I'm a grandma?

A grandma of 5 puppies! Yup, Toni had her first litter. We thought she was going to continue the rampage of fighting off all the dogs, but she finally gave in. The first one was born at 1 am. and the last on at 4 am. What a night! She had the first one under the house and then 3 in the front room and 1 on Traces bed. What a mess! Saije kept a journal of gender & birthmarks. Then Trace began naming them all Falcon. Over the summer he wanted to have me change his name to Falcon also. Anyway we ended up with 2 girls and 3 boys. Trace and Saije even got into turning Trace into a dog named Falcon. Check out the one when he fell asleep. It looks like he is really awake. Crazy huh? It is kind of bad timing. We will all be at school and Toni will have full access to the house. We have people already wanting the pups so we should be dog less in about 6 to 8 weeks! Ugh!

Eddie Mack Scholarship Dinner

We go to the EMSD every year. It is to raise money for the college scholarship fund. They have Salmon berry contest, a live Polka Band, great food & a chance to win a round trip ticket to Anchorage. This year Mom tied for 1st place for the biggest and heaviest Salmon berry! 12.50 was my winnings! Trace also found one but didn't make the top 3. Berries are very scarce this year. I had to buy frozen berries to add to my sparse Salmon berries to make my jam. It is still good though. Our Fall weather is already upon us and we have had storm after storm for about a week. No mail in, no mail out! I guess we better hunker down for another long winter! Oh, and Lars starts the new school year with what Trace calls the "Hulk Hogan" mustache.

Have mercy on the Mucky Muck Man!

Today Trace had an accident with a pot of scalding hot water. Lars was in the shed boiling water in a huge pot to boil down some fossils he found. Lars told Trace to stay in the front yard and away from the pot. Trace was cruzin' around on the 2 wheeler in the front yard and decided to check on dad. Well he also decided to do a power slide and his back wheel hit the pot. About 1 cup of water spilled out and landed perfectly in Traces shoe. Luckily the whole pot didn't spill or it would have been to the burn unit like uncle CJ. Speaking of burns, wasn't it Muck that CJ was protecting from the grease fire? Well, Trace immediately tore off his shoe and thank goodness he wasn't wearing any socks. The one time I couldn't get mad at him. And Lars ran him into the house and filled the sick with ice and water and soaked his foot while calling me at work to get home with the Truck asap. So I zoomed home and flew to the clinic where the slowly sedated him with Tylenol and codeine and cleansed the melted flesh wound. Yuck! He was a trooper through the whole thing. The PA was impressed with his threshold for pain. My ears are still ringing from the screaming. Oh my little boy. So young to have to go through such pain. Some times we have major learning experiences

The girls leave for UAA

Well, I have been crying all week and never thought it would be so hard to see the girls go off to college. We are so proud of them all. We had a going away BBQ out at Rent A Can. I have no idea how it got the name, but it is a nice sandy bank along the river where everyone seems to gather to fish for Salmon, float the river, have a bon fire, ride 2 and 4 wheelers, and BBQ. The girls had quite a time getting out of here, every plane was over booked so they ended up going out on different days. They arrived in Anchorage and have settled down at Terence's parents house. They get to check into their dorms on the 23. School starts on the 27. We will keep you posted on how the once again FRESHMAN get through their first year of college. We love you all! Good luck, Elyse, Amanda, and Neisha! Go Get "Em!

Ride over Goulds Pass to Lenard's Harbor

Today a group of us took off on one hell of a 4 wheeler ride. Lars, Trace, Saije, Elyse, Terrence, Jane, Desirae, Henry, Dude and I took off at 5:30 pm. It was a nice day for a ride and the bugs and the bushes were thick! We lifted, pulled, pushed and lowered 4 wheelers with winches through the most rugged terrain I have ever seen. I also saw the most beautiful views that very few have ever laid their eyes upon. About 1 mile in, Dude and Saije had the 4 wheeler on top of them. They and the bike were okay. A few of us had to take off one layer of clothing along with my socks and get Saije into something warm. She ended up with a pair of gloves for shoes. She was a trooper and hung in there through the whole ride. As we crept along the over grown trail, we stopped and enjoyed the scenery. Not once did we come across a bear, whew! By the time we reached the top of the pass it was 9:00 pm and we still had to make our way down to the beach of Lenard's Harbor. It was like a maze, we would turn one way and have to turn around and find another route. Lars and Trace were the next ones to have a 4 wheeler on top of them. They and the bike were okay. It shook Trace up a little, but was back on the bike in no time. (no way in Hell did he want to hang with the bears) We finally came to a deadly drop off. It was lower the dikes off with the winch or turn around and not one of us wanted to make our way back through the jungle we just came through. Henry, Terence's brother in-law had a winch and lowered all the bikes down. It is clearly a must to have a winch! The picture of the 4 wheeler popping a wheely is Saije and Henry. A couple of crazies! After arriving on the beach at Seal Island on Lenard's Harbor we took a small breather and headed home before the tide came in and stranded us. We did get to see a bear with her 3 cubs on the side of the mountain. It was so far off that my picture did no justice, but that's how we like our bears. A long, long ways away. We reached home at 10:45 pm safe and sound. If you want to visit and come on a 4 wheeler ride, I promise you will never for get it!