Warmer Weather

Zoe shedding her winter coat

The recent weeks have brought temps above freezing in Kotzebue (although we had fresh snow on the ground this morning). We have been spending a lot more time outside. It is nice to get fresh air and let the kids run wild.

Hotdogs and Campfire at Trooper Housing

Kotzebue from Cemetary Hill

Pure Joy

Vacation and Ice Fishing

Hi everyone! Long time, no post. For two months I was working at the high school teaching Chemistry and Biology. It was a lot of fun and only half days so not too overwhelming. The rest of the time we have a small daycare operation running in our house. We have a four year old and two year old right now and we'll see how it goes from here. Aaron started his new investigator position on May 1 and Eva had her first birthday since last time we posted anything new. I guess many of these things could take up a whole entry by themselves but to get them up as quickly as possible, I'm going to make one big entry.

Life in Kotzebue is good. Spring is showing its first signs and the snow is beginning to melt. Town is a wet, muddy mess but we don't mind because it means warmer times ahead! It is light almost all the time now. We had to order new curtains for our place so we can sleep at night. I'm sure Shorty must be glad to be able to go outside longer than a minute without suffering from a hip lock. Eva is growing by leaps and bounds! She is such a good-natured little girl....and such a trooper. We drag her with us everywhere we go and there is usually not much complaining.

We were recently in West Virginia and Toronto visiting family and friends. Here are some highlights from our trip:

Aaron, Eva and I hiked Dorsey's knob--the highest spot in Morgantown.

Eva pets a stuffed raccoon at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto

Niagara Falls in Canada

Eva andUncle Austin at her 1st Birthday party (also the WVU Blue and Gold Game)

A wonderful visit with Eva's Godmother, Atsuko

Last night we took Eva ice fishing. It was a blast and we caught our first (and only) fish 10 minutes into the trip. As you can see, the ocean is still frozen in Kotz and judging by the ice auger used, is still about 6 feet thick. You can see part of town in the background of this picture. The fish in front of Eva was a beauty and we're making fish tacos for dinner tonight. Eva seemed to have fun until she got bored about an hour into the trip. She tried to crawl into the ice hole a couple times so we quit, but I'm sure its not our last one this year.

Filling up the tank

I'm not one of those people who complains about the rising cost of fuel or usually tells "biggest fish" stories. Compared to everything else we spend our money on, it just didn't seem like fuel was a big issue. But today I went to fill up the truck and like most purchases up here, I'm surprised by how much they cost. At $5.50 per gallon, it cost me $170 to fill up! If anyone has me beat, please reply post.

MAUI

What can I say about our trip to Maui? A picture is worth a thousand words.

A view of Lana'i from our resort

Eva's first swim with Aaron

Eva and me hanging out in Paia's Moana Bakery and Cafe. I had a yummy seared Ahi Tuna Wrap here (definately don't get those in Kotzebue). Aaron lived just up the road for about 10 months in high school.

The road to Hana.

Banyan Tree in Lahaina

Io Valley

Whale watching with Grampa Phil

Hawaii Bound

I have never been more ready for a tropical vacation than I am this week! While my friend is out of town on her vacation for two weeks, we are watching her daycare kids and dog. Its not too bad because I am making some extra spending cash for the trip but it is hard work. The kids get here early and I don't get to leave the house all day. Kotzebue is dark, cold and windy right now. It has gotten as low as -30 so far. Aaron took a six hour overnight snow machine ride to one of the villages last week and got a pretty significant frostbite patch on his nose. I only hope he doesn't sunburn it on top of that!

Eva is now crawling everywhere! In 30 seconds she can get from the living room to the kitchen and be eating out of the dog's bowl. There is no more chance to let your guard down. She is so full of energy, laughing and fun. I can't wait to get her into the kiddie pool at the Hyatt in Maui. She splashes around in my bubbling foot spa while I soak my feet and has a grand time.


Eva purring

The Dog Who Came One Day

Zoey in the snow

One day last week when I took the dogs out in the morning there was a 50mph wind storm. I grabbed the camera and started snapping pictures. There was a strange dog running up the road towards trooper housing. He looked like he was on a mission, but when he saw me and Zoey and Shorty, he decided to stop and visit. The first thing I noticed after a closer look is that around his face and neck he was covered in blood. I went inside my house to get some treats and before I even noticed he was there, the strange dog had let himself into our home. It was as if he had done it a thousand times before. I gave him chicken jerky and checked his neck for injuries but it looked like he had simply eaten something very bloody earlier and gotten it on himself. It is pretty standard practice for many Kotzebue residents to feed their dogs whatever is left over from the latest kill so I wasn't concerned. I left him outside and watched as he and Zoey played for awhile.





When I heard a car pull up later that day, I peeked out the window to see if it was Aaron. It was another trooper on a lunch break. He saw the bloody dog (who was still outside our place) running towards him and he freaked. He sprayed the poor beast with pepper spray and stood guard on the porch to keep it away. His wife was trying to yell to him that the dog was nice but it was too late. The husky's face was burning; he was pawing at the offending area and rubbing it in the snow. The trooper gave me a look through the window that said, "I'm sorry- I didn't know!" His wife called me later to say that she wanted me to examine the dog because it was all bloody and I told her I already had. She said it was an extraordinarily friendly dog and had let itself inside her home! I laughed. After the attack, none of us wanted to check on the dog for fear of retaliation so we left him alone outside our housing. He stayed for quite awhile but at the end of the day was gone. I just can't shake the feeling that the dog who came one day was there for a reason. Is it possible that this dog represented something that is going to come into our lives? I haven't seen him since that day. I hope he is okay and he comes back to visit someday. I can only say that I will keep you posted....





The dog who came one day

Eva's First Wheels

Babies grow up so fast! One day you are helping feed them Cheerios and the next day they are doing it themselves. It seems like the things you buy for babies only last for a short time. So some of the toys we bought for Eva for Christmas were given to her a little early this year. They seemed to be going to waste just sitting in a box under the tree and she's too young to understand Christmas this year anyway. You can see from the look on her face how much fun we had giving this car to her! Babies are the greatest... how many times do we get this look from giving someone a present?