Sunday, July 11, 2010
Happy birthday to me! I got spoiled with celebrations, happy birthday wishes, and hugs from my kids and parents. The kids were so excited to give me the presents that they had made for me. Grandma had helped them all create something special. Thanks, mom!
To make it an even better day, it was nice and sunny. It's been a while since I've seen much sun. It gives me such an extra boost of energy.
At bedtime, Laina and I were talking about some birds. My dad joined in and said something about seagull and eagle. Laina informed him that they rhyme but they aren't homophones. Apparently Morgan has taught her what homophones are!! It makes me happy to know that the kids are learning new things and sharing what they know with others!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Laina got to go for a ride in the wheelbarrow with Grandpa. It still seems so weird to me that my kids are doing the things that I had such fond memories of as a child. Are my kids really getting that big? Am I really getting that old?
We took Morgan and Cole to the library so they could get books for their reports on Soldotna and Alaska. They got so excited and ended up checking out a bunch of other books. They sure love reading and really miss going to the library whenever they want!
Even though we had gorgeous weather, the kids had to work on their reports. I brought a bunch of their homeschooling to work on but we haven't done hardly any!! I guess it is vacation after all!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Back to the rain. I went into town with my mom. She dropped me off at a store while she went to a meeting. I ended up walking all around Soldotna since each place that I went to was closed! At least I had on my big yellow rainjacket. The kids enjoyed staying home with Grandpa instead of going with us!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Matt and Jamie arrived today so I got to drive to Anchorage to pick them up. I got up really early so that I could go to the temple before picking them up. The drive was absolutely astounding. It is so nice to get out once in a while without distractions and really enjoy the beauty of Alaska. There were so many places that I should have stopped and taken pictures!
(All three pictures were taken from the same location!)
The wildlife wasn't out much though. I only saw two rabbits and a dall sheep.
I enjoyed a temple session with Sharon and Teresa followed by lunch at Red Robins. The place reminds me so much of high school!
I picked up Matt and Jamie after being worried that they missed the flight! They took forever to get out of the security area! The baggage claim was almost deserted. A nice couple told me that they were definitely on the plane and that they had seen them in the bathroom. I have to admit that the bathroom is always our first stop after a long flight with kids also!
While I was gone, the kids got to clean and played. Grandma cooked a big dinner for when we got back. I don't think we even got to eat before all of the cousins were off playing!! Cole was more interested in fishing with Grandpa. He netted a fish and pulled one in that Grandpa had hooked. Morgan tried to net but was unsuccessful. She needs a little more practice and instruction to get her confidence up.
Morgan instantly took Brooke!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
5:00 a.m. Are you serious??? Matt's kids are early risers even for their own time zone. But to add an extra 3 hours is really throwing everybody off! We've got Alysa, Abby, and Laina all sleeping together on the full size bed of the bunkbed. Nate and Jake are in the same area with them. So, Alysa and Laina were up extra early but Laina didn't even make it until 10:00 before she went back upstairs to bed.
I feel so sad that Meghan and Tyler aren't going to be here this year. Meghan has the absolute worst timing with having babies!! She missed two years ago also! I sent her an email asking for her chicken enchilada soup recipe and she said that I couldn't have it since she didn't want everybody sitting around enjoying her soup without her. She wrote, "NO SOUP FOR YOU!"
With 8 kids that had to be bathed tonight, we had to take turns. While the little kids were in the tub, Cole asked if he could go fishing with Grandpa. I am a sucker for him wanting to hang out with my dad so I let him go instead of taking a shower. What a wise decision I made! So, I have mentioned the buzzer system before. Well, if there is one buzz there is a fish on. If there are two buzzes, the fishing is "hot". While I was combing through 3 little girls wet hair, there was a double buzz. I ignored it and kept on doing what I was doing. Morgan didn't ignore it and came running back to tell me that Cole had gotten his first fish all by himself.....and I missed it!! Cole didn't know the morse code for the buzzer and had accidently buzzed it twice. I took off with the camera (I think I even left a comb hanging in a tangle in one of the girl's hair!) Cole was grins from ear to ear. Once we finally got it taken care of, he had to run back up to the cabin. He said he was so excited that he had to pee!
With the rush of Cole's first catch, everybody else got the fishing bug. Morgan's caught her first fish. It was really little at about 6" long so we threw it back. Jamie caught one also. Still no luck for me!
When we get more than a few fish, it gets pretty heavy to carry them up the trail to the cabin so my dad uses the wheelbarrow. Of course Cole wanted to give it a try.
In addition to now being an avid fisherman, Cole loves to take care of the fish afterwards. He hasn't fileted yet but he helps. He loves to "process" the fish. He does the whole thing by himself. My dad sends the filets into the garage and Cole dries them off, cuts them into smaller pieces, wraps them in saran wrap, puts them in sealer bags (which he labels very creatively!), seals them and puts them in the freezer. All the other kids like to help out also.
Friday, 16, 2010
At 12:00 this morning, Laina wondered into my bedroom. She was complaining that there was a fish in her bed and it was moving and it was still alive. Once I explained that it was just Abby sleeping next to her and not really a fish, she went back to sleep.
While going through all of our boxes of old stuff, Morgan and Cole discovered a bunch of roller blades that used to be Meghans. My dad was a trooper and took them up to the elementary school so they could skate in the empty ice rink.
Around dinner time, Brittany and her family arrived. My poor parents must be so overwhelmed from the peace and quiet of two people to the chaos of 19 people.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The morning fishing wasn't very good. I didn't have any luck. I did have an interesting netting experience though. After catching a fish, it is put on a string and put back into the water until we're ready to clean them. Mitch caught a fish and tied the stringer to the front of one of the platforms. When I went out to net my dads fish, I ended up with Mitch's dead fish in the net instead of my dads! I had to scramble to get the dead fish out of the net and out of the way so that I could get my dads fish. After that, we took turns using the different fishing spots until I finally gave up and went into town with my mom. Kaiya also went to practice driving before she takes drivers education.
By the afternoon I was so exhausted that I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. Brittany's old friend, Tirzah, came by to visit so I postponed the nap for a little while. She recently adopted a brother and sister. They are Mexican and seem to fit right in with the family. Everytime that Cole gives me a hard time about not having a brother, I tell him we can adopt a Guatemalan boy his age. He says he wants a real brother. I wonder what my kid's reaction would be if we ever really did adopt a kid.
We used the new picnic table for our hot dog/s'mores dinner tonight. It was nice to have everybody outside and having somewhere to put all of our food and to sit.
Laina playing in the "little" cabin.
Immediately after eating, the fish came in so thick that we were catching them left and right. I only got one but I also got to help out in other ways. After netting one of Brittany's fish, I got the hook out and started carrying it over to the stringer. The fish wasn't moving at all while I got the hook out but about halfway to the stringer, the whole thing swung up to the side and I freaked out. My initial reaction was to scream, jump, and throw the fish off my finger! Then I had to try to grab it off the ground again really quick while Kaiya and Drew were laughing at me! It kept moving and I couldn't get it on the stringer and off my hand fast enough!
Matt was fishing off a small platform that you have to pretty much crawl to. He had a fish on with a really long line and I got to attempt to net it in the smallest little spot with him. He tried to climb back up the trail until a tree gave way. He was slipping all over and I got twisted up in his line. We were laughing hysterically and Matt kept saying that this was going to ruin my perfect netting record. Somehow we managed to get the fish in.
I also got to help my dad with the fish cleaning. He filleted, I took the skin off, and then Ryley and Morgan did the "processing". Lance helped to throw all the skin and bones down the bank to the river. His arm strength wasn't quite enough to clear Mitch fishing below on the grate. Lance thought it was hilarious to try to hit his dad. He didn't think it was so funny when he went down below and Grandpa threw something that hit him on top of his head!
