Camping Through the Summer

I was not looking forward to spending this past summer in Alaska. Summer in Minnesota is what our family has always done and I wasn't very happy about giving that up. C.O. and I looked at the average yearly temperature in Soldotna versus the average temperature in Minnesota and the statistics were depressing. Cool and wet and gray is the norm but we had no choice but to stay. Work and finances determined that. 

But thankfully it turns out we had a pretty great summer. Long time locals kept saying summers like this only come around once every ten years. While I don't like the sounds of that, I was happy we were here to enjoy one of those perfect Kenai Peninsula summers. Warm temperatures, clear skies and just enough rain when we needed it suited me just fine. And I was thankful for each day.



As I mentioned in an earlier post, C.O. worked 80 plus hour weeks for most of the summer. I wish it wasn't the case but the kids and I made the best of it. I decided to take advantage of the weather and take the kids on as many camping adventures as I could manage.



I was first inspired to take the kids camping when we joined in on a Memorial Day camping trip with a bunch of families from our church. Camping with a group of people is a blast. I didn't have to worry about the kids, the older ones looked out for the younger ones and they were constantly entertained so I was free to relax. Other people did most of the cooking as well. I just talked and stared at the fire for a couple days. Perfect. (This was the complete opposite of our future camping trips when I had to watch the kids, cook and pitch the tent on my own.)



The first solo camping trip was at Johnson Lake State Park. We were introduced to this spot by our friends Mollie and Trevor from Anchorage. Staying right on the lake had some advantages. For Harold the advantage was being able to fish practically from your front (tent) door.



Harold is an absolute fishing fanatic. I tried to explain to him that I would first have to set up the tent and get dinner going before we could do any fishing. I thought he understood the situation but as soon as we pulled in, Harold grabbed his pole and ran to the water's edge. Thankfully there were other adults around that were willing to help Harold out when I was busy or just plain unsure of what to do with hooks, sinkers, spinner, fire balls and all that other stuff I don't know much about.



Our usual routine was to pack up the car (which took all day), drive to the campground and spend the first night on our own. C.O. would work a crazy long day so that the following day he could get off around dinner time and at least spend the evening with us. I was thankful for even those few hours together.

A quick Johnson Lake story that must be told here. I was taking a morning walk around the lake with the kids. Tizita's thing at the time was to ask me, "Who's that?"for everyone we saw. So I told her to just ask people their name. A couple pulled up in their motorhome near the lake to do a little fishing. Tizita asked the lady, "What's your name?" She said, "Arlene, what's your's?." Arlene then introduced us ot her husband Aimo. I told her that Aimo sure sounded like a Finnish name and that my maiden name was Lindula. While I was busy lamenting the loss of my beautiful Finnish name after I got married she said to me, "As in Cindy Lindula?" My brain was totally confused for a moment or two or ten. Turns out Arlene lives in Northern Minnesota, knows a bunch of my family and works with my mom at the Cherry Greenhouse! It's a small world after all. Now Arlene and I are friends on Facebook. The End Moral of the Story: Don't be afraid to talk to strangers.



In my opinion, the most beautiful place we stayed was at Captain Cook State Park north of Kenai about 30 miles. It is situated right on Cook Inlet. You can kind of make out the water from the above photo. Our campsite was basically on the bluff at the edge of the Inlet. Amazing views, for sure but it was also a little stressful trying to keep the kids within sight while I set up camp. I trust Harold but still worry about Tizita getting herself in a scary situation.



Exploring the beach was the best part of Captain Cook State Park. We had fun climbing on rocks, finding pretty rocks and acting silly. Tizita does her best to keep up with her older brother. She fell a few times and got hurt but there's just no stopping her. She is determined to do everything just like Harold!



We changed things up a bit when I signed the three of us up for family camp at Solid Rock Bible Camp just down the road from us. This was fun because we were camping but our food and entertainment was provided by the camp staff.




It was a little weird camping so close to home. I realized it was only 7 minutes from our campsite to our house's front door. So I went home each day to give Tizita a nap and to shower. Then went back for more activities and slept in the tent on the ground. Crazy but it worked.




There were a ton of fun activities at Solid Rock. Mostly the usual camp things, archery, riflery, swimming, kayaking, a game room, crafts etc. But the second day was the main event with a mini "fair". There were carnival games, cotton candy, fry bread, a dunk tank, carriage rides and pony rides.

We met a bunch of neat families and made many new friends. I would love to do it again someday, maybe C.O. could even join us.

A lot of people asked if I was scared taking the kids camping by myself. I don't know if they meant that I might be scared of bears or bad guys or what but I wasn't scared of any of that. The campgrounds were full of people so I really wasn't worried. Mutiny from my children was probably the scariest possibility of all. But they're still with me and enjoyed their summer experiences so I'd call this adventure a success.

~AnnMarie

September Lilacs

 I was a little disappointed this spring when our lilac bush out back barely bloomed. It got a few blossoms here and there but it was all in all pretty sad compared to the Minnesota lilac bushes I'm used to seeing. Since it was our first spring here I wasn't sure what to expect but I thought maybe this was just another plant not really cut out for cool Alaskan weather.



About a week ago, I noticed that the lilac tree had a few blossoms on it. What a sweet, unexpected surprise! Now it's blooming like crazy and oddly enough fall colors are in full swing as well. I like this photo because it shows a lilac bloom with the brown and yellow leaves on the very same tree. It's unusual but I'll take it as one last sweet reminder of warm weather before winter sets in.

I ran across a recipe for lilac scones over at Kitchen Vignettes recently. Though all the blooms hadn't opened fully, C.O. and I decided to harvest a cup full of lilacs to try out this recipe. Since it had frosted the night before we were nervous the flowers wouldn't last another day. Turns out we were wrong. It's three days later and the lilac bush looks prettier than ever. 



I'm curious what will happen next year with my seasonally confused lilac bush.

~AnnMarie

Whittier is a Little Weird

This spring C.O. found a job working for a fish processing plant in Kenai. Summer is a time of abundant fish around here so the plant operates around the clock. Which meant C.O. had to work a crazy amount of hours. Honestly, we hardly saw him this summer. He worked 7 days a week, 12-16 hour days.

A few times, C.O. even had to travel for work. His skills were needed on a boat anchored near Whittier, about a two and a half hour drive from Soldotna. Before his second trip to Whittier, I figured we would drive him down so we could spend at least a couple hours together as a family. It also gave the kids and I a chance to explore a new part of Alaska.

I hate to be so blunt and possibly offensive to the residents of Whittier, but it's true, this town is just plain weird. There's a book about Whittier that calls it "the strangest town in Alaska." So, it's not just me folks.

The first odd thing about Whittier is the tunnel. The only road to Whittier passes through a two mile long tunnel which is wide enough for a single lane of traffic. People plan their comings and goings based on the time traffic is scheduled to go their direction. Before the year 2000, travelers had to drive their car on a train that would then bring vehicles through the tunnel. So, it's a little more convenient today than it was 13 years ago.

The Rudstrom station wagon waiting to drive through the second longest tunnel in North America.

Glaciers peek out along the highway as you drive toward Whittier. 

This one can be seen as you wait to enter the tunnel.

We made a big deal to the kids about how an entire mountain was over our head as we were driving along.

As soon as we arrived in town we drove straight to the docks to drop C.O. off. C.O. boarded the tender that took him two hours beyond Whittier to the Portage Bay, the barge in need of some repairs.

Now the kids and I were on our own . . . again . . . like it was nearly every single day this summer. (Can you tell yet that I was weary of C.O.'s work schedule?)

We walked around the tiny town to see what Whittier had to offer. It's a small place, a half a day is all you need to see it all, unless you sign up for a cruise or kayak tour of the harbor. Other than the scenery being spectacular, Whittier also has an interesting history with it's roll in WWII. If you care to read more about go here and here.

The strangest thing about this fishing town is that 90% of the population lives in one apartment building. That's right, this building houses the police officer, the drug dealer, the mayor, the school teachers, the preacher, and most everyone else. I thought the dynamics of a small village could be tough. Imagine living here.

Whittier is only a couple hour drive from Anchorage so quite  a few people come down to do some fishing and tour buses stop in daily during the summer months.

After one night in town, it was back through the tunnel to start the drive home. A day later C.O. was able to catch a ride with in a semi-truck full of fish totes back to the plant in Kenai.

Now that summer is done, he's working a regular schedule and we're very happy to have him back.

~AnnMarie

Lordy, Lordy My Man is Forty (and One Month)

In June we celebrated a couple of big milestones. C.O. turned forty on June 2nd and we "celebrated" our tenth wedding anniversary on June 21st. C.O.'s new job at Snug Harbor Seafoods got in the way of doing anything special for our anniversary but at least he was able to take his birthday off. I suggested we postpone our anniversary celebration for 10.5 years of marriage. Anyway let's not talk about that for too long or I get kind of sad.

C.O.'s first gift of the day was a truck from Harold that he found at a garage sale. The truck was appropriately named "Time Flys." I wonder if the makers realized they spelled flies wrong?

Our first stop was at Louie's in Kenai for breakfast. They have a lot of dead animals hanging on the walls making it feel very Alaskan I guess. The waitress found out it was his birthday so she added a candle to his toast. Sadly it went out before I took the photo making this moment seem a lot less birthday-ish.

 

Then came the best part of the day, we dropped the kids off with our friends the Millers. As much as we love our kids, it's good to escape from them once in a while and today was a perfect excuse to do just that.

 

Then the two of us drove south to spend the day in beautiful Homer.

We started with one of C.O.'s favorite past times, looking at boats down on the harbor followed by a walk along the Homer Spit exploring shops and taking in the views.

We had a late lunch at the Mermaid Cafe, an adorable little place that is a cafe, bookstore and bed and breakfast. I want you to notice two things about this photo: the amazing looking food AND all that sunshine. Sunshine is not such a common thing in Homer so it's deserves to be appreciated.

  

The used book store had an extensive collection of nautical books, another of C.O.'s favorite things. The Mermaid won us over with all her charms. Maybe this is where we'll stay for our 10.5 wedding anniversary.

The day went quickly but it was relaxed and memorable. I'm thankful for that time we spent together especially now. Since June 2nd C.O. as worked every single day and we are starting to miss him in a big way. It'll be a relief in August when he can work a regular forty hour week and spend weekends at home. 

Happy 40th to my hard working, super talented, wonderful husband. 

~AnnMarie

Clam Digging: A Real Alaskan Field Trip

Harold's kindergarten class took part in a unique field trip this spring. His very brave teacher took the kids to a nearby beach to dig for clams. Wow, were they into it! And why wouldn't they be? "O.K. kids, here's some shovels, go dig in the mud and look for buried treasure." What kid wouldn't be excited? C.O. was one of the parent volunteers for this class trip and had the chance to learn a little more about this local past time.

So what's involved in clamming? 

First find a muddy beach, grab a shovel and start walking.

When you see a small dimple in the mud start shoveling. That's your clue as to where a clam dug himself a hole.

Then reach down in that hole, don't be shy now, and pull yourself out a clam.

Ta-Da!

The kids went home with a couple clams each. I don't know what the other families did with their's but this mama wasn't quite prepared to make clams for dinner. So ours eventually made their way into the trash can. Harold really wanted one for a pet but we finally convinced him they wouldn't make the best companions.

Oh and there was a little tag-along on this adventure. 

At the end of the day, the entire crew warmed up with a fire and marshmallows on the beach.

Mrs. Vasilie's 2013 kindergarten class.

(Harold is hiding in the middle of the three kids standing in the back.)

We were shopping the other day and Harold saw a clam gun for sale. He walked up to it excitedly and asked if we could buy one. Then earlier this week as we drove along the Homer spit Harold noticed the tide was out leaving the mud flats exposed. Harold wistfully said it looked like a great place to find clams. I think he's caught the bug. With every new experience we have in this great state, Harold proves that he is an Alaskan boy through and through.

~AnnMarie

Shifting Gears

This story begins in September of 1985. This was the year that would set the stage for the rest of my life (Dramatic hey?), it was the year I started kindergarten.  Since that fall, I have spent most of my days involved in education in one way or another. My experience morphed from elementary school to high school to college with an opportunity to studying abroad to a teaching practicum and finally into being a teacher myself. School has been my life for as long as I can remember.

Despite the fact that I enjoy my job, it has been a difficult year for me as a working mom. I feel like nearly all of my creative energy goes into my students and very little is left for my children. I miss out on spending week days with Tizita, volunteering in Harold's class or doing all those fun projects I see on Pinterest. ;) When it was just Harold at home, I felt like I could manage everything and feel good about my life as a working mom. Having a second child has changed that. Now I mostly just feel exhausted. I know that stay at home moms are tired as well but holding down a full time job compounds the struggle of being a parent.

C.O. has done a fantastic job the past few years of managing our household, being the primary caregiver, running his own business and working various jobs on the side.  Meanwhile, my job has provided a steady income with health insurance, a retirement plan and all that good stuff but best of all it allowed us to have summer vacation. Every year we've had two and a half months off together as a family. How many families can say that? I will forever be thankful for those summers at the cabin, traveling and spending time with our friends and family in Minnesota. But our plans and lifestyle are always evolving. This winter, C.O. and I decided it was time to switch rolls. I will temporarily be putting my career on hold and C.O. is looking for full time employment, ideally in the field of engineering.

C.O. is actively searching for a job and I am just two weeks away from living the new dream. I still have professional goals I'd like to pursue in education and I plan to go back into teaching sometime in the not too distant future. In the meantime, I will continue on with this story of being active in the school setting but this time as a "parent volunteer".

I think I will miss teaching but then I take a look at these two . . .

and I know we are making the right decision.

~AnnMarie

St. Patrick's Day from the Air (or Turning Green for the Holiday)

We had an offer to go flying with our friend Andy on St. Patrick's Day. It is something we've been wanting to do since we first moved here so we didn't hesitate to accept. 

We met Andy early this Fall. His son is Harold's friend and classmate. Once upon a time Andy worked as a pilot in the Bering Straits both for Hageland Aviation and Bering Air. This of course put him in the "hey, you're all right" category but he has since moved into the "good friend" category.

Leaning on the expert flier for support. 

Our tour started at the Soldotna Airport where that pretty red plane lives (isn't is nice to see a plane that isn't primarily white?). We flew over Tustumena Lake, circled around toward Kenai and back into Soldotna. On the way back Andy flew low over our house which was exciting for Harold (and maybe his mom too). 

We live in a pretty amazing place. I never tire of seeing mountains and glaciers in the distance as we drive from place to place. Taking it in from above on a perfectly sunny day is even more inspiring.

I normally don't get motion sickness on flights, but I guess that's the case on flights that take a relatively straight path. Midway through this journey, I started feeling pretty um . . . green. It could be because of the amount of turning or because I was trying to take photos while wrangling in an active two year old. Either way, it was all I could do to hold it together until we landed. It turns out my pride is more powerful than my queasy stomach and I made it home without loosing it completely. 

Many thanks to Andy for the ride. I hope you all had a very green St. Patrick's Day! 

~AnnMarie

Sometimes You've Got to Get Away

I was feeling itchy for a change of scenery just before the weekend of my birthday. So I called up a hotel in Anchorage and booked a room for a couple of nights as a birthday present to myself and the family. The kids' number one priority was to have a place to swim. Eat, swim, sleep and veg out in front of the TV was all we planned to do. 

Pool Time

Tizita's time in lakes and pools has been limited compared to fish-boy Harold. She was a bit nervous of the water at first but it wasn't long until she was pestering us just as much as Harold to "swim . . . water". She also got very brave about jumping off the side of the pool into daddy's arms.

If only we all would have the joie de vivre that this girl has hey? 

Despite our best efforts of doing as little as possible, the timing of our trip coincided with Fur Rondy, the events leading up to the start of the Iditarod. Our hotel was conveniently located within walking distance of the downtown events and right next to the snow sculpture competition. We could watch the sculptures take form from our hotel window!

Snow Sculptures

The Carnival

Just a few block from our hotel was a carnival midway. The glowing lights and spinning rides were also visible from our hotel. Harold could hardly wait to go on a ride, play a game and eat cotton candy. We crossed everything off his list.

I associate carnivals with hot and humid August-type weather, not cold and snow. But in Alaska, everyone is just a little tougher than your average American. Any weather is good weather for having fun. So if the carnival is in town, you best bundle up and enjoy it!

Family Bonding

The weekend was every thing we hoped it would be. It was good for us to do a little less running around . . . 

and whole lot more of this.

Homeward Bound

The ride home was nice and peaceful.

~AnnMarie