Ear Infections and Puppy School

Well, we have been busy around here!

Monday: My neighbor and I took a road trip into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest outside of Packwood to find a campin' spot for our trip next weekend. I had seen a place I thought would be perfect back in November during Hunting Season..so I took her there first. And, it was perfect. The river has two amazing swimming holes, is very slow moving for the kids with very shallow water that only goes to their ankles. Which is perfect, because it is cold :) Im so excited, because next weekend is also mine and Sean's 5th wedding anniversary :) And then 2013 will mark 10 years together! Holy Moly has Time flown by!! We will be spending it camping with our friends, relaxing in the river and checkin' out from reality! :) No cell phone service up in 'dem dare hills!'

Swimmin' Hole #1

 View up the River

Swimmin' Hole #2

Tuesday: We had a playdate with my cousins and their kids. It was so fun and we plan to do them on a weekly basis..hopefully we can do that! We all live pretty close, Im the furthest but only 15 minutes away :)

Wednesday: My kids have been batteling the cough, running nose, whining and just generally not feeling good for over a week. I took them into the Dr and found out they both have ear infections in their left ears. Glad I took them in. Neither of them complained about their ears until yesterday when Siara was in tears saying her ear was hurting. I felt so bad, but I had no idea :(

That night we took Thor to his first Puppy class. Not because he isnt obedient, because he is. Infact, the most obedient and sweet and loyal dog I've ever had. He is going becauase he is SO shy..sooooooooo shy. He tucks his tail and hides. If he gets scared he lays down and wont move any further. We have to lure him into new situations with treats and lots of Good boys. He seems more scared of males than females, so we are sad to think something may have happened to him when he was just a little baby. The trainer said it could have been as simple as an accidental kick at 3 weeks old, and at his little size then, anything bigger than him terrifies him. He is getting better already though, my friend Shayna came over and after a treat or two she was able to cut his toe nails. BIG for us. :) They have his brother Stryker and I love watching the two of them play. They are going to be fun as we get to watch them grow up together.

And I do have to mention, he LOVES the mountains, on Monday we let him off the leash, he was in heaven..never left my sight, stayed near, would lay on the bank while we were in the river..he is so sweet and perfect for us :) Our little Mountain Dog.

Today: I have to do laundry, pack and get ready for our camping trip to Iron Creek with family this weekend. Tomorrow I am meeting an old friend from Elementary/Jr High/High School to discuss taking pictures at his wedding... EEEK. This makes me a bit nervous! Only because I know this is such a special event, and to be honest, sometimes I just dont have the self confidence. I know I can do it, and Im glad I have made people happy with my pictures, that makes me feel wonderful..but the during process, I always get a little nervous :) Im hoping to get some more sessions in this Summer and start of September. Anyway, after Sean gets off work tomorrow we will hit the road and head to the campground. So, I better wrap this up so I can get to everything I need to today. It's gonna be busy :)

THOR!

We got home on July 14th and I feel like Im just NOW getting back into the swing of things. Except today. It is foggy out, and Im feeling foggy myself. Its a 3 cup of coffee day and let the kids watch cartoons while they eat breakfast kind of morning. :)

We got home to our new puppy, Bernese Mt Dog, Thor.

I have never had a Large breed dog before, I have had a black lab, golden retriever, rottweiler and a pekingese in my lifetime, and when Sean told me Thor's daddy was 120# Honestly, first thing I thought was..Im glad he gets to pick up the poop! :P  Then, I started thinking about how this 'Baby Thor' as we call him likes to sleep in our bed for part of the night..how the heck will that work in 100 more pounds?! haha. Thor is also different than any dog I had before because he is really lazy. Especially for a puppy. He is shy, very, very shy with new people. If someone new comes to our house, he barks at them usually, and then runs the opposite direction. I swear he has social anxiety with everyone but us. But he also shows signs of a protector. He likes to go stand by the kids and bark at the new person like, hey..these guys are mine! When my brother came over, he barked, ran away and would sit right next to me. Im thinking Im going to have a big baby on my hands. Now after a few days he is fine with him, still not one to go cuddle him, he saves that for me and the kids. The vet gave us papers telling us how to socialize him. He is so great with my kids, stays in our yard without a leash, actually he doesnt like a leash much at all, he would much rather just walk at your side un-restrained, listens SO well, he is just great. 

This is how Thor spends most of this day, laying around...must be nice :)

Silas asks him, 'You tired Thor?' about 50x a day, haha. 

Update :)

My poor grandparents have had to do with their fair share of repairs this trip. Of course, anyone planning a drive to Alaska, especially via Alaskan Highway, should know the stretch from Haines Junction, Yukon almost all the way to Anchorage, Alaska has its potential to cause some damage. For one, you are driving over roads that deal with some of the most extreme conditions, and frost heaves do a bit of damage. I could seriously plan out a great trip up the highway for someone who is interested. I may actually do it for fun anyway and post it online to share..complete with campground reviews! :)
Anyway, we pulled into Whitehorse, Yukon from Tok, Alaska last night to two broken scissor jacks and an almost flat tire on the trailer. the metal was showing, meaning it had been wearing away for some time. Once again, we made it to safety when we needed it. Thank You Lord for your protection. :)
(Saw a nice grizzly on the way, got some great shots of it eating the grass)
So today, I'll say Saturday since I don't know when I'll get to publish this, we spent fixing the trailer, getting supplies at Walmart, laundry, and most importantly sleeping in. Tomorrow, Sunday, we take a day trip to Skagway, Alaska, Monday we go to a few museums in Whitehorse, and Tuesday hit the road. Here is our hopeful itinerary,
Tuesday: Whitehorse to Dease Lake
Wednesday: Dease Lake to Smithers
Thursday: Smithers to Williams Lake
Friday: Williams Lake to Sumas, Wa
Saturday: Sumas to Auburn, Wa!
We are traveling the Cassiar Highway home, since it is a shorter route. There isn't much to see but wildlife so you don't need time for any stops, just driving. And we are ready to get home to Sean and Thor so we are prepared. :) I do have to give my kids some credit, they are doing amazing. Movies are a great lifesaver, but also stops where they can run and explore. I'm lucky both my kids enjoy the wilderness. :) There is an old Indian saying about how we don't inherit the land from our ancestors, but more so borrow it from our children. How true. And I pray my kids will enjoy God's creations the way I have. Denali national park is an amazing place that will just blow your mind. It's on my bucket list to backpack/camp inside the park. It's very heartwarming to know there really hasn't been too much of a change since the 50's. Only one road in, that no personal vehicles can drive on, just shuttle busses. It was amazing. I will return :) there is plenty to do outside the actual park too, but access is very limited inside the actual preserve itself.

I have soooo many pictures I have taken I swear I will have to spend about 10 hours on the computer going thru them. I have some scenery shots I'd like to sell on my photography page, but I'm not sure how to go about charging.. $10 for an 8x10..too cheap? Too much? Hard to tell..maybe I'll see what other people charge and figure it out. :)

I just had the thought, since it's 11:20 pm..how weird it will be to see darkness in a few days!! Haha.

Where are the fish?!

Well, the fishing hasnt been all that great :(
The rivers are very high, and the run is below average this year. Which is such a bummer, but hey, its nobodys fault! (but the fish! hehe)
We have mainly been fishing the Russian and Kenai River Confluence.
Normally, on a good year you can go fish and get your limit of three a day and head home. Sometimes, they even up it to six fish a day. But this year, we would fish for a good 7 hours and only bring home 2 out of 4 of us fishing. Big bummer. But, that's ok. I had a great time fishin with my new fly rod, watching the Mama grizz and her two cubs play on the other side across from us. That was just amazingly beautiful. :) Oh, and I fed some salmon roe to the trout..nice big dolly vardens and got my thumb bit..haha, drew blood and everything! :)

Now, since I started writing this the other day, we have left from Soldotna and are in Denali. Another must see for everyone who loves nature. :)
We are spending three nights here and then starting our trek back home.
I'm ready to get back home, as much as I love Alaska, I'm ready to get back into my routine, get some photography sessions in, sleep in my own bed, with my hubby, and..meet our new puppy!! Our Bernese Mt Dog, Thor! My friend Shayna has his brother, Stryker. I'm so excited for the kids to see him too. Sean is in love. He called me and said Thor slept in bed with him..I told him he better quit that habit now, soon he will be 100+ lbs and trying to steal all the covers!! ;) I've included a picture Sean sent me of him on the couch, he is 12 weeks old.

Pictures

A few cell phone pictures(some were edited thru instagram..great app for sharing pictures!) from this week. Hopefully my explanations match, I'm using my blogger app :)

1. Allergies suck, and especially when it looks like its snowing outside! ;)
2. A beautiful meadow near the Kasilof River..about 10:30pm.
3. The Kasilof River..tried, but caught no sockeyes here. :/ But, did get to watch an eagle swoop in and catch one! 10:40pm
4. My sweet boy loves the woods. Just like his Mama.
5. I love a man in camo. Enough said. ;)

Grama Ruby Wants to Go Home.

And we will let her. This trip has had its stresses. Firstly, breaking down on the way was a good test, but Alaska didn't turn out to be anything my Great Grama was expecting. She is 89 years old, so she requires a lot of help, which of course is not a problem and we all chipped in. Getting her coffee, dinner, making sure she was taking her pills, helping her get dressed, helping her shower, all things that would make her trip enjoyable. Like I said, we didn't mind doing the things, but she ended up not liking it here. I'm not sure what she was expecting Alaska to look like, but it's too cold (I laugh because you can see snow on the mountains in the distance and she claims it snows at camp at night..hehe) Anyway, she asked my Grandparents to fly her home, so she will head back to Seattle with Sean on the 24th. This decision she made caused a lot of family drama from one particular side. We explained to her that she would not get to see her great Grandson and his daughter who is due this month, which we planned to visit on the way home (my grandparents drove down to see him on the way here, but Grama Ruby CHOSE not to go see him then..but of course we were blamed for that). Anyway, he heard wind that she is flying home and literally a war of words began on Facebook. I ended up deleting my cousin because I really truly don't need that stress in my life. My grandparents extended him the offer of flying him here to see her, he declined, with some nasty remarks of course. So I decided its not worth my happiness to see his disrespectful, ungrateful attitude towards the people who had NOTHING to do with Grama Ruby's decision to fly back to Seattle.. she made the choice knowing she woudnt see him, why do we get the wrath for that? Ah, such a ridiculous thing. I do understand he is upset he won't see her, but that isn't my fault.
I enjoying logging on Facebook to see pictures of my family, friends and old classmates..not reading hurtful comments or remarks. I mean, i could have been truthful with him, but I knew that would have been hurtful, I could have wrote and said, 'Grama doesnt want to come see you, she wants to fly home, we tried to get her to stay for you, but SHE decided otherwise' or how she would not fly two hours to see him, but when she was talking to her daughter about coming home, when she gets back to Tennessee would like to fly to Thailand to see her other grandson. That would have hurt..but that's not my style.
It's obvious to us here that she has a softer spot in her heart for those who were close to her on the east coast, and that's ok. ..I'm just going to quit complaining, but I obviously needed to vent :)
It was refreshing this morning to log on and see no drama :) I like instagram for that reason, just sharing pictures. I have a soft spot for pictures so that is a favorite app on my phone for me ;)

Yesterday and today are the first two days where it has really rained since we have been here. I love how it rains in this area..it's not such a hard down pour like at home. I have talked to people about the weather here..yes it snows, yes it gets dark during the winter for longer periods(like 5 hours of daylight) but its a refreshing place to live. The grocery stores have much more, made in Alaska items than at home because it costs so much to get stuff up here, they really do depend on local farmers, artists, fisherman. (yes, i know we have this in WA too) but it just seems more people really do live off the land here. And you know what..the girls that stick out here are the fancy dressed, high heels and coach purse girls. I fit in! Although I do at home in Eatonville too ;) it's just not a huge priority to have perfect make up here, more natural, pony tail, jeans and Columbia coat.
Anyways, I'm enjoying my trip, wishing my Grama could have enjoyed it more, but she can at least say she has been to the great state of Alaska!! The first sockeye run should be any day now and I'm ready to hook a big one!

We saw this Mama and her two babes on the way to Walmart, how awesome is that!!

My trip, thus far.

Well, I am alive and in Alaska! We had quite the trip getting up here.
We left on Saturday May 12th at about 10am. My Grandpa Was coming down with a pretty bad cold, but we left anyway. We stopped at Walmart in Quilceda and got some medicine and hit the road. That night we made it to Boston Bar, BC. The truck was making it, but slowly and I had a bad feeling it wouldn't make it. Anyway the next day we took a road trip to Hells Gate air tram. That was awesome..and scary! Easy day trip from the Seattle area, I recommend it :)
We stayed one more night in Boston Bar and then were on the road again. Here is where the fun begins :) we made it to Ashcroft, BC and the truck just quit working. Thankfully we had cell service and called AAA for a tow to Cache Creek where they could look at the truck. Distributor was bad and we would be on the road the following day. We made it all the way to 70 Mile House, BC..which actually isn't that far and broke down again. Grama was fed up at this point. We called AAA again and were towed to 100 Mile House where there was a Ford dealer to look at the truck more in depth. We got my Grampa into a medical clinic and got him some antibiotics since he was still sick, and they decided they were getting a new truck. And I was so glad. For one, they deserve it and second I don't think we would have made it the rest of the way. I will say one thing, we got some of the best treatment in Canada. The people there took such great care of us each time we had a problem. It was very heartwarming to see people that caring still exist in the world :)
So they ended up buying a new truck and we were off. Grampa loves his new truck by the way.
Fast forward to Dawson Creek, BC where Great Grama Ruby and I went to a medical clinic, I had a sinus infection and she had a upper chest thing, we got our antibiotics, from the nicest pharmacist. I won't forget him.
Now it's Monday June 4th and we are at our home base for the month of Soldotna, Alaska. Sean and my Dad flew into Anchorage on the 25th and we were able to do a lot of fun things..but of course time flies when you're having fun! We went Halibut fishing out of Homer and between us all were able to seal up 106# of fresh caught Alaskan Halibut. Yum! Sean had a great time doing that. Saying goodbye yesterday was heartbreaking. Mostly because Silas had the biggest sad face, with tears quietly streaming and he just shattered my heart. Lol. So we did what anyone does when they are sad. We got ice cream at the Tastee Freeze. On the way there I spotted Bristol Palin's truck, would have liked to meet her, but wasnt going to sit and stalk her lol.
Sean will be back in 11 days and I can't wait :D The salmon run should just be hitting hard at that time and I hope we can fill the freezer!

Today, we rest. :) And I've got my bible study to catch up on!
Until next time!