From the Archives - Mountain Biking

In the late 1990s and early part of this millennium I used to do quite a bit of mountain biking in Kodiak's backcountry. In those days I still skiied all winter and did archaeology and fishing in the summer, but I was not quite as into the hunting in the Fall as I am now. Hence, there was more time to go mountain biking.

I find that in life there really there is only so much time for a limited number of hobbies. For instance, I have some friends who want me to play organized hockey - but to do so I'd have to sacrifice skiing. Another reason I do not mountain bike as much these days is that the 4 wheelers really took over the areas where we used to mountain bike. Not much fun getting buzzed by 4 wheelers and dealing with braided, muddy trails.

But back in the day I did do quite a bit of mountain biking. We'd drive out the road system and go on glorious, all day treks into the backcountry. We'd ride to Saltery Cove, or if we were really ambitious we'd go to Saltery and then on to Lake Miam and end up at Pasagshak. Beers at the end of every trip.

In the top photo mountain bike regulars John Mahoney, Adelia Myrick, me and Philip Tschersich pose for the camera on the way to Saltery Cove (Hans Tschersich took the photo). In the middle photo Philip and John enjoy some of Pete Cummiskey's beer at Lake Rosetead (Pasagshak). We'd gone on an epic tour and had just happened to find Pete and beer waiting at the end of it all. Finally in the last photo Gregg Rosenkranz negotiates a downhill straight away on the way to Lake Miam. Patrick

Nora Word of the Week - Booiae

This week's word is booiae. Pronounced boo' ehh, it really does not translate into any particular word in English. The English word with the closest meaning is the noun 'more'. But Nora uses it both as an adverb and noun, really as an exclamation of need. She'll use it to ask for more of a particular type of food, or just to indicate that that she wants something. The word is always used alone, and it is up to us to guess just what she wants. Patrick

Snow on the Mountain

Here on Kodiak it has been glorious weather of late. All rain in town, but all snow up high. In the last 24 hours we had two storms roll through and deposit almost 2 inches of rain in town. Most of the time the precipitation was mixed with snow at the airport and it never got above 37 degrees so that means we probably got two feet of snow on the mountain above 700 feet. And, as you can see by the SAT photo, another storm is on the way. We are supposed to even get snow in town this time. I love it when a storm track sets up like this! Best of all the weather has been just warm enough that the snow will stick to the mountain. Sometimes the storms are 'too cold' and all the snow blows off the mountain, leaving bare rock and ice behind. I have learned to appreciate a cold rain!

The unfortunate part is that I hurt my thigh goat hunting and will not get the chance to enjoy the snow for another few days. But I do have something to look forward to. Of note, I gather Anchorage and the mainland still do not have cross country skiing down low. I read that even in Anchorage you have to climb up to over 1000 feet to find skiing. So for all you locals reading this: appreciate the weather - we got it good! Patrick

ER visit

Today Nora and Stuey woke up at 9:15-I heard crying, raced back to their bedroom to find Nora standing on the ground next to her crib holding her hand up to her head. She was quite distraught.
Stuart was crying hard as well-he slept from 8pm-9:15AM and I think he was unbelievably hungry! So after some soothing and diaper changes, we ate breakfast. However, Nora just wasn't quite her peppy self-especially after 13 hours of sleep!
After breakfast she was laying on the couch a lot and laying on the floor crying. I offered her several things which normally would've interested her (changing the sheets on my bed-she LOVES that-watching a movie) and she just cried harder. Finally she sat on my lap in the recliner chair-very mellow and closed her eyes.

Then she got sick all over me. I thought she had come down with a 24 hour flu bug. When I called Patrick to tell him I wouldn't be going to work today to stay home with Nora, he said, "Zoya, maybe she got a concussion from the fall from the crib?". I hadn't even thought of that as a possibility!

So I put her on the couch, called the nursing hotline and the nurse advised me to keep a VERY CLOSE watch on her for signs of decline-lethargy, throwing up again, more pain in her head, etc...The ER nurse and doc (Karen and Jeremy!) encouraged me to bring her in just to make sure things were ok....she was starting to close her eyes on the couch which made me nervous. The ER visit went quickly and smoothly and Nora got discharged about 30 minutes later. She was on the mend-phew. That was scary.

So her crib days are at an end. Before bed we put the rail all the way down so she can easily climb out. And a big stack of pillows on the floor.
We'll have to take the rail off all together, or perhaps put her mattress on the floor. Patrick and I are in negotiations about what to do. I vote for the mattress on the floor and he wants to keep her in the crib somehow-safely.
We'll come up with a compromise.

Zoya

Annual Goat Hunting With John-My side of the story by Zoya

As Patrick limps around the kitchen with a sore on his leg and talking about the "goats that we were SO CLOSE to" I think it only fair to share my side of the story.

This bow-and-arrow hunt is an annual ordeal with his friend John Barklow.
side note....(Bow hunting, I must admit, is so cool. So primal and as fair as it gets with hunting big animals. When I hear that someone is a bow-and-arrow hunter, my respect for them goes WAY UP, nevertheless.)

You don't have to draw a permit to hunt for goats with bow and arrow and the season runs from November to December 15th. You have to take a class and pass a subsequent test to hunt with bows and arrows. Thank goodness, otherwise there would probably be a lot more goats, deer and bear running around with arrows in their rear end.

So in the winter-usually November, when I think that I'm "in the clear" as far as Patrick being DONE with hunting and home a bit more on the weekends-John calls up. Thats right-the annual Goat bow and arrow hunt.

Over the past several years, I have begun to understand how hard it is to hunt goats, as they have to hike pretty dangerous terrain, get close to the goats (arrow shooting distance!) and pack the meat out often on icy, snowy, conditions-across valleys, etc..etc....Therefore, it takes several attempts (i.e. MANY WEEKEND) to get the goat.

Two years ago, I think they went 7 weekends in a row (ok-maybe I'm exaggerating, but it was at least 5) to get the goat. Everytime they came home I'd hear Patrick say, "Yeah, we saw some, but they all ran away" or "We saw a pack of goats, but there were kids, so we couldn't shoot the mom goats...".

I really don't mind, as with goat hunting I expect them to be gone ALL day and I am prepared for Patrick to come home empty handed, most likely-as it usually takes many attempts. So when he does come back saying, "we got one!" I tend to be more excited than with deer. Deer tend to be a dime a dozen during hunting season around here.

When he came home tonight, he hobbled into the door and I promptly pumped his system full of arnica, alleve and tylenol. Between those remedies, a dinner of noodles and a glass of wine for him he'll be on his way to healing. Good thing he is married to a physical therapist!

Zoya

Last Goat Hunt of the Year

It's official - no more hunting this year for me. Goat season does not end until next weekend but I'll be helping with the Christmas Bird Count. Today I helped John Barklow attempt to get a goat with a bow. And as always we came darn close but no cigar. We got within 50 yards of goats a couple of times and each time they spooked. We also found a big billy up on a cliff - but too much exposure for us to attempt.

The low point of the day was when I slipped and fell on a 'baby Matterhorn' (pointed rock) that severely bruised my hip. It'll be interesting to see just how well I can walk tomorrow. John bruised his butt badly in his fall last weekend and I ought to have a good bruise color by midweek. We speculated that it might be worth photographing our two bruised butts. If the bruises look purple enough we could be two baboons in heat (Baboons have purple butts when they are in heat).

The bottom photo depicts Pyramid mountain at dawn on our way up the mountain. In the middle photo John shows off his goat camo with Pyramid behind. Finally in the top photo - John poses with the goats (look closely at the hillside behind John). They had just seen and us and we were on their way to the cliffs. All of those goats are in rifle range. Most of the goats were nannies with kids - we only saw one big billy in the whole bunch. Patrick

Snow Report

All week I have been cross country skiing at the golf course, and yesterday I skiied down to the parking lot at Pyramid for the first time this year. But last night we got an 'Hawaii 'n' Punch' of warm air - it got up to 43 degrees. Today I could only ski down to 900 feet and most of the snow at the golf course is gone. Still it is getting deep up on the mountains. Soon the skiing will be good. Pretty nice visuals today. Patrick

Santa Hats

Nora rather enjoyed wearing the Santa hats last night as we got the house decorated for the holidays! Zoya

O Christmas Tree!

We had a tree up all last week, which Patrick cut down from the cliff in front of our house. It was very green and beautiful, but undecorated.

Last night, I had a festive feeling moment-kids were playing independently, Patrick was reading in the living room and I decided it was high time to pull the lights and ornaments out of the attic. As soon as I put a Santa hat on, and put one on Nora, she seemed to get into the spirit!

When the string of tree lights came out of the box, she started getting really excited. Patrick helped put the lights on the tree and Nora stood there clapping her hands saying "Yeah!!" "yeah!!". Her enthusiasm for the whole process was very contagious! One by one ornaments went on and Nora watched, just fascinated! Yes-later on in the evening, some of the oranments did not survive-as she took them off and gave them to Stuart. It'll be a learning process about LOOKING at the tree instead of TOUCHING. :)

With our tree and holiday lights up, I am fully in holiday mode. Tomorrow I'll see the local Nutcracker production which I'm very excited about. What a treat to see our local dancing talent! The dance schools put the Nutcracker on every 2 or 3 years, I believe-can't wait!

Zoya

Nora Word of the Week

Ahhh...I was able to post a photo. Thank heavens. Patrick and I didn't realize how dependent we are on the photo posting capabilities of blogger. Much better.

Nora word of the Week: (long overdue, we know...thank you for the gentle reminders, Peter!)

Aaa-peee, which translates to HAPPY.
Today Nora all of a sudden started saying Happy in the kitchen. I immediately jumped on the opportunity to try to get her to repeat it over and over again by saying, Happy Baby, Happy Mommy, Happy Doggie. As she practiced her new word with Patrick he took the opportunity to teach her sad by pretending to cry. She laughed at this.

Oh it feels so nice when she learns a word. Speech therapy is planning to go on hold while we try some other therapies. I was initially concerned when I heard about speech cutting back but Patrick took the news differently. He said to Nora, "You got'em stumped Nora! You've got us all trying to figure you out!". He was much more lighthearted about the lack of progress. We just remind ourselves that she knows exactly what is going on and is learning and developing just right-aside from the speech.

I incorporate so much of the speech activities into our daily life-sometimes out in public I think adults must think I'm talking down to Nora, where really I'm enunciating and trying to help her hear and say the sounds in words correctly. I know she is trying so hard and I give her lots of good kudos for any attempt.

Zoya

The Spanish N

Over Thanksgiving when I was exploring in the Camden Hills with my brother and his son Davis we found a Spanish N chiseled into a cliff. My brother had taken us to look at a cave that had been elaborately renovated with stone walls and a stone dais (table and/or raised hearth?). He had believed it to be very old and had wanted my opinion on what it represented. He did not know about the 'N'. I must admit I was a little skeptical about what we'd find. He was convinced that it was a Revolutionary War lookout camp; I thought we'd find a 1960's era 'hippy hideout'.

So the three of us climbed up through the woods and boulders to pretty darn near the top of a mountain with a spectacular view out over both Muskongus and Penobscot Bays. It would have been a good place for a lookout - we could see as far as Monhegan Island. And tucked up under an enormous cliff was Dicky's 'camp'. I had to admit I was impressed by the well-built the walls and 'stone table' - all together too well built for a temporary camp or hippy hangout. And everything was obviously very old. Rockclimbers had recently reused the cave for a camp and had moved a few of the rocks and you could tell by the bare patches under them that the lichens had been growing for a long time after the construction of the wall.

It was the climbers who clued us in about the spanish N. They had left their climbing journal in the rockshelter and in it they had described an N chiseled into a boulder in front of the camp. And lo and behold there it was high up on the face of a boulder. I was immediately impressed by how well it had been chiseled into the rock and that it had a sideways S on top. It took a lot of work to carve that N into the rock, and it was done by a professional.

So the question remains who carved the spanish N into the rock and why? Does it mark the boundary of someone's land? Could it have been carved by a lost Basque or Spanish explorer? Perhaps it marks pirate treasure? A basque cod fisherman's grave? I have to admit it has me stumped, but I did notify the Maine State Archaeologist about what we'd found. Perhaps he'll have some ideas. I'll keep you posted. Patrick

Photos

Anyone else having problems getting photos to Post? It seems blogger will only upload maybe one in three photos and only really tiny ones. These are the ones we could get to upload for yesterdays post. Perhaps our blog will have to be photo free from now on! Patrick

Bathtime, Bedtime, Quilting

Life with kids has a lot of routine to it. I'm not as much of a schedule person as I am a routine person. Some people have their kids down for a nap at the same time every day, or meal times are at the exact same time every day. With my kids, I let the day take shape. Perhaps thats the beauty of being a stay-at-home mom....having some flexibility and variability to the daily schedule.

Lately for bathtime, Nora is INSISTENT that Stuart and I both get in the tub with her. So I do. Sometimes reluctantly, but by the time I'm in there, its fun. Stuey is quite the splasher-big difference from Nora when she was a baby. And Nora sits in the tub saying "more" for more water. When the water gets cold, I have to turn it off and she says more repeatedly until I turn it on again. When she knows what she wants and she sees that its within close reach, she sure persists. At times Patrick and I sigh and laugh and say, "you're being just like Aunt ********" or just like a Saltonstall or just like a Herrnsteen.

Bedtime is going so smoothly with me nursing Stuart to sleep in a big chair in our bedroom while Patrick reads Nora to sleep two rooms over. As I sit in the chair in the darkness with Stuart, I'm able to look over at Mill Bay beach through the window and on nights like tonight I can hear the waves on the beach. Last night we had a major storm and the winds rattled the house and rain/snow spat against the window. Once Stuart is asleep I lay him in his crib with his little teddy bear next to him and the lullaby music playing in the bedroom.

Then its my quilting time. I haven't quilted for 6 months and it is just FABULOUS to get sewing once again. The fabrics, the patterns, the satisfaction that comes from seeing a stack of various fabrics take shape into a quilt. I've said it before and I"ll say it again...I never dreamed I'd be a quilter, but here I am. I went into the fabric store (Just Janes) today to get a small piece I need for my current quilt and I practically drooled over the new gorgeous, contemporary fabrics they have. Various project ideas ripple through my mind and I have to tear myself away from the racks of fabric.

This week Stuart is 10 months old and I believe I may be starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sleep is actually happening and I have moments to myself now and again.

Zoya

(Note Blogger not posting photos for some reason)

Thanksgiving photos

Thanksgiving came and went too quickly.

More Photos:

-Family Photo in front of the fireplace at Emmy's house in Rockport
-Nora and Leo playing with Emmy's reading glasses
-Emmy pushing the kiddos on a walk with Patrick in Rockport
-Nora and Leo dining together on Thanksgiving day at their own table.
-Patrick getting his plate of food with Nora

Goats on Ice

Today John and I went up into the mountains to hunt mountain goats. Near town this time of year you are only allowed to hunt them with bows and arrows. So John carried the bow and I was his porter. We saw some goats on the way up, but the only way to get close to them was to loop around behind them to the very top of the mountain and then approach them from behind. This maneuver took almost 3 hours to accomplish.

Things got a little dicey when we discovered that the entire top of the mountain above 2000 feet had been coated in 2 inches of rime ice. Some of the ice crystals were almost 10 inches long and 2 inches across with flat facets. The sunlight sparkled on the crystals, lots of little flashes. But it was scary to walk on. At one point John's crampon slipped on the ice and he slid away on an uncontrolled descent for about 100 vertical feet. Good thing there was not a cliff below him. After that we were much more cautious and even mild slopes, if there was a cliff anywhere nearby (exposure), had our full attention.

Eventually we did sneak up right behind the herd of goats and John would have arrowed a big old billy goat if he had not run into an unexpected nanny goat and her kid looking right at him. The whole herd spooked and away the big billy ran with the herd. That's goat hunting with a bow. But the hike and views were spectacular. Patrick

Maine Woods

One of my favorite things about Maine is the deciduous forest. We got beautiful Sitka Spruce rain forest here on Kodiak, but the species diversity of trees is rather low (alder, sitka spruce, cottonwood, black birch, willow). In Maine you got a forest with too many trees to name. A delight to hike. It's something I miss about life out East. So when Zoya and I and the kiddos headed out East for Thanksgiving I was really looking forward to the hikes in the Maine woods.

My brother promised me he'd show me places around the Camden Hills that I'd never seen. Old growth forest with huge oaks, white pines, maples and big cliffs. And he delivered. I was impressed with how the Camden/Rockport area has managed to keep huge tracts of land wild in close proximity to housing developments. Many areas in Alaska have not managed this sort of land management. Take Homer, for instance, in Homer there is a house just about every 5 acres - spread out over a huge area, and very few huge tracts of land are leftover for simple, nomadic wandering. But in Camden such areas exist, and, moreover, the hiking is spectacular. Big granite cliffs, boulders and pretty darn big hills with sweeping vista views out over Penobscot Bay. Surprisingly enough we saw very few people - and most people seem to stick to the trails.

Out East these days people are terrified of ticks. It seems everyone either knows someone who has had Lyme's disease, or has had it themself. Lyme disease is a pretty serious tick bourn disease, and I must admit Zoya and I got a little paranoid about ticks. But the sad thing is that nobody seems to leave the trails and bushwack through the woods anymore. In terms of paranoia, ticks are the East coast version of Kodiak Brown Bears. Except Zoya and I believe ticks are more of an actual threat to one's health than bears. In any case, perhaps ticks are the reason my brother Dicky and I had the woods to ourselves.

In the top photo Dicky, Davis and Brooks pose on top of a mountain. Note the town of Camden on the right side of the picture. In the second photo Dicky and Leo pose in front of a deciduous holly tree. Amazing berries! In the third photo Dicky poses in the snow on Mount Megunticook. The bottom two photos is cliff climbing on Mount Megunticook with Davis and Dicky. Some of the cliff are two hundred feet high! Patrick

Court Junkie Phone Repair Man

Today the phone guy came to change over our local phone to GCI. He pulled up in a run down, 1970's pick up truck and I was suspicious it was even the cable guy. The bumper was about to fall off and the muffler made loud noises as he pulled into the driveway. He introduced himself as Scott, put shoe covers over his shoes and made his way on into our house. The conversation with him ended up being much more amusing than I ever would've imagined.

Me: Do you have any kids? (Stuart and Nora were both crying at the time and I wanted to see what his compassion-o-meter was for tolerating fussy kids)
Scott: Yeah, I got one but hes not here. Hes down in Montana.
He flashed a grin full of empty spaces where teeth once were.
Me: How old is he?
Scott: Hes 11. Yeah (sigh) Kids are a lot of work. He got done with court recently.
Me: Court? Oh wow. What for?
Scott: Smoking. He can't stay away from the cigarettes. (smoke on scott's breath, BTW).
Me: Court. Wow. I'm scared of court. Even with just jury duty, it scares the be-jesus out of me.
So after he went to court, did that scare him enough to not smoke anymore?
Scott: Oh no. He still is smoking. Hes not scared of court. I'm not either. I spend a lot of time there.
Me: Oh..........really?
(Pause. Gulp. What does he go to court for? Abduction? Breaking and Entering? Assault? )

Scott: Yeah, between my ex wife, my truck and my son, I'm there all the time.

I laugh...

Me: So court for you is sorta like going to the grocery store? pick up a gallon of milk, go to court...
Scott: Yeah, you could put it that way. Its no big deal any more.

Scott wrapped things up with the phone-he was quite efficient hooking everything up and was on his way in a matter of 20 minutes. I joked with him about staying out of trouble as he left and he laughed as he said he doesn't mind going to court. It was a reminder of how each of us has our own reality and our own comfort levels with what life throws at us. I would be terrified to pieces to have to go to court and he was just fine with going once a month.

Zoya

We Are Family

The flights home went so smoothly-couldn't have gone better. Even security was a breeze! The TSA people were actually quite helpful and in Anchorage they let us go to the front of the (long) line because of the kiddos. Patrick and I usually complain on and on about TSA, but they couldn't have been better this holiday travel season. (I did get the sense that people in line gave us "snake eyes" when we got brought to the front of the line. Perhaps it was just my imagination. Probably after they saw the production it is to get small kids through security, they had more compassion for us than envy!!)

Our trip East was a true vacation for me. Often times the past few years when I come home from vacation I feel that I need a vacation to recover from the vacation. This trip wasn't so. Largely thanks to Stuart who started sleeping through the night during the trip. I actually had time to read and relax and being well rested puts a whole new twist on the world!

Emmy (Patrick's mom) got Nora a little dollhouse which Nora just loved playing with. Sometimes she would try to sit on the furniture. Lots of times she would put the dolls in the house on the bed and in the bathtub and close the house up, saying "shhhh"...they were sleeping. As Nora is Emmy's only granddaughter, you can only imagine the joy she got from watching Nora play dress up and with the dollhouse. Nora loved walking around in Emmy's heels and hat one evening-see photo! So many laughs from all of us. She was quite serious with walking all around the living room in her get-up.

I enjoyed seeing all of my nephews as well. The kids are all so great with the younger ones-so fun to watch and makes get togethers easier as they all entertain each other to a certain degree. Brooks and Davis (13 and 10-Ella and Dicky's older boys) are especially wonderful with Nora, Leo, Zeke and Stuart. Their comfort, confidence and patience with small babies is remarkable.

We were gone for almost two weeks, but the time just flew by. What a fantastic way to start the holiday season.

Zoya

Photos:

Nora and the doll house.

Nora playing dress up.

Group shot of Thanksgiving dinner in progress. Patrick's sister is on the far left.

Davis Saltonstall. What a photogenic guy!

Stewart Walker holding Stuey Saltonstall. Stewart is Patrick's longtime friend. We had a fun visit with him.

Fun times out East

So many good times were had the past week out here in Maine and Boston. Thanksgiving was fun filled with delicious turkey, and roasted vegetables, lively conversation followed by a delicious dessert sampler. After the meal, Patrick, Cam (his step brother), Gretchen (Cams girlfriend) and the kiddos all hung out in the kitchen. Cam is a pilot and got on the floor doing airplane with Nora. Nora LOVED it! I was laughing so hard my cheeks hurt. Cam was doing the "Cessna 180...ready for takeoff on runway 2..." Nora would put her arms out and prepare for takeoff. Anytime Cam got up off the floor, nora would politely pat the floor for Cam to get back on the floor for more airplane.

The evenings in Rockport were enjoyed by reading in the house library while the kiddos slept. And sleep they do! Finally! On vacation they are now both sleeping through the night. I'm in heaven and remember what it feels like to feel rested once again. It has made vacation so fantastic!

We head back tomorrow eve, spend the night in Anchorage and arrive home Wednesday morning. A long trip it will be-but we'll make the most of it. The trip out went smoothly so we feel lucky in that regard!

Zoya

Photos:

Ella, Zoya, Zeke and Stuart.

Cam doing airplane with Nora on Thanksgiving day.

Patrick doing the driving back to Boston. I sat in the back seat with the kiddos.

Emmy resting by the fire with the bellow after preparing a delightful meal!

East Coast trip

We arrived safe and sound to Boston after an all night flight from Kodiak. Our adventure began upon arrival to the Kodiak airport when we realized we forgot the umbrella stroller for Stuart. Patrick thought of checking the baggage lost and found in Anchorage to see if we could have a free one. In Anchorage, they had a whole stack of them and we got one for free! yeah! My arms and back were saved from carrying Stuart everywhere!

In Anchorage airport Nora pushed Stuart around in the stroller for lots of the wait. Stuart was quite content and it was a great way to pass the time and burn off some of Nora's energy!

The plane ride to Portland was smooth-kiddos both slept. The 5 hour flight from Portland to Boston went amazingly well also. Stuart slept, and ate and didn't cry at all! Nora just cried for a few minutes before going to sleep. The trip couldn't have gone smoother!

The first night here Nora slept for 16 hours-8 PM till 12:30 PM the next day. Unbelievable! I've never seen Nora so tired.

Yesterday we enjoyed dinner with Sandra and Jimmy Walker, longtime friends of the family. Emmy cooked up potatoes, lamb and broccoli with apple crisp for dessert.

Patrick and Emmy are outside for a walk and today we drive up to Maine to see Ella and Dicky and the boys.

What a relaxing time it has been!

Zoya

As Predicted - Our First Snow

That's our Alaskan girl - bathrobe, extra tuffs and a big bottle of wine (empty of course). Its snowing hard right now and blowing. The weather service did not predict the storm but I had a feeling (check my last blog post) we'd get one. It always snows when I leave Kodiak. At this point I just hope we do get out! We are scheduled to leave this evening, fly all night, and reach Boston tomorrow. It'll Nora and I with the etch-a-sketch and books while Stu and Zoya sleep.

Today, when I got home with Nora from a trip in Zoya's car, Nora just gravitated to the snow. She kicked it with her boots and slid them back and forth. I made a snowball - so she copied me and made one too. Despite the lack of adequate gear she was adamant about staying outside. I had to drag her kicking and screaming inside. But I am very relieved that she seems to enjoy snow. That's my side coming out! Patrick

Ski Season Begins!

Yesterday I climbed up Pyramid with my skiis for the first time in 3 1/2 months. Today, after work, I climbed up again. That's two days in a row on snow, and I intend to ski again tomorrow. Ski season has begun - I'm back in the saddle again.

It's not the greatest skiing in the world, but, hey, at least it's skiing. I have a run that is only about 400 vertical feet, but the base is pretty good and I have not hit a rock yet. Today there was some fluffy wind blown powder on top to blow through in my skiis, and I even noted that two wind slabs had slid. Mini Avalanches! So winter has begun. It'll only get better from here on out.

In two days Zoya, me and the kiddos are off to Maine. This means that it'll snow like crazy in three days time. Just a prediction. I am actually looking forward to Maine - I'll get to drive on a freeway, walk through a deciduous forest, and see family. I doubt I'll ski much. Patrick

Sleep Bliss

For many nights in a row, Stuart has slept in his crib all night. Yes, from 8:00-6:30 AM. I only have to go in once at midnight when he wakes up, sometimes just to give him his teddy bear and let him know I'm there.

I feel like a brand new person.

I've been sleep deprived since he was born in February and now I feel an energy about me which I forgot existed. I'm glad he slept in our bed until now-he was confident with the fact that when he wakes up his needs are met. I've always been right there for him. This translates to his crib as well. He knows I'm right there if need be.

I'm amazed he doesn't wake Nora up when he cries. The thought of them sharing a room for a while is so fun. Our little guys waking up and falling asleep together.

Zoya

Nora Word of the Week

This weeks word is "Dah-Deeeee" which translates to DADDY.

This is the word Nora speaks most throughout her day. From the moment she wakes up in the crib, she says, "Dah-deeee" with her eyebrows furrowed and shoulders shrugged, wondering where Patrick is. Repeated "dah-deeeee's" occur as she roams around the house until she finds him.
The same occurs at the end of the day when she wants Patrick to come home from work. She puts a chair up at the window to look out for him until she sees his red Chevy come rolling down the driveway.

Zoya

Photo is of Nora admiring all the goodies on the cake table at Karen and Jeremy's reception.

Picnic at Abercrombie

The best time for a picnic at Abercrombie beach is probably summertime. But when Zoya's sister Bonnie visits we always go to the beach - no matter the season. So today we had a picnic at Abercrombie. Temps in the low 30 with snow flurries. A skim of ice on lake Gertrude. Zoya made wraps with the leftovers from Karen and Jeremy's party. Elk meatball and Thai chicken curry wraps. She added bit and pieces from the antipasta platter for zest. Absolutely wonderful.

We put the kiddos in the stroller and walked from our house. At the beach I threw a stick in the ocean and only jake was brave enough to jump in. A big wave rolled in and Jake was body surfing. I don't think he liked it much. Nora stomped around the beach in her red boots and drank a bottle of juice. Bonnie, Zoya and Stuey sat on a log and ate their wraps - I ate mine on the run while I chased Nora up and down the beach. Patrick

Karen and Jeremy's Wedding Reception

Last night there were 25 people over to celebrate the marriage of Jeremy and Karen!
There were small bouquets of orange roses intermingled with bright colored flowers around the house.
Votive candles burned softly-people laughed, talked and music permeated the evening. Such a fun night it was!
Toasts were given-I read a poem to them that I wrote about them meeting in Kotzebue Alaska and moving here.
The menu consisted of elk huckleberry meatballs, bacon wrapped scallops, chicken sataty and platters of appetizers (all catered-I NEVER would have had to the time to make that much food!!).
Shortly into the evening, Nora tore off her dress and spent 99% of the evening running around in her diaper. We were just glad she kept her diaper on!
My sister Bonnie is here from Anchorage and was SO helpful with getting things ready yesterday.

Photos:
-Karen and Nora admiring the spread before the guests arrive.
-Jeremy and Karen in front of the cake.
-(Left to Right) Mary Forbes, Tia Leber, Rose Wolf holding baby Presley Norkus, Brandi Norkus
-Bonnie holding a sacked-out-Stuey at 11:30 at night

Zoya

9 Month snapshot

Stuart is at his 9 month mark-growing like a weed and grinning from ear to ear. He is 27+ pounds and feeling less like a baby to me. He still has that baby smell and baby feel when he nuzzles his head into my neck, however! Phew!

When I sit him on my lap, he likes to move around more and on the floor he is making attempts to crawl. These attempts only frusturate him, as he commando crawls backwards, away from the toy he is trying to reach. I vaguely remember Nora going through this phase and how frusturating it was for her.

Last night we turned a corner with him in his crib. He was in there from 8:30-4:00 and I went in twice to nurse him and get him back to sleep. There was a bit of crying involved but not for too long. He did a midnight-4:00 stretch which was heavenly. When he is in our bed he just doesn't sleep as well lately (and neither do I!).

He has 4 small teeth and continues to be Mr. Pucker face with food. I remember when Nora ate solids, she was all over it. He is much more tenative and puckers much more during meal time. Sometime he'll pucker and shake his head back and forth as if to shake the food off of him. Pretty funny to watch.

Zoya