Video, Skiing and the Army

First of all, I have been VERY behind on sharing video with family. I'm not even sure when I last sent video. I think probably August, right after Allen's extension. You would think that I might keep up with that during his extension, but nope, I did not. I was even a slacker on videotaping at all really. However, I have a new plan for sharing. Rather than sending cds with months of video, I will now have links to short video clips. These are posted in the sidebar under video. So far, my new video list includes a video from the park, some dog teasing, slide, and a tantrum. I also have a few older videos that I think I already linked to the blog. I may put old video on there, but don't count on it, since I would have to reedit them for size.

Perhaps I was not meant to go skiing this week. I was going to ski again on Tuesday morning, but the water and septic guy was supposed to be here in the morning. He never showed, but I wasn't too concerned since I was pretty tired from Monday's trip. On Thursday, I had Ashlyn in hourly care for the morning, so I decided to go. Ranger was so excited when I started getting ready that I decided to take him with me. I haven't taken him before, in part because he isn't allowed on the groomed trails. So, I went to Chena Flood Plains with the dog. As I was starting down the hill from the truck, I thought to myself that this was such a good idea to take Ranger. He was just running full out. He doesn't ever get to go that. The snow in our yard is just too deep now, and when we walk he is on a leash. For some reason, I had a hard time getting my boot into the ski. As I was cursing the boot or ski or whatever the problem was, Ranger ran off. After dealing with the skis for about 10 minutes, I started calling Ranger and skiing. It didn't take long before I heard Ranger barking and realized that he was at the truck. I kept calling him and he just kept barking back at me. Wimp dog was too cold to go skiing apparently. He is such a southern dog! This did not stop me, though. I still skied. I just left Ranger in the 4-runner, with the auto start. When I got back, he was just curled up in the front seat.

So, remember what I wrote earlier about how the military had actually streamlined one of its processes? Scratch that. Of course they didn't make things easier, Angie, what were you thinking? Instead, things are a little more unorganized at FWA than Fort Benning (Big Surprise.) We were just not informed of everything that we needed to do. (There are probably still things that we don't know.) We do need to do medical crap. And, of course, there are no directions on how to do these things. Or any type of checklist for moving to another country. I called the clinic Friday morning to find out if I needed an appointment to have the EFMP paperwork filled out. She just tells me that I need my DA 57890 and my DA 257[q75. We were given one of these documents in a stapled pack (with no instructions), but not the other. So, I download the document and go (during Ashlyn's naptime) to the clinic. Once there I am told that I must also have some type of registration paperwork from an office downstairs, plus the S-1 has to verify that the information on the form is correct. The information on the form says that Allen is our sponsor. It also says that on my stupid military id and in their computer. So, stupid extra steps. Now, Allen will need to get this part of the paperwork filled out on Monday morning, so that I can take Ashlyn during her nap on Monday to get the rest of it verified. And, basically, the nurse is going to say that we do not have any special needs that would keep us from moving to Germany. Again, something that they could see just by looking at our medical records, without all the stupid forms. (I'm really saying stupid a lot in this ranting.)

Ok, enough ranting for the night. I'll add a few pictures, and then I am going to bed.

Ashlyn found her glasses in a drawer. I guess she had forgotten about them since this summer.

Cross-Country Skiing

One of the things that I will miss when we are in a warmer climate is cross-country skiing. Now that I've said that, I'll say that I haven't been in almost two years. I didn't go last year, just because I usually went with Allen. And, of course, with Ashlyn I would have to plan in advance and all that. Anyway, not good excuses, but it didn't happen. So, since Allen had Monday off, we got a babysitter and went skiing at one of the UAF trails. Since I hadn't been in two years (Allen went a few days ago during PT,) we weren't particularly planning anything really long or anything.

We decided to ski this loop, marked in green.




Instead, (with Allen as navigator) we skied this loop.



When we hit the lighted trail, I was a little concerned, because I knew that trail was on the other side of UAF. It wasn't that we were skiing for so very long that concerned me. It was more that we could end up looping around on those trails for quite a while. We didn't see anyone the entire time we were on the trails.

Coldness, Children, and a Continued Countdown

The sun did not shine.
It was too cold to play.
So we were stuck in the house
All that cold, cold, cold day.

I sat there with Ashlyn.

We sat there, we two.

And I said, "How I wish

We had something to do!"

Too cold to go out

And too cold to play ball.

So we sat in the house.

We did nothing at all.

So all we could do was to

Sit!

Sit!

Sit!

Sit!

And we did not like it.

Not one little bit.

A paraphrase of some sort of the beginning of the Cat in the Hat as been going through my head this month. It has been a very cold month. I am sure that we will possibly have colder weather in January, but this is only November. I don't believe that the temperature has been above 0 (that's fahrenheit) all month. For the past two or three weeks, we've only made it to about -15. Today is a warm one, though. Back up to 0. We all need to get outside, too. Ranger is acting up with bathroom habits. Ashlyn just hates when I put on her winter gear, but we have no choices about this when it is frigid. And, this winter gear is just to go to and from places. We have not been going on walks, sledding or anything. I know that people do take their children out when it is this cold, but I find the cold here kind of scary, so I have warmer limits. Last year, my limit was 0. Since Ashlyn moves around more now, I may drop that to -10, especially if it stays this cold. It has been a long month, and oh, it is going to be a loooong winter. But, it is 0 today, so we can go out later! But, darn it, it will be dark by the time Ashlyn gets up from her nap. We may have to go out, anyway.

Of course, we have not just been sitting in the house. Ashlyn must have some cat in the hat in her, because she has been making big messes. She hasn't managed to pull out any ZOOM! and fix them, though.

Spaghetti. Yum.

Clown shoes. I mean, mommy's shoes.

What? Panties make fine necklaces. (They are clean.)

The bag lady.

In addition to all of the messes Ashlyn is doing so many new cute things. She loves to point out different parts of her face, and yours, even if that means poking you in the eye as she says "eye." She is trying to sing the ABCs, but really has no clue, though she seems to be aiming for the tune. She has been doing some of the actions to "The Wheels on the Bus." I need to get that on video and share. She also carries on long conversations that go something like this, "Bashamshadada" as she gestures across the room. "Shadamashu." Then she waits for your response. "Oh, yes, Ashlyn, I think so, too." "Dadashushumashusha" with a laugh. And, I laugh, too. Occasionally, these conversations include words that she does know, as when she is gesturing towards the cat and says "kitty," along with all of the gibberish. But, generally, her conversation needs far exceed her actual communication skills.

Oh, Allen will be home in 3 DAYS! I am so emotional I cried when I saw that the post had put lights up to illuminate all of the welcome home signs. I cried later talking to someone else about it. I cried when I drove past the AHA today, when I saw other people leaving with their soldiers. (The brigade is coming back in waves and the first ones arrived Saturday or Sunday.)

Week in Review

I haven't posted in a week, so I thought I would catch everyone up. Very long post, though.

As we were driving to a birthday party on Sunday, we had the most beautiful, incredible sunset (at 3:30 mind you) over Chena flood plains. The sky was gorgeous, and the reflection made the snow just glow beautifully. Truly, sunrise and sunset are always incredible here in the winter, but this one was especially so. You could see the moon in the glow as well. I was driving along, thinking how lovely everything was, and just enjoying the moment and appreciating Alaska. Just as I left the bridge, I realized that I had my camera with me. I could have shared it with you. If we hadn't been on our way to a party, I would have turned around and taken some photos. Instead, I have a couple that I took from my car with the window rolled down after we got to Eielson. You can kinda tell how pretty it was.

Moonglow

Ashlyn has been trying out some not so good tricks this week. She is definitely pushing some limits around here. She has been putting her feet on the counter/table and crawling onto the table. She also called Laura this afternoon on my cell phone and colored in the printer manual. I have wanted to avoid television with her. The problem being that I like to have the television on, even if I'm not watching it. First, she started paying attention to the intro music on shows. As soon as she started paying attention to the actual shows, I turned the television off, while Ashlyn was awake, anyway. Apparently, I waited too long to turn the TV off. The other night Ashlyn turned on the television herself, sat on the couch, and said "TV."

I can put BOTH of my feet on the counter!

What, Mom? Why can't I sit on the table?

On Tuesday we had a VTC with the guys in Iraq. We found out official dates for the return. 80% of the battalion will be here between November 28th and 30th. The rest will be here between December 3rd and 5th. Allen had already told me that he expected the first part of December, so this was just further confirmation of those dates. On Wednesday he called and said that he would not be coming home with the second group after all, but would be here with the first group. So, that means, Allen could be here in just over two weeks! I am excited that he is expected home so soon. I am stressed that I am not going to have time to clean my house, get in shape, get my hair, nails, etc. done, finish the rough draft of my thesis, make his favorite foods, and finish about a dozen other projects that I had planned to do before his return. I am anxious because we have been this close before. I am worried that we will both have certain expectations that might not be met. I am afraid that I will be jealous of how much Ashlyn will want to be with him, though that is also what I want most in the world. Whew. But, mostly excited.

We had an incredible opportunity this week. MWR sponsored "Operation Breakaway" for families of Stryker soldiers. Basically, we had a FREE trip to Anchorage. We flew down either Thursday night or Friday morning, spent Friday and the night in Anchorage and then took the train back on Saturday. This was available to 250 family members, so, about 2 or 3 weeks ago, we stood in line for the tickets. At the time, I was a little bit iffy about going, but knew that I had a week or two to cancel if I changed my mind. Heather and her boys were going, so we were planning on hanging out. Last Monday, we received our little packet of information about the trip. We saw how early we would be leaving. Both Heather and I considered canceling that day. She had already told her boys about it, though, and they were excited. We had a super busy week, and I was just so tired, and wanted to be at my house. So, on Thursday, I again considered canceling, but we were supposed to cancel by the 6th. I was afraid that it was too late for them to find others to fill our spaces. After packing and everything, I started getting kind of excited about it and thinking that it might be fun after all.

Ashlyn on the train

Ashlyn woke up in such a great mood at 3 am. She was talking and playing and excited to be going somewhere. She had her own seat on a plane for the first time ever, which we both thought was great. She started getting cranky as we took off, so I was hoping that she would nap on the short flight. However, the childless woman next to me turned her stupid light on, so she could get on her laptop for the flight. I was totally wishing bad karma on her for the rest of the trip and any other trip she takes in the future. I sang to Ashlyn and kind of tried to shield the light, but there was no napping to be had.

Busses from Holland America had been donated to shuttle us from the airport to the hotel to the mall. Heather and I rented a car for the day, just so we could go places that weren't on the shuttle tour. Plus, we could go places on our own schedule. Our big plan for the day had been going to the indoor water park. We realized the day before that the water park didn't open in the winter until 3 pm. This kind of threw a wrench in our plans for the day, but we figured that we would just do other stuff first. So, we went to the mall. The zipper on Ashlyn's coat had broken at breakfast, so I bought her a new coat and a few other Christmas gifts. This mall has a bowling alley and skating rink, which were all FREE activities for us that day, so that is what Heather and her boys did. Ashlyn actually went to sleep in her stroller. Oh, we were also given $10 a person in mall gift certificates, FREE. Other FREE activities included an ice cream sundae, childcare at the mall, and a video to send to our spouses. There may have been others, I'm not sure, because we didn't take advantage of anything else. Our plans were to go to Chuck E Cheese for lunch and then go to the waterpark. Nicholas and Alex started saying that they just wanted to go back to the hotel, which by the way, was also FREE. We talked them into going to Chuck E Cheese. What were we thinking? I will never again even suggest to a child that they should go to Chuck E Cheese. I don't think any of us had any fun at all. Ashlyn enjoyed holding the tokens, putting them into her mouth, and going down the slide while holding them. She was scared of the ride on toys that we used the tokens on, and actually puked while there. Lovely. The pizza was so nasty, that I couldn't one piece. Ashlyn ate part of a crust and all of the olives. So, the kids decided they definitely didn't want to go to the water park at this point. We agreed. We went back to the hotel, where Ashlyn screamed in my attempts to get her to sleep. I gave in too easily, and regretted it for the rest of the evening. Ashlyn and I went across the street for dinner, but I ended up having them pack our dinner to go and eating in the room. Ashlyn was in bed by 6:45, and I went to sleep shortly after 8.

The four of us

The next day we got on the train at 7 am to travel back to Fairbanks. We were some of the last people in our group of women, children, and 1 man to board the train. The train didn't leave the station until 8:45. We arrived in Fairbanks at 7:15. It was a long day, and I was actually dreading this part of the trip from the beginning. It was actually a pretty good day. Ashlyn liked being on the train. She loves big kids, and there were a few older girls that entertained her at various times. She also started waving and saying, "Bye," which she just hasn't been very good at. Several times we walked from one car to the next, just for some exercise. We would stop to talk to different people that we knew along the way. Plus, the views on the train were just absolutely beautiful. I had taken the train before, but I had morning sickness at the time and so didn't care about the view. We also were in different type cars this time, since this was a charter train. These cars had glass all along the side and the ceiling, which allowed for awesome views.

View from the train. The mountain on the right is Denali.

Hurricane Gulch. (Excuse the reflection, it was taken from the train.)

So, we were in these cars with glass all along the side and the ceiling. These are the cars that the Alaska Railroad uses for tourists, generally. In the winter, they use their regular passenger cars to travel to Fairbanks, smaller windows, much warmer. The closer we got to Fairbanks, the colder it got. Plus, some of the cars were having problems with heat all day. But, this was all FREE. When we arrived at the train station, we were given a packet (for FREE) with crayons (washable, AAAHH) and a travel activity book. Our day included FREE breakfast - doughnuts, coffee, juice, bagels, muffins, fruit etc. There were so much of these that some kids were eating doughnuts all day long. We had a box lunch, again FREE. Snacks all day, FREE. Dinner from Subway, FREE. Then, all of the children were given a bear at the end of the day, for FREE. It was a long, long day, but overall, we had a good time. Thank you, MWR!

Heather and Ethan

What Nicholas and Alex did on the train

I had neglected to take the trash Thursday night before we left. When we got home, the house smelled like sour milk and diapers. Ugh.

This morning, Ashlyn had some kind of allergic reaction and we went to the ER. Of course, the rash was completely gone by the time we saw the doctor, so I felt a little silly. He gave us Benadryl and sent us home. The Benadryl knocked her out, so she didn't have lunch until 3:30. Hungry baby. Tonight, we are going to pick up Ranger from the kennel. I have missed him. It is weird to me to hear strange noises and not have a dog alert me first. Plus, I am more concerned about the strange noises. Not that he would protect me, but he would make a lot of noise while someone burgled us. He might pee on their shoes, too. Also, there is food on my floor. He needs to be here to clean it up.

Ok, that sums up our week. Bye.

Let it Snow!

We had snow over the weekend. Even though the snow around here lasts soooo long, I was actually ready for it this year. It was kind of late, and, once all the leaves are gone, everything is much prettier with a layer of snow on it. It does seem kind of weird to me that we will not see the grass in our yard again, since we will be out of here before break-up. Apparently, Ashlyn does not remember snow, and she is pretty excited about it, too. Watch for pictures of Ashlyn playing in the snow.

I Love the Internet

It took me a few hours of trying to get online, including restarting my computer and turning off the power source for a short time, to figure out that yes, the internet is just not working. We sometimes just have problems with our computer, but I was a little slow on figuring it out today. I kept trying, though. Surely, we weren't going to be without internet all day! Then, I tried calling a friend of mine in Florida, the phone was busy for an hour. Hmmm. That seemed strange. I called my parents and Allen's mom. Their phones were also busy. Ok, so apparently, my long distance is also not working. I called my long distance and internet provider. The phone there only rings once, and is then dead. I grabbed my cell phone. Now, I usually don't have great signal at the house, but I had no service. All of the sudden, I am feeling very isolated. I tend to feel somewhat isolated living in the middle of this frozen, sparsely populated state anyway, but the phone and internet are my links to the "real" world. I have online shopping to do. I have blogs and emails and other random online things to read. How am I going to email Allen? He is going to think I've deserted him! What am I going to do in an emergency? Breathe. Call a local friend.

Thank goodness I don't have my local phone service through GCI, though I'm not sure why this outage affected my cell service as well.

First Snow

I thought we were going to make it to October without snow, but it happened tonight. Our first snow of the year. I am assuming (and strongly hoping) that this is the normal teaser snowfall-the one that doesn't stick around. Hopefully, I'll be able to get those leaves off the ground after this melts.

Moose, Movement, and Michelle

As we were eating breakfast this morning, I saw a moose walking down our neighbor's driveway. I quickly grabbed my camera and ran outside, where there were actually two large moose. At first, I couldn't get a good shot through the trees, but then they walked through our yard and down the drive. Amazingly, Ranger was too busy waiting for Ashlyn to drop some food to pay any attention.

Don't you love her bracelets?

Ashlyn is on the move now. She has been taking steps, more and more everyday. Last night at Chris and Robyn's, she just started taking off. I thought it was just that she was excited, but she walked SO MUCH today. She wasn't crawling hardly at all. It is still so funny. She holds her arms up high, pushes her belly out, and picks her knees way up. She's doing it, though. And is so proud of herself, too. Ashlyn has also started riding on her push/ride toys. She prefers the one that Laurie and Paige got her for her birthday. It has buttons to push that talk and play music. As far as music goes, I've been watching Friends on DVD. Ashlyn really likes the intro music. She dances and claps her hands when they do.

While I am truly excited that Ashlyn is doing these new things, (after all she is nearly 14 months old) part of me hates that Allen is not here to see it. I know that this is part of his job, he's fighting for his country, blah, blah, blah, but he's missing it. Ashlyn walking has bothered me most, just because I had been telling her a few weeks ago to just wait until Daddy came home. But, it is really all of the little things, too, that aren't really worth blogging about. He's just missing so much.

.

I wrote in the last post about Michelle's column. So, I wanted to update you. Her newest column in Friday's paper was great about balancing the difficult parts of dealing with a deployment and keeping spirits up, plus there were two letters to the editor in support of her, and another one today. I encourage you to read her articles, and I will be posting a link to them from now on. And, for those of you who commented on here, Michelle read those comments and appreciated them. Thanks.

Just hanging out. Reading.

What I Will Miss About Alaska

No, we are not leaving Alaska any earlier. Allen still thinks we will be moving in the November timeframe. A few things have occurred to me, lately, that I know I will miss. I was also asked recently if I would mind talking to an army wife, who may be moving up here soon, about living here. Obviously, I could try to scare her by emphasizing the -50 temps, darkness, isolation, and bears. OR, I could gloss over the cold and potential bear attacks, and emphasize the positive. So, that is what I will be doing.

Alaskan Winters
Ok, this is really probably the thing I will also miss least about Alaska, but it must be mentioned. It must be mentioned, because most of the year is winter. So, there are definitely good things about the winter. First of all, there are the winter sports, downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, dog sled races, ice skating, snowshoeing, and hockey. There are more, I know, someone can fill me in. I don't do or watch all of these sports, but you could, if so inclined. I do think dog sled races are fun to watch and I will truly miss cross-country skiing when we are back in warm climates. The thing is, you don't have to fit any of these in to a little short winter or the bit of time that you have snow. The snow just stays here, so you can ski for many months, or ice skate or whatever you do. Oh, there is also snowtubing and sledding. I knew there were more!

Another thing, everything is prettier with a dusting of snow. Trees, hills, ugly houses, junk thrown on your lawn, all just look better covered in snow.

The Aurora
You can see the northern lights in other places. A couple of years ago it was supposed to be visible as far south as Texas. However, in all of the world, Fairbanks, Alaska is one of the best places to see the aurora. Every show isn't as awesome as others, but I always loved to see it. It is incredible. Pictures do not do it justice. I don't think videos quite capture it, either. You just have to experience it.

Laid Back
What I am mainly referring to is the dress code here. Katie mentioned last month that you can wear sweatpants to church in Alaska. And, you can. I love it. I know some of you are thinking, "Well, you could wear sweatpants to our church, we wouldn't judge you." What we are talking about here is that people wouldn't notice that you were wearing sweatpants to church or there was anything odd about it. I have never worn sweatpants to church. I actually don't think I've worn sweatpants in public, but I do love my jeans! I have worn them to church, many a Sunday. Speaking of loving my jeans, in other places I've taught, I could wear jeans at most once a week, for casual Friday. In Tennessee, we only had casual Friday once a month! Here, jeans, t-shirt, were perfectly acceptable attire for a high school teacher. I was not the most casually dressed person in the building, either.

Really, when it comes to clothing, it doesn't matter what you wear, anywhere. You don't worry about if what you are wearing is the latest fashion. (It keeps you warm, of course it isn't the latest fashion!) Clinton and Stacy would really have a heydey in Fairbanks!

My professors are also laid back. I would not have thought to turn in an assignment late or even ask for an extension as an undergrad. If there was a major catastrophe, maybe. (I'm thinking when Allen had surgery or computer scrambling a major paper.) Here, I forgot to turn in an assignment in one class. The instructor didn't mention it. Later, I realized that it was overdue. He wasn't at all concerned. He knew I would turn it in, eventually. Maybe this is a grad school thing???

Health Care
This may be true of all smaller military installations, but, even in the military, or at least the part I deal with, is more relaxed. Basically, health care. At Campbell and Benning, my health care was fine. I was seen, eventually, by a provider for the problem for which I had made the appointment. Shortly after arriving here, I made a well women's appointment. I was able to make the appointment for the following week, rather than waiting a month. I was so surprised. Then, at the appointment, the doctor wanted to know if I had any other concerns or any family history that affected my health. We talked for awhile about possibly getting my cholesterol checked (um, 3 years later, I haven't done that) and plans for baby making soon. After leaving the doctor's office, I went to the pharmacy for a prescription. There wasn't a button to push to take a number! I wasn't sure what to do. I just walked up to The window (at larger installations, they have no fewer than 8) and gave them my id. They just said "Hold on a minute," and I had my prescription with NO WAITING. One of the problems with this, is I am now used to this customer service. I like it. The other problem is, there are no specialists here. Any problems, they are sending you at least off post, but more likely to Fort Lewis, Washington.

Summers
You cannot truly appreciate a summer in Alaska, until you have lived here through a winter. You start getting excited when the temperatures reach the freezing point, stay that way through the mess of break-up, down to leaf day. Officially, I believe it is called "greening up" , but our pastor called it "leaf day," which I much prefer. We don't have a lot of variety of trees (I guess this is the reason) so they all bud pretty much the same day. That first bit of green is so exciting! And, of course, by this time the days are so long and getting longer. On sunny days, you might not need to turn on lights in your house at all. You might have a hard time getting to sleep in the sunshine, but you deal with it. It is not humid here, so there isn't that muggy, hard to breathe feeling you get in some places. It is also just not that hot. There are days where it gets pretty warm (80s, generally) but, most of the time, not too bad. So, this leads me back to my favorite clothing, you can wear jeans all year!

Friends
Ok, really I won't miss my friends in Alaska. Because, they won't be here! Within the next year or so, almost everyone I know will be moving. But, I have made wonderful friends here, and, even if they no longer live here, I will still associate them with our time in Alaska. I don't know if the smaller post, everyone far from family, or deployments have been the cause, but I actually have more friends here then other places we've lived. If only I could take my closest friends with me!

We also have a wonderful church here. I will miss it also when we leave, and most of those people are staying.

In addition, Ashlyn was born here. So, Alaska will also be a special place for me.

You tell me, what have I missed?

Will we ask to move back here? Um, no.

Surprises

Just after putting Ashlyn down for her morning nap, we saw these moose in our yard. I snapped a few pictures from the porch. They really just stopped when they realized that I wasn't going out to them. We've had quite a few moose sightings in the past couple of days. Exciting.

Mom and I were running a couple of errands later this morning. When we came back we were all eating take-out, when Dad just kind of mentions that Ashlyn can walk. Um. Big news! This should have been shouted the moment we walked in the door. But, no, this was, "oh, by the way, your baby took her first steps this morning." I immediately got up from the table and said show me, show me! Now, I wouldn't say that Ashlyn is walking. She only takes a couple of steps at a time, and they are very unsteady, generally followed by going to her knees and crawling the rest of the way. But, Ashlyn has taken her first steps! She will just get better. Yeah!

No Moose in Our Yard

As I was sitting on the couch, with my back to the window, Mom, in a quiet, though excited tone, said "look, behind you, right now." I turned to see a moose right beside the deck, just moments before Ranger noticed, and started running towards the back door, baying. Needless to say, the moose didn't stay long enough for me to grab my camera. The last two times Mom was here she kept looking outside, hoping to see a moose in the yard, but was disappointed. She saw moose, just not in our yard.

This morning Ranger woke me up at 4:45, barking. I hurried him downstairs, hoping he wouldn't wake up the rest of the house, and let him out the back door. I came into the office and looked out the window in time to see the same moose running down the driveway, and Ranger not too far behind. Fortunately, Ranger can't leave the yard with our invisible fence. He's going to make sure we don't have any moose hanging around though! What a protector!

First Birthday Party and the Midnight Sun Run

Ashlyn had a great first birthday party. I felt like I was just inviting a few friends, but with everyone, we had a pretty packed house. Ashlyn is used to packed houses with dinner club, though, so she didn't seem to mind. Thank goodness Mom and Dad were there to help. I really might have gone crazy, otherwise. Not because of the party, but because I somehow forgot how to bake a cake. If I was baking a cake just for myself to enjoy, it would always be chocolate. And, I really don't think that I have baked a cake in years(at least 5) that wasn't chocolate. I'm not quite ready for Ashlyn to have chocolate, yet, so I decided my little girl should have a pink cake. I found a recipe online for a doctored white-cake mix for strawberry cake. I was making a layered cake, plus cupcakes, so immediately after making one batch, I made another. The cake didn't look quite right coming out, and looked even worse a few minutes later, as it flattened. The cupcakes were already in the oven, and you could actually watch them deflate. Ok, I had started baking more than 24 hours before the party, so I had plenty of time to make another cake. I found a different recipe for strawberry cake. Again, deflated, mushy on the bottom. Apparently, we were not going to have strawberry cake, so I pulled out a recipe for white cake that I have used before, 5 years earlier at least, but I knew that I could do it. The cake itself was ok, but not that thick, so I pulled out a cake mix, made another layer and cupcakes. So, I now had layers for cake and cupcakes. I went to bed.

The next morning, I was still determined to have pink something, so I made strawberry frosting. It called for 4 cups of powdered sugar. Four pounds of sugar later, the frosting was still too runny and I was out of powdered sugar. I attempted to frost the cake. Disaster. The cake layers weren't even(they had been in pieces attempting to get them out of the pans,) the frosting was sliding out from between the layers. Disaster. I was so frustrated. As I was taking a shower, I started thinking about it, and realized that I was going to have to make another cake. I went to Safeway, bought a cake mix, and frosting. This was my last chance to make a cake for my baby's first birthday. I'd had it all planned in my head for a few weeks about how I would decorate the cake. I was not yet ready to admit defeat and buy a store-bought cake. Even though it would be straight from a box, I was still going to make this cake. So, I made the cake. They looked pretty good. They came out of the pan very easily. I just needed to fix the frosting. I took a little bit out of the now giant vat of strawberry frosting and added powdered sugar. Perfect. I frosted both layers of the cake. Much better. Then I still needed to add colors to the buttercream for the decorations. I finally finished the cake just after noon. I had started the afternoon before, but 4 cakes and 2 sets of cupcakes later, we were finished. And, I was exhausted.

Finally, cake!

Here is Paige helping Ashlyn open her present.

The party went great, I thought. Ashlyn hadn't napped that afternoon, so I was expecting a breakdown. It didn't happen, from her or any of the other kids. She wasn't interested in all of her presents (sorry if you bought clothes,) but enjoyed plenty of her new books and other toys. She didn't care about actually opening the gifts, though she did like a few bows. Paige ended up helping her out with the opening after awhile. Ashlyn ended up with more books, clothes, and toys then any one year old would ever need. But, I guess birthdays, especially when you are one, aren't really about what you need. I think everyone had a great time. My one regret (besides messing up so much cake) is not taking a group picture on the porch. I enjoyed time with friends and was excited that Heather and her boys were now back in Alaska.
Mom, Dad, Ashlyn and I before the race
As if we hadn't had a busy enough day, we had the Midnight Sun Run that night. It is a 10K race in Fairbanks that starts at 10 pm, no lights needed. People run, walk, ride unicycles, have on cosutmes. It is great fun, even just to see the beginning. I had wanted to participate other years, and was determined to do it as this would be our last opportunity. The first part was the most exhausting to me, since we were at the back of the crowd of 3000 participants. We had to weave in between people who were way to slow. Mom thought that she and Dad would like it, too. I don't know if she didn't quite catch that it would start so late, how long it was, or if she realized that her body would still be on central time zone. She was exhausted at the end. Being her stubborn self, she was not going to tell me at any point in the race that she wanted to slow down, though. But, hey we made it, in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

All the babies, Lysandra with Michael, Katie with Becca, Laura with Bo, and me with Ashlyn

Baby Bo and a Magic Show

I love this picture!

I have already talked about how my baby is growing up. That is even more apparent to me when I am around tinier babies. Between being on the boob so often, sleeping not so long, and just general neediness of little ones, I'm glad that Ashlyn will be 1 soon. Of course, she can also be somewhat needy, and has learned to scream her demands. But, my point being, that I can still get my little baby fixes when I am around others. So, I am very glad that I was able to see Baby Bo this week. He has not been feeling well recently and needed his mama more often. This week, he seems to be feeling better, and I was able to hold him, too.

Bo is just talking to Mom

I don't remember what Bo was looking at here, dog, cat, Ashlyn?

So, perhaps, Ashlyn wasn't completely ok with me holding another baby.

On Saturday afternoon, Mr. Checkers performed his magic show for our FRG group. Ashlyn has no idea that it is a big deal to make things disappear, so I really enjoyed it more then she did. Here are a few pictures from the show.

Notice that the boy is balancing only on the top edge of the folding chair.

Mr. Checkers made a balloon animal or hat for all the kids. At least Ashlyn didn't care as she slowly popped her lady bug.

This is what Ashlyn did during the magic show. She crawled off, waited for me to see her, and then crawled away, laughing.

She also drank her juice.

Snow and Talking

Update: It is now 52, and my impatiens apparently made it through our record cold June weekend. Yeah!

It was SNOWING earlier today! Naturally, it was just a few flakes, but, come on now, it is JUNE. Otherwise known as Summer, one of the very few months when we do not have snow on the ground in Alaska. I'm sure my flowers will all be dead. I spent a few minutes complaining to Allen before the snow about the cold temperatures this weekend. I called Laura while it was snowing to complain again. I want to live where people sweat, on a regular basis. Where I can take Ashlyn swimming in an outdoor pool or to the lake or the river or the sprinkler outside. Of course, we have pools here, but they are all indoor, so swimming in June is the same experience as swimming in January. Being her positive self, Laura pointed out that, usually, summers here are much nicer than summers in our home states of Texas or Arkansas. She is right, of course, but, feeling cranky from watching the snow fall, I pointed out that in the South, we have the nice summer temperatures here all through the spring, fall, and some parts of the winter. We are moving to Germany, which isn't a super hot place, either. I've always wanted to live there, so I guess I will deal with the weather. Hey, it won't be as cold as here. Ok, so, according to the forecast, the weather is supposed to improve by Monday afternoon. Hopefully, my attitude will follow.

Pat, pat

On a more positive note, Ashlyn is definitely saying words. I had my doubts. She just wasn't consistent, and I didn't want to say it was true. Now, it is official. She has changed "Dad" to "Daddy." "Dat" has become the more definite "kitty" or sometimes "catty." Every time she sees the cat, she squeals and says "kitty." I finally got that on video this morning. She also says "Daddy" constantly, whenever she sees a photo, painting, or video of him. She also says it when I am on the computer, but, hey, that's where he lives, anyway. Though she is saying these words, she hasn't been saying dog or mama. While she still gives Ranger food, she has pretty much lost interest in him. I don't know why she doesn't say mama. How fair is that? Allen isn't even here, and she says "daddy." I've never been away from the child for more than 3 or 4 hours at a time. He's thrilled, of course. Somehow Ashlyn has become a daddy's girl, even while he is on the other side of the world.

Big girl

As to other new things, Ashlyn is hugging her babies and patting them. She is also drinking out of a cup and can hold it herself, even though she would prefer that I do it for her. She has also learned to remove her pants. I'm sure that her shirts and diaper won't be far behind.

Frost

We are supposed to have frost tomorrow morning. And a hard freeze Sunday morning. It is June, people! Of course, I put in my flowers a couple of weeks ago. It isn't supposed to freeze in June, even in interior Alaska! Hopefully, the weather prediction will be incorrect or change.

So, what to do about it? My dad suggested that I put old sheets on the flowers overnight. I do have old sheets, but they are the ones that I use. I looked up what else was recommended online. The site I visited suggested first of all to only plant flowers that could withstand frost, not helpful! I already put down lots of impatiens. It also suggested watering them well beforehand, which I would not have guessed. And, of course, covering them with plastic, sheets, or something. I took most of the sheets we own outside. Just look how ghetto! Keep your fingers crossed that the flowers survive.

And, in other gardening problems, apparently both animals think the back garden is a big litter box. How do I stop that?

Break Up!

Spring! Except in Alaska, we don't really have spring, we have break-up. Basically, while everyone else has green and flowering trees, we get slush and mud. Ugly. The rest of the year, it is quite pretty here, but not now. On the plus side, winter is so long, that the warmth makes up for the ugliness. Plus, it is getting so nice very quickly. When we got home last weekend, it was terrible. We had a hard time getting down our driveway and road to go to church. It was just muddy and slushy. By the next day, most of the snow was gone from the road. Now, our road isn't even muddy. We went on a long walk today. Warm temperatures (50's) without mosquitoes. We loved it. I knew it was warm when Ranger decided it was time to lie in the driveway and sun himself. He spends most of the summer doing this. Now, we are just waiting for summer. Leaf day will be here soon. I can't wait!

This has nothing to do with break up, but I thought they were funny. Notice that Armand is trying to get away from Ashlyn.

Obviously, he was unsuccessful.

Moose Sightings

While Ashlyn and I were leaving for post this morning, we saw a moose having a snack at the neighbors. I backed up, which took a little bit with our curved driveway and my lack of skill, and grabbed the camera. When I got back to the road, I saw that there were actually two moose, mom and baby. So, here are a couple of pictures.