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.

Oh, How Quickly a Week Goes By!

For the past week, we've enjoyed hosting Shawn's grandparents. Carly and Isaac have really enjoyed the extra book readers. Recently, Isaac especially has turned into quite the bookworm. This was them the other night getting personalized book reading before bed. Of course, they loved it.

First Day of Preschool

All decked out this morning--new outfit, new shoes, and her favorite teddy bear. (It's "teddy bear week" and they were supposed to bring one.) I had the easiest time ever waking her up this morning. No complaints at all.
Daddy stopped by while on duty to wish her well. It was good too because he helped keep Isaac occupied with Grandpa and Grandma while we slipped away.

Her backpack all loaded up with supplies.

In front of her school

Walking in with Momma. I'm glad that she enjoys holding my hand lately. (Isaac does not enjoy it currently.)

First table activity. I didn't stay very long, just a few minutes and I wasn't the last one to leave. The room was still full of lingering parents when I ducked out. I've been where the teacher is before and I don't really like having an adult audience so much, so I "kicked myself out". It was a lot harder leave her classroom than I thought it would be though. I've left her several times before for various reasons, but I guess it's always been with friends or family. Never with people we've just met once. So maybe my hesitation was a bit justified. But I know that most of my hesitation was just the realization of how quickly she's growing. It may sound cliche, but it really does seem like I just blinked and she suddenly appeared at four years old. I didn't cry though and neither did she. She was way too excited. And I was excited for her. I can tell I was a bit anxious though by looking back at the pictures I took. I can tell I rushed them and didn't take my usual time with them. I guess I was the nervous one this morning.

This was her when I picked her up after school. She said it was a great day and that she had lots of fun. She said she made several friends, but just didn't remember their names. That's OK, there's plenty of time this year to learn names.
After school, I took her out for a little Momma-Daughter lunch. I'm really glad G&G are here, because I was able to leave Isaac with them during this time. (And I'm also glad they're here for many other reasons.) This was a special time for just us girls to hang out. I really enjoyed getting to focus on my sweet girl--who is growing up WAY to fast.

A New Lesson in Sharing

There is a lovely young woman here in Juneau that I share a few things with. The two obvious things are our hair color and our first names. But in the very near future I'll be sharing many more things with her...nieces and a nephew, in-laws, and a last name.
That's right folks. It can only mean one thing. Lee and Rachel Alderfer are officially engaged. I'm sure there are a few of you out there who thought Lee would never find someone to marry. But there are probably more of you who didn't think Lee would ever find someone who would put up with his...ummm...shall we say..."gaseous characteristics"? Well I think he found these things and more in Rachel. She is a great gal and I know he feels very blessed to have her in his life. And I'd say he is blessed indeed.
Apparently the proposal was yesterday atop the glacier after a helicopter ride to it. I haven't seen her ring yet, but we'll see her tomorrow and you can be sure I'll check it out. Also for those who are wondering the last I heard, the wedding is being planned for January 2nd in Juneau.

Since I don't have a picture of the actual proposal, I found this one that was taken of them last January. I felt like the background made you feel like they were ontop of the glacier. And a years time from this picture, these two will be hitched! I'm looking forward to sharing many things with you, Rachel, even our names. It is going to be a bit weird when we call each other though, huh? Answering your own phone, but the caller id says you're calling yourself!
I know it's a bit early, but "welcome to family" and definitely congratulations to you both. We pray for God's blessings on your marriage as you serve Him together.