Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Community and Chicks

Shew - some days don't flow as easily as others do. I am content. It doesn't all have to be done in a day. Today was filled with cleaning, baking, troubleshooting, table fellowship, community and chicks on the move. 

 After I got dad up and through the morning routine, I mopped all the floors while he read the paper.  

I spent a considerable amount of time troubleshooting and researching why a webpage I was working on had disappeared. By the end of the day, it was figured out and fixed...and I felt good about the whole process. LOL 

In the meantime, I baked scones and cookies. I did NOT make it to the store and will need to do that tomorrow.  I have been using about 4 different scone recipes and today I played with the recipe a bit more. Stacia said these are good. I think I'll add some zest in the future. I think I could do a variety of fruits...and I could do some cinnamon or maple or pumpkin spice...but I'm getting it figured out. LOL 

Stacia and I got dinner on the table for Mike and Dad and then we went to Ceceilia's for the night. Five of us sat around her table for a couple of hours. I loved it. We ate scones & cookies, drank hot drinks, and talked....laughed a lot too. I was glad Stacia joined us...she's in the process of transitioning from youth to women's group.

Michael had been building a home in the garage for the chicks. We moved them from their Kiddie Pool brooder out to the garage.  They are five weeks old. We've never had a noisier batch of chicks...and we usually have 24 chicks at a time. LOL 


Their new space is bigger. They have a big feeder and waterer - which will save time for us. I don't think they will be able to tip these over. Michael also put the heat plate and a small roosting bar he made for them in the box.  The top has a frame covered with chicken wire to keep them in the box. 

And that is ALL we got done today.  It's been raining all day so I've not planted anything more...and that is starting to bother me. LOL  It's so QUIET tonight in the house...no scratching and cheeping and pecking...

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Alaska's Coolest Bathroom and More

I'm sure you have been dying to see the coolest bathroom in Alaska. LOL  The boys told me the hall bathroom is THEIRS...and Cory and Arielle are obviously running with the idea....a Dinosaur bathroom. 





Yes, today I spent a few morning hours with "the boys." They keep me on my feet. It's fun to be a Bachan revisiting, remembering what it's REALLY like to have a houseful of little ones. Fun memories...today we had "coffee" which was really peppermint tea and then we were off and running.  First, they showed me the new artwork in the Rec Room. Each boy painted one - and I think they did a wonderful job! Benny explained the process to me. 

Little Buddy was more interested in playing with hot wheels than in exploring the world of art. LOL 

Danny's priceless face! Benny is behind him, and is applying a tattoo to his belly button. He is holding a cold wipe on Danny's tummy. 

He wanted to give me a tattoo and I allowed him to - but not on my tummy. LOL 

All the stuffies had to fly off the top of their play structure....and it was quite fun to take turns being buried in stuffies. 

They know what they're doing. They hardly ever fall. They LOVE this. This is going to make winters so much nicer. I think. I may have to come play in their Rec Room next winter.  Which by the way - there was new snow on the mountain we live by this morning. In the fall we'd be calling it termination dust...at this point...shoot...we've just gotten spring. 

Little Buddy, Benny and I heard singing...and found Danny singing what sounded like Hallelujah in the hallway. 

This is fantastic. Benny told me it's his summer school. They planted a seed and now you can view the roots, the water, the greenery...and they put some obstacles in the way to watch how plants grow around them. 

All too soon Arielle was home, and I was off for a brief stay at my home. I got a few things done and it was time for me to run to my doctor's. My labs were so much BETTER than I expected! My A1C has come down and is 1 point below the pre-diabetic cut off now. My cholesterol has come down though there is still room for improvement. All the vitamins and such were in order. My thyroid levels are fine. The only alarming thing is that I have somehow lost 1 1/2 inches. Seriously. I asked how I could go from 5'4" to 5' 2 1/2" in 6 months. No answers....just an assurance that I am not 5'4". We'll see. I DID lose 12 pounds in the same time....but at this rate I am never going to reach a healthy BMI...losing weight while losing inches is not a good strategy. LOL 

A local store called and asked if I had any counter eggs to sell them. I took 4 doz to them. I'd sold everything over the weekend....but had a few dozen. I think I'll spend my $$ on buying goodies from their greenhouse. LOL 

It's been a busy day. I'm tired. Projects I'm working on are not going as seamlessly as I'd like them to go...these crazy hens are determined to sit in this nesting box. There weren't even eggs under them. 

Lindsey sent me a couple of pictures this evening! What fun to see some of my favorite people in the world in one photo. LOL  Trudy is at such a fun age! 
Lindsey, Bre & Trudy📷by Lindsey

All the kids 📷by Lindsey

Free - What?

 I shared this photo on May 23rd. I had driven by this for a few weeks and laughed each time. 


I was so glad to have caught this before the trampolines were cleared away. The sign says, "Free Trampolines." 

I drove past on my way to CoRielle's and was surprised to see an amended sign. 

Someone in the neighborhood has a great sense of humor. LOL 

Monday, May 29, 2023

Noah's New Discovery

 This little doll has discovered his tongue. LOL 


Thanks, Larissa for keeping me supplied with fun photos to share! Noah is 4 months old now! He loves the swing at Bachan's but I live about 35 minutes from their home. They needed a swing in their own backyard. LOL 

A Sweet Day

Nathan, Jennifer, Me, Arielle, Benny, Chaplain G
📷by Jennifer

We're off the beaten path up here and we don't often get friends from our military life "dropping in." Imagine our excitement when we found out Nathan and Jennifer are going to Eielsen AFB to "mc" a retirement ceremony. I'm hoping their camera produced a clearer shot than this one- and I'll sub it if it does. Ah, the memories. We thoroughly enjoyed catching up, talking about retirement, hashing out the best way to reach our culture and the younger generations. Jennifer and I shared together on the PWOC leadership team (women's ministry) at Beale AFB. When we moved, she took over as the President/leader of the group. It was so great to see them, remember what God did in those 25 years and look ahead to what he is doing now and in the future in all of our lives.   In an odd twist we discovered they know the Sgt who is working with Krista...he came into our last assignment just as we left.  AND she was telling me about the woman who leads their church's women's ministry. She said she thought she and I had much in common...even to serving in PWOC when we were USAF spouses. Imagine the surprise when Harmony was sharing her testimony and Jennifer realized our son had married their previous daughter in law, and our lovely Livie is Harmony's Livie too. God is so very good...and every once in a while, we get to see a bit of the intricate tapestry he weaves from what we see as tangled times. 

As we drove up our road, we noted a white truck in front of us. It turned into our driveway. It was Krista and Luke. Another surprise afternoon visit. Krista is just home from her time in Hawaii, Guam and Typhoon Mawar. We enjoyed hearing her stories, watching video clips, catching up with them...it feels like it's been a long time since we were able to sit and visit with Luke and Krista. They brought some brauts. We ran to the store and bought a few other things and had a Braut Burn at home. 

Millie loves to play with Reno. He's the only dog we aren't worried she will kill or be killed by. She is a covid puppy and not very social. We keep trying. Reno obviously will not be hurt by her, and he is a gentle giant. 



They were having a great time romping in the yard; we let them both off leash. We nearly had a disaster when a moose came into the yard. We didn't notice the moose until someone driving by honked. Ah....those dogs were determined to get the moose and the moose was riled. Reno came right back when called, and Millie looked like she was going to and then she simply couldn't help herself and charged back up to tell the moose a thing or two. Reno then ran and got between her and the moose. We finally got them both to listen, and the situation diffused. 

We didn't get a single bit of work done today, but it was a refreshing day. It was just sweet to sit and remember...and then to sit and cheer a new generation of military ministers on. 

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Surprise Afternoon Visitors

Millie began to go WILD, alerting us to the fact that we had surprise afternoon visitors. I opened the door and Little Buddy ran in chattering away about "the car." He was very excited.  The batter was charging. Papa was the hero. He heard them arrive and went for the battery. LOL 



Who knew we should warn them about not going off road? They needed Papa to help tow them out...they were stuck good and proper. 

Little Buddy did great with t-ball. He and Papa have developed a sweet relationship. 

The trampoline is up and getting lots of use! 

The moral of THIS story is NEVER listen to the expert at the paint counter over your husband. We SHOULD have primed these tables regardless of the quality of paint we used. A goal this summer is to strip, prime and paint again.  Meanwhile, we had a lovely time peeling paint off the tables. 


It's lovely to be outside! Everything is so green. The boys collected a new bouquet of flowers for the girls and I. 

It really is spring... Oh! Stacia let Millie outside with the kids. She usually keeps Millie locked up when kids are here. She gets very excited. Millie did great. Maybe we can let her play outside when visitors are over this summer. We shall see. 

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Gideon's Birthday

📷by Larissa

 If you thought we'd celebrated Gideon's birthday a week ago, you'd be right. LOL However, THAT was the family party at the family monthly gathering, THIS was his birthday party at home. His theme was SPIDERMAN! This was a great cookie. 

The games were fantastic too! Bre had taped a big spider web on the far wall. The kids were masked up with spiderman masks and then had to pin "something" on the web...maybe it was a spider or plastic bugs? 

This is a package wrapped in MANY layers of wrapping paper. The one who is holding the package when the last layer is unwrapped gets the gift. 




Of course, the people were spectacular too! 
Trudy - Look at those eyes! 

Cousins got to hold Noah! 
📷by Larissa

📷by Larissa

 Sweet Cousins📷by Larissa

Bre (6 months) and Trudy (4 months)📷by Larissa

Bachan and Noah 📷by Larissa

Lucy, Jenni's niece, was having much fun blowing the party thingie at Noah. 
📷by Larissa

Alex walked over for a bit. GG was surprised when I told him we were going out. 
📷by Larissa

GG and Noah📷by Larissa

Cousin hugs📷by Larissa

Aunt Arielle and Benny drove over. 
📷by Larissa