Swimming Lessons

Carly's current session of swimming lessons wrapped up today. She's done a great job and I can tell her skills are really progressing. Isaac has also done a great job supporting his sister. Compared to the last session a few months ago, he's been so much calmer and obedient in the locker room at the pool and much more patient waiting during her lesson time. He even calmly stood next to me on the side of the pool the other day while I snapped these pictures. Not even once did he try to bolt off. I think it helped that I had just given him a cup of juice that he was giving the majority of his attention to.

The jumping in sequence

(for the most part) independently swimming to the other end of the pool
more of a dog paddle, really

the leader of the pack

nice form!

not necessarily enjoying putting her face in the water, but she does it without fussing

the "not so graceful" part of the pool

This was the first "posed face" I got when she came out of the pool.

So I told her I wanted a nice one for Grandma and this is what I got. So I guess this one is for all you Grandma's out there. Enjoy!

And remember, in the words of Dory the fish, "Just keep swimming!"

Signs of What's to Come

You know what this means don't you?The snow is on it's way. I'm not really sure when this dusting graced the mountain tops around the glacier, but I noticed it yesterday. I think it may have fallen overnight, but don't quote me. We had such a warm summer that I don't think there was much snow left on these mountaintops at all. So this is a bit of a difference from the usual summertime view that we've had.
And last night we had our first frost of the year. I covered all the veggies from the garden that were still producing. But I haven't gone out to check on them yet. Hopefully they survived.
I guess I better start checking to make sure we've got the right sizes in boots, hats, gloves, etc for everyone this winter. This winter I'm planning to finally get myself a pair of snow boots. For the past several years, I've just procrastinated too long in finding a pair and before I know it the size I need is gone. Last year, I waited to let Shawn give me a pair for Christmas, but the size ended up not be right for that brand, so by the time I took them back in early January to exchange, they didn't have the size I needed. So I've learned my lesson. This year, I'm getting a good pair of boots for myself and I'm not going to wait around too long. Some of you may wonder what I did without snow boots for the past three winters. Well, I just used warm socks with my xtra tough (rain) boots.


It was a bit nice to be out at the glacier yesterday, because it was so quiet. I believe the last cruise ship came in on Sunday. So there were hardly any people at the glacier yesterday, and they were taking down all the canopies that covered the benches where the tourists would wait for their bus pickups. Ahh, now the glacier is just "ours" for a few months. Sharing isn't so bad, but it's kind of nice when you don't have to share either.
It's just a matter of time before everything in this picture is snow covered. Just when is the question.

Grandpa Hart Jeans

The other day, I dressed Isaac in these overalls for the first time. He's had a pair identical to these before, but that was about 5 sizes ago. Anyway, when he was all dressed for the day, I told him he was wearing his carhartt jeans. Well, I'm sure it's partially because Shawn's grandparents had recently been here visiting, but Isaac responded back to me by saying,

"Grandpa Hart Jeans",

with an appropriate pat on the overalls pocket. Just cracked me up.

He remembered his name for these pants all day and mentioned it a few times out loud.
I'm sure you can tell by the various spots on these pants that I took this picture at the end of the day. And don't worry, I did graduate him out of this red shirt after I saw the picture. He is growing so fast. He turns 2 in just a few weeks. Hardly seems possible.

Party Pics

Shawn escorted me to the JPD awards banquet Saturday night. It was a semi-formal occasion with excellent food and some great conversations. And we splurged and got the optional pictures taken. Pretty good, but I think I look tired. I guess I should be after two weeks of single parenting while Shawn was out slaying Alaskan mammoth's (moose). And these are actually my least tired looking shots.
Other than being noted for 5 years with JPD, Shawn didn't formally win any awards. Obviously the commitee didn't ask me, because he would have been my pick for officer of the year.

We Survived!

Look, you can fit our whole family in the span of these antlers!

A happy (and thankfully successful) hunter home with is family. We're so glad to have him back home. And fortunately he doesn't have to go back to work right away--we still get to enjoy his regular weekend off.
Isaac and Carly are so excited about "the moose". After we took this picture, Isaac kept opening the door to the shop/garage so he could see the moose antlers. It was mandatory for him to tell the moose goodnight, not once but twice. It was a bit ridiculous, but cute so we gave in.
And we're so glad to have meat for the freezer! We were down to just a few packages left from last year's moose that I was semi-hoarding just in case his hunting group didn't get one. He took the hind and front quarters to a butcher, but he's planning on us doing the rest at home. So I guess I know what we'll be doing this weekend.
The four men in his group came home with two moose, two wolves, and one grizzly bear. Impressive, huh? You can check out Beth's blog for some more photos of the other animals. It sounds like they had a good time together. I know there are more stories to come in the next few days. And hopefully Shawn will hop on the blog and share his hunt story with all of bloglandia.

While the Cats Away, the Mice Will

SWIM!
We've been to the pool three times since Shawn has been gone. Mostly because of Carly's swimming lessons. But this time around Isaac and I have been getting in too and swimming during Carly's lessons. Isaac loves it. He is a water boy for sure.
Carly's doing pretty well with her lessons too. Although I'm not watching her as carefully this go around since I've been in the pool myself.

This is what they did the other day waiting for me to finish getting our stuff packed up. I couldn't resist grabbing the camera to catch this moment.

"Can any of you ladies tell me which way it is to the pool?

Mr. Mischief Strikes Again and Hunt News

I had intended to post about this yesterday, but I was just too tired. As you read, I'm sure you'll understand why.
So I took these pictures at about 11:30 AM on Tuesday. Isaac woke up around 7:30 AM. Here's a list of what he did during those 4 hours:
*colored with crayons on the glass of the window in the family room
*snuck outside with his boots while he was still in his pjs and turned on the back water hose (a total no-no)
*dunked three rolls of toilet paper (still rolled up on the tube) into the toilet
*broke the light bulb in a nightlight (fortunately it was just the filament that broke and not the glass)
*climbed up in the chair at my sewing machine and changed all my settings
*made his sister cry too many times to count

These pictures were taken while he was having some "chill time" on my bed while I was doing a few things in my room. I suppose the chill time was just as much for me as it was for him. As I'm sure you can imagine, I was a bit at my wits end. He also needed to be kept away from Carly for a while.
And just FYI, this second picture is his classic "going to sleep" pose. Bum straight up in the air.

In hunter news, Shawn left a message while I was out this morning. They had gone into town to get two wolf hides sealed at fish and game. Andy shot both of the wolves. But the word is that Shawn shot the moose the other day. Sounds like it was a 47 or 48 inch-er (which I believe is their antler span). So a tad bit on the small side. But that probably means the meat will be even more tasty. Yea, his first moose. I'm very glad for him.
And according to the SPOT locator they got another moose this evening! Yea! Not sure who got it, but they are supposed to return on Friday afternoon, so we'll know by then at the latest.

Snack and Show & Tell

On Monday, it was Carly's turn to take a snack for her preschool class. Since she is a BIG fan of bagels lately, I thought it would be fun to let her take mini bagels for her class. I was also glad that they were cheaper than I was expecting. $2 for a bag of 12! To make things easier for the teacher I decided to pre spread cream cheese on them the night before. We also through in some raisins as a second option and I left a few plain in case some kids had allergies or something.In addition to snack responsibilities, it also meant it was Carly's turn to do show and tell. At first she wanted to take a stuffed animal, but I was easily able to convince her to take her wooden frog from Thailand. When I told her that they're not made in America and probably none of her classmates had ever seen one, she was hooked on the idea of taking it.
After school on Monday, she said things had gone well. And she demonstrated to me what she had done in front of her class. And yes, it was her idea to wear her sunglasses for the picture. Maybe she feels a bit more glamourous in them.

Dredge Lakes

Today the rain held off and the sun came out, so a fellow hunting widow and I went out for a hike/walk. Sarah and I strapped on our little guys in our matching ergo carriers and hit the Dredge Lake trails. When we started, the lure of dry conditions got us out and about. But by the middle of our walk, the sun had come out in full force. Praise the Lord! He knew we needed some vitamin D or something! The only down side was that we were a bit rushed since I had to be back to pick up Carly from school. So the boys didn't have a chance to get down and throw rocks into the water. And the momma's ended up carrying them on our backs the whole way. Ugh! And they are big boys too.




Great weather, great walk/exercise, great conversation with a great friend. So my morning was...great!

Sometimes Mommas Have Pretty Good Ideas

On Thursday, the windy, rainy weather had me in the mood to hunker down on the couch for the evening. So I suggested to the kids that we have a movie night. Of course, they thought that was a great idea. And being that Isaac loves popcorn as much as he does, it was the obvious movie snack.
Last week, Shawn and I went to a movie, and we brought back the remnants of our bag of popcorn. So when Carly realized that our little movie night was going to be at home and not at the theater, she was quite bummed. I asked her why she wanted to go to the theater, and she said it was because she wanted popcorn in a bag. So I told her we could put some in a bag at home.
"But, Mom. I want it a pretty bag that's all decorated like your guy's was."
"Well, we can decorate our own bags, " I told her. Then I got out three paper lunch bags and encouraged her to get her markers and go to town.
She thought that was a pretty good idea and went to work. I think her bags turned out even better than the movie theater's. After all, she even used stickers on hers!


I gave Carly the choice of Toy Story or Bambi. I thought Bambi would be appropriate since Shawn is hunting, but she chose Toy Story. We had such a good time that we did a movie night last night too. But this time, I took them to Blockbuster in the afternoon and they picked out Madagascar. That was a pretty good movie. It even made me laugh a bit.

One Down, Three to Go

My manly man and his hunting group got a moose this afternoon! I don't know any details or even who exactly pulled the trigger. All I know is that the SPOT locator sent a "we got a moose" message. Yeah! Meat for the freezer! I can almost taste the moose stew.

Also, I titled this post as I did because there are four men in their hunt group. So in theory they could get three more over the next 10 days of this hunting season. Now that would be A LOT of meat!

A Hunting He Has Gone

Piles of various camouflaged items all over the floor of at least one room in our house can mean only one thing: Shawn is hunting!
He left Sunday afternoon with our friend, Andy, as well as Andy's dad and brother who traveled up from Nevada and Arizona. They made it up to "interior Alaska" and are now southeast of Tok, Alaska. Andy has a SPOT locator, so from the looks of things, I think they've set up camp. I believe the season officially opened today, but I'm not exactly sure since I can't seem to find a set of current hunting regs anywhere in this house. Is that not the craziest thing you've ever heard? No hunting regs in the Phelps' household! I tell ya, it's almost scary. But anyway, the game they are pursuing is moose. I sure hope he gets one this year. Not because I particularly want another animal head/hide mounted somewhere in my living room, but because I'd love to stock the freezer full. We got about 1/3 of the moose that Shawn's hunting buddy, Mark, shot last year, and the meat has lasted us all year. Plus we think it's delicious and it's a super lean red meat. So if Shawn enjoys hunting moose and the reward is a year's worth of meat in the freezer, then it's a win-win for all of us.
The only downside to his hunt is that the three of us are on our own for two weeks. Yes, I did use a plural form of the word week. I'm sure it's the perfect length of time as far as the moose are concerned, but it's basically well into overtime for the three of us. So to handle the time better I'm really careful and intentional about how I schedule out our days. I have to balance enough activities and time with other people so everyone stays happy. I've learned that Carly handles Shawn's absence much better if she gets an occaisonal break from me. Her school schedule will help a lot this year, and I also got her signed up for more swimming lessons that start tomorrow. With a couple of playdates mixed in, we should have a happy little daddy's girl when it's all said and done.
As well as keeping the kids active, I like to try to do projects while Shawn is gone on trips. And usually I don't tell him what I'm going to do so it will be a surprise when he gets home. Today I started two projects that I hope to finish before he returns. One was scrapeing the old popcorn texture off the ceiling of the hall. I got about 1/3 of it done in about an hour with the standard interruptions--diaper change, sippy refill, resettling children on the couch for their show, lessons in sibling love...you know the usual. The second project today was starting to sew curtains for Isaac's room. After the ceiling is scraped I plan to retexture it (which I've done before in Isaac's room, don't worry) and maybe even paint it (we'll see). Another project that is waiting in the wings, is reorganizing our bedroom closet. It really needs to be done. Hopefully I can get it all done.

And now, what you've all been waiting for...pictures of the kids. This is what the kids did this evening before dinner. It was a great creative activity and kept everyone happy. Momma got to cut out fabric on one end of the table and the kiddos made playdough creations on the other end. I was really impressed with Isaac making what he called "snakes". I'm still shocked myself, when I see what he's doing or hear what he's saying and then remember that he's not even two yet. He truly is such a big boy.


If anyone is interested in checking out Andy's SPOT locator page, let me know and I'll send you the link.

Saturday Activities

Saturday turned it an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day in Juneau. So we had decisions to make. Should we go to the park? There was finally college football to watch and I had an itch to bake something. So we did a little bit of it all.
I made some sourdough bread from my new sourdough cookbook. This thing has a TON of recipes to use sourdough starter in--even cookies or cakes. I've tried a few, but hadn't tried the basic bread recipe. So it was time to give it a whirl. Plus, I don't think I've really made bread much since we lived in Japan. Between Nicole (one of our neighbors in Japan) and I we had a fresh loaf on our block just about every week!

I believe the "kneading" is the hardest part--not the waiting like the song says. (I don't know why I had that song stuck in my head this weekend, but I did.)Ready to rise for a second time

Which meant we were free to hit the park for two hours while the bread rose. Of course, since it was a Saturday and the weather was gorgeous we didn't have the park to ourselves. But it was manageable, and we had a good time.
Carly is such a big girl. And she put together her outfit all by herself today. I think she did a pretty good job.
Isaac is so active--almost always in motion. Watching him play and move around on the equipment at the park, makes it hard to believe he's not even two yet. He really acts so much older than he is.



Yes, she got a little too much air and speed down the slide this time. Boom to the ground.



We wrapped it up at the park. Put the bread in the oven and 40 minutes later we had this lovely piece of deliciousness.
Carly was dying to be in another picture. She and I quickly put some butter and strawberry rhubarb jam on two pieces and gobbled them down. Mmmm! There's nothing like homemade bread, still warm from the oven.
We've had a great weekend. Except, of course, for that horrible OU loss to BYU. Ouch that hurt!
Hope yours has been just as delightful.