two week update

has it really been two weeks since my last entry?  i guess i'll insert the ol' "i've been busy" excuse right now.  there.  done.  can't use that one again for at least six months.  or maybe just 3 months.  or...

march has been a busy month.  ben has made a few trips home and when that happens, i seem to forget about the world outside of all that is benji.  oh, no!  i've become one of those people that forgets their friends (and fam) to focus strictly on the husband.  please forgive.  so yes, a few trips home, more drives in and out of anchorage than i've made since the beginning of 2009 and just lots of other annoyances here and there that have kept my attention.  

ben made it out of anchorage this morning but unfortunately did not make it out of king salmon.  i noticed ak airlines cancelled all flights this evening, so i do not know when he will be able to leave king salmon to get to work in chignik.  that was his only concern with leaving today; if i get out, will it only be to get grounded in king salmon.  but, if i know my ben correctly, he will find something to occupy his time. 

so with ben absent, i am attempting to get back into my mode of staying [mostly mentally] busy.  i picked up some fabric over the weekend and intend to get started on some projects this week.  i also picked up some paper for the start of a new scrapbook.  i think this one is going to start from 2003 when ben and i met.  i'm smiling already thinking of all the fun times we've had and captured on film.  yes, film.  camping trips, life with bulldogs, four-wheeling, etc.  we also picked up all the supplies to refinish grandpa jack's dresser.  stain, lacquer, and the best part - ben bought me my very own orbital sander.  wheee!  just what every girl dreams about!  in all seriousness, i am extremely excited to do this.  grandpa would be so proud.

currently, my biggest obstacles are one set of our tenants.  let me start off by saying we have been very fortunate with past (and one of the current) renters.  i did have one "bad judgment" case back in 2005 and now this latest one is ben's "bad judgment" case.  (thank goodness we're tied up now.  i never thought i'd hear the end of the two 19-year olds....)  with each tenant, you learn and grow, and it's all about the experience.  eventually, i will laugh about this one, but right now, it's taking all that i have to not break down.  i don't want to go into all the details, but i will say this one thing:  rent is not negotiable.  i know this, i'm pretty sure 100% of you know this, but i just had to state that for the record.  aaand... scene. 

jack is very cute.  i think i mentioned that the climbing has come in full force; climbing on the hearth, sofas, his push-toys, people... he's a maniac.  he's started to actually play with his toys, not just attempting to devour or throw them.  he rolls his matchbox cars in the kitchen (slight hazard to parents in the middle of night when they're left out), realizes that bouncy balls work best in the kitchen and kicks a certain ball around.  he's more entertainment than a barrel-full of monkeys!  

i do have some new pictures, but the camera cord is all the way down stairs.  to be continued... promise.

until next time, love + hugs.

 

st. patty's day fun

Ok, so we didn't actually take these pictures today, but we did have fun... Ben showed up!  He made it back home, safe and sound.  Jack and I met him at the airport and as soon as he saw Dada, he immediately reached for him.  They miss each other so much.

Here are the pictures taken on Saturday, showing off his cute t-shirt.  We hope the luck of the Irish shines on all of you!  xoxo

picky eater (oh my, karma is real...)

since sunday morning, when i dropped benji off at the airport, the week has flown by.  what a relief!  we are both feeling extremely homesick, and i say both because this home doesn't feel right without him in it.  all the days run into each other, there's no need for make up, let alone showers (ha!) and you can forget about me cooking for myself each night.  it's a good thing jack is going through this pickiness with foods right now because it doesn't matter if i cook a meal or if i just pull something from the pantry - the boy is only going to eat what he wants.  and, certainly don't count on what worked yesterday to work for today!  what a little pill.  i have figured out that he likes to feed himself, but this rule doesn't apply to all foods.  bananas are a cool, slimy texture - only eats them from a fork.  same goes for lunch meats.  but crackers, cheese, sandwiches, toast, corn, chicken: all with his chubby fingers.  we got so use to seeing him eat an enormous amount of food that likely now what he is consuming is probably more "normal" for someone his age.  

i was able to snap these pictures yesterday.  for whatever reason, he felt like posing, but i'm pretty sure it was because he wanted up (as you can see).

iditarod restart

we drove out to willow yesterday for the iditarod restart, meeting up with uncle bob and aunt sarah.  while it was sunny and in the 30s when we left wasilla, we drove into some rather chilly weather in willow (14 degrees).  sheesh.  not so bad for ben and i, but our trip was cut short because of you-know-who.  at least we were able to get some really cute pictures when we arrived and not of our departure!  at the beginning of winter, our friends gave us one of their sleds, as they had extra, and it was the perfect fit for jackie.  it was as if he was on parade!  he was smiling at everyone and there was a wave of "awwww" when we trudged by.  

new snowfall

 

we got MORE snow yesterday and through the night - and a beautiful day has followed!  the last few dumpings we've had have been followed by bitter cold.  today has been in the 30s, so it's been perfect for playing outside.  after a late breakfast, ben and jackie plowed the driveway.    

granddad paul visits.

granddad paul came for a visit on monday night.  we hadn't seen him since jack's first birthday - waaay too long!  he had been in england for the past few months, but his time away was worth it as he brought us some scrumptious chocolates!  i managed to taste about half of the box last night.  ben was wondering why there was several half eaten pieces, and i had to explain that that is how you find the really good ones.  apparently, he had not been introduced to this sort of chocolate-tasting-etiquette.  

granddad paul also had some goodies for jack: half a dozen matchbox cars + trucks and a bottle of bubbles!  fun!  jack loved his cars but was really confused by the bubbles.  he grabbed them, but where did they go?!  i was blowing the bubbles, so i wasn't able the capture this first experience, but there will be plenty more bubble adventures in the near future.

here are a few shots of grandson and granddad.  

ben is home... for the moment.

ben has been working in chignik bay since the beginning of january.  chignik is down on the aleutian chain, about 200 miles from kodiak.  he came home briefly the first week of february and is now back for another week.  i know it has been hard on him to be away from home and even harder for him to be away from jack - he is at such a fun age (what age hasn't been fun?!) so i know it weighs on him that he's missing out on the day-to-day fun times.  but, we just have to make the most of the time we do have.  ben is going back out on monday, the 9th, so we are squeezing in as much as we can.  we won't be together for our anniversary, but at least we can celebrate his birthday 'cause if it weren't for his birthday, there'd be no anniversary!  : )

please keep him in your thoughts as he travels on monday.  with a family of pilots, you'd think i would be comfortable with all the flying he does, but i can't seem to be until i know he's back safe on the ground.