Alaska

Looking at the Tanana River from a hill above Fairbanks.

Backing up to the very beginning of July. . .

On July 1st, Lauren and I began our adventurous trip to Alaska. My sister, Cortney and her husband, Mark live in Fairbanks. It started out on an ominous note. As we were heading up the Salt River Canyon, our car began to make loud warning signs and a large sign on the dash said, "STOP NOW! TURN OFF MOTOR!" Well, being married to a mechanic, I've always known this is a bad thing. I've heard horror stories of people who ignored these warnings and kept driving. So I pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the car. Unfortunately is was 106 degrees and I didn't have any cell services. I thought there is no way I'm going to hike to the top of this hill, so I let the car cool down, turned it back on and slowly made my way the mountain. So far so good. But still, I could hear Ryan freaking out in my head. So once I got to some shade, I pulled over again and tried to call home. I was able to get to Cade and we ran through checking the oil and the water. Everything seemed OK. I called my dad and we did the same thing. So I crossed my fingers and on we went. We made it safely to Phoenix--crisis averted.

The next day, we flew out of Phoenix, headed to Fairbanks, with a stop in Seattle. Lauren was pretty excited because it was the first plane ride she would remember. It was all great until we started to descend into Seattle and she got a little sick. We were looking forward to the Seattle-Fairbanks leg of the trip because we had planned on renting a movie. I settled her into to "Nim's Island" and thought everything was OK. The next thing I know, she is throwing up into her drink and then turns and throws up all over me! Luckily, we were sitting next to an ex-elementary school principal, who in one swift motion jumped up, and swept us right into the bathroom. By the time I had Lauren and myself cleaned up, this lady had cleaned up after all of us and got Lauren some crackers and 7-up. I'm telling you, God looks out for me on these Alaska trips (I've had some other experiences traveling up there when Cade and Syd were little).

Anyway, Lauren was a little weak the next day, but soon recovered and we started getting down to the business of vacationing. The first day, we went to the North Pole. Actually, it is not THE North Pole, but a town named North Pole Alaska. And corny as it is, I love it. My mom and I took Cade and Sydney there a long time ago, and Lauren was always fascinated with the pictures of the older kids sitting on the REAL Santa Claus. Yes, it is the town were Santa resides during the summer months. He and his wife are at the Santa Claus House, where you can buy souvenirs and take a pictures with the big man himself. In fact, Lauren and I were browsing around the shop, when Santa came along and talked to her about her age (he guess it right on) and the beauty of the White Mountains of Arizona. She was completely star struck. But as luck would have it, when I whipped out my camera. . .the battery was dead. So I was left taking pictures with my cell phone. Talk about a rough start to my trip! Lauren was also fascinated with the reindeer. Comet, Cupid and Blitzen were on hand for photo opportunities as well.
So, the very next thing for me was to actually charge my camera battery. Then we spent a wonderful week visiting Cort and Mark, and enjoying Alaska. Fairbanks is a neat old mining town without a lot of history behind it. I love the Chena river that runs throughout the town. The people of Alaska use of every spare minute of the summer. My favorite site was a couple of teenage boys who had put a cooler in a small raft, tied it to an air mattress and were floating down the river on the mattress. Not even a paddle to guide them, but what the heck?! Tom and Huck on an adventure!

We went on a lot of hikes. Some, Lauren didn't like, but after soaking her in DeepWoods OFF, she enjoyed our hike at Creamer's Field. We watched a baseball game between two teams in the Alaska baseball league. It is a lot of fun to watch baseball, at night, without any lights. Lauren thought we had drug her into her own personal hell having to watch baseball when there wasn't even the excuse of "you have to cheer for your brother". We enjoyed getting ice cream and snow cones at "Hot Licks", a little shop that makes its own ice cream every day. My favorite was Raspberry Truffle.

Lauren leaned to skip rocks on the Tanana River (her favorite activity of the week).

We also did the tourist-y thing and took a trip down the Chena river on a big paddle boat. It was a lot of fun, and they cram in a lot of Alaska sites into 3 hours.

For example, there is an exhibition of a float plane landing and taking off from the river. One of my favorite sites. . . When Cade and Syd were young, we spent so much time in Alaska that they could yell out "Floats" or "Wheels" whenever they saw a small plane.

Another one of my favorite stops is at Susan Butcher's house and kennel. She wasn't the first woman to win the Iditarod, but when she did win it -she won it four times. She recently passed away from cancer, but the kennel is still run by her husband, and Jessica Royer, another Iditarod racer, helps out during the summer.
There is also a brief stop at Chena Villiage where we got to see various aspects of Native life, including fish camp, and how the various animals are used for food and clothing.

Not a part of the boat ride,but pretty cool anyway, is the pipeline. While I can't explain it to you, I was amazed out how intricate and insulated it was.
Thanks to Cort and Mark for such a great week. We are grateful that the are willing to brave the cold, dark winters so the rest of us can vacation in the summer! We'll see you next year!
And by the way, I doped Lauren up on Dramamine for the the trip home.

Not a single problem. . . .

Salem Ward Drill Team

For the 24th of July parade, our ward's Young Men formed a "Drill Team". (Notice the drills in the boys' hands). They invited a few extra kids, the missionaries, and any leader that was willing. The Young Mens' President had his wife choreograph a simple routine and a few (and I mean a few) practices later, they were ready. They marched down main street to the tune of "Life is a Highway", while performing their routine. It involved lots of flexing, the macarena and a "gun battle". Now I am certainly biased, but I thought it was quite clever and possibly the hit of the day. One of my friends even commented that she felt badly for the politician behind the boys because everyone was watching tthe drill team and never noticed the candidate behind them. The boys seemed to have fun, and I even noticed Cade winking at the spectators as he danced by.

Tagged

Tagged~
I was tagged!How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.
3 Joys:
-Ryan- I love the quote at the top of my blog because it reminds me of him.
-The kids-Corny or not, but I love being their mom
-Coming home. I love to go places and see new things, but nothing beats coming home to my own house.

3 Fears:
-Talking on the phone
-Something happening to my kids-you know those vague unidentifiable "things" that keep you up at night.
-Weird noises during the night. When I was a teenager I had to deal with a peeping tom and it has made me very nervous about unknown noises. I have to know where every noise is coming from before I can go to bed.

3 Goals:
-To be organized enough that I'm able spend time on the things I love.
-Keep watering my plants (ok, pretty low goal, but I kill things once school starts)
-Become John Bytheway. He not only knows the scriptures, but can relate them to the lives of the kids he teaches.

3 Current obsessions/collections:
-Reading which is always at the top of my list.
-Primary, because I was just called to the the President and I having lots of catching up to do!
-Teaching- I start in less than two weeks, and I have completely ignored it this summer. My brain is trying to catch up because I keep having "school" dreams about the kids I'll teach this coming year.

3 Random surprising facts about myself:
-I love useless trivia and own just about every "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader" published.
-I love Stephen King. I'm amazed at the range of material he has. Even though I think he may be a bit off. . .
-I love Disneyland. I would go at least once a year if I could.

Ok~ I tag..........
Kellie Platt
Cortney Skolnick
Terry Jackson
Bruce Jackson
Lori Ashton -if you are reading this :-)
Only Kellie has a blog-so if the rest of you want to do it-just do it as a comment.

The Luckiest Man Alive

So most of you might think that Ryan is pretty lucky just being married to me. (hee-hee) But truthfully, I've never seen anyone get so lucky when it comes to hunting. It started about 4 or 5 years ago when he applied to hunt for Desert Bighorn Sheep in Arizona. He had only put in for one year prior to that. The morning the results came out, he found me at my mom's house and told me that he had drawn a tag. For those of us who don't really care--it's like winning the lottery after only buying two tickets. The hunt was successful, and I now have a full body mount of a bighorn sheep in the my front room. (You can see how he is pretty lucky). Then last year, he was able to go on a Dall Sheep hunt in Alaska at only half of the price because someone had paid the down payment, and then backed out of the hunt. As a side note--I don't know where that mount is going to fit in the house . . .
A few weeks ago, Ryan bought a ticket for a raffle called Arizona Big Game Super Raffle. What happens is that the game and fish donate 1 tag for each of the big game species in Arizona. The proceeds go towards conservation and preservation programs. In three years, they have raised over 1.5 million dollars. Anyway, on Friday, Ryan was visiting his taxidermist, Richard (some people have financial advisers-Ryan has a taxidermist) and told him that he would love to get a buffalo tag. Once again, the chances were like winning the lottery, but hey, a man can dream. So Saturday, as I'm driving to Las Vegas I get a phone call from Ryan saying that someone has just called and told him he won the tag for buffalo. Ryan didn't believe it. He thought that someone was pulling a sick joke on him. He called up his friends, Richard, anyone he could think of to see if this was legitimate. Everyone assured him that no one would be so cruel as to make it up. Finally, the results were posted on the game and fish website on Monday. Yes, Ryan had won. As the letter he got said, "Every once in a while someone hits the jackpot or wins the lottery. In this case, it was you!"

The tag allows him to hunt for a full year, starting on August 15th. The buffalo are up near the Grand Canyon and on the Kaibab. Ryan has already talked to ANYONE who knows ANYTHING about the hunt and has a lot of ideas. He is going to hunt it with a bow rather than a gun, so hopefully when it comes to life and death, he will continue to be a lucky man. As another side note-I've refused to allow this one in the house. . .

What Happens in Vegas. .

Well, you know the rest. In fact, I don't even have any pictures to document that I was actually there. So I don't have to admit to anything. Truthfully, I had a lot of fun. The school sent some teachers and administrators to a conference on differentiated instruction that was held at the Riviera in Las Vegas. It really is an amazing conference. There are hundreds of workshops to choose from, with exciting, and invigorating speakers.
This year (Kirstin and I attended last year as well) we decided to splurge a little and do some fun things on the town. We convinced Misty to go with us, and we were on our way. We went on a gondola ride at the Venetien, and watched the play "Mamma Mia!" at Mandolin Bay. It was amazing. The whole audience sang and danced through the show. After it was over, Kir, Misty and I performed our own rendition as we danced along the moving walkway. That's one of the things I like about Vegas--I can act like the complete dork I really am, and no one really looks twice.
Cade went on the trip as well--no I didn't take him--he went with his best friend Steven, whose mom was also attending the conference. Anyway, he was pretty impressed with his old mom who stayed out much later than he ever did. But he rode many more roller coasters than I ever thought of riding, so it evened out.
Cade was texting me while we were both traveling and said how much he missed the family. When he came in the door, he immediately ran upstairs to find the girls and give them the presents he bought for them. While it was fun, it was wonderful to get home and smell the rain, fresh air and cut grass. Now I just need a vacation to recover from my vacation. . .

A little bragging

I just found out today that Cade made the "honorable mention" list for the 1a-3a all-state team. Pretty good for a sophomore!

Circus!

Lauren is forming her own circus. She will star as the only performer-but then she won't have to compete for attention. I don't even know what these sticks are called, but they are her new passion. She spends every moment outside practicing with them. The trick is that you have two sticks and you use them to toss the other stick back and forth. If you are really brave, you can launch it in the air, get it twirling like a baton, or just fling it from side to side. It sounds like a simple concept, but putting it into practice is much more difficult.

I bought them years ago at a Saturday's Market in Anchorage. They were sold at a little Russian shop, but I've seen them since at the Renaissance Fair. Anyway, I've been surprised at how well Lauren's picked it up. I know it took me a few hours to catch on. Although in my defense, I was dodging moose in the backyard at the time. . .

She can even walk across the lawn, tossing them back and forth, with her eyes closed. Ask me how I know. . .well, I've seen it at least a hundred time in the past two days. But that's what moms and summers are for I suppose.

And to top it all off, she will even have a wild animal in her show. Yes, that is a tarnatula she is holding, but no, it is not alive. However, she is keeping it as a conversation starter. Cade's girlfriends come over, and it is the first thing she pulls out. A couple days ago, Cade called us to say that he found it on the road, but couldn't catch it. (Oddly enough, the thing didn't want to crawl into his baseball glove.) So the girls and I walked down the road to catch it, but right before we got there, someone ran it over. Luckily, that didn't stop us (actually it made it easier). We picked it up, tossed it in a bucket, and Lauren now has a second act for her circus.

Why I love St. Johns (or this is why I put up with the Wind. . .)

We are enjoying my favorite time of year-the monsoons. Lauren and I went chasing the sunset and storm this evening. We took these down past water street. The top picture is actually a rainbow behind the clouds.

Three up, three down, throw the stinkin' ball around

So, I might as well get this out in the open at the beginning. Our lives REVOLVE around sports. There, I've said it. It's probably a sickness of some sort, but it's one our family shares together. I grew up playing sports, watching the Cubs on WGN, and waiting anxiously for my subscription to Sports Illustrated. But then I married Ryan and it spun out of control. Now I know all about time trials of the Tour de France, strategies of defensive linemen, and the difference between a 4 finger vs a split finger fastball. I know, I know. It's some how pathetic. Even worse, I'm dying to be able to actually pick up when a pitcher is going for a pick off rather than directly to the plate.

Truthfully, though, I love watching my own kids play sports. They have learned so much about hard work, winning, losing, teamwork, friendships and themselves. Ryan and I have been able to teach the kids many lessons as they have experienced the ups and downs of competing.

Cade plays football, basketball and baseball. He loves football, mostly so that he can hit people. I don't think he is too interested in the glory aspects of touchdowns, interceptions, or rushing yards. But if he can knock somebody for a loop, he is happy. He has really excelled in baseball this year. He played catcher for the high school team and even was named to the All White Mountain Baseball team.

Sydney got her first taste of school athletics this year. She played softball, volleyball and basketball. And when that was all done, she played club soccer, club volleyball and little league softball. She definitely keeps us all busy. She is going to have to make some choices in the next year, as volleyball and soccer are played during the same season. Her favorite sport is softball. She just finished the season as a pitcher for her all-star team.
And then there is little Lauren. She has a love/hate relationship with sports. She attended her first baseball game when she was three days old, and has been dragged across the state ever since following Cade and Syd's activities. Some days she loves it. Other days (like the cold windy spring days) she would give anything to stay home and watch TV. Currently she is in the LOVE portion of her sports relationship. She finished T-ball in June and can't wait for soccer in August.

And then Ryan. He has hung up his cleats and high tops in favor of a whistle and a clip board. He helps coach the Jr. High Football team and the Varsity baseball team. He may claim that he wants to pull his hair out, but he has as much fun as the boys.

Just Jump In. . .

So, I have wanted to start a blog for a while now, but life just gets in the way. OK. . . riveting reruns of Law and Order may be my biggest hurdle, but here I go! To start off this is me-flicker style.

So the short explanation is:
1. Marcia 2.enchiladas 3. St. Johns High School 4. red 5. Harrison Ford 6. Pepsi
7. Scotland 8. Strawberry Shortcake 9. Full of Grace 10. Family 11. Content 12. Ashton


The long explanation, and a sort of introduction is:
1. My first name is Marcia. I go by Marcie most of the time, mostly because I don't like to explain that my name isn't pronounced "Marsha".
2. I love enchiladas. I'm not certain I've found the perfect kind, but Jeannie's mom makes a great pan of red chili enchilada with homemade corn tortillas.
3. I graduated from St. Johns High School... Along with my husband...as will our three kids.
4. My favorite color is red. Probably a result of #3.
5. My celebrity crush is Harrison Ford, or more specifically Indiana Jones. He could probably be my grandfather, or at least a very old uncle, but I can't resist the hat.
6. My favorite drink is Pepsi. Thanks mom!
7. My dream vacation would be to the British Isles, more specifically Scotland. Probably because most of my ancestors came from that area, and I love family history and stories. Now my favorite vacation that I could actually get Ryan to join me on would be Alaska, so that comes in at a very close second.
8. My favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake.
9. When I grow up I want to be full of grace. I'm not sure if I can put it in words, but I want to be that gentle, beautiful, kind and peaceful little old woman who makes everyone around her a better person. Anyway. . . I've got a ways to go.
10. The thing I love the most is my family. My own little family is my whole world. But I'm also grateful for my extended family, in-laws and friends that make my life complete.
11. One word that describes me: Content.
12. Your flickr name: Ashton (It was a toss up between Jackson and Ashton-I just liked the pictures better!)