How does our garden grow?

This year we decided to jump in with both feet and have a garden. For 2 people who have never gardened in our adult lives this was an under taking. It started this winter with an idea. In Skagway the most popular style is raised beds. Andy was so kind to haul me some free lumber from the new clinic site we came across this winter. It was part of a frame they messed up. On Andy's spring break in March we started the beds. I was so excited for 2 reasons! 1. We would have the beds ready to put in the ground when it had thawed! 2. It was so warm, it was in the 30's and we had some daylight!  When the ground did finally thaw in May we started to dig. The layer of grass had to taken off and disposed of. You do not want it anywhere near your garden. It is a horrible weed that chokes out your wanted plants. Then we had to dig down 8 inches of hard rocky soil. Sifting all the rocks was the most time consuming of all the steps.  On the inside of the bed frame we nailed sheets of tin to stop grass from growing under the frame. When all said and done we had 20 inches of good growing soil with no weeds! The garden is still not finished. Some of the items on our list to grow this summer are lettuce, broccoli, peas, beans, squash, marigolds, sunflowers, potatoes, gladiolas, zucchini, strawberries & a lot of other flowers. The potatoes are going in the alley. They will be bordered with drift wood. That should be done this week (I Hope). It has been a lot of work, sweat, blisters & even sunburns. With a possible move this winter I try not to think about doing this again next spring.

Our Library

As a Saturday activity some of the kids in town planted flowers at the public library. Thanks Christy!

Going On A Bear Hunt

Last weekend my brother John shoot a black bear. The kids thought it was cool. Harrison had no problem touching it. Isaac could stand by it but not touch. Lily had mixed emotions. They spent the afternoon watching John skinning it in the front yard. It was way too much for me. I just worked in my garden. 

Fresh Fish

When we heard that the Saldi's were coming in with fresh halibut we took our place in line on the dock. At $5 a pound you had to buy the whole fish. There were fish ranging from 10-40 pounds. We told Yasha we wanted two fish totaling 50ish lbs . He picked up what he thought to be around 25 lbs tied a rope around its tail and hung it on a hook to weigh it. We ended up with 53 lbs! Then we paid someone to fillet it right there for us. All we had to do was bring the meat home and pack it to be frozen. That was my job. The first night we made fish-n-chips with John. We calculated it and it only cast us a few $ to feed the entire family! Now we have halibut to last 2 years! Unless we get a lot of visitors this year! 

Yeah Kone Kompany!

In Skagway this is a day ALL the kids small and big count down every spring. The locals know it is summer when the big day has arrived! This year marks the 27th aniversary of the Kone. Every year they run specials with the cost being the how many years they have been open. This year we got hot dogs, sundays, drinks, nachos, fudge & candy for 27 cents EACH! The day could not have been better with 80 degree weather, good company & ice cream! Notice Isaac's shirt with the red tricycle "This is how I roll".

For those who do not know Andy and I met at the Kone Kompany 9 years ago! 

NTC '09

Thanks Girls! I had a Blast! It was sad for me to leave these Amazing women. 

Alaska Girl

The day I was leaving to go down south I found Lily outside playing in the mud. She had dressed herself in her pink rain suit, poke-a-dot rain boots, and had still had her pink pigtails in from earlier. She pouring mud from one cup to another. I could not help but stop what I was doing to capture this "kodak moment". I love my Alaska Girl!

Costco

On this trip to Juneau it was just me and the kids. It was a busy weekend! Mostly with grocery shopping. On one of the Costco trips (yes there was more than 1!) we say a few eagles in the parking lot. One was right above our car on the light post. Another sat on a snow drift. Harrison cracked me! He held out his arm expecting the large bird to fly & land on his arm! He is full of personality! We walked up to the eagle and then Harrison tried to climb up it to get the bird. Needless to say I did not let him. Instead he settled on taking a few pictures with my camera. 

Update on Harrison

Our trip to Juneau in March was both informative and a waste of time. I as a mom was not impressed with the doctor from Seattle. He did not make me feel like what I had to say was of value. After 2 hrs at the office on a Sunday evening the out come was 2 prescriptions. I did not fill either of them. I asked why Harrison's stomach was hurting, the vomiting, and then hives. The doc gave me something for the hives and said, "I have no idea about the other 2." Honestly I was not worried about the hives. They did not hurt Harrison and only came after the hours of pain and crying! There was 2 good things about the visit. 1. with a skin prick test I now know what he is not allergic to (19 pokes and Harrison did not say a word). 2. We met a new friend! Kelli was the assistant to the doc. 

Harrison has not had a breakout since the visit and we are thankful for that! Here is what his back looked like after the pokes.