Stuey's First Lost Tooth

STUEY'S FIRST LOST TOOTH
Stuey lost his first tooth on our trip home. He put in a hard piece of gum to chew. After a few bites he looked up at me with a shocked expression. When I saw his mouth, one of his bottom teeth was gone. I said, "Stuey, you lost a tooth!". He was elated and we found the tooth on the carpet. It happened in the Chicago airport. His tooth hadn't been loose prior to losing it!

 Leona gave Stuey an empty Zyrtec bottle to put the tooth in. When he walked on the plane, he rattled the bottle proudly and smiled to people. The Alaska Airlines gate agent said, "Oh is that your asthma medication?" Stuey had to explain that it was his first tooth in the bottle.

Nora asked about when she lost her first tooth. I couldn't remember specifics about the event, so I looked up Nora's first Tooth on our blog and it was fun to read to her about it.

HOME and Happy
Now that the kids are back home, they are so happy with sleeping in their own bed and playing with the blocks and train tracks in the living room. I am teaching them how to knit, which is going remarkably well. I expected the experience to be a total bust, but they're quite into it!


KID QUOTES:
(a few one-liners...)

Nora: "Who was a cuter baby? Stuey or me?"


Stuey: "You is the best mommy in the whole u-nee-a-verse." (He says this to me about 20 times a day!)


Stuey: We served sheep burgers for dinner. Sheep that Patrick shot last year. Stuey sat down to eat and was not excited about eating the burger. I said, "Stuey, this is meat that daddy shot." Stuey gasped with excitement and said, "Daddy shot this?". He then proceeded to excitedly eat the burger. And he said, "Thank you daddy for shooting this sheep!" It mattered a lot to him where the meat came from!


And just a few pics that were on my camera phone from our trip to Maine...

Zoya

Back to Cool Kodiak

Maine was a good time but it sure has been nice to get back to the cool temperatures of Kodiak Island.  When we got off the plane and it was raining and 50 degrees I almost cried with happiness.

Yesterday I had to work on a Sunday because there was a cruise ship in town, and a man from the cruise ship asked me how we survived the winters here on Kodiak.  As he put it, 'what is there to do in the winter?'  I replied that I preferred winter to summer and that actually there is more to do on Kodiak in winter than there is in summer.  But then I told him that I had just been down in the lower 48, and I asked him how he managed to survive the summers down there.  The heat alone at 7AM in the gate between the plane and terminal at O'Hare in Chicago almost flattened me on the way home. How do people deal with such heat?

Anyway, It has been awesome to get back to cool temperatures, and best of all, we still have some pretty good skiing.  I was worried that the skiing would be done on close-to-town Pyramid Mountain by the time we got back from Maine.

Yesterday after work I ran into Steve and Sharon up on the Mountain and we skiied the North Bowl.  If you look closely in the photo below you can see Steve skylined at the top of the bowl.  Pretty good skiing, and it is now green everywhere down below.  Patrick

The ones that almost got away

We are back in Kodiak now, and in less than 2 hours I will be back at work.  I need another vacation!  Anyway, since we got back I looked back over the pictures and stitched together some panoramics.  I also found quite a few pictures that I really liked that we never posted on the blog.  So here they all are - the ones that almost got away so-to-speak.

In the one above I am giving Stuey a ride in a small kayak.  Flat calm and very HOT.  You can see the thunderclouds reflected on the pond surface.

Leona, Stuey and Zoya walk ahead up the trail towards the 'maiden's cross'.  More on the cross later, but the hike up through the woods was beautiful.  Everyone asked us if it is true that Maine is a lot like Kodiak.  And it is - but Alaska does not have the diversity of decidious trees.  Living on Kodiak one of the things I miss most about Maine is the walks through the woods - especially when the leaves are turning color.

Finally done with the drive down from Maine!  We are at Logan airport in Boston with the Boston skyline in the distance.  All that is left of the trip is the flight home.  This went fairly easily with both kids plugged into their digiplayers.  Both even napped from Boston to Chicago.

A view of a stream under the trees during our hike up to the Maiden's cross.  This is a grove of hemlock trees.  I slowed the shutter speed on purpose to make the running water look like milk.

Here we are at Polly and John's place on the lake.  The kids are in bed and it is time to relax while the sun sets.  I thought it was funny that everybody plugged into their computers while the sun set slowly in all its glory.

This is the Maiden's Cross above Lake Megunticook.  At this spot in 1864 a girl named Elanora French fell off the cliff and died while chasing her wind-blown hat.  Quite a dramatic spot.  The similarities between Elanora's name with that of Leona and Nora spooked us a bit.

Sunset from the porch of Polly and John's deck.  I got off the computer just long enough to catch it as it set.

On a rainy we drove up Mount Battie above Camden Maine.  There is a little tower up there and a plaque with a poem written by Edna St Vincent Millet on the spot.  We thought it was funny driving our HUGE car up the mountain rather than walking.  We went and ate at Dunkin Doughnuts next.  Horrors!  Ugly Americans eating and driving their big gas guzzler around while on vacation.

Nora is actually very sad in this picture.  While Stuey is ecstatic as he gets to drive.  Soon after this picture was taken Stuey was the unhappy one and Nora happy when they switched places to drive.  Why is it so difficult to get both kids happy at once while on vacation?  Patrick

The Tennis Court "Situation"

Near Patrick’s moms house there is a tennis court and one day Leona and I decided to try our hand at some tennis. Neither of us have much experience but figured it would be fun to just hit the ball back and forth.

As we were playing, I noticed how the court was covered in a thick layer of dirt. It looked as if it hadn’t been swept in years. On the side of the court, I saw 2 large brooms hanging, and figured that people just hadn’t had a chance to sweep it lately. So I suggested to Leona, “How about we sweep part of the court today? It should help the ball bounce even better!” Plus, I figured it was all we could do to try to leave the court a little better than we found it.

We grabbed the broom and began the arduous process of sweeping the court. The day was hot and sweat poured off of us. We got to the point where there was  a huge stack of dirt that I wasn’t sure what to do with. There wasn’t a dustpan in sight, so I grabbed a garbage pan lid and began scooping the dirt with my hand into the lid.

That when Patrick discovered us. He was horrified.

“What are you doing?” He exclaimed. He had his hands slightly in the air with exasperation.

“What do you mean?” I replied. “We’re trying to make the court cleaner!”

“This is a clay court! There is supposed to be a layer of dirt on it!” Patrick explained.

He was in disbelief. How could we be sweeping up this essential dirt? I was in disbelief. How could playing tennis on a court with dirt be better than the smooth surface underneath?

Patrick then explained that it was a clay tennis court. It is supposed to have a layer of dirt on it. This is better on peoples joints, evidently. It is an older style of court. The brooms are there to smooth the dirt back out when you are done playing. Leona thought it was like a large Zen Garden…raking this dirt around!

It was then that Patrick began the process of dirt redistribution. He had serious sweat pouring off of him, as it was a big task with the large broom. And he knew how the final  product should look. Nora and I helped sweet the line off with the line sweeper gadget. Very fun. And Stuey had 1:1 ball hitting lessons with Leona on the side.

Patrick was very serious about getting our mess cleaned up as soon as possible, as he explained, “We don’t want the serious tennis people to come down and see this! They would be so bummed to see what you had done!” Fortunately no one saw the “damage” and we returned the court to good shape when we left.

When I think back to that afternoon, I get a good chuckle-the whole scene of Leona and I trying to sweep up so much dirt that was supposed to be there!! Our intentions were good!

Watch out Williams sisters! Here comes Leona and Zoya!

Nora doing the line sweeping...

Patrick repairing the damage before  irate tennis players discovered the mess...

On the sidelines Leona gave Stuey a tennis lesson!

Alls well that ends well!

Zoya

Returning Home

(Above, Stuey with his namesake, Stewart. Patrick and Stewart are long time childhood friends with lots of great North Haven memories! It worked out so well that we were able to visit with him on North Haven during this trip!)

After some teary good byes and hugs, we drove on the ferry and began our trip home.  The day was bright and sunny and the boat passed by Granny Coco and Grandpa Georges houses in the Thoroughfare.  I found leaving very sad; I like North Haven Island and the times that we enjoy with family when we are there.  I sat in the back of our rental car and cried.

I am 36 and I have been going to North Haven with Patrick and his family for almost 12 years…a 1/3 of my life.  North Haven  is a place where the memories such as taking midnight rowing trips, barbeques on the beach, watching the sailboats pass through the thoroughfare are all becoming part of who I am.  There is a familiarity and comfort which takes time to happen.  Now the kids are to an age where they will remember their visits with Granny Coco and Grandpa George.  

Just as I remember learning hot to do somersaults on the lawn with my grandpa, helping shuck peas with my grandma and running in the water sprinkler at their house in New Rochelle, NY…Nora and Stuey are at an age where they may start having similar memories.

This occurred to me when we came up the trail at night after our rowboat ride. The firelies  were flickering away in the meadow. I see fireflies so rarely, but it triggered a visceral childhood memory response. I remembered chasing fireflies on the lawn at my grandparents house and what a novelty it was to capture them in a jar. For this Kodiak born and bred girl, fireflies are still exciting to me!

Nora and Stuey playing dress-up with Leona's clothes and shower cap!!

A view of family guest house during our moon-lit boat ride.

Below, Patrick with the fire pit. It was so fun to be part of the clam/mussel bake! This is something Patrick has been excited to do for the months proceeding our trip. It ended up being such a fun adventure of local food and swimming off the dock!

When we were jumping off the rocks of Lake Megunticook, I called to Stuey to tell him it was time to leave. Stuey cried a bit with sadness. An older man who had been sitting behind me the entire time said, 'Its not about what you're leaving, but where you're going to. Make it exciting to him by talking of where you're going to, instead of what you have to leave'. I liked this advice and am taking his advice to heart during our departure from the East.   

We are returning to Alaska.   

Zoya

Gathering mussels and enjoying Lobsters on the 4th

 Fourth of July festivities started last night with a motorboat ride to check out the rising moon. The waters were calm and we visited Polly, John and their boys where they were staying for the night.

 Later in the evening, we ventured out in a rowboat for a moonlight trip. During the ride, we saw fireworks exploding. Patrick, Stewart and myself took turns rowing. It was fun to be on the water in the rowboat...we felt stealth-like.

 This morning the day started with Low Tide at 6 am to gather mussels for a cook-out. There were lots of the mollusks on the pillars which make up the dock at the house.

Then at noon, Patrick created a fire pit in the rocks on the edge of the tide line. He made a bed of coals, wood and arranged rocks which would become hot for cooking. Patrick put the mussels on the grill as an appetizer and we ate them plain and right out of the shell. They were simply delicious!! Here George enjoys some mussels on the dock. 

We all gathered, enjoyed sausages and hotdogs and the fire burned away. 

Then it was time to cook the lobsters. Patrick  put the lobsters on the coals, and promptly covered them with seaweed. The seaweed steamed, the lobsters wiggled for a brief time and were then quiet. 

 About 20 minutes later the lobsters were perfectly cooked and everyone shucked them on the deck.

 The group scene on the dock

 ....and in the boathouse!

The afternoon was hot! Even without the sun, the air was a bit muggy. Time for a swim! Here Polly dives in while Sam prepares to go in and Stuey contemplates it all...

 Dessert on the hill...double stuff Oreos! Yum!!

Stuey wanted so badly to join the other kids, but was scared. 

The BEFORE shot...

 and AFTER!!

Zoya

Granny CoCo & Grandpa George

We're in North Haven, Maine now, which is an island off the coast of Rockport. Enjoying time with Patrick's mom (who recently became Granny "Coco" to the kids) and stepdad George. Coco is the name of one of Emmy's dogs and after discussion with her, she thought it would help distinguish her from the other grandmothers in Nora and Stuey's life.

Last night Nora, Stuey and Emmy shucked peas on the deck for an hour.

And Leona made a rhubarb/strawberry pie in the kitchen. She let Nora help with the dough!

Yesterday we took a walk out a long point and on our way admired this HUGE oak tree.

For dinner last night we enjoyed the shucked peas together and the kids raced around outside while we waited for the pies to cook.

Pea shucking in progress....

Nora with Coco in Rockport

Nora and Coco on the way to the ferry for North Haven.

You would think from these pictures that vacation is blissful. But frankly, its definitely had its share of stress. The kids haven't playing well together and Nora has had a hard time sleeping and finding things to do on her own. It is exhausting and makes me rethink taking kids on vacation. i don't know what I'm doing "wrong"...I just know that whining kids are a serious drain.

Zoya