Pallada

The Russian University ship, Pallada was in port the other week, and we got go aboard for a tour of this amazing ship. I realize from this 1st picture you are probably thinking OK, they must really be board up there to be so amazed and excited to walk around a boat but this was no ordinary boat. It was a SHIP, as in Pirates of the Caribbean, and it was amazing. However there was one slight problem, the people giving the tours only spoke Russian!!

Did I mention this was a really cool ship? and this isn't even a good shot of it!

Using the sails it could travel at 19 knots, Any guesses on how many sails there are??

So I find out the day before they were leaving that it was open to the public to walk on and look around. Of course however, Scott was on a flight to Barrow so I sucked it up and took all three girls by myself because I really wanted to check this thing out. Well I think this one guy must have really felt bad watching me waddle up the gang plank trying not to loose anyone in the water so after helping us on board he offered to show us around. He also taught me 2 Russian words, his name and Hi, I could barely pronounce them and definitely could not spell them, sorry. So this is "Jack", yes I know I had way too much fun with the whole Pirates of the Caribbean thing. (side note sorry * another funny story, there was a really nice expensive boat in town the same week as this one that was RUMORED to have Johnny Depp staying on it. lol sorry back to the Pallada)

So the 1st thing "Jack" showed me was this cool contraption that I don't know the name of. I guess it would be the maritime version of binoculars, as it made that island behind us look like we were standing on it. There was also a "museum" room that housed Russian artifacts and history on the ship, all in Russian of course. Jack's job was on the top crow's nest of the main sail, he kept watch out and helped pull in the sail and let it out.

This poor kid was 24 and had 4 brothers and sisters and barely spoke English! The girls fell in love with their new friend and he was picked on by every other sailor that walked by for having an American girl and 2kids that no one knew of!

Anyways back to the ship. Every year it enters contests and then posts the events it has been in and/or won around the world. It was built in the early 1980's ('83 I believe) and has sailed around the world twice.

When the girls weren't fascinated with the water or trying to talk the workers into taking them for a ride and leave the dock they worked on their climbing skills. Over all it was an amazing day and a blast checking out the ship. Oh yeah and in case you were wondering there were 26 sails!

Summer Time Fun

We have been having GREAT weather this year. Last year when we got here it stayed cold I think all summer, we might have had 5days that hit 70. This year however has been so much warmer and sunnier! The other day after several very sunny days I let the girls play outside for most of the morning, as we normally do on sunny days. After sitting out there for a few minutes it got very warm in the sun, I almost broke a sweat! I had a cooler of ice that we had taken out the day before but hadn't used, since I couldn't decide what to do with the ice I dumped it in the turtle and had the girls put on their swimsuits. After warming the water up a little with water from the house the girls spent the rest of the morning playing in their new "pool".

Family Hike

We took our first family hike last week up Old Woman Mountain. Our housing area is built at the base of the mountain and it is supposedly named for the back half which is falling a about. This was not only our first hike up Old Woman but our first hike since last year when we found out I was pregnant. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to make it to the top however when friends told me about their 3year old climbing it I figured I could do as good as a 3year old. So off we went.

While it was a little steep in some areas my biggest issue was the rocks. I had Caitlyn on my front in the ergo carrier which made it a little difficult to see where I was stepping. The girls however had a blast trying to keep up with Lucy, the dog. This was probably the slowest hike Scott has ever taken. However, we had a great time checking out all of the future berry picking spots and talking with other hikers.

For the most part the trail was very thick with bushes however occasionally there was a clearing that allowed us to get great shots of the town of Kodiak as well as the base and our housing area. The first clearing we came to overlooked the base. We got there just in time to watch the afternoon trainer taking off. The girls loved it.

A girl and her dog

By the time we got almost to the top Alisha and Lucy were pretty wore out but still in good spirits. I thought Alisha would be fussy however attempting to keep up with Lucy kept her paying too much attention to being tired. Bri gave up her attempts at keeping up about half way up and finished the hike in the carrier. I was really impressed with how well they both did for having never really hiked before.

WE MADE IT!!!!

I had to get a little proof that I made it to the top. Although I didn't make it as far as I wanted. There is a flag about another mile from where we were and just past that is a mountain top lake. The lake was our original goal however I was so relived to make it to the top that we didn't want to push it. We also figured the lake would make a nice goal for another day.

Berry Pickin

The berries are in full bloom, Salmon berries, that is. This time of year the island is covered by them. They are delicious and have a very unique taste, almost a combination of raspberry and blackberry. They also look somewhat like Salmon roe, hence the name. Our favorite picking place happens to be right off the back step of our little church. We noticed Sunday after the service that they were finally ripe enough to be picked. So a couple of days later we took about an hour and picked berries. Despite the girls best attempts at eating them before they hit the bucket (just kidding, they actually did very well not eating them until Scott said it was OK to have a few and they took that as a free for all on the berries) we were able to pick about 2-3gallons in that hour. We all had a blast crawling through the thick bushes and can't wait for another pretty day to get some more. Hopefully this year we will be able to get enough to get us through the winter. I'm still waiting for the blueberries to get ripe they should be ready any week now.

Working on filling our 5 gallon bucket.

Six Weeks Already!!

WOW! Six weeks already, where has the time gone? I can't believe how big my little cuddle bug is getting. It seems like Alisha and Bri were so much smaller longer. Caitlyn already has very good control of her head and pushes herself up when she's on her belly. She's still a great sleeper but loves to play after the girls go to sleep. It's almost as though she knows she will have mommy and daddy all to herself. The older girls are still being wonderful big sisters. They want to play with her every chance she is awake and have taken to caring for their baby dolls like they were real. Alisha has also become gentler with Bri as she has taken to caring for Caitlyn. Several times she has put her arms around Bri to comfort her or offered to hold Bri if she is upset about something. They are such a joy and we are having a so much fun watching our little family grow.

Introducing . . .

We had a baby!!! Yes I know I'm a little late in updating. However, our little Caitlyn Renae was born June 9th, 2011 after almost a day and a half of contractions and labor. Poor Scott had to sit down just after she was born I don't think he had sat down all day.

We were able to deliver naturally with just under an hour of actually pushing. I was certain by 4 o'clock they were never going to let me push and started asking Scott to request the C-section because I was done! Thankfully however he put his foot down and told me to relax I would be pushing shortly and we were. Shortly after asking for the section they decided I should be on oxygen I'm not really sure why. Anyone know if it is standard to put women on oxygen that mask was a pain when you try to push!

After she arrived it was wonderful! She scored all 9's on the apgar scale, was eating like a champ just 20 mins after being born and weighed in at 8lbs 4 oz and 20 1/2 inches. Scott snapped a couple of pictures then passed out on the little sofa for a 2min power nap. Earlier in the day I gave in and asked for an epidural so we had to wait for feeling to return to my legs before being moved to our postpartum room. Feeling didn't fully return until the next morning (it was a very strong epidural and not much fun) however with a lot of help from our amazing nurse I was able to shower and get moved to our room for the night. The hospital has a 1-1 ratio for nurses and patients so our nurse was pretty much in our room the whole day and did I mention she was wonderful!

After a very restful night Scott brought the girls over to meet their new sister. They fell in love immediately and I was very surprised at how well they did with her. They were very gentle and didn't push her away when they tired of holding her, they would ask us to take her and wait for someone to get her. Even now they love holding her, I have to watch Bri as she thinks she can pick her up when she cries.

The hospital staff on the postpartum floor was also wonderful, everyone we met was very laid back and professional. We both recalled how in Florida the staff was very strict on feeding every 2 hours and telling us the baby would die if we didn't attempt to feed every 2 hours. However, Providence hospital had the policy that as long as the baby was healthy and you documented when you attempted to feed they didn't pressure you to follow a specific feeding schedule. Caitlyn followed, what our nurse called cluster feedings, she would eat roughly every 3 hours during the day then give me a longer break at night and make up for it in the morning between 5 and 10 when she would "cluster eat" every hour to 2hours.

After a full day of recovery we were discharged to return to Kodiak. We left Anchorage that night in order to catch the ferry. We had tried to catch one later in the week so I would have more time to rest however all of the ferries were already booked up for the the next several weeks due to transfer season. So we loaded up and headed home. Thankfully we had calm seas and a large berthing room so I was able to still mostly stay in bed. We also met a couple of new families that were new to the island. Overall it was an amazing experience and we have an amazing little girl. She has so far been the most laid back and easy going, even more than Alisha and I didn't think that was possible. She is already back up over her birth weight and easily 10lbs now. We have been so blessed with all of our little girls I can't wait for her personality to start shinning through.

Anchorage Vacation

It is hard to believe we have already been home in Kodiak 3weeks. We had an amazing time in Anchorage waiting on Caitlyn to make an appearance. Scott followed us up about a week after the girls and I had been there, so we were able to get a feel for the area before he arrived and get some of the shopping out of the way that he wasn't thrilled about going to. After he arrived our weeks were filled with adventures our favorites included hiking and enjoying warmer weather and sunshine.

While exploring we found this wonderful waterfall that rain under the road and the opportunity for some hiking and cooling off in the water, which was VERY cold!!

We also discovered how much fun it was to pan for gold. This mine was a blast to explore and supposedly had quite a bit of gold in the river, although we didn't find any we once again enjoyed playing in the water.

These were the original building for the gold panning. The area was beautiful.

This wasn't at the same area, it was more of a tourist trap but the girls had a blast playing in the water and it sparked our interest in panning.

Panning provided ample opportunities to play in water. Generally it is too cold on Kodiak to enjoy playing with water. In Anchorage however we had several very sunny days in the 70's and at least one day almost hit 80. I think that was the day we were here at the river. Alisha and I got home with a little more sun than I had intended.

Brianna has an odd attraction to the water. Everytime she gets near it she ends up falling in which is generally a little traumatic for her. I don't think I had even finished putting our things down when Scott walked up with a very distraught and wet little girl. She spent the rest of the day on Jaime's back bundled up.

Aside from playing in water we also say a ton of wild life as can be expected in Alaska. This eagle was practicing being the flag pole topper for the Alaska zoo, I'm pretty sure he sat like that for over an hour.

I was very impressed with how active the animals were at the zoo. This polar bear paced infront of us for several minutes then would go to the gate and roll his head. There was also a badger that was running laps in his cage for a good 20mins. The bear cubs played in the pools and threw balls at the fence and wolf pack chased each other in their cage wrestling and howling. It was the best visit I think I've had to a zoo.

Aside from caged animals we also saw a wide range of wild animals. AFter arriving in Homer at midnight Jaime offered to drive to Anchorage for me, she wasn't driving 5mins before I hear this quite, "Oh my goodness, That's a moose!!", I opened my eyes to see a moose's very large rearend pass by my window. At one park we didn't even get out of sight of the car before running in to another moose resting on the path. I also learned that Moose are more dangerous than bears as more people are killed by moose each year than bears, although that is most caused by people hitting them with their cars. Moose with calves however are very dangerous and generally avoided by all.

Other than hiking and animal viewing we also went glacier viewing, hiking and jumping.

While I couldn't do much glacier hiking I enjoyed the view will Scott and Jaime explored. They also taught Alisha how to properly jump over cracks and water.

She had a blast coping Jaime

We also got to experience fresh from the glacier water, which was slightly warm by the time they brought it back to the car to me. I was told it was amazing though.

Yes the black "dirt" is actually ice and very slippery. Scott and Jaime also had a blast jumping.

To end our vacation we treated Jaime to her first King crab dinner. She was then attacked by her crab. However she beat it and from my understanding loved it.

We had too much fun and too many adventures to put into one post but at least these were the hightlights. The best adventure of the trip however came from the little bundle that we got to bring home.

Bri''s Birthday difficulties

So blogger apparently does not like my update on Bri's birthday. I have posted it at least twice and it shows up for a day then dissappears. I finally find it again in my edited posts and all my pictures are messed up.
We had a small party with close friends the weekend after her birthday. THe kids had a blast dressing up like princesses. B was especially cute in her pink ruffles dress. We had a grill out followed by homemade cupcakes. I thought the cupcakes turned out very well however I did need to work on my decorating. The birthday girl also got several wonderful gifts that she has been throughly enjoying ever since. The biggest gift was really a family surprise as the humane society had called earlier that day and asked if we would be interested in taking a puppy that had been returned. So after all the excitement we spent the night enjoying the newest addition to our family, a white mutt that A named Lucy a couple of weeks later.

VBAC vs. Elective Cesearen: Pros and Cons

There is apparently quite a bit of concern regarding mine and Scott's decision to pursue a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). So I would like to shed some light on some of the facts that we have discovered concerning VBAC and Elective C-sections.

The 1995 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (ACOG), which is the leading governing and research body for OB-GYNs recommended "limiting repeat cesarean births to those that were medically necessary. Obstetricians should counsel and encourage women to try to give birth vaginally." It continued to say that vaginal births (after cesarean) "would lead to shorter hospital stays, fewer transfusion, fewer post-partum fevers and a savings of more than four-thousand dollars per birth." It also stated that "not only would this course of action (VBAC) be better for women it would also not cause any greater risk for their babies." They concluded by recommending that "women with 2 or more previous cesareans with no contraindication who want VBAC should not be discouraged from trying for a vaginal birth, that women with large babies should not be automatically exempted from trying a VBAC and that VBACs should not be limited to the largest hospitals."
Between '95 and '98 VBACs were encouraged and done at most hospitals, even the Dr's at our clinic on Kodiak fondly remember doing VBAC on the island. So what changed? Several things, the 2 changes that I find most compelling are the induction rate and societal changes. Prior to '98 little was known about the risk of using induction medication on VBAC patients therefore more VBAC patients were being induced as the use of induction medication also increased. We now know that using induction medication on a VBAC patient increases their risk of uterine rupture. Therefore, dr's willing to attend VBACs today do not consider induction an option until after 6cm dilation and most not even then. Another theory for the change in recommendations is that societal changes in the '90s led to increases in malpractice lawsuits which caused a shift in the recommendations.

The '99 ACOG bulletin withdrawals the recommendation that repeat cesarean section only be done when medically necessary and strongly urges that physicians capable of performing an emergency C-section be "immediately available". Since most hospitals do not have the capability to have round the clock staff they have developed policies that do not allow women to have VBAC's at their hospital. Some smaller hospitals however interpret this recommendation to allow VBAC by having staff on call so that the decision to incision time is 30mins just as they would in the case of a 1st time pregnancy in need of an emergency section. It is my feeling that any hospital that cannot offer emergency surgery to laboring VBAC patients is therefore unable to provide any other form of emergency surgery, as the decision to incision time would also be approximately 30min. The ACOG bulletin also does not provide research supporting their change in policy and since it is my understanding that the uterine rupture rate has not significantly changed it is understandable how people jump to the conclusion that the changes were made not for the benefit of the patient but for the benefit of the Drs. due to increases in malpractice suits. A few of the Drs I have talked to have stated that they feel another shift is coming and they are hopeful that ACOG will once again add in recommendations for allowing multiply cesarean VBACs. For the most recent ACOG recommendation you can visit consensus.nih.gov/2010/vbac.htm

Here is a pros and cons list concerning VBACs:
PROS:
-VBAC is safe (the consent form that must be signed for the Dr and Hospital clearly states that the patient must be made aware that VBAC is safer than elective C-section, no consent form or information form is given stating the risk of elective C-section).
-Elective repeat cesarean poses greater risks to the mother's life and health than does vaginal birth. It poses hazards to the baby as well, especially with succeeding pregnancies and more than one cesarean.
- Most women, including women whose prior cesarean was for lack of progress or who are believed to be carrying a big baby, will birth vaginally if allowed to labor.
CONS:
- While the healed uterine scar is tough it is widely excepted that a form of uterine rupture (symptomatic scar separation) will occur in 1% of VBAC patient that have had 1 prior c-section, it is my understanding that this type of separation occurs most commonly in the first couple hours of labor. Another form of uterine rupture (spontaneous scar separation) is the most common type of rupture and occurs most likely between 36 and 39 weeks, I am not sure at what percent this form of rupture occurs while I have asked several Drs they have not been able to give me an answer other than the 1% mentioned above. Also, while they quote the same percentage of risk they do not ask the patient to take any special precautions such as limiting activities or bed rest, since it is unknown what causes it. Uterine rupture means that the scar will open up enough for the umbilical cord or the baby to pass through the opening or for bleeding to occur (if left unattended or not caught fast enough this may lead to the death of the mother or baby) However, when a c-section is done promptly few babies and even fewer moms will be injured.
-The perinatal mortality rate (deaths around the time of birth) in 29 studies have found that 3 out of 10,000 deaths occur for both VBAC labors and planned cesareans.

Pros and Cons for Elective Cesarean
Pros:
Since there is no labor, there is no chance of symptomatic scar separation, at least not during labor, prelabor cesareans have lower infection and other complication rates than cesareans done in labor.
Cons:
Compared with vaginal birth, c-section substantially increases the risk of infection, injury to other organs, hemorrhage, and anesthesia complications. The complications, in turn, increase the risk of prolonged hospitalization, hysterectomy and maternal death. Repeat c-sections are more technically difficult to perform because of scar tissue. For this reason, injury to other organs is more common, Scar tissue formation can cause chronic pain and bowel problems. Elective cesarean also increases the baby's risk for poor condition at birth, breathing difficulties and jaundice. Each successive cesarean greatly increases the risk of developing placenta previa and/or placenta accreta in subsequent pregnancies. Both of these complications pose life-threatening risks to mother and baby. Cesareans also increase the odds of infertility and ectopic pregnancy, another life-threatening danger, in subsequent pregnancies. Women with multiple prior cesareans have a slightly increased risk of symptomatic scar separation during VBAC.

Closing note: I am not anti-Cesarean. Despite how it sounds I am completely open to allowing the Drs to perform a c-section if it becomes medically necessary. Since I am considered a higher risk I will be under greater supervision and monitoring so that should a c-section need to be done it will be done at the 1st signs of possible danger. However, as I have stated many times in this post all the research agrees that a VBAC is safer than a repeat elective cesarean.

Most of my information has come from the several Drs we have spoken with, Guide to Childbirth by Ina May and The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer as well as the NIH website and ACOG VBAC statements.

Been a while . . .Update

It's so hard to believe how time can be so slow and yet so fast all at the same time. The past few weeks have crawled by and yet I can't believe it has been two months since my last post. So a quick few updates. Next week I will catch everyone up on B's birthday and our crazy Easter weekend. I had plans on doing it this past week however S took off with the camera that still has my pictures on it. While it is still a month away we are very rapidly approaching my due date, June 4th. A friend will be flying in the beginning of next week and then all the girls will be heading to Anchorage for a few weeks of relaxing and shopping while we wait for the baby to decide to get here.
For those wandering why the extra trip, we have decided to attempt a natural birth rather than planning another C-section. The hospital on Kodiak does not allow attempted VBAC due to policies on emergency C-sections so I have to deliver in Anchorage where the facilities are better equipped in the event of an emergency.
S will be following us a week later as the Coast Guard does not allow additional time off, which is why our friend was gracious enough to come stay with me. I can't be in medical housing without a chaperon and yet my husband isn't allowed off. I know lots of things don't make sense about the whole process.
So we are rapidly discovering we are running out of time to get all of our projects completed prior to leaving. We have been working on getting the yard ready for flowers and hopefully some grass. S has been working on getting lines and nets set up for fishing season which starts shortly after we leave. And today we have finally gotten the baby's room set up, somewhat. Not knowing if it will be a boy or girls makes it a little difficult to really decorate however we do have the crib set up with a set of white sheets that I had. We will finish decorating when we get back. Next on the list of things to finish is the garage and I'm having serious doubts as to whether or not we will finish it. So I guess I need to get back to work.

Getting Big!!

This week we celebrated A's 3rd Birthday!! I can't believe it has been three years already, where has the time gone? Just this past year has flown by it's hard to believe how fast the time goes. Originally I had planned to do a small birthday dinner as we don't know very many people here however as it turns out one of our friends little boy's birthday was just a few days ahead of A's and he was also turning 3. So we thought it would be fun to combine their parties since neither of us knew very many people.

They had a blast. A has a blast every time we sing "Happy Birthday" to anyone so she thought it was hilarious when we all sang it for her. I think that has become her favorite song lately. S and I made hamburgers while our friend did birthday cupcakes for everyone. For the birthday kids she combined 3 and decorated them to look like Mickey and Minnie Mouse. They were adorable and delicious!

Gifts were then opened much to the birthday kids delight! A had been eyeballing the princess bag all day. She mostly go board games as she fell in love with the ones that she got at Christmas.

Along with a backpack that she can carry her things around in. I think it reminded her of Dora's backpack.

Then the final present was a surprise from Grandma which had arrived earlier that day much to everyones surprise. It was a life size dollhouse that she and her sister will get to color in the weeks to come. She has been after me all week to let her color it.

Earlier in the day there was some concern that S was going to miss the party due to scheduling mix-ups at work and lots of confusion over the holiday weekend. He ended up getting called into work and put on an 8hr flight. However, thankfully C-130's are somewhat unreliable and the plane broke so they had to come back. Then due to not having another plane that could fly they all got sent home. While the day started a little crazy it ended perfectly with everyone being able to make the party.

Rabbit Stew

So I finally got brave enough the other week to cook the rabbit S caught the other day and made my first ever rabbit stew. It's not just my first rabbit stew it is the first time I've ever cooked anything wild or hunted, other than fish which doesn't really count. I have known for a week now that we had rabbit in the freezer and I was going to cook it in a stew. I was even a little excited about this new experiment. However as I stood in our kitchen that morning getting everything together I became very aware of the fact that I was going to have to actually touch a dead rabbit. I'm not really sure why the thought of touching a dead rabbit caused so much apprehension it was so strange it was actually kinda funny. It didn't matter how good the stew smelled all day I couldn't even bring myself to taste it, although I knew I was going to have to eat at least a bowl for dinner. It was a very strange day. However at the end of the day I did overcome my issues and try the stew. It was actually pretty decent to have been my first time. The meat turned out very tender although we really needed more meat. I used the same recipe that I use for my beef stew only substituted the beef for rabbit. So for a first time experiment it turned out very well and I'm actually looking forward to trying other types of meat. S came home with 2 more rabbits the other day that I have to try new recipes on so if anyone has any good rabbit recipes please pass them on.

Bri Update

As most of you probably saw on facebook our little B had an accident Friday night involving a bookshelf. She was eating a quick dinner before band practice when she decided to play in her chair instead of sit in it. With daddy across the room getting more pizza and me in the office talking with the pastor's wife and everyone else occupied with their food she stood up turned around and flipped the chair with her top two front teeth making contact with the bookshelf behind her. As with most injuries involving the mouth there was immediately a lot of blood. Not having any ice handy I grabbed a cup full of snow to help stop the bleeding to get a better look at the damage. At first glance she had a pretty good busted top lip, but not something that would need stitches. Upon further inspection we notice that the gum just above her teeth was also cut pretty good and there was also white showing through the gum as we could see her teeth we weren't sure what the white was so we aired on the side of caution and ran across the street to the hospital. The ER had no patiences and they were ready to see us before I was done checking her in. The Dr. was also in the room ready to examine her before the nurses were done asking questions and getting her vitals. It was by far the best ER visit I have ever had! It was determined that she cut the tissue that connects her upper lip to the gum and that she possible jammed her teeth. None of the cuts seemed severe enough to need stitches and she seemed okay as long as you didn't mess with her lip so nothing was given to numb her lip either. There was also nothing to be done about the teeth except to follow up with the Dentist and have them access the damage, which we did today.
The dentist confirmed that the white was partly bone and partly root, the gum is fairly thin in that area so it wouldn't have taken much for either one to show through. She didn't think that the teeth were jammed due to being able to see the roots and the teeth still appeared to be positioned correctly they also didn't feel loose. Also, with B's age she felt everything would heal quickly and correctly without having any problems. We do have to keep an eye out for any possible infection as there isn't a good way to clean it, since we can't brush up there due to disturbing the clot and causing more pain and discomfort for B. We were also warned that the teeth may change color as the bruising continues to heal but they should change back as the bruising clears up. The only concern would be if they didn't change back and she began to act like she was having pain in that area, in which case we would need to go back to check of infection or an abscess. The extent of some of the damage may also be unknown until her permanent teeth begin to come in, in which case she may have some spacing or other issues that would be addressed at that time.
So that about sums it up. Overall, she is acting like herself and eating just fine. The dentist was impressed with how well B took to her messing with the area and thankfully nothing else needs to be done at this time except keeping an eye on it.

I'ma Huntin' Wabbit

As S and I have been discussing different ways to cut our food budget down the last few weeks several options have come available. Several areas have already been taken care of such as we obviously don't have to worry about seafood, now that S has a subsistence licence. Now with the offer of caribou we have red meat covered for a while. However, I hate buying chicken. The quality isn't that great as most of it looks like it has freezer burn or it is VERY pricey. Since our favorite food however seems to be chicken we have simply paid the price. However, a few weeks ago we heard on hotline (local radio station plays call ins for pretty much anything) someone advertising to rabbit hunt and catch as many as you want as there isn't a bag limit on the island. While this sounded interesting we didn't really know any details and we didn't get the guys number as we caught the tail end of the ad. However, last week at work S ended up talking with a couple of guys that were going rabbit hunting this Sat. and invited him to go to. They had an extra gun (since we don't have any) and offered to split whatever they caught. Having never been rabbit hunting S jumped at the chance to learn something new and went out for a few hours yesterday for a very enjoyable and interesting guys afternoon. He didn't realize however that the guys he was going with had also never been rabbit hunting. So after an hour of not seeing any rabbits they decided to head back read up on the subject then go again. Thats when they spotted them. So after about 2hours they had 2 rabbits and a squirrel. Then came the questions of how to bleed, gut and skin it. Next thing I know they are back here at the house with 2 bled and gutted rabbits and the internet pulled up to give tips on how to skin it. Finally the meat was divided up and they were discussing what to do with the pelts, up comes the internet again on how to tan hides. As the other guys weren't too interested in tanning the hides I now have two hides soaking in our garage that S decided to experiment on, using a tanning recipe he got of the internet. So the guys are back out again today, having also looking up hunting techniques, trying to catch more rabbits. With any luck I may not have to buy too much more pricey chicken as I've heard rabbit replaces chicken very well in most recipes, we'll see.

Happy Birthday

Scott's birthday was Monday as many of you know. This year it worked out that he had his birthday off in celebration of Martin Luther King Day. The girls were thrilled to have daddy home all day. We started the day with breakfast in bed for daddy. I was a little concerned that they would wake him up before I got his breakfast finished. However, they must have heard me downstairs and not seeing any lights on in our room they came straight down and helped me finish his breakfast. I was making the last of the pancakes when they arrived so A helped me scoop out the batter which I then put on the skillet while B got the silverware and supervised. Daddy's Birthday breakfast consisted of bacon, eggs, potatoes and pancakes as well as an orange that I had hoped would keep the girls out of his food. Once everything was ready we headed upstairs, A carried the birthday card, B had the very important syrup and I brought up the food. I think A was more excited about the surprise than daddy was. She ran in the room yelling Happy Birthday and Surprise then insisted that he open his "mail" (the birthday card). We had discussed several things that he wanted for his birthday however with limited funds we decided to get a small tool chest that would hold the few tools that he has in the garage. However, I wasn't able to find one for the price I wanted before his birthday so I got him a gift card for when we did find it. After the card it was time to dig in. He offered the girls some of his orange and before we knew what was happening they had both jumped on his food and grabbed handfuls of orange and pancake. After being scolded for having such bad manners they both sat back and waited for him to give them some food.
After breakfast the fun began, the kids were bundled up and a morning of sledding was enjoyed by all. We then had a Doctor appointment and got to hear the newest member's little heartbeat. It was then back to the house for a quick hair cut and we got ready to go on a date. We grabbed a little to eat at a local restaurant then went to the movies. The theatre here only has one screen so the movies are generally several weeks behind from every where else and there is only one showing a night of a particular movie. So they may be showing two movies but one shows at seven and one at nine, it takes a little getting use to because the movie you want to see is never playing on the day and time you want to see it. This time however we got lucky and the movie S wanted to see happen to be playing that night and at the right time.
Since his birthday S found something that he wanted more than a tool chest. Someone happened to be getting rid of a Wii on the message board at work with accessories and games for very cheap. So he asked if they would take a gift instead of cash and they guy agreed. We now have a new Wii game system and a very happy birthday boy.

Happenings

So I have so far not kept one new year resolution to keep this thing updated. Oh, well I try, sorry folks. We have got big plans for this year and have so far been having a blast. From snow storms to planning for the newest member to arrive. Many of you already know that care on the island won't allow me to deliver on island so I have to go to Anchorage for the last month. However, we did just learn that there is a midwife that "unofficially" does natural births after C-section but you have to deliver in your home. With as fascinating as that sounds we will still be going to Anchorage and enjoying a few weeks off island to explore the main land and enjoy civilization again.
Over the past few weeks we have had several things happen that I've wanted to write about and just haven't found the time or energy to do it. Now I can't remember half of them so real quick the one's I do remember.
We enjoyed a beautiful snow storm for about a week. Followed by several chilly but very sunny days. The girls and my hubby have thoroughly enjoyed sledding and playing in the snow. After the sunny days we've had several days of rain as temps went back up into the high 30's, so now all the pretty powdery snow is slush and ice and NOT much fun to walk, play or drive on. S came home for his lunch break to find the girls begging to go sledding so he went out with them I think he had a pretty good work out. He would walk them up the hill then run back down so that he could catch them at the bottom. Coming back in B got the idea to clear off the railing on the porch steps only after touching the snow it all let loose and avalanched right on top of her head. Thankfully it wasn't much more that a few handfuls however she was not impressed.
Aside from the interesting weather A is just as sassy and "do it myself" as ever. Now B has decided that she too can do everything herself. I had thought a couple of weeks ago that I would attempt to potty train B however after falling in the potty the first morning we soon decided to wait until she got over her trauma and try again. So the other morning she comes to me with diaper and wipes in hand telling me she needs a change when I get the diaper off she ask to sit on the potty. After about 15min playing on the potty she still hadn't gone so I made her get off and we tried potty training again. Only she got things a little backwards. She was fine sitting on the potty singing and playing then would get off walk into the other room and pee pee on the floor. After half a day cleaning up behind her I decided to get things together to try again on Monday when I'm more prepared. I can't believe they will be 2 and 3 this year it seems amazing to me how fast the time goes.
S and I are also keeping busy. This week we will be starting a young adults Sunday school class at our church. Praying it goes well as there aren't' but a few young adults that attend. We have also started a praise band. In December our pianist's work schedule was changed so she was no longer able to attend every other Sunday. So after a few weeks of singing a Capella we got several other musicians together and began playing on the Sunday's the pianist has to work. So far it has worked out great.
We also had a wonderful surprise last week. Wanting to start eating healthy and more natural we were a little concerned with the cost. However, last week S ran into a guy that he'd worked with in Clearwater that was going on a Caribou hunt and offered to bring us one back as well. It was perfect we would get to sample cooking and processing methods without having to pay too much out of pocket. However, with the weather being nasty the last couple of days the flight got cancelled so the guy had to postpone the trip. We did talk to him last night and he was hoping they would get out today and also offered to bring us back some crab. I was thrilled!
So that has been the last few weeks in a nut shell. Oh yeah. We also had our first and supposedly only ultrasound. Everything looked fine and healthy with the new baby (Pics on facebook) and I have an appointment with the Doctor from Anchorage in March. We couldn't determine the sex as the umbilical cord was between the legs. So we are still left wandering on that end hopefully we will get another ultrasound at some point and will be able to tell then.