Hearts in Her Eyes

When I picked up Zach he was wearing a pretty bracelet with letters that spelled his name and shells.  I asked if they had made them in school today and was told no, that his friend Anna had given it to him. He was quick to add that she had made a few other friends one.  All 4 of us at home giggle about "having hearts in our eyes" as that is how the Archie comic books always show Archie and the girls.  So, I asked "did she have hearts in her eyes?"  Zach just giggled.

Zach, Sam and I stopped at Fred Meyer for groceries and the 70% off sale on summer clothing was on.  Zach is so much fun to shop with as he checks out the racks and tells me what would look good on me.  We looked at the jewelry and found a fun beaded bracelet on the super sale rack for Zach to give to Anna.

He gave it to Anna on Tuesday at school and was telling Doug about it in the evening.  Doug and I both wish that we had written down what he said....because it was perfect and just hysterical.  Essentially it was something like "she gave me that look" (his wording was better).  She thanked him in that coy/bashful/flirty way that girls "tip" their head.  He loved it.....she "had hearts in her eyes."

Fill the Boot!

On the drive home, the fire men/fire ladies were out collecting money for children with special needs with their "fill the boot" campaign.  Sammy thought it was pretty neat that the fireman came up to our car, that he got to put money in a boot and received a sticker!

A Week of Inspections

Doug and Rebecca went on a week of inspections this week: Bethel, Tuntutuliak, Nunapichuk & Platinum

Doug found that some stowaways had been added to his luggage prior to leaving the house.  We wouldn't want him to be lonely!

Indoor Line Up!

I didn't see this....but heard all about it from Zach.  Crossing Lake Otis by Rilke Schule!

E-mail with picture from Cecile - "We always line up outside by the playground especially on beautiful sunny days like yesterday.  It striked me as a bit off when the principle was guiding everyone in the auditorium with his arms wide open as to block the way to the playground....then I saw this!  This is right by our school - like right there!"

Dinner Guests

Cecile was at Rilke Schule for after school pick-up the same time as I was.  She was trying to arrange for a babysitter tonight so that she could go with Dustin to a surprise birthday party/dinner at O'Malley on the Green, the local golf course.  I said Ian and Lucas could go home with us....we didn't have anything going on tonight.  Summer has gone by fast, last weekend was the first time we have spent any time with Ian and Lucas all summer.

All 4 boys were so excited.  It was a nice night out, so I kicked them all outside to play.  After dinner, they played with Lego's and watching a little TV.

At 8:15 pm, I started the bedtime process with Zach and Sam. They both sobbed and cried as they headed to bed.  I "was such a mean mom" and "why can't we stay up?"  Dustin and Cecile would come about 10 pm...too late for Zach and Sam to stay up and then be happy the next day for school.  They were both asleep before Ian and Lucas left.....but, still I was reminded in the morning how terrible it was that they had to go to bed while their friends were still playing downstairs.  Too bad....life isn't fair.

Oysters and Kites

Zach, Sam and I cooked up the oysters we had purchased yesterday.  Doug isn't fond of them...Zach and Sam were ok with them, not a favorite food item, but I am proud of them for both giving them a try.  Sam ate one, wanted another but got the "gag reflex" (like Doug) the second time around.  After that....no more oysters for him!  Mom ate well tonight.....

It was a windy night out so we headed up to the middle school yard and flew the kites for a while.  Zach had his good kite and a good spool of kite string.  Sam had a cheap kite and the even cheaper kite string that came with it......he was not a happy camper as his kite would go up and then come crashing down.  Zach's kite flew high immediately and went up until the string was at the end of the spool.  Tomorrow will we go to the store to get Sam a good kite string spool, he has a good kite already, but we had left it on the boat.  Everyone had a good time - it was a nice night to be outside.

Inflatable Vests

A co-worker gave me 2 hybrid life vests - they have regular floatation, but then also an automatic inflatable cylinder that activates when wet.  The vest is to small for Zach....but, Sam is styling!

Perfect Morning Execution

Doug and I stayed up too late last night.  It was 11 pm by the time we got ourselves into bed after getting Zach/Sam bathed, fed and put in bed by 9 pm....then we got the boat cleaned and Doug had to pack as he would be back up at 3:30 am to catch the 6:30 am flight to Bethel.  He will be back on Friday - the Kuskokwim region is on the agenda for this week - Tuntutuliak, Nunapichuk/Kasigluk and Platinum.

I was headed to Fairbanks for a day trip with Jason Bolstead, the Alaska Accountant.  He needed to do an asset inventory and had never been to the Fairbanks facility.  I hadn't been there in a while, needed to look at a broken rail issue that I had talked to the railroad about and knew enough about the facility to help Jason with his project.  Of course, our flight left at 8 am.  It would be a busy morning and I needed perfect cooperation from Zach and Sam....they both did great.

I got myself ready and then got Zach & Sam up at 6 am.  Put on the clothes that were laid out & brush teeth.  15 minutes later we were out the door.  Sam's car seat was already in Robert's truck and Sam would have his breakfast at their house and then Robert would drop him at daycare.....Robert/Kim have 2 kids in college and one in high school.  Robert enjoyed taking Sam to daycare....brought back lots of memories.

Then Zach went to Cecile's - she would feed him breakfast and drop him off at school with Ian.

I made it to the airport with plenty of time, had a good trip to the Cement bulk plant (end of the rail line in Alaska), had lunch....and Jason and I were on the plane back to Anchorage at 1:30 pm.  Whew....busy day!

Event Horizon

Pete e-mailed these pictures of the Event Horizon with the Coast Guard helicopter circling.

To the Rescue

The weather in Whittier was to be really nice on Saturday and then rain on Sunday.  I was planning to stay home this weekend with Sam and let Doug and Zach do a little boating.  Then Dustin/Cecile/Ian/Lucas and Pete/Tori/Kinsey/Tristan were all planning to be out there....so, why not join the fun.

We met up with the Davis' at the dock on Saturday and the boys all had fun looking for sea creatures in the water while we got the boats launched.  We all headed out toward Eshamy Bay and ran into a group of whales which we stopped to view for quite a while.

We continued on to Eshamy Bay lagoon, tied up to Patience and set off with the Schilke crew to the nearby stream to hunt up dinner while Dustin and crew fished in the ocean a little.  Pete had caught a really nice red salmon earlier in the day.  Doug got a pink, but it was already spawned out...no good for eating.  Thanks to Pete for a fillet of red salmon!

The joke this weekend between Doug and I was food.  When I wasn't going to attend this weekend, I had asked if he had packed food....I was told "no" that they "would eat what they caught".  Yeah right, let me know how that works out when an 8 year is "starving" at breakfast and all there is are noodles on the boat and the fish you didn't catch.  So, I packed food....and the boys ate every drop of it. 

I didn't realize that only Pete had met Dustin...the rest of everyone had never met.  Dustin/Cecile joined us in Eshamy Bay for a short while, but then had to head back to Whittier as they have no sleeping area on their boat for an overnight stay.

Doug, Zach and Sam watched part of a movie on Patience and decorated cookies.  We then finished the movie (Hunger Games) on our boat and headed to bed.

Sunday would be somewhat rainy, but at least calm.  The winds were to pick up later in the day or on Sunday.  We headed over to the Eshamy Bay lodge to see Mark, Mary and their visitors.  Duke and Pamela had attended a friend's wedding, so were not around to say hello.

As were all talking to Mark, a vessel in distress call came over the radio.  A large 60' Bayliner named Belle Vita had gotten too close to the rocks on an outgoing tide and was now stuck.  A few fishing boats were already on scene and all the people were fine....the vessel wasn't far from Eshamy at Herring Bay, so Patience and us headed on over.

It was somewhat "exciting" to see all the action.  A huge boat hung up on the rocks.  The Coast Guard helicopter came and later a boat from the Coast Guard Axillary.  We joined in a group of boats in making a "wave" to try to float the boat off the rocks.  We don't know if that was the right thing to do as the tide had gone out quite a bit, was it a good idea to "bounce" the boat on the rocks?  In the end, the Belle Vita would have to wait until high tide at 10 pm.....a long wait.  We giggled that we should take the guy's wife back to Anchorage with us....by 10 pm he would be tired of hearing from her.  The boat did refloat and next Wednesday would be taken out of the water for repairs/inspection.  Apparently this isn't the first time that boat has been on the rocks.....more money than sense!  That boat costs more than our house....near the rocks is the last place we would have it!

On the way back to Whittier, we stopped at the oyster farm for a dozen oysters.  Zach had a good time picking them out.  Sam just wanted to raise and lower the basket.  The little dog who lives at the farm is named Sammie.  Sammie wanted nothing to do with Sam.....and Sam wanted so badly to play with Sammie.

We stopped at the Squirrel Cove cabin on the way back into Whittier to visit with the Foley family who had it rented.  Zach and Sam were napping and it was raining by this time, so we didn't join them for a campfire.  Jack and his oldest daughter, Ali, came out to say hello.  Pete then pulled up to show off the jumbo shrimp they got....his "new" spot worked out well!

A fun weekend.....lots of adventure!  Hard to believe that tomorrow is Monday!  Pictures of all the details above are below.

Fish and Wildlife has a cabin at the Eshamy Bay stream for fish counting.  They are gone for the season now.  Quite the view!  What a great place to work for the summer.

Mark and Duke were building this "floating" cabin that can be moved to Eshamy Lagoon for hunters to stay in.  Turned out nice!  2 rooms.

Belle Vita on the rocks!

Patience to the rescue!