Igloos, Chicks and Birthday Cakes

Grandaddy, Papa and Squirt Boy ventured into our mountains and built an igloo earlier this spring. Not only did they build it, but Papa and Squirt Boy slept (or tried to) in it!




Fuzzy Butt wasn't so sure about the new two-week-old chicks. This was the day they came home, Gus' birthday.


Speaking of birthdays, here is Gus' construction cake.


And, a few week's later, Squirt Boy's dragon cake:

Ice Park Fun

A few weeks ago, we went to the World Ice Art Championships. Slightly warm, sunny weather made for a lovely afternoon.

My two favorites:

A bull caribou challenging three hungry wolves

A caterpillar crawling up a plant.


A chilly seat for us.

Sliding along.

INSANITY!

Yes, that's the only word for our weather right now.

Last week I PROMISE I was telling the truth when I said it was 48 BELOW zero at my house. (Yes, we made it home safely. It had warmed to 28 below by the time we got home.)

Today, NO KIDDING, it's 48 degrees ABOVE zero. 96 degrees difference? Holy cow!! The wind is AMAZING. I'm sure we've had gusts upwards of 70 MPH. And it's WARM?!?!?! No coat. No gloves. No hat. Boys in light jackets. This is NOT January in Alaska. Is it?

The raucous wind not only melts everything; it dries it up as it goes. Hence, there are few puddles on top of the icy parking lots around town. Our deck and stairs are nice and dry. Things are melting out of the snow around the yard. Squirt's trike, the Tonka dump truck, various land mines left by Fuzzy Butt. Hmm. That makes me wish for a little blanket of snow....

Cabin Fever

As of this morning, we're going to wait out the cold for a couple more days.

I know you're wondering what we do all day, tucked away in a warm house in chilly Anchorage.

We make Jigglers. Peanut doesn't have any, because he IS a jiggler.

We run scores of laps around the main floor of Granny's house.

We eat poop.

Mama wipes noses and valiantly presses on. Single parenting stinks! My heart is with those who have to do this far longer than I.

It's Chilly....

Squirt Boy, in his newly found verbal freedom, let's me know when it's cold. "Mama, chilly out!"

And he's not kidding. Though the little boys and I are socked away in chilly Anchorage, where it's been colder than -20 the past few mornings, Papa and Fuzzy Butt are shivering away at -42 for the HIGH today at home.

We had grand plans of sledding in "balmy" Anchorage last week, only to be shut down by the coldest temps in a decade (here, and in the rest of the state).

At our bosses' house in Delta (Papa's boss is married to my boss), it was -55 this morning.

So, wherever you are, and however chilly you are, know that we feel your pain.

My biggest dilemma? Driving home over 330 miles of windy two lane highway by myself with two small boys in temps ranging from -20 to -45. We miss Papa and Fuzzy desperately, I'm excited to see the finished work on the house (rumors of flooring and window trim abound!), but I question the wisdom in driving solo that far, that cold.

We'll see what happens. Meanwhile, we are doing fun things to try not to go crazy from cabin fever. (Two sick boys + very cold weather = one antsy mama!) I'll post photos next time.

'Twas the week before Christmas....

And all through the town, the sun barely came up before it went down. (High noon on December 21.)


The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,



While sheets of fresh gift paper dried everywhere.


Papa and Squirt Boy read and snuggled together,


And Squirt Boy worked out, despite the cold weather.

Seven Months

As I type, the sun barely lights the sky. The wind is blowing, and the thermometer reads 0 degrees. Snow swirls its way across the land, and all the critters are hunkered down.

The time? 9 am. Welcome to winter in Alaska!

Tomorrow marks seven months of life for Peanut. He sits straight and tall, grabs toys, giggles, and eats all kinds of yummy pureed food. He babbles a lot; he and his brother have some great "conversations". Here's some video of him laughing with his brother, and dancing on the couch.

In honor of Squirt Boy's "whole moon" last week, we took a moon walk. It lasted all of 10 minutes. The beautiful moonlit evening was only marred by the bitter cold. Those of you in wintery climes can appreciate it taking us longer to get ready to go than the entirety of the outing. Here the boys are, waiting for cocoa. Okay, so Peanut snores while Squirt Boy craves marshmallows.

Squirt Boy's been singing smidgeons of songs lately - "Rocky Mountain High", "Happy Birthday", "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" are some favorites. The other day, I heard "Happy Birthday" coming from the bathroom Squirt Boy frequents as he learns to potty BY HIMSELF. Birthday cake, anyone?

For those that care, my Tangled Yoke Cardigan is about 4 inches of ribbing along. So far, it looks like it's going to fit! I'll keep trying to get a decent photo to show you.

In closing, a couple pictures of the cutest boys I know. Hope you are warm and cozy, wherever you are!

P.S. Sorry for the spacing issues. Don't have time to mess with them today.

And so it begins.

September 28, 2008 (It's not autumn anymore, no matter what the calendar says!)

Winter fun

Squirt Boy has enjoyed a little kicksledding, stomping through the snow in new snow boots, creating snow bunnies with Papa, and drinking hot cocoa when he comes inside.

When Squirt Boy has cold hands, he runs up to me and asks, "Button?" Meaning my belly button. Meaning he really wants to warm his hands up on my belly. Do I let him? Of course. Does he let me? Not on your life!!

Fuzzy likes the snow, and Peanut slept through much of the excitement. He's not quite sure what to think of the cold little prickles when he's carried outside.

In house news, we now have a working toilet on the MAIN floor! Thank you, Papa! No more running up or downstairs, hoping that everyone will be okay for the few seconds it takes. And to think a year ago, we didn't have ANY functioning toilets and were using a honey bucket. We've come SO far!!

'Bye, Cranes!

Winter comes early in the great white north. The autumnal equinox marks the END of fall, really. Frost and temps in the 20s greeted us this morning. Our golden leaves carpet the ground and swirl in the wind. Snow frosts Donnelly Dome, a prominant point a few miles out of town.


A huge harbinger of winter is the mass exodus of sandhill cranes. We live along their major flyway, rejoicing at their spring arrival, and sorrowing at their departure. This afternoon, we watched hundreds of cranes wing their way south, over our house. Squirt Boy waved, and said, "Bye, cranes!" We look forward to seeing you in the spring!



Temps stay chilly during the day, as well. Here are the boys ready for a walk this evening.


By the way, Peanut is FIVE months old today.

Just Kickin' It

A couple of years ago, Papa received a kicksled for his birthday, with hopes of gliding over ice and snow from our home to his office, a little over a mile away. The first winter, he endured jabs and jibes from coworkers as he kicked to work: "Too cheap to buy a dog to pull you?"



Because of our mighty wind here, much of the snow drifts and blows away, and leaves a less-than-desirable sledding surface when it's through. However, our road and the easements are slightly hilly, and hardpacked, and fun for sledding on. Squirt Boy is learning to ride, and drive, the kicksled himself.



These photos and video are from the last week, when we've gone riding to check Papa's trapline. It's his first foray into trapping animals, and he's snared three snowshoe hare so far. Fortunately, he cleans them far from me, but not always far enough from Fuzzy Butt, who loves to chew on rabbit parts.

Pushing is the hard part.

Driving is definitely more fun. And riding can't be beat!!! We just need to put some kind of sticky pad on the seat. Squirt Boy flies off at the end. Those snowsuits sure are slickery!

Winter Adventures

A couple of weeks ago, we woke to a calm winter day. Usually, such calm betrays cold so bitter that your nose hairs freeze instantly when you step outside, and you try desperately NOT to breathe through your mouth. If not calm, the wind whipping through the trees indicates a passing warm front. True, the thermometer may read ten to twenty degrees warmer than the day, or even the hour, preceding, but the wind chill negates much of the warmth.

This day, however, was not windy AND the temperature was 10 degrees. Anything above zero is balmy by our standards, and this mama knew it was a day to get outside. Sunlight, though returning more rapidly every day, was still not on our side. We ventured out about 2:30 in the afternoon; notice the lovely twilight? The sun would set in an hour.

We sledded, we plodded through the snow, we looked at trees and animal tracks (moose and dog), and enjoyed the fresh air. Squirt Boy loved being outside, and protested heading in after 45 minutes, despite the growing darkness.

We swang/swung/swinged.

We walked like penguins.


And we had cocoa to wash it all down. Life is good.

Otherwise...

We’ve done some celebrating the past couple of months. Papa had an October birthday, we spent Thanksgiving with Granny, Grandaddy, Adam and Andrea in Anchorage, we celebrated nine years of marriage in November, and Mama turned 34 in December. (I love the fact that we get to eat our way through all kinds of yummy festivities this time of year.)

We’re thankful that we’ve been eased into the bitter cold of winter. We’ve had a mild winter so far….only a few days below zero, before things took a plunge yesterday. We’re at 30 below right now, and with only 4 hours of sunlight, it won’t get much warmer tomorrow. The stillness captivates me: the trees with snow clinging to them, the colors of the twilight sky (at 3 o’clock in the afternoon), the distinctive squeak of the snow that only super cold weather brings. I found some bubbles while cleaning the bathroom today. I seem to remember SOMETHING fun about them in really cold weather….maybe tomorrow, Squirt Boy will get to watch them through the window. I’ll let you know!

We’re looking forward to spending Christmas with family and friends and having some relaxing time in a warmer clime.

Peanut seems to be healthy and growing. At least, I’m getting rounder. Papa can feel the baby kick now, which is fun. Squirt Boy hasn’t stayed still long enough to feel anything. Almost 23 weeks now….only 17 to go.

Winter brings a slower pace of life to us, which we welcome. Many evenings are spent reading and/or knitting in front of the fire, enjoying the quietness of each other’s company (after our favorite noise maker goes to bed, of course). It’s fun to have a season of slowness, of quiet.