Thursday, March 11, 2010

In like a Lion!

Hooray! Homer finally has SNOW! We have just gotten little skiffs of snow all winter and most of February was warm, we had days in the mid-40's! We were thinking that spring might be early this year. Then March rolled in like a lion! I was trying to explain to Alectra and Alexis about the saying and they weren't understanding. Then we had a full-on blizzard for three days and Alectra said, "Mom. I think March came in like a LION!" I had to agree. This is the way Alaskan kids celebrate snow! They were so excited to have a "real" snow they ran out the door in shorts and t-shirts to play. We ended up getting over four feet in the last week, public school was canceled for two days (only the fourth snow day in the 17 years I've been here), and the Sterling Highway is still closed because of avalanches. The stores are all out of milk. It is pretty funny. We did a lot of reading and playing games inside with the wind howling at 40 mph. Alectra and Alexis have discovered the joy of small chapter books, and it's always more fun to read with a Buddy.For our anniversary Warren took me to the NRA banquet. Homer's is the second largest in Alaska and 23rd in the nation. We just went for fun and didn't take any money for the auctions or raffles. They had a free ladies drawing and gave all the women a ticket. I couldn't believe it when they called all the numbers on my ticket! I won the all-pink combo, a pink pump BB gun, a pink tactical .22, a pink carrying case, pink shooting bag, pink travel bag, a pink hat and a camo purse from NOMAR. My girls were thrilled! 'MOM, it's ALL pink!"
After that excitement, Warren and I got back to our seat and it was time for a game of "Heads or Tails". The Auctioneer flips a coin and which ever side was up got to keep playing. Heads was putting both hands on your head or tails was both hands in your back pockets. I was out the first round. Warren was in for Tails, Tails, Tails, Heads, Heads, and by then it was down to just 8 or 9 people and they all had to go stand up in front. The next call was Tails and Warren was still in, just a granny, a little kid and him for the last call. Warren closed his eyes and picked Heads. When he looked the granny and kid were both Tails. Sure enough, it fell Heads! Warren won a stainless Marlin .22 semi-auto! Happy 17th Anniversary Honey!

My ankle is doing better every day. I've been walking to the school room everyday and the uneven snow does a great job stretching it. It is still very stiff but the Dr. says I'll be able to stretch it out eventually. The kids are great at reminding me to walk without limping and to do my stretches every day. It still swells a lot by the end of the day.

We have 8 weeks of school left and the kids are counting down! We have to be done in time for fishing in May. The baby chicks and the bees are supposed to be coming by the end of May and we need to build a chicken coop and some bird houses for the swallows before then. I'm hoping to entice lots of swallows to hang around so they will take care of the swarms of mosquitoes. We'll try building a couple bat houses as well.

Swimming Lessons

The last two weeks of February the girls had swimming lessons. They loved every minute and were sad when they ended. The best part was being there with good friends and making new ones. Emerald was working on speed, form, and a few different strokes. Her group spends the entire hour swimming from side to side and I had a hard time catching her holding still long enough for a picture. She likes to be first and fastest.Alectra and Alexis can swim under water and are just starting to learn some strokes. Here is Alexis practicing her kicks.Alectra is practicing her floating.My girls always wear a swim cap. It keeps their hair out of their faces and the chlorine from making it like rotten straw. I'm sure glad they think the caps look cool. Good listening, Alexis!"Look Mom! I can swim!" yells Alectra.
Jayce has done the top group three times and was not interested in doing it again. He spent the time studying for a Hunter Safety Class so he can shoot his own moose this fall.

The past month!

Emerald's friend Katie came over for Valentine's Day and they made cookies. Everyone was very sticky and sweet but the cookies looked great and tasted yummy.What a silly kitty we have! She loves her Jayce and a nice warm house to curl up in. She sleeps so hard she gets totally limp, Warren picks her up by her legs and she doesn't wake up.Here is another picture of the new stove, check out the green enamel! It is nice to watch the fire through the glass in the front. It also doesn't make big poof's of smoke and sparks, I can sleep without worrying about it setting the house on fire.For my anniversary I decided I needed new dishes. I only have 4 bowls that match and never enough dessert plates. I've been watching the Penny's sale's for the last couple year and this year I got the set I wanted, $100 for 12 place settings. They are so pretty! You are all invited to dinner. Warren and Jayce went to a Gun Raffle and we girls stayed home and had a girls night in. I made a candle light dinner with pink lemonade and ice cream for dessert. Then we watched Barbie in Swan Lake. So Fun! The guys came home without a gun. :-(