Life with Shane and Olivia

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Christmas Celebration in Downtown Haines 12-05-09

Josias as the Michelin Man complete with pink boots.

Site of the nativity play

Emily (Michelin Girl) and Shane

Pop & GG

We were invited by Annette, a second-generation Haines local, to the annual firing of the canon, house lighting, fireworks, bonfire, and living nativity play. We bundled the kids up in their Michelin Man snowsuits and headed out the door at about 4:45 only to make it downtown at about 2 minutes until 5. The canon was located at the upper end of what seemed to be a parade field that sat on a slight incline. The field was surrounded by sizable, beautiful historic Victorian homes. I think it was in the middle of what the locals refer to as the Ft. Seward historic district. I couldn't locate my camera during the day, so I didn't get any pictures of the houses, but you can get an idea of what they looked like from http://www.fortsewardalaska.com/ (I'm hoping to get to peek into a B & B tomorrow some time. :-)

Just as we shut the doors to the vehicles, the canon blasted and all the historic houses around the field lit up with Christmas lights. Emily enjoyed the fireworks that closely followed. We trekked to the other side of the parade field to a little souvenir shop to watch a little Christmas play, but by the time we made it all the way around, the play was over. A local choir sang Christmas songs after the play as other locals stoked a bonfire for a weenie roast. Apparently the cold, Shane's stomach, or Emily's whining drowned out the choir, because Shane was ready to go get something else to eat. Mona and I drove around in circles with the kids trying to find our way back to the hotel because, apparently, the navigator does not work well here. It had us driving on a parallel street. So much for technology. It's a good thing the town is so small-Shane and Larry were able to find us in our lost state to guide us back to the Eagle's Nest after they had already returned to the hotel and ordered a pizza.

I think we're planning on attending services tomorrow at Haines Baptist which meets in the local Senior Center. On that note, I think it's time for this lady to call it a day.

Tok to Haines & Pink Horse Chases

Well, we haven't had internet access for several days now. We rolled into Haines, Alaska, yesterday after a very LONG day of driving. DVD players and grandparents are a godsend! We started in Tok, Alaska, the day before yesterday, ate at Fast Eddy's for breakfast, then trekked out onto the AlCan Highway. A note for anyone traveling through Tok: fast Eddy's is semi-pricey and not-so-fast, but has good food. Shane and I shared a reindeer sausage, mushroom, and monterey jack omelette that was mighty tasty.

The roads weren't awful, but had enough snow and ice on them to keep us on our toes. We stopped to get gas just before crossing the border into Canada and the gentleman behind the counter revealed to us that it was -13 degrees outside. Yes, it did feel like -13. He suggested that we travel an additional 7 hours to arrive in Haines the same day instead of overnighting it in Canada because there was "nothing to do and no good places to eat in Haines Junction". Apparently, he had not visited Fairbanks lately. Just kidding!

Anyway, just after we crossed the Canadian border, we came across a mother moose and her two babes loping alongside the road. Emily was semi-interested and Josias could not have cared less, but the rest of us enjoyed watching them munch on the ends of the snow-covered bushes.

I think that was probably the highlight of the trip until today when Emily decided she was going on a three-year-old wild goose chase, er, pink horse chase. Mona, Olivia, Emily & Josias ventured forth this morning to see what the town of Haines had to offer. Emily left the hotel looking for a pink horse on a merry-go-round. Every time we would stop to look at a bald eagle soaring overhead or a historic home, she would blurt, "Don't look for houses (eagles), look for a merry-go-round!" We finally had to explain to her that we could look for both while she could just look for the pink horses. Emily saw a glimmer of hope when a nice lady we met downtown suggested that we stop by the fairgrounds to look for the merry-go-round. We found the fairgrounds, but no horses of any color.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Crazy Day

It's been a totally crazy day. I think we ran back and forth between the base/post and Eagle River at least three times today and I still didn't get everything done. Shane's hoping to leave tomorrow morning. I guess we'll see if that miracle occurs! I thank the Lord that Shane's parents were able to come up. Hoping to be in Gallup by mid-December. The plan: leave Eagle River tomorrow, ferry Dec 8-11, then drive California coast down and cut across the Southwest to NM. Hopefully we'll have some Wi-Fi access along the way so we can post some pictures or tell a story or two. I'm looking forward to the ferry ride. I think it will be so much better than spending 8 hours a day for 5 days straight in a car through Canada!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

First Haircut 11-06-09

Here is the evidence of Josias' first major haircut. Mom helped me cut his bangs at the beginning of October, but they grew out and the rest of it was looking pretty awful. Therefore, it was time to get down to business and cut it. Here are some before and after pictures for your viewing enjoyment. Before:

After:

Shane was less than impressed. I think the exact wording was, "That's awful!" I didn't think it was too bad for an amateur. I figure I didn't have to pay somebody 15 dollars to do it, so it was worth it even if he does look like Moe from the Three Stooges!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Emily's Birthday 2009

10-15-09 Emily was so excited about her birthday. She's been talking about it for months. "My birthday is coming in Octover! I will be free." She wanted a pink cake, so Mamaw Karen helped Momma put together a princess cake while they were here visiting. We're still not sure what to call the leftover cake. Shane suggested we take it to our bachelor neighbor.

I had intended on having a couple of Emily's friends over to celebrate as well, but failed to plan accordingly. At any rate, Emily really liked her princess cake (okay, so she mainly enjoyed the icing). Thank you to everyone who called and/or sent gifts to wish her happy birthday!