Girl Scouts Trip to USCG Base

Last weekend we had an amazing time at the Coast Guard base with the girl scouts. It was a special girl scout outing led by girl scout troups and active duty coast guard personnel. 

There were 3 different stations that the girls rotated through. And we got to walk in between the hangers, which was a fabulous use of excess energy!

The day was so educational and fun for the girls and parents alike. I was very impressed with all the incredible organization that went into the event, and the time that was donated by the active duty coast guardsmen and women. 

Walking to the first presentation with our guide, Allie. 

The mini oil spill demonstration. Oil was dropped into the water and the girls tried various products to mop up the oil. Note the boat and the beach!

Military police demonstration~ Girls weren't quite as into the police dept. 

lunch time! Running towards their food. 

Girlfriends holding hands!

The hit of the day; Fire truck demo! The girls squealed with delight. 

The girls and firehouse guide. He was fabulous answering their many questions. 

Inside the cockpit of a C-130.

Nora with her girlfriends next to a C130


Zoya

Outside Snow Time

Hurrah for the snow!  It has certainly elevated the spirits of our family.  Over the weekend rather than hanging out inside the house and getting bored (and the inevitable kid squabble), the kids have been going outside to go XC skiing or sledding.  To my chagrin they like the downhill aspects of skiing more than the 'xc' aspect ('xc' is short for 'cross country').  Is it time to take them to a downhill ski  area for some lessons?  I'm not so sure - I figure they really might be better off initially with the whole free heel, flimsy ski thing.  It has to be better for their balance, and this way when they do get on 'real' downhill skiis it'll be a cinch.  Also with kid downhill gear on how would the kids get up the hill on their own?  I think XC gear is more akin to sledding and is better for just messing about in the snow than heavy clunky downhill gear.

Anyway, at the golf course I was amazed at how they just attacked the hill.  They just tucked it and went REALLY fast.  No fear whatsoever.  And it is a scary hill - I know a lot of adults who are scared of this hill.  Patrick

Nora doing the 'herring bone' up the hill.

This hill is a lot steeper than it looks!

Back to Winter Again

Yesterday for the first time since Christmas Day the kids went skiing.  Ever since Christmas Kodiak has been stuck on a warm and gray cycle.  But yesterday it got cold and snowed. The sun came out, and it never even topped the freezing mark - hurrah!  Have we broken the cycle?  I like cold cycles better than warm ones because it tends to be sunny, and the snow reflects the light.  Warm, gray and muddy gets a little depressing.

But best of all, when there is snow on the ground the kids like to go outside.  They skiied and sledded for almost 2 hours after they got home from school.  Initially I was reluctant to get out the ski gear.  I had visions of constantly picking kids back up.  Nora begged and I relented - and then, unbelievably, they did GREAT.  Stuey quit sledding and joined Nora on skiis.

They bombed the hill downhill style.  Nora called the steepest hill the 'devil doom' because 'it's hard to ski down'.  Last year there is no way they could have made it down the hill.  Last year they could not even get up on their own.  It seems we have turned a corner.  Now if only it could stay cold and the kids learn to get into their ski boots on their own. ... .. .

Patrick

Valentines Love

Today was a fun Valentines Day full of love and surprises! I have a soft spot for Valentines day--its one of my favorite holidays. 

I started the day off early at 6 am making the kids heart shaped waffles for breakfast. (It was my ONE Martha Stewart moment of the year.)

 No, I don't have a heart shaped waffle iron...just got creative with the dough. I think the kids appreciated it....waking up to the smell of waffles for breakfast. 

Last night I stayed up for a bit making valentines for my co-workers at my Coast Guard Base job. I made different cards for the different departments at the clinic and started all of the same with "Roses are Red..." and finished them all with  From ? ... 

I arrived a few minutes earlier this morning to drop them off, which was a fun way to start the day. 

The best surprise of the day was from my co-worker, Shawna, at the base clinic. For Valentines Day I brought her a bottle of Chia seed Kombucha with a handmade card. She walked in this morning and looked quite surprised as she handed me a bottle of Chia seed Kombucha as a Valentines gifit as well! We got a good laugh out of that one. We gave eachother the same gift. We have the same taste in things, evidently!

I looked forward to picking the kids up after school and seeing their Valentines Day Love energy. They came flying out of the building with their bags of candy and cards. 

This morning Stuey so sweetly said, "Mom, will you be my Valentine?"

Patrick spoiled me with the best home made card ever, flowers and a bar of sea salt chocolate. yum, yum, yum....

I (Heart) valentines Day!

Zoya

Shawna and I with our Chia Seed Kombucha gifts to eachother!

While Momma was Away

It certainly is nice to have Momma back, but we did have fun while she was away. We went to the powerhouse restaurant, made play dough jewelry, built cardboard box houses, biked in the evenings, played qwirkle. All sorts of things.  And every day it was, 'how long till mommy come home?'  Mommy really is an essential part of this household!  Patrick

After Nora's Dance class I took the kids to the Powerhouse - Everyone asked about Zoya 

Jewelry dough that took forever to dry - Stuey made a dragonfly

Cardboard house that we made with a box from our neighbor Claudia - they later drew all over it

Bow and arrow time!

On my trip to San Diego, I found a Bow and arrow for Stuey for his 6th birthday. It was a very long package and did not fit into my  checked duffle bag. I had to resort to carrying it on.

TSA barely let it pass their screening. One gal said, "well, we had to check with supervisors because it does resemble a real weapon. But the arrows are suction cups, so its ok."

I was so glad the arrow made it through security and now Patrick can start doing work with Stuey in preparation for hunting!

Stuey caught the hang of it quickly today as he and Patrick worked together outside aiming towards the house.

Zoya

San Diego Training

This morning I returned (quite groggily) from a weekend trip to San Diego for  a physical therapy class. The class was 3 solid days and I flew home last night. Spent from 1-5 AM curled up on chairs in the Anchorage airport getting some zzz's. 

 The trip was wonderfully smooth with flights/connections and my class was phenomenal. The 44 other women's health physical therapists in the class were patient, kind, caring and intelligent. Its always a blessing to learn around such cool, smart people.  

The class was a more advanced level training on female pelvic floor diagnostics and treatment. Since taking my first female pelvic floor class in Columbus last fall, I was looking forward to this class-to learn more treatment skills and refine my palpation abilities further with muscle identification, etc. 

For the more curious female readers out there...below we did external biofeedback on the pelvic floor muscles. Biofeedback is a technique which uses electrodes to measure action potentials, muscular contractions, in a muscle. With this computer program, we would watch the rose open and close, as we closed and then relaxed our pelvic floor. 

My lab partner and I practicing our contract-relaxes with the computer software for visual feedback. As the muscles relax or soften, the rose opens.  

As as the muscles tightnen, the rose closes. 

These two ladies and I were at the classes in Columbus together last fall. It was so nice to see familiar faces!

Zoya

Life Before the Blog

This evening, feeling bored, I decided to peruse through old photos on the computer.  Nora immediately took interest and very politely asked if she could watch too.  She pulled up a stool and then Stuey pushed his way into the picture as well.  I laid down the ground rules - no fingers on the computer screen and daddy picks where we go - and off we went.

I decided to go back to the days before we had a blog.  We've been blogging since 2006 and, as a consequence, those years seem very well documented.  After tonight, I'm realizing that the years prior to the blog have faded far more than I realized.  Partly this is a result of the digital vs film divide - everything is far better documented now that we all have cameras all of the time (the iphone revolution).  But time is also slipping, moving faster, and wow but I'm getting old!

Stuey and Nora added amazing insight.  They would instantly recognize old pieces of furniture or other minor details that had slipped from my memory 'radar'.  Also many of their comments were hilarious.  It takes a child to point out the obvious.  Nora and Stuey were both amazed at how much the living room had changed since the photo below, but they also noticed that the etching of flying squirrels eating horse feed (middle top) is still there to this day.  No TV, no shag carpet, no red couch, no katie dog ('that's the coffee table we broke and threw off of the cliff') - but hey, the bookcase and picture are still there.

In regard to the photo on the bottom (Nora and Leo as babies), Nora commented, 'as babies we did not get along - we still don't always get along.'  Nora loved her baby shower pictures and the 'baby runway' cake.  I loved the picture of Zoya with Roxie dog as a puppy.  Stuey did get a little bummed that pre blog meant pre him, but he did get a kick out of looking at our house pre renovations - "that can't be our house - how you know?" I know because I'm old, and time is slipping by way too fast.  Patrick

Waning days of the Bachelor Pad - note shag carpet, TV, and Katie dog on the couch

Zoya and baby Roxie - first child

Mary Jane with Zoya's 'bedrest' baby shower cake

Lovin' Cousins - Leo and Nora at year one

Our House in 1996 when I first moved in - Stuey and Nora had a hard time believing this one

Depth of Field

Photo from yesterday of Pyramid Mountain - 'stitch' is about halfway up the image

If you look closely at these photos you will realize that my camera did the impossible.  It managed to keep everything in focus from about 2 feet or less in front of the camera all the way to infinity.  I achieved this look by taking 2 photos - one of everything close to me, and the other of everything in the distance - and then stitched them together into a panoramic.  Basically, I took 2 pictures with the same exposure but at a different focus point and then stitched them together where they overlapped in focus.

Ansel Adams was famous for this look in his landscape photographs.  But he did it by 'closing down'  the lens of his camera (high 'f' stop) and taking pictures with a really slow shutter speed.  He had to use a tripod.  A closed down lens has a much bigger depth of field, but it needs more light (think slow shutter times).  A wide open lens has a thin depth of field but needs very little light - hence you can take pictures at a faster shutter speed when the lens is wide open.

I developed my technique for increased depth of field on my own, and I wonder if it is considered a valid technique.  Has anyone heard of 'real' photographers using this trick? It certainly works for me.  In the photo below I am actually looking down into the bear  footprint - if I had tried to do this in a normal fashion the camera angle would have been too oblique to even see the track.  You would have seen just the hole in the snow and not down into it.

Patrick

Tracks from a bear fresh out of hibernation - April 5, 2008.

Stuey's 6th!

Yesterday we celebrated Stuey's 6th Birthday at the pool with friends and family. It went without a hitch...and no time-outs needed! Phew! 

My original plan was to do his party at the bowling alley, but they alley was booked so the pool was the second good choice. In the end, it was perfect because Stuey and the kids in the water had a blast and used up so much fabulous energy. Stuey jumped off the diving board for nearly 30 minutes straight alongside his friends. 

After the pool, the kids all joined in the foyer for cake, brownies and presents. Stuey didn't want frosting on his cupcakes, which was a blessing for me. Easier to make and cleaner clean up as well!

His friends were so generous and giving and Stuey got so many fun guy toys, including remote control cars, light wand, soccer ball, sponge bob pillow/lunchbox. Stuey really enjoyed himself and had a blast with his friends. 

Happy 6th to my little guy!

Zoya

A tradition for Stuey; when he goes swimming, he always puts his goggles on even before leaving the house!! This time they started getting foggy in the car. 

Patrick was rockin' the underwater pics with the waterproof camera!

Patrick and Nora swimming

Fun with light refraction--little heads and BIG bodies! 

the Cake cheering crowd

Cutting the cake...my sister came just in time for the chocolate!

Deciding on a wish...

I (heart) home made wrapping paper! The best!

So many great friends shared the day with Stuey. 

Snow Panoramics

Today the sun came out!  Unbelievable! We crawled out of our caves and squinted at the bright orb in the sky.  I went for a ski at dawn and the sunrise truly was unbelievable.  I could not stop taking pictures and I still don't think I came close to capturing the beauty of the day.

Back at the house I took the kids biking.  We went to the park and then along the highway on the bike path.  Stuey even heeded commands.  It felt more like April than February.  Patrick

Clouds and Snow

It was raining this morning and looking ugly outside.  Ughhh another wet day.  But then miraculously it cleared when I left work.  This is what it looked like near the top of Pyramid when I went skiing today. I like the white snow and sunshine with the dark clouds behind.  Patrick

Stuey's Idea of Our Life & Salesman One-Liners

Artwork, by Stuey. Note the mountain climbers on the peaks. And our house sits below.  I''m the one drawn in red. 

Last Sunday we headed out again in the  cold Sunday afternoon to finish selling up school raffle tickets and Girl Scout Cookies.

As with the prior weekend, I had a blast selling. We had lots of good laughs in the hour and a half we trekked down our road from house to house.

A few of the one-liners from the afternoon~

Stuey: "Wow, Your house is really clean". The owner of the house gave a thrilled smile, looked at me and proceeded to say, "Wow, hes a good salesman!" Suffice to say, the gentleman bought several boxes of cookies!

Nora: When making the last raffle ticket sale of the day, a raffle ticket customer said, "I hope you sold me the winning ticket, Nora. How can I know its the winning ticket?"

Nora smiled, shrugged her shoulders and replied-quite seriously-, "You just have to pray to God really hard."

The lady laughed and said, "Can you do that for me? I think we'll have better luck if it comes from you than me!" The lady and I laughed together and as I walked out of the house, Nora asked, "mom, why was that so funny?"


And many thanks to a kind blog reader in Philadelphia who sent a comment and offer to help with Nora's cookie sales by buying 10 boxes of cookies. Nora was thrilled! She exceeded her goal. 

Zoya

My Camera's GPS

I am really liking my new camera's GPS capabilities, and have been practicing what I can do with it.  The feature will be a useful tool for archaeological fieldwork.  In fact, I already used it on the Kulluk Response - my little point-and-shoot camera took the first GPS points on the lifeboats that had washed off of the oil rig and onto the shore.  Those points are now in Shell's Kulluk Response database.

Lately I have been using the 'tracking' GPS feature to map out my ski trips. When I get home I download the tracks into google earth and create a map like below.  The one below is my route from yesterday's skate ski trip into the hills above the ski chalet.  I have found that it is incredibly accurate as long as I am not in under the trees, in a car, house or helicopter.  But even in a helicopter it still tracks pretty well if you sit by the window.  I have also found that you need to pause a moment and check the GPS 'status' at the very start of your trip or it may not start actually tracking until you are well into your trip.  All this is very important to know prior to using the camera GPS on an actual archaeological survey.  I also think I am going to get some GPS mapping software for my computer.

Anyway, it is also sort of cool to see exactly where you went skiing.  I took the top photo yesterday while on my way home on the track marked below.  The photo above even has GPS info tagged into it so if I wanted I could place it exactly onto the track (actually it is the 3 dots nearest the middle and looking towards the upper right corner).  All good stuff to know before I am actually out in the field!  Patrick