Randomness

Yes it is a word to me. Hans acquired hardware that allows me to get the pictures off of my really tiny memory stick. So below are a selection of the pictures that I found there mostly from this summer, just slightly delayed in coming.

Hans getting a mug shot with the bear rug. I found it among the pictures from Cub Scout day camp this summer.

I put in a picture of all the boys at camp. Since this post is random I thought I would put in a random picture. This is what 3 days of my life consisted of... lots of boys, noise and fun.

Pictures from Hans' B day get together in August since he was out of town for his real day in July

Meanwhile in another part of the house something other than singing was going on....

This is our friends' daughter Lola who took the opportunity to explore something she doesn't have at her house... toilet paper.

Yes Mom, I do like to eat pork. I guess this is only funny if you know her Mom is a vegetarian.

Smiley tooth pictures of Sophie. This is way old, like from August or something and she has most of her mouth filled up now.

Day trip to Metlakatla to "almost" buy a skiff. Well, we actually bought it and then the trailer broke and we gave it back to the guy and had to run to catch the ferrry. My first official trip off the island to somewhere else in Alaska.

I'm sorry. Do I have something on my face?

Starting from the end

This is how Sunday ended up after the snow storm.... the sun came out and blue skies rolled in and it looked beautiful all dusted with snow.

This is a taste of the amount that piled up on the railings on the back deck.

I saw the ferry passing by just a little too late. I wanted to get a better shot but there was only time to catch it thru the wires... sorry guys but take my word for it.. it looked cool crossing in front of the snow covered trees.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

This is the snow coming off the roof. It is weird how it curves down and then just hangs. Quite amazing that it does and that our good ol' gutters hold up under pressure.

My car Gracie is somewhere under that pile.

Hans out trying to salvage what he could of the truck parking... it still took him a LONG time to get her out.

There he is folks, braving the snow to get one of our vehicles free (the truck took the lead since we had just driven it the night before). Mine hasn't been out in days. On a side note... we have almost the exact picture of him from last year's snow days.... instressting.

This is how it looked around 9am or so Sunday morning when church was cancelled and then it kept snowing... see above photos for proof.

So this is the much waited for ice inside the entryway windows... I like to call it our extra freezer. We don't have to worry about things spoiling in this part of the house

That's Instressting...

Yes. I did mean to spell it like that. When Maya and I have conversations about this and that and she thinks that is something new she says hmmm... that's instressting. So it has kind of stuck around our house.
So I have checked out other friends blogs and they all have info on Christmas and I was not even thinking, "Self.. boy that is weird how we haven't posted anything about it and probably won't". Strange how that happens when it is just the two of us I guess. We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas.
We did put up a tree and decorations this year which is a step up from last Christmas. I made a bunch of shell ornaments and we had some given to us from Hans' Mom so the tree didn't look half bad. Plus it was a pre-lit one and that is great since I don't enjoy doing lights at all. We keep threatening to get a real one but that hasn't happened...maybe next year. We had a good Christmas. On Christmas Eve we went over for dinner to the McCarrons and gave the girls their toys we bought. I picked out a toy cash register and shopping basket for Maya because I always loved to play store when I was a girl. I think it was a hit. Soph got some accessories (bib, bottle, sippy cup, wipes etc) to play with her doll. She likes to play with the baby and Maya suprisingly did too that night. Normally any toy with a face --human face that is, is smooky (spooky). It is quite funny but maybe she is rethinking her stance since little sis likes them so much. Christmas day we just relaxed and I made a turkey with all the trimmings. We didn't open up packages until like 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I know we won't get away with that when there are kids old enough to care in the house. We went to Yolaunda's for desserts and visited there for awhile. It was a good day. There was some snow on the ground but the sun was shining and blue skies--a perfect day. Since then we have been dumped on like most of the country. We have over 2 feet consistently in our yard and many places have drifts that are 3 or 4 feet high. My car is pretty much covered completely and hasn't seen light for a couple days now. We took pictures yesterday when Hans tried to dig out his truck that got buried and it took him over 2 hours to get from the house to the road with 2 neighbors helping him. He figured we better get one of the vehicles out--now or never. It has been pretty fun. I know all over has similar conditions but as we were driving back from town today--we finally got out of the house and braved the roads--I was thinking, "Now this is how everyone pictures Alaska to be". Funny how we didn't have any real snow to speak of for a long time. Don't worry though...it is snowing now, we are doing our best to live up to the expectation.

Our Life / Dirtbag stash

This is Amy on Alaska... Hans saw this picture and said, "Hey this shows our life." When questioned he explained and I can see where he is coming from. You can see us on the couch all wrapped up in blankets (because it is always cold and in the wintertime we must sit close together next to the heater since it is so drafty in this house). Hans is taking the picture somehow and probably was being mellow and see exhibit A- one hyper girl. It is strange how that happens to me alot but here it is folks. Makes you want to move here too right?!?

I'm not sure but I think he may be trying out the "Do you feel lucky?" pose

I have to confess... this is NOT my favorite look on him but it does make for interesting conversations. He calls it the dirtbag stash and several of our friends came up with different nicknames for this new found facial hair. This is what happens when men don't get enough fashion choices... they resort to customizing their faces. I thought he looked like he had one of those fake disguises like you see in a cheesy movie. Fortunately for all concerned the stash only lasted a mere two-and-a-half days. Whew! What a relief it wasn't a keeper.

Trip to the big city

Of Anchorage. My first time ever and it was an experience. It was odd to have it dark still in the mid morning and so early in the evening. I am told that the summers of huge amounts of daylight make up for it. It was cold but very interesting. My favorite moment is when we were driving around the first night on our own and I looked out the car window and saw a big animal running along the road. At first I thought it might be a horse but no... a MOOSE! So funny seeing one running in the middle of the city eating the decorative landscape at some apartments. We flipped around and went back so we could watch it some more and in the meantime a woman walked by and they didn't notice each other at first then after the lady had walked by the moose saw her and started charging her. The lady just bolted out into the busy street (luckily no cars were coming at that moment) so she didn't get hit and the moose got distracted in the median and continued running across the road. It was wild. I am glad no one got hurt or else it would have ended a funny story badly. Only in Alaska....

We drove out to see the sights of the area and came to Turnagain Arm. It was the first time I had ever seen the ocean frozen up close and it was moving! As we watched the ice covered water moved along like root beer float foam. PS>>> Sooooo cold!!!

Me trying not to freeze myself to the eye spy scope. Don't I look tremendous in Hans' Carhartt hat? I think we own one of everything with that brand on it.

The brother of Hans looking like Lyle E Coyote.

Lyle took us to this diner after the temple on Saturday and we had a good time. The above sign was posted out front so I had to take a picture for Dad Ruben's sake (OK the spelling is off but how often do you get a sign saying that you're the best in town?)

We were able to attend the temple on Friday and Saturday both. We had never been in one of the smaller temples and it was a real treat to attend. All of the workers were very friendly and helpful (which is always the case) but here they actually remember your name from day to day. We felt very blessed to get the opportunity to go together since that hadn't happened for quite some time. Good Stuff!

Interesting tidbit... It is really hard to get a good picture of the temple when the cars are parked so close to it. Have you ever stood on someone else's Suburban to take a temple picture. Well Hans has!

Random Shots

This is our last long line that we set back in the summer when cousin Sarah was here...she is above working on holding the halibut up.

This is the ship that Hans took the pilot off of (which you saw in an earlier post) I wanted to post some of the Ketchikan pics that I took that day so now you get it in pieces : )

Here I am on Hans' boat for the last trip I took of the season. It has taken me forever to get these other pictures in here...

About Time

Yes. We are alive--in case there were questions about that. I can't say there is too much to report we have just been plugging along here in AK. I can't believe the holidays are already upon us. I do love this time of year though. Well I do when I have family around to share things with and now we do and I guess it is fun to create our own traditions as well. We are going to actually cut down a tree this year instead of just think about it like last year.

We are going to be taking a mini-vacation to Anchorage next week and that should be fun. I am excited to get off the island and travel with Hans. It seems we have both been somewhere else but not together...oh and his was for work and not for fun so I guess that changes everything.
I am looking forward to seeing a new temple and a new place in general. I have heard mixed reviews about the place so we will see.

Sophie is walking now on her own. It is really cute and still a little surprising when you catch a glimpse of her waddling off dragging her blanket behind her. It really is like I have seen others describe it--one day she just woke up and decided to walk. We had of course been walking around with her holding fingers but now she can do it herself. Way to go little one!

Maya is getting bigger too. She of course informs us that she too can walk! She finds herself very proud of "her baby" walking around and trying to be a big girl like her sister. Maya really is a thinker and understands a lot of things I wouldn't imagine she could. She is always talking and taking everything in.

We have an ever increasing Cub Scout group which is good yet we are short on adult help. We are working on and are promised, more help anytime now. I look forward to that day but in the meantime we do our best and try to have some fun while we learn along the way.

The search is still on for our new place. We are keeping our eyes out for something that works out. I will keep you posted when anything pans out.

Today is a bright, sunny day in Ketchikan. It is days like this that make everyone appreciate living here. I know I love days like today that make me glad to be a part of such beauty. I hope everyone is enjoying something about where they live.

A three hour tour

Finally! I was able to load up the pictures from the pilot job... So here is Captain Hjort in action. After we made it out to the pilot station (part in the channel that is specified for pick up and drop offs) we waited until they came into sight. Hans decided which side to use and how fast to go and then we started towards the ship as they were passing us. We went over their wake and around the side...

They had this opened when we came alongside and this is the spot he is aiming for and keep in mind we are still moving and so are they.. as you can see from the waving passenger many people come out to see the show. Who knows how many vacationers have Hans and his boat in their Alaska cruise album?

So now we came up and got sucked into the ship and we hold steady so the pilot can climb down the ladder and onto the pilot boat.

This is a shot of us pulling away after we had the pilot on board the cruise ship went on its merry way to Seattle.

This is a shot of his boat tied up before the trip that day.
Hans doing his thing.. being captain and kicking back.
So above is the cruise ship at the dock tied up which is shown later in the pictures of us pulling up to take the pilot off....only it won't let me post any more pictures it just comes up with an error so that is it for now I guess.

So I am not sure why I seem to write for awhile and then don't and need to catch up... that is where I find myself yet again. We have been working (and yes the cruise ship season is almost over now only 2 weeks or so left and counting!) Hans is going to Kake again on Saturday but only until the end of the month so half as long as last time. I had today off and will have tomorrow as well since Maya and Sophie's grandparents are visiting from out of town. It turned out to be pretty good timing since it's the last 2 days before Hans leaves... not that he isn't still working but at least I am around when he has time in between.
It's been a pretty busy time since I last blogged. We have had extended family in town for our neice Madeline's baptism which was last Saturday. It has been fun and totally new to have so many Hjorts around town.
We had an outdoor pack meeting at the beach last night. The weather was only partly raining so it turned out ok. The awards didn't make it in time (they came this morning) but everyone seemed to have a pretty good time. We have been working on a Summertime Pack award, Alaska Heritage and Outdoor badge lately along with normal book achievements. I am learning more all the time and I look forward to the winter (starting in October) when Hans will have more time to help with things... it is much easier with his help. It's been a busy summer with camp, fieldtrips, bike rodeo and everything in between. I was going to post some camp pictures but there are just too many so I will save my transfer space for other ones. I am going to put together a pack scrap book of the things we have done this past year. It will be a pretty fun project I believe and nice to have the memories organized for the boys to look through.
We are still trying to figure out where we will end up this winter since we don't plan on staying another winter in this house if we can help it. We do have a few options in the air but nothing is for sure yet. That is my least favorite part of waiting things out... the not knowing part but that is why I need more faith. It will work out somehow and that will be how it is supposed to.

Success!

So I have heard and even out of his own mouth... Hans' belated party was a success. I am glad since I had a bit of pressure since he hasn't had a cake for years now. I guess that is what happens when you are never home around family for your birthday. Anyway we had a house full with lots of little ones playing around and fun appetizers to eat. We actually still had leftovers that I took to Yolaunda's and we had with dinner--it really takes forever to eat food sometimes.

So I think we were only able to get a couple pictures and I will post them soon but not this month. I got a notice that our transfer amount is over the limit (oops, I posted too many photos already this month) for those of you that have no concept as I didn't before I moved here... our DSL comes with a certain speed and an alloted amount of transfer for the month. Each time you download, open files, pictures, IM, tons of things take transfer. We have had it for I don't know how long and never gone over before this month though so I guess it's not that big of a deal. I must say that I have been spoiled with "down south" internet. :) By the way, did you know that where you live anywhere below us here in Alaska is down south? Interesting right?
I really want to post the pictures I took on my evening on the Bostwick 2 Saturdays ago when Hans first got back to town. I went to work with him again and actually had a working camera this time. Funny side note, this new camera I got in UT has been dropped pretty hard now at least 8 times and it is still going strong... the front looks like it has been through a bit but the screen and everything else seems fine. Tough little cookie.

The other success is for Cub Scout day camp. Yes. I did make it through the three days although at times I didn't know if I would make it until 3pm. I was assigned to be the leader of a different crew of boys (other than my own pack boys) which was odd and a bit challenging since I did not know any of them but we made it through. I have tons o' pictures of that too but it too will have to wait until the transfer starts over. I think we are finally getting enough photos together to work on our pack scrapbook which should be a lot of fun to see what we have been up to. I got a lot of good pointers and ideas at camp from more experienced leaders. I found out about brag vests that they can put their extra patches and "stuff" on to show off and I want to totally have those available for those who want one. I also just really saw how simple things can be and what others do to create excitement and get the boys learning and growing. I am working on getting us some more help for our unit so we can run a better program. I am looking forward to implementing some new ideas and excited to see a full school year coming on when we have a better handle on what we are doing!

Let's see what else... Sophie's first birthday is coming up on Monday which will be fun and I will try to get some photos of her unwrapping the little gifts we got her (it's clothes so she won't be too excited but they will be cute on her) I figured she deserved to have some clothes of her own that weren't passed down from big sister. Hans and I are going to watch them overnight tomorrow since Sarah and Jessie have a birthday party at Cape Fox to go to. I haven't ever had them overnight so it will be a little odd but isn't much different than the same old right? We have a fun time playing with them and being part of their lives and seeing how the grow and change. Since we don't have our own yet we get to have fun with them.

Hans and I both have time off in the day tomorrow so that will be fun. He is going to work on repairing our roof here which is once again leaking in multiple spots. It is a crazy roof and really needs to be redone. We are looking for another place to rent that is a better set up for us and possibly cheaper and in town. I will keep you posted on where we end up.

We are actively working on getting our 72 hr kits and year supply taken care of. We had some of it done but had been slacking for awhile. We are back on track and knocked out all the year supply for health, beauty, cleansing, sanitation needs. So it feels good to have that part done and we are going to make a list and plan how we will accomplish the rest. We have made a goal to spend money each month on food storage and preparedness items. I guess since we won't be getting a house right now it allows us extra money to get this taken care of. You never know what is going to happen so I know that I will feel better knowing we have followed the council on this.

There is only a month and a half left of the tourist season up here... HOORAY! That will mean that Hans should be less busy and I will be too. I guess we have yet to see how the schedules will pan out but I am really hoping to see each other more than we have been. We still have the 2 weeks in Kake coming up the last part of September but I guess it isn't a month so look on the bright side right?
I could write more but I guess that is enough for now. It seems like I am forgetting something important but it just isn't coming to me...

News on Maya & Sophie

Hans and I took the girls with us down to meet Cindy who was in town on one of the cruise ships on Monday. She is the mom of one of his really good friends from back in Arlington. It was nice to see her again and the girls did pretty good with just standing there while we talked. They both pretended they were shy which amazes me every time it happens since they make so much noise all day long. I mentioned to Hans how funny it feels sometimes with us all out together doing something. It's like we are pretending to have a family during the weekdays or something. Kinda weird feeling but they are cute girls so why not huh?

It was a sunny day but very windy as we were walking along the docks back to the car. I looked down and just laughed at how funny Maya looked walking against the wind. It seemed that she might get blown away if I hadn't been holding onto her hand. So we got a couple pictures of that. It seems that I was looking pretty interesting myself. I put her in the tshirt that I brought her back from my trip. It says "As a matter of fact, I do fish like a girl". It's pretty cute on her--I got the smallest one and its a bit big but she will grow into it. She always talks about being able to go out on a boat and fish so it just seemed like the perfect shirt for her. Sarah said she did get to fish at Moon Lake for their reunion last month so then it works even better.

This is Maya with our oldest nieces Paige and Brooke at Refuge Cove beach. We had a Pioneer Day celebration on the Saturday after the 24th. It was not very warm, I spent a fair amount of time next to the huge bon fire but at least it didn't rain. Paige went swimming I heard with some of the other youth. I think Maya waded in when her Mom came later on because I was too cold to go to close to the water. Maya rode with me and the Keiths on the short bus to the picnic. She thought it was great fun. Maya wanted her picture to be taken since I was trying to get shots of Soph. So here it is folks--Maya's favorite breakfast right now cereal, raisins and she does like orange juice too. She is learning so much everyday. As anyone knows who has been around her much--she loves to talk and ask lots and lots of questions which is cool. She repeats back whatever I tell her though so conversations take a long time. We went through the whole alphabet and last week we worked on 'Z' So we are going to start again since she still gets confused on some letters and it will be good when she can recognize them all no problem. Then we can start working on the sounds for them. Thanks to my Mom we have lots of material that we can use to learn. She is also learning the days of the week with a song my Mom also taught me. That would be a cute video to get on here... let me see if I can get it. We do math everyday--on again different wipe off sheets that Mom donated to me. She loves to count and it is really great to see her eyes sparkle when she looks up at me once she finished it all by herself. She can almost dress herself totally--shirt gets a bit tricky sometimes and buttons and zippers stump her but so close! She can't wait to be "bigger" so she can do other things... I always tell her soon enough. I got a toe ring in Jackson Hole--as my parents can attest to, it was a high and low search. I finally had to settle on a small regular ring that sort of fits my toe but still a little big. I do love the flower on it though--in any case, Maya loves it. She plays with it everyday I wear flip flops saying, "I wish I had one of these... I can't wait until I am bigger and they have one in my size" She is so funny. Today we came over to our house to work on the cake for Hans' belated belated birthday get together on Sunday. I promised she could help without thinking that I had Cub Scout camp the rest of the week. So she helped me make the cake--always wanting to be a big helper. We all have a good time figuring everything out. If nothing else she keeps me on my toes because she will tell me when she doesn't think I am doing what I should. Thanks for all the laughs Maya!

Soph is really climbing...She is turning into spider girl. It is really hard to capture how funny she is pulling herself up on everything but she does it all day long. She is pretty brave since their isn't any carpet to cushion her falls. We have a lot of bumps along the way but she is getting better balance and more confident everyday. It is fun to watch. Hans gave me the idea to use the sports setting on my camera next time to try and catch her before she moves away. I may try a video next time too...

Soph is getting more teeth and right now she is in a funny stage with the 2 on the bottom and 2 random ones on top so she resembles a vampire. Today I noticed it looks like her front teeth are trying to push through so maybe by next week she will have those. It seems like she has been just teething forever so it would be nice to see some rewards for all the fussiness. She talks up storm (well in her own language of course) You just know her mind is working so fast taking everything in around her. I think it will be interesting to see when she does start talking if she can keep up with her big sister. So Soph is going to turn 1 coming up really soon. She is getting big and really is starting to have a little personality all her own. She is a little short on patience most of the time and has been known to show her temper off. She does like to cuddle and lets me hold her way more than Maya ever will, so that is fun sometimes unless she wants that when I have some big disaster going on with Maya and then it gets tricky. She smiles alot and always makes me smile too. She is a fun little munchkin.

PS many thanks to grandparents and everyone in UT who spoiled her rotten on her trip-if you are reading this. :) She crawled around crying to be picked up for days even when she was down for just a minute. We are getting back to a better rhythm now so I can juggle the two better again... I suppose that is what visiting Grandma and Grandpa is all about right? Spoil them and send them back home.