Spring Celebration

This month our family celebration centered around GG turning 82 and Cory turning 30! It was a rousing good time. We missed JaRissa (and Noah), and Luke...but loved having both Nolan and Allie at home.  KRISTA IS IN TOWN and it's always a treat to see her as well. There were 23 of us. 

As earlier noted, the girls and I had a morning event.  We arrived home with 2 hours to get salmon skinned, prepped and the house set. We knew Michael was busy with sermon prep and wouldn't be able to help. 

What an AMAZING SURPRISE to walk in and remember Nolan had taken the day off. He was HOME...and he had brought up the two extra tables and set them up, unloaded the dishwasher, cleared the island of clutter and cleaned it...the house was shining as the girls had done floors and dusted before we left. 

We had an unexpected situation requiring both Michael and I, and CyRi arrived shortly after. They jumped right in and helped the girls keep the upstairs momentum moving. It was great fun and a huge relief. Josiah skinned all the salmon. I threw the recipe for the sauce to Carrie, and she went to town on it.  Everyone jumped in though I don't remember what every person contributed...when it was time to put the salmon in the oven...everything was ready. The house was clean, the table set, the sides done...teamwork at it's best. 

I had a wild idea I wanted to try. My idea was met with a bit of skepticism from Michael, but I was sure if he saw what I was after, he would tweak the idea and it would be magnificent. I wanted a board with holes in it....birthday candles could be fitted into the holes as needed. Each celebrant would have their own with the right number of candles and the candles would not be ON OUR CAKE. In other words, the fun of candles but no spit on said cake.  Michael was sure it was a good idea but that it would cause a fire.  I planned to use paper plates but then saw the cake boards in the pantry. Perfect.  Krista and Carrie took over. Krista melted wax and stuck GG's candles on, Carrie used a hot glue gun.  As you can see in the above photo, it worked! Thanks, girls! Love Danny's expression - he isn't quite sure what they are doing, but it looked inviting! 

Bringing the idea to life

Here are more photos of the day in no particular order. Oh, and as the fish are multiplying, we had cheesy salmon. Several were skeptical and chicken alfredo magically appeared. I had planned to make mac and cheese for the kids who don't like salmon so this worked well...but in the end most the skeptics came around and the recipe was shared with several...with the notes that I add much more garlic and lemon to the recipe. We barely made a dent in the newly discovered freezer of salmon. 

I believe they are playing, "Cover Your Assets" - or maybe I made up that name. LOL 

Stacia, Arielle, Cory, Jamin, Nolan 

Some more of the tribe

Cory's candles

Trudy (4 months) and Allie 

Some of the crew

Nolan, Cy and GG

Annie reminds me much of her Aunt at this age

GG's candles

Can't decide which I like better - I'LL use both 
📷by Carrie 

Michael and I had a race to see who could light all their candles first. He used the flame thrower, but he had over twice the candles. I'm not sure who finished first...it was getting hot. We'll need volunteers to light candle boards if we keep doing this or the first ones will melt before we are done. LOL 

📷by Carrie

Izaak doesn't get to join many of our celebrations. He has been out of town a lot this year and when he is home he's been working HARD to complete a Master's degree. He is nearly done with it and plans to move on to his Doctorate. THIS month he was home and on school break! We loved having him join us. 

Cy and Izaak 📷by Carrie 

We had a great time. It is our hope this provides a monthly time for all the adult children to gather...for them to connect with those they don't see in their daily life, for us to connect with them. It's a great catch-up time...but recently, we've noted a new element.  Really, not a problem...a reality. In the winter it is hard to have this many of us in one spot. We don't have a huge living room or family room. We have an open concept. When we all are here there are 9 children 6 and under, and 1 - 3 over that age. There is a basement, but it's not child friendly and would require adults to go watch kids.  With little space the racetrack through the living room, into the dining/kitchen area comes into play. That isn't bad when there are 2 or 3 toddlers...but it is loud at this point.  I bring games up for the kids to play but that seems to add to the chaos. This is not a problem when we can run OUTSIDE...we have lots of room and outside play structures/games. It's gotten so chaotic that quite honestly, it's hard to talk....so brainstorming has begun as we have one, maybe two more months before we can avail ourselves of the outside space and winter will come again. LOL  Josiah sent a link to a bouncy house that may work in the basement with parents taking turns watching kids...Michael and I talked of clearing out the area so it's available for kids to play but this is where I need to start seeds...so that has some challenges. We're brainstorming...how to insure adults can connect and children have a great, rousing time when we are forced to be inside. 

Spring Crafts

Stacia invited several friends (all the girls) from youth group to meet at the Art Cafe. They have been texting about it for a month or so, and it all came together today! 

Allie, Jenni, Noelani, Lorelei, Jess and Stacia 

It took about 20 seconds for me to realize some of my favorite people have youth daughters! I sent out a text and asked if they'd like to grab coffee or a table and do our own crafts. That is just what we did....and while this photo caught me mid-speaking - it's the only one with Nora in it and so I'll suck it up and post it. ::snort::

Me, Krista, Nora and Melany

Krista worked on a guitar that turned out really cool! 

Melany painted a pretty mug with wildflowers on the sides...

I painted a mug and figured if it doesn't turn out others will assume one of the kids or grands made it for me and they'll tell me its pretty and precious anyways! LOL 

This was a relaxing breather in the midst of a busy day. It was on to salmon and family.  This was doable because the girls jumped in and helped a LOT on Friday and Saturday morning. 

Do you know the story in the Bible about the fish and loaves and how the fish kept multiplying? I thought we were nearly done with salmon for the year. When I inventoried, I discovered TWO FREEZERS full of salmon....

Spring Study and More

The girls went into Anchorage today to spend the day and evening with Krista. As Stacia won't be available Friday morning, she joined Allie and I this morning for Breakfast Study. All three of us had a few "lightbulb" moments this week. We are currently working through, "Lord, Is It Warfare? Teach Me To Stand," by Kay Arthur. This week led to new and deeper understandings of Jesus as our redeemer. Good stuff. 

Michael and the girls left for their various appointments and errands when we got home. Dad seems to be fighting a bug on top of shingles - but it's pretty hard to pin down. He talked with a lot of his friends on the phone and that always makes him happy. By evening he was insisting he feels fine. 

I lit a candle, pulled out my lists and ingredients and spent the afternoon in my happy place. I made deviled eggs and an ice cream cake for Saturday's celebration.  Then I made brownies and muffins for a friend who just had a baby. Next up was Chicken Pot Pie - one for friend's dinner and one for Michael, Dad and Me. 

All in all it was quietly productive afternoon and I feel much more prepared for the upcoming couple of days...which will include friends, outings and a family celebration. 

Larissa sent some Noah shots...and you know...since I haven't shared any photos in the last day or two of sweet Noah...HERE YOU GO!   He will be 8 weeks old this Saturday. 

Hello, sweetie! 

Look at those eyelashes!

Spring Birthday - GG Turns 82

 GG - Dad - H. Paul Townsend - celebrated his 82nd birthday today! 

There is a fair bit of amazement he has arrived at this age. I asked what one goal he has for the upcoming year - a question we always ask. This year he chuckled and said, "Stay alive." 

We'll have a family celebration on Saturday, but we couldn't let the day go by without any notice.  This cake was a fun afternoon perk up.  GG was feeling better today and happy to be able to splurge on sugar. 

Spring Field Trip

Instead of watching the boys while Arielle went to work, THIS morning, I joined them for a bit of a Spring Field Trip. It may be 4 degrees outside, but we were warm and had our hands in the dirt!!! Spring is coming.  This was a fun outing to Ken's Garden Center. 

📷by Arielle 

It was a fun morning. I was a bit taken aback when the clerk said to remember not to put anything in the ground until June.  Reality.  It was a good reminder as I was thinking I was behind on seeds. LOL 

📷by Arielle 

This is a boy after my heart. He really, really wanted to plant watermelon. I have tried in various greenhouses for the past 3 years and know that they just don't set... and I would like the grands to enjoy gardening. We poured over the seeds. Finally, his mama found a pretty packet of herbs with flowers. 

📷by Arielle 

Danny was not 100% sure about playing in the dirt.

Danny & Benny 

Little Buddy was even MORE reluctant than Danny to play in the dirt. 

Little Buddy, Danny, Benny 

Bachan's proud little gardener! 

Little Buddy didn't want his hands in the dirt, but he was happy to empty containers I filled. 

I had never been inside to look around, and Arielle was looking for a specific plant so in we went. The boys helped me pick out succulents for the little pots Krista and the kids brought us Sunday. Benny was fascinated by the Venus Fly Trap...so I bought that too...now I'm wondering if they HAVE to have flies to eat to live and if I have to go hunt flies in the middle of winter  early spring!😀

When we finished, I headed further into town to our food co-op.  I came home a yummy roast in the instant pot. I am SO glad I had time to get it in before I left this a.m. We had a salad made, I threw some potatoes into the air fryer and we had a yummy dinner on a busy day. 

Grandpa is not feeling well. He is nauseated and simply spent most the day in bed. He's not complaining of shingles. I think he caught the flu - somewhere? Not sure where. 

*If I use the word SPRING often enough, I am sure warmer weather and flowers will appear! 

Spring Skiing

SPRING BREAK is made for playing....Stacia DROVE over to Jenni's home, and they went to Government Peak for a bit of spring skiing. She said she was doing well until the very end.... and then....

...a spectacular fall! She was so close.... check out how near the parking lot she was when she went upside down. 

Ah, but this is not Stacia's first biff on a skiing adventure with Jenni. Here she is earlier in the year breaking trail (yeah, I am behind on some blogging  - why not put all the photos in one spot?)

Jenni is one of the youth staff at church. She is also in our Life Group. We have loved getting to know her. 

Before skiing, the girls and I ran over to the Wasilla library. We had enough time to run over and back before Allie went to work. Unfortunately, I didn't realize they were CLOSED on Monday mornings. We miss being able to pick up holds at our LOCAL LIBRARY. We miss our LOCAL librarians. 

Stacia needed to repair her ski boot before heading out... In the process she found a project she had begun "over a year ago" - maybe last year's spring break. She finished a pair of pajama bottoms for Allie and a pair of PJ shorts for herself.

Thanks to Jenni and Stacia for sharing photos. 

First Sunday in Spring?

An odd thing happened to Stacia this morning. She fainted. Ears muffled, vision black and down she went. She was WHITE... devoid of color. About 10 minutes after the incident, she looked better, and I took her blood pressure. It was on the low side...88/65.  I was staying home with Dad today due to Shingles, so we kept her home too - just to watch her.  

We enjoyed playing a new game: Pickles to Penguins. OK - so the girls and I enjoyed learning a new game. Michael was tired and said he'd rather just sit and watch. Games with little strategic sense or logic are not Michael's favorite games. 

KrUke and the kids (we assume) rang our doorbell and dropped off spring gifts! SPRING. I am taking this as an official sign it IS Spring...that and the time change...we still have much snow...but we're calling it. Spring is here....Alaska style. LOL 

Checking out the spring gifts from KrUke

Hope you had a good Sunday.