A Day Full of Family Connecting

I am amazed at how much thought has to go into simply getting out of the house these days. 😏  I knew Allie and I wanted to leave at 0900 for our breakfast study.  GG wakes up anywhere from 6 - 10 and when he wakes up it's a solid hour - 90 minutes to get "all the things" settled. I SHOULD be able to get up at 0800 and leave the house at 0900...in reality I have to shower at 0500 to be sure I'm ready for the wake up call from GG. It wouldn't be a problem except Michael is a night owl and I am regularly staying up until after midnight.  Now that I'm acknowledging the facts, mornings are going much smoother. LOL 

Allie and I enjoyed the chance to connect this morning. The chances are precious with her out of the house working so much this summer. While we enjoyed breakfast Stacia had gone with Arielle and the boys to a park day organized by some mothers at Arielle's church.  Allie and I decided to drive over to Wasilla and join them, after a quick trip to buy more chicken feed.  Altogether this resulted in a total of an hour behind the wheel for Allie...another trip to Wasilla and lots of practice with "demon circles" - something we'd wanted to spend some concentrated time working on. I think she's feeling more comfortable with how they work after doing so many in one day. 

A fun part of being a grandma (Baachan) at the park is I can watch the drama and not feel compelled to get involved. This is the moment Danny realized the child next to us had brought Goldfish. Look at how nonchalantly he walks to the blanket and starts toddler chattering to the mom. 😂

"Ma'am, someone appears to have left a cup of perfectly good goldfish crackers here. I can help you out with those." 

SCORE. The nice mama let him take them. 

Meanwhile, Benny asked Alli to play Frisby with him. Here Benny explains his unique take on playing Frisby. He would toss it as far as he could and then they'd both run and find it. 😂

Of COURSE, Danny joined the fun! 

Benny walked his bike back to their van AND lifted it into the back. I was telling him how strong he was when he assumed this stance. Check out his muscles! 

I was excited to have Carrie and Liv stop by today. In general, it is harder to connect with the Gherkins in the summer....we're off hiking, fishing, camping, paddle boarding, ATVing...and there is simply less time when our schedules match up well.  They'd been missing us and we have certainly been missing them. We snatched a few hours when they could drive out and we would be at home.  Carrie and I talked while I got a casserole ready for the guys. 

I zipped Allie to work, and Stacia and I met Krista for her and I to get a pedi. I had given all the girls certificates for pedicures for mother's day....and this was our chance. We had planned to do it with Larissa, Carrie, Krista and I  today, but schedules...(Arielle, Bre and I did it in May). I'm glad Krista and I decided to go ahead...and glad Stacia joined us. 

Michael put in a lovely ceiling fan/light in our room! He also took Grandpa for his second infusion. The rest of the day is a blur. My love tank is full - it was a day of connecting with family in various ways. 

Breakfast Companions

My highlight today was a massage - I have not one photo to show for it. My only complaint is she spent a lot of time working on my neck which resulted in wild, oily hair...a style I had to wear through Bible study tonight. LOL My back feels much better today. 

The second highlight of the day came as Grandpa came to the table for breakfast! Look who joined us! Dad saw one first and said - "Look, a baby Caribao!" Caribou are not native to Alaska, though they are to the Philippines.  

Via Google photos

It took just a second to realize there must be a baby moose...and then he noted two and I knew Mama had to be nearby. Can you spot all three in the photo below? 

In a matter of minutes all three were clearly seen...and they were great breakfast companions indeed! 

They are welcome as long as they stay out of the orchard and the garden, and away from the Aspen trees. They were well-behaved today. 

Michael installed a fan in Dad's room and is working on one for our room.  

Dad/Grandpa was up a lot last night...2:45, 5:00, 6:30...I finally told him to take a shower at 8:00 and come have breakfast.  In any event, I'm too old to be up all night long...I HAD to grab a quick nap. 

Here are some shots from the garden today....I still don't trust that I understand the growing season around here...not sure if anything will produce. Last year it was cool, we had lots of GREEN but not a lot of food. It has been hot but this past week was cool and rainy. I think things are doing o.k. Although I think the squash is getting too much water - not much I can do about the rain. 

Tomatoes

Dragon Eggs coming along

This new bed survived the rain 

Kale

I think I can start harvesting baby greens any day. 

I have no idea if Bok Choy SHOULD be flowering at this point. I don't see anything that looks remotely like Bok Choy in the store.  LOL 

C'mon melons! 

I up planted some sunflowers...and watered everything...that's about all I did today. These are the remaining plants to transplant into the garden space.  

Michael is Home

 

Michael is home! If I handled online security correctly none of you realized he was gone. We have done 9 month deployments and I must admit life has never felt as overwhelming as it did during this stint of absence. There is a well-known deployment rule...3 things will break, 3 conflicts will arise, 3 illnesses...you get the idea. I'm here to tell you the rule of 3 applies to retired civilians. ::snort::  BUT I have now handled our wonderfully chaotic life alone...it wasn't pretty...but we got it done. LOL  BTW, this is why we weren't at the parade with the grands...GG wasn't up to it, and I wasn't up to figuring out the logistics to leave home if he didn't come. LOL 

Michael flew down to Idaho to surprise a friend for his birthday. It was a special time. The surprise was a hit. I suspect he'll be making more of those trips to see a friend in FL and his brother in CO...so I will have many more chances to learn how to handle our special brand of chaos.  Michael's suitcase had more frozen salmon in it than clothes...by far. 

Dad does better when Michael is home. He was mentally all kinds of out of sorts the whole time Michael was gone...but he did know to keep asking, "When will Mike be back?"  Come to think of it, I was mentally all kinds of out of sorts too and counting down the days. ::snort::  I still believe we are seeing some improvement since Dad's last infusion, he isn't sure. He has another one this week. 

Millie and the Garden  - the topics which have occupied us most this past week. 

As Millie feels better it is getting tougher to keep her "sedate" and from "jumping, running and bouncing."  She is still on sedatives and there is a magic bubble where she is sedate...overly sedate, but most of the time it's a battle. The t-shirt is working MUCH BETTER than the cone. 

The beets have sprouted. I need to find time to thin them...even if it's cloudy and rainy. 

I can't for the life of me remember what we did on Thursday and Friday. I know I had breakfast out with each girl and we are moving from Abraham to Isaac in our study. Saturday I previously blogged. 

We had thought we'd make it to church on Sunday but in the end it wasn't to be. Grandpa simply wasn't up for it, and it seemed pointless to force the issue. Instead we watched Grandpa's pastor from OR on YouTube. 

Allie, Millie & Stacia

Bright and early Monday morning Allie and I had a zoom meeting with a program advisor at UNCO.  We cuddled on the couch with hot drinks and discussed her first weeks at her new job, plans for college and life was good. 

While we cuddled here at home...Stacia and Krista cuddled on a 5 hour cruise of Resurrection Bay. Krista invited us to attend this base event, but Allie and I had a zoom meeting. Krista came out and picked Stacia up on Sunday. Thank you, Krista. Thanks also for the photos - not sure who took them...

Monday afternoon Arielle and the boys came over. GG was thrilled to see the boys. He's missed his Monday mornings with the boys.  Danny discovered the piano and surprised us by playing very gently and quietly. 

Benny joined him for a rousing duet. 

0800 this morning found me playing Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel (or something like that) with the boys.  I hurt my back while Michael was gone, and I wasn't as fun this a.m. as I usually am. We played this game, read books and watched a Chip and Dale cartoon. 

Arielle returned home and the boys and she went to the Library story hour. I headed across to the next town to sort produce for our food co-op. 

Michael and GG ran to Anchorage to retrieve Stacia. They met Krista for lunch. GG was TIRED this evening, he told me he was really weak...but he got out and enjoyed it. We may need to quit asking and just tell him he's coming. LOL That works when it's Michael doing the suggesting - he just tells me no. LOL 

Stacia and I put food away and delivered a few treats to the grands. We decided an Encore Presentation was in order for dinner (leftovers). I unwittingly served Grandpa the one steak, which he promptly smothered in ketchup, leaving Michael disappointed and cringing.  This was not my best wifely moment. Look for a replay of steaks as soon as possible. ::blush:: 

Michael had a project to work on after dinner - I moved the fridge while he was gone and he helpfully moved the handle around.  GG, Stacia and I watched an episode of When Calls the Heart and the Waltons (which Dad enjoys) before he and Stacia went to bed. 

It is 11:37 p.m. and is light outside. I guess we need to simply "turn out the lights" instead of dinking around until the sun goes down. LOL Of course, we're sort of waiting up to hear stories from Nolan when he gets off work. LOL 

Editor's note: Nolan didn't get home until 1:30...and yes, I was up...but not functional. LOL 

Summer - in Full Swing

 The week has raced at a pace faster than opportunities to blog.  If a picture is worth a thousand words these should help to keep pace. 

In the midst of all the rush and work - it's heavenly to snatch a moment or two to rest in the trees. 

Or rest on the couch while prepping for an exam. 

We may hit $6 up here....it seems to go up by leaps....

I'm always worried when I see garden pictures of others harvesting as we are are just starting to plant. I always hope things will produce - they didn't last year. I'm ahead this year...but still wondering if we'll have lots of green with no produce. Ah well, the chives and cabbage will be ready before fall. LOL 

Millie has never been as sedate. 

The broccoli has a long way to go, but it's out of the greenhouse and into a bed. 

Liv is sporting a new hair cut! 

📷by Carrie

EVERYONE loves Bre's cookies and bars, and Jojo will go great lengths to snatch a taste! It looks like he has the climbing ability of big brother Gideon.

📷by BreAnne

We've had our first rain in weeks this week. It's nice to have an excuse to sit inside with a hot drink and  a book or movie. 

This drink is 100% SUGAR FREE 

Luke and Krista surprised us with a visit. 

Millie is feeling much better. It is nearly impossible to "keep her from jumping and bouncing" at this point. I'm hopeful they didn't really mean two full weeks of laying around. We're focusing on keeping her from getting at the incision and staying as quiet as we can keep her.  The sedatives have allowed us to catch pictures of her. 

WHAT???? This is what we usually see when new hens begin laying...but I found it in the chicken yard with the OLD hens.  The youngest in there is 2 years old. Could one of them just have begun laying? Or do they get smaller as they near the end of laying? I've not noticed this before. Odd. 

Much life this week - not much blogging time.  Dad got an infusion on Thursday. He didn't feel good after but I think he's starting to perk up. We shall see. He'll get another one this week.  Allie finished week two of her new job. Millie was spayed and is recovering - that covers Stacia's week as well. Bre had a birthday. Nolan finished another 3 credits for this semester....some went to Colony Days... others have been unpacking and settling in...caregiving...gardening...moving church classrooms...

The gang at the Colony Day Parade - Cory, Bre, CyRi
and grands📷by Arielle

...camping and salmon fishing...

Livvie and Cy 📷by Carrie

Josiah made a quick trip to Seward after the parade and caught his limit in just under an hour! Izaak reported the same when he dropped by with fresh caught salmon. 

Josiah 📷by Carrie