Fall is Here

These are some pictures I took on my walk this morning.  I startled several birds, but I was just happy not to have startled any bears.

 

I have nicknamed this mountain "Sleeping Chief".   I have no idea what it's real name is.

Beautiful sky and mountains as I walked along the bike path.



 

Bethany took this picture with my phone on the way home yesterday.

Beth and I left for Anchorage after school on Tuesday (6 hour drive).  When we got there, I took her out to dinner.  Applebee's- her choice.  She wanted a good meal before getting her braces on the next day.  We crashed at a friend's house for the night, and the next morning I was able to get my car back!

 

Back on July 21st, my vehicle was hit (in the church parking lot).  It has taken this long to work out the logistics of getting it fixed.  Being 6 hours away from the repair shop and the rental company makes things interesting.  The rental I had (felt like forever) wasn't big enough for our whole family if we had anything with us besides ourselves.  All in all, it worked out fine.  My car is fixed, and the other guy's insurance paid for everything.  So happy to be back in my own rig!

 

Bethany got her braces on.  She said it would have felt better to have a hammer taken to her face.  She is surviving on ibuprofen and yogurt right now.

 

We did a quick Costco run, returned some jeans at the mall, and Beth even got a quick haircut.  Then we hit the road for home, so that she could get to bed at a decent hour for school.

 

The drive home was so beautiful that I was wishing we weren't in a hurry to get home.  I kept wanting to stop and take pictures of everything.

 

Happy Fall!



The News From Our House

Daddy is still gone moose hunting. We miss him!

Today is 9/11, not just at our house, but everywhere.  Three of my children were born after that dreadful day, so before they left for school we had a quick history lesson. Never forget!

Rachel, my second-born, started homeschool today. This is something she really wants, (we homeschooled in the past) so I told her we could do it this year and reevaluate from there. All of her curriculum isn't here yet, so today she worked on math, started her photography class (she is very excited about it), and we read a chapter in Proverbs together. I also took her out to lunch. :)  Here she is- she did not want me to take her picture, but I'm her mom and I want o remember this day.

And possibly the best news around here today (if you asked my kids), is that I'm making homemade chicken and noodles.

In the Kitchen Cont.

Well, there are still some peaches and nectarines to attend to, but I did get two batches of peach jam made.

Bethany made enchiladas for supper. I made this http://tideandthyme.com/homemade-enchilada-sauce/

sauce for her to use. Yummy! And easy. We also had sliced nectarines with supper. See what I did there? ;)

Of course now comes the not so fun part "in the kitchen" - dishes. But it is Rachel's turn.

Currently, school lunches are being made. One of the cats is sipping tuna juice. Herbs (basil, rosemary, and dill) are 

growing in my windowsill. Peach jam is "sitting at room temperature for 24 hours". Oh, and dishes. There are still 

dishes. Oh Rachel....where art thou?

In the Kitchen

Yesterday in the kitchen was bread day.  Bread day actually starts the evening before around here.  After milling whole grains (a mix of prairie gold wheat, kamut, and spelt) into beautiful flour, I soak the flour overnight before making bread the next day. You can read more about why I soak my flour here: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/04/whole-grains-grinding-soaking.html .

The recipe I use (http://theelliotthomestead.com/2011/07/soaked-whole-wheat-bread/) makes three large loaves or four smaller loaves.  I made three yesterday.

 

Here they are about to go in the oven.

 



 

Here was my first (of three) piece, hot out of the oven, slathered in butter.

 

 

So far in the kitchen today, I made homemade deodorant.  Yes, homemade deodorant.  I'm tired of using the store-bought stuff with aluminum in it, especially since the anti-perspirant aspect of it doesn't even work for me.  I have already tried homemade deodorant (thanks sis!) and it works great!  This is just my first time making my own.  I used this recipe: http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/12/diy-coconut-oil-deodorant.html . I used orange, lemon, tea tree, and cinnamon essential oils in mine.

 

 

The ingredients.



 

The finished product in a plastic container.

 

 

Some people use empty store-bought deodorant containers, but I just rub mine on like lotion.

 

 

Later today in the kitchen, I need to attend to the peaches and nectarines before they go bad.  I will probably slice and freeze them.  The kids love using them in smoothies.  Some of the peaches may end up as freezer jam.  My freezer jam always turns out kind of runny, but that's the way they like it around here.  Works great on waffles and pancakes!

 

 

What is happening in your kitchen?



Baby Bump and Other Things

Here is the belly pic.  Just starting my third trimester, and getting excited!  Baby Luke is already a very active boy.

 

 

Last weekend we went caribou hunting as a family (Bethany stayed behind with a family from church because she didn't want to miss any school.)

 

The kids looked for cool rocks in the river on the way into camp.

 

The second day, Rachel's 4-wheeler lost a rear wheel.  That was the end of hunting for that day.  Ryan was able to get it loaded onto his ranger and take it out the 25 miles back to the trailer and still make it back into camp that evening, but I was less than comfortable being the only adult left in camp (BEARS!) with the kids.  Fortunately, my children are not quiet (I encouraged lots of singing and loud talking) and we did not even see any bears.

 

 

The next day while hunting, Ryan found some ptarmigan (grouse-like birds).  He actually hit one with a rock!  Jacob and Sarah were enthralled with the dead bird.  We ate it when we got back to camp that night.  Delicious!

 

The kids had fun whittling around the campfire.  We came home with a couple of boats and something that looks slightly like a totem pole.

 

When cleaning out Sarah's backpack from the trip, I found this note.

 

We did not find any caribou, but we made lots of memories.  On the trip out, I found a blueberry patch.  We were able to pick a gallon of wild, Alaskan blueberries to bring home.  So good!

 

Ryan is currently out moose hunting.  I'm praying that he is successful.  Moose meat is a staple around here, and we used our last package of moose burger last night.

 

The kids all started back to school on Aug 19th.  After homeschooling last year, Bethany is back to school.  She is a sophomore!  I'm praying for her and her teachers (well, I pray for all my kids and their teachers), that this will be a good year!

 

There is other news in the air, but I will wait until things are for sure and settled before sharing.  I'm finding out that God doesn't always answer prayer in the way I expect.  I guess I already knew that, but I'm being reminded again.

 

Love from very rainy Valdez!

 



Summertime

I want to blog, but I want to enjoy it. So far, I have been a bit frustrated with how my blog looks, the size of the pictures, and the time it takes for pictures to upload. I'm sure that there has got to be a way to make this process enjoyable, so I will keep trying different things.

We have had a very eventful summer. The season started with the children getting out of school on the Friday before Memorial Day. We had friends from out of town come and visit that weekend, which included an overnight trip on the boat for the dads and 4 of the kids. When they left, they took Rachel with them back to Seward. She goes to stay with Grandma and Grandpa, and to train for the Mt. Marathon race.

Shortly after they left, the remaining four kids and I left for WA. We stayed for a few days with my sister and her family in the Tacoma area. My brother in law is in the Army and stationed at Ft Lewis. After that, it was on to the other side of the state to stay with my parents. My youngest brother was graduating from high school. My sister and her family came for the graduation, and my other brother surprised us and showed up as well (we thought that he would not be able to make it)! It was great getting to spend time with all of my siblings.

We stayed at my parents' for over a week, including Father's Day. I don't remember the last time I spent Father's Day with my dad. It was a sweet time. We were also able to spend time with some of Ryan's extended family. It was fun for the kids to get to spend time with some second cousins.

To finish off our WA trip, we headed back to my sister's and spent the few last days there. We went to the zoo, a lake, and a day trip into Seattle. I hadn't been to the Space Needle since I was a kid, so that was fun.

The trip home had a few glitches. Our assigned seats on the plane (which I had email confirmation of) no longer existed, because the airline changed planes. We were finally able to board, but were not able to all sit together. Bekah was very distraught over this prospect, but she was able to see me from her seat, so she was OK with it. Bethany ended up way in the back of the plane, far away from us, but she is a big girl and did just fine.

Once we arrived in Anchorage, the shuttle van was broken down that was supposed to take us to our car. So, we got a cab. My first cab ride, and I was not impressed. The driver was very rude. Finally made it to our car, and the battery was dead. The man in-charge of the parking lot was very kind. He not only reimbursed me for the cab ride, but he jump-started my car, and then offered to come jump it again in the morning at the hotel if it did not start again.

We arrived at the hotel very late that night, and then were gone again early the next morning (the car started, yay!) Bethany had an orthodontist appointment, we got some groceries and headed home!

Home, sweet home for about a week, then off to Seward for the 4th of July. The weather was rainy and cold, but we had fun visiting with family. The kids were able to play with their cousins and get spoiled by grandma.

Back home from that trip, after another orthodontist visit for Beth (she keeps getting the hardware in her mouth adjusted, trying to expose a tooth, after which braces will go on), for a week and then my in laws came to visit us here. They brought along a cousin and a family friend. The weather was awesome! Hot and sunny. Three of the days various of the group headed out in the boat, and one day most of the group rode four-wheelers and the ranger into moose camp. I had fun making lots of good food! I made a plan of the things I wanted to make while they were here, shopped from my list, and then I just had to decide what to do each day. I love cooking, especially for enthusiastic eaters!

My in laws and cousin Lexi left last Saturday, but Mark (our family friend) didn't leave until yesterday morning. I have a couple weeks before our next company arrives. Phew! In the meantime, I am helping with VBS, and dealing with an insurance claim on my car (I was backed into in the church parking lot). School starts again on Aug 19th. Seems so early!

Here are a few more pictures. Hopefully I can get them to load quickly and at the size I want them to.

 

 

Sarah, cousin Lexi, Bekah, and Jake up on the flying bridge on the boat.

 

 

Sea lions on a buoy.  Three of them!

 

 

My handsome hubby rowing us to shore in the life raft.  We went beach combing!

 

 

On the beach.

 

 

Ryan climbed up a sort-of rock cliff and got this picture of our boat from the shore.  I love the trees in the foreground.

 

 

Sarah and Bekah "body surfing" at the beach.

 

 

A different day and a different beach.  Still amazing weather for this part of Alaska!

 

 

A view of our boat in a quiet cove from a beautiful, island meadow.

 

 

Yours truly



 

Well, the first picture was a bit bigger.  If you have stayed with me for this long, congratulations!

 

Blessings from a very "not-tech-savvy" girl. :)

 

4th of July Trip



We traveled to Seward, AK, for the 4th of July.  Rachel (my second born, 13 years old), runs the Mt. Marathon race.  This was her third year to do it.  We stayed with my inlaws, and there were some cousins there too. Fun times!

Rebekah playing with cousin Keira.

 

Local fireworks

 

 

Rachel stretching before the race.

 

 

The starting line.  It was a cold and rainy morning.

 

 

There goes Rachel in the pack!

 

 

Rebekah and Jacob cheering for their sister.

 

Mt. Marathon- the top isn't visible because of the weather.

 



 

If you look closely, you can see runners on the mountain.

 

 

Here she comes down the final stretch.

 

 

All done and so tired!

 

 

All of my kids and some of their cousins.

 

 





http://vimeo.com/robertarnold/mtmarathon2013junior

 

This link should take you to a video of the Junior Race.  Rachel isn't in the footage, but it gives you an idea of how intense this race is.

 

 

Rachel didn't improve her time, but as her mom, I am just thankful she makes it down in one piece each time!  Anyone who can finish that race gets my respect.