G & G are here!

Mom and dad finally made it up to Alaska and we had a great visit from them today! They've been able to see Alaska for the first time and meet Miss Lily Kate too! Grampa was totally won over from the second he saw Lily and Grammie didn't want to put her down for a second! Gramps even sang her a Celtic lullaby before they left. It was very sweet. Caleb had the time of his life playing trucks with Gramps and hugging Grammie. Poor mom and dad's knees and backs will be sore from kneeling down to get eye level with Caleb and pushing trucks along the ground, chasing Caleb. We had a delicious moose sausage breakfast and snacked on salmon steaks and apple cider while we visited. It was a memorable morning and we were so happy to see each other! We'll get a chance to visit the folks tomorrow at Alyeska and it will be a grand adventure. More pics to come...

Random Lily@Home Pics

We just love having Grammy here. We are working on getting the nursery done and maybe will be finished today! Caleb has daily meltdowns as he comes to grips with the fact that he's not the king of the house anymore. Other than the crying (and sometimes screaming) episodes he's fine and just adores baby Lily. Cannon is really patient with Caleb. I can't be around Caleb when he's fractious because I can't hold him or move fast enough to dodge an occasional arm or leg swinging my way. Other than that, we are loving the transition of having a new baby in the house and we just love all the help and fun Grammy is giving us!

Welcome Home Miss Lily!

Our lovely Lily Kate was born on 9/11/10 after 20 hours of excruciating back labor. She was 4 weeks early and weighed 8lb 10oz. I'm so glad she didn't go full term. I endured the labor because I was hoping to try for a normal delivery. But we now know that I'm not built to give birth to the gargantuan babies that grow inside me. So from here on out, it's c-section deliveries for me. I never experienced labor with Caleb so it was a new experience for me and Cannon.

We are delighted to have my mama here, helping us in her cheerful and workaholic ways. I'm so grateful she's here. I'm recovering from the surgery much better than I did with Caleb. Sweet Lily is a very good baby. She sleeps most of the day and nurses and makes very sweet squeaking sounds. Caleb just loves her and kisses her any chance he gets!

We are so happy she's here! Welcome home Lily!

Fall means Fair

We've been getting outdoors as much as possible as Fall is here and winter is imminent. Fall means going to the Alaska State Fair, which is a must-do event in Cannon's mind so we've been going to the Fair every year. I usually get creeped out by all the hordes of strange people but manage to grin and bear it. Caleb was big enough to ride a couple of rides which were a total rip-off, but that's what the Fair is about. Paying premium fees for fatty food, mediocre at best rides, and for looking at wilted vegetables with ribbons next to them.

Can you tell I'm getting grumpier as my pregnancy wanes?! Haaa! I'm getting slower by the day as my delivery date approaches. The baby is growing very big, very quickly. In fact, the doc measured twice last time because he couldn't believe how rapidly the baby was growing. So much for hoping the baby would be petite! We don't know what to name our baby girl so if you've got suggestions, leave a comment. We'll look at her when she's born and decide what she looks like, but suggestions are always welcome.

All grumpiness aside, what a fun Fall season this will be with a brand new baby and a visit from Grammy and Grampa Stoddard to look forward to!

Bathing cars, birthday, baby shower

It's been a very rainy summer here. But we still find things to do. Caleb cleaned up his toys one day. Cannon turned the big 36 and we had a little celebration for him. I had a baby shower. Other than that, it's the usual. Cannon does a bunch a house projects each week. Last week it was installing several new doors, painting walls and doors, installing trim, sealing the driveway and taking out the trash. I had to keep Caleb out of the way so we went to gymnastics, grocery shopping, out to get a cupcake, tulle shopping for baby sister's tutus, out for walks and bike rides to the park, watching "Tooth Fairy" and going to play dates, etc. We also baked a loaf of bread.

I'm getting nice and round. Those of you who saw me pregnant with Caleb will remember how huge I got towards the end of my pregnancy. I still have 6-7 weeks to go and have already somehow defied the law of gravity. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out before it takes over and I just fall forward on my face every time I stand up. Lots of low back pain, swollen legs at night and charlie horses in my legs throughout the night, topped off with tossing and turning at night as the baby shifts. Yep, I'm nearing the end of pregnancy...but it's been a great pregnancy, all in all. I'm just happy to be able to get pregnant and carry the baby. I'm glad that the baby and I are healthy.

Fall is around the corner. I wince to think about it because of our lousy summer, but this year Fall will bring my folks and a new baby. I'm more excited about this Fall season than I've ever been about any Fall season. Here's wishing a happy pre-Fall season to all of you!

End of July Beginning of August

A rainy July has passed and a rainy August has begun. We've still managed to enjoy summer. It's been full of excitement about our baby girl who will be arriving this Fall, potty training and sleeping through the night success for Caleb, a couple of air shows, a hike and various projects around the house. Cannon installed some windows to the front of the house and they look darling. Little by little, we're sealing up this drafty house and making it look better. We sure love the beauty of Alaska but we've missed seeing family and friends at various reunions. We hope you've all had a wonderful summer!

Sick of Salmon

Dipnetting season is open only for a few weeks and Cannon made it down Monday to try his hand at slaying some fish. They opened commercial fishing on Monday so we didn't know if he'd get anything. After 14 hours in cold ocean waters, he pulled about 30 big, beautiful salmon (and some flounder) and brought 'em home. Dipnetting isn't for the faint of heart--it's ocean fishing in frigid waters with hundreds of folks fishing along side you. It requires using a net attached to a metal frame that is generally 5 feet in diameter and about 10 feet long. You drag the giant net along the bottom of the ocean and wait for the fish to swim in, watching and using the currents to help you catch the fish. With each catch, you gut and de-head the fish on the beach and then go back out. It requires hauling in ice to keep the fish cold and hauling everything out by hand at the end of the day--no small feat if you've had a good day. Some people make it a family fishing trip and spend days, but most folks do suicide runs where they drive down at 4a.m. in the morning and drive back at midnight. Some sleep in their cars (like Cannon did) and others are lucky to find a place to pitch a tent on the beach. Everybody that wants to, finds a way to make their way down, and get as much salmon as possible to stock up for winter. We're only given a window of about 3 weeks to do it. I look forward to doing it next year. It's considered good clean fun up here but it sounds like a lot of work! I'm really impressed that my hubby did the whole trip by himself. What a pro!!

Once Cannon made it home this is what we did:

*Did a dance of joy that he got home safe
*Gave him a hero's welcome as we're guessing he pulled about 30 fish! He did awesome...so awesome that he stopped counting.
*Panicked because we weren't sure how to process that much fish and keep it fresh.
*Argued about whether to buy more ice, whether to buy a vacuum sealer... (I had called around looking to borrow a pressure cooker but everybody else is fishing and processing right now too!)
*Shrugged our shoulders and started filleting. I quickly got intimidated by the filleting so Cannon did that.
*Rinsed fish, cut into steaks and bagged. Sounds quick and simple but it was not simple and it was not quick.
*Argued about how to seal the bags properly. Tried different techniques.
*Realized the bags were too big to seal properly.
*Finally cracked smiles and started laughing about our "greenhorn" inadequacies.
*I ran to the store to get more ice and smaller bags.
*Filleting, chopping, bagging and sealing for 4 more hours. (Sealing consists of adding a little water to each bag of salmon and then sucking all the air out by mouth and spitting the excess water that comes with it. Ick. Yuuuck. Gross!)
*Loaded the freezer with the sealed salmon.
*Did about 130 bags of salmon by the afternoon and were finally done.
*Hoped that our processing was successful. We'll find out in a few months if the salmon is still good.

It was stressful not to be more prepared but we're still novices and we really didn't know what to expect. I was so worried about losing the meat to spoilage after Cannon had worked so hard to harvest it. Next year Cannon will be taking coolers instead of plastic bins and I'll be waiting at the home front with a vacuum sealer, smoker and pressure cooker and several bags of ice.

We were so sick of salmon by the end of the day but today I cooked up a delicious salmon chowder and we are enjoying it very much!

If anybody wants to come up next year and help we'd be willing to pay you in salmon! ; )

A few catching-up pics

July

Tomorrow we celebrate our 5th anniversary. My sis, Heidi, took this picture and it is probably my favorite. I sure love Cannon and my feelings are really tender so I'll not bare my soul on a blog. I just love him and feel that we are completely perfect for each other.

It is another rainy day. This summer has been very rainy and gray. My poor plants and flowers are barely hanging in there and some have started to bite the dust. It's a sad thing because the colors and greenery are something a person craves after a long winter up here and to lose that is like losing part of my youth. I feel older when a blooming plant or flower dies. Rain makes some places even greener but that isn't the case in Alaska. It's already overwhelmingly green so the rain is just a taunting reminder that unless we want to play in frigid grass and mud, we have to enjoy the greenery looking out from our windows.

The latest in our lives is that Cannon is growing a beard that he started while out on a fire, Caleb is half-way potty trained and has been that way for months, I'm wearing new Ugg fliff-floffs (yes, I said "fliff-floffs") that he bought me for my birthday. They keep my feet uber warm but allow them to be ventilated. We had a chance to stay with our friends at their cabin and it was an awesome adventure. Caleb and Cannon had the time of their lives boating, riding wave runners at speeds that no wife or mother should witness, going tubing, eating s'mores, jumping on the trampoline, playing catch with the dog and throwing the football around. I was a great spectator for most of it but did get out on the boat a couple times. Next year I'll be out there with them.

I'm feeling great and passed my blood sugar test. Hopefully I'll be able to avoid Gestational Diabetes altogether with this pregnancy. What else...um, Cannon is starting to trim out our new windows and has almost finished the first one. It looks great! Other than that it's laundry and dishes and playing with Caleb. Yesterday he did the most classic thing. We went to the park because the sun came out and as he was walking past the car, running his hand along the car (which he always does), he stopped at the front of the car, inhaled and said "Mmmm, I smelling da engine!" and then ran off to the playground. Where does he get this stuff? That kid has motor oil in his blood. I think we're raising a pit crew team member without even knowing it. Or maybe a pilot or a plane mechanic. Or maybe a train engineer. But not a race car driver. Mama wouldn't have none of that.

(We're running a "duplicate annihilator" for our photo library so I can't post photos of our latest adventures. It's a shame because my fliff-floffs are so fluffy and cute, you're missing out not being able to see them! Ha, ha!)

Delicious Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

This recipe is so good and so simple, you'll want to hug me for sharing it with you.

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

2-4 lbs frozen chicken (3-4 lg breasts)

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 T. red wine or apple cider vinegar

2 T. olive oil

Dump in crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours. Serve with steamed and buttered brown rice, pineapple chunks and Chow Mein noodles. Delish!!

Make it now, hug me later!