10-on-10: February

'study nature.love nature. stay close to nature. it will never fail you.' - Frank Lloyd Wright

Kodiak Island has about 40 miles of road. If you're at the airport & take a right, then drive all the way to the end, you'll end up at White Sands (can be seen in these wedding photos). If you take a left, & drive all the way to the end, you'll end up at Fossil Beach. Yesterday, we went to Fossil. We go this direction a lot, usually stopping in Pasagshak, which is about 15 minutes sooner than Fossil. As the name suggests, there's lots of fossils here. The boys filled their coat pockets; they we're most excited about their large broken snail, small whole snail & medium clam shell they found. Ella was most excited to get back in the truck. It was freezing! The wind was whipping right through us; it was a balmy 30ish before said wind. Surprisingly, we all lasted an hour, before heading back to the truck & then stopping at another beach for another hour of bone-chilling play.

& now pop on over to Jen's blog, she saw things- they've been getting snow in Portland (& we have almost none in Alaska!)

Brendan & Sarah

'i want to travelacross the world & breathe the air

of new places.' -unknown

Each year, the swans travel south, destination unknown. They always return to the lakes & each summer, we watch them when we drive out the road. There used to be two, last summer we saw more. Every time they swim across the lake, it's magnificent. They're usually far away, which seems to emphasize their beauty. Even at a distance, they're so distinguishable.

Did you know swans mate for life? I learned this the day I photographed Sarah & Brendan's ceremony. Perhaps these two swans we've watched over the years, headed south to start a family...or maybe they brag about the most beautiful place on earth, & their friends couldn't resist the urge to travel north to Alaska; landing on the lakes of Pasagshak, with their life partner's.

Sarah's Brendan swan; some day soon they might travel south & then in the summer's their friends will all eagerly await their return home.

Wish You Were Here 4/52

Wish You Were Here ...virtual postcards from around the world Dear Friends, We had an action-packed sports week. Ry had a hockey game Saturday; he started with group 1 & gets to move up to group 2. He's pretty excited, since he just started three weeks ago. He gets better & better on the ice. Covey & him have decided to have rollerblading lessons at home, so Cove will be ready to play next year. He's also talking about trying soccer & tee-ball this year; Ry seemed so old when he started playing sports, & now Covey seems so young to be starting them. We also won the superbowl! Well, the Seahawks did; when you're a fan for so long, it feels like we did, too! What a (not-so) exciting game- it was admittedly boring, but since it was our team, exhilarating is a better word. In other news, we got another duck. The boys decided on naming her Snow White, since we already have Snowball & this new one is also white. She's a welcomed addition to our flock. The kids seem to be fighting off colds; never fun, but  seems to be a side effect of these winter months. Life is good. xo

Kids Were Here

'If you must look back,do so forgivingly. If you must look forward, do so prayerfully. However, the wisest thing you can do is be present in the present... gratefully.' -Maya Angelou

Remember the microscope you got for your 7th birthday, Ry; both you boys loved it. That day we found a dead fly, you both were quick to rip off his wing & stick it under the scope...eager little scientists.

Remember that day we walked to Holiday Beach, us five & your cousin Myla. It was so refreshing to be outside, you guys all running around & soaking up that sweet salty air. 

Remember when our chickens started laying eggs, shortly before Christmas.  Their production increased little by little & before long, we had a dozen eggs. Ry, you're always so excited about those eggs & have told us a few times, "it's like they're giving us a gift!" 

Remember your 7th birthday, Ry, filled with parties, friends, family, cakes, cupcakes, lots of snacks, sushi & presents, along with seven polka-dotted balloons.

Remember that scooter you got for your birthday, from Nanny & Papa. You were so excited- you proclaimed,  'it's just I wanted!'

Remember all those lollipops that littered the house, post-birthday party. Ella, you thought they surely must all be for you- & then we'd find piles of opened lollipops. It was sticky. 

Remember that Skylander sticker book you got, Ry; you've looked at every single day for the past month. The stickers cover your desk, telling us exactly who these Skylander's are (but really, I still have no clue). 

Remember that day I came home from grocery shopping with all that yogurt, all three of you dug into it quicker than I could put it away...by the time you started your third one, Covey, you'd had enough. I'm not sure how many half-eaten yogurts I consumed. 

Remember how you always wanted to be in the bathrooms with your brothers, Ella...& then while Covey sat on the toilet, you quickly emptied the q-tips.

Remember that unicorn I got you Ella, to spray paint for a decoration in your someday room. Instead it's been sitting in the hallway as your necklace holder, & every time you see it you shout 'Nay!!!!!!' so excitedly!

Remember your dream catcher, Covey, you desperately wanted it; we all hoped it'd help with your bad dreams. At this point, I'd say results are 50/50. 

Remember that day we went to the beach for lunch; Covey, you & I found 'treasures' & decided to make faces out of them. You were so excited about it, & so determined to have happy faces on them.

Our January

When 2013 came to a close, so did my 365-project.I swore I'd never do one again. I was anxious to put my camera down; perhaps it'd be slightly freeing, I thought. Then January 1st came & I needed to take a photo. I couldn't help it. As the first days of 2014 rolled by, a picture a day kept happening. It's as if the camera became an extension of myself. At some point- each day, I pick it up. I don't 'have' to, but  I want to- because my life is happening before my eyes; it's a little bit wild, rarely quiet, a lot of happy & it's ours. The best part of this adventure? We're home. My idea of a big adventure has changed- it's not big backpacks, foreign languages, new cultures & long bus rides. Now my big adventures are trips to the grocery store, juggling nursing & dinner, refereeing the boys' wrestling matches, getting three kids out the door on-time, & wondering if I'm completely screwing up my children, or setting them up to be hardworking, honest, loving, creative, respectful little (& one day big) humans. There's a time when I may have thought these adventures would seem boring & lifeless.

Today, I watch it & participate in it, & it's the best yet.

The Dreamcatcher

Sleep. Most nights, he says he doesn't like bedtime.All nights, he's beyond tired. And when he needs to sleep, he needs it. All twelve hours of it. But right now, he's in a nightmare phase, & he doesn't want to sleep in case he has a bad dream.

It's heart wrenching- knowing they feel this way, thinking of all the ways to comfort them. Trying so many different creative ways to make them feel safe, yet knowing once again it's not working. That it's a 'normal developmental stage.'

Because even when the full hour of bedtime is calm & relaxing, it just takes that one sentence, in that one minute, 'I don't like bedtime, I have bad dreams,' to rip your heart out again. Even if a minute later, he's slumbering, even if he sleeps all night long & wakes up happy; words are a powerful thing.

'The Dream Catcher is to be hung by the window or at the head of you bed. Traditional beliefs hold that dreams come from outside ourselves. Thus the dream catcher is meant to act as a spider web & catch the good dreams to ease us through the day. The bad dreams pass through the hole in the center to be burned up by the rays of the sun. The feathers symbolize air or the breath of life.'