Drumroll please!

Ender is thrilled and super excited to announce the loosing of his first tooth at 7:46 on Tuesday, February 25th, 2014...

of course it helps to hear his version of how it went down!

"I put my finger in my mouth, and I pushed on the tooth and it just broke off in my mouth and then it was in my hand....I broke my tooth out!"

For your enlightenment when he did this he screamed like an enthusiastic little boy who had just crushed the evil empire in a video game....I honestly thought he had defeated the Darth Vader pig until he came out and told me what had happened....

Z!

We made it!  Did you think we could?

Z is for the ZEAL  
with which we find ourselves living and looking forward to our everyday lives.  Everything is just a tad bit exciting and full of wonder.  You find yourself looking forward to what the day will bring and what you might find as you look around you.  Anything can happen.... Bald Eagles soaring majestically overhead....rain pouring on you for hours on end....an extremely cool looking shell you have never seen before....a new (to us) constellation of stars to look at...

It just is FUN and an enjoyable way to live life...


So we have Zeal or Zest for living...

And now you know OUR ABC's!

:)

What was your favorite?

Y Y Y Y Y....Y

YUM!

I hear this phrase from our kids a lot these days.  Before you would by cookies or treats from the store to have on hand....well since I don't buy those things anymore I find myself making a lot of goodies. 

Cookies, cupcakes, brownies, cakes, peanut butter fingers and fudge...you know the drill.

Well the kids are far from unhappy about mom making sure they still get to have things like that.  So yes, they are very happy to have a mom at home cooking more often....

XXXXXXX is

Xishuangbanna
(zee-shwang-bana)

'Nough said!...

W

Wet

It doesn't matter if it is raining, snowing, hailing, sleeting, blowing, or sun-shiny....the ground here is ALWAYS wet.  I guess moist might be a better word...but we are on W...

I think this place would be a gardeners dream come true....as long as you find a way to beat elements that might not allow you to grow certain plants you would never ever have to worry about the lack of water.


For those of you who think that WET is a cop-out I have another for you...

WAITE

You get very good at waiting around here.  Unless you plan ahead for things (supplies, trips, etc.)  you will not be doing anything too spur of the moment around here....so I guess it does pay to think ahead, and be prepared for anything....then yes...go for it...

Close call

We had a fun time with an eagle today...well not really...

We threw out the remains of a ham bone and the eagle came to show the seagulls who is boss.  Well they all overlooked the largest portion of the bone somehow, so I went and threw it farther on the beach for them to get.

Unbeknownst to us the eagle had been perched on our rooftop.  So when I threw the bone it went swooping right over my head to get the meat....Would have made a cool picture if we had got it...but it made us all jump at the same time.

V is

Vacation?  Nah!  Although at times it does feel like we are taking a break from life it isn't a vacation...

V is for Vehicle.

Not for the unusual or uncommon, but for the lack thereof.

The last vehicle we saw was the taxi we took from the hotel to the airport to get here.  Otherwise all you see are boats, kayaks, the occasional sea plane and sleds.  I guess I should throw in the four wheeler they use to plow the boardwalks when it snows.  It will be interesting to see how we handle the whole car thing when we come back to visit for the summer.  Who knows how it will turn out.

U is

My favorite by far was the obvious choice of

 

 

UNICORN....girly huh?

But I unfortunately I haven't spied any up here in our corner of the world, so I guess that means it is out....

U could be for oh so many things...like umbrella, or uniform or urchin...can you see me finding these here?

An umbrella is pretty pointless up here...that is what raingear is for...

So we finally settled on:

ULU

 

They are these really cool "knives" or cutting instruments used by the natives.  I have an aunt who swears by them.  One of the locals also recommends them for cutting pizzas.  They also are a very child friendly tool...meaning the child can help you while supervised....

T is for...

Tongass National Forest

We actually live in a National Forest!  Yeah!  Yippee!....  It is actually the largest national forest in the U.S. with 17 MILLION acres in its boundaries.

Cool huh?

Not by one, but in one!

Here is a link you can go to for the gallery and for the official web site...

enjoy!

Tongass National Forest

Tongass - Mark Meyer Photography

S is for...

Now I could be pretty lame and just go for SNOW...but we didn't want to disappoint.  But due to the immense amount of snow the kids are being exposed to for the first time we do have to use something snow related. 

After this last week of snow and sleet we have decided that we live in an area that very well deserves to have many different names for snow.  Snow, sleet, hail and so on and so forth.  In one day we had rain, snow...light fluffy to ginormous flakes...to sleet...deliciously wet trickle down your neck and freeze you stuff...

So the word for S is SNOWFLAKE....

Today in particular you almost feel like you live in a snow globe...there is another s word for you.  It has been coming down in delightfully fluffy stuff that is reminiscent of the scenes you get when you shake a snow globe up.  Crazy and beautiful to see indeed.

At one point I did worry though.  When you see what looks to be 2 inch snowflakes swarming down I think you are left with only two possible thoughts....

Oh, this is wonderful...we should go out and play in it!

OR

Oh, my gosh we're all going to die!  This is going to keep coming and we will be buried alive and die!

I guess there might be a third school of thought....curl up in front of a fire and read a good book...but my kids wouldn't go for it!

Ugh!

Yes I know that isn't the next letter in the alphabet.  I don't think that would be next if I was using the Russian alphabet...

That is what your body feels like as a thirty-something the morning after you fell in the snow while carrying your 18 month old, and wacked your elbow really good before landing on your butt.  Of course it helps that after this offense you then proceeded to shovel both yours and your neighbors "walks" so that it didn't happen to the kids when they get home from school...

Good mom or what?

R is

I thought I would introduce you all to something, or shall I say someone, that I know you haven't meet before.

He is eleven, soon to be twelve years old.  Rather loveable but dorky at times.  I guess that goes with the territory.  He is mostly kind to his siblings and I swear he sprouts every time I look at him.  He is quite proud of the fact that as of today he measures 61 inches.  So yes if you do the math he is 5 feet 1 inch tall and that means he has 1 1/2 inches to go before he can say he is taller than his mother.  He already has longer arms than her, so that isn't much of a reach!!!  Haha I can make a funny!

So here he is in all his coming to teenage glory soon...

R is RAIDEN!

He made a little movie the other day and I told him I would be including it on the family blog soon...  So here you have it...Raiden's Snowy Triumph

Q is

Shhhhhh!  Do you hear that?  I didn't think you did....Try again.......Now did you hear that?

Well you probably heard what we normally hear....the quiet.

So now you know what Q stands for.....Quiet.

Like this picture illustrates....can't you just hear it?

P is

well a lot of things.   We could say Peacock...but you already know we are here....plus it is kind of cheating....gal there can be a lot of that going on can't there?  so we won't go with that...

P is Pier

You can barely tell it is there in the recent snow storm we had (yes the one the kids have been PRAYING for)

But otherwise here it is in all it's glory.

We enjoy watching the tides go up and down at the pier and dock.  It is fun to see how high up the water goes and then how much of the pier it exposes as it goes back out into the ocean.

Happy Happy Birthday!

Not that it is a secret or anything but today was Kale's birthday.  One year older and wiser, huh?  Well definitely more traveled.  But I just wanted to wish him a Happy Birthday once again!

O is

Now granted these are paddles for the kayak...but I am thinking you will get the idea.....  OARs...is for O!

I don't have any great pictures of us using oars or of us in the rowboat...so I figured this would work.  We do and have enjoyed greatly our time on the water.

N is

We didn't even think this one over much.  The obvious answer is...

Night!

We are finally getting back to something closer to normal for winter hours.  The sun gets up around 8 depending on cloud cover and sets around 5.  Again depending on cloud cover.  I will say though.  The night sky here is awesome.  The sky is so crisp and clear.  The stars are bright and just amazing to see.  You don't just see the brightest constellations or planets, but you feel like EVERY star can be seen.  We haven't lucked out yet and seen the Aurora Borealis...but our fingers are crossed that we will someday.  That is something I have always wanted to see.

I would take a picture, but alas we don't own a camera that takes good night photos.

M is

M is Money, money, money(you have to sing it) money!

Now not for the reasons you think.  It is the amazing lack of what makes the world go round that makes it remarkable.  We still have to pay bills and buy groceries...but not needing it day in and day out...so relaxing.

And not having a store or anywhere to spend it locally is refreshing.  You don't have to have your hands on it for anything....it sits there in your wallet, day in and day out until something special comes along.  And I mean special....like the Bingo fundraiser for the school, or the pizza fundraiser for the school, or the Christmas Bazaar. 

But we don't need it to buy a pop at the gas station, or to fill up the car, or because one of the kids wants to buy something at school.  

Whew...refreshing.  I always did try to plan ahead what I needed to buy at the grocery store, but this has elevated it to the next level.

So if I am going to want a pop or a candy bar next week...I had better plan ahead...or just live through the cravings...after all that is what homemade cookies are for right?

L is...

Believe it or not L was a hard letter.  We had to scratch our heads and think of things that start with L and then see if we have it here....No lions, no llamas...long johns...the kids laughed at that...but a neat one we settle on was...

L is for Lichens...
So yes....moss...lichens....weird plants...we have five kids, and four of them are boys what else do you think they would come up with?

With it being so wet and moist here there are all sorts of plant life that will be fun to explore and discover...especially when it gets a tad warmer....

We did find this one that was interesting on a trip we took recently.  It is called "Old Man's Beard".  Kind of appropriate isn't it?

If plentiful enough on a tree it does indeed look like an older mans beard, but the sad thing is it can get too much for the tree on which it grows and smoother it...but on a brighter side..pretty right?

K is

Well if we wanted to be sweet and have warm fuzzies we could say Kale.  After all it is his birthday this week...but NOOOOO!  That would be too easy wouldn't it?

K is for KAYAKING!

Kayaking is just so awesomely fun!  I know that should never be written...but hey...from the mouths of babes right?

I think if I had had the opportunity to Kayak either as a sport or as recreation growing up I would have competed.  It is just so much fun and it can be so relaxing too.

The boys (meaning Raiden and Judge) have fun every time we go out.  Nia is a take charge kind of gal and can't understand why I wont hand over the paddle.  Ender and Jenner....well the fun is in the journey right?  I think it will grow on them, and Ender will like it more when he can man his own kayak I think.

J is

well if you know our family you know the answer to that....

J....ju...ju...Jenner

It has taken quite a while for Jenner to come to accept that anything else besides himself could possible start with the wonderful letter J.  If you said generator (cause that DOES sound like the letter J) he thought you were talking about him...

He is a cute clever boy..that Jenner.....who knows he might eventually let Judge claim ownership to the letter J.

I

I is for icicles

We have had a cold front come through and so know we have icicles hanging of the ledges and cliffs were the water drips all the time.  It really is quite pretty, but it makes me wish it would snow when I see it...the kids agree on that one.

H is...

I could be vain and say, Hallie...haha...wouldn't that be a laugh.... but who wants to see a picture of themselves...yuk...not me...I prefer to be behind the camera.

We had a hard time coming up with something today...so...

H is for Home!

Mi casa es su casa!  Home sweet home!

Someday...if the house is ever 100% clean...we will have to give you a tour of our little home....but not today!

G

Judge would love to be able to say GOLD...but he has yet to find any.

G is for GOOSE...or GEESE...

We get flocks of them through here all the time.  It is amazing how much sound can come from them when they are flying, feeding, and just sitting there on the water.

I had a scare the other night with them.  I was sitting in the front room reading when right outside the house they started up quite a ruckus.  Made me jump cause that was the last thing I was expecting at 10 at night.

They are very entertaining to watch though.  They will swim across the bay in formation.  Either a straight line or in a V.  Jenner told me the other day they were making choochoo trains.  That made me laugh...

F is for..

Well F could be for so many things.  Fish .. nah...I don't have a lot of photos of them...Freezing...nah you are more likely colder than we are....

the most likely thing for F is

F

F is forest!

The forest is so beautiful here.  Instead of the hundreds and hundreds of years it takes mother nature to reclaim things down there here it feels almost instantly.  I know it isn't, but the process is a beautiful one...Plus it is sooo green and fresh up here!

E is for..

E

E is for EAGLE

Although I would love to say elephant (my favorite animal) I have yet to see one here.  The eagles here are an awesome sight.  Watching them swoop and soar, and when they hunt and dive is a sight to behold.

I have always though Bald Eagles were pretty neat...I mean who wouldn't want to be able to see a ladybug on a goal post across a football field, or lift small animals of prey like small dogs?  (sorry couldn't help it....blame Sandra Bullock and The Proposal)

But they are indeed awesome creatures to watch and we never get tired of seeing them.

D is for...

D . . . DOGS

...well this one had to be dogs...No we don't have one (not for lack of kids trying to talk us into it), but we are one of four families who live here who don't have a dog.  They go everywhere.  Especially out on the boats.  They all are pretty friendly and as you can see are more than willing to play games with the kids....

 

 

After all they are man's best friend.

C is for...

...definitely not CARS...whew...never thought that would be something I would be able to live without on a day to day basis...nice though not having to pay insurance, or a car loan, or get gas and be mad at the price of gas on a constant basis.

...also not for CATS...the kids will occasionally say they miss the cats, Mushi and Echo....but they didn't clean out their litter box so I don't know if that can count...

C

C is for CLOUDS.

We get all shapes, sizes, and variations of clouds here.  I don't think we have ever been able to study all the different kinds before and their are some cool formations you get up here....

 

 
 
 
 

B....B is for....

Well I would hope that one is obvious!  We could have taken the easy way out and said bear....but we didn't.

B

B is for boats.  We see at least ten different ones everyday.  Fishing boats, sail boats, row bots, cargo boats, salvage boat...you get the idea...

(we still could say bear, but since we haven't seen one in person I thought that was cheating...)