LT's Big Fish Story

So..LT went fishing. Apparently, he did lots of fishing. Mind you, I wasn't actually present to verify the fishing, but I am told pictures don't lie. In this case, the pictures are of some pretty-good sized fish, at least pretty-good sized trout. I am also told that it is pretty-good fun to go fly fishing for these pretty-good sized trout. I am not sure that I would agree with that statement, but I will grant that fly-fishing is pretty-high on LT's

"Favorite-Things-To-Do" list. I personally am glad that the trout did not actually make it to my doorstep to verify their capture with their shiny, ooky presence. They were judiciously "catch-and-released" back into the river to swim free again. Not that I have an issue with eating fishies, I just don't personally care to consume them.

In all (or at least a little more) seriousness, LT spent four days up in Wyoming fishing with some buddies. One of his friends is a member of a fishing club that owns rights to a section of river and a rustic cabin up that way. So, LT jumped at the chance to go relax, wade around a river all day, and catch some of the biggest trout he has ever captured fly-fishing. He came back sun-burned, scruffy, and with his fly-fishing need satisfied for the time-being. (Actually, he is already itching to go again. )

I will leave you with this parting picture of LT's fishing buddy, JJ, smooching a fish. A little strange, but very amusing. Hey, I'm glad fun was had by all. However, I am still particularly glad that none of those shiny, ooky trout made it home.

Wipe Carnage and Other Tales of Toddler Mayhem

Oh, the days of motherhood. Sweet kisses, cute faces, and sheer exasperation. Sugar, my 1 and 1/2 year old daughter, is sweet, just like her name, but she also has a good dose of spunk and adventure. Enough spunk to cause her mother to sigh and take a moment to breathe deeply and calmly on a fairly regular basis.

Yesterday, I seemed to need to pause and take those calming, deep breaths a few more times than usual. At the risk of encouraging some of this carnage as "cute", I took a couple pictures for your viewing pleasure.

First, we have the "wipe carnage". Apparently, she learned from Daddy that she could remove the sticker seals from a new box of wipes and stick them on her belly. Not only is it great fun to have stickers on your belly...but it also fun to take the wipes out and spread them all over the house. Mom (that would be me) was ignorant of this new skill and left an entire box of Costco wipe packages within easy reach. Needless to say, I came upon the battlefield, shrewn with the carcasses of helpless wipes, with much dismay. Deep breath, calm voice, don't laugh.

If only this were the first such incident of the day. Earlier in the afternoon, I had walked outside to smell something peculiar. Something "poopy" smelling. After some investigation, I discovered that Sparkle (4) and her visiting friend had thought it would be interesting to use the Tonka excavator to scoop a fresh pile of doggy dung into the back of the waiting Tonka school bus. This little feat was attempted by preschoolers, mind you, and not particularly neatly done. After washing up, changing some "damaged" pants, and discussing the greater ills of playing with dog excrement, we moved on with our day.

Shortly thereafter, Sugar woke up from her nap. I sat her on a stool at the counter to have a piece of bread for snack. Apparently, I did not remove the bread bag from her general vicinity. Big mistake. I came back from attending to something else to find she had reached over, grabbed the bread bag and preceded to remove every piece of bread, taking at least one bite out of each slice. One lone slice of bread survived. Good thing that is all I need to make a sandwich for Slugger's lunch.

That was yesterday.

Today, Sugar decided to have lunch sitting ON the counter.

Deep breath, calm voice, don't laugh.

Rabbit Moon

Just finished the book, Rabbit Moon by J.D. Payne. It is a bit of an obscure book...it is even a bit hard to find on Amazon (but it is there!). It came to me via my Alaskan relatives. It is a bit like a Tony Hillerman novel, but with more emphasis on the characters and relationships than the details of the mystery. Although the suspense was most definitely there. The main character, Marin Sinclair, is an anglo woman who spent most of her teenage years on the Navajo Reservation. She is a woman conflicted by many things, including the difficulty of reconciling the Navajo culture with her own. It is well written book, with lots of interesting tidbits about the Navajo, but I do have to warn you that the ending left me feeling vaguely unsatisfied. I still have some questions that feel unanswered.

If you live near me and want to borrow it...give me a holler.

Up the Alaskan Highway

First, a little background. My background. Just to get us all on the same page. Even though I now live in the beautiful and colorful state of Colorado, I actually spent most of my childhood (from age four to eighteen) in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Now...just be clear for those of you who are making assumptions...NO, I am not Mormon, and YES, I do ski). I spent many a pleasant day in the mountains near Salt Lake, skiing, hiking, biking and even just sitting around. It is the home of my childhood. My family, however, no longer resides anywhere close to SLC. In fact, most of them now live about as far away as you can get and still be in the USA. My brother, now known to my kids as Uncle D and his lovely wife, Auntie K, moved up to the utterly gorgeous state of Alaska almost eight years ago. They have spent the last couple years up in a small town off the Alaskan Highway nearer to Fairbanks. (If you want to hear more about them...check out the "My Cute Nephew" link...Auntie K does a fabulous job on her blog!) My mom & dad, known to the grandchildren as Granny & Grandaddy, got the adventuring bug about three years ago. After 27 years of living in SLC, my dad accepted a job in Anchorage. My folks packed up, sold the house, and moved the whole homestead (including 500 lbs of rock collection) up to Anchorage. So that leaves me, and Auntie Jessica, as the only immediate family that still live "down outside" (in the lower 48 States).

All this is to say that when I go visit my family, I get to do what most tourists long to do... I travel to the Great White North. So, this past June, I packed up the kids and made the five and a half hour plane flight to Anchorage. (LT came up later.) Other than a lap baby who thought my face looked more like a pin cushion for her finger and a slight incident that soaked one of our seat cushions, we made it to Anchorage without me going completely crazy.

We spent a few days at my folks, riding bikes, taking walks and visiting the local indoor water park. Then we packed up again and took off driving, along with a lot of baby boomers in RVs, up the Alaskan Highway. We took two days to drive the long way (8 hours) to my brother's house. Did I mention that Alaska in really, really, really big?

Here's a picture I got of Mt. McKinley or Denali as it is known locally. The tallest mountain in North America. It is so big that it creates its own weather. If you look closely at this picture, you can see the peak coming through the top of the clouds. This is taken from a viewpoint off the highway.

We spent a night in a little cabin near Denali National Park. My kids didn't sleep too well with the midnight sun (it really doesn't get very dark even in the early a.m.) coming through the not-so-dark window curtains. But we had fun seeing a little of the park and checking out the sled dog demonstration. Here is Grandaddy, Sparkle, Slugger, (and the tip of Sugar's head in the backpack) pretending to ride the sled.

From Denali, we drove up through Fairbanks and on to Uncle D & Auntie K's house. At the time, they were living in a rental while they were building (literally building themselves) their new place. Since then, they have been living on their land in a tent trailer and will soon be moving into the basement while they finish the rest of their house. It was Slugger's first time meeting his cute little red-headed cousin, Squirt Boy. Slugger was very, very excited. Here is a picture of the of Uncle D, Auntie K, and Squirt boy on the front porch of their new house. Did I mention they are doing a fabulous job building it?

LT, meanwhile, flew in to Fairbanks. I went to pick him up in the early a.m. of June 21 - the Summer Solstice - or the longest day of the year. When his flight got in an hour late at 2:30 a.m. LT commented, "Wow...it is really light outside." It really was light outside...at 2:30 a.m. Technically, the sun is actually down at that time, but it is still dusky, not truly dark. It is very surreal. Despite getting a lot less sleep than usual, we really never felt tired. It is amazing how our bodies respond to the light.

Here's Uncle D with Squirt Boy. Gotta love that red hair!

We went to the lake, ate at the local drive-in and saw lots of moose! The kiddos and I actually saw a mama & her twin mooselets (what is a baby moose called?) walking about 100 yards from the rental house. Very cool! Here's Grandaddy, Sparkle, Slugger, and Uncle D going for a canoe ride.

LT & Uncle Dan went fly-fishing on the Clear Water River. They floated down the river and caught graylings. While on their expedition they saw a moose hanging out in the river. Here's Uncle D with a grayling and LT fishing...

We had a great time visiting. My family is dear to me and I enjoyed the time spent together. LT flew back to Colorado and Granny, Grandaddy, the kiddos and I headed back down (the shorter way) to Anchorage and eventually we returned to Colorado. But...I savored the time well spent with those I love and can now say I have seen more of Alaska (a lot more) than just Anchorage.

Here's one last picture of the cousins...Slugger, Sugar, Squirt Boy, & Sparkle Girl.

Two Old Women

I just finished the book, Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Willis. It's a really quick read...took me only a couple hours. I admit it has been sitting on my shelf for a while...not my usual genre. But...I have to say, that once I sat down to read it the story was truly compelling. I pulled it off the shelf and started the story while lying on my stomach, propped up on my elbows, only to re-emerge 30 minutes later when my shoulders started falling asleep.

The book is based on an Athabascan Indian legend that has been passed down by generations. It is a simple story on the most basic level that has a depth of moral and relational interactions that I keep going back over and over again in my mind. Not only does it give you insight into a different culture (which I find intriguing), but it speaks to more cross-cultural truths about determination, forgiveness, and community. Definitely worth the quick read. Thanks to Dan & Kat for giving it to me!