Skating Show, No Mustache and a Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!! We are teaching the kids about the early church and saying "He is risen!" Then responding "He is risen indeed".. Clay can be found randomly saying "Hey!! MOMMY!! He is risen". It seemed like a good idea at the time... Anyway, we've had a good day. Lots of (too much) yummy food, easter eggs and church. I'm still not used to Easter morning being 30 degrees...but the snow is almost gone and green grass is not far behind.

Kara just finished up a short series of ice skating lessons and, how awesome, the ice skating rink decided that the beginners should skate in their end-of-the-season show.. SO, Kara and Ainsley were disco ducks in their 60 second on-ice debut. I'm happy to report that neither one of them crashed so it was deemed successful. Kara is dying to take ice skating lessons again so I guess she'll go again later in the summer when Clay goes to his "learn to play hockey" lessons. I still kind of have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that we live in Alaska and my kids are most interested in the winter sports :) Obviously, I secretly love it!! Life really is like a box of chocolates...

I'll finish up this post with some pictures of Clayton, freshly shorn. He lost the mustache on 4/1...before the stupid contest or whatever it was even took place. But he held onto it through the entire month of March so I guess that was his goal. In the words of my friend Corby.. "I'm glad mustache March is over. Now I can be attracted to my husband again". IDK, the mustache was more than just a little creepy.. and it made Clayton look even older than he is.

March 31, 2010

April 1, 2010

As I close this post, I am listening to the sounds of an Easter hangover.. two kids short on sleep, heavy on sugar and dueling with a broom handle and a snow shoe. This one is going to leave a mark....

California!.. and that darn mustache

Keeping with the theme of mustache March, I would be remiss if I didn't post a new picture of the beastly thing. Here you go. We only have 2 days left. Clayton is weirdly proud of it... Figures.

Apart from the mustache, we (I) had a big weekend. I went to California to surprise my mom at her 60th Birthday Extravaganza at Disneyland. She had planned this trip about a month or so ago, basically right after we were in AZ. I didn't think there was any way I could go.. it's sort of pricey to fly down to the lower-48.. Anyway, long story short, Clayton approved the transaction and I bought a ticket. AND kept it all a surprise. I didn't want to implicate anyone else to spoil the surprise, so we kept it on the down low.. My kids knew and they weren't amused, but they also were able to keep it quiet. Suffice it to say, it is a vacation in itself to travel alone these days.. add on a super fun, fast and furious 3 days at DLand, and it was a super weekend. My mom was very surprised, to say the least! And it was an added bonus to see my aunts, uncle, cousins, siblings and nephews on top. We had such a good time. Naturally, actually getting out of town wasn't without some bonus drama (Clay-Clay getting sick on Wednesday.. Clayton working a 24hr alert shift on Thursday (thanks Kamdon, again, for watching the kids overnight)..but I made it. And I made it home safely and without incident. (However, when did I become a nervous flyer?? I HATE those people and somehow, I am joining their ranks..must get some medicine for that. The turbulence is my downfall.. hardy, har-har)

I'm not too sure what Clayton and the kids did.. I know they tried to go to happy hour at our favorite place, Simon & Seaforts, but it was too packed so they went to Taco Bell instead. Needless to say, that did not sit well with Kara. She enjoys herself some fancy happy hour food. Speaking of Kara, she split her chin open riding her bike on Sunday. I came home to her with an enormous band-aid on her chin (not fancy). I guess that black ice got the best of her (again).. but no stitches!

OK, rambling post. Mainly I wanted to confess my trip to California and I wanted you all to share in the horror of the mustache. I'll post one more picture of it in all its glory before Clayton shaves it off.. I know you're anxiously awaiting already.

Mustache March

So we're about half-way through the drama of Mustache March. I think it's some fighter pilot tradition where they grow mustaches through March. And then there's some contest at the end, who has the most pervy mustache or something like that. I think Aunt Cindy said it best when she wrote on my facebook page "It's not 1985 and Tom Selleck is no longer handsome" or something to that effect. It was well-said, whatever it was :) As promised, here is a photo of Clayton's pet:

The kids' spring break ended up being a very fun week. Clayton took 2 days off and took the kids hiking/snowshoeing up Mt Magnificent. We've had a fair amount of new snow so it was fun for them (and fun for Mom to have a few minutes with a quiet house).

Kara, Clay and Ryan sledding in the front yard. Good times. It's all about the sled.

Random night at an Alaska Aces hockey game.. this is Clayton's squadron commander and squadron mascot, Fado, the bulldog, dropping the puck at the start of the game. We were wondering if Fado would christen the ice, if you know what I mean... he's not the best behaved doggie on the planet (what can you expect, though, really, being raised in a fighter squadron?!). He did everyone proud and we had a fun time at the game.

Hiking with the kids (Clayton).. Don't know why he would give Clay-Clay "Venom", much less take a picture of it...

Clearly this is a post-venom picture as Clay appears to have tackled Kara going down the mountain.

OBVIOUSLY, post-venom. Look at the look on poor Kara's face... really? An energy drink for a 4 yr old boy? Really?

All good things must come to an end.. School resumed on Monday. Clay tried to talk me out of going to school.. he wanted to sit in the car while I cross-country skied with a friend.. I told him he had to go to school. He was sad. I had a close call with a moose (3 times this week!!). Good times, folks, good times.

Alyeska!

We are off to a running start for Spring Break '10. We just returned from a quick trip down to Girdwood to ski Alyeska. We haven't skied as much this year (it doesn't seem like) as last year so we were excited to head down for an overnighter last night. Even better, our friends the Sutterfields, the Feuchts, and the McNeils were all down for the night as well. Sunday afternoon was the best skiing we've had since moving to Alaska.. it was clear skies, warm weather (20s) and lots of new snow. The skiing was so awesome, I didn't take a single picture :) Seriously! And we were so proud of Kara and Clay who immediately rode the tram to the top of the mountain and skied down blue runs all day long. Myself, I have bruises on my shins and the most sore calves in the history of these legs! I am, obviously, a horrible skier because I have sore calves.. everyone else says their quads get sore. NOT ME! I think it's from keeping a mini-snowplow going 90% of the time.. skiing with 2 kids is an adventure, for sure. I go in front, Clayton comes down behind and makes sure the mountain is Johnson-free before we get back on the lifts. We were thankful for safe skiing once again. Clayton even managed to get in some "hard core" runs w/Motor.. Good times!

We also managed to get in some swimming and dining with our friends.. the kids had a blast and so did we!! Monday we had planned to ski all day but we woke up to a blizzard. Literally. The mountain was closed except for a few runs so we decided to hang onto our lift tickets and just get home... I say this all the time.. But we are so thankful for our friends in Alaska. We've always had good friends in the places we've lived.. But for some reason, it seems like our friendships in Alaska have been extra special in that they all just happened right as we moved. They are obviously a gifts from God to us and I am so thankful.

Clay in front of a random sculpture in the hotel lobby.

Ainsley, Kara and Ariel in the hotel pool...

Clay and Hunter (aka the Jedi Master to Clay-Clay.. he absolutely adores Hunter and Hunter is so sweet to Clay and the other little guys even though he is almost 10!)

Clay-Clay and I waiting for Clayton to bring the car around..

Kara and Mommy (who is in need of some anti-wrinkle eye cream, apparently)

So this is what was taking so long.. Clayton said there was about 16" of new snow.. and he had to dig the car out.. at least that's his story and he's sticking to it!

Kara and Clay heading home... No, Clay didn't have a jacket. It was almost 40 which is a regular heat wave. Seriously.

Last, but certainly not least, a picture of April and Mustache March.. Yep, Clayton's giving in to the peer pressure of mustache March yet again. It is his idea to take pictures periodically to monitor the progression. Posting them on the blog is my idea. Revenge can indeed be sweet.

Hello, March! Have you seen February?

So I'm noticing that my blogging record is poor, at best!, so far this year.. I guess that means I haven't had a lot of drama to report? Maybe,?? Maybe not!! Take this morning, for instance. It started out relatively well (unless you count Clayton NOT shutting the bathroom door when he took his shower at 6:00. That light can be a killer.. I am very particular about dark bedrooms while it's still a possibility these days. I digress..). The kids and I were all dressed and ready to go with 15 minutes to spare, no small feat. I was debating putting on some water for tea-on-the-go when my phone rang. I answered and it was someone from Clayton's work.. hmm, what shall I call him that I won't be embarrassed for one of my Grandmothers to read??? (thinking to self: "hmmm, no that one won't work... um, oh, not that one either... for SURE not that one..") So I'll just go with "Moose Poop for Brains" or MPB, if you don't mind... So, it's MPB. At 8:30 AM. Looking for Clayton. Who has been gone to work for nearly 2 hours. MPB asks for Fokker (naturally). I manage to keep ALL TRACES OF IRRITATION out of my voice when I say, oh-so-pleasantly, "He's SOF this morning. He should be in the SOF tower"... all the while thinking "I know this because I saw the schedule.. You're a pilot, you have the same schedule.. LOOK AT IT!". SOOOO, MPB tells me "Well, I've tried him on his cell and he didn't answer (try telling me something I don't already know). And he's not at the SOF desk". So, I say to him in a less kindly voice "So are you telling me that Clayton didn't show up for work this morning?" And MPB says "No. He hasn't been to work yet." SO I SAY "Well, MPB, you have more ways for getting hold of him than I do. What do you suggest I do?" (meanwhile, I do believe I've adopted my more panicked-yet-trying-to-remain-calm voice.. which has NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER on dear MPB). Not surprisingly, he has nothing to say for himself so I hang up.... I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. .. We all know that Clayton NEVER answers his cell phone (not even sure why he has one) and I do not have any numbers for him at work.. (you don't have to believe that, but it doesn't make it any less true) The weather wasn't horrible but it was starting to snow so I'm picturing the car in a ditch... And as the seconds tick by, the scenarios in my brain get wilder. So what did I do? I'll tell you:

First, I called Kamdon who tried to assure me that if he was dead, the DPS would have already called. And that someone would have surely called if he hadn't shown up for his SOF tour. I wasn't feeling that rational so I went on to plan B.

What's that, you ask? I drove the highway to the base to see if his car had gone off the road.

(It hadn't)

Next step, done while driving, I called my super awesome cousin Monty, who happens to be an airfield manager at Elmendorf... He was taking a rank test so he couldn't answer right away.. but when he got my message he tracked Clayton down... in the SOF tower. Not only that, he confirmed that he had indeed been there all morning, took the AM brief on time. Amazing what can happen when one knows one's hind-quarters from a hole in the ground! (THANK YOU MONTY!)

Meanwhile, I'm late for my Bible study because I'm looking for cars in the ditch all the way in Anchorage.. But thankfully Clayton was alive and well, ON TIME AND PRESENT in the SOF tower unaware of all the drama (however, you can be sure that he's going to get an earful when he comes home tonight). It reminded me to be thankful for save travels...once again!

What is the moral of this story? Caller ID is there for a reason. Don't answer the phone in the morning, when you're on your way out the door, unless it's Kamdon saying she can't pick up the coffees before Bible Study. MPB can continue to spin his wheels looking for the needle in the haystack just like I always do. The other moral of the story is that I have got to relax! SERIOUSLY! I'm still not sure what exactly triggered the panic.. but it pretty much sucked :(

On an entirely different note, Kara's spring break starts tomorrow. We've got a quick overnighter planned to Girdwood. Should get some good skiing in. I may even take another lesson if I'm feeling daring enough. Other than that, there's nothing really on the menu for her week off. If anything really interesting happens, I'll be sure to post.

We're (the kids and I) really missing the AZ cousins!! Kara and Clay have both asked when they'll see their cousins again... anyone up for a last minute trip to AK for Spring Break?

Anatomy of a Homecoming

So Clayton actually came home yesterday... as scheduled, no delays. In fact, he was 15 minutes early!? I do believe we've used up all our good luck on this one TDY return, but we'll take it. I'm still smarting from my spar with the volcano last year :) Obviously, this month-ish TDY was broken up nicely by our time in AZ, but it is always nice to have Daddy home. We actually got to meet him at the jet yesterday afternoon (after thinking we were going to miss it since they were ahead of schedule). I had my camera but, naturally, the batteries were nearly kaput and I only got this one picture:

However, it's better than nothing and the kids were stoked to be right next to the jet while Clayton was shutting it down and unloading.

You may be wondering (well, I'm sure you aren't.. but you know I'm going to tell you anyway) how we get ready on the homefront end for a Daddy Return?! Well, this time was pretty typical. The last days are always the slowest so we scramble for things to keep us busy. I try to get the house clean (fruitless) and keep it clean (pointless). We had a full weekend leading up to The Return. On Friday night, Kamdon and the kids came over to watch movies and play. Just minutes before they arrived, I was putting some garbage in the garbage can and I sliced one of my fingers WIDE OPEN on a green chili can lid (at least chilies are acidic, therefore naturally antibiotic). I swear to you I saw the fascia underneath my skin. I couldn't get Jackie or Karen (my personal oncall surgeons) so I had to call Kamdon to stop at Walmart for some Liquid Stitch. OUCH! The cut is right above my knuckle so I knew there weren't going to be any stitches. Karen called later and confirmed my care plan. All's well that ends well :) Saturday was cleaning day and that night, Kamdon and I met a friend at the movie tavern. GOOD TIMES! Sunday, the longest day of all, we ended up spending some QT at McDonald's. We were the only loser moms there on a Sunday morning so I have no interesting observations for you :) We got the kids home in time for a short rest before jetting off to Elmendorf to find Daddy. I don't know why the last 2 days are the longest but they are!!! When you're on vacation, it's the opposite, the last 2 days FLY BY! Anyway, the blessings of safe flying and another safe homecoming are not lost on us and we thank God for the grace of safe returns once again.

I'll close with an action shot of Clay at his ice skating lessons.. He is thoroughly enjoying himself although I'm not sure how much actual progress is being made. He does seem to be spending less time on his hiney so I'll call that progress for now.

(that's Clay, in the upper left hand corner, on his hiney...)

We're currently taking reservations for the summer. Act now!!

To Arizona and Back...

Since we last chatted here on the family blog, we've been to Arizona and are back in the great state of Alaska once again. The kids and I met Clayton in Arizona for another fast and fabulous visit with the family. As my kids get bigger, they enjoy their cousins, aunts/uncles and grandparents more and more! This visit was no exception. My kids revel in their time with their cousins. That is no exaggeration. It doesn't matter if we're at PPP, the park or jumping on a trampoline, they're in hog heaven. Believe it or not, there is very little bickering. In fact, it's a regular love-fest most of the time. I love watching Kara with her cousins. She's a little bit of a celebrity with them and instead of capitalizing on it, she tries to find things that each cousin enjoys while spending a little one-on-one with them. It's really quite amazing to me as a mom.

Here are some bullet point highlights from this trip:

*Hiking South Mountain with the group. Clayton and I got engaged on South Mountain and we used to hike it all the time when we lived in AZ pre-AF days. It was fun to be back in that element with our own kids plus the cousins.

*Valentine's Day party. It is fun to watch the kids be creative and make messes. What I REALLY love is watching them gift one another. I think they kind of get how it's actually fun to give and receive.

*Visiting the Great Grandmothers in Duncan. Both of my grandmothers are still living and are in good health. My kids LOVE going to visit. They have their own Duncan Expectations like I did growing up... they want quarters from Great Grandma Jeanette at Gi'Mee's and they want pancakes from Gram Boyd.

*Sleepovers at the Filleman and Johnson cousin's casas. There was not an overabundance of sleep happening, early rising but good times (on my kids' end, at least..... may have to break out the kid Ambien for the next time).

*For Mommy: happy hours, Bachelor watching, Super Mario Bros. playing, shopping, almond tequila margarita drinking, ice cream eating, sitting-round-the-table-talking, and the Paisley Violin top the charts.

*For Daddy: seeing Mommy (ha ha, not really), bromances with his brother and brothers-in-law, gun shooting and eating decent Mexican food. (These are conjectures, but I'm pretty sure I'm spot-on here)

Naturally, I forgot my camera and I wasn't very diligent using my dad's this time. With all the Arizona highs, there are the "saying good-bye lows". This gets exponentially harder every time as well. It is especially hard for Kara. She was WAILING when she said good-bye to her aunts, uncles and cousins on Saturday night. It was heartbreaking, really. She and Eli were two sad little messes and it got the rest of us tearing up as well. SO HARD! But very sweet to see how much they love eachother.

Big thanks going out to the Arizona contingent. You guys put your lives on hold for us when we visit and I know it isn't always easy or convenient. Needless to say, it's not lost on us! We know how much work and time you put in pre-, during, and post-visit. Thank you!!! Thank you for loving on us and the kids. To our friends that we missed (once again) while in AZ, I continue to ask for forgiveness. I swear to you, our time in AZ is over before it begins, especially when it's for a week-long visit.

Our trip home was blissfully uneventful. The kids did great. The only glitch was me not thinking to medicate Kara before the flight.. her ears were REALLY hurting on both descents. Our flights were on time. Kamdon and the kids picked us up at the airport and we hit up Moose's Tooth for lunch. Two of our favorite Alaska things within an hour of being home! Can't do much better than that :)