Please let the days start getting longer soon!

Here's a couple pictures of the trees in my front yard. It is cold today, only in the single digits, and the sun is just beginning to dip down on the horizon. These were taken at 2:45 in the afternoon.

Getcher finger outta yer nose dammit!

Hard to resist posting this one!!

Alaskan Thanksgiving

This year we went to the Shaw's for Thanksgiving. It is alwasy a fun time. The kids were outside most of the day, so I never really had to worry about them getting into trouble. The Sparkles ran around with the Shaw's dog Minnie, and was pretty pooped out at the end of the day. One of the best things was sledding down the driveway. As you can see we all got in on that action. Mary LOVES sledding!

Bill bringing Mary up the hill.


Nancy going down the hill with Mary.

It's getting dark, but you can see Bill, Clara, Sparkles and Mary headed in for supper.

This is Mary bonding with Minnie. There was a huge bonfire in the back yard to help keep the sledders warm.

This is the beautiful pumpkin pie I took.

Halloweeeny!!

So, this Halloween I thought I would try something different. After a 2 year hiatus from the "Big Bash" I decided to do a hayride for trick-or-treating. Nobody told me it would be about the coldest Halloween night in about 90 years. Sabrina said that it was about 5 deg. at her house before she met us. If I had been paying any attention at all I may have bagged the whole thing. As it was. Suki had the foresight to bring hand warmers for the kids' pockets. She said it was her hubby Cass' idea, but really... could that be true? The kids had a great time. And I even hitched up the trailer by myself. Well... actually I had to call Bill once for pointers, and I had minimal to align the hitch right. I was pretty proud of myself though. I usually try to stay out of Bill's way when he's doing all those manly things. But I digress... on to the rest of the party.



This is always popular. Instead of bobbing in water, they have to "bob"in the air. It is pretty funny. After about 2-3 minutes I let them use their hands to catch the apples. Then, they get to dip them in caramel and sprinkles.

Here are some of the kids on the hayride. It just didn't look as cold as it was. They didn't care... the scent of candy was in the air!!


This is my barfing pumpkin. You can't see it, but there are candy corns and m&m's sprinkled on it. It was a surprisingly quick carving job. I loved it!! I wanted to do a flaming pumpkin this year. It is when you soak a roll of t.p. in kerosene, stick it in the pumpkin, and then light it. I just didn't want to do it with out Bill and a fire extinguisher for back-up. Next year though, especially if we can finish the fire pit.


Bill and Clara carved their pumpkins earlier in the week. Bill's is the one with the hatchet and knife sticking out of it, and Clara's is the happy one. Hmmm.... what could this say about our family? Maybe that Clara is surprisingly well adjusted given the sick humor of her parents.

Well I realized that I did a really poor job of documenting the kid's costumes this year. I guess that is what happens when you are the hostess with the mostess!! I was even pretty proud of my own. I don't have any of Clara or me, and only one of Mary. And, without me, Mary's costume doesn't make sense. Clara was some kind of dog turned into a witch. I didn't really get it. Mary and I were the Raven who stole the Moon. It is a Native American myth. I made a really great raven mask, and a simple fleece moon for Mary (easy for diaper changing).

Fall Fun!!

Well, we had a really cool and wet Summer, and now Fall is upon us. As you can see, it has snowed. These pictures were taken about the middle of October. The snow is here to stay. It is a little dissapointing. I was hoping that the weather would stay mild for Halloween. No such luck!! It is always a challenge getting costumes to fit over snowpants and long underwear.

I asked Clara to watch Mary for a little bit so that I could get dinner started. Imagine my amazement that she actuallyl dressed her up and took her outside to play!! What a great Big Sis!!

This is Clara and Leah sledding in the road. It is amazing that they can get any speed up because it is pretty flat. They had a really good time though. On really good days, and with a look-out, they can sled all the way down our driveway and into the neighbor's back yard. I guess they didn't. want to go to the effort though, and just played in the road.

This is why I can't keep my house clean!!

It seems like no matter how hard I try, something just keeps getting in the way of my progress towards a tidy home.

I feel like I have a system: 1.Put toys in container, 2. Wheel container out of the way, 3. Vacuum up all dog hair and snack bits and 4. Relax.

Well, I think Mary's system seems to work better than mine. Her's is to: 1. Wheel container into the middle of the floor when Mom's getting the vacuum out. 2. Keep an eye out for Mom while dumping the contents of container out on the floor. 3. Get into container, and 4. Relax.

I feel blue!

How on earth did I spend my time before the computer came along, and why do I feel so lost with out it? This week, my computer crashed. Tech support says it is probably the motherboard, but my secret fear is that it was all the Facebook activity lately.

So now, while Bill is home, I can hop on his laptop and do a little internet cruising. Well, I thought I could, but it just isn't as easy as it sounds. When he leaves I guess I will have to just buck up and hit the library to check my emails. Maybe I could let a friend "sponsor" me at their home. What a bummer.

I feel so disconnected. How weird!!

Well, maybe some of those projects that haven't gotten done (for the last few years) will get done.

GARDENING

I am always a little disappointed in my garden. This year it seems more miserable than most. While I got most of my veggies planted in a timely manner, they just never took off. This summer has been the coolest, wettest summer on record. That along with the fact that I probably need to fertilize makes for a pretty puny crop. I would love to have a garden with a variety of veggies, and maybe a melon or 2. I would like to have perennial flower beds that either continuously bloom or bloom in succession. And I would like to have entries in the state fair that I can win ribbons with. Here is the problem....that is just way too time consuming. However, I'm thinking that it is time to change my mind on that. I just may try to become a serious gardener, and not a half-assed one.

These are my nasturtiums. Just a generic mix from the grocery store, but they turned out really nice. I'm always on the look out for low maintenance flowers, and these fit the bill. You can't tell, but they have vined all across the "guard rail" that keeps the dog from digging there. I plant tulips in this bed in the fall. They are nice in the spring, but I hadn't found a flower that I liked to take up the slack for the rest of the Summer. I have shied away from nasturtiums because EVERYONE plants them. But I like them, and I think I may plant them here every year.

Mary found the strawberry patch early on. She loves to "harvest" them stems and all. The strawberry patch is really one of the best parts of my garden this year. It is it's first full summer there. I'm hoping that next year it is even better.

I've got a really funny broccoli story! I was visiting my friend Sabrina in June, and her plants were HUGE!! I just couldn't believe how fantastic they were, and I just fawned over them. Well, she called me the next day, and said she knew for a fact that my plants were bigger. I asked if she had been snooping in my yard because I could think of no other way she could know for a fact that this was true. Well.... nope! MOOSE MUNCH!! Yes, a moose had totally eaten her garden down that night. I let her know that I felt really bad for her, but I don't think she could tell through all the snickering I was doing. Yes, that is funny you say? Wait! It gets better. I was talking to my friend Joe on the phone the next morning, and when I threw the curtains back..... You guessed it. MOOSE MUNCH!! The moose left me 3 plants out of about 18. This is the picture of one of them. You may not be able to tell, but it is about 2" across. Whew!! That is going to make one awesome bite! I guess there should be a moral to this story. My mowed down broccoli didn't even produce side shoots! Sabrina's did. I'm tracking down the nursery where she bought hers last year. Sounds like a good reason for a road trip! Please also take note of the SLUG MUNCH!!

Here is a construction casuality. Around the end of June My Father-in-Law tossed a board during the demolition phase of our old deck. Unfortunately Ms. Goose was in the way.

I like statuary in my flower beds. In my mind that is just one less place I have to try to keep the chickweed out of. I was sad to see this decapitated goose, but it goes nicely with the crunched tricycle that holds some flower pots. My Father-in-Law didn't crunch the trike by the way. I did.

The hidden benefit of the above mentioned goose tragedy was that JC felt so bad that I got a hanging flower basket and this owl out of the deal. The basket has bloomed all summer long, and the owl has kept the birds out of the strawberries. Of course Mary still gets into the strawberries, but that is okay. I have caught her knocking down the owl. It is as if she doesn't want it to watch her snarfing all the berries.

The owl did not, by the way, deter the moose, or any of the slugs!

Alaska State Fair 2008

Last Friday we went to the fair with the Wallis family. Actually Suki and I went early to try out the new wine bar, and Cass picked up the kids after school and met us there. We totally lucked out. The weather was relatively nice, and the crowds weren't so bad. It works well with the Wallis', because it makes the number of kids even, so everyone has a ride partner. We had a good time.

Clara and Shelby waiting for a ride. I hope the bars don't foreshadow the future for either one of them. I did think it was kind of funny though!

Clara isn't that adventuresome when it comes to rides. It is kind of a shame because she would have so much more fun if she would just let loose a little. I get a frustrated sometimes that she can't seem to crack a smile. Someone told me this week that she was a somber kid. Huh! I'm going to have to work on helping her be a little more relaxed!!

I figured that Mary should ride a ride too. She is just a little too little to ride the kiddy rides. I don't think she would sit still long enough. But, the slide worked out well. I had fun too!

The hoola hoops are always a fun and cheap form of entertainment. Imagine my surprise to see a smile on Clara's face. Although I know she was having a good time, it was the first time that it actually looked like it. Then she started to show off by hoola-ing 4 hoops at once. Pretty good!!

So all in all, it was a pretty good time. Early on, like I said...Suki and I had a couple glasses of wine at the wine bar. Our friend Mary Kay "Randy" was our server. We gave her lots of encouragement (crap). I found out that her aversion to her given name was because of merciless teasing over make-up and pink Cadillacs. Well, you know me, I'm totally going to pink Cadillac her from now until forever. I wonder if I'll be able to find stuff on eBay to encourage me. I'm thinking YES!

One odd thing was the very low number of agricultural entries this year. I guess that the cool wet summer has been a struggle for many a gardener. Dawn says honey entries are way down, but I did notice she got a Grand Champion ribbon for one of her honey frames. Way to go Dawn!!

I'm going again today with my neighbor Michelle. It is 2 dollar Tuesday. I missed most of the booths last time. I always like to search for new stuff at the fair. Of course it is always the same old fair crap you see every year. But I like a challenge anyway.

Scouting

It just dawned on me this weekend that it is time to gear up for scouting again.

I really enjoy being the leader for these girls, and I am looking forward to earning our bronze award this year. I'm sure that they will rise to the challenge, and make it a great adventure.

Troop #943

This last year the girls decided (on their own, mind you) that they did not want to ask their parents for dues. They wanted to earn their own money. They have wanted to ride the train very badly, and so that was their goal. They made and sold crafts at the craft fair, and we earned enough money to cover all of our expenses to ride the train to Talkeetna, and camp at Montanna Creek Campround. I am pretty proud of them.

The Observation car

Whittlin'

3 Women, 3 Dogs, 7 Kids and 1 Bill

This was the 2nd camping trip for the Cowan, Shaw and Burnett families. We were gracious enough to let Bill tag along. And, yes, he managed just fine. As a matter of fact he and Mary were nearly inseparable.








As it turns out, Mary sleeps pretty well in the stroller. She took a nice nap, and then was rarin' to go not long after. This picture was taken before the mosquitoes discovered the sleeping baby who was strapped down, and couldn't defend herself.














These are some bears going through a cooler left on the picnic table while the young couple is "napping" in the tent. You just want to say, "Are you stupid?!" It was bear city, and the campground hosts made it very clear all the bear activity in the area. Not to mention all the bear scat and the dog that was killed 2 days earlier. I don't think we were to freaked out, because we were a pretty large and loud group, and we keep a pretty clean camp. Dawn and I discussed how we should not drink so much wine that we didn't care if the bears came this time.






This picture of Clara is blurry, but in the exact same spot as about 7 years ago when we were here with our friend Joe. Where the hell is he anyway?





This was really a pretty great campsite. We were right by the lake, and the kids had a hill to climb, and no one died, or was mauled by a bear.





Mary is making a run for freedom. I did chase her down though because she didn't have a bear bell dangling from her butt like Georgea did.



This is Clara, Elic and Axel at the "Kids" fire. We adults got dang tired of them hoggin' all the heat and sittin' in our camp chairs. So Sabrina suggested the kids have their own fire. I was resistant, but she was right. It was much more quiet once we gave them a bag of marshmallows and told them to hit the road!






Clara and Angus in the Moaki. For those of you who don't know, a Mokai is a motorized kayak. It is pretty fun.



I would like to say that this is the picture of a beautiful end to a beautiful camping trip. But actually, this is the first night. It was beautiful. It was kind of wet and rainy the day we left. Much like the rest of the summer has been.

Jumping on the blogwagon!

Well, I am jumping on the blogwagon today, and trying to figure out how to post and put pictures up and make an all around cool blog. It is funny how that in the last 3 weeks I went from not knowing anyone with a blog to knowing at least 3 people who post about their lives and their thoughts. I'm hoping that I may be able to document my family's lives and clear the cobwebs of my mind on some days.

That's all for now. I must check Facebook and email, and figure out which pictures to start posting. Then I guess there's the laundry, the gym, and the sleepover. I may not get far today.