Crawling

Baby Lala has learned to do the army crawl, after an extended period of rolling everywhere. In this video she rolls, crawls, and gets mad while I keep moving the camera farther away.

Flu Survival

Just before Jeremy got home from the grand Canyon I came down with the flu.  Or I am assuming it was the flu, since I tested negative for strep and mono, though I also tested negative for the flu (all of these tests only cover some of the varieties).  It was the sickest I have ever been in my life, as far as I can remember.  I was in such agony with sore throat, body aches, skin sensitivity, headache, fevers, cold chills, sweats, and sinus congestion that I could not take care of Emmy and Laura and asked my mom and step dad if we could stay with them.  It turned into about a three day stay.  I would lay awake at night and worry that Emmy or Laura would get sick, because with the amount of pain I was in I could not bear to think of one of my children suffering that much. Laura had received the first half of her flu shot last month, but Emmy and I had not received a flu shot yet, and we still don't know if it was even the flu for sure. The night before Jeremy got home I went home with the girls, since we were so excited for his arrival, but I was still so ill that I had to ask my mom to come out to the house and help.  It was so discouraging to be so unable to deal with basic responsibilities, and it made me so grateful that I have family here that can help out when things like this happen.

The day after Jeremy returned I was starting to feel better, but Emmy began to get sick and feverish.  It was so hard to see her sick, but oddly she did not complain of the exact same symptoms I had.  However, her fever was frequently very high (around 103F) and she was in clear distress.  I think we went to the doctor 4 times last week.  She was supposed to start preschool on Thursday but we had to delay it because she was so ill. Finally on Friday we got a call from the doctor who said she did not have the flu like we had thought, but was suffering form a kidney infection.  I could not believe we had just been trying to keep her fever down when she should have been on antibiotics days earlier!  But we just hadn't known. So, a few days of antibiotics later, Emmy is getting back to her normal self, and she was able to start preschool yesterday!  Besides being completely exhausted, I think it is going well.  She is very excited about the upcoming book fair.

Emmy, recovered and excited for her first day at preschool.

Halloween, Winter Arrives

Right after Emmy, Laura and I returned from a very whirlwind trip to Oregon, we had Halloween festivities here in Kodiak.  I tried to make sure that Emmy especially had a great time on Halloween, even though with Jeremy gone I felt more like staying home.  I even got in to the spirit of it by wearing a costume to work for the first time ever.  Thankfully the Greek Goddess costume I borrowed from my sister was basically like a pretty dress.  I don't think it would have been as easy to wear a pumpkin costume while sitting at my desk.

Right after Halloween we got our first snow of the season and overnight it now feels like winter. I have been burning the wood stove each night, and each morning I let Emmy cross off another day on the calendar.  Tomorrow Jeremy gets off of the canyon.  A few days later he will be arriving home on the airplane.  Emmy is beside herself with excitement.  It has been a long trip.

Jeremy leaves for Grand Canyon

I try not to think about him like this, poised above a huge hole in a rapid.  But I can't help worrying about the danger he faces on his trip.  This is something Jeremy lives for, though. He wouldn't be who he is without the river.

Last time Jeremy went down the canyon, he had no incidents or injuries, but he caught some unknown virus right before coming home and became very ill, the same week another recent canyon adventurer died from catching the plague (yes, literally the plague) from an animal carcass.  Turns out Jeremy didn't have the plague, nor did he have anything else they tested him for, and he eventually got better on his own.  That just goes to show you that the things you worry about are often not the things that go wrong.  But this time, keeping fingers crossed, we will get our man back with nothing more than a relaxed attitude after his weeks away from "America."

The Sister Connection

New Video of the Girls

We got some flip video recorders at work and I brought one home to try out.  It's true they are very easy to use.  But they have stopped selling them since everyone uses their cell phones for video nowadays.  Everyone but me...

Fashion 1911 - 2011

This is a lot of fun. 100 years of fashion.

Caqit ukut: Planking, Owling, Leisure Diving, Horsemaning?

It seems like every couple of weeks there is a new viral internet photo craze going around.  Planking was the first big one.  There was a guy at Mike and Erin's wedding that kept planking on everything, and it got me thinking about it more.  So for those of you who haven't figured all of them out, here is a run down of some of the top photo trends...Did I miss any? (all photos from Google Images)

Planking: Where the subject lays face down, with stiff arms and legs, in strange unexpected places.

 

Leisure Diving: In this technique, you stage a photo of the person flying through the air, usually into a pool, in a very relaxed pose, hence "Leisure" diving.  Few people in Alaska do this, because who has a pool?

 

Horsemaning: Inspired by the "Headless Horseman," two people are used to make an illusion of one person beheaded, often with the "body" holding the "head."  Supposedly the photo below was taken in 1920, and has repopularized the technique after being discovered in a garage sale and posted online.  I kind of want to try this one.

Owling: Supposedly the next greatest thing after Planking became popular, I am least inspired by this one, despite my Alutiiq name meaning "owl."  Like Planking, but in a owl-like position, the subject perches in various unlikely locations.

Update: We had to try horsemaning at home.  Here is our most successful attempt. Emmy thought it was hilarious.

Japanese Knotweed - Invasive Species

So...the saga of the backyard septic installation continues.  We were happy to see our grass growing in the new backyard fill, even though there was also a prevalence of weeds.  There was one plant that I had never seen before, which I hoped was some sort of nice bush I could use in my landscaping.  It sprouts with a reddish tinge, grows quickly, and has broad oval pointed leaves.

 Unfortunately, as a visiting friend warned us, this plant is Japanese knotweed, which is highly invasive.  Apparently there was a landslide where various contractors were getting fill dirt from, but was from a location highly infested with knotweed - a highly aggressive invasive species.  So, my options are now to use poisonous chemicals, cover with heavy black plastic for a number of YEARS, or cover with 5 FEET of new clean soil.  Pulling up from the roots can actually spread it worse, since root systems can be 45 feet long, and only a small root fragment can restart a colony.  Another option is to cut it down up to 6 times a season for 5 years or more, which is sometimes used for large stands of it, but it can regrow to full size within a month or two.

 I asked the Kodiak Water and Soil Conservation District to come and look at it, and they suggested they could target spray it with something, and only kill a little grass since the knotweed are not yet well established.  It might or might not fully address the problem.  What a pain!

A Beautiful Wedding

Yesterday we attended the wedding of Erin and Mike.  It took place at Abercrombie, and it was incredible.  Everyone in the wedding party wore whatever they wanted, but somehow it all looked planned.  The bride was radiant, the father proud, the couple glowing.  Jeremy was a best man and Brent was the Officiant.  Emmy was a flower girl.  The weather was fantastic, with just a few thin clouds, and everyone was having a great time.