BACKWARDS DAY

Kaden's class at school was having a "backwards day" day. He couldn't miss the chance to participate.

Clothes and backpack on backwards.

Face painted on back of head.

Final product.

Silly kid!

Alaska Trip--April 09

This trip was as is every other trip--an adventure! It started with my being delayed by 3 days because of an active volcano just outside of Anchorage, that was spewing ash. Flights were not going into Anchorage. Fortunately, I was still in Salt lake when they started cancelling flights (and not in some other city), so I was able to go home and wait. Once I finally got there, it was business as usual. This trip took me to 5 villages (4 of which I have been to before). They were Togiak, Manakotak, New Stuyahok, Dillingham, and Naknek. Here are a few of the highlights:




My first flight from Anchorage to Togiak took us directly pass the volcano--Redoubt. We had to go around it the long way, so as to avoid the ash. Here's a shot from out my window. We were pretty close.









In New Stuyahok I had the opportunity to watch a village Elder skin an otter. He brought it into the local school so the students could watch him. He just flopped it on the ground on a piece of cardboard, and went to work.
I asked the teacher how they got the otter, and she said, "Oh, we chased it down this morning on our way in to work, and ran it over with the snow machine." Not quite what I had imagined the answer would be. But I guess they have road-kill here too!




In Manakotak, a patient said she was going ice fishing that afternoon, and that they would bring us some back if they were successful. Well, they were. They charged us $40.00 for 3 beautiful rainbow trout. Unfortunately, they weren't delivered cleaned and cooked, with a side of vegetables, and a loaf of home-made bread. It was all up to us to clean and cook them. On a funnier note, Sach and I were right in the middle of cleaning the fish (hands covered with blood and a bloody butcher knife in our hands), when a patient from earlier in the day came back to ask us something. They took a look at us and their eyes got as big as saucers. I guess we did look a little like crazed maniacs.




Here I am waiting at the "airport", standing on the side of the run-way, waiting for our plane to come and get us. Global warming is pretty obvious, isn't it?










Flying to one of the villages I noticed a herd of moose down below us. I tried to get my camera out to take some pictures before we passed them. The pilot noticed what I was doing (since I was sitting next to him in the co-pilot's seat) and asked if I wanted a better angle. So he circled the plane around and got a little lower to the ground, so I could get this picture. They're still pretty small, but there were at least 16 moose just laying down there in the snow. I also saw a bear about 5 minutes later along the river, but I didn't get my camera out soon enough, I didn't dare ask the pilot to turn around again.

Signs that Spring is in the air--the ice over the rivers is starting to crack. This trip was a little warmer than the last--upper 20s to low 30s. Beats 20 to 30 below zero from the last trip.

AN EASTER MESSAGE

I was sitting at my desk working on my computer when Katelyn, Caleb, & a friend walked in. The friend pointed to a picture of my brother that I have on my bookshelf and asked Caleb who it was. "That's my uncle," Caleb said, "But he's not here anymore. He's dead." To which Katelyn emphatically replied, "He's not dead, he's in Heaven!"
An Easter message from a 4 year old.

The Perfect Belly Button

The other day we took Grandpa Green to the Alpine Arts Museum (where our Tres Jolie office is) because he wanted to take some pictures of the foundry. Grandpa and Katelyn went into the studio where Deon Duncan, one of the sculptors, was just finishing up a sculpture of a little girl. She was literally taking the statue apart to take it to be bronzed, when she felt something just wasn’t right with the little girl’s belly button. Noticing Katelyn standing across the room, she asked, “Do you have an innie or an outie belly button.” Well, Katelyn wasn’t about to show her,

but when Grandpa told us about it we took her back into the studio and convinced her to show Deon her belly button. Deon was ecstatic--it was perfect. So Katelyn had to stand still for several minutes and model her belly button, while Deon put the finishing touches on her sculpture. It was adorable!

Lunchroom Duty

Once every few months, a couple students in Caleb’s class get picked to do lunchroom duty. Caleb got picked this time. He was actually really excited to do it. Not only do they get out of class a little early to go set up, but they get to stay a little later (which means more class is missed), have lunch for free, and get extra desserts. What more could a boy ask for! Mom and Katelyn even went to have lunch with him, but he was working so hard that he didn’t have a chance to eat with them while they were there. I wish we could get him to work that hard at home! :)

Draper Temple

We had the opportunity to attend the Draper Temple open house. It was a great opportunity for us to go into the temple with our children, and talk about why they are so important to us. It was a sweet experience to stand together as a family in one of the sealing rooms, look into the large mirrors on both sides of the room, and see our reflections go on and on and on. A lot of great questions were asked, and simple answers given. It was a great learning experience for all of us. And the icing on the cake came when on the way home Kaden said, “Mom and Dad, thanks for taking us to the temple.” Now, every time we drive by the temple and sing “I love to see the temple, I’m going there some day…”, I hope it will have a little greater meaning.

Katelyn's Birthday

I’m a little late on this, but Katelyn had a birthday. My baby girl turned four. I guess she’s not much of a baby any more, and that’s getting harder and harder for me to deal with. That’s especially apparent when I call her my “baby girl” and she says, “I’m not a baby, daddy.”


I love what a sweet girl she is becoming. She is my serious, pensive, and observant child. She likes to have contests with me to see how long she can go without breaking into a smile. And she’s pretty good at it, too! But, dad always knows how to make her smile. I’m amazed at her intelligence, and awed at her abilities. She's my rough and tough, precious little angel. She is sugar and spice, and everything nice; and frogs and snails, and puppy dog tails--all wrapped up in the same beautiful little being! She is definitely the product of two older brothers and an amazing mom. And I love her more than words can say!