What I Wont Miss About the Old House

     Now that I have everything moved into the new house. I thought that it would be fun to write some things that I wont miss about the old house. Not to say that it was a bad place to live, however there were several things that were annoying.

 The broken window in my bedroom there was a piece of plastic on either side, but when the wind blew I could feel the cold air coming in

 We ran out of oil twice, waking up to the house being 50 degrees is not pleasant

 This shelf was at the bottom of our stairs. I never hit my head on it (shockingly) but I was always afraid that I would

 Brian and I both fell down these stairs, they are very narrow.

 I will not miss using a step to get in and out of my shower

Lastly I will not miss the mice. I caught eight in this trap. 

    

Moving Day (Vancouver)

     While in Vancouver over the Thanksgiving Holiday Shelly and I had two major objectives. The first was to move her and the boys into my parents house for the remainder of their time in Vancouver. The other was to ship a whole lot of boxes to Marshall. With the help of family and friends we were able to make that happen. I have to say that without them the task of moving and shipping would have been much more difficult.

Here is my list of THANK YOUS

First Shelly thank you for being the wonderful wife and mother that you are. Thank you for being strong while I am away. Thank you for taking care of most of the moving related issues (storage unit, packing boxes and endless phone calls to change our address and phone numbers) I love you so much and I am so proud of us for taking this leap of faith.

Mom and Dad thank you for flying me home for Thanksgiving. Allowing me to help Shelly with the huge task of moving. Mom thank you for watching the boys so that Shelly could get things ready for our move. Dad thank you for letting us borrow your truck all the time. Both of you thank you for allowing us to take over your house for a couple of months. I hope that the boys haven't driven you crazy yet.

Julie thank you for watching the boys whenever Shelly needed it. You have been so willing to take them at a drop of a hat. I know that it has been so nice for Shelly to get a minute to catch her breath, before she dove into whatever task she was going to get done without two three year old boys helping.

Marilynn and Barry thank you for being there for Shelly for anything be it watching the boys, buying them clothes, or just a shoulder to cry on. Thank you for helping with the move. Barry thank you for they heavy lifting and Marilynn for watching the boys. These past few months have been stressful for Shelly and I, and you have been great for both us.

Samuel thank you for all of your help with the move. Your brute strength always amazes me. Thank you for being so sweet with my boys. Seeing them wrestle with you and play with you makes me so happy.

To everyone else Laura, Andrea, Christine, Lisa, Roxanne, Thom and anyone else who has helped my family thank you. I know that this is an unusual situation that I have put you all in. Thank you for all for your help, support, love and prayers during this crazy time in my life. Hopefully in a few weeks we will all be moved up to Marshall and we will be able to develop a "normal" way of life. THANK YOU!

 One of the boys last meals at the old house

 The mess before we moved

 Samuel taking down the TV mount

 It's empty!

 Clean and empty

 Bye bye old bedroom

The boys empty bedroom

     Shelly was saying that she was going to miss the old place. When she first said that I thought that she was crazy. Now looking back at the pictures, I am feeling a little nostalgic. This is where we brought home all of our babies. Where Shelly and I lived the longest over five years. I don't think I will miss the home itself, but I will miss the memories. We had a lot of good times in that old place. 

One more time thank you for all the wonderful people in my life who are willing to help take care of me and my family.  

Suprise Visit Home

   Several weeks ago my parents were discussing a trip up to see me here in Marshall during Thanksgiving since I wasn't planning a trip down. My sister Laura overheard the conversation and said that instead of them flying to meet me here, instead they should fly me home as a surprise. So my mom called me up and told me that they wanted to fly me home over Thanksgiving, but I couldn't tell anyone especially Shelly. It was really hard to keep the secret from her especially since she was stressing about moving into my parents house and shipping things to Marshall. The morning that I arrived in Portland I was pretty tired (I had been awake for over 24 hours). When I got into my Mom's car it was so HOT! The heat was on plus she had the seat warmers on. I was wearing my big winter coat with several layers underneath and my snow boots. When I left Marshall it was 9 degrees. When I got into Portland it was in the low 50's a big temperature difference. We drove straight to my house to surprise Shelly. When we got there my dad banged on the door a few times, but to no avail. He was about to call when Shelly answered the door. My dad yelled HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Shelly was a little confused until my parents moved out of the way and I stepped forward. All I heard Shelly say was "I'm not wearing very many clothes" to witch Laura replied "I don't think he will care" It was a wonderful moment. When the boys woke up they were surprised to see me. Logan didn't want a hug at first he went over to Shelly (he was probably thinking who is this guy who came in the night, I don't know him). Jack on the other hand came in and gave me a big hug. It felt so nice to hug and kiss my boys after not seeing them for nearly four months.  

 Julie invited us over for a pizza dinner. No way I was turning that down

 Looking over the choices Pepperoni, Hawaiian or cheese

 I missed my sleeping buddy

 Unwrapping presents at Shelly's party at Marilynn's house

 I forgot the joke behind this shot, but apparently it was pretty funny

 The boys helping Shelly blow out her birthday candles

     Shelly and Wyatt

Family photo Me, Wyatt, Logan, Shelly, Jack (we were almost all looking)

     So a funny side note about surprising Shelly. After my dad shouted happy birthday to her, she hadn't seen me yet, and she was thinking to herself Carl its 6:00 in the morning and its not my birthday. Her birthday was on Friday and I showed up on Thursday. However she quickly changed her tune when she saw me. 

     Mom and Dad I wont ever be able to thank you enough for this gift, flying me back to see my family after being apart for so long. Thank you is not enough, but it will have to do. Also thank you for taking in Shelly and the boys. It has been an a huge weight off Shelly and my shoulders. 

Ice Has Arrived in Marshall

     It has been well over a week since the temperature has risen above freezing here in Marshall, and that means that North of us it has been below freezing even longer. With all this cold weather the Yukon river has started to freeze. A couple of days ago we started to see ice chunks floating down the river. I went down to the river bank to get a better look. It is hard to explain with pictures and words, it is a pretty amazing sight. 

 

The afternoon of the first day of the ice flow

 

  

 

 These boats will be on shore for the remainder of the winter

 I have not learned my lesson I am still wearing my sneakers

 Air bubbles trapped in the ice

 Massive chunks of ice

 These ice shards are about 15 feet off the river bank

 

     I am excited for the river to be entirely frozen. I want to walk to the other side and take pictures of Marshall from the island. I have heard anywhere from two to three weeks it will be frozen across. It will be a bit longer before they will be riding their snow-gos on it to go to the nearby villages.

Sorry, Mom This Post is Not for You (Skinning a Seal)

     A week or so ago some a seal was donated to the school so that the students could see how to properly remove the fur and meat. This was a unique experience since we are a down river school we often don't see seal. After inviting an elder to come and explain where to cut, our head custodian Buster took to the dirty work. FYI this post is not for those with a weak stomach.

 After they caught the seal they cut it down the middle to remove the "guts"

 I never knew that seals had claws

 Buster removing the face, one of my students looking on

 Buster is explaining what he is doing before he cuts

 Kindergarten and first grade students getting first hand experience

 The meat is nearly all cut off

 One of our elders looking at the seal flipper

Whats left is the fur and fat

     I am still unsure how they remove the fat, but it drips off and they use the seal oil for cooking or dipping their seal or dry fish.

Here is the cleaned drying seal fur

     Another experience that I would have not likely been a part of in the lower 48. I am glad that I have been able to participate in so many unique activities here in Marshall. I am excited that we have only finished the first quarter and that there are many more experiences to come. 

 

Another Snow Post

   It is going to take a while for me to get used to the snow, especially this early in the year. After living in southwest Washington for nearly all my life, seeing this much snow let alone in October is hard to get over. Yesterday I walked up to the school around noon. It was partly cloudy so I decided to wear my regular shoes. (I haven't been able to since the last snow). While working on report cards I looked out the window and noticed that it was snowing just a little. It continued to snow all afternoon and into the evening. I had forgotten that I had worn my tennis shoes to the school until it was time for me to walk back home. Needless to say my feet were wet and cold when I got home. However I have learned my lesson. It is time to put the sneakers away and wear my boots all the time. All of the snow that fell yesterday afternoon and evening made for some great shots this morning.

First Snowy Day in Marshall

    So it isn't like the title says. Today wasn't the first snow in Marshall, it has snowed a few times but today was the first time that the snow stuck to the ground. When I was walking home last night I was looking up at the clear sky in amazement. I am always shocked that I can see so many stars. I was even more amazed when this morning I saw nearly two inches of snow on the ground. It was fun to walk in and drag my feet. I know there are several more snow days to come, but coming from Washington, this is about as much snow as we get all year.

 Kindergarten and first graders having fun in the snow

The puppy wanted to get in on the action

 Across the river (out my window from my classroom)

 

Snow on the sandbar (also out my classroom window)

 

 Good contrasting colors in this picture