Small Moose, Big Spirit

Small Moose and J recently returned from our usual annual(ish) trip to visit Dr. Hanel in Seattle.  Here he is in the doctor's office with Dr. Hanel:

This visit is a regular followup for his hand surgery he had when he was just 11months old.  Small Moose came into this world missing his right thumb (completely absent, just missed the bus) and with a right arm that does not straighten at the elbow (he can bend it toward himself, but otherwise always positioned at a 90 degree angle).  The surgery performed by Dr. Hanel gave Small Moose a thumb via pollicization of his right index finger.  In other words, his index finger migrated to become his thumb.  He loves his thumb, it feels and acts just like one, and you would not believe the grip this kid has with his little hand.

Small Moose started hockey last year and fell in love with the game.  He gets upset if he ever has to miss a practice, even when he is sick.  He has become quite good at it in a very short amount of time.  I want to pay tribute to my Small Moose and his favorite sport with this montage recorded at yesterday's game.  Nine fingers or not, he has a steady hold on that stick and is rockin' this game!  He is blue #19, red shorts.  Way to go, kiddo!  And hats off to Dr. Hanel!

Oh, the trees, and the mountains and the waterfalls!

Denali (Mt. McKinley) visible behind a thin veil of clouds to the right of the tall spruce tree

Homer trip 2011 has concluded after clocking 1200 miles on our odometer.  We had a blast.  When we left Fairbanks on a blustery day, and the first day of the Moose Mountain forest fire we just drove to Denali National Park to spend the first night - a mere two and a half hour drive.  It was a pleasant experience overall, despite the swarm of mosquitoes we battled and the temperatures dipping into the low 30s (2 C).  The second night we spent by Kenai Lake, a beautiful, turquoise lake on the Kenai Peninsula.

Small Fish at Kenai Lake

Someone had left behind a rather elaborate fort built out of driftwood.  We had fun playing on, in and around it.

We left Kenai Lake behind, and we were on our way to Homer on the Sterling Highway, when we noticed  Small Fish looking out the window, singing her heart out.  She made up her own lyrics evidently inspired by the incredible environs of South-central Alaska:  "And the trees, and the mountains and the waterfalls!" That was pretty much the whole song on loop, but it was so cute that it eventually became the soundtrack of this road trip.  Whatever we saw, or experienced we attached to these lyrics (eagles, oysters etc.) and that is the story behind the title of this post. 

Homer was everything I hoped it would be and then some.  We had our own private beach front  for two days on the Homer Spit, a 4.5 mile piece of land jutting out into the Kachemak Bay.  We watched the tide come in and out, collected sea shells, dug up mussels and steamed them over campfire, fished for salmon, and made s'mores.  The children spent the entire time on the beach, their faces donning permanent smiles framed by sea-wind tousled hair.

Homer Spit: The girls playing in the sand

Fresh Kachemak Bay oysters on Big Fish's plate

A couple of surprising lessons learned: 

1. Big Fish, who normally is an aficionado of creepy-crawly seafood, had a hard time savoring the world-class, fresh Kachemak Bay oysters caught locally, perhaps because J informed her they were served raw.  I am not a fan of sea spiders, bivalves or clams, but I ended up eating half her order in part to encourage her, and in part to experience Homer at its best.

2. Small Moose is scared of barnacles.  He had a blast on the beach on the first day, until Big Moose pointed out all the barnacle covered rocks in low tide.  It was actually a little funny because my poor little guy was truly terrified and refused to partake in anything too far from the campfire.  

From Homer we took the ferry to Seldovia to take a stroll and to eat lunch.  Seldovia is a quaint fishing town with a charming, historic boardwalk, and is only accessible by sea or air. 

With the Time Bandit from Deadliest Catch in Homer

Seldovia street corner

"14 Day Parking Only" -things are a little slower in Seldovia

 On the way back home we stopped in Anchor Point just a few minutes from Homer to play with friendly bald eagles on the beach, and had a great view of volcanoes Mt.Iliamna and Mt.Redoubt.

Big Fish, Big Moose, Big Mountain (Mt.Redoubt) -Anchor Point, AK

Small Moose playing with bald eagles

Big Fish, Small Fish in Anchor Point

As a special treat, Denali (Mt. McKinley) was very much visible and glorious so we stopped for some pictures. 

Morning in Palmer

Small Moose and J at Denali lookout

We came back to Fairbanks and into 90 F (32 C) heat.  It is a little funny to think we were bundled in jackets, hats and mittens at various points on our journey.  Big Moose wants to move to Seldovia and make a living as a ship captain.  I miss Homer already as well. 

Quick update

Last weekend we got 2ft of snow virtually overnight.  This was my deck Monday morning:

Then I spent the entire week making a 5ft tall stuffed dragon for Big Fish, who just had to have one.  It is Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon, and I almost went mad making it.  I am so glad it is done.  To get the custom made resin eyes I had to go underground and contact a hobbyist costume / mascot maker, but first I had to track her down.  You get the idea, this has been a covert operation ongoing since before Christmas.  Oh and why not buy one?  Because they are not available in this size, and the Toothless toys that are available are ugly.  So I had to make my own.

J is back from a job interview in Lausanne (at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, or EPFL), now we are waiting to see if perhaps Alpen adventures are in our future.  Oh, and we are remodeling our kitchen.  Back in a bit :)

I closed my eyes

and let out a deep, satisfied sigh.  Somehow I came across this batch of pictures today, and was deeply moved.  These snapshots from 2009 chronicle one of our many, late evening boat trips down the Chena River, onto the Tanana and one of its thousands of sandbars in a constant state of flux, being shaped by the currents.----so I came out of hibernation to add this entry.

These pictures mean so much to me.  Seeing Big Moose's hair tousled by the wind racing Big Fish across the sandbar,  remembering our elongated shadows in the sand or the kids making forts out of driftwood, and attempting to start a bonfire "the old fashioned way" leaves me wishing for those long, warm summer days.  And the sun.  Especially the sun.  We are in a downward spiral into darkness as winter solstice approaches, so these pictures give me hope.  Things WILL get better :)

Oh so busy

It is cold, the days are short, Small Fish turned two, the Christmas tree is up and the children are bursting at the seams with excitement. We are insanely busy this week, no time to blog....so for another week I'm off the air. Some random pictures:

Talented Big Fish

...has been very busy lately. She loves graphic design. She loves to write. She creates with fierce energy for hours on end, day in and out. Her characters come to life in the digital realm at the strokes of her digi-pen, obeying the drumbeat of her imagination. Her finger tips cast sparks as they move about on the keyboard channeling the stories of her mind. She makes comic books and drawings of all sorts.



Art truly has become a passion for her this past year. She'd draw 4-5 hours each day if it weren't for my well-meaning interventions. "Look at your posture child, move to your desk please" or "your eyes need a break" or "homework,anyone?" Although I love seeing her immersed in creative work, watching proudly as she comes into her own, as she hones her skills...I try to keep her from being plugged in so much of the time. Oh, but to keep her from her art! (*sigh*)

Meet Piggy the brown lunch sack puppet

Small Moose felt inspired. Piggy was born. And now he is sharing her with the world....
P.S: Correction... Small Moose has just informed me that Piggy is a boy. We are sharing him with the world.

Grandmas are great, but Grandmas who knit are AWESOME!

My children are very fortunate in that they have a wonderful grandma who never fails to remember birthdays, Christmases, Easter and even second-rate holidays such as Valentine's Day. She sends cards, packages and lots of love. It sure is good to know that someone under this Great Blue Sky cares about us.

So the other day we received a package full of knitted goodies for Small Fish. Here she is modeling the luscious bathrobe, and the exquisite hoodie / pant set Grandma made, and having fun while doing it. More pictures to come of the other wonderful items. Thank you grandma, we love you!
and, here it is....the tulip skirt, snapped by Mommy finally for the blog update:

"I want to lick it!"

Location: North Pole, Alaska, 16 mi South of Fairbanks. Population 2200. Home of world famous Santa Claus House, and 44 candy cane light poles.

(and a McDonald's, a Wendy's, a Subway, a Taco Bell, and a Pizza Hut. I guess even elves need to eat...fast!)

It is a place of wonderment for all. Small Moose can hardly take the sight of the huge candy cane light poles. "I want to lick it!" he exclaims, reaching for one. Cute.

OK, so this happened years ago, when he was two. But we always think of him when we drive through town. Like we did the other day, following a fun filled trip to Birch Lake. To us, North Pole will always be the place of lick-able light poles.


(Winter scence. Source: oregonlive.com)

Small Moose, Big Brother

Small Moose: "Mom, I'm building a house out of pillows!"

Me: "How fun! Will you let Small Fish in? Look she's knocking!"

SM: "She can never come in. It's MY house."

Me: "But she is your baby sister and you always have to protect her."

[This must be a good opportunity to teach a life lesson somehow....Great! I got it!]

"What if there is a snowstorm and she's freezing outside?"

SM: [rolling his eyes, and with a self-evident tone]
"It's a RAIN storm!...... AND she has an umbrella!"

Me: (sigh) "I stand corrected."

Small Moose turned 5 two weeks ago :)

Chena River Run 2010

Here are some pictures of the 5 km 2010 Chena River Run. We participated with some dear friends of ours and had tons of fun....walking it. Given that we participated with a total of 9 children between the two families (ages ranging from 1 to 13), running was out of the question. Well that, and maybe a little due to the fact that I walked with coffee in hand, unwilling to spill even one precious drop. So there was lots of walking, maybe a pee-in-the-woods break or two, and I think we came in absolute last. We had a two-seater stroller that came in handy, but there were many combinations of kids sitting in strollers, kids getting out, kids walking, kids getting in, kids getting pigyback rides throughout....it took 1 hour and 5 minutes for us all to finish. The volunteers at the finish line were just starting to pack things up, and indeed commented on how "We usually only wait 1 hour, you're lucky we're still here." We stood out from the crowd of spandex-clad, mp3-in ears, stretching-warming up, and turning around at the finish line to run back to the start, die-hard runners for sure. Maybe someday we'll be one of them.

Here are J and Small Fish in the Finish line,
Big Moose is on the far right.





















And here is Small Moose and his very serious runner's face, with his best friend behind him.

"Sad Meal"

In our town we have a certain fast food restaurant (let's call it the McPlace that sells McHappy Meals) whose unhappy neighbor hung an effigy of it's beloved mascot McClown in protest. We avoid eating at McPlace at nearly all cost, less as a political statement and more to avoid suffering from a McStomach (you know the McBurps and McGurgles) but last week, coming home after a backyard BBQ with friends, and unable to resist the siren call of a McHot Fudge Sundae we pulled into the drive-through of this certain McPlace. McClown could be seen dangling high atop the fence as always. Gotta love Fairbanks.

After settling for fruity parfaits, because the McIce Cream Machine was McBroken, Small Moose asked: "What's in a Sad Meal?"

Oh, I love my children so much!

Maybe a Sad Meal is McClown's last before he is lynched. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with Small Moose being in a dark mood, nevertheless his question was priceless. Here is a picture of our Sad McClown. It was taken in the winter, and is harder to see due to his snow cap. But there he is in his yellow jacket, just over the fence.