Scrub A Dub-Dub

Two very dirty kids needed a soak! They had fun playing with some new rubber ducks that we found at the church sale.

Monica gave us this poinsettia the first Christmas she cleaned for us. It still turns red every year (in April) and does well sitting on the corner of the bath tub, but is looking a little weak. Might be time for a new plant.

Outside Snack

Today had been slightly cool, but a good day for Zach and Sam to play outside. This evening they had an evening snack outside. Spring is here and summer is on the way! We can't wait!

The boat comes out of storage this week....then the warm weather can definitely begin!

A Royal Wedding

The Royal wedding of William and Kate would be happening today at 2 am Alaska time. I had no plans to be up at 2 am for the television coverage. Thank goodness for a DVR, I set the programming and knew that we would enjoy the wedding so much more being able to fast forward all the commercials and commentary.

Laurie made a super dinner of moose spaghetti and salad and came over for the official Huntman viewing! Sam was so excited for Lake to be coming.

Karl came after work and was mobbed by four kids the moment he walked in the door.

After dinner we watched the show. The DVR had recorded for the wedding program 4 hours of material. Via fast forward we watched what we wanted to see in about 2 hours. The kids had no interest in the wedding. I thought that Nora might be a little more interested in the prince and princess, but Flying Birds on the I-Pod was much more entertaining! We hope the best for William and Kate.

Nora also did exceptionally well at the church rummage sale today. Laurie had asked me to look for shoes and sweaters. Several nice outfits came home with us. 2 pairs of black Buster Brown dress shoes and the best deal for her of the day, a brand new, in the box pair of sheep skin winter boots. She will be dressed in style next winter!

A fun evening. Not quite too restful as the kids weren't entertained by the show and decided to get a little over energized and LOUD. I should have just sent Zach to bed as he got over stimulated and a little crazy! Tomorrow is the weekend, so time to sleep in! I think this house needs it!

Best Day of the Year!

Oh, the church rummage sale should be a holiday, a day off from work, a day that your so excited about you can't sleep the night before. Ok, so maybe not....but it is still a fun day! I took Friday afternoon off to go and help set-up for the event. LOTS of good stuff leaves with those fortunate to spot it first during set-up.

I went to get Zach after school and he came over to help for a hour of set-up. Really he just spent his time going from table to table inspecting everything.

There was a fun set of G.I. Joe type guys with a plane, boat, motorcycle and ATV type vehicle. Sam would enjoy them, especially the boat.

SCORE! I was working on the set-up of the kid's section when I spotted them. Two grocery bags of Lego's! It was fun to sort through them when we got home.

Sam and the G.I. Joe boat.

This was my bargain of the day. A tub of new in the packages napkins for all sorts of holidays and events. Will be great for entertaining!

Zach was the big winner today! In addition to the Lego's he also got Rossignol skis with the REI maintenance sticker still on them. A high dollar ticket item to purchase at the store. He will be set now with bigger skis for next year! Ready for the slopes!

Zach also got 4 pairs of shoes. I don't know how he is so hard on his shoes, but I was thrilled to find some good pairs in his size. Sketcher crocks, Sketcher light-up running shoes, Merrill slip-ons and a pair of water boots. Score! I love a good bargain.

This crazy soft side lunch box was too cute to pass up. It looks like it has a fish tail coming out of the top of it. It will be perfect for Zach and Sam to transport and keep their Matchbox cars in on the boat this summer.

I picked up a Woolrich sweater, Patagonia shirt, Ralph Lauren top and an Anne Taylor blazer. A few fun new things for work for cheap! They were all in great condition....how exciting.

I hope the sale goes well tomorrow. 365 days to wait until the next one!

Just Like Daddy

Today is Career Dress Up Day at Zach's school. I asked him what he wanted to dress up as. No doubt about it - a landfill worker. I asked him why and he responded that he wants to help clean-up garbage and train people in landfills. He can start now by taking out the trash in our house....every Tuesday!

I am glad to see that Zach enjoys hearing about Doug's job. The trips to Bethel, Dillingham and the remote villages are interesting to Zach. He has seen enough pictures from Doug's trips to be able to visualize what he does.

On the flip side, Doug and I realized Zach has no idea what I do for Halliburton when he told his teachers that I am a nurse! Zach sees the evening/weekend calls about someone being injured or the very few times that I have had to meet someone at the doctor's office or hospital. Landfills are much more exciting!

Jean overalls, a blue shirt, hard hat, safety goggles, a recycle button....and the best part, a name tag that was one of Doug's business cards. Zach loved the outfit, he was pretty "cool" at school with a hard hat on!

Easter Bunny Training Camp Confirmation

Ever since watching the movie HOP last Friday, we have been giving Zach a hard time about the Easter Bunny and our role in the Easter egg/basket activities. He so wants to believe, but realizes that it is Mom who does the baskets and puts out the eggs. I have been telling him that I went to Easter Bunny training camp to learn the proper procedures for helping the Easter Bunny. He didn't believe me and was asking me questions about the Easter Island statues and what I had seen in the manufacturing plant below them.

Well, I didn't have all the answers....nor did I have proof of being there. But Grandma and Grandpa did! They HAVE been to Easter Island and had photos to prove it. We called them over dinner and they promised to e-mail some pictures. I printed them and had them ready when I picked up Zach from school. He studied them for quite a while. He never really did say much about it, just "humm, very interesting - this one does look like the entrance. Did they push the secret button?". I haven't pushed the case too much but now really want to know what he is thinking. We explained that Grandma and Grandpa weren't allowed to take photos inside. He so wants to believe!

And here they are.....at Easter Island!

Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people. It is a World Heritage Site (as determined by UNESCO) with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. In recent times the island has served as a cautionary tale about the cultural and environmental dangers of overexploitation. Ethnographers and archaeologists also blame diseases carried by European colonizers and slave raiding of the 1860s for devastating the local peoples.

IHOP and H2Oasis

Both Doug and I travel enough that we both have our routines with Zach and Sam when we are "single parents." And, just for the record, single parents are my heroes - I couldn't and wouldn't want to be one....my goodness, I need a break every now and then!

Tonight was one of those "I need a break" nights. So, we headed to IHOP so someone else would make dinner, do the dishes, wipe up the table and vacuum the floor. Plus, in April, kids eat free. I am all into that! We had eggs and pancakes and everyone was very happy.

As we were leaving the restaurant, Sammy was making sure to say hello to every table we passed. An elderly couple at one table were enjoying watching the boys (thank goodness they were good at dinner). The man told me as we were leaving to "enjoy them as time passes quickly". Yes it does.....but, I thought to myself...except when I am constantly cleaning or cleaning up after...or directing/correcting these little guys. Time sometimes is "tick -pause - tick - pause".

H2Oasis is less than a mile away. In hindsight, I should have checked to see when our pass expired. It expired on April 15th, so we won't be swimming anymore. The girl at the counter couldn't find our name on the list, but let us in anyway. I guess just a bonus swim, I am glad we all enjoyed it.

The trip was somewhat self serving as tonight was bath night. I was able to soap them up and put pajamas on at H2Oasis. The house stayed fairly clean today as we didn't eat dinner there or bathe there. It was reading time and bed time once we got home, so little time to pull all the toys out. How do single parents do it??

Evening Walks

It has been nice the past couple of days, so we have been taking advantage of the evenings being light and getting outside. The stream under the bridge is melting, so that is our destination - we have to keep check on the ice melt progress. Zach rides his bike, Sam gets pushed on his and Squeak does her best to wander back and forth in front of both of them to ensure someone gets tripped up or the line on her lease gets wrapped in a bicycle tire. It is almost too much for one mortal mother....good thing I have super powers somewhere deep within!

Rolling down the neighbor's hill. Slightly wet and muddy grass....more laundry!

Bad News

As we were heading back to Anchorage, we called Papa and Mema Huntman to wish them a Happy Easter. Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, Louise had a cornea transplant due to a long battle with eye damage from shingles several years ago.

Phil answered our call and told us that she was at the hospital in the ICU. Both Doug and I naturally immediately assumed something happened with the cornea transplant. The news was much worse, her intestines were blocked and seepage was occurring.

After a few very concerning hours, we had to make a decision on a trip to Florida. It was now 8 pm our time and the next flight left at 1:30 am. Doug called his boss, Lori, and Ted, his co-instructor this week for the Dillingham RALO. Ted came over about 9 pm to collect the presentation and training materials. We got Doug packed and the taxi came at 11 pm for him.

We are so concerned for Louise and keeping her in our thoughts. She will have surgery tonight and we should know more tomorrow. Doug will be there at 5 pm Florida time. It will be good for him to be there to support both his Dad and Mom.

Easter on Top of a Mountain

We were at Alyeska a few weeks ago and saw that they had a sunrise church service on the top of the mountain. Being adventurous types we thought that we might check it out. We've made a tradition of going to the resort for Christmas, and have always had a great time. Plus, the Easter service includes a free tram ride to the top of the mountain. Let's give it a try!!

The sunrise was beautiful as we were pulling out of our neighborhood!

The service was set to start at 7:30 (sunrise??), so that meant we had to have everyone up and ready to go by 6:15. We had gone to bed early the night before, so everyone really did pretty good getting up and going on time. We made it to the hotel lobby just a little past 6:45.

I parked the car as Renee and the kids got in line for the tram. It was good timing too, because as I was walking up to meet them, Renee called and said the tram was two minutes out and she was at the front of the line.

Everyone was nicely attired for the event!

Up, Up, and Away!!!

If the packed tram was any indication, the service was going to be packed. Hope we find a seat!

The weather had been rainy and overcast on the bottom of the mountain, but quite a different story way up on the mountain. The wind started to pick up and it was snowing horizontally. I guess no one on the top of the mountain got the memo that it was spring!

I was right, it was packed. Luckily a nice couple (suckers) in a near empty booth invited us to sit with them for the service. Two more people joined us latter on, as the restaurant turned fellowship hall was at near capacity. Ironically, the 4 people we sat with were all originally from Illinois. It was fun to compare notes and "how we came to Alaska stories". Towards the end there was standing room only.

The service was very nice. The Methodist Church that is responsible for the Christmas service is also in charge of putting on the Easter Service. We like the Pastor and like the Christmas service, he did a nice job of putting on this service. We weren't sure at first, due to a technical difficulty with the sound system, but luckily he has a booming voice and we heard him just fine. There was singing, a nice children's time and the sermon was what you'd expect from a pastor who's church resides in Alaska's largest ski town. We had a nice time and will be back next year. I see another tradition in the making.

After the service we peaked outside. Yep, still winter. We were instructed to stay inside the building and not go out on the slopes. They were opening up the area to skiing later in the day, but first they had to abate the avalanche hazards, that of course means some loud booms from a 40mm howitzer and the possibility of snow slides.

Kind of gloomy out and snowing, but at least I knew it would be smooth sailing once we got down a few thousand feet in elevation.

What goes up . . . must come down.

Cheese!

The resort was hosting an Easter egg hunt for the kids starting at 9:30. We were just in time, and even had a few minutes to put together a strategy with the kids on the best methods for getting eggs.

Kids doing their best Easter Bunny impressions with the "Actual" Easter Bunny.

Our friend Matt and his son Jack joined us for both the Easter service and the Easter Egg hunt. Jack is just about the same age as Zach, so it was fun for them to hang out.

Quite a crowd assembled getting ready to find the eggs hidden in the courtyard.

3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Go!!!

The resort did a nice job making sure everyone was orderly and that all of the children got eggs. The 0-4 yr. olds (Sam's group) went out first to find their eggs in an area under the tram pavilion. The 5-6 yr. olds were next, going to their own designated area, followed by the other age groups, each with their own designated area. This system worked out great, all the kids I saw were orderly and all had eggs in their basket.

Sammy looking for "treasures" in the straw under the tram.

The area for the little kids was packed with parents. Sammy did good though, he got five eggs and then had enough. He was able to squeeze around the parents and find me at the top of the stairs. Poor guy wanted a piece of candy hidden in one of his eggs, but the candy the resort chose got rock hard after sitting on the hard ground for a few hours. Oh well, we'll see if Zach found anything a little softer that he could trade Sam for.

The boys! Matt and Jack Crockett with the Huntman boys!

Zach and Jack did well in their own rights. Each had a half filled bag of plastic eggs, and each was still running around trying to find more. I overheard one of the staff say that at last year's event it took 3 hours to hide all of the eggs and only two and a half minutes for them all to be found.

Three buddies posing for a picture. The kids hadn't drained all of our energy yet, so we decided to have a quick bite of lunch down at the Bake Shop, and then head over to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, where at 11 o'clock, they would be having their own Easter egg hunt.

Yumm! Big breakfast!

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center isn't far from Alyeska, so we headed on over there for their Easter events. Doug and Zach had been here a couple years ago with Zach's German Summer Camp. This was a first for Sam and I. It was pretty muddy, so we stayed to the road and walked pretty much directly from the main building to the garage type area the event was being held in. As it wasn't much more for an annual pass vs the 1 day admission, we got a pass and will enjoy coming to explore the rest of the facility this summer as we travel to and from Whittier for boating weekends.

Two cute little bear cubs came up to check us all out.

Inside the building there were crafts, book readings and a puppet show. Zach enjoyed the puppet show, while Sam terrorized the place. We may be limited on time with Sam as after an early start this morning he will be needing a nap soon.

Doug and I had arranged for a porcupine from the zoo to come to Zach's school last year. Oh, do they smell awful. As we were watching the puppet show I thought to myself that someone needed to shower or there was a porcupine in the room. Sure enough, there was a porcupine and it came to visit the event and enjoy an Easter snack. After all the candy our kids had eaten today, the apple was looking good to all of us.

Zach and Sam both went in the tent structure next door when their age was called for the Easter egg hunt. 8 eggs each, Sam had a melt down when I had him put 2 of his 10 eggs back. Yep, time to head for home as Sam needs a nap! The Easter Bunny would like a nap too.