truck -perhaps they can contact the people unloading the truck at the other end! During the sale, I had looked at an air mattress in a nice blue bag. It was from the family moving out of state. I didn't know when we would use an air mattress as we don't tent camp anymore, so left it for someone else to take. It didn't sell....unless you looked in the bag, you wouldn't have known what it was. The air mattress was sitting in the Arc of Anchorage truck, so we took it home with us. It is great....plugs into the wall and has its own built in blower. It holds air just fine and came with a nice flannel cover. It will work well in the backyard play house loft when Zach and Doug sleep out there! A little padding will be so much better than the plywood floor!
Sam looks like he is doing one of my yoga moves in the picture above.....he does it with so little effort! If only I could lift my legs up like that!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Hard at Work
Doug has been hard at work this weekend getting the camper ready for summer. He moved the camper into the middle stall of the garage so we can easily move it in and out. The electrical system got damaged last summer. We suspect it happened on the bouncy drive to McCarthy. Doug looked at it, but wasn't able to fix it. I think we will just take it to the guys doing the boat preventative maintenance. Pick up the boat and drop off the trailer!
The back 1/2 of the garage is all lined up with projects for the boat. Doug is going to be busy this week!
The back 1/2 of the garage is all lined up with projects for the boat. Doug is going to be busy this week!Beautiful Evening
Doug had been working in the garage all day on the camper. Our first trip out is May 15; we have 5 sites reserved and are going with a group of friends. We plan to celebrate Zach's 6th birthday that weekend. The evening was so beautiful that Doug took a break to take Zach and Sam outside for some fun. He got the "bubble gun" working and Zach filled the air with bubbles for Sam to pop. It was a nice evening to sit on the deck, bask in the sun and read a magazine while the kids played.
Rummage Sale Clean-Up
I left the house on Saturday morning with all 3 boys still asleep in their beds. I stopped by the church to return a few items we decided weren't going to work for us and then met Robin for our 90 minute yoga class. It was a good way to start off the weekend - stretching and "letting our minds go"!
Zach headed over to church with me at 3:30 pm to start the clean-up. The sale had gone well and there was a noticeable dent in the quantity. Everyone grabbed some boxes and started taking the material outside to the Arc of Anchorage truck. Zach found a few things he wanted and I took some of the nice holiday decorations for the Halliburton camp in Prudhoe Bay.
Zach was helping Debbie take a few things upstairs. He thought it was pretty fun to look out the upper window into the gym and say hi to me. I didn't even realize there was a small upstairs area; storage for church items. The Christmas trees are up there, fully decorated! Now that is what I want, a place to store a complete tree fully decorated, set-up would be SO easy!!
Total clean-up time.....about 45 minutes! I wish set-up went that quick!
Friday, April 23, 2010
St John Church Rummage Sale!
It had been a long and busy week at work, I was looking forward to Friday afternoon and a little "girl time". That is, time with the ladies from church setting up the church rummage sale. Doug and I hadn't been organized enough to get all of our boxes to church this week, so we loaded them into my car on Thursday night....there was barely room for me and Sam in his car seat. I dropped our load off at the church early on Friday, went to work for a few hours and then took the afternoon off to help set-up.
The amount of stuff was incredible! It is so much fun to set-up with the others, we laugh about a great find or wonder why someone would have even brought something in. There is something for everyone! I worked on setting up the kids section. There were so many little small toys - McDonald toys, cars, figurines, etc. Zach's teachers are always seeking donations of these "trinkets" for the "good kid" Friday treasure chest. As we unpacked, I threw all the little items into a box, the teachers should be well stocked for next year! I also found three paint trays that will be useful for the summer painting projects at the school.
We had it pretty well set-up by the time I left at 5 pm. For the best selection it is key to work the set-up. As I have now learned, during set-up....the volunteers purchase a bunch of stuff, we pulled some items for the upcoming mission trip to Cameron, the Love, Inc. group (faith based charity in town) came and took most of the furniture, and many of the really nice items got put away for our fall auction. After that, the remaining massive quantity of material is open to the public on Saturday morning at 9 am.
There was no shortage of holiday decorations!
The car was packed on the way to the church and about 1/2 full on the way home! There was something fun for everyone. Doug and I scored with a fold-up double camp chair with cup holders and storage in between the seats. Someone who enjoyed the outdoors was moving from Alaska; a fish net, Helly Hansen rain coat set (for visitors), neoprene fishing waders, fleece waders for warmth while fishing & neo over boots came home for Doug. His finds were in mint condition!
Zach enjoyed this guitar, but Doug determined that it goes to a Nintendo game, which we have no intention of getting, so I took the guitar back to the sale on Saturday morning.
Doug, Zach & Sam all got ski goggles. Doug's were new in the package!
Zach enjoyed his new books and a construction set that you put marbles in.
Someone brought in their DVD collection. I found a few good ones that we hadn't seen or the kids would enjoy. No need for us to rent a movie for a while!
A neat book: Sam and the Firefly
Sam loves Matchbox cars and has two little city set-ups that fold up into a little case, pull them open and the set-up pops up. I had found two of them at the rummage sale last year and this year scored a Mickey Mouse Club one. Sam was pretty excited when he saw it in the car, he knew right away what it was!
Zach liked his new Pilot hat and a friend who also has a navigator hat and goggles on!
The bed tent was a fun find! The tent fits a twin size bed and has elastic straps on each corner that slip under the mattress. It is nice in that there is no floor, so the sheets and comforter can be used. The sides have large areas of mesh to let the tent breathe.
Zach and Sam thought the tent was A-OK!
I scored a pair of Tubbs snowshoes and Zach now has a pair of Atlas ones. Again, from the family moving out of state. The "tradition" for those of us from the church is to find an outfit during the sale and wear it to church the next Sunday. So, you will have to wait until Sunday to see our new outfits on the blog! I was thrilled to find a new pair of black Dansko and maroon Troentorps in my size; neither pair had been worn! Apparently someone bought them and then didn't like them. I also found two nice pairs of high heel shoes and a few clothing items for work. It was a fun afternoon!! I hope the sale goes well tomorrow.
The amount of stuff was incredible! It is so much fun to set-up with the others, we laugh about a great find or wonder why someone would have even brought something in. There is something for everyone! I worked on setting up the kids section. There were so many little small toys - McDonald toys, cars, figurines, etc. Zach's teachers are always seeking donations of these "trinkets" for the "good kid" Friday treasure chest. As we unpacked, I threw all the little items into a box, the teachers should be well stocked for next year! I also found three paint trays that will be useful for the summer painting projects at the school.
We had it pretty well set-up by the time I left at 5 pm. For the best selection it is key to work the set-up. As I have now learned, during set-up....the volunteers purchase a bunch of stuff, we pulled some items for the upcoming mission trip to Cameron, the Love, Inc. group (faith based charity in town) came and took most of the furniture, and many of the really nice items got put away for our fall auction. After that, the remaining massive quantity of material is open to the public on Saturday morning at 9 am.
There was no shortage of holiday decorations!
The car was packed on the way to the church and about 1/2 full on the way home! There was something fun for everyone. Doug and I scored with a fold-up double camp chair with cup holders and storage in between the seats. Someone who enjoyed the outdoors was moving from Alaska; a fish net, Helly Hansen rain coat set (for visitors), neoprene fishing waders, fleece waders for warmth while fishing & neo over boots came home for Doug. His finds were in mint condition!
Zach enjoyed this guitar, but Doug determined that it goes to a Nintendo game, which we have no intention of getting, so I took the guitar back to the sale on Saturday morning.
Doug, Zach & Sam all got ski goggles. Doug's were new in the package!
Zach enjoyed his new books and a construction set that you put marbles in.
Someone brought in their DVD collection. I found a few good ones that we hadn't seen or the kids would enjoy. No need for us to rent a movie for a while!
A neat book: Sam and the Firefly
Sam loves Matchbox cars and has two little city set-ups that fold up into a little case, pull them open and the set-up pops up. I had found two of them at the rummage sale last year and this year scored a Mickey Mouse Club one. Sam was pretty excited when he saw it in the car, he knew right away what it was!
Zach liked his new Pilot hat and a friend who also has a navigator hat and goggles on!
The bed tent was a fun find! The tent fits a twin size bed and has elastic straps on each corner that slip under the mattress. It is nice in that there is no floor, so the sheets and comforter can be used. The sides have large areas of mesh to let the tent breathe.
Zach and Sam thought the tent was A-OK!
I scored a pair of Tubbs snowshoes and Zach now has a pair of Atlas ones. Again, from the family moving out of state. The "tradition" for those of us from the church is to find an outfit during the sale and wear it to church the next Sunday. So, you will have to wait until Sunday to see our new outfits on the blog! I was thrilled to find a new pair of black Dansko and maroon Troentorps in my size; neither pair had been worn! Apparently someone bought them and then didn't like them. I also found two nice pairs of high heel shoes and a few clothing items for work. It was a fun afternoon!! I hope the sale goes well tomorrow.
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