tactical & textile

to shooting a couple hundred rounds of ammo over a day and a half to sewing appliqué. i am woman, hear my sewing machine foot pedal roar.

on a saturday morning, i attended a 4-hour class on handgun safety, statistics of anchorage and south central alaska crime (mostly rape, alcohol-related incidences, domestic violence), safety, firearm training schools throughout the US, safety and oh - did i mention safety?  the class was a major eye-opener for me.  i discovered that anchorage ranks #2 in crime, behind detroit, of all places.  eeek.

not only do i find it necessary to carry while on my mountain hikes for protection against wildlife, but also for the crazies that may be lurking.  i can't believe it's taken me this long to become certified.  it seems silly that i've been out with my children for years, just risking it.  the confidence in my training and the comfort i feel in my pistol has me relieved, feeling prepared and ready for most altercations that may arise.  let's just hope this readiness is all that is needed.  i've made it this long without running into wildlife, and i pray to God i never have to fire this weapon at anything but a paper or steel target.  but, it's nice to know if i had to, i'm prepared.

day 1

4-hour classroom and 3-hour range time

 day 2

the rain let up, momentarily.

kids resting at home with dada, 

while mama's perfecting the 5-shot cluster drill (notice the black circle)

the following day, in support of gramma d's upcoming surgery, jb and i picked out some fabric to appliqué a few t-shirts.  ok, this is my new favorite project!  the possibilities are endless - thread color combinations, layering fabrics, mix and match... i already picked up some new plain tees to dress up with fabric.  

gramma d liked them, just a little bit.

zoo & a work party

the owner of ben's company is a pretty smart man.  toward the end of the party, i wandered over to thank him for having such a fun gathering - to have a company party, at the zoo of all places, with a plethora of kid-focused games including prizes, i mean, huge hit for my family, in particular.  he replied that he thought it was better than doing a holiday party where the focus is around an open bar.  ha!  and to be honest, it wasn't just the kiddos that had a great time.

 super-serious face painting.

 red spider & web for jb and a pink dinosaur for dyl.

the sun & flowers were an afterthought.

 so many games!  

plinko was their favorite.

dyl & caleb.  currently, he works with ben, and also, he is living in the studio while his house is being built.  dylan tells me daily that "i like caweb" and she includes him in her prayers and thoughts at night, along with our old friend sean.  we're gonna have to watch this one - three and a half, and she's always boy-crazy.  caleb is mid-20s and not at all interested in kids, practically his words exactly.  slowly but surely, she's breaking him...

 

super-fun party!

anchorage parks

there are some super-fun parks, popping up around anchorage... more like playscapes, i think is what they're calling them.  in fact, just this past week, wasilla lake got a park similar to the fun one in anchorage at westchester lagoon.  fun swings that adults can (should?) ride on or like the large "ladybug" swing where the kids can sit (lay) together.  ok, and there's room for mom, too.  

so on this beautiful blue-skied day, we hit up two parks: westchester lagoon and russian jack springs park.  and oh, whatta treat to have the big guy along, as well!  

the "ladybug" swing (because it's red & black!)

 russian jack springs

 dear baby tess, next summer's gonna be a blast.  

promise.

eklutna lake

last week, papa frank came to visit.  with our glorious record-breaking summer weather, i wanted to get him out to enjoy the fresh alaskan air.  with gramma d offering to watch the tessle-ball, i thought eklutna lake would be the perfect adventure for us and the big kids.

it's one of my favorite places in south central.  the views are stunning, the lake is the perfect shade of bluish-green, and in the fall, when the leaves are turning golden, it's picturesque beyond anything a nikon could capture.  speaking of cameras... mine is on the fritz.  i kinda feel outta sorts, too.  so on this day, i had to depend on the iPhone.  i really loathe camera phone pictures, but when you "have" to capture a moment, it is rather handy.  and, you know how much i love to capture moments, especially ones with family.

ok, so it's super-spectacular scenery and all, blah blah blah, but i couldn't help but notice the YELLOW LEAVES on this tree and that tree.  (ugh, i'm sooo not ready for autumn!) i loved the fireweed growing out of the water on the bank.    

"throwing rocks" would be listed under both kiddos' favorite past time

i don't remember when this started or really why is started, but whenever we visit eklutna, i can't help but find state-shaped rocks - and ohhh, brownie points if you find heart-shaped ones!  i'm sure my dad thought i was nuts (his laughter and snickering gave it away), but it's fun and passes the time during the kid's throwing adventures.  he said i wouldn't find alaska, and he was right, but i bet he didn't think i had alaska right at my fingertips...

some people, dudes usually, skip rocks; i find states.

and, hearts!  found two, one of which jack swiped from me and gave to papa frank.  cairns are fun for me to build and fun for the minions to knock over.  it took me 4 times over for this picture of my cairn.  someone kept kicking it over...

 beautiful day with my beautiful people

 a stop at rochelle's is mandatory.  

strawberry for dyl (totally over the camera) and "banilla" for jb.

one of those days i'll remember for my lifetime.  thanks, pop; miss you already.  xo

a very special sunday road trip

turnagain arm.  chugach mountains.  seward highway.  girdwood.  kenai peninsula.  

glorious girdwood

i used to make this drive on any given gorgeous day.  since moving to the valley nine years ago, it no longer happens on a whim, and certainly not as much as i'd like.  our last trip south was march of 2012, after our return from hawai'i.  we visited the sea life center, ate a hardy lunch and enjoyed tuckered-out (see: snoozing) children all the way to anchorage.

on this sunday, jackie and i left the valley before 8 am to journey on down for a day trip.  my very dear friend is expecting a boy mid-september and asked me to take some pictures of her super-sweet expanding belly at her farm, nestled in the kenai mountains of cooper landing.

i feel completely honored.  her road to motherhood began well before mine, and while i don't feel comfortable divulging her entire story, i will say she has more angel babies watching over her than any one woman should - in countless lifetimes.  she is SO brave, stoic, admirable and a true inspiration to me and everyone that knows her.  she's the definition of perseverance.  i am ELATED that her story has not ended in heartbreak and am overjoyed when caught up in daydreams of meeting baby boy harpe.

we hope to meet again to capture dada in the belly mix, but until then, here's what we captured on that very memorable sunday afternoon.

29 weeks of pure beauty.

 five, i repeat, FIVE first-rate border collies

jen muttered something about her mother not approving of pictures like these, but i was too busy enjoying myself... ha!  but oh - this is her element.  this has been her life.  animals!  she loves all her fur-babies; i'm tickled to think how much she'll love her smooth-skinned baby!  

 love this look.

it's a shame she's not more photogenic, am i right?!  what an absolute stunner.  one of those natural beauties that wakes up looking like this.

and if playing photographer for 2+ hours wasn't reward enough, she sent me home with some poultry plunder:  

jen, i know you've said how much this trip meant to you, but i still can't wipe the smile off my face.  i guess i didn't realize how much i missed you until we had this day together.  thank you for letting jackie chase everyone around for 4 hours.  tell them all to rest up - we'll see you in a month!

hatcher pass, gold cord lake trail

while i've walked around and explored independence mine, i had yet to venture up the hiking trails leading back into the the valleys.  so on an early (for us) sunday morning, we met up with some friends and discovered a new favorite hike:

gold cord lake

i didn't know what to expect, but it surely didn't disappoint.  the only bummer of the hike was that it was socked in, and it wasn't until we were on our way back before i realized the beauty around us.  funny how that fog can be.  it lifted a few times, just for a moment, allowing us to see the mountains so crisp and close.

our friends, scott and sharon, will be moving out of state next month.  i've known them for nearly 6 years.  it worked out perfectly to meet with them on what could be our last outing before they head south.  but, we're hoping to squeeze in one more hike before then!

thanks for the great sunday of conversation and laughs!  (and thank you, scott, for helping little red with her soggy shoes and stinky feet!)

how's the fog?

oh!  see that chubby marmot in the top right picture?  that thing was barking and whistling at us and/or the bullydog long before we saw it.  i have never been that close to one nor have i ever seen one of that size.  we saw another (or rather, heard it first) and bella and the marmot were in this minute stand-off; whoever blinked, breathed, moved, wiggled FIRST, lost...  i'll just add that the loser snored the entire way home.  

dyl thought it was very funny, hiding from us behind the rocks.  however, the we found it funny that when she peeked up, all we could see were the owl ears and eyes from her hat...  i can still hear sharon laughing!

  

dylan prefers the road less traveled. 

 dada & beanie are so far away.

of course, we stopped for snacks.

beanie in a stare-down with marmot #2.

fog lifted briefly, and there's gold cord lake!

if there's water nearby, my children are throwing in rocks & sticks.  count on it.

 the former miebs 5

doesn't dylan just make you smile?

 mission: accomplished.

ok, scott & sharon: when's our next outing???