Father's Day Recital and Such

Father's Day is  a bit bitter sweet for Michael and I. Seven years ago, on Father's Day, Dad G went to be with his Heavenly Father. We've been remembering him, his bigger than life personality, and his stories, as the day drew near. The legacy of a father is an amazing thing. I see it in Michael and in the way he fathers our children.

Today, at Matanusaka AG, we concluded an 8 week series - Heroes. We celebrated and prayed for our  hero fathers.  Our ministry required us to be away from family for decades. It was especially sweet to celebrate this Father's Day with children, my father and our son in laws.

Izaak, Michael, Carl and Dad 

Carl, Dad, Barney, Rick?, Pastor Shannon, Bob and Bob

Danny, Michael, Izaak.....

A word about church Father's Day gifts. Michael knocked it out of the park one year with fishing lures. This year? Pastor hit a home run. Best Father's Day gift ever - BRATS as in

Michael picked out ribs to grill today. They took a bit longer to prepare than we expected. We made good use of the time.  Some of the men headed out to play Bocce. I had meant to buy some new lawn games before today. Oops - it's been busy.  Note - we've pushed back the jungle - but it's still apparent we aren't quite cultured out here. Ah well, we have a defined yard. LOL

Josiah, Michael, Jared, Alex

  We are lurking on every buy/sell list we know hoping to score a nice, sturdy, wood play/swing structure for our yard. We don't have a lot for the kids to do in the back yard. We have the trampoline - thanks to Jared.  We're also looking for a hot tub. If you are local and see something - send us the link. We've missed a couple - but keep hoping.

Benny loves to jump

 Jamin and Arielle took the kids to play with BUBBLES. 

Larissa left the bubble machine for the kids when she moved to Juneau. It is perfect!

Bella, Benny, Jamin, Gideon, Arielle 

 Strange things these bubbles!

Gideon loved the bubbles, but loved the tools Jamin shared with him even more. 

Note the tape measure in his hand even in the midst of bubbles. 

I caught a shot of both boys on the move! Benny is trying to duck under the bubbles. 

Bella wins the creative catch award. Arielle to ld her we were out of bubbles, she attempted to catch bubbles in the bottle. 

Bre's such a good mommy

Stacia is always working on a craft or two. 

Dad and Josiah enjoy the gorgeous day. 

Izaak is the grill master extraordinaire - and he likes doing it. 

Bre and Jared used the wait to catch up. 

 Annie has been a mama only gal for the last couple of weeks. This afternoon she did let Stacia and Josiah hold her - as long as she could see Bre. 

Izaak shared with me the wonders of the chaga mushroom a few weeks ago. People  swear by it up here. It's supposed to boost immune systems, be good for livers and more... I found a chaga nectar for Izaak to use in his coffee...and some powder for Dad  I can put in his morning coffee. Keeping our heroes healthy.

Michael got Moose Poo and Cory got Bear Scat. Uncanny how real they looked. 

The advantage of our later than expected lunch is Nolan made it home while folks were still here. He came home with a sad commentary on culture. McDonalds was swamped with single dads who had their kids for the day.  He was expecting a slow day - it was the busiest yet.

Michael has been giving Stacia piano lessons. She usually practices with head phones on and doesn't want anyone to hear her play. She gave her first recital for Father's Day. She played Matt Redman's 10,000 Reasons and did a great job.  This song was sung at Mom's funeral and I couldn't help but think of Mom and how she would have loved to be here today. Stacia will soon be forced to find a new teacher...and we know just the one...but she's still nervous about playing in front of anyone.

She had quite an audience....

So sweet when Benny RAN to Stacia after she finished and all were clapping. Turns out he wanted to explore the wonder of the louder volume on the keyboard.

Bella and Gideon explored this wonder as well. 

The guys left to get Jared to the airport for his flight back to Juneau. Please continue to pray for him in his job. Obviously, anyone going into this sort of field knows they will have a target on their back. This mama just wants to make sure he's standing at the end of the onslaught. LOL

It was a red letter day. I had an extra smile in my heart as my baby brother and his wife are flying across the globe to the states today. They have reached Amsterdam. They'll be visiting us up here in a few weeks.  Krista called. This will be her final week at her Chaplain Candidate assignment. Michael will be flying to meet her and drive with her back to Alaska next Sunday. Family is a blessing and we are amply blessed. On days like today my heart sings. This life is not the one we had planned for this season - but the blessing of being with family is not to be rejected. I still pray fervently for Japan, I am happy to be here with the kids.

Benny Hosts the Uncles or Jared is in Town

Jared is in town for the weekend. It makes us miss Larissa more, as she didn't come, but we are thrilled he is here for Father's Day.  They pulled in right as we were leaving for Three Bears to "fetch some meat." As it turned out we also looked at guns for my solitary hikes. 

I was bummed Dad and Michael would get out and stay and I'd have to go to the store and miss the catching up. Michael said he'd go to the store and I could stay...but we hit on a solution. Jared hopped in the car and came with us.

Benny entertained the others left at home and Josiah and Jamin.  

Photo by Jamin 

What are they doing? Looks like some odd prayer circle around the table....

They're just serious about their Uno game. 

Alex, Arielle, Jamin & Bennett, Stacia, Josiah, Jared and Michael 

 Jamin and Benny chase Jared.  

Uncles are fun to play with 

We lingered around the table. Uncle Josiah had Benny and Jared snapped a photo.

Photo by Jamin 

At some point Benny moved to Jared. Jared showed him the photo of himself...

Photo by Josiah or Jamin 

I love Benny's new hair cut!  Photo by Jamin 

Arielle and Bennett headed downstairs. We played one round of Farkle. It was a fun table. 

Michael, Jamin, Stacia, GDog, Josiah, Alex, Nolan and Jared 

I didn't think it would get better than having Dad here; Jared joined us and the fun increased. We had a great time hearing about he and Larissa's transition to Juneau. He has some amazing video clips of Eagles eating fish, whales breaching and gorgeous sunsets - taken from their WINDOW.  You won't be surprised, knowing his job and where he lives,  we talked a "bit" of politics and the "funnies" which accompany that world.

It will be fun to spend the day together tomorrow....we're looking forward to adding BreZaak and kids to the mix. We're sorry Cory has to work both days.

Phenomenal Friday

In keeping with my commitment to the Power 9 principles for a healthy lifestyle...today I moved naturally (at the Friday Fling), strengthened my tribe and ties with my faith based community, and put my loved ones first - in addition to the eating principles. I also managed to avoid sugar another day.  I also got a workout in and walked 16K steps again. 

Stacia and I joined the Lady Lifers for lunch at a local restaurant. The weekly life group we host is on  hiatus for the summer. Honestly, Michael and I knew we needed a bit more flexibility and down time in our summer schedule.  I have learned to listen when Michael tells me it's time for a schedule adjustment. I'd been running  strong since the fall.  We planned to do some social things with our life group once a month - but our summer isn't working well with all the other calendars involved.  Brenda and I were enjoying tea one morning when we agreed I should get the ladies from life group together for lunch. Unfortunately, she and Jacque couldn't make it - but it was a fun break for those of us who could.

After lunch Stacia and I headed to a local store to find cards for Father's Day. It was such a gorgeous day we took a quick run through the Friday Fling. The Friday Fling is a weekly afternoon event hosted by our town during the summer which involves outside vendors/farmer's market/crafty/food trucks.... It doesn't get much better than a sunny afternoon with family.

I started home twice and had to turn back. Once it was to pick up a package at the post office. It turns out it is a box full of fabric and a book about sewing to sell for Stacia. I promise to get more photos and let you know what she is planning to make.

Alex and Michael sunk three poles for the newest project

It was SO nice....we sat around and talked for a bit after the work was done.

Michael made straps for the plastic over the raised beds. 

Alex and Stacia played a bit. 

CoRielle, Bennett, Papa (Michael),  and G Dog or G Dad (my dad)

After dinner we played Farkle. I won! Michael says I won two games. We watched a Hero 6 (I think it's called the one with the mixture of San Francisco and Tokyo).

Garden Tour, Benny, Farkle....

Stacia, Alex and I had dental cleanings today! Yehaw! Not a cavity in sight. We do, however, have a referral for  wisdom teeth extraction for Alex.  They finally agreed with me that mine will be a pain (literally) to remove....and they aren't currently causing problems...it seems only smart to wait and see if they DO cause problems.  They always lecture the kids on WHY they need to be out when they are young and then turn to me and try to convince me AFTER hearing about teeth growing into bones as you age.... Bad strategy. LOL

Nolan got off work early today. He and Michael laid out a new project. More on that in future posts.

Alex and Stacia had Japanese lessons as soon as we got home. Poor Alex didn't even get lunch before his lesson. 

I told Dad I was heading to the garden. He INSISTED on coming outside to help. He has mentioned wanting to be of help several times - and he assured me he'd be fine.... While we were working he mentioned he'd need to make new friends up here if he stayed very long. I need to see what I can find. 

We put in potato hills. It was a gorgeous, beautiful, HOT day today. We put in a row and then Alex joined us. HE had a different strategy and was FAST at putting those things in. We had 3 more rows planted in no time....32 hills. I wish I'd bought more....because this garden is bigger than I thought.

Dad was happy to take me up on the suggestion of a cold drink and ringside seat. 

Yikes. It was 120* in the greenhouse. I must remember - on these days that are predicted to be warm - to open the windows and doors. Yesterday was cold and rainy.  I have tomato blossoms...

See the teeny-tiny cucumber on the right? That's more cucumber than we got last year and I planted them THREE times! 

Kale is coming up. 

Beets - Moose must have taken out a row of beets....I didn't plant anything until July last year and we did get some beets. I may try to start some more seedlings. 

We have chickweed starting and so we spent some time on it - that will be a part of my daily routine to move naturally for the next few months. 😅

Pointing out the teeny carrots so they don't get  weeded. 

The moose damage is becoming apparent now that things are growing. Those bare spots had cilantro and beets....and the radishes weren't quite so clumped together....I'll need to thin things out quite a bit...but I knew we'd lose some and moose would take some....The spinach is bolting. I think it's gotten too much sun or heat or something. I really haven't a clue. I just know that it can be hard to get YIELDS up here...but we get lot of greenery. 

Stacia took most of these photos - and she and I BELIEVE dandelions are flowers...and a useful crop. Have you ever looked this closely at a dandelion? It's pretty amazing. Look at the little curlicues. 

Photo by Stacia 

We have planted all the starts and sets I have. We have lots of garden left. We are covering it in plastic to hopefully kill weeds.....and if I can find more squash/pumpkin/potato sets I may put more in.  We have lumber for another bed and may get one done and set up yet....put in another cool weather something or other. I'm open to suggestions. It would be a short growing season, BUT we have double the sun so the shorter season seems to be close to regular?

Row of broccoli and cauliflower between the plastic 

 I tired the all-natural, perma culture route last year. The chickweed won. We're still organic - but had to have some help with the weeds. I am trying to find lady bugs. We have earthworms and bees.

Potatoes in the brown patch. I can't figure out how to do the plastic there.....and then 4 long rows of sweet corn. Would you cover the potato hills with plastic?  How would I do that? Hmmm....just lay it out and cut out the tops?

BTW - the stakes we bought to hold the plastic down won't go through the clay/rock level.....so we have rocks holding plastic down. When I think of the work to haul the rocks OUT of the garden....I could cry....we are nearly out of rocks and have lots of garden left to cover...ideas?

See what the mean girls have done to each other? 

Benny came out to play....under the trampoline.

Trying to turn Grandma's water off. LOL 

Grumpy face

Mama tries....

Stacia went in and started dinner. Michael and Dad ran to Lowes. Alex and I did a bit more weeding in the garden and then put tools away.  Dinner was yummy - except for the rice!  I've never had trouble cooking rice and have used an instant pot for 5 years....but the last few months it's just gummy....regardless of the amount of water I use. The dog will eat it. 

While Dad caught a quick nap and the kids cleaned up  dinner dishes, Michael and I went for a walk. We went to meet a "neighbor" who is from Colorado. Michael's brother has done work with him and we found out we live close enough for him to see our house through the trees. We hurried home for "the game." The game of Farkle. G Dog enjoys beating  playing with us. 

Daddy cut Benny's hair. I love it. 

He crawled into my lap to snuggle, then hopped off, went to Michael's lap, and gave me a look as if to say, "Psyche! You know Papa is best." He "played" Farkle with us....

Though I'm not in the evening photo - I WON BOTH GAMES. It was time. 

It was a full day....a good day. It is KILLING us not to be taking advantage of the weather to fish...maybe next week. We heard the limits for Reds in Seward went up to 12!!!! Jared is coming for Father's Day and I don't think he'd want to drive 5 hours to fish.