Vacation comes to an end...

We made it back to Kodiak in one piece. Phew.

Our last 2 days in Sherborn were busy ones-going to the lake for a dip, packing and my mom drove up to visit as well on Sunday. She got some Stuey and Nora time! And the kids got Grandma CiCi time. Yeah!

Sunday evening Emmy and George held a cocktail party for a friend who recently authored a book. The weather was rainfree for the hours of the party and it was fun to chat with Patrick's friends and family. One of my favorite menu items at the party was strawberries dipped in sour cream, then brown sugar. SO GOOD! I was amazed by how yummy they were.

There were many people in attendance whom I haven't seen since we married 5 years. Patricks cousins, old family friends...for much of the party we had to run after Stuey in Nora to keep them away from the breakables. At 7:30 we were able to enjoy ourselves once they were in bed.

We had to get up at 3 am to catch the 6 AM flight out of Boston. Needless to say, it was a LONG day. I think the flight home may have gone a bit better than the flight out to Boston, but it was still quite rough for Nora and Patrick. Lots of crying where they were sitting in the row behind me. Stuey did great, thank heavens. He is a natural flier.

So good to be home. Gosh I love the crispness and coolness of the Kodiak air.

Zoya

Photos:

Top: Emmy and Nora at the back patio in Sherborn.

Family photo at the party.

Nora headed towards the reflection pond (turned wading pool) in Sherborn to help break the 80+ degree heat.

At the party, Stuey and Nora spent a large part of their time in the entry way door greeting people. It seemed to be one locale in the house where they couldn't break something! Stuey sat on the front step throwing pebbles and smiling at guests as they came in.

North Haven Days

After the reunion, our family headed up to North Haven with Tom Osteraas, his wife Kathy, their child Lauren and Larry Pratt. North Haven Island is off the coast of Rockland in Maine-a 1 hour boat ride from the mainland. Patrick and I went there for our honeymoon and it is a spot which is treasured by both Patrick and I. A quiet, small island with a peaceful way of life. Patrick spent his summers as a child there--exploring the ocean, beaches, and learning how to sail.

We stayed at Emmy's house and enjoyed grilled steaks and vegetables our first evening there. The night was a warm one-temperatures persisted in the 80's and it didn't cool down until late that night. The college roommates, Patrick, Larry and Tom stayed up late playing cards and laughing. Kathy and myself headed to bed at a decent hour. It was fun to hear them up laughing and reminiscing while playing a game of Hearts.

The Osteraas' and ourselves relaxed, barbequed, went for walks, on a drive, went to a beach and Dicky took them on a sailboat ride on his sailboat. Lauren, their daughter, is a lovely 7 year old who was so helpful with Stuey and Nora. She was able to carry Stuart-which was a sight to see!! Another highlight of the week was enjoying lobsters with them-their first time eating lobsters. Pictures of that to come on a future post. :)

The phone hardly rang there, there is no internet/computer at the house, no TV...just a wonderful getaway from the electronics of the world. I always feel so rested up when I return from there. Also, there is fantastic clothesline which I used to dry my clothes and LOVED that so much. The crisp feeling of clothes off the clothesline. Theres nothing like it!

A big highlight from the week was a beach picnic trip we took with Ella, Dicky and their boys. We went to the Little Dumpling Islands, which aren't far from Emmy's house at low tide. I made Lobster roll sandwiches to eat and we sat on the beach laughing and eating lunch while Leo and Nora explored the tidepools and the row boat on the beach. The day will be forever etched in our minds as we think back to the heat of the sun on us, the stories and jokes we shared and plain old good sibling time. And good times for the cousins together. Stuey and Zeke both fell asleep in our arms-in fact Stuey slept for much of the picnic.

Today we drove back down to Boston, will be here for 2 days and head back to Kodiak Monday morning (EARLY!!!). What a fantastic trip we have had.

Zoya

Pictures:
Top: Boat ride from Rockland to North Haven, Patrick, Zoya and Kids, Kathy, Tom and Lauren and Larry P.
Larry (left) and Tom (right) toasting on the first eve in North Haven.
Zoya, Ella and Kids before heading out on a picnic
Panoramic of picnic on Little Dumpling Islands
Leo and Nora playing in the row boat.

A few Pomegranate Martinis

Last night was the big 20th Reunion dinner on Harvard campus. We began the evening with pre-party drinks at the Delphic Club-an eating club (fraternity feel). The guys played pool and us ladies chatted and walked around looking around the house. The Delphic Club goes back to 1847-with plaques on the wall to list all members in the various years. Lots of history and memories in such a house! As Patrick was giving me a tour of the courtyard, we saw this purple substance splattered on the screen door. Patrick remarked, "Oh, looks like someone spilled something there." As I looked closer, I saw chunks in the purple (wine-like) dried substance. I replied, "Uhhhh....no. Thats throw up Honey." We got a good laugh out of it.
Megan North, the wife of a fellow Delphic Club member said that they were there until 3 AM the night before. She went to get more beer and the guy serving the beer from the keg was wearing nothing more than a bowtie and his Harvard reunion nametag. "Not a stitch of clothing" were Megan's exact words.

The weather was 90+ degrees-sweltering-and the dinner was held in big tents outside in the Kirkland House courtyard. The bar served up wine, beer, water, soda and pomegranate martinis. I was quick to discover these yummy liquid delights and towards the end of the night the word was that the bartenders were making drinks quite strong--Patricks roommates had to send for more coke to add to their rum/coke drinks because they were too strong.

Once the beat of the 80's music vibrated from the dance hall, I was quick to join the dance floor. Several of Patrick's roommates danced and some songs I danced with strangers in the crowd. Everyone there was so fun and welcoming and lots of good dancers! I requested the song "Celebration" two times and when they still hadn't played it, I had two of Patrick's roommates request it. The DJ finally played it and we all hit the dance floor. Good times were had. When we left at 11:30 PM, I said, "What? We have to go already?!!" Patrick replied "yes, Zoya, its 11:30." We got a cab home and Patrick spoke French to the cab driver who was from Haiti.

This afternoon we went to The Thorndike's house for some pool time and early today we had time in the lake near Emmy and Georges. Getting into water seems to be the only way to truly cool the kids off!

Zoya

Photos:

Panoramic of Harvard Reunion Dinner in the Kirkland House courtyard.
Patrick and myself at the reunion
Tomas, Scott, Ali and myself at the dinner.
Nora with Peonies this afternoon. George was picking them from the yard and he helped pose her for the photo!
Nora on the plastic shark at the pool.

We Made It!

We've been in Boston for 24 hours now. The flight out East went fairly well-uneventful with flight connections, etc. It only took 12 hours to get out East. Nora had a hard time on the flights-lots of crying. We flew all night and she only slept an hour or two. Stuey slept closer to 4-5 hours (see photo below). Nora had a bad habit of kicking the seat and arm rest in front of her. The person sitting in front of her moved seats. Phew. Fortunately the plane was empty enough for him to do that. As my mom once said, flying with young children is like flying with little packages of dynamite. You don't know when or if they'll go off! :)

Upon arrival yesterday, Stuey and I took a nap while Emmy, Patrick and Nora went on a walk around the house. After a shower and baths for the kids, Patrick and I got dressed up and went to the Harvard 20th reunion party held at a house of a college friend. Emmy (and George) were gracious enough to watch the kids. And they went to bed without too many problems-I think they were both so tired that bedtime went quite smoothly.
The evening was lovely--a catered dinner with fantastic appetizers, wine and lots of interesting, friendly people. Patrick and I arrived 1 hour early-whoops. I couldn't remember what time it was scheduled to start. We (including the hosts) got a good laugh out of it--I think the hosts were just amazed that we had flown all night from Alaska with two small kids. They understood and were so nice about it. Patrick and I sat and re-hydrated with water while awaiting everyones arrival.

Almost all of Patrick's college roommates are here for the weekend and it is the same group of wonderful guys (and wives) who came to Alaska for our wedding. It is fun to see them all again and really have the time for conversation. Tonight is the Kirkland House Gala on campus which I'm excited for. We're going to take the "T" into Boston for it then take a cab home so we don't have to worry about driving/parking, etc...

And its going to be a hot day today--80's and temps in the 90's tomorrow! Yikes!

Zoya

Photos:
Stuey asleep on the ride from Anchorage to Minneapolis.
Nora, Stuey, myself and Patrick with our gear upon arrival in Boston. Nora LOVES pushing Stuey around in the stroller/car seat!
Emmy, Nora Cocoa the dog on a walk in the field yesterday.
Napkin and glass of wine from last nights party.
At the party last night (Anne Thorndike, Lanny Thorndike,Eric Broderson and Tom Osteeras--the guys were 3 of Patrick's roommates in college (for 3 years).

O'Malley Archaeology

We are all in Boston right now for my College 20th reunion (Zoya will post on this later), but I'll add one last post from the Karluk/O'Malley archaeological survey.

As I said earlier we did not find many new sites, but we still learned a lot. In the top photo Rose is holding up an incised slate lance head that would have been used to hunt sea mammals. Alutiiq people made points like this between about 1000 and 1500 years ago - so when we found this one in a house we are able to date the house. People lived in it sometime around 1200 years ago. When we radiocarbon date the charcoal we found in the house's hearth we will know exactly how old.

The house were we found the lance head is part of a large village depicted in the bottom photo. This is exciting because it matches the pattern we have seen on other lake and river systems on Kodiak. It appears that at around AD 800 there was a large surge of settlement at the outlets and inlets to Kodiak's large lakes. At this time people were abandoning the Kachemak Bay region and the Lower Alaska Peninsula. Perhaps everyone was moving to Kodiak, and with all the new people on the island people had to create new villages in new places - not enough room on the coast so people started to live inland. In the next few years we will be exploring this idea with more survey work. Patrick

More Survey Pictures

More photos from our survey and one more to follow. Top photo is a view of camp with O'Malley Creek in the background. Second photo is of the crew on a Sunday hike up a nearby mountain with Karluk Lake in the background. I was surprised to see quite a few mountain goats on the mountains by the lake. Third photo is Mark and I conferring over the map about where on the lake we will be surveying. We paddled about 5 miles up one shore, crossed over to the other side (about a mile) and paddled back to camp along the far shore. The next photo is of Rose and Chase hiking across the snow on the way up the mountain we climbed. Finally the last photo is of me with an Arctic Char. We ate char that we caught practically every day. I asked my neighbor Len Schwarz what we were catching and he told me that all the Dolly Varden trout have already left the lake for the ocean and that we were probably catching nothing but Arctic Char.

On our survey we did not find as many archaeological sites as we expected. In similar settings in past surveys we have found literally hundreds of housepits that needed to be mapped. This year we only mapped one big village and found just 6 new sites. We found two 1000 year old villages and one large 500 year old village. Most of the other sites we found were late 19th century hunting/fishing camps.

The most exciting thing about our survey was the bears. There were a lot of them! Every time we left camp we generally saw 2-3 bears. Bears grazing on grass, bears catching sticklebacks in the creek, bears digging, and walking across the snow - even in one instance we saw a big boar trying to chase down and kill a cub while the mother and another cub watched from a snow field up high. Boars kill and eat cubs so that the sow will go into heat. Bears were literally everywhere.

The area is considered critical bear habitat and is closed to humans during the summer. The Refuge wanted to keep people from harassing the bears. Elsewhere the bears are habituated to humans by constant contact. The bears we saw were much more uninhibited. We saw many more big boars than you usually see in areas more frequented by people. Big boars are very shy, and while you may see literally dozens of bears near a weir catching the pooled up fish - you probably will not see a big boar. These bears prefer to stay away from people. We are really lucky to have gotten the chance to hang out with bears in a natural setting - one were the bears made the rules. Patrick

Running the Buskin

Mark, Chase, Casey and I ran the Buskin the day before yesterday. Chase and Casey (pictured) each had their own inflatable kayak/canoe while Mark and I shared a boat. It's been raining a lot and we've lost a lot of my beloved snow - so the river was quite high. It makes it easier to lose our winter snowpack when I get to ride on it to the ocean (and we still do have plenty of snow - Chase and I skiied to the road yesterday!).

Casey and Chase had never run white water before, but each took to it like a champ. The first rapid was a wall of standing waves and we were all a little intimidated. But after that it was all pure joy. Casey thinks it might be a new sport for her to take up. Patrick

O'Malley Lake Survey

We got back from our Karluk and O'Malley Lakes survey late last night - time for a quick blogpost. I'll write more later about what we did, and what we discovered. But first a little eye candy to whet your appetite. Hard to believe but we had good weather down on the west side. Hot and flat calm - followed by cool and windy (when it was pouring here in town). It never rained hard the whole time we were down there.

Anyway the top two pictures are of the mountains reflecting in Karluk Lake. We brought an inflatable raft to survey the shorelines of the lake, and even paddled across Karluk Lake. That is one big lake. The next photo shows our camp in the dawn light. Finally the last photo is a panoramic of the entire lake. Patrick

Home safe and sound

The crew arrived home safely last night--it was a foggy rainy evening and so the float plane flew right over the water for the whole flight home (as opposed to going through the mountain pass which is much faster). Its so great to have them home. Casey and I made homemade pizzas for their arrival and as we cooked we listened to (and danced) to 80's music. Stuey was rocking on.
As the truck pulled into the driveway Nora squealed like I've never heard her squeal before. She put her extra tuff boots on and was out the door in a flash to greet him.

Zoya

Photos: Family photo in front of the float plane-before the crew left a week ago.
Weighing the gear (and people too) for the float plane trip.

Garden Times

The past few days have been a bit rough with Patrick gone. Nora has been crying and whining more than normal and at times I I reach my maximum capacity for whining. Stuey has a molar or two coming in, so he is crying more than normal also. When it rains, it pours here in Kodiak.
The past few weeks, Patrick and I have been working to lessen the whining Nora does when she wants something--some of it is normal two year old behavior but I think some of it is learned-as she has had to cry/whine to get what she wanted before she could speak. She is in a pattern of going into whine mode when she wants something and is at all tired.
Sigh. A true test of my patience, as I've said many times before. Her stubborn tendencies don't help matters either. But, this too will pass. My mantra as of late.

To alleviate the tensions, I have discovered that watering the garden works wonders. Nora LOVES watering the garden. I'm a little worried that the potatoes have been OVER watered, because at one point there was a little lake in the potatoe bed. I have to remind Nora to walk around with the hose. Tonight she was doing a most excellent job with moving the water all over the garden and she has such a huge smile on her face. Its quite fun to see her enthusiasm. Patrick's excitement for dirt and digging in the dirt is contagious to the rest of us. I rather enjoy watering the garden while he is gone as well. It just feels good to be putting energies towards our food coming up in the garden beds.

We have a kayak guide, Casey, who is staying at our place right now. She is a great person--good sense of humor, easy going and great with the kids. She is staying at our place until her rental becomes available in mid June. I have quite enjoyed having her presence here---especially in the evenings to eat dinner with and chat. She is from the Carolina's and is here all summer working as a guide for Orcas Unlimited.
(see http://www.orcasunlimited.com/ her bio is on the bottom. Thats Casey!)

Last night it was a balmy 60 degrees and when we were watering the garden, Stuart gravitated to the big puddle and began playing in it with a broken croquet stick. I decided to just let him get all dirty-nothing a bath couldn't cure! Same went for Nora and the kids had a good time laughing and watering the garden. Nora started to get the hang of how to hold the hose and how to pull it along the ground.

This is the most quiet, relaxed moment of my day. So peaceful and reflective.
Kids were in bed by 7 tonight, as their naps today were non-existent (or very short).
Casey is in her room trying to sleep a cold off. Poor thing.
The winds are picking up a bit outside as a low pressure system moves in. As people have said in the past few days, some rain might be good right about now to help control the dust.

Looking forward to the weekend.

Zoya

Top:Casey and Nora last night.
Nora aka garden girl
Stuey and his croquet stick in the mud.

They're Off!

This morning Nora, Stuey and myself dropped the crew off to the float plane dock for their survey of Karluk Lake. They'll be gone 10 days and the weather forecast for the forseeable future is gorgeous. Nora and Stuey were both in their jammies as we watched Patrick et al weigh their gear (and themselves). They barely made the 1250 pound cut off. Close one. I think they made it by 10 pounds. As I write this a float plane flies overhead and Nora says, "Bye Daddy!".

Last night Mike, Roxann and Cecilia came over for a farewell-to-the-Karluk-crew feast. We shucked some King Crab, Grilled Elk Roast (or was it deer? I really can't keep track...all I know is it tasted good), Brownies, fruit salad and roasted broccoli. Just yummy and fun. The air was a crisp 50 but we sat outside for the meal and the kids crawled around on the lawn.

Now 10 days to clean, organize and catch up on various projects. Patrick said he will call in the next few days via satellite phone to touch base. It was a good send off this morning.

Zoya

Photo:
Top: From Left: Chase, Roxann, Zoya, Patrick, Mark, Mike...in front MJ and Rose.

Middle: Stuey checking the scene out via the doggy door before making his arrival for dinner.

Bottom: Everyone eating.

Bosches' Beach-May 2008

Today MJ and I went to Bosche's beach for some R&R time with Karen. The sun was out and the beach was sheltered from the cool afternoon breeze. The kids played on their own for most of the time. Stuey sat in one spot, digging the sand with Karen's yellow plastic shovel. Meanwhile, Nora played indpendently by the rock wall which forms the border of the far edge of the beach. There were pools of water in the rocks and she enjoyed washing her hands in the water and digging in the sand.

It was lovely to be able to hang with MJ and Karen on the beach, and just enjoy the conversation for an hour. Nora didn't make a dive for the water like she did a year ago at Bosche's Beach. The kids were just content quietly hanging out.

Karen brought down a snack of coconut cake which was well received by all of us! So yummy.

Good times at Bosche's Beach!

Zoya

Dumbo Ride!

Today MJ and I took the kids down to Crab Festival. Nora was in sensory overload- her jaw dropped open wide and eyes were big as we walked by the booths and rides.

I was excited for Nora to go on her first carnival ride. The one that looked the best for her was the dumbo elephant ride where the dumbos go up and down and around in a big circle. It was filled with joy that Nora was totally up for the adventure of the ride and didn't show any hesitation in marching up the steps to the other ride. She saw the other kids and was curious.
I walked Nora to her Dumbo car and helped her get strapped in. I was surprised that the straps weren't more substantial. I just thought of Little Nora sliding out mid ride and wanting to climb out. I put those fears to rest after talking more to the guy who ran the ride.

Me: So this is her first ride.
Carnival Ride Guy: Oh, really? She hasn't even been on those little rides in the grocery stores?
Me: No, they don't have those here. (Or if there are rides like that here, I haven't taken her on them).
Carnival Ride Guy: Oh she'll be fine.
Me: Will you stop the ride if she starts crying?
Carnival Ride Guy: Oh Sure.

The kids were all in their places and the ride began. I stood there in amazement as Nora went around and around and was happy. She had a smile on her face for a lot of the ride. She held on to the little handles in front of her and really liked it when the Dumbo went up and down. I had way more fun than I ever imagined. After her one ride, she climbed back into the stroller and Mary Jane and her enjoyed a banana fritter.

Gotta love Crab Fest!

Zoya

Nora Word of the Week - 'No Diii'

NORA WORD OF THE WEEK
Yes, we've been delinquent in doing Nora word of the week. Perhaps because it should be changed to Nora PHRASE of the week. She is putting 2 words together now-articulation has a long way to go, but nonetheless, we're thrilled about her language progress. As I tell people, Nora is "finding her groove" and discovering that language is a LOT more effective than screaming.

Nora says "No, Diii" for "No Stuey". She says this when he is doing something she doesn't want him to do, or if he is getting into a cabinet he isn't supposed to.

BABYPROOFING
Speaking of cabinets, Patrick and I resort to non-traditional methods of babyproofing the house. We have a standard lock on the chemicals under the sink, but aside from that we resort to rubber bands. In the picture above, Patrick jerry-rigged a "lock" for the cabinet to the left of our stove. We didn't have string, so he made string out of duct tape and used a rubber band. Stuey kept getting into the cabinet and throwing our potatoes everywhere. Potatoes No More. After Patrick was done putting the "lock" on he said, "Stuey, try and get into that now - make my day!" :)

HOW OLD IS 'SHE'?
STUEY RAY CYRUS NO MORE????
A topic of disucussion amongst my friends/family is Stuey's hair. I like his "Stuey Ray Cyrus" look, but Ella and others think he is in dire need of a haircut. I, personally, have loved his long locks. I told myself that as soon as people call him a "she" I would cut his hair. That moment came last night. At a museum dinner, a gentleman said, "Wow, what a big girl!". Its time.
As I examined his hair today, prepping myself for the big cut, I noticed his hair at the bottom has curls in it and tears welled up in my eyes. I was going to cut his curls off. But it really is time. Our houseguest, Rose, agreed.

Zoya

From the Top

With Chase in town I have been skiing runs I had not done in years. Yesterday we skiid off the very top of Pyramid. I found myself booting it up half way up the front face wondering what exactly I was trying to prove. It got worse as I contemplated the way down knowing there are cliff bands and rocks below but not able to see any of the run below because it is so steep. It felt like jumping off of a cliff. Huge rush of adrenaline when I went over the edge and a surge of relief when I completed the run safely. It felt good to break up the normal routine and do something different. I definetly broke out of a rut on that run!

Photos: top 2 photos - Chase on the face of Pyramid heading into the south bowl. Bottom - Chase admiring his handy-work, looking back at the run.