moving moving moving...

OK, so Cheryl started her fancy new job on Monday...there's a kid laying on the floor watching signing time. His chairs have all been sold and the couches are apparently not something for which he is suited. If I try to box things up with the boy around, he is not all that helpful..so with any luck, he'll wake up from his nap to a house with more boxes and less clutter.

This move is really pretty nicely timed with the sun leaving Barrow along with us. The first picture was taken November 9, 2009 just after noon. 2nd picture taken November 16, 2009 at 12:38 PM. While the 2nd one is not the last sun that Barrow officially got, I think it was the last that we could really see it due to clouds, etc. At the least, it was the last I saw it...official final sunset was yesterday..the 18th.

We are headed to Fairbanks next Tuesday evening the 24th after what I expect to be a pretty annoying weekend of rummage sale/packing. Then I fly back to Deadhorse on Wednesday to drive the truck down to then, after Thanksgiving, drive it the rest of the way down to Anchorage in our little convoy...hopefully weather will allow this plan to work...

Halloween

Well, finally got the abominable snowman suit finished...but (just as we suspected)...he just wouldn't wear it-- especially the hat part. Same deal with his monkey suit last year, and same thing with the fittings. He would laugh at it when Dad would try it on, but no go when it was his turn!

Busted!

Made the mistake of giving Gage a Dorito last night...and he loved it then promptly turned into a little monster when I wouldn't let him have them for dinner. When I had my back turned, he went over to the shelf, got them down and overturned them on the floor...and proceeded to shove as many in his mouth as he could before we could clean them up!

Big shoes: he was having a ball walking around in my slippers as well (and I have yeti feet!)-- he did a pretty good job getting around :) The house is turning into kind of a disaster zone as we try to pack things and get them down to Fairbanks and Anchorage in preparation for "the big move". It is crazy how much "stuff" we have accumulated here over the last 3 1/2 years. It is going to be quite the undertaking to get it sold/moved, but we should get some sort of start on it this weekend...What is funny is that I am going to have to start a new blog! Toddler Gage and life in Anchorage! Ha! Well, if anyone has any ideas on printing out blogs, I sure would like to hear them. This is a nice record of our life since Mar 08 and I am not sure (short of printing each page) how to preserve it...

New picture

This one is from Annie :) Love it. Having some technical difficulties on uploading...more birthday pics soon...if the website ever decides to upload the pictures...

Birthday party

We celebrated with cake etc. at the house after a couple of whales...A bunch of friends came over and brough Elena and Gage and her had a fun time :)

A couple new pics

A couple from tonight...

Some random vacation photos

A few quick photos from vacation...we had a great time visiting with Fawn and Kodiak and went up North and also went camping and visited with many friends. Gage had a nice time and the weather was gorgeous! He is learning words and letters like crazy. Blackberries, corn, strawberries, pears, apples--- all ripe on the tree. Fawn lives on the edge of a vineyard which is next to an apple and pear farm. Gage was in heaven! Also, a first "professional" haircut :)

Double u

Gage is learning his letters :) He is picking up words -- with a new one almost every day if we work at it. He is also now saying "elbow", though it comes out like "bo bo" an awful lot...
Enjoy :)

Cakeeater baby

Some new pics from Annie, who has been working overtime "saving the day" lately. Lot's going on here-- busy with Polar Bear night and visitors and art contest judging. Fun, but a lot of work. Swine flu is in Barrow, so we are hoping to avoid it! Sniffles, a small fever for both Gage and Brenna, but both seem ok now. Gage started with some new words this week (elbow and he knows some of his letter -- saying and signing). Quiet Saturday in Barrow.

After the pluot...

Witness the carnage!

Yes, mom forgot the bib...Gage had a good ole' time polishing off the almost over-ripe pluot and it shows :)

Annie's beach pictures

Annie snapped some photos of Ken, Gage and Mochi at the beach the other night :) She photoshopped them somehow into "70's" style :) Thanks Annie :)

Blast from the past

This picture has been on my phone since last year...I always look at it and wish I had it on the computer, so today I texted it to my email :) Here you go... it is a cute one.

Faux hawk

Bath time tonight-- Gage had a corn crisis tonight. We peeled the sweet corn that came in the organic veggie delivery and went to cook it and he lost it! Had a corn tantrum. He wanted to eat it then-- didn't have patience for the boiling step...was running around the house, signing corn, crying! It was horrible and funny at the same time... Anyhow, he finally got his corn (allowing it to cool was another problem..) and then got his bath. We were messing around with his hair a bit :) Back from Pt. Hope, nice weather in Barrow. Hopefully will stay that way for the weekend. Hope all have a nice one :)

Visit to the Fair

We will see if blogspot likes me today. There is nothing more frustrating that writing a post only to have your pictures refuse to upload to the page. This is attempt two. Gage and I went to the Tanana Valley Fair last Saturday. He got to check out the animals and the petting zoo-- and was really digging the large tractors (he is such a BOY...he kept saying "WOAH! WOAH!" It was pretty funny).

Sounds like Annie may hit the fair again with them on Friday, so he will get to see it all again :)

PS- He didn't trust those chickens!

Baby you can drive my car

a pickup Let Gage sit in the driver's seat of the Toyota pick up the other day and he just LOVED it! Was doing the steering wheel and the gear shift--- and laughed and laughed. I think he will be a menace on the road! ;)

OK- one more of Gage and his dad...but it was taken before I left! I have heard Lar and Mar have a ton of pictures, so maybe Ken will post some here...

Back from Russia

OK- I am back in the USA and finally am on wireless with some sort of speediness...(not the dial-up at the house!). Attached are some pictures from Chukotka. Soon, I will get back to blogging pictures of everyone's favorite baby ;) For now, you will have to put up with pictures of me and whales :) And, yes, the building pictured is where we stayed. And those are whale-kabobs :) and the road in the last picture IS actually a river...that is the road from Providenyia to the hunter base where we caught the boat to Lorino.

A quick email from Russia

here is a quick post from the field:i I am in Lauvrentia for the last 2 days after flying to Providenyia last week, taking a 6 hour ride in a small boat across to Lorino. Two whales later-- one of which was far from the town and the second which we were able to make collections from--- there has been a break in whaling. There is a regatta festival which has been postponed twice because of bad weather. Now it happens and the whalers have taken 4 days off and we are in standby mode. Anyhow, we attended the festival and ate good local food (gray whale, walrus, fish-- all very good). Tonight we head back to Lorino with a stop at thу hot springs on the way. More soon- hopefully! Wish us luck for a 6 hour + boat ride on the 29th!

mmmm...cashews

ok, for some stupid reason, i can't post any photos to this...so...
in case anyone is interested in just reading. lar and mar are here. they arrived last sunday at about 11:00...the plane was about an hour late which gave me a chance to deal with a gage that i had just found should not eat cashews. he ate one half of one cashew and then before he could eat another half, he started crying and rubbing his eyes..and pretty much instantly got welts on his chin as well as swelling around his right eye. after he puked twice and his breathing got raspy we went to the hospital instead of the airport to pick up grandma and grandpa.

eventually lar and mar did track us down..not quite so easy to reach them since their cell phone will not work here. they got a cab to the hospital where gage had officially been admitted. we spent 24 hours at the samual simmonds memorial hospital...not terribly fun, but gage took it pretty well, even with an iv in his wrist for about 13 hours.

he is now fine and there is no evidence of anything being wrong except that we no longer have cashews in the house....

Fourth of July Games

Here are some pictures from the 4th of July games in Barrow. Gage came in second in the 1 year old running race :) It was hilarious- kids were running in all directions, some were stopping and sitting down. Gage started off by falling on his face! So nice to be together (I got home from Pt. Lay about 4 days early :) A good time was had by all (and he got ten bucks for his win! We may start entering him in all sorts of things...he can earn his keep! These diapers aren't cheap!

And who taught him to do this?

Gage has this habit...of putting things in his mouth and blowing them out into the air...learned it from someone, I think. Can't imagine who...

More pics...various Madeira

Rainbow

This was one evening when it was a little rainy

Feeding Auntie Carrot

These are pretty hilarious-- esp. when viewed together :)