Last Week in Alaska for Daddy

Monday was the beginning of my last week in Alaska this tour. I'll be driving to my next duty station in Lemoore, CA, leaving the family here for at least a couple more years while I spend a large part of the next 2-3 years at sea. Just like a deployment, the lead-up to last days prior to leaving are the toughest, but it helps you realize how much you've been blessed and teaches you to appreciate the little things. I've been taking Landon and Grayson (and Dino) for walks down to the creek as often as I can, teaching them to observe nature around them, and appreciate the awesomeness of God's creation. The eagles still haven't had their clutch yet, maybe they will before I leave. Grayson finally outgrew his crib, so we took Landon's bunk bed apart and moved the top twin bed upstairs for Grayson. He looks little bitty in that big bed, but he has taken to it easily and is proud of his "big boy bed". Landon's room looks bigger without the bunk bed in it. I snapped these pictures of them sound asleep in their 'new' beds - at least 'new' for them. Grayson has watched us reading at night on occasion, so the other day he jumped up on our bed, crawled under the covers and pretended to read away - at least I think he was pretending. I noticed he skipped to the end and read the last page first....must get that from his Daddy.

Zoo and Star Wars

I was a volunteer escort for Landon's first grade class trip to the zoo last Wednesday. Afterwards, Landon and I stopped off at the Star Wars exhibit in downtown Anchorage before coming home. At the zoo, we were standing next to the wolf enclosure when the pack ran up and started to howl, which we both thought was cool. I caught the video above right as they were winding down their howl, but you can hear some of it on the video. Landon has been playing his Star Wars wii alot lately, so I thought he would enjoy the Star Wars exhibit, and he did. We rode in the Millenium Falcon and got to see all the costumes from the movies. I thought it was funny to see the similarities in the polar bear we saw at the zoo and the wompa creature at the Star Wars exhibit (first two pics above).

The Peace of God

There is a scripture that I long ago committed to memory. I first remember reciting it in high school, before and during the football games I played in. It helped me calm my nerves, and taught me to worry less about the things in life that don't really matter all that much anyway. I kept the verse in mind while a Plebe at the Academy, and it helped get me through some very difficult times that year. Later, I found myself reciting the verse while strapped into a jet on the carrier flight deck waiting for the dreaded night catapult shot, the inevitable night landing that would follow, and during combat missions while flying over some very unfriendly lands. The words in the verse have been a great comfort to me during some very difficult times. Sometimes, when life seems easy, I carelessly neglect the verse, and the Word in which it is contained, only to be meekly reminded of its calming power the next time I become anxious about some difficult situation or event in life. The verse is an instruction on how to obtain the Peace of God. It reminds me that, in the end, the only things of value in this life are our faith and our family, and that no matter how much worry or stress we put ourselves through, the truth is this: on this earth, we are nothing more than wayward lambs in the arms of the Shepherd - He is in control of everything, we are in control of nothing. Here is the verse, maybe it could be of some use to you one day.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6,7

Roasting Marshmellows in the Backyard

I won't be able to make any camping trips with the boys this summer, so we decided to roast some marshmellows and make smores here in the backyard. The boys had a good time, even though we chose a windy day. The temperature wasn't bad, but the wind made it feel pretty cold. The smores were good, and everybody had a chance to get in a picture or two - except Jolene. We'll have to pry the camera away from her one day so we can get her in the picture. Even Dino got in a few pictures (and managed to steal several graham crackers when no one was watching!). We added several posts today, since we've been behind in posting - so don't forget to check all the April posts for any you haven't seen.

Snowy Day

It snowed all day today, but the ground was thawed out, so not very much of it stuck around for long. The pheasant and chucker made their rounds tonight in the snow, but had trouble finding the birdseed on the ground covered by snow, so they didn't stay long.

Look Ma, no training wheels!

Time finally came to break out the bikes again for the spring/summer. And this year, it was time to take Landon's training wheels off. He had no problem and picked it up right away. Hopefully the video will load. More moose are making their way across the flats these days. Between now and late June, many of the moose that spent the winter on the low lying areas will slowly pass by the house on their way to the Talkeetna mountain range to our North - at those higher elevations they can avoid the bugs that will start coming out in the summer. Landon has been trying his hand at 'bird-whispering' to the chickadees that frequent the bird feeder. He's come close to getting them to eat from his hand, but hasn't quite convinced them it's safe yet. You can see a chickadee in the last picture on the top of the post holding the green birdfeeder. He talks to them to get them to come closer, but I haven't been able to hear what he's saying.

Easter Day

Easter Day was a cold one, and the boys spent their second year in a row looking for Easter eggs hidden around the house. With all the warm days we have had this month, we thought we'd be able to let the boys hunt eggs outside, but not this year. They had a good time though, with Landon showing Grayson where all the eggs are, then playing the Wii Resort game CD that Grammie and Pappy had given them. In the picture you can see Landon and Grayson forming up while on a skydive on Wii. They had a good time, and Grayson spent the day eating chocolate!

Moose on the Loose

Most of our snow has melted, and the moose are moving around quite a bit looking for food, waiting for Spring to bring back the green vegetation. They say that April is the worst month for "winter kills" - the fate of some moose each year who have trouble finding enough food to last through the winter. But these four that passed below the bluff today seemed to be healthy enough.

Pappy and I spent the day moving wood he had cut a day earlier into wood piles around the lots. There was a lot of dead trees and undesirable/leaning trees that he cut down over the last couple of weeks. The temps have been far warmer than the last couple of Spring's we've experienced here, and there's plenty to do outside around the house to keep you busy all day. Once all the snow melts, you find all the tools / dog toys / kid toys / etc that had been lost buried under snow over the Winter, which makes April a good time for outdoor clean-up. It's also nice to spend the day under a warm sun and even pick up a litte sun burn here and there. Grayson spent a good portion of the day out with us and came back in exhausted, taking a nap in the chair for a while. Landon and Grayson are now anxiously waiting for Easter: Landon hoping to find Dinosaur toys on his Easter hunt, and Grayson hoping for chocolate eggs.