ain't we lucky we got em.....good times-Simmons Family

The Weather Made it to 37 Degrees...Yippy.

2012-02-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

I wanted to introduce everyone to my new Roller Derby Skating shoes. They are really actually "hand made" in the USA. USA, USA, USA. I love them so far. No blisters and I can really make good turns. There is a whole bunch of roller derby players in Bethel right now, and none of us know what we are doing. So much fun, I can barely walk though.

Moxy, Cole, and Jackson eating pizza. Moxy woke up and said, "Mom I want Jackson to come over...Now.

We went to a carnival and they were selling Yupik language t-shirts. Moxy says "my mom loves me" and Ruby's says "My dad loves me."

Greg in the Red Dragon with our children.

Playing a little t-ball on the snowy tundra.

Eddy and I hanging out. He seems to love the cold weather.

Waiting for the sled

Greg was giving Eddy a little bit of moose stew. And Eddy was trying to slurp it down. We have not started Eddy on solids, but greg sneaks in little "tastes."

January is the Coldest Weather in Bethel's History

2012-02-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

From the National Weather Service:

KUSKOKWIM DELTA-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BETHEL...HOOPER BAY...NUNIVAK ISLAND
742 AM AKST WED FEB 1 2012
...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM AKST THURSDAY...
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON AKST
THURSDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ANCHORAGE HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM AKST THURSDAY. THE WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. A WIND CHILL ADVISORY
REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON AKST THURSDAY.

* WIND CHILL VALUES...45 TO 55 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.
* WIND...NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55
  MPH.
* VISIBILITY...REDUCED TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS AT AT TIMES.
  THE LOWEST CONDITIONS WILL BE INITIALLY ALONG THE COAST BUT WILL
  SPREAD TO THE REMAINDER OF THE ZONE BY EVENING.
* TIMING...PERIODS OF LIGHT SNOW WILL PERSIST OVER THE KUSKOKWIM
  DELTA THROUGH THE DAY TODAY AND INTO TONIGHT. WHILE
  ACCUMULATION DOES NOT LOOK TO BE SUBSTANTIAL...THE LIGHT
  NATURE OF THE SNOW COUPLED WITH STRONG WINDS WILL YIELD
  PERIODS OF POOR VISIBILITY. WINDS LOOK TO DIMINISH BELOW 25
  MPH BY THURSDAY MORNING WITH IMPROVED VISIBILITY. COLD
  TEMPERATURES WITH STRONG WINDS WILL ALSO SUPPORT BITTER WIND
  CHILLS THROUGH THURSDAY.
* IMPACTS...INCREASED RISK OF HYPOTHERMIA AND FROSTBITE. PERIODS
  OF POOR VISIBILITY DUE TO BLOWING SNOW MAKING OUTDOOR TRAVEL AND
  ACTIVITY OCCASIONALLY DIFFICULT.

Ruby's school was cancelled today.  They didn't want to cancel because of all

days missed when the pipes were frozen.  The pipes froze again last night,

which would not generally stop school from happening with inventions like

hand sanitizer, Or sayings like"If it's yellow let it mellow."  But today

the winds were too much.  This month the average temp.is -17 degrees.  I can

handle even -37 degree weather but once that wind starts blowing...my limbs

feel like they will snap in two like a tree branch, a few seconds of having my

hand out it starts to feel like frostbite.

Our car stopped working at some point and after refusing to take another cab ride, we bought this big heater. Greg tarped the car and warmed it up in 30 minutes. It worked, our car is up and running again, and continued to run in -30 degrees, currently with windchill our weather is -65. There is no break in the wind currently.

Rapunzel getting a dose of cabin fever by Ruby.

Kefir for Ruby and I

2012-01-28T10:43:00.000-08:00

Kefir with tundra blueberries.

I recieved a box of Kefir powder recently from Susan. Susan did you know that I absolutely love Kefir, even though it seems to make people disgusted. Whenever, I leave Bethel I usually get a bunch from the grocery store (cost approx. 4-5 dollars a bottle). So I asked the local yogurt maker about the kefir powder. She told me about someone who was using and growing the Kefir grains, and I went and got some of his extras. Thus- the kefir craze has started. Here is the Wikipedia explanation of Kefir.

(Kefir (From Wikipedia)
Kefir grains, which are a Probiotic that contain Yeast and live bacteria, are used to make kefir
Kefir (pronounced /kəˈfɪər/ kə-feer [2]) (alternately kefīrs, keefir, kephir, kewra, talai, mudu kekiya, milkkefir, búlgaros) is a Probiotic fermented milk drink made with Kefir Grains that originated with shepherds of the North Caucasus region, who discovered that fresh milk carried in leather pouches would occasionally ferment into an effervescent beverage. It is prepared by inoculating cow, goat, or sheep's milk with kefir grains. Traditional kefir was made in skin bags that were hung near a doorway; the bag would be knocked by anyone passing through the doorway to help keep the milk and kefir grains well mixed.[3]

Marco Polo mentions kefir in recounting his travels.)

Kefir Grains. Rubbery, they multiply.

Kefir with milk.

I put milk on top of the grains and let it sit for a night or a couple days. The longer it sits the fizzier it gets (slightly carbonated, milk does not go bad). In the left hand photo, the drink is ready, the milk whey is on the bottom.

Ruby helps me strain the kefir. She loves it! Moxy literally spit it out on the floor.

straining the grains, we will put strained grains into clean jar and restart the process.

drink it up yum!

Hot Diggity Dog-Making History

2012-01-21T13:04:00.000-08:00

Go Jen Peeks! This is from this morning, but she left last night. She is the first woman to win the Bogus 150. This is a 150 mile dog race up river and back.

We found Elenor and Sean above. We went to eat at Main Street Restaurant before the dog race. They put us in some private room. Maybe to keep us from the other customers. Eddy exposed.

Eddy wrapped up in my coat. He was snug and seemed to like being out.

The left is Lance Macky and his team. He is a 4 time Iditarod champion. This year our K-300 interests are more sparked than ever, as there is a lot of dog mushers from the area who are competitors.

Cars on the river facing the fireworks, we think the site is pretty.

Eddy looking cute. Susan sent me a down snow suit and warm sweater. Perfect timing Susan. Eddy stayed super warm. Still smiling after sub-zero degree temps.

Collards and Logs

2012-01-05T18:33:00.000-08:00

Andrew and Kristy were on our minds today. Not only can you bake kale but collard greens bake into chips also. I ate a whole head of collard greens today, and two weeks ago I ate a whole head of kale. Recipe is as followed and given to me by Kristy. Olive oil, tumeric, garlic salt, nutritional yeast and pepper. I also add a little cumin because I am coo coo for cumin. I am more coo coo for the Nutritional yeast. I bake them at 290 degrees and begin taking them out after 15 minutes. Yum Yum Yum. I am a little addicted and find myself very disappointed when kale does not come in our vegetable box.

Andrew, Greg wanted you to see that it takes three whole birch logs to warm our house right now. Nice and toasty. You guys should come back now...okay?

There You Go Dad -37.

2012-01-04T09:57:00.000-08:00

Moxy seems to really like Eddy.

Mom was not exaggerating about our cold weather. Our vehicle will not start. All over Bethel building pipes are freezing. Even I got the day off due to frozen pipes. :) Weather report shows about another week of this kind of cold.

Happy New Year 2012...Where Did 2011 Go?

2012-01-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year. This is the temperature in the new year. This is the real deal, no wind included. It has not been cold like this in a while. Just in case you cannot see the thermometer it says -32.

Eddy looking cute. What a special gift for Christmas.

Ruby spent Christmas on the couch, feeling nauseated all day. She did not even want to play with her toys. That's sick. She kind of has a green tint.

"I am optimus prime!" The toy that gives me goosebumps.

Moxy got his gun, little dart gun. He's been good with it. We had concerns for what seems like obvious reasons. But, we decided to let him be a full out boy from Alaska.

Christmas holiday weekend spent in one big slumber party. We were sick and tired for about three days straight.

Lots of fun though. We are like hibernating bears

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

November Came and Went!

2011-12-04T10:59:00.001-08:00

Ruby giving Moxy and a big hug after her Thanksgiving presentation.

Ruby and Eddy laying on her bed in the living room, because everyone was sick that week. We were all trying to be by the wood stove. It felt like a slumber party.

Eddy has wings in this picture. He really is a little angel.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T19:42:00.001-07:00

Cupcakes for Ruby's class.

Ruby and Moxy have the Halloween spirit.

Cake balls...yummy.

Carolyn's family. So scary!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Bethel

Pumpkin Carnival

2011-10-30T11:01:00.001-07:00

Ruby dressed the little pumpkin we grew. She surprised me by hiding it in my bed.

I was actually scary I had a big red and black spider crawling on my back. I wrapped eddy to me and we managed to make it through another Halloween carnival.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Bethel

Our Mac broke down

2011-10-29T11:44:00.001-07:00

We had several nice little pictures to share as we have been having a nice festive halloween, however our computer is not cooperating. Luckily this iPad arrived, I am still not sure what to make of it.

Eddy being super cute.

Location:Home bethel

Beets are Scary to Eat.

2011-10-15T23:37:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of Halloween I decided to allow beets to be delivered in our produce box. Beets are fun because they give off a beautiful color. A little on the bloody looking side. I decided to make roasted beets with sauteed beet greens. Yummy recipe to me....Greg only ate them with me to support my iron intake.

Moxy with his Transformers mask on. He has decided that this will be his outfit and mask for Halloween. Back to the beets.

Red Rice

This is what the final recipe turned out like. I thought it was beautiful. I put walnuts on top for the protein, and threw it on top of brown rice. The recipe can be found at:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-beets-and-sauteed-beet-greens/detail.aspx

Once you started eating the beets the juices turned everything in the meal a pinkish red color. Perfect for Halloween.

The Cold is Here to Stay...Halloween time.

2011-10-12T12:32:00.000-07:00

It's Halloween time, and we went to the community garden right before the first snow and saved our one little pumpkin. We were so excited. We grew it with the "wall of water". I don't think it would have made it otherwise with Bethel having such rainy cold weather.

Our first snow. We woke up this morning to little snow flakes. I told Eddy he better get ready for the cold.
Making cookies with little friends.

Oregon Grandparents Come For a Visit

2011-10-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Moxy and Papa's seat for the entire trip. Moxy would kick us out of his seat if we sat in it.

My mom brought my aunt Lois with her to Alaska in the form of a doll. Ruby colored a picture of "Lois" and has to sleep with her every night.
Eddy and grandma. I could tell that Eddy missed being in grandma's arms after they left.

Grandma and Papa are Red Sox fans so we went to the local pizza shop to watch it on the big screen. We don't talk about the outcome of the game. Greg and Papa made smoked salmon. It was delicious. Yes I tried some on a cracker.

We tried to pick cranberries on the Tundra but the wind was trying to blow us away.
Grandma went to Ruby's school to eat with her a lot. If she did not show up for lunch, Ruby would ask her why she did not come.
Tundra hike.

Andrew and Kristy...Bethel Outbound Plane

2011-09-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew and Greg (above).
with Leah.

Most of us were crying before these pictures, but we ended up looking pretty happy. Andrew came up in June, three years ago. I knew he would like it here. It felt natural to have him here, our missing family member. I had a feeling that he would meet Kristy. They made life very fun here. I am so happy that he is leaving with her, because this means I will get to see her for a long time to come.

One last hug for Ruby.
Kristy and Andrew going through security. We just kept following them and saying goodbye.
Bye, Bye Andrew and Kristy.

Happy Birthday Moxy #4

2011-09-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Moxy turned 4 years old today. He's had a rough month with Ruby starting kindergarten and Eddy being born, but this seemed to be a good day for him.

playing with Moxy's presents.
Cole eating a hotdog.

We roasted hotdogs by the fire.grandma Houston and papa have come up to visit from Oregon, and my mom stayed inside with Eddy.

Eddy One Week Old

2011-09-16T15:15:00.001-07:00

"Ready" Eddy Robert Simmons

2011-09-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

We are excited about Eddy.

He is a very calm baby. Ready for a bath.

Dr. Roll, she delivered all of our babies.

Eddy getting his Apgar score. Kristy making sure he is not left alone.
7 pounds 13.5 ounces

Picture of Ruby and Moxy says it all. They were worried looking at first.

Wow, this picture really proves how big Moxy has grown.

Ruby's First Day of School

2011-08-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

Ruby outside of her school with Moxy and Kristy.

8:15a is a little early for us, but we all arrived just in time.
This is what we arrived to. These are actually lines of kids.
Ruby and Riley. Both looking a little worried.
Greg getting one more hug in.
Mrs. Smith (Ruby's teacher) is telling Ruby to put her inside shoes on.
Anna and Maya. They are in a different class, but looking cute.

Cured Fish Eggs

2011-08-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

I guess this is what the silver salmon like to eat. Once they are cured you put it on your lure and wait for the bite.
Pretty color.

Berry Picking

2011-08-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

We tried to jump a beaver dam, but did not realize how wide it was. The beavers have been bringing the land to the dam.
Ruby so excited to pick salmon berries.
This is the first year that Moxy got into picking berries. Both kids last about two hours hiking on the tundra, and filling their buckets.

We came upon this crane by the water.
Going home. The day was amazing. Nice breeze to keep the bugs away, some cloud coverage every once in a while to keep the sun away, but mostly the water was smooth for a nice ride home.

Birthday Camping

2011-07-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Moxy sitting on his potty, enjoying the river view while it rained on him. He was singing to himself.
Ruby, waking up.

Vidoe of Greg catching the king.

Greg caught a big King up on the Kwethluk.

Ruby doing kung fu moves with her stick.

Moxy caught his first fish. Big dog salmon. He thought it tried to bite him, so we could not get him to touch the fish after this experience.
Pregnant.
Greg trying to catch fish on Ruby's pink pole. We found a fishing spot, which we now refer to as "the barrel" because it is loaded with salmon and trout.

Ruby made Greg some birthday presents. She stuffed his float coat with flowers, wood, and a heart rock. Below, she made Greg a birthday cake.

Fishing at Midnight.
Moxy enjoying the ride home, with his little monkey friend. He put the monkey up to enjoy the views.

Kung Fu on the Kwethluk

2011-07-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

Ruby and Moxy playing rough, but having fun.
Feeling pregnant. It rained and rained, and we toughed it out.

Sometimes when catching fish, some people are more blessed. Sorry Greg.

Greg caught a small chinook, maybe a jack king.
I caught my favorite dog salmon.
Waking up can be really hard.
Two eagles sitting on a tree. They let us get pretty close to take photos.

Eagle carrying away a fish.

The King

2011-07-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

We were on our way back from our camping trip, and decided to fish at the "y" which is just above the village of Kwethluk. We caught this King on the Akulikutak side, which means we should have kept it, but we threw him back in so that he could take part in adding to future king salmon.
Greg trying to bring the king in.
We thought we could get him with our little net, but his tail barely fit. It was pretty funny watching Greg trying to get him in the boat.
Giving hugs and farewell wishes to a good ending to our King friend.

kisaralik River, Golden Gate Falls.

2011-07-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Kristy and Andrew standing in front of Golden Gate Falls.

Video of Greg and Andrew going down Golden Gate on the boat, Kristy filmed the event.
Victory.

Bethel T-Ball

2011-06-23T22:49:00.000-07:00

Ruby was able to play T-ball this year, Moxy missed getting to play by 3 months. Poor Moxy, but he lets Ruby use his glove. He really does not like watching from the sidelines.

Ruby doing drills.

At the last game, the coach told Ruby to run the bases, but she has no idea what bases are. He told her just follow the lines and he sent her out in front of the other kids. She lead the team to right field, then center field, left field and then home. It was so funny. Today when she hit the ball instead of running to first, she went after the ball that she hit completely confusing the other team.
Good game.

King Salmon have arrived-Fish Camp.

2011-06-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

King Salmon. There are fishing restrictions currently, and to be able to fish for king opened up at midnight, and will last through Thursday. Then you cannot fish for them for a while. I guess the population of King salmon are down right now.
Ruby and Moxy have been going to the Iverson's fish camp and playing with their friend Jackson and Cole.
Cole eating nature
Carolyn cutting up a king salmon while Moxy watches with much curiosity. They let me cut some fish, but I was better at cleaning the fish once the fish was cut.
Fish drying rack. Carolyn's mother is making sure the fish are okay.

Lots of space to run, run, and run.

Ruby's Birthday

2011-06-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

Logging and Gardening

2011-06-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

Greg and Andrew headed out on Monday to go logging for a week. Maybe they will catch a king on their time off from logging.
Kristy and the kids at our row in the community garden. She helped me weed and shape it.

Ruby helping with watering.
This is what our row looked like at the end of the day. I have been growing plants inside. The first two plants are pumpkins. Then Ruby is growing some corn. We also planted zucchini, cucumber and carrots. I covered the soil with something that allows the sun into the soil and keeps the soil warm. Currently the temperature is 46 degrees and we are at June 9th.

Kasiglak River Camping trip #1

2011-06-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

trying hard to catch something.

Spein Mountain from a distance.
Little weasle came up to our camp site. He did not seem scared of us at all.

Moxy being goofy.
Ruby is so tired in these pictures. But she just keeps staying awake, drinking hot chocolate and eating marshmellows.

pretty sunset.

My first Dolly Vardon.

Rainbow trout, Greg finally caught his big fish. Greg likes sunscreen, notice his white face.
This is another one, caught right after. Greg only had about 15 minutes to fish this part of the river, because we had to get back to Bethel. It was very difficult cutting him off, as the rainbows were biting.

Big Dolly Vardon trout.

Uncle waving from the road after dropping us off.

Flight From Anchorage to Bethel

2011-05-29T11:36:00.001-07:00

Greg went on a flight from Anchorage to Bethel with Boris to pick up a float plane, and bring it back to the company the Boris flies for during the summer.

Greg described the scenery exactly what he thought it would look like. This is what you see when you fly to Bethel, but Greg got to be closer in the float plane.

glacial lake.

Hey where's the mountains....Near Bethel. Turns into lakes.

Up the Tubungaluk River

2011-05-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

It looked like the Alaska State Troopers got to the dock before us, as this is what we came to when we arrived to launch our boat. Only, where was the trooper. His car was running, windows rolled down, guns exposed. He came in about 20 minutes later from the main river saying he didn't think anyone would be coming to launch there boat. I thought the poor guy sunk his boat or something and was under water. Very bizarre scene, he came in on a nice boat though.

We decided to go up the Tubungaluk, which is a small river just outside of Bethel. We thought we could catch pike.

We found porcupine remains on a little hike.

This year Moxy is able to walk on the tundra without any problems, his little legs take him quickly down the animal trails.

We took this photo to scare grandma Houston....oh no....Don't worry..Moxy squished berries on his hands.
Ruby below with her new fishing pole fishing for pike. They fished for a while, then decided they could not fish anymore, fish not biting.

Moxy fishing from the bank. He has still got it.

River Breakup 2011

2011-05-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

Uncle and Ruby by the water. There were less people this year, and I forgot my camera, but Kristy got some cute pictures. It was cold outside maybe this is why there weren't many people. Greg got the kids down to the river party early, and this year Ruby and Moxy were able to get a hotdog.

Ruby with her little friend Ana and her big sister. You can see the river behind them, there was lots of ice coming down the river, but the big logs are still frozen way up river.
Boaters trying to get logs coming down.
Moxy was camera shy on this day, and I think he fell asleep in my arms.

Kindergarten Round Up Today

2011-04-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Isabel and Ruby at the kindergarten round up. They had the parent's fill out a ton of paperwork and the kids got to play.

They let the kids play with shaving cream. ? Kind of looks fun.
We went from room to room playing different games, Moxy in tow. I don't know how Moxy is going to do without his big sister to play with next school year.

Ruby's friend Anna. She wants to go home with us.

Peter Rabbit comes for a visit.

2011-04-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

Peter rabbit hopped into Uncle's and Kristy's house and left a note for Ruby and Moxy. The kids were so excited they thought they could hear Peter jumping around all through dinner.

spinach dip with easter bunny bread.
Thanks to the grandma's and papa.
yummy cookies.

Follow up Broomball Photos-Go Bethel Beavers

2011-04-21T17:38:00.002-07:00

Moxy wants to play broomball too.

Kristy sizing up her opponent.

There 3rd place trophy.

2011-04-21T17:38:00.001-07:00

Homer Broomball Photos

2011-04-08T14:25:00.001-07:00

Here is some of the broom ball team. Greg is a little bit "tired" in this photo.

Andrew and Greg standing in front of the lodge where they stayed.

More photos to be posted as they become available. Makes me wonder if they actually went to Homer to play Broomball.

Warm March Weather.

2011-03-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

Huge snow pile that the kids discovered. Now they are always looking for a snow pile when they are outside.

Kids with Kristy enjoying the sunny warm weather.

They built frosty the snow man. Moxy started crying when the snow man started melting.

Pretty Day for Broomball

2011-03-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Local people playing broomball, including my favorites Greg, Andrew, and Kristy. They will be traveling to Homer on April 1st for the Homer tournament.
There's Greg.
There's Andrew.
Moxy harrassing Greg, I think they scored against him about this time.

There's Kristy.

Spring is close...still cold.

2011-03-12T17:01:00.001-08:00

The kids were picked up and taken to a 12 degree hotdog cook out in the snow with the Iverson's. It was actually warm by the fire, and the kids were even able to eat with their hands out. Carolyn brought little Cole (8 months and tough) who stayed nice and warm.
Moxy sledding.
Isabel, thinking about jumping off of a cliff into a snowbank.
Ruby climbing at the park.
Moxy upset because he realizes the alligator does not move in the deep snow. I am surprised that the alligator is even exposed.

Walking on the Moon

2011-03-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

They are doing space projects in their play group. Ruby brought home a plastic bottle with a straw, attached to a piece of paper, and called it her oxygen tank.

Ruby is writing

2011-02-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Ruby wrote her name and then wrote Dad without me helping or saying anything. She just said, "what do those say." I have actually not been pushing her to learn her name, but she has been finding enjoyment in writing letters.

The newest Maddrey child: It's a girl-Lyles

2011-02-22T16:13:00.000-08:00

So cute. Susan had a home birth. I am so proud of her and Smith. I originally thought the babies name was Lylef. So for the last 24 hours I have been trying to figure out how to say the name. I was so happy to see her name is actually LYLES with an S. Very feminine and pretty. Lyles was born on February 20, just one day shy of my birthday.

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-15T19:53:00.001-08:00

Ruby painting some flowers, soon after Moxy came along and bumped her and spilled paint all over her flowers.
Moxy sleeping like a baby, my favorite time to hold him.
The kids are so excited about their valentines day presents from the grandma's and papa.
Moxy loves his hamster, Ruby has to remind him "moxy it's just a toy."

Roller Skating in Bethel

2011-02-15T19:45:00.001-08:00

Every Friday night the kids get to roller skate around orange cones in the local elementary gym. It is just like skate world. They have funky music playing in the back ground. Notice Moxy in the background watching. He refuses to skate and instead runs around playing, and climbing this little climbing wall.

Dressed up for the chicken dance.
Little boys helping Ruby not fall. They would take turns holding her hand. Ruby came home saying that she did not get to skate by herself very much.

Moxy is potty trained...yippy!

2011-01-15T15:01:00.000-08:00

Moxy is finally potty trained. He gets really angry if I accidently say the word diaper. A friend tried to put a diaper on him because he refused to use their potty and he was going to play outside, and Moxy gave her a glare and said, "I don't wear diapers." Good for you Moxy.

Christmas Highlights 2010

2011-01-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

We have a friend that makes beautiful cookies and taste good too. The kids got really excited to eat these treats.
Ruby and Moxy had a kids table for christmas. They seemed to enjoy being away from the adults at their very own dining area. Ruby eventually fell backwards in her old car seat...we stopped using it. :0
Kristy bid on this pie at a fundraiser. We think it took about two hours to pick all these blueberries used for this pie.
Ruby cozy in her pink robe.
Moxy opening up greg's presents. He would just open up presents without knowing if they belonged to him.
Not sure what greg is doing.

Greg's bottles of sparking cider exploded in the freezer after leaving them in the freezer the night before.
Ruby so proud that lady wants to lay on her lap.
Celebrating the end of the christmas holiday as princesses.

Total eclipse-Alaska time.

2010-12-21T12:30:00.000-08:00

Fire at zero degrees on a -20 windchill night. It felt overall warm by the fire.
What are they looking at?
Total eclipse. Andrew says that this occurrence of a lunar eclipse at the winter solstice has not happened in 400 years.

Moxy trying to eat a marshmallow.

Andrew's Caribou

2010-12-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

This is Andrew's first caribou, caught near the Kasiglak river one week ago.
They will get over 100 pounds of meat.

Kristy showing the kids about the caribou's leg.

cutting the meat off the bone. Above with an ulu.

Arts and Crafts

2010-12-17T14:17:00.000-08:00

Cutting and gluing is a new favorite...messy, but they were at it for hours.
Ruby has been wanting to sew, so I just gave her thick string and sewing needle and this too she will do for a long time.

she designed a hat.
I made Ruby a dress, she picked out the pattern, and and fabric. At first I did not like the fabric she picked out because I did not think it matched, but I really like it now. She has some good taste.

Nursing School Over...finally.

2010-12-12T06:19:00.000-08:00

We are finally done with nursing school. For graduation we had a potluck and fiddle dance. My classmates above, minus Boris. From left to right: Kevin, Kendra, Nikki, and me. It was a fun night. Greg and I had to break out our old fiddle dance shoes. I am so happy to be done. That was a really crazy two years.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

Cornish Hen Chicken the size of my hand. Greg stuffed it with ham, celery, herbs, and butter. He says it's his new thanksgiving thing. The chicken melted in his mouth.
Tried to explain Thanksgiving to the kids, but I think I may need a better way to explain history to a three and four year old.
snow bunny, big ears in our back yard.
tofu turkey. i had to try it. was pretty darn good, especially topped with cashew gravy. Oh my....good.
Tundra cranberries in stuffing.

Another year of sledding the Sand Pit.

2010-11-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

They looked scared, but they just kept wanting to go down more hills. Moxy too. It was about 22 degrees.

Wanted to share Ruby's puzzle skills. She has been doing little 50 piece puzzles, but I recently got her a 100 piece puzzle and she put it together too. She loves puzzles, but she gets mad if Moxy tries to help, because he starts taking her puzzles apart.

Happy Halloween (yesterday's carnival)

2010-10-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

Kristy went as a "lunch lady", and I did not even recognize her. The kids were a little freaked out.
I went as an alien nun, but the little kids seemed scared of me, so I later became just a nice nun.

East Coast..apples, zoo, albany, rochester

2010-10-05T22:05:00.000-07:00

Party, Pumkins and Scarry rides on the Patch

2010-10-04T21:18:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday MOXY...Big 3

2010-09-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

Your 3 and September 25th is your birthday. Love Mommy

Kasiglak Fishing.

2010-09-12T11:45:00.001-07:00

Greg and Phil went up to the Kasiglak river. It rained most of the entire day, BUT they caught some real winners. This is the same hole that Andrew was catching his fish the week before. These are silvers that Phil is holding up. They did not make it back home until 12:30AM, and drove the boat in the dark, just to get an extra few hours of fishing in.

Greg is holding a big rainbow.

These are the fish they kept for eating.

Uncle Catches some Beauties

2010-09-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

Rainbow salmon, notice the girth, they ate it.

Both Silver Salmons (?) on the Kasiglak River. They found a fishing hole that would not stop biting.

Andrew's friend Tom from New York came to visit him, and Andrew took Kristy and Greg with them for a plane ride.

Andrew and Tom caught fish in the ocean from Homer AK. Andrew's Halibut is the first one at 45 pounds. The smaller fish are silver and king salmon, but they still look big.

Last Trip-Kisaralik River

2010-08-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Sun dance. The sun came out on this night, after rain.

I finally caught a sockeye salmon. We went down some side stream and found a nice fishing hole with lots of sockeye. We could see them in the water as the water started clearing up after several days of rain. We were so excited, Greg nearly dove into the water with the net to make sure this fish made it to shore.

Moxy wanting some sun on his bum. Fishing from the boat with Ruby. "got one."

silver salmon. We found a fishing hole off the main river, and caught fish from the boat. We probably lost 8 lures in this hole.

Last day to fish. The water is just starting to clear up, and go down. Greg caught a greyling that was very descent in size. Big Girth. We don't want to stop fishing, and we don't want to go home yet.
Greg found a big spruce tree and cut up fire wood. Plan is to bring it home if it will fit on the boat.

We camped on an island that was slowly dissapearing on us as the water kept rising. It was a nice camp site, and we didn't get flooded.

Trying to fish in bad weather and muddy water. We were pretty desperate to find fish. Ruby just wanted to play in the mud.

We slowly had to throw rounds out of the boat to get back on step.We tried shifting them around in the boat and eventually were sitting on them. We got down to seven rounds before the boat could step it up. Very sad deciding what round would get tossed.

We got home at about 11:30PM. We had a hard time leaving because the fishing was just getting good.

Pickling Cucumbers

2010-08-15T11:44:00.001-07:00

These are bread and butter pickles. This is my second attempt at pickling cucumbers. I have never actually canned before, and did not realize that the "pop of the lid" may not occur until after you take them out of the hot bath. These all popped immediately. My first attempts are refrigerated, because I was not patient enough to wait for the POP.

These are some of the first pickles inside a sandwich. This is homemade bread gone bad, but worked for sandwich making. For the bread I used that "NO Knead Bread recipe" from the New York times. My bread did not work, because it was left to rise for a whole day after the initial 22 hours of rising. It got air bubbles though. :)
My first canning attempt. Hopefully they won't grow botulism. :) I used rainbow carrots with the pickles, that's why the water is pink.

Rain Rain Go Away

2010-08-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

Ruby with Isabell playing with house rain. They were pretending to be showering. It has been raining non stop for at least three weeks (I am not exaggerating). The nicest weather we had was when greg and andrew went and got logs, and it has been raining again since. I am told over and over by people that this is normal Bethel weather. August is the rainiest month of the year. We cannot be inside any longer, and decided to tough it out and get wet.
Ruby and Moxy playing in the mud. They did this for hours. People seemed to feel bad for them, getting wet and muddy, but the kids seemed to prefer cold, wet, and muddy over dry, warm and clean. I think this is the case with most kids.

Bethel limousine. There is hummer here too, I rode in it with the kids at a wedding and it was a great way to view Bethel. Now I know the words to Lady Gaga. :) This limo brought Kristy home from work, because they appreciate her. I appreciate you too Kristy! Actually the owner is taking the limos out of Bethel, because kids keep throwing rocks at them. Kristy announced this on the radio in support of the owner.
CABIN FEVER. Ruby dressed up Moxy. Greg asked him if he was going to go to the store in his tutu. He told Greg "yep." Ruby responded with "No Moxy you can't wear that tutu or the cops will pull us over.'

Ruby teaching Moxy how to brush his teeth. Amazingly he did not bite her.

Logging Part Two

2010-08-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

This is not a fishing story, but even on a logging trip you have to fish.

Andrew's rainbow trout, 20 inches long and big wide body.

Greg's silver salmon, nice red color.
This tree earlier in the day got away from them, but they found it down river.
Towing logs to their log camp.

Nice log raft. They used bolts and rope to create.
I am impressed that our little boat pulled this load. Greg thinks all this weighed approximately 12,000 pounds. They called the big logs on the side of the raft "the cannons", because they powered (blasted) through river debris, and protected the load.
Andrew. You can guess what he is thinking.

The load on the inside of the boat. Notice how calm and smooth the water is.

Above: They explained that when they first started the water moved more quickly, and they had to keep the logs closer to the boat to control them. This river has a lot of turns. Below: As they moved into the water down river they moved the logs farther back to keep the logs out of the motor's wake.
This is at the mouth of the kasiglak, where it meets the kuskokwim river. This was about 11:30PM.
Turtle pace.
This is about 12:30am, and the light is slipping away quickly. Luckily they found our friend's fish camp in the dark at about 2:30AM.
Greg jumped in due to the heat.
Standing on the log raft.

Cutting up "the cannons."

The kids are so happy to see daddy and uncle.

Their Home...and Did They Get Logs! Part one.

2010-08-05T10:10:00.001-07:00

This picture sums up how we felt about them being home. They looked really tired. The fun was just getting started when they made it to this point. This was about 5:15pm. It took until 1:00am to cut and haul it home. Kristy and I helped to haul the logs up to the boat to haul back, but after the first run home, this super nice man told us to use his truck to help move things along quicker. Later in the night when we thanked him, he said "that's what neighbors do. " And speaking of neighbors, our neighbors (The Whites) came by the river, and took our tired kids home to their house at like 11:00pm. Not to mention Kristy and Andrew breaking their backs to help us. Makes me feel really grateful to live amongst such generous people.
They made it back on a good day in Bethel. The water was calm on the Kuskokwim river. They told us that it took 14 hours to get down the Kasiglak river, and luckily they found our friends fish camp at 2:30AM last night. Their fish camp is about 1 hour (on our boat) from Bethel. It took from 10:00am until 4:30Pm to make it to Bethel. Greg said "we were going so slow, it would have made you cry."

Some of the log raft.

A big boy log.

Pretty rainbow, while moving wood.
They are tired but I thought a litle delirious. Below: the last log at 1 am.

"Cruise"in for Tom

2010-08-03T00:31:00.000-07:00

The rumor in Bethel is that this is Tom Cruise's jet, and he is inside of it. The rumors are flying, and people are so excited. I got to the jet before the big crowd arrived, it's about 11:ooPM and the kids and I decided to take a peak for ourselves. Ruby kept saying, "there he is."
"Tom, Tom, Tom." He's gone fishing. :)

The Loggers

2010-07-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

Greg and Andrew are headed out to collect firewood and fish. Hopefully they will get some silver salmon action. The weather has been the worst that I have seen all summer. It is expected to rain all through the weekend, but hopefully there will be a lot of dry times for them. They will be out searching for logs until next Friday.
The kids are not used to saying goodbye to daddy.

Falconeer and Salmonberries

2010-07-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Ruby has honestly turned into a really good berry picker. She is especially careful not to spill the berry's this year.

Yummy Salmonberries, I feel really fortunate to find these berries because they are only here for a short time, and they are hard to find by foot.
We had heard there was a man that trained Falcons. I was so excited to run into him while berry picking. He says that the falcon has to wear a leather helmet so that it does not fly away.

Kwethluk River-Elbow Mountain

2010-07-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

Elbow Mountain from a distance, this is my destination point, although Greg had enough gas to make it to Timbuktu. Below: These are the US Department of Fish and Wildlife and the research camp area. We met a married couple from Montana up here, the wife was studying the impact of beavers on salmon viability, and the husband worked for fish and wildlife. They say they don't see anyone this far up. The river was beautiful, and the scenery changed quite a bit from the last campsite a few weeks ago.

This wolf was standing on the gravel bar across from where we were fishing. It starred at us for some time, ate some grass, sniffed around and then left our site. It was pretty big looking.

Greg caught a big rainbow. We thought it was a comparable size to the one he caught on the Kasiglak river.
My fishing day was geared towards catching a big salmon. Dog salmon was all that I could get to bite. I saw what I believe to be king, and sockeye jumping and swimming near my lure but they would not bite. I was practically hitting the sockeye in the head with my lure, and they seemed more annoyed with me then willing to play. The color of the sockeye was bright red body with green face. There is a king fishing restriction on the kwethluk so I am not sure if I was looking at the King, so I called them pink salmon, and was trying to catch one to see what was lurking in the water that gave off such a beautiful pink glow.
Above and below: This was a big dog salmon that nearly sprained my wrist. No joke. My right arm is killing me. It took some time to get this fish in to shore. All I kept hearing Greg say was "keep reeling, don't stop reeling," and the kids were chanting "reel, reel, reel." Now I get the draw of fishing. I turned into a fishing maniac after this fish.
Same fish. pretty.

Ruby consulting with Moxy on what their game plan is going to be for the day.

This bear was swimming on a gravel bar diagonal from where we were fishing. It kind of saw us, but seemed more busy being a bear.
Greg caught an interesting colored rainbow. Very pink. we are not sure why it had turned so pink, maybe it migrated from the ocean.

We are trying out our new rain/shade shelter by Kelty. Seemed to do what we needed it to do, but we are not sure how it will hold up in stormy weather. We called it the head quarters, which really frustrated Ruby because she kept looking for quarters (coins) under it and could not find any.

Moxy playing with his boat. He had no diaper on under his shirt. He hates wearing shoes and other clothing.
Ruby enjoying wading in the water.

Afternoon at the beach...fish camp.

2010-07-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

We spent the afternoon's at Carolyn's family fishcamp, but I felt like we were at the ocean. I thought this was a great camp set up for her 2 week old Cole. She is sitting on a rocking camp chair with a bug net attached to the tent roof.
Eating hotdogs.
Lieb children trying to teach Ruby and Moxy how to swim in the river.

Baby Ducks

2010-07-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

these are green winged teal ducks that just hatched. :) I knew that there was a pair mating in our back yard earlier in the summer, but I thought a big dog got to them and ate them. It was nice to see that the family is still alive. They got pretty territorial over the drainage ditch area. Started resting near the area that I am trying to build a retaining wall.
Backyard continues to be a work in progress. But the birds love all the trees and bugs. We are trying to make the back yard as natural as possible, but with enough room for the kids to play. Most of this area will be covered with dirt soon. We have already had two loads of dirt delivered this year.

Reading/Play Loft

2010-07-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Greg took the family king size loft and converted it into a reading and play loft for the kids. It fits nicely in the corner of the living room.

perspective from the dining room. The kids seem really excited about it.

Birds and drainage issues...what to do?

2010-07-04T11:52:00.001-07:00

We have been trying to attract birds into our back yard, and we finally got the bird we were hoping for....introducing Mr. Pine Grosbeak. I actually noticed this bird when he came to our back yard and started whistling in my face. As soon as I fed him he stopped whistling and seemed very content.

Maybe a female Pine Grosbeak due to the coloring.

This is some type of yellow warbler. There are numerous types of yellow warblers around here, and in fact this may be it's official name for all that I know. I am not sure how to attract more of these birds, but they are hidden in the bushes near the water, and due occasional fly byes.
Our back yard. There is a small fire pit in the middle, and behind the fire pit are two groups of willow trees that I surrounded with rocks. There is a path leading to a aluminum siding and water. I am trying to raise this area with loads of dirt. Very long process and my body is aching from the wheel barrow pushing. I am starting to see the drainage issues. Not sure what to do, except go with the water issue and build a mote in between the group of trees and build a land bridge along the path. Haven't decided how I will handle the situation, as I feel like more dirt will create more drainage issues. What do you think dad?

Moxy Fishing

2010-06-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Kisaralik River-Amazing!

2010-06-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Headed up to the mountains. Very beautiful day, unusual for most of our trips. The kids are very excited about the views of the mountains in the distance. These are the same mountains that we have pictured below.
Moxy is very into chopping wood. In this picture, as he's 'practicing' he almost smacks Greg right in the head.

Moose watching us from the river bank. We were able to stare at each other for what seemed like a couple of minutes before it headed into the bushes.
Leaving Spein Mountain behind. We think this is the other side of Spein. Last year we could not get around Spein because of the low waters. Right now, and maybe this year overall the water is higher, so places that we ate gravel last year were very kind to us this year.
Just amazing, I felt like crying. Greg felt like fishing.

Big rapids, BIG ROCKS. I haven't seen rocks like this in a while. To be avoided but easy to spot.
We are looking at Golden Gate Falls, we think. We are still hoping we made it past Golden Gate and we are really looking at the Lower Falls. Very inviting to go through these falls, as what must be on the other side?
The scenery at our campsite was just fantastic.
bear tracks.
little side stream on the other side of our camp. Greg caught an 18 inch rainbow here, along with graylings.
Trying to put the kids to bed during the longest daylight period of the year is EXTREMELY tough. It feels like 7:00 in this picture, even though it is around midnight.
The kids climbed some trees for the first time and loved it!

Moxy fishing. He can actually throw his lure out there, reel it in, and do this for hours.
Dolly Varden? We are not sure.
Fishing in the bigger water.

Tundra hike. Went to check out the scenery and for Greg to test out 2 different types of .45 Colt. We climbed the hillside behind our camping area. The bugs were really bad, and for the first time, the kids wanted there bug nets on. There was some amazing views up here.

Wolf Track. And the next day we got to see our first wolf! Beautiful gray and white. It was about 40 feet away on the bank across the stream when we were fishing. We looked up and it was just there, staring at us. As soon as Greg said, "Michele look at the wolf" it turned and ran away. Huge, fast, and quiet.
Tundra hike. Bear spray in Greg's hand, and revolver in the holster.

eagle flying away from us.

Headed back to Bethel. Very nice night. The water was still and it actually did NOT rain on us for once! Good ending to a really cool adventure.

"Elmo" Mountain

2010-06-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

We were trying to get to Elbow Mountain on the Kwethluk River but stopped just an hour short. This is the first time that we got to this group of mountains, and Elbow Mountain is just beyond. I felt like we could hike there . Moxy started calling Elbow Mountain at one point "Elmo Mountain." He really loves Elmo. When we went to bed this night a mother moose and two calves came out of the water and were right in front of our tent. Even with us making a big comotion , they did not move from us very quickly. They seemed curious about what we were eating because they went over and smelled our kitchen.On Memorial day there was fire up here that burned for a little more than a week . The fire burned right down to the river, and burned the mountain pictured below. The black charred tundra contrasted with the tundra really nicely. Most of this trip the kids went from putting on rain gear to stripping the rain gear off. Moxy would protest the worse to put his rain gear on. Man he is independent.

Moxy 's expression is so telling of what he is thinking. He wants to be fishing with his pole. Greg tied an old Bass lure that looks like a fish (a jitterbug) to his pole and took off the hook. So every time we cast his lure , and he starts reeling the fish in and says "look mom, look dad, I caught one." And then almost everytime Ruby replies, "No that 's not a real fish." And Moxy ignores her. Greg caught a few rainbow. Greg and the kids cooked the fish below and ate it. Moxy loved it, but Ruby wasn't hungry at this moment.

Kasigluk River

2010-06-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

This is a rainbow that Greg caught. I thought he caught a salmon because of the the size. We were all screaming about this fish. This was the second time that he caught a fish of this size. The first one "got away". We are not sure how much this fish weighed or how big, but our guess is that is was HUGE.

Ruby using her princess fishing pole. Very serious after she saw the fish in the river.
Moxy fishing with daddy while Ruby and I eat at the boat.

Our first campsite. We stopped here because there was lightening striking near us earlier in the evening. This was a great spot as we were near a couple of ponds and the birds were amazing.

The kids were playing with moose poop building a garden out of the poop. This is not really a bad idea, as moose must have a lot of flower seeds in their poop.

Ruby having a moment on her potty.

Happy Birthday Ruby!

2010-05-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

Moxy pretty much looked this all day long.

Ruby and Moxy fell asleep at the barbeque and we put them to bed without washing them up. This is what she looked like this morning.

Ruby's Dance Recital

2010-05-23T00:08:00.000-07:00

Birdwatching for Mommy and Play for the Kiddos

2010-05-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

We started the day out with Ruby and Moxy trying to catch the poor little red polls. Ruby almost caught one, and Moxy is enthustically clapping.
above: Northern Shoveler
Moxy looking for what I thought was a Loon. I got all excited and he grabbed the binoculars and looked through them in the opposite direction.
Greater Scaup or Ring-necked duck. I have a hard time actually identifying them.
We are at Hanger Lake where planes land, and the birds love to come and eat. It was about 58 degrees today....very warm :). We brought lawn chairs and sat and waited. Of course the ducks knew better than to come to close to us and those rocks Moxy was chucking into the water.

Waiting For Flood

2010-05-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Iceburgs are moving along currently, but they keep getting stuck and when that happens we start to flood in our backyard.
Below: The kids love when it floods.

Outside of Ruby and Moxy's Window

2010-05-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Above: Tree swallows are making their nest for the summer, and the kids get a close up view.
Below: Ruby likes to sit on her bed and watch the swallows. Every time a new swallow comes to the window, she'll yell "mommy!!" giving me a scare but it just Ruby being excited.

2010 River Break :)...About Time!

2010-05-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

The River started moving some time in the morning yesterday, but by the time we got over to look at the river, it had slowed to almost a stop. The river is clear in some parts but in the distance there is no movement.
Above: Greg standing on an iceburg on the river.
Below: That same iceburg about 4 hours earlier is beginning its descent down the river.

This is Bethel's break up bash, and Ruby is standing in front of the hot dog line. I refused to get in that line with the kids, and kept telling them they would get a hot dog later when the line got smaller. Hours later Ruby and Moxy started pulling on my pants because there was no line. We got up to the hotdog stand and they handed us a bun with a wink. Moxy peered inside the hotdog and there was no dog, just a warm bun. I told the kids to go put ketchup and mustard on their buns, and they did so with great enjoyment. There were other kids who got no dog in their buns, I didn't have the heart to take a picture.

May 2nd-Whats Wrong With This Picture?

2010-05-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

A. The birdies do not have enough food to eat

B. The birdies should not be on our porch.

C. The snow should be melted and the sun should be shining on the birdies.

The Bethel Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

This started around 12:00 and literally ended 15 seconds later.
There were three different hunts. This is the 1-3 year old egg hunt.

If you look closely at this picture you will see adult hands grabbing candy and eggs. And in the picture below you see the adults "helping" their kids get candy. I am not sure why adults even entered the ring, as even a 1 year old knows how to pick up candy.
Ruby gave candy to a few little girls, because they did not even get a single piece of candy, and were all dressed up with an easter basket. I thought some of the parents were going to start crying. This is one of those Bethel Rights of Passage things. :)