Thanks Kids

"Myra, hey, this is fun...can we paint our clothes?" Shortly after this comment, I was doing the work. :)


We saw a window of opportunity today to get some stain on the 'ol shop. Constant rain has been plaguing our area for weeks. Secretly, I was planning on just getting it all done myself today. Once the kids saw me getting on Jason's old clothes, I admitted my plans and they were then holding the brushes. I wanted to share in losing the brain cells, so I took over after 20 minutes. Somehow I finished the whole building, even through bouts of rain showers and my ever present doubts of the weather really cooperating. Jason must appreciate the 109th of 120th step being done on this building project. Oh how I wish we had a Home Depot, heck an SBS, down the road.

Romay is showing her Savonga Husky spirit while she takes her Latin test.



Ethan often makes us laugh during class, it's often when he's not trying to be silly.



Latin test! Both the kids remembered their words (they learn about 10 a week). They're also learning how to conjugate the verbs.

Desi

So, here's our niece. We are pretty sure that she is part fish... just not sure which part. She should be starting her fall/winter season pretty soon. Swimming never really has an off season.
We're pretty proud of her and were happy to be able to spend some quality time with her this summer. You can see her here with her favorite Alaskan Auntie. Can't say that I blame her there. Myra and her have always seemed to have a special relationship. Two of my favorite girls.

Two of my favorite girls


Chlorine cures everything

Romay and I got to spend some bonding time in a little bit of a father/daughter day. Of course Kemper had to come along. Much to Kemper and my complete enjoyment, Romay is not like a lot of the steroetypical daughters out there. Most dads and dogs when they spend father/daughter days are sentenced to walking the hall in the mall and perusing sales tables... in the case of Kemper he would still enjoy this as he would find things to eat on the sales counters.
I had promised Romay ealier that I would definitely take her duck hunting this weekend, and even with what appeared to be Hurricane Katrina beating on the beach out in front of Koyuk, we ventured out. Our usual pond that we hunt over looked more like one of the Great Lakes than a small inland pond. Getting there was impossible and after testing impossibility for what seemed like hours of driving over full sized willows and small spruce, we headed for plan b... we ran out of letters by the end of the day and some time after plan dd, we came home very wet and with a depressed dog... he had wanted to kill something all week and was now not getting the opportunity.
Well, it is getting late and Myra has fallen asleep while I have been writing this. Hope you enjoy the pictures of what we consider to be the world's perfect dog... Kemper.

Humble Beginnings

Most mornings the alarm goes off at 6 am. This morning my purpose in waking up was of a different nature, to start selling lattes! Well, you can tell that there are a few "minor" details missing on the building: hmmm, paint, the rest of the tin roof, insulation, and shelving to name a few. Once the generator was humming (I have a 2000 watt Honda) and while holding my breath, I checked to see if the appliances were actually working (afterall, I announced to the staff that I'd be selling at 7:30). To my delight, I could mark off "generator powers appliances" off my list. The next few minutes I really can't remember since I was literally running around and doing various preparations. Alas, Molly, Bev, and Allen (our cooks and maintenance man) show up and from there the morning smoothly breezed by, one latte at a time. 8:30 came around and I shut down to get ready for home schooling at 9. Overall, I am one happy caffeinated business lady! Today is Jeni's birthday too, so it'll be easier to remember when I opened. I've noticed my mind operated like this today...."Take out your math books" (latte latte latte) "and turn to page 16" (latte latte latte)..."Ethan, what did you get for question #1?' (latte latte latte) hee hee.

Kotzebue Invitational

8 students and I aboarded the BSSD plane to Kotzebue for our first trial run of meets! Doug gave us a tour of the Seward Peninsula from 500-700 feet off the ground AND people pay big bucks to do that kind of thing! The students did well for their first meet. For me, I love meeting up with people and meeting new folks. I learned (from the 1/2 marathon) that encouragement goes a long way when you feel like you've just about hit your VO2 max and those legs are screaming for you to stop. :)