Family Celebration - and FINALLY - A RING!

We missed June's Family Celebration. We decided from now on to simply say they will be on the 3rd Saturday of the month...and realize that not all will be able to make it...

Kent came in this a.m. and gave me the ring to sequester. He said he was doing it today - at the family celebration. I am fairly certain Maria will not be expecting it. 

Here we are in July, celebrating June and July's birthdays....and singing....

Father's Day...and singing

And Krista and Luke's first anniversary...and singing

At this point I said something like, "So, we are celebrating Krista and Maria's birthday, Father's Day and Luke and Krista's anniversary. Is there anything else we are celebrating that I'm forgetting?" 

Kent stepped forward and said how much Maria loved our family...and then took her hand...

Got on his knee...WITH THE RING...

And surprised her!

She said yes!

Thanks to Arielle and Carrie for taking photos. The funny thing is that I forgot to clue Carrie in as to why I asked her to video....so she turned the camera off AFTER the anniversary song and didn't know how to turn it back on when she realized Kent was proposing. We tried. LOL  

We really need to practice this singing bit as we do it so often. LOL 

Birthdays

Special Occasions

Anniversaries

Every time we celebrate, we are remember Rev. Harvey, the Gospel Explosion, people we loved and lessons we learned at Elmendorf AFB...circa 2002 - 2005. 

Annie - "I'm 3." 

A long week for Cory. 

Benny & Livie

The kids are old enough now to love playing with Papa. He's in heaven. 

There were some gifts too. 

Grandpa Update

 So...Dad has been having trouble with his blood pressure. He began to exhibit other symptoms. We had a couple of rough months. He didn't sleep at night but slept all day. He quit eating. He said his stomach hurt. He was weak and falling quite often.  He had seen the doctor in May and they kept telling me they were aware of his high blood pressure when I called. Finally, I called and told them I wanted him seen. 

It turns out dad's heart is enlarged and his labs showed he was in heart failure. They wanted us to go to the hospital immediately - but dad is Comfort 1. He is DNR and DNI and when I asked what they would do that we couldn't do at home - there was nothing they would do.  The doc didn't think things looked good. Nate was in OR and had a weekend between moving...he flew up, arrived late Friday night, spent Saturday and Sunday and left on Monday. By the time he got here Dad was already rallying. I think the combination of seeing Nate and adding meds was a winning combo. 

I KNOW seeing Nate rallied our spirits!

They opted to add 4 new meds...which are administered based on his blood pressure readings....He had a cardiac ultrasound this week. We are waiting for the results. He appears much better. I think he is out of imminent danger...but we're fully aware of the journey we are on. 

Overnight with the Boys

 A benefit of being behind in writing is I can write with a bit of freedom looking back.... we were expecting C to move into CoRielle's home the day after dip-netting. This is a big step, will bring transition and less "couple time" for Cory and Arielle. They've not gone away together since Benny was born. They asked if I would be willing to spend a night with the boys so they could go away.  We knew we would have company, but this is important and needed to happen before dip-netting. Stacia decided to come and spend the night too. 

Thursday afternoon I headed over to their home. When the boys were ready, we commenced to play! We went to a river park...where we discovered Danny does NOT like dirt or sand on his hands. He'd climb a step and then hold out his hands to one of us to brush them off. 

We walked through a campground and along the river trail. We called Maria and suggested she and Kent come walk that trail as there was a break in the rain. They did...and then they went ahead and climbed the Butte as well. No ring was presented. 

Danny LOVED leading the way! 

A grandma at the park told us another park was much better for little ones. I do not agree - but at the time it sounded good. I decided to get gas first....and while I was pumping gas Benny sweetly said, "Baachan - we could get ice cream." 

He wasn't wrong. 

We stopped in at the local ice cream parlor and filled the boys up. For future trips - ONE kids dish is plenty big enough for two....and half of Benny's ice cream fell on the ground. We took Danny's leftovers home for the freezer.

Properly fortified we headed to the next park. 

Not exactly the look I was going for, Stacia. 

Next up was dinner - and boo boo repair. 

We sent photos to CoRielle along the way to ease their concerns at being apart. They sent photos back. They had a lovely Air BnB - one I need to find. They went axe-throwing too. 

Right outside their Air BnB.

Friday started with early morning snuggles! I do miss toddler snuggles! 

When both boys were fed and ready to begin the day, we headed back to the last park we had been at. We wanted to try it when it wasn't busy. We were the ONLY ones at the park, and it WAS much more fun - much easier to keep track of the boys. 

And then a bee flew into Danny's ear....

Bachan, Auntie Stacia, Danny & Benny 

CoRielle got home, put the boys down for naps and then came to our house and picked up Kent and Maria. They took them back to Hatcher's Pass to show them some of their favorite hikes. They got a lot of great photos; no ring was presented. LOL 

Rainy Hatcher's Pass

 Tuesday, I watched CoRielle's boys and worked at Co-op. Kent and Maria worked on school. We vegged. 

Wednesday, we headed to Hather's Pass. We thought for SURE there would be good views here to present the ring...and Maria loves Hatcher's Pass. Kent took the ring with him.  Somehow, we got the idea Maria would not be surprised...and he wanted to surprise her.  It was RAINING....beautiful  in it's own way, but the majestic views were fogged in. 

 It was a fun outing. We enjoyed being together. 

Gender Reveal and More

 I don't think we could have fit one more bit of fun into this day, playing with grands, hiking, company and a gender reveal!!

 I got up early and went to BreZaak's. Bre had an important appointment today....the one where they tell you the gender of your baby if you so desire. The other's slept and got their morning going....and I played with kids. 

Arielle and the boys joined us at home and we all headed over to Refelection Lake. We knew this would be an easy walk.  

A word about Dad - he had a rough June and July. He wouldn't leave the house, wasn't making calls, slept 20 hours a day, wasn't attending church, had lost 17 lbs in 6 weeks, blood pressure was out of control, his heart is enlarged, and he was simply failing. We took him out this afternoon - in the back of my mind was the fact it may be his last family outing. He was a good sport - but clearly tired anot not  100% happy to be out.  

Danny was happy to sleep with GG at the trailhead. 

Benny and the Aunties

Of course, we took some time for reflection. Unfortunately, we did not present a ring to Maria

We climbed to the top of the observation tower.  I asked Benny what he thought about the height. He shared some words of wisdom, "Sometimes I'm afraid, and then I just do it and I'm not afraid anymore." 

Kent, Maria, Benny, Michael, Allie, Stacia

After a quick dinner we met the rest of the family over at BreZaak's. Is the 5th Baby D going to be a girl or boy? The tension mounts...bets are made.... Team PINK...another little girl!  SHE will be the tie-breaker in their family...3 girls and 2 boys. 

Michael - surrounded by grand kids...chasing, tickling, picking them up...and I can't help remembering Dad like this with his grands...

Jamin's hybrid car gave up the ghost. He is in the process of buying a home and didn't want to take out a loan for another car - so he found this BMW used. 

Krista, still photo-bombing her brothers! ::snort:: 

Kent and Maria Arrive

 Look who is here! Maria was a dear friend from our last assignment.  We called her a bonus daughter. At that time, she was active duty and part of the chapel. She went to visit Arielle at college and met Krista. After a bit of time, she ended up in VA where she and Krista were roommates for a few years. She is currently on staff at Liberty and enrolled in one of their doctorate programs. This is her 3rd visit to Alaska. She brought Kent this time.  We picked them up at the airport on the 8th - just as the big rain of 2022 began. 

WE knew Kent had a ring in his possession and was looking for the perfect time to surprise Maria. We set about visiting some of our favorite spots - both to show them off to visitors and to provide a place for Kent to present the ring. Maria kept guessing something was up - and so we waited. LOL This is the subtext of the upcoming posts.  When Allie got off work, when we gathered as a family, "Has he given it to her yet?" ::grin:: 

Saturday, we went to the Garden Faire, met up with Krista and ate at Reuben Haus. 

Sunday, we went to church and then on a quick "hike" at Crevasse Moraine. The mosquitos were TERRIBLE. Stacia's back is covered with them - but they don't show well in this photo. 

It was on this walk that Allie, Stacia and I all saw a black bear. Kent never fully believed us...but we saw scat and a bit up the road...the stump had a snout and beady eyes, and his head turned.  That put a bit of pep in our steps.

To be continued....