Moments Like These

Back in March when B-man was working on getting his next assignment, the position here in Alaska came up but it was initially offered as a TDY (temporary duty) assignment. He would go to Alaska for 6 months (without family) and then deploy for a year (of course, without family) and then come back to Texas and we would move from there. Well, you can imagine that just wasn't sitting well with us. We didn't want to be apart for a year long deployment (this is our first deployment as parents and it's going to be a million times harder because of that) and we certainly didn't want to add 6 months to that while he trained in AK prior to the deployment. I can do a lot of things as an Army wife, but 18 months apart just might be too much for me to handle. So, he called branch and asked if there was any way we could come with him to Alaska and they said yes, if you PCS (permanent change of station) there and stay on in Alaska after the deployment.

So, we said YES! And why would we put ourselves through this crazy moving process of taking some things to SC, moving to AK for 6 months, putting our stuff in storage at the end of 6 months so that the children and I can be with our family in SC while B-man's gone?

It's not because of the glaciers, or moose, or bears, or fishing stories. It's not because we want to drive by the Palin's house. It's not because we love below freezing temps and 6 hours of daylight in the winter months. It's so that when B-man is gone for a year, thinking of us in the United States and we are here in the US longing for him to be home with us, we can think back on moments like these. These are the moments that get us through everything!

Milk Expiration Dates

...and other random stuff from Carolina Girl.

I have a few things that I wanted to share, so I thought I'd just pile them up in one random, multi-directional post. Stay with me, if you can.

1. Have you ever used the milk expiration date as a countdown of sorts? Let me explain. When I'm at the grocery store and I pick up a gallon of milk, I always look at the expiration date. And I always think of things that are supposed to happen before the milk expires. For example, if milk expires on Nov 12, then I know my birthday will come before the milk expires. I've used it to mark all kinds of occasions. Here are some more things I've thought of as I reached into the dairy case...my due date is before this gallon of milk expires, B-man will deploy before this milk expires, B-man will be back from deployment before this milk expires (a year later, mind you), the monthly bills are due before this milk expires, Christmas/Easter/Thanksgiving, etc will be here before this milk expires, and so on and so forth. Could I be the only one who does this? Am I the only one who does this?
Anyway, I was at the commissary the other day and I reached for a gallon of milk. The expiration date read July 13th. And guess what happens on July 13th??  WE GET THE KEYS TO OUR HOUSE!!!!! And I totally thought of this as I joyfully put the milk into our buggy and hurried to the checkout. Granted, we'll make it with this jug of milk by the skin of our teeth, but I'll take it! We sign the lease on Monday, get the keys on the 13th and the movers come on the 14th! Hallelujer!

2. The reindeer from the antler picture with B-man and Boo was only 2 years old! You can't judge the age of a reindeer by the size of their antlers.

3. I forgot to put this video in the last post from the Matanuska Glacier. We were walking back up to the car and off to the side of the trail, some folks told us to come over and check this out. The ground would move when you put your weight on it. It was like a water bed of rocks. Or a trampoline of rocks. You definitely moved on it, but it was very solid feeling underneath. It was very weird.

4. B-man and his team went hiking Tuesday morning on Mt Baldy in Eagle River. It was a nice clear morning and he saw the tip of Mt McKinley aka Denali way off in the distance. He took this pic with his phone, and you can only see the tip of it, but it's in the middle of the photo. You can see the snowy triangle of the top of the mountain. You can only see McKinley from this far South on a really clear day. We've learned that when you can see it from Anchorage, the locals will say, "Denali's out today." 

What a beautiful place to work out in the morning!
Well, until you remember that you're hiking this mountain in preparation to hike in the mountains of, well, you know where.

Are you still with me?
5. There's been a lot of talk about keeping yourself safe from the wildlife here in Alaska. Bears and moose in particular. The truth is, the more likely encounter is with a moose and they can be pretty mean and nasty. But, the animals that really have me concerned are the bears. Did you know that you're supposed to respond differently to different bears??
In an effort to try to help me remember what I'm supposed  do, I'm going to give you all a little Bear 101.

B-man had a newcomers brief this week and the forestry dude shared this info on what to do if you come across a bear. In general, for all bears, try to back away slowly and calmly. But, if the encounter escalates, this is what you need to know.
 
Brown bears: this includes brown bears AND Grizzly bears. Do NOT run! Try to back away slowly. If they attack you, lie on your belly or in the fetal position and protect your neck and abdomen (aka vital organs). Supposedly, if you just lie there and be still and quiet, they'll leave you alone (and hopefully leave the area) once they feel like you're no longer a threat. Hmmm...supposedly. Don't get me wrong, you're going to be hurting, bad, but hopefully you'll still be alive.

 Black bears:  Apparently, these bears take it one step further. They will attack you until you are dead and then eat you for supper. So, IF they attack, get the heck out of dodge anyway you can...RUN!
Now, before we moved, I thought I'd get some bear spray/repellent when we get up here. I imagined it to be like a can of pepper spray. You know, something that was small and that would fit on my key chain. Well, it's pretty big. Think Aqua Net aerosol hairspray can size. And...it's FIFTY dollars!! So, I just have been putting it off b/c do I really need it? Umm, after B-man came home and told me all of the lovely information from his Newcomers Brief... yes, yes I do NEED a large can of fifty dollar bear spray. B-man wants to know if I'd be able to find it in my diaper bag in time to use it. And I admit, that's a good question, because my bag is packed full of stuff, but I do need it b/c let's face it, I am afraid of bears. There. I said it.

Boo Says the Darndest Things

Boo has really blossomed in regards to his expressive language since we've moved from Texas. Some good...and some bad! ha! But, I've been wanting to document the things he's said and I just haven't done it yet. I hope I can remember them all.

1.  As he is getting older and desiring more freedom, he's finding himself in the hot seat more often. And I've taken to calling him by his first and last names.

     Me: BOO FAYE! You stop... (insert whatever inappropriate behavior he is currently displaying)!
     Boo: I'm not Boo Faye, I'm Boo!

And not too long after I said "Boo Faye" a couple of times, he would respond to me with, "NO, MAMA FAYE!"

2. We had communion at church while in SC. I was explaining to Boo that we were going to go up and have Jesus's supper. We have a book about Easter that he loves and he is familiar with the story of the Last Supper. So, we went up to the altar and had communion (one tiny piece of bread and a tiny cup of grape juice). When we got back to the pew he said, "Mama, I'm still hungry!"

3. We had this little conversation over breakfast one morning:
    Boo: Mama, where's Jesus?
    Me: Jesus is in heaven with God.
    Boo: Where's heaven?
    Me: Umm...way up in the sky. (does anyone have a better answer for a lil guy?)
    Boo: I want Jesus to come play today.
    Me: I don't think he's going to come today, bud. He's going to come one day, but we won't know when it is.
    Boo: I want Jesus to come live in the hotel with us.   
    Me: smile :)
 
I know I've forgotten some of the funny things he's said. Do y'all remember any that I've told you that you don't see here? If so, please add them in the comments section so I can have them documented for posterity.

Oh, BeBe also suggested that I document my original song that we sing to Boo at night. We usually sing a few songs before bed and last summer he requested a tractor song. Well, I didn't know any tractor songs, so I made one up and we've been singing it everyday since. This is how it goes...

Tractor, tractor I love you so.
Tractor, tractor, look at us go.

Tractor, tractor your wheels are big and round.
Tractor, tractor all over town.
 
Tractor, tractor your color is red.
Trac-tor, it's    t-i-m-e     f-o-r    b-e-d.

 Have a great Wednesday!

4th of July Weekend!

Well, in the begining of June we were on the sandy beaches of SC and now, the begining of July finds us in cool Alaska. Ain't that somethin'?

B-man had a four day weekend to celebrate the 4th. This is what we've been busy doing this weekend...



On Friday, we went to the movies to see Cars2!
It was a first for both Boo and Bit.

Boo was sooo excited, and a little scared at first.
Bit stayed awake the whole time and other than a 5-10 minute walk around with B-man when she was fussy, seemed to be watching the show also.

On Saturday, we did some driving on post to find some lakes and camping sites.
We came across this drop zone!
B-man is in an Airborne unit here in Alaska and will be jumping out of airplanes!!
I really hope we get to go watch!

Add Beaver to the list of animals we've seen in Alaska.

On Sunday, we went up to Palmer to a reindeer farm.
We brought Boo's boots with us! hehehe

Feeding the elk at the reindeer farm.

These are Rocky Mountain Elk and were bigger than I expected.

Feeding the reindeer. They were shorter than I expected.
A caribou is a wild reindeer...just FYI.

Guess how old this reindeer was?

They had a couple of moose there too.

Feeding Kenai, the moose.
He was very excited to see the moose and wanted to feed him, but couldn't go through with it.

We kept driving North and ended up at the Matanuska Glacier!
It's about 25 miles long.

I think it was the most amazing natural thing I've ever seen.

It was windy on the glacier!

We walked through this moraine field to get to the real ice. But, really, this was all rock covered ice too.
I felt like this must be what it looks like on the moon.
Moraine is the stuff (rocks, etc) that the glacier pushes down the mountain.

We had a nice weekend together! We really do live in a wonderful and beautiful country! We've enjoyed it all from the beaches and oak trees of South Carolina, to the mountains of Colorado, to the hills of Arkansas and the Hill Country of Texas, and now here we are in awesome Alaska. Wow!

Thanks to all of our Armed Service Members who choose to serve our country by protecting our freedom! Especially to our family members who have served and who continue to serve.

Trouble

There's trouble brewing...

Trouble, I say...trouble! Lol!

Drumroll, Please...

We had a break in the weather one day last week, so B-man was anxious to get the Jeep painted. He drove around to the back of our temporary housing and got to work. One good thing about it being light out all night is that you can just keep working on your projects until they get done. Unless it rains...which it didn't, but we were afraid it might.

So, click here for the before pictures.

Boo was very excited to look out the window and see B-man painting the Jeep. He kept saying, "Mama!! Daddy's painting his Jeep green!"

Prepping to prime.

Priming the top.


And here it is...


Wait for it....




Wait for it...

Ta-Dah!

They were out of OD green at the store, so he went with spruce green for the top and black on the hood.

No more girlie stickers!

Not too shabby!
We do embrace purple around here, as you all know we are Clemson Tigers through and through, but I think this color scheme is a better fit for B-man.

So, what do you think?