About the house

(Typed last night at 9:30p.m.)

As I type this Caleb has just had a haircut and a bath. He's sitting in a pile of pillows on the couch, watching the setting sun (it will be setting for a few hours), eating a chocolate chip cookie.  Mind you, he's still in his birthday suit and I can't think of a more enjoyable thing to do...can you?  Cannon is at the next door neighbor's house, admiring a tricked-out Land Cruiser.  After some muggy weather, a week of rain, being sick with colds, herniated discs, and hyperthyroidism--the sun is shining.  Indeed it is.  Cannon will start his supplementation meds tomorrow--yay!!  He's been my Edward Cullen the last few weeks with skin that is ice cold.  He has had barely enough energy to work. I'm surprised he had enough to go fishing (wink, wink). No, but seriously, he has been really lethargic. I can't wait for him to feel well.  And I've got a neurosurgeon exam on Friday--how scary does that sound? Yah, some hoo-ha herniations in my neck have been giving me grief for the last 6 weeks and the neuro doc is going to tell me exactly what has happened, and what treatment options I will have. We're praying that the word "surgery" does not come up in our discussion as something that is a "must".  Last time I checked, there was no "Get my neck sliced open when I'm 33" written on my "Goals and Dreams" list.  

But back to the sunshine...it came out and lit upon all the beautiful flowers and plants, so we smacked the camera like a ketchup bottle to get the lens out (it hasn't been the same since a bottle of water spilled on it during a biking jaunt), and I snapped a few photos of our backyard.

I was really happy to be using the camera. It is crazy how attached I've become to the camera and the photo-journaling lifestyle.  

Sticky fingers...I talked to him about the monkey who got his hand stuck in the jar because he was greedy but it did no good. He walked around with 3 cookies smashed close to his heart...

The kitchen where those cookies were baked now has a red accent wall and new rug to match...we've sanded the cupboards and will be repainting them and putting new hinges on all the doors. I want to paint them black but it would make an already dark "galley" kitchen seem like the depths of hell...so we'll keep them cream colored and the kitchen will remain light.

I love the way a piano looks in the sunlight, especially at dusk.

Lets follow our greedy cookie monster out to the backyard...

"Someone must have planted these flowers a few years ago." We say that because flowers are scattered about in patches, in random places in the yard. There is so much shade that it is difficult for plants and flowers to grow, unless they are woodland type species.
You'll see a busted trampoline. We got skunked on craigslist, but a garage sale find provided us with a little playground.
On days where the sun is starting to shine, we'll eat outside. It's wonderful!

The fuschia are blooming, finally!  I cut them back way too much this year.  I'm still learning...

I don't know what this ginormous plant is named...I like to call it Tantor.  It started with 3 leaves...

Beautiful moss on the trees...

Our fire pit with a fire that was bigger than the pit--thanks to a pyro hubby.

We transplanted some raspberries and hopefully next year they will bring fruit!

We also transplanted some strawberries and they did bring on some berries!  Almost ripe!

Out front Cannon was wheelin' and dealin' on a craigslist sale of some washer and dryer pedestals. The nice lady bought them and we hope they fit her w/d.

This is an epic photo journaling blog, I know.  But I was so happy to be able to use the camera that I even took pics of the craigslist tires we'll be putting on my wagon!

Holy petunias!

So there you have it.  An evening of sunshine at 2900 Concord Lane. Wish you all could be here to enjoy it with us!

First Time Filleters

"Is this how it's supposed to look?"

So we talk the talk about living in Alaska but really, we're still wet behind the ears. 

Cannon tried his hand at dip netting.  We only got a few fish but I'm proud of Cannon for bringing anything home, considering that it was the first time he'd done it, the salmon count was 9,500 the day he fished compared to 55,000 the previous day, and it was cold, miserable fishing.  And it is a physically draining way to fish, but the advantage of getting more fish, quicker draws huge crowds.  So I'm tellin you about fishing, in Alaska, for salmon...that means one thing...BIG FRIGGIN' FISH!  Even 3 filleted fish filled 20 quart size ziplock bags.

But to get them in the bags, we had to fillet them.  We've never processed salmon on our own before.  After Cannon hamburgerized the first fish, I ran to the store and bought a new fillet knife.  We were sure it was the knife, not Cannon!! Ha! Then we watched a bunch of Youtube videos and started on a different fish.  Of course, it looks much easier than it is and Cannon was trying to get every last piece of salmon off the bones because he worked sooo hard just to get the few fish that he did.  I had to show him photos and videos of filleted fish, so that he could "let it go"...the fact that he couldn't get every morsel of fish off.  I made a sushi bag with all the little pieces he would pull off.  Fresh salmon is delish.

I've got the knife ready to go.  

Mmm...salmon chowder.

Double Mmmmm.....fruit pizza drizzled with chocolate...

I had someone helping me lick the beaters as I made the fruit pizza. 

He's got such a sweet face and smile! He is sure growing fast.  (Sniff, sniff)

I have plenty of stress and disappointment in my life.  Don't we all? Lately I've just been posting the fun highlights.  Hope you don't mind all the happiness...

"Take if off!"

"Take it all off!" I cried.  So lots of snips, snips and some blonde highlights later, and I've been bobbed. Never thought I'd do the bob, but I have a bob.  Yep, the bob train came and I took it! It's gone, all the long hair is gone. Skeedaddled...all that is left is...

...a bob-a-licious do!

Forgive me a cruel chuckle...I just couldn't resist a Paris Hilton pose...

Yah, I like it!  

(Thanks to mom and dad for making this bombastic bob happen with birthday money!)

Caleb and Kai

Caleb has a new friend Kai and they play so well together.  Cannon babysat them while my friend and I made a run to the store. They were eating blueberries (well, Kai was)! Cute!

It's been on of those weeks...

This what I'll be creating this weekend...

Our 4th Wedding Anniversary!

It's been 4 years since the big "I DO!" day happened.  I can say that I've never been more lit up with happiness, more frustrated with rage, more excited for the adventures that lie ahead, more deeply committed to someone, more entertained by anyone, more admiring of a person and just plain head over heels, crazy in love with anyone, than with my hubby.  He is my perfect match, in every way.  No doubt in my mind. A few pics to celebrate our 4th anniversary together:

This was the week we got engaged, in May.  After he put a ring on my finger, Cannon left for AK to continue fire season. Look at the cheezer grins--we were pretty smitten! And we were pretty insane, driving the Jeep with bad brakes and squirrely steering (we realized this as we were driving white knuckled, all the way home)...

We got married in July in the Mesa, AZ temple. 

We spent a few days honeymooning in Puerto Vallarta and then I put Cannon back on a plane to go fight more fires...

I cried so hard leaving the airport and he called me crying just before lift off...it was really tough.  But back on fires he went.  He's all suited up in his flight gear, in some remote location, waiting to go out and slay the dragon and save forest creatures and people's cabins...

I made a visit in August to see him and we went through Denali National Park.  The weather was in the high 80s' with clear blue skies (not common weather) and we had some memorable adventures camping and exploring everywhere from Fairbanks to Palmer.

I flew up in October and helped Cannon pack up his stuff and head down to Phoenix.  We were married after all, and I'd been living the married/single life for 3 months, so it was great to know I'd be "offically" married and living with my husband.  

More cheezer grins--we spent the week traveling through Alaska and Canada and the scenic views and wildlife were absolutely fantastic.  You name it, we saw it--grizzlies, sheep, black bears, wolves, elk, caribou, lynx...

This picture actually represents the first day of the rest of our lives together because it's the day Cannon arrived home to my apartment in Phoenix.  He finished the drive from SLC as I had to hop a flight to get home for work obligations.  Here he is with all his belongings.  That's not a U-Haul folks, it's a Jetta.  Let me just say that it was quite an adjustment for him to accept the fact that I had furniture, real furniture, like a bed, couch, entertainment center...he was used to living like a cave man.

So we're married and besides being incredibly handsome, he's incredibly goofy.  So here are a couple of the many faces of Cannon:  

One time I found a picture of him with bleached blond hair and told him it looked cool.  So he surprised me and tried to dye it himself again, and well...(thank goodness his sis Holly has mad skills and could fix it).

I've always known my husband as a hottie, but a Don Juan too?  For several days he would walk around and say "Do you like my pencil theen moostache?" Wow, I'm a very lucky girl.

If anyone can make lemonade out of lemons, it's Cannon.  Exhibit A (except those are tangelos and he loved making gallons of juice from our tree in Tempe).

My favorite face is that of Cannon as a father.  He is very soft hearted.  He is very engaging with Caleb. He devotes all his time to making us happy.  As goofy and good natured as he is, he takes being a dad seriously and when he's home, he's home--rather than being distracted by other things

And, true to the nature of our relationship since day one, he is out on a fire and we'll be celebrating our anniversary belatedly but that's okay.  And if he's reading this, he should know that I've got a fire burning in my heart for him, bigger than any fire in Alaska...and it will always be burning for him!  Love you baby!

Cannon is on a fire somewhere on the Aleutians so there is no telling when I'll hear from him.  He's been out on a different fire this past week so we've been in touch, but now, it's hard to know how long he'll be gone or when we'll touch base.  This is an old pic, but nothing much has changed--he's still handsome, he still loves his job, he still wears that shirt and the fires are still that big.  Anyway, he's having a good time. We sure miss him!

In other news, I've got herniated discs in my neck so if any of you have knowledge of treatment, let me know.  I refuse to do surgery.  No way.  Any stories or experiences you know of where people healed from their neck problems, send it my way.  I need pep talks. It's extremely painful but I'm functioning enough to chase a 2 year old.  Let me know what you all know. I am doing physical therapy, icing, attempting to rest, taking anti-inflammatory meds, etc. Thanks!!

Hey Hoser

The last couple days it's been in the record highs--we're talking 85 degrees.  We are having a great summer up here!

Valdez for 4th Weekend

Our camera is on the fritz. A few days ago we took a bike ride to meet Cannon on his lunch break for a picnic, stopped at Subway, packed the sandwiches and lemonade in the bike trailer and the lemonade spilled all over the camera...so we're crossing our fingers that it has dried out.  The batteries are charging as I type.  Hopefully we'll have a functioning camera in a few hours.  I tell you this because we went to Valdez for the 4th of July weekend.  I tell you this because you can't go to Valdez and not take pictures. I tell you this because we couldn't take pictures and the views were SPECTACULAR.  I tell you this because Valdez has been called "Little Switzerland".  The drive into and out of Valdez is absolutely eye popping. I can't stress that enough, folks...it is incredible.

So I "borrowed" a few pictures online to try and capture some of the amazingness to share with you.

This is Mt. Wrangler, in Glennallen.  Glennallen is about halfway (it's a 6 hour drive) to Valdez.  It isn't Mt. McKinley, but it's darn close...looming and majestic in what seems to be the not-so-far-distance because it's so huge. We camped just outside of Glennallen the first night.

This is a glacial river.  These are all over the place.  You drive by them and the water is moving so fast that your car feels like it's standing still.  The color of the water isn't photoshopped, people...the water really looks like this except it is fierce (this pic shows tame water). There is awesome salmon fishing to be had in these rivers...

...and some people are crazy enough to ride the rapids.  Giant waterfalls bound down the mountains in water-carved paths, towards the rivers, fueling the mighty power of the rapids.  Stories of people drowning from glacial silt bogging them down and the treacherous looking white caps that make Lunch Counter look like a kiddie pool are enough to keep me from ever attempting to ride them.

And of course, you have glaciers...everywhere.  Giant, massive glaciers...on the right, you can vaguely see a car's headlights on the road.  That gives you an idea of the closeness the road affords travelers to some glaciers and an idea of the scale between you and the glacier.  Glacier wins...
Here is an arial pic of Valdez.  You can imagine how small one feels walking around the streets and ports with mammoth mountains smacking you in the face.  It's almost surreal. The oil tankers were pretty cool to see also.

We returned home thoroughly nappy and tired from a few days of camping...and more amazed with this place.  God bless America, land that I love...indeed.