Fishing Adventures

Sorry it has been so long since the last post. Every time I sit down my mind seems to go blank except for the million other things that I need to be doing. We have been staying busy and having lots of adventures the last few weeks. The biggest adventures have been experienced by S on his almost nightly fishing trips. Being on nights has given him the opportunity to fish just before work while the girls and I are in bed. Late night fishing however also seems to be the best time for bear viewing. His first encounter was just over a week ago with a young bear that ran him off from his fishing spot. While S though he would try to be cute and inform the bear that "he was fishin there first", the young bear didn't appreciate his tone and began pouncing and clicking his teeth, which are signs that a bear feels threatened and is aggressive. So S politely gave up his fishing spot without any other back talk and a very sincere apology. In general the bears that are the biggest threat are the young males that are high on hormones and wanting to set up their dominance and mothers with cubs. Even so there has only been 1bear attack on the island in the last 20 years.
S next encounter wasn't near as exciting as the first. A few nights after meeting the young buck at the river S ran into a much older and larger bear. He was much more laid back and didn't mind sharing his fishing whole with other people. However, the people seem to have a problem sharing it with him so they gather their things and move down the river to the next spot.
Then just a few nights ago S ran into the BIG DADDY of bears. Kodiak bears are known for their size they are the largest bears in the nation (so I've been told). So you would think S would be surprised to see a bear that appears to be around 11ft step out of the bushes however he was very surprised. I'm not sure if it was the size that caught him off guard or the ease in which these 1000lb+ animals move through thick woods and rivers without making a sound! So you can be fishing in absolute silence get a whiff of some funny odor look up and be 50 feet away from an 11ft 1000lb bear and never even heard it coming!!
Currently we have heard reports of 4 bears and 3 cubs being at the Buskin river. The Big Daddy bear, the big bear, the young bear and a momma with 3 babies. We haven't had the privilege to meet the momma and I don't think I want to.
I even got a chance to see my first bear, which was amazing! Last night after leaving a friend's house we ran to the river to see if we could spot one. Sure enough the young bear was at one of his favorite fishing holes. S and another guy went down first to see if he was down there, and the bear and S both popped out of the bushes about the same time. Scared the mess out of both grown men IT WAS HILARIOUS! The bear crossed to the other side of the river to check us out and the other guys wife and I got a chance to see him. He was so cute but smelled awful. For the most part he ignored us and tried to fish then realizing we weren't leaving he moved down stream some more. So there are some of our wild life adventures.
We have been thoroughly enjoying the fresh caught fish and the wonderful weather here lately hopefully it will stay around and continue to warm up. We've hit the 60's several days now. While it feels great outside it gets a little toasty inside. We even hit 80 in the house the other day, so we opened the doors and cooled it off.

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy late 4th of July everyone. We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, we sure did! We took the opportunity to take our first family camping trip.

Another family that S works with invited us to join them and another family for a weekend of camping and hopefully sun. So we all headed out to a beach about an hour away. We planned to stay Sat. and Sun. however rain and a cold front moved in Sunday evening so we cut the trip a little short. Leaving town we were a little concerned because it was raining in town however we kept getting reports that the weather was great at Pasadshak, where we were heading. So we headed out and sure enough it was! We set up camp overlooking a beautiful beach with sea-lions playing in the water. They playing or feeding in the surf right at the breakers, however they were very bashful. Anytime we walked to the beach to get a better view they swam farther out. Surfers came out at one point and the sea lions completely left. I don't think they cared much for having to share their beach for the 4th.

After setting up camp we spent our first night sitting around the fire getting to know the other families. While the kids enjoyed getting to run free and being outside for a while. While the sun didn't fully set we still set off fire works just after mid-night, when it was about as dark as it was going to get. Sunday morning was just as beautiful as Sat night and came VERY earlier. With the girls not being use to sleeping with S and myself B was very excited when she rolled over at 6am and found mommy and daddy next to her. We couldn't get her back to sleep after that kind of shock so S got up with her, they went for a walk and let me sleep a little longer with A.

After finally waking up we enjoyed hiking some of the cliffs and hills surrounding us. Around lunch time however the rain moved in. The girls had to put on their rain gear which made them look like large walking pink marsh mellows. A enjoyed hers because it was big enough on her that she could carry her puppy on her back, so I didn't make her keep him in the tent.

The also enjoyed getting to play with a para-shoot S found a few years ago. They even invented a new sport, Extreme Wind Climbing. The wind would fill the para-shoot then pull two of them up the side of a hill. They had a blast and were completely exhausted by the time they were done.

A also got a chance to help daddy with the para-shoot and had a blast!! She even took a ride across the beach in it, for a little while I wasn't sure we would be able to convince her to come out of it.

By the time we started getting supper ready the rain had picked up a little so we all decided to head home rather than sleep in the rain and pack up the next morning. So we headed home exhausted but having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The girls and S all fell asleep on the way home and then slept in this morning. We are all looking forward to our next chance to get to go camping again though.

I had some Amazing pictures but I can't get them loaded so check back for an update!!

BIG eaters!

I don't think I will have to worry about the girls going hungry any time soon! I tried a new recipe the other day. It was a citrus baja marinade for the salmon S had caught. It was very good and since we had some left over we finished it up with lunch yesterday. While A didn't really care for, she's never really been a fish girl. B on the other hand licked her plate clean. LITTERALLY!

She still had quite a mess but overall she did quite well feeding herself.

While A decided to skip lunch yesterday she made up with it at breakfast this morning. She was a big help to S, too. We have a crazy fire alarm. Heat from the oven and even microwave will set it off, even with no smoke, so we generally have to stop several time while cooking to go fan at the alarm in order to get it to stop. So this morning anytime S opened the oven after it had heated up the fire alarm would go off. A would then run to it grab a jacket off her hook and attempt to make the alarm stop.

She was a little short so S had to come help her. When she wasn't turning off the fire alarm she was an excellent breakfast taster.

After checking on B, S came back into the kitchen to discover that A was helping herself to breakfast, before it was even ready. Needless to say she enjoyed it much better when it was all ready.

My Baby's Growing Up

My baby's getting big!! B has finally gotten rid of her paci. As of last night she has been 24hours without a paci. Not that she used it that much any ways the only time she generally got it was for nap and bedtime. She had learned when I go in to get her to put her paci back in the bed. That way we didn't have to worry about keeping track of it. The paci has been replaced with a baby doll. The church is starting a mission for anyone interested to make salvation dolls. To promote this new mission some pre-made dolls were handed out at church Sunday. B hasn't left left the doll alone for more than a few hours. Yesterday while we were busy getting A out of the sink b went upstairs and got her paci and baby doll. We haven't found the paci since and she has gone to bed and nap just fine without it. As long as she has her baby doll. She's getting so big on me! I can't believe she's already 15months. It doesn't seem like its been that long. My baby's growing up!!

Little Helpers

The girls have each turned into little helpers the past few weeks, not that weren't before however there has definitely been an increase in the amount of help I have been receiving doing everyday house work. A has always enjoyed helping me sweep so, just about every morning after breakfast she holds the dust pan while I sweep. We then move on to the dishes. She hands me one dish at a time while I put them way, since she can't reach the cabinets. Earlier this week she discovered that she can stand on a foot stool and see into the silverware drawer. So now when we finish the dishes she pulls her stool around and does the silverware herself. Then on to the sink. If there are any dirty dishes they get a full rinse before begin handed over to me to go into the dishwasher. If the sink is empty then it gets a good scrubbing while I finish up the kitchen. Even B has started, I turned around the other day to find her sitting on the table

scrubbing away with a dishrag I had just laid down. These little helpers don't stop in the kitchen however. S has found that he has more helping hands then he knows what to do with on little projects. Such as this toy that needed a slight motor adjustment.

We also had more help planting our new flower bed. After helping me spread some flower seed A then helped daddy water them in good.

Laundry day has also become much easier.

I think A listens for when the washer stops! She thinks it's the best thing in the world to move the clean (aka all done) clothes to the dry.

We have run into the occasional problem of B wanting to help. She is an excellent door shutter. However, she sometimes shuts the washer door before A is done moving the clothes to the dry. While A is reopening the washer she then moves to the dryer and shuts that door, then round and round they go!! A also enjoys when I start the laundry. I think she feels like she's making it happen. After shutting the door and turning it A stands in front of the washer going "1 . .2 . .3. . GO!!" Generally she gets it right on and they washer starts spinning. If she's a little late she just skips 3 and yells GO! If she's early the counting starts over. While I have been thoroughly enjoying the girls help we do occasionally run into problems. The girls start fighting over who gets to do it or just a general lack of understanding of the cleaning process, such as this morning. A was doing her typical cleaning of the sink after everything had been done. S and I were having a discussion. Having just gotten off S wanted to sit in the living room to finish talking. Since A was happy cleaning daddy's coffee cup we left her alone thinking she would get bored and join us. It wasn't long however before we hear the sound of water hitting the kitchen floor. S and I both rolled our eyes and headed to the kitchen expecting to find that A had dumped a cup of water on the floor. NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!!

We find instead a very happy 2 year old giving herself a "BATH MOMMY!!!" There was at least an inch of water covering the kitchen floor. S and I were laughing so hard it took us a second to realize the water was still running spilling even more water on the floor. She had shoved all the dishrags into the drain to keep the water from draining out. After the pictures and an explanation of why she can't do that (I'm not sure she took it seriously with all the laughter) we headed upstairs to get changed while S mopped up the water. He then decided he'd had too much excitement for one morning and headed to bed. Moral of the story do not leave water loving children alone with water!

Settling In

Welcome to our island home. While the town of Kodiak is turning greener everyday the mountains surrounding the town are still very white with snow. Barometer mountain is almost halfway green so we should have almost 4more months of summer before it starts snowing, at least that's what I've been told.

So catching up from crab fest which was a lot of fun and had very large delicious crabs.

We haven't had very many sunny days since then maybe one or two a week. At crab fest we met some very nice missionaries, that we actually spent most of the weekend with. It was a little different being on the receiving end of a mission trip. Although, it was a little funny when the first guy approached us and started his "do remember the day you excepted Jesus Christ into your lives," we cut him a little short when we both answered yes. He moved on to the next group of people however one of his team members continued to talk with us. She had kids back home that she was missing so she enjoyed the girls for a few minutes. We were then invited to their host church for Sunday service and a cook out followed by a "no talent talent show". We've been enjoying the church ever since. So on to family life. . .

We have all continued to adjust to the area and changes in settings. S has enjoyed the chances to fish since being on nights. He even caught his first salmon. A red that was delicious!! A couple of days after catching it however they closed his favorite fishing river so that the salmon in that river could repopulate this year. So he hasn't really been able to fish since then so he has been practicing his guitar instead. He's hoping to start the drums as well. The church is in need of some instrument players as their worship band has all recently been transferred.

I can't believe how much the girls have changed in just the month and a half they have been here. A is moving into 3T (some 4t) clothes and B is almost in 18mo clothes. A has also become little miss independent. She wants to do it herself for everything, to include potting, getting her own snack and drinks, or coloring. You name it she wants to do it herself!

She discovered that frozen blueberries make a wonderful snack. It started with a "boo-boo" that needed ice, as ALL boo-boo's do now. Only instead of getting ice she grabbed a bag of frozen blueberries. While putting them back a few fell out and all of sudden she has a new favorite snack. For several days I couldn't keep her out of them. It only took once for her to see me put some in a bowl for her and from then on she would help herself to a bowl of blueberries at snack time. She is even nice enough to share these wonderful snacks with her sister, who then leaves blue hand prints everywhere.
She's turning into such a little "mommy". From taking care of her baby dolls to caring for B and now that S is on nights she makes sure to tuck him in when he gets in in the mornings to include hugs and kisses on the head so he can go "night night". She insists on helping me sweep and unload the dish washer. Shes even pretty good at it. She takes things out of the dishwasher hands them to me and I put them way. It works pretty well most days. At meals and snack she insists on setting the table and getting baby's food. In this instance she got baby's food before it was ready. B didn't mind getting all the cookies instead of just a few.

B has also become more independent now that she is walking much better. I think the only reason she decided to start walking was because crawling was hurting her knees. She and A were playing chase in the house earlier and after crawling on the linoleum in the entryway she came walking back to me crying.

The two of them are also playing together much better and will even sit and played NICELY for 15-30mins some days. They really enjoy B's basketball and A's doll house.

The two of them have also finally settled into their new home and surroundings. When we first got here A was a nightmare come nap time and bedtime, she refused to stay in bed. She didn't want to go to sleep unless one of us was in the room with her. If we left the room she would get in bed with B and snuggle in. It would take us 2-3 hours to get her settled down enough to go to sleep. The past almost 2 weeks have been much better. She is finally staying in bed even if she doesn't go to sleep she lays there nicely or plays quietly with stormy.

I'm also settling in as well. I'm hoping to start an in-home child care center that will provide a little more income and help me to become more structured. So this weekend we have the summer solstice, which will be the longest day on the island. The recreation department is having a family day tomorrow to celebrate. Currently the sun isn't really setting it simply dips below the horizon travels back to the east then rises again. So we should have a very fun weekend that will hopefully also be beautiful.

Late update and New CARPET!!!

Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. Things have been a little busy combined with more computer issues that we have hopefully gotten worked out!! So since Crab Fest the other week we have been having a blast. S was moved to nights, so he is now working from midnight to 8 in the morning. It is actually working out a lot better than I had originally thought. We get to have breakfast with him when he gets home and winds down from work then he heads to bed till around 4. Since this is the time that he would normally get home the girls and I haven't really seen a difference during the day. So we have normal after noons then sometimes he takes a nap with me when I head to bed or he takes a couple of hours to himself before work.
One of those nights when he just wasn't that tired he headed to the river for a little fishing. So we have our first catch of the season. A nice red salmon maybe somewhere between 5 and 8lbs, I'm not a good judge of fish, but he would definitely be a keeper from a Ga pond!! Although, any sized Alaskan salmon caught in Ga would probably be a keeper no matter the size.
Since moving into our new home we have been dealing with a few issues, most of which have been resolved this week. Since we are in base housing they have an office we report to with any house issues and I'm pretty sure they are tired of hearing from us. My theory is that the house was turned around and we moved in so quickly that not everything was finished as well as if they had a month to get the stuff done. Most of it has been minor issues such as the front door not wanting to stay shut and the back door not not wanting to open then not wanting to close when it is open. The biggest issue however has been the smell of the house.
We assumed when we moved in that it was because the house had been shut up for a couple of weeks and just needed to air out. I was under the impression that the houses received new carpet when the previous tenants moved out, that is incorrect!!! We also learned from our neighbor that the previous tenants had several more pets than what was reported to the housing office. So we decided to call and see what could be done. Originally it was decided to simply steam clean the carpet and see if that would get rid of the smell. However, before the work order could get drawn up S decided to take a closer look with a black light. It is amazing what a black light will show!!! However what is even more amazing to me is that people willingly live in that kind of filth and are then lazy enough to not even attempt to clean it for the next tenants! Needless to say we refused to place B on the carpet in the their room which became obvious was the dogs room before. Also, after speaking with the housing office again we received a call within 48hours that the carpet would be replaced the following day.
I felt so bad for the moving and carpet workers that came in. It is not common to change carpet after tenants have moved in so a separate work order had to be issued to provide movers to move our stuff around the carpet workers. They were all amazing and actually finished the entire house by the time the girls got up from their nap at the neighbors. We also got an even better idea of how filthy the carpet was when the entire crew came and asks to wash theirs after pulling the carpet in our bedroom. The boss then came to tell me that the carpet would have to wait in the closet until another worker could get to the house with a special paint to put on the wood flooring to kill anything left on the floor. This was a precaution to make sure the smell didn't come back and also because there was "black and green stuff" growing on the carpet pad! Even with the new carpet and the "kills paint" on the wood under it there is a slight odor in our closet that I'm hoping will go away as I wash all the clothes in there. If it doesn't go away the boss of the carpet crew doesn't have any other options for me other than to move houses.
While S and I have been having pet withdrawal here lately, me more so than him. This has definitely helped us put that behind us.
With that task behind us now we have moved on to potty training. A is doing an amazing job and while this is only day 2, she has only had 2 accidents today one of which was after she went to bed. I don't think bed wetting should count against her on her second day. I'm a little concerned on how training her to not wet the bed is going to go. So far we have continued to keep her big girl panties and see if she will just start waking up and learning to hold it when she wakes up until she gets to the bathroom. I'm going to try to give her a week to see improvements, as I really don't want to go down the pull ups route. Any ideas on potty training at night and naps, I'll take all the help I can get.