Arielle has an Ultrasound

Last week these two journeyed to Arielle's doctor's and had an ultrasound - at 20 weeks. 

CoRielle at 20 weeks 

Look at these amazing shots of Baby S. 

Yes, they were able to determine gender.

Baby S is Baby Boy S! We are all excited! He is due to arrive 22 November...😍😍😍

Girl's Weekend Day 2

Day 2 of our Girl's weekend....we took care of business - laundry and the week's grocery shopping and then we went on the hunt for a few things we couldn't find on base. 

First stop Pita Pit - Stacia approved

Yummy food AND a 10% military discount

 We were trying to find a wok, a ceramic pot and rain boots.  Somehow, we ended up at Kohl's looking at purses....2 years since we've bought a new one. We resisted. 

We were surprised when we struck out on both woks and boots at Target and Kohls. We knew we could find a pot at Lowe's.  We stopped and savored the colors....next year, we'll have a yard...and we can plant things to stay....and have a real garden and not a container garden....next year....

We found a pot....and headed home to re-plant my Mother's Day flowers from BreZaak and the kids. 

We enjoyed some tea and scones.....dreaming of when we'll have the fine china and such for a tea. 

We're watching Princess Diaries 2 and waiting for the return of the guys.....it's been a good weekend.

Girls' Weekend Day 1

And so....since Stacia wanted girl time....it fell to me to plan a Girls' weekend. 😃

We kicked the day off by sleeping in until 9:30 a.m. I did take the guys to meet Josiah at 0600.....and I had to wake Stacia up to get into the RV as I couldn't get all the locks unlocked with my key when I got back. 

We decided to go by the JBER library and ask a few questions. Yes, retirees can have cards. We checked out a bunch of books.....these are for our research. I do see the irony in finally living in a spot long enough to invest in a garden - only to find the retirement home is in the far north.  

Next, we headed to the movie theater. We arrived early and were glad to see the strip mall around the theater. Wow - what a find. Lowes, Sam's club, Kohls, Target, tons of food places - to include Pita Pit and a juice place....and Ulta....

A word about the weather.....it was beautiful Monday and Tuesday. I think it rained Wednesday. Was gorgeous on Thursday and Friday, and rained again today. We are adjusting to the Alaskan rhythm. The rainy days are actually sort of nice- they break up the ever-present sunlight. 😉

We decided to do facials and treat our feet too. We are familiar with the masks from Japan. We hadn't tried the feet treatment before, but we're game.

We made it in time to get our favorite seats - very back row. We settled on Despicable Me 3. 

This evening, we whipped up some breakfast burritos and applied various masks to feet and face. We were told that in 4 days our feet will peel.  I am not 100% sure the foot peel was a good idea.....our feet are tingly. It smelled like polish remover and did remove my polish. 🐽

While everything soaked we watched Ann with an E and Pippi Longstocking. A word about Anne with an E. There are a couple of spots which may be inappropriate depending on the age of your children.  We chose to fast forward through one part and I used the rest as conversation starters. We did enjoy the season - and now we wonder if there will be more seasons coming.

Combat Fishing

Josiah, Michael, Nolan and Alex left this morning to go combat fishing on the Russian River in the Kenai peninsula. The plan was to fish all day, spend the night in a tent or their car, and fish all day tomorrow. Jamin and possibly Jared will join them tomorrow.

I was surprised Stacia opted to stay home. She said she wanted some "girl time." It turns out 1. the idea of sleeping in a car with all the guys didn't appeal to her and 2. Mom G had told her stories about folks nearly drowning in waders - she didn't want to try the waders. 😊 I'm happy to have her company.

The guys shared a few photos. I hear they are having fun. They are making memories. It rained all day, began really pouring around 4 p.m.  They look cold to me. 😉 Michael said, "It's a fine and pleasant misery."

Michael 

Alex

Nolan

Josiah 

 The total Salmon count for the day is 3. Michael caught all 3. One of the boys texted, "Tomorrow, we'll all get fish. If the disabled vet can do it - we can too."  There they are - our first fish since the Alaska migration.

#WYFF Routine Life

See? It's not ALWAYS bears! This is the only "wildlife" I saw today. He greeted me when I opened the RV door. I sort of prefer his greeting over that of the bear.....

#WYFF - outside the Gherkins RV

Michael and the boys spent a few hours shopping for needed salmon poles, waders and such. They are heading out for an overnight fishing trip early tomorrow morning.

Stacia and I hung out at home. We worked on laundry, a bit of organizing and cleaning. In the afternoon a friend, from when we were assigned here in 2002-2005, came over and found us at the Travel Camp.  I got to know Darshia when she attended the women's Bible studies.  Darshia brought MJ with her. Stacia was 8 months in utero when we left Alaska. MJ was 3.  I didn't take a picture of the two them.  It was pleasant to listen to them get to know each other.

 I thoroughly enjoyed my chat with Darshia. We only scratched the surface of the things we could have covered - but we got started! I look forward to renewing this friendship. I snapped this selfie just as they were leaving...next time I will grab some of the girls too.

Friday night is pizza and movie night. Michael brought some pizza home from the commissary and we ate and watched Mary Poppins and Megamind.

It's fun to end a post with the latest photo our mighty, little warrior! Gideon is now 7 weeks old. 2 weeks past his due date.....he's blossoming. We can't wait for him to get up here the end of this month.

As this is FRIDAY - I'll go ahead and label this #WYFF.

Fourth of July Thoughts

I have been thinking about America's Independence Day. Every year on the fourth of July, we celebrate the day we declared to all of mankind the reasons we "dissolved the political bands" which connected the American colonies to Great Britain. 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..."

These words have spoken powerfully throughout our 241 years of existence, but within these words, the true foundation of our right to be and to exist as a free and independent nation are seldom caught. Four times in this declaration there are references to God - Nature's God, Creator, Supreme Judge and Divine Providence. The first three references declare in some means or manner the recognition that we derive our authority and the right to separate ourselves from England because of the nature and character of God. The fourth reference is a declaration of our "firm reliance" upon God for protection knowing full well the trouble that was coming.

Inasmuch as this document is known as the Declaration of Independence, it is also our Declaration of Dependence - we declare our dependence upon God to stand as our own nation; we declare that we are all created equal with rights that no man has the right to take away; we appeal to God, the Supreme Judge, to uphold the rightness of our claim to be a free and equal nation; and we declare our need for Almighty God to protect us in the inevitable conflict to come.

Unfortunately, many do not understand or want to acknowledge this reliance upon God. History has given us countless examples where nations have declared themselves to be independent of God. There was a nation roughly during this same time as the American Revolution that had a revolution of its own but refused to recognize God's authority or, for many, to even acknowledge God's existence. This was the French Revolution - a time better known for the guillotine, torture and imprisonment rather than Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. There was the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Perhaps 100 million died while this government existed - 35 million alone under the rule of Josef Stalin. There was Mao and the takeover of China by the Chinese Communists - perhaps another 100 million deaths. It would be easy to speak of Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, and hundreds of others who have declared their independence from God and inflicted unspeakable suffering and death upon their own people and those who live around them.

The question at hand is this: are we willing to declare, again, our dependence upon God and thence enjoy the benefits of the Liberty our forefathers bequeathed upon us?, or are we becoming a nation that exists independent of God and thence will reap the bitter fruits of bondage and despair that countless other nations have endured after turning their backs on God?

Fishing and Wildlife

Look who came to Quiet Time this morning. 

I'm not sure they'll ever solve the "bear problem" in the campground. They've learned it's easy food.....and they aren't worried about people at all. People aren't too worried about them either.....but in a year or two....it will be a different story. Rest easy, *I* am not running up to them to take photos...this was from INSIDE the RV - with a 300mm  lens. LOL 

Jamin had the day off today and dropped by to help Michael with projects and visit. We set him up online with one of the required permits to be able to sign in and visit the rec areas on JBER. He, Michael and the Gherkins left to explore. They fished in a lake and drove around. They didn't catch anything. Ah well, they had fun.

I stayed at the RV to get dinner ready. The plan was for them to fish, come have dinner, pick up Josiah and I, and all go out again after dinner.

Josiah got off work early. He took his FINAL test to be a manager at Walmart today. He's done....I think he has 2 more weeks of training in his specific area. I'm telling you - they train WELL..... He is off until Monday......we visited and the others showed up.

Ate dinner and ran for the lakes.....our goal was trout. I signed in saying "Wildlife viewing/Photos" was my mission. The others were fishing.  I scored. The others not so much. The lake was overly crowded. We had thought there would only be one person,  as only one was signed in....hmmm....something isn't working quite right with their system.

Stacia

 My first catch 

 Beautiful spot to fish even if the trout elude one's grasp 

These will be beautiful when they are all open

Alex 

My second catch 

Michael, Josiah, Stacia

 I couldn't quite see if this were an eagle but snapped a few shots anyway. It was...a young one. 

Face of a fisherwoman

 Michael caught this one

 The reds are supposed to start running in the Russian River this weekend. They're planning to meet them. I support this plan. Stay tuned....

At this point we got a call from our realtor, the elder Gherkins left; Michael and I talked house things.