God's Provision Wore a Kilt - July 4th Part 1

Jamin mentioned, on June 30th, he would like to spend the morning of the 4th of July rafting.  This sounded fun to all of us.

Michael grew up with the Smith River as his backyard. The kids have grown up learning to swim in the river, canoe and raft in the river, judge river danger, swim up and down rapids etc. As Michael says, our river danger is skewed by familiarity with the Smith River.

Smith River as seen from the living room window of Michael's familial home

 Jamin agreed to go out before the 4th and check to be sure the spot he was considering would be safe for all.

Photo via Google Photos

The 3rd of July arrived and Jamin suggested he (28), Krista (32), Alex (17) and Nolan (20) venture out to check out the spot. It looked a bit dicey to some. Others thought it was fine. It seemed good to stay together so they decided to give it a try. They were just putting their rafts in when an off-duty officer, in a kilt, stopped to chat with them.  His input affected their group decision.  He said he couldn't tell them NOT to raft here. He did tell them, however,  every year he has to drag bodies out of this river. He said the glacial silt makes it impossible to see what is under the water and the under-current is strong.... locals have said it's like swimming in quick sand. The blunt assessment is the life vests aren't to help you float, they are to help find the bodies after one swims here.  ugh.

This kind officer did NOT have to stop on his off duty hours. He was obviously on his way somewhere...yet he stopped. I think the fact the licence plates were VA convinced him we didn't know the danger.  After hearing from several locals who have heard the story - I don't think it's an exaggeration to say he may well have changed the trajectory of our family history by simply stopping. (That'll preach). We believe the officer was God's provision in a kilt for our family.

When we were here before we lived in the Anchorage area. We went rafting in rivers all the time. We've now been told the valley rivers are not safe to swim in - which would explain why we see so few swimming in them. We have wondered why more didn't get out and swim locally.   Michael and I were slow, slow, slow on the uptake.  We should have checked it out ourselves....We have now been warned not to raft in the Matanuska or Knik rivers.

The officer told the kids about a man-made lake where they could get into the water. They checked that out...and we planned to meet there today to play and swim.

Michael and I believe, the officer in a kilt - was God's protecting provision and grace in this situation. He covered for us, when we weren't as engaged as we should have been in what our adult children were about to get into.  We were even more aware of the blessing of family this 4th of July.

 Unfortunately, communication got mixed and some of us showed up at the "man made lagoon" - we don't know it's name, others of us showed up at the Eklutna Tailrace. It's just the type of family we are. ::snort:: You just have to flex with it. We all had fun on a hot day. LOL

The three agree to dive into the cold, cold water. I can see Alex had other plans...they didn't see that from their perspective.

Alex, Jamin, Stacia - Photo by Krista

 Yep - he had no intention of getting deeper in this water. 

Photo by Krista

Alex is just out of the left frame in this one....

Photo by Krista

Josiah flat out told them he doesn't go into cold water unless there is a fish to be had at the end of the experience. ::snort::

Here - Krista and Alex go in for the first time

Photo by Krista

Photo by Krista

Photo by Krista

Krista Settles in to Alaska

Krista came in this morning and asked if I'd like to go for a walk after devotions. What a great way to begin a day! It was fun to steal a few alone moments with her to catch up.

 The Fireweed are up. The legend is the first snow will fall 6 weeks after the Fireweed blooms reach the way the top of the plant. I love the Fireweed. I am not ready to begin thinking about winter again.  It is reassuring our Fireweed is not yet at the top.

"I" was watching Benny today. Usually, I play with him downstairs in "his place." TODAY, there were so many around to help watch - and so much to do -  we joined the others. We helped unload Krista's car.

We helped set up the mobile Guest cabin for the girls. They will "live" here until CoRielle are able to move into their new house. Then Krista will rent CoRielle's room and the living area of their apartment will become an exercise/game/craft room. G Dog is currently in Stacia's room and she's been sleeping in the very crowded library.

Benny LOVES honking the horn

Look! Bre and the kids came by to welcome Krista home. 

They were the first to enjoy the picnic tables. 

Jamin dropped by to welcome Krista home. 

Uncle Jamin and Gideon match!

I AM working on child-friendly toys for our yard. I've missed several swing sets on the sales lists... 

Sweet Annie

Jamin saw a rock, a piece of lumber....and the memories of teeter-totters were shared. Back in the day - they did not have springs under the seats. ::snort:: He suggested a balance beam.  Alex found it funny to balance with Jamin.

This actually is a common gesture of humor from Alex

Balancing with Krista didn't go so well. 

They did finally work it out - and then began launching balls and such. 

Cousins

Gideon (about 26 months) and Benny (about 19 months)

I gave Michael a greenhouse tour - it's amazing how things grew in the two weeks he was gone.

I picked a lunch salad and here is the dinner salad I picked. I'm still thinning things out so picked roots and all.

When I thinned radishes last week most were the size of the one on the left...look at them this week. They are quite a bit more peppery too. 

Stacia made a patriotic cake for tomorrow - it's red and blue inside. 

She thought it was a disaster - we liked it. 

Arielle came home. She, G Dog, and Benny helped Krista wash her car. 

It didn't take Benny long to figure out how to turn the hose.  GG (dad) and Krista got wet. 

Sprinkles too

It's like a year round Easter Egg hunt around here. 

I think we are ready for the 4th of July tomorrow. 

A Tale of 3 Picnic Tables

Michael and Krista were due to arrive in 1 1/2 hours - I had one last thing to do before they arrived. This is me, driving Michael's truck for the first time. ::snort:: 

I have wanted some sort of outside sitting area since we moved in. Designing and creating the area hasn't moved to the top of the list....being able to relax, gather, and enjoy meals outside has moved up my list. I began pricing patio furniture and it was simply more than I was willing to pay...unless we  paid a HUGE amount for several amounts, we would not have enough seating for the whole family to enjoy a meal outside.

I began to talk about getting an old fashioned picnic table or two or three.  There were none around town. Lowes in Anchorage had some - but I didn't want to drive to Anchorage. As the 4th approaches, seating for the family for an outside meal moved to the top of the list. LOL

I called our local Lowes today to be sure they didn't have any. They had 17 - five assembled. By the time I arrived, I had a few questions.

"How long does it take to assemble these?"

Ten minutes. (Hmmm.....)

"Can we fit 3 into the truck?"

Sounded sketchy to me.

"If I assemble them will you give me a discount?"  And by "I" I mean "Alex."

Yes.

I got three tables for 1/2 the price of a patio set that would seat 4 people. Michael had told me at full price he thought it would cost the same to make himself as to buy....I felt good about the price. 

Thanks to road construction, we made it home about 10 minutes before Michael and Krista arrived. Today, Alex set about assembling tables. It takes longer than 10 minutes. He did have a lot of help and a big cheering section as he worked. 

People began to arrive - and look - a natural place to gather - outside.....we've also set up a mosquito magnet - and the mosquitoes are much more manageable this year. One had to be willing to give a pint of blood to sit outside in previous years. I'm working to make our place more inviting - small steps.

I had a gracious offer from a friend to build a table for us, you know who you are.  I knew Michael would build the other two if I nagged. I was happy to get them for a good price and save both men the extra work.  I debated right up until I got in the truck and started for Lowes. LOL I purchased top of the line exterior paint and will paint these shortly. The wood needs to dry a bit.

Colors - will turquoise is my favorite color. Stacia and I have discussed painting one as a flag - stripes with one corner being blue/stars. I am partial to the natural stained look as well. I did purchase some paint - I'm still not 100% sure all the tables will be painted the same.

Eventually, I'd like to place on in the orchard in the front yard....at this point there is no shade in the front.  However, I'll eventually have a table up front....and one by the fire ring for easy s'mores and garden watching. These are "light" enough to be moved to the shade when a group arrives.

Benny's Afternoon & They're HERE

Dad, Stacia, and I made a trip to Freddies, today. My goal was to find outside toys or water toys for the 4th. Given my experience with buying fans, I knew it would be hard to find anything seasonal. ::snort::

I found ONE water gun! Just one. I began to wonder if they still make water guns. This one is in the shape of a dinosaur....and it leaks....but that didn't stop the fun when I got home.

Benny figured out how to make the dino spit (or snot as the water comes from his nose) in short order.  Here, he carefully weighs his options.

Mommy is always first! 😅

Auntie Yay ya is so fun to have around! 

 Driving is serious business. 

Waving to his fans. 

Gemma, I have things to DO. 

The highlight of the day happened at 10:40 p.m. Michael and Krista got home. We had been sending marco polos back and forth. I was outside watering and got a polo from Krista....I recognized our yard, but didn't put it all together.

"Where are you?"

 "We're here." 😀😊😅

They made amazing time once they got serious about getting here.  😉 They left  MT late Sunday afternoon and arrived in Alaska on Tuesday night.

No photo - too much hugging and talking going on.

Blondie - the Free Range Bunny

Isn't she sweet? She's an escapee from CoRille's Rabbit operation. I'm content to let her free range. She often comes near when I'm watering.

It's fun never knowing when she'll pop out to say hi.

Tonight, she let me pet her.