Kyra drives!

Over Christmas, we took the kids to visit my side of the family in L.A. Kyra got her first driver's license at Legoland. She was so excited to get behind the wheel. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite grasp the concept of steering.

And she easily got distracted...in this video, the fireworks were going off!

The Alaskan Man

In November, we started our baby tour. First, we travelled to the DC area to visit Thomas' side of the family. Then, we travelled to the LA area to visit Leslie's side of the family. Sandwiched between both trips was a brief week home where we struggled with several snowstorms. As it seems, our snowblower always breaks when we most need it. I constantly got the car stuck at the bottom of the driveway and it would take Thomas a good half an hour of dangerous manuevering at high speeds down Hiland Rd at a particular angle in order to slam into a several feet high snowwall that the street plows bottleneck into our driveway and hope that the momentum would carry the car all the way up the incline.

Finally, a friend took pity on our situation and lent us their ATV equipped with a snowplow. He loaded it onto their truck and suggested that Thomas drive it home after work, plow our driveway, and return it the next day. Simple enough, right? Well, from about 10pm-midnight, I watched Thomas struggle with getting the ATV to start. I stayed out of his way since I could just imagine what was going on in Thomas' head (it reminds me of the time a boy friend of mine took me camping and how his malehood was eviscerated by our fellow Glacier National Park employees when they discovered he wasn't able to get the tent setup). After much cussing, he crashed for the night, then got up around 5am to try again. The ATV started (apparently it had to be charged), but then it took another hour to figure out how to get it off the truck. I discovered later, that apparently due to the plow attachment, you have to unload the ATV on an incline or something complicated like that. By the time, he started plowing, (oh and all this was done in the dark by the way) it was time to go to work. Fortunately, our friend allowed us to hang onto it another day so we had a chance to enjoy playing with what many consider an essential Alaskan Man's toy.

My knight

On Halloween night, Kyra trick-o-treated with a bunch of fairies and princesses. She was my "knight in shining armor."

It was Mommy's way of making sure she was nice and warm, tromping from house-to-house in the snow. Daddy, as you know, scared the other kids with his Hulk hands and mask.

And poor little Ethan donned Kyra's ol' bumblebee costume.

Hulk Smash

So this is what happens when I'm teaching and Thomas' is "watching" the kids:

Ethan: "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

Thomas: "Sorry Ethan, it could be worse. you should see what
Daddy's parents made him wear in the 70's."
Leslie: "Hee.hee. It's true...there's this photo of
Thomas in a pink suit with his hair curled."


Kyra: "No, Scare me, Bear!"

Kyra: "Cool."
Leslie: "Kyra must've learned this word at school this week.
She ends almost every conversation with this word.
It scares me how quickly she's growing up."

Unfortunately, I missed the action. Thomas was posting these photos on facebook by the time I came home. I'll have to agree with Al, "Un. Be. Lievable." And Mike, "IN CRED I BLE."

When you hit things, the hands actually growl, burb words, emit smashing sounds, and say stuff like "Roarrrr," "You are making me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry," and "Hulk Smash!" (Okay, fine, when the husband is away, I'll admit that I testdrive his toys). My husband warned me that there's more parts to his Halloween costume coming. I can't wait to see the ensemble.

In the meantime, check out this video.

Slipping off the road

This morning, Kyra and I checked out this car flipped on the side of the road near our house. We live just at the top of the hill in this photo. The river crosses beneath the road where it dips. Based on the tire tracks, the car must've come down this slope too fast, and ended up doing a 360. This almost happened to me earlier this week, except in the opposite direction. I had just left our house and was crossing the river when the Explorer spun first to the right, then the left, wiggled dangerously to either side as if it wanted to flip, before coming to a stop. So many people slip off the side of this road that I was definitely freaked out that I would join this fate, especially with Ethan in the car. Normally, the chances of this happening are rare... if you have your winter tires on. But since the first snowfall, I, like most people in town, wait for the crowds to thin out from the local tire changing operations. Costco, being the cheapest option, is becoming an Olympic test for patience. Yesterday, I tried my turn at arriving an hour before they openned and quickly discovered that now with an infant in my care 24-7, things like this are just not worth saving money. First, I didn't actually manage to get there until the openning hour, which was 10am. I stood in the drizzling rain for an hour before learning that I wouldn't even have had a slim chance if I got there an hour early. Apparently, the first guy in line was there at 5:40am! I also saw another poor mother standing in line further behind me with two toddlers. Everybody kept staring at her, even though both kids were suitably dressed in their winter coats. She gave up after the third person said, "Are you guys warm enough?" Later that afternoon, I went to the second cheapest place in town and got the tires changed promptly without having to stand in a line. Ethan and I did have to wait about an hour in their slightly smoky waiting area where this wierd customer almost had a schizo break down. Thomas doesn't understand why I subject myself to these situations, because I guess he wouldn't even have gone to that place due to its location in a shady area of Anchorage and he certainly would never waste his time at Costco.

Anyway, after we checked out the car, Kyra wanted to throw rocks in the river. This very serious (no-smile) process involved picking up several rocks as big as her head, hiking through the brush which took her a couple minutes, crawling down slippery boulders on the riverbank, an unceremonious plopping of all the rocks at once without any hesistation or reflection (I figured if it takes you so long to get to the river, you'd at least want to savor the moment) into the water, then begging mommy to help her back up the boulders so she could repeat the whole affair again, for hours...

First Snow

Today, we had our first snowfall. There's a quiet peace that settles into the trees. The mountains disappear into a white foggy sky. And its blistering hot indoors. Kyra's running to every window of the house pointing out each snowflake that falls and naming it, "Snow!" She keeps telling me that she needs her coat and jacket and boots. Kyra's ready for winter and so am I. Some people think I'm crazy for loving the winters out here, but along with the bears, this is another reason why I love living in Alaska. Where our cabin is located, we actually get snow a month earlier than Anchorage. Thomas must plow the driveway with a snowblower because a shovel would take too long. We have to purchase very expensive snow tires for our cars so we don't slip and slide on Hiland Rd. And even then, sometimes the car refuses to make it up the driveway and we must hike our way to the house. (So far, the Michelin Ice-X tires are the bomb! I'm all about the gear, guys...and these tires with no studs can plow through anything. One time, we came home to find our driveway blocked by a wall of snow packed in by the street plows. Somehow, the tires muscled its way up through this wall which was as high as the hood of the car.) But it's all worth it, when behind a dense curtain of bejeweled falling snow, you are snuggled up on the couch in front of the wood burning stove and you feel all safe and cozy.

Thomas returned from Galvaston (earlier than scheduled) after he heard my terrifying voicemail the night Kyra locked herself in the bedroom. At daycare, when Thomas was gone, Kyra's teacher asked her why she was sad. Kyra answered, "Daddy left." Both kids seem calmer and happier with daddy home.

12.5 lbs!

Ethan's 12 and a half pounds today. Can you believe that's almost half of what Kyra weighs right now? He's figured out how to grab things with his toes. How to smile...

And laugh...

In desperate need of sleep

When daddy's not home, the girls survive by trapping "lady bugs" (that's what Kyra calls any kind of bug) under see-through cups. I don't think Kyra's particularly scared of insects, but she's developed a reaction modeling mommy's behavior which involves plenty of screaming ( such as "Daddy, save me!") and jumping on top of couches. (Sorry, Thomas). All day long, Kyra circles the cup telling mommy what the bug is up to and then when she thinks that I'm not looking, she "accidentally" bumps, trips, or kicks balls at it causing mommy to be on constant edge. Meanwhile, Ethan doesn't sleep. His little fists are balled up ready to strike a punch at whatever he can focus on. His eyes blink rapidly in paranoia. Perhaps, he senses that he must now be the man of the house or maybe he's just scared being left alone with the girls.

Last night, around two in the morning, I had finally rocked Ethan to sleep (after feeding and changing him since 9pm) and was looking forward to collapsing into bed. I stumbled blindly down the dark hall and threw my weight against the bedroom door only to find that it was locked. Kyra was snoring from within. Several hours ago, I had tucked her into bed and she had said, "Open door." In three-year-old speak this means, please close the door. I'm not sure if she had gotten out of bed and locked the door or whether I had somehow triggered the locking mechanism when I shut the door. In my state of panic, banging on the door, trying to break it down, yelling for Kyra to wake up, Ethan began wailing. I searched all over the house for Thomas' tools. I tried dismantling the door knob...that didn't work (no visable screws). I phoned Thomas a couple times, but he never answered his phone. When I calmed down a bit, I knew that I needed to find that tool shaped like an L that comes with easy-to-assemble furniture kits. But by 4am, I still hadn't obtained any tool that worked. It didn't help that Ethan cried the whole time. Finally, when I was about to call the police, I found this tiny flat head screwdriver which fit into the lock releasing mechanism. The door sprang open. Kyra slept through the whole thing. Ethan was still crying. And so was I.

Hailing already?

Erica and I took the kids up to Hatcher's Pass (just a half an hour drive away) this weekend. It was a beautiful sunny day down in Eagle River. So we were ill equipped for the splattering of hail near the summit where Independence Mine and Hatcher's Pass Lodge is nestled. These photos were taken shortly after the hail stopped.

Galveston

Thomas found out yesterday that he's being sent to Galveston, Texas today to help with the hurricane relief. 50,000 out of 60,000 residents were evacuated. Many are without electricity, natural gas, water, or sewer service, so I guess I should keep my grumblings about watching the kids solo to myself. On my way home from dropping Thomas off at the airport, I drove past four moose: a mommy and baby near University of Alaska Anchorage and another mommy and baby a few minutes from my driveway.

moosemoosemoosemoose

A moose with an enormous rack strolled past my living room window. He looked at me for a moment, in a rather bored way, then continued down my driveway. This is the fourth or fifth moose I've seen this summer. Either Ethan is a Cinderfella, attracting animals since his birth, or we must live on a migratory pathway. The animals (even the bears) go up or down our driveway and cross through our front yard to the "Spirit Park" which you can see through my kitchen window.

MaMa would've loved living here. Every summer on our roadtrips through national parks, MaMa stalked mooses. Yes, she desperately wanted to see one. And I'd often wake from slumbering in the backseat of the car, to her screams, "Moosemoosemoosemoosemoose." Unfortunately, the only moose she ever saw were tiny brown patches of fur wavering like a mirage between trees.

She would've loved sitting on my porch (as I am now). Terminal dust creeps down from the mountain tops. Winter is coming.

Scare me, bear

I'm sitting on my porch, writing this post, watching the river rippling by (in less than a month, the river will freeze and disappear beneath a blanket of snow). This is awesome, I think. In four years that we've lived here, this is the first time I've been able to get my router to work (it required a one hour phone call with my DSL provider and a very helpful young man who took control of my desktop and laptop) so that my laptop can connect online. But then, even more awesome, Kyra just dragged her purple plush Dora chair out onto the porch, carefully placed it next to mine, plopped herself in it, leaned back and said, "I sit down, too."

We don't say much to each other. We're enjoying the river, the brisk wind. I'm thinking, How cool is this? My daughter can finally hang out with me. She then, looks at me and points to my coffee cup, "MaMa, where's my drink?"

I tell her to go inside and ask her dad. Daddy, by the way, is on the couch watching football with Ethan (six weeks old). She returns with a plastic cup filled with juice (yes, daddy likes to spoil her), takes a long satsifying gulp, and places the cup inside my cup holder on my camping chair. Points to my coffee cup and says, "That's your juice." Then, she gives me very wet, juicy kiss!

Anyway, what Kyra really wants to do is run down our porch steps and play in the long grass, tearing up flower petals, collecting sticks and rocks. But this summer, we've had close encounters with three bears on our property. A grizzly strolled up our driveway and headed for the park behind our house on my birthday, June 27. That was the highlight of my bday. Unlike some of my friends who are petrified of bears, I moved to Alaska because I want to enjoy these magnificent creatures outside of a zoo. Around Ethan's birth, we spotted a black bear strolling down our driveway. Last Saturday, Thomas took Kyra to the park behind our house and they came home seconds later with Kyra screaming, "I go playground. Scare me, Bear." Thomas said that he was pumping up a basketball on the park bench when our neighbor's dog ran by barking and chasing something. Thomas looked over his shoulder and saw the backside of a grizzly not more than a few feet away. So, now we can't let Kyra play outside on her own. I suppose I understand why my friends are scared of bears. It doesn't help that there are headlines, such as "Attacks by Bears Put Anchorage on Edge" and this summer we have had several bear attacks in Anchorage.

Oh no! I started a blog...

Okay...I've been telling all of you (for years), no blogs for me. No facebook. Please, don't even show me yours because I just don't have the time to maintain something like this or keep up with what all of you are posting. But then this past weekend, Thomas never went to bed and when I went to check on him, he confessed that he had joined facebook and you would never believe what so and so is up to and (while I tried to run out of the room, no....please don't show me, I said) my dear husband says, "Do you want to see xxx's (for obvious reasons, I can't reveal the name of this family member) secret girlfriend?"

Several hours later...Ethan bouncing in our arms...we were still surfing friend/family blogs and facebook profiles. Argh! The next day, I started reading my writer friend's blogs...Signe and Jonathan...and now a week later, I still start my day by reading their blogs. And...my worst nightmare...Signe twisted my arm into starting my own blog. Sigh. Afterall, she said, "it's such an easy way to keep in touch with everyone all at once. "