Fishing on the lower Situk

Today we went fishing with one of the teachers for some silvers. We took out her skiff and gill netted. We were able to get quite a few fish and almost a seal. It was beautiful! I got to show Lars just how to fillet a fish! JK!

The first day of school in Yakutat, AK.

Saije and Trace were very nervous about the whole new school , new friends thing. They were welcomed with warm smiles. Lars was excited to finally teach what he has always wanted, ART!

The first week went by quick, 8:00am to 1:45pm. I stayed home trying to sort out a path from our front door to the rest of the rooms. Andy still ask me why I pack all this crap around with me. He says all we need is a backpack. Each have a sleepingbag, pillow, canteen, mess kit, tp, tooth brush, soap, towel, washcloth, two changes of clothes, 5 underpants, 5 socks, brush, bug spray & sunblock. Well I am not quite ready to give up my bed and I am sure it won't be in the near future either. But I do have to admit he is on to something. Especially after moving 5 times in the past 3 years. Ya, 5 times in 3 years!!!! I better rethink the backpack idea. Saije has already got girls giving her compliments on her dressing skills. She has also been given some direction to stay away from certain kids. Thursday was Traces swim day. He asked if I would go with him, I am guessing because I am so cool. I went and he showed the life guard that he can swim accross the pool and back without any help so that he could swim in the deep end. He did awesome! He puts on those little flippers and he goes everywhere at top speed. I taught him how to dive for weights in the deep end. We both had goggles on so we could see, about half way down he looked at me with this panic look in his eyes and I shoved him back to the surface. When he caught his breath he said, I need a bigger breath than that next time. So we took a break and tried again and he succeded! He is so cute, strong and growing like a weed. He does need help on the diving, that belly flop has got to hurt!

When Friday came we took a load to the dump and got to see 11 bears. They are everywhere! Black bears, brown bears & grizzly bears. They just sit and wait for the trash so they can go through it. I am glad I cut up my credit cards before I threw them out.

The Ferry ride to Yakutat, our new home.

We had a beautiful ride to Homer. It felt like we took half of King Cove with us. A few families were going out for their vacation or to the Palmer Fair. Trace got to ride all the way to Yakutat with his friend Alex. They were headed to Sitka.
The second day of the Ferry, Trace wanted to go to the vending machine to get a drink and witnessed a fight which ended up in blood and handcuffs. When we reach Kodiak the police came and took the man off the boat and straight to jail. It is good to know that there are officers on the boats to protect people. We took copper for a walk and got some McDonald's for breakfast. The next day we arrived in Homer and began our trip on the road system to Whittier. As we approached the top of the hill on the way out of Homer, we heard a bad sound and saw smoke. I quickly pulled over and figured out that I needed to get to a mechanic asap! I took the truck out of low gear and continued to drive slowly until we hit the nearest gas station. I went inside and tried to get ahold of Lars, who was not at home but at school. So I asked the attendant if I could look at their phone book to look up a shop in Ninilchick. While I was standing there a gentleman with hair longer than mine came to purchase some jerky and water. I asked myself if asking him for help was a good idea, and I said to myself, he reminds me of Jesus so I introduced myself and asked for his help. He was glad to look under the truck to see if anything was missing. He found out that there was nothing serious and offered to follow me to Ninilchick were a friend of ours works. We safely got there and when I looked back to wave thanks, he was gone. God is so amazing, I love him so much! I then found our friend Mike and he took a look at it and found that I popped a u-joint on the front right wheel. He advised me to drive as slow as possible and I would get to Whittier just fine and Andy could fix it when I got home.

When we arrived in Whittier it was 9:00 pm and not a soul around. We locked the doors and tried to get as much sleep as one could in a chair. We were the last to get on the Ferry, 12 hrs. later. I found out that we will be the first to get off. I sat there watching car after truck after Motorhome go one and noticed that they were having the motorhome and truck/trailers back down this steep incline to get on the boat. My heart was racing, I began to get sick. I was trying to figure out how I was going to this with such a heavy load, going down hill Backwards!!! I thought about offering to pay someone to drive, but I didn't want anyone to wreck my sweet suburban. Saije kept trying to calm me down and reassure me that I was the best mom ever! And that I could do it! It came my turn, I slowly proceded and began to make a wide turn and the guide rushed toward me waving his hands and pointing to the other direction. I got to drive down front wards! Yipee! I was so happy and once again thank the Lord for staying with us. We made it to our cabin and took a nap. We ate at the cafateria and Trace hung out with Alex at the arcade. It was a short trip, we arrived 22 hrs. later. Not much for sight seeing, we were pretty far off the beach and rainy. When we tied up to the dock, there stood a man with the look of worry in his eyes. Lars was so relieved to see me waving that he came on to the boat and gave me a hug. When we pulled off the boat Andy got in the suburban and showed us the way to the house. We were finally home!!!!! It is a nice home on the hill with neighbors all around us and a beautiful view of the bay. I hope that you may all see it someday soon! Here are some photos of yakutat. Grizzly Bear, Situk River & Ice Berg on Harleqin Lake.

Saying goodbye to King Cove

It was very hard to say goodbye to everyone in King Cove. I am so glad that we were able to be apart of the community for the last three years. Thank you all for coming to say goodbye. Hey don't worry it is a small world and we will probably run into you in Anchorage.

On befalf on the Pheonix, behold the Gibson.....

Jocelyn & Amanda were given a guitar from their father, Andrew. They recently got it restored. Mean while, Lars has been doing something similar. I had recieved an electric Mandolin for Christmas in 2004 and Lars' Mando needed some electronics, so he did his magic to his Gibson....

"Let The Music Live On".

Lars & Trace building a deck onto the beach house.

The owner of the house has asked if Lars would put a deck on the back of the house before he left fishing. He worked for 4 days straight drilling, sawing & nailing with Traces help of course. Here is the completed project! I will sure enjoy it through the summer. We also hung our hammock and built a fire pit. We had a nice BBQ and got out the Kayak and took a row out on the Bay. We saw Sea Lions and 3 nice Killer Whales feeding on the Salmon that are getting ready to run. I love living in Alaska!

Fishin' out on Pat's skiff.

Dad got a phone call to go fishing for Halibut and asked if I could go also. So we took off in the skiff with life jackets, jerky, and bait. As we set out, it was a little freaky being in such a small boat out on the big beautiful body of water. As we came to Pat's fishing hole we prepped the poles with octopus. Lars and Pat dropped their poles and came up with Skulpen. Yuck! I put my pole in and came out with a Star Fish? I finally got a nice tug and pulled out a 35 pound Cod. I could barely get it in the boat for Lars to wack over the head. Did you know that the only part of the Cod that you eat is the tail? Who knew? I sure didn't! Next Lars and Pat pulled in the same, but Lars' was a 2 pounder and Pat's was about a 30 pounder. After bringing in a few more smaller ones we headed back in. We got our first sunburn of the summer, it felt good!

Our Family Picture Clock!

Before we moved to Alaska we had a family photo taken in Heber, UT. 2005.

While we have been in King Cove we have met many talented people.

One being a clock maker, Mr. Barney Mack. He has made many awesome clocks, even one out of a crab shell!

So, we had him make one for us.

We gave him our family photo and this his masterpiece. We Love It, Thanks Barney!

(the picture looks like it is in a fish bowl, but not in real life)

Our new view!

We finally got moved into our new beach house. This is the view from our living room window.

It is so nice to listen to the waves crashing while drifting off to sleep. The past week has been rainy and of course windy. But ya know it isn't as bad as living across the bay in the bushes. The wind dosen't sound like it is going to rip off the roof! Trace really likes being able to ride his bike and play basketball with the neighbor kids. I love being able to walk every where. Being on the board walk rocks!

Saije Goes to 2008 Prom

It is Prom time! Saije went to Prom and danced the night away. Her and her friends had a great time. The boy in the picture is Charley, her best "guy" friend. She looked so pretty! I can't believe how tall she has grown. Trace got to go to mini-prom they have it the day after the big kids and keep up all the decorations and the little kids get to dance. We found out he takes after his uncle Gordon. John Travolta all over again! "Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive!" He was mauled by all the girls and actually had one crying because he wasn't ready to dance yet. He came home with 4 dollars and he would have came home with 5 but he paid his little phillipino girlfriend 1 dollar to dance with him. He takes care of his girls, and that scares me!

It was so dark & may camera kept doing tracers because of the lights so I didn't get a picture of Trace. I will try and get one from a friend and put it on later.

Dad goes to the teaching fair in Anchorage

Hello Y'all! Well we got to spend three years in King Cove, AK. fishing, hunting, hiking and riding 4 wheelers. We have met some lifetime friends and will take many memories with us.

Andy didn't get rehired for the 08-09 school year so he is going to Anchorage to find another awesome place to live.

After being in Anchorage for a few days and meeting with different School Districts, Andy got a job teaching Art & Music in Yakutat, Ak. which is located in the South East of Alaska. We will be traveling to our new home Aug. 27.

We are very excited to see a new place in Alaska. There is great fishing, hunting & surfing there. Yes, surfing! They are holding a surfing extravaganza there in Yakutat during the month of June. I looks like we may get to learn how to surf!

We will take alot of pictures and let you see how our new home is. Take care! The Larsen's

Saije goes to Juneau for ASAG

Saije is the Vice pres. so for Student Government, 2 of them got to go to Juneau and meet the Governor. When she got into Anchorage she called home saying the flight was ok, but there is a blizzard! For a minuet she thought she was back in King Cove! She stayed over night at the Millenium and got to see Elyse and Terence and eat at Taco Bell! She then flew out the next morning to Juneau. They stayed very busy, she didn't even have enough time check out all the shops. It is a cool place, all the buildings are on the mountain and the mountain runs straight to the water where the cruise ships dock. Saije began hugging trees like she never saw one before. She wants to move there! While she was in her meetings she met a 16 year old Native Flute Player. She bought me one of his CD's, the proceeds go to FASD (fetal alcohol syndrome research) He preformed at the conference, I never knew that she liked guys with long hair? JK!

Trace swallowed his tooth?

Ya, today the Muck was eating school lunch and the dessert was cake. Oh, how he loves his cake!
I was in my class when Traces teacher came in and asked me into the hall. It has been happening a lot. If it's not Trace having girls fight over him, it is girls trying to hold his hand. Anyway, she let me know that Trace has swallowed his tooth. He stood there looking at me as if it was no big deal. I asked him if he felt ok and how it happened? His reply was, "I was taking a bite of cake and my tooth got stuck in it so I went a head and ate it!" He never wastes a good thing. All he wants for Christmas is a Wii, and his teeth before he turns 8! He is doing great in school, we just got his midterm and he is in the 97% in his class. His reading level is at 3.5 (almost as good as the 4th graders) Lars saids that he reads better than his 4th graders. He's Awesome! Even if he is toothless!

Saije & Trace

Saije is Student of the Week! She is so out going and really turning into an awesome chick! Every day she tries something different. She is getting ready to go to Anchorage for ASAG, a student government conference. On Friday Saije and her friends entered the Talent show and took 2nd. They stole the show! A 2 year old dressed as a star sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and won 1st. She was adorable! AND!!!!! Trace lost his first front tooth! Him and I were actually racing to the restroom and I won! By accident we collided and his tooth got stuck in my shirt and well..."A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do! " So he said hey mom stop! My tooth!, I looked down and his tooth was sideways and dripping something red, EEK! He wanted to look in the mirror, but I side tracked him with a tissue and removed the horrible thing before he saw it and started screaming! I am awesome I know. He did thank me and said I beat you, and I simply replied, "don't make me take out your other front tooth" & he ran. Like I said, "A girls gotta do, what a girl's gotta do!" Love ya all, Ree

Mom visits Elyse in Anchorage

Last month I applied for a traveling scholarship to attend a Child and Adults Basic Food Program for Head Start and was awarded it! It paid for food, hotel and my flight. I was also able to visit Elyse & Terence and their new addition Swiper! Yes, he is a ferret. They bought him when he was a tiny baby. I was afraid of it at first but before I left, I wanted one of my own. Swiper fits him perfectly, he sneaks into the toy box and picks out a toy and high tails it under the couch. Elyse thought she had lost her cell phone and she found it under the couch. She is always reminding him, Swiper no swiping! Elyse and I had a great time, I got to watch her play inter mural basketball, we got to go to an indoor football game Alaska Wild vs. Fairbanks Grizzlies. Alaska Wild kicked some butt- 58 to 9. We played Wii until the wee hours of the morning almost daily. I love that system. Trace asked me to bring him back a Wii, but my pocketbook wouldn't let me, but know I know why he wants one so much. I am going to save some cash, that is a must have! I also had been working on a portrait of Elyse and this is the finished project. I found a beautiful frame while in Anchorage that compliments it beautifully. I spent most of my time having Terence run me and Elyse around town trying to fill all the orders for people back in KC. Thanks so much Eddie, Linda and Terence for letting me stay at your house to visit with my baby girl! Ree

Bike ride to Indian Head

We took off on a ride to Indian Head to gather sea egg's, badarki's, and octopus. It was a nice ride, the tide was perfect so we were able to get a lot of beach combing in. I tried sea egg's for the first time. They were hard to look at but the small orange eggs were delicious. I had already tried badarki's and didn't like them. But I decided to try them fresh off the rock. Oh man are they better straight out of sea water. Very tender and full of flavor! You cut out the pink part and pop it in your mouth. I went searching for a cuttlefish (octopus) and found one. I took it home and steamed it up. I think that is my absolute favorite! Lars went in side of a huge cave, but I stayed with the 4 wheeler, waiting for him to push me some ducks to shoot. But no luck! Next time we are going to check out the cave and take some photos. I did come across a huge ice field and used a cool piece to take a photo through.

Happy Birthday Saije & Jocelyn

Today Saije turns 16! Tomorrow Jocelyn turns 17! Saijes favorite food is Italian so, we took her to Mon Che'ries Italian Restaurant. We had Chicken Fettuccine with Green Beans and Focacia Bread. Trace decorated the cake and placed the candles on it. Saije got a coin purse from Costa Rica from mom, Dad gave her a pencil sketch of snow capped mountains and Trace gave her 4 quarters to go in her coin purse. And then we sat down and watched black and white videos of Abbott and Costello.

The Spy Kit

Trace, Saije & Dad took the boxes that we got our boat order in and made quite a hide-out!
It comes complete w/knife shelves, gun rack, door, a trunk w/flashlight & extra clothing, and last but not least a spy hole! And we all fit in it except Dad. We have to get another box and put in a sun roof. Trace says, "this is were I get to live!" And he hasn't left since.

Christmas with the Larsen's

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Christmas has changed some, last year missing Saije and this year missing Elyse and Neisha. It was also Saije's first Christmas back and she had hoped that the girls would be able to come home. Trace loved having Saije here, what a Christmas present that was! My mom wanted one of my painting's for Christmas and she loves horses so this is what I did just for her! For the school break we took the kids snow boarding, they are getting quite good. The cold keeps Saije in front of the heater, but not Muck he is out boarding all the time.

Noah's Ark in King Cove!

This morning I was on my way to School and out in the Bay was Noah's Ark! I quickly assembled a few belongings along with my family and 2 dogs until I found out that it was a fish processor. Well you never know, it could happen!