Happy Fathers Day

 Sometimes dads are busy. Like really busy. And let me tell ya. Some would rather not be. I know at least 1 or 2 that fit the situation. If the real currency in life is time, I feel a bit bankrupt in the summer. 

We may seem preoccupied and grumpy trying to talk on messenger with a far away mission elder while cleaning a Sherp, doing church clerk stuff at 11pm after a full day, or writing a blog post between meetings, but we are just focused.

Fathers at work can be different than fathers on vacation. Take a father on vacation sometime, you will see. I see fathers on vacation in my line of work and many of them can’t let their real hair down anymore but have mastered the meaning of the phrase. They are just big kids wanting to have fun. Why do we have this dual nature? I think one is how we really are and the other is a coping strategy to force our minds to focus. We badly want to make things work right. We want to succeed!

Well, this Father’s Day I want to say thank you for your patience. Some of us stink at being both focused and fun. Working on it!

Kids went to youth camp/conference and High Adventure is next week

Got myself a big new 3D printer, grill, and a weed-wacker....sounds like Fathers-Day was a good haul. Dinner was cilintro-lime chicken and key lime pie. Mommy nailed the pie for the 1st time making it.

Relishing the Moments

 You need a few pickle puns in your back pocket if you are playing this game I guess. We ordered up a net on Amazon after being on vacation a few weeks past and not geting a chance to play because the courts were always full and for Monday night we headed over to the church to give it a try. Now we can play anytime.  

Biggest issue for the whole evening was we had a player that was having tons of fun untill the camera came out and then that fun was almost over. You camera avoiders out there need to remember. When us people get old and can't remember a dang thing some of us want to look back at pictures and relish the moments. You can preserve them with salt, sugar, a bit of spice, whatever you choose for the flavor but I am gonna keep them on the shelf to relish for later.

Got the Sherp set up this lat week in the airport. We will see if it bring in some more winter bussiness.

Mom and I are heading to the Hotspring on one of the days off this next week. The light is returning and I am ordering up some taps for the birtch trees here in the yard to see if I can make syrup just for fun this spring. More adventures to come.

1 Thing down, 4 to go?

This pic of Thing One was taken early Monday morning. 

That night we had his favorite tacos with Grandma and Grandpa and Joe at the house. Next time I won't need to share as much guac!

This one was taken the week before...

And this one was a few days before that and needs to be explained...

You see, this guy was waiting for some final mission paperwork and his name tag in the post but some crazy Alaskan decided to blow his nametag to smithereens inside our mailbox. Just a random act of madness is all. He found very few scraps except his tiny singed handbook and then he himself almost exploded. His old man had to tell him it would make a heck of a story and now I think we can laugh about it. What a great introduction to what may be in store for the man in the next 2 years.  

Got him shipped off on Monday (Thanks Joe for commiung along!) and now he is the MTCs and Missouri's problem. Already miss you says Mom! 

We had a few more things happen this week but not much was picture worthy. We had a long weekend with the kids off of school Thurs and Friday. Dad had to do tours both days so they ended up managing the fort on their own Thursday.

Valentine's day was spent by Mom and the kids making fun things to deliver to family/friends in town and then we had Porter and Calvin over for a late night of brain rot video games while Aunt L. and Uncle J. had a date night at Pikes. Juxtaposed to their snazzy evening, Mom and I had our valentines dinner over at McGurgles because sometimes one of those nasty little cheese burgers hits the spot. My heart stopped a few times that night...or maybe that was the burger?

 

Madison and Millie got stuck at the car dealer for a redonkulously long oil change Saturday and the only thing that could consoul them was a nasty hamburger after hearing about my last foray under the golden arches. 

Winter tours are starting to take off now and I think if we slap a visual aide in the Airport this next week as planned I might be busier than ever. Wish us luck!

Almost There...but where is that?

Been a long summer and now that it is getting all wintery out there we are about ready for the next big shift. We hope to close on the new place on Tuesday but a few more things hang in the ballance. Dad will be heading up to do final inspection in the morning and we will get there.

Mom has already started working at her new dental office. She likes it. Decent schedule. Awesome staff. Good Dentist. Boohyeah. Only thing is it is way up north (2 hours to be exact) and the drive is a real treat. Beautiful but longer than wanted and with the snow sarting to stick we need to get settled closer ASAP. 

Dad is done with the regular tour season and is ready to start working on the winter thing. That needs to happen north too. This week he got his butt hadded to him by a little virus called Shingles. Emerged on Monday and had to make a fast run to Fairbanks to get meds and supplies for work on the bussiness garage. Miserable times but he is on the mend. 

Marshall is busy and pretty much entrenched at the car dealer almost 6 days a week. He does get a chance to hang out with cousins and freinds once in a while, but mostly Grandma and Grandpa see him more than the rest of the family. We are heading down to the temple this next Saturday for him to go throuhg for the 1st time.  

Zach is toughing it out with his physics class and looking forward to maybe chances for new classes here soon. Not so fast buddy. We are not quite moved out yet but tommarow they have a day off of school where we might swing by the new place and check it out. He is also ready to take his driving permit test. SCARRY!

Madison has been talking about taking a dance class recently and hopes to check out the sceen durring the move process. She is a bit boged down in homework latley and her dog is bored out of his gourd. Winter might be a bit tough for the dogo-o

Millie probobaly had the most excitment out of the group this week. She joined the basketball team here and went to a tournment 6 hours away in Tok. Big trip for the Mill-pill. The team didn't win a single game but they did have lots of fun. Dad had a bad dream the night before she left and almost didn't go. Sent her with the cell phone but she didn't take a single picture! 

Eleanor was talking to her freind Shelby in WA just  few minutes ago an giggling it up while they burp at each other over facetime. Weirdos. One thing that moving around has probably taught the kids is how to make freinds fast and with modern tech they can still stay in touch with 'em. 

Might be a busy week moving in but it sure will be nice to call a place home.

No cake for you! Come back 1 year.

We are moving into our odd years... Most of us in the family are gonna be odd (but that is normal) as our birthdays roll through this year, except Mom. 

Eleanore decided to celebrate her big day without the cake, but double the ice-cream. She wanted lasagna for dinner and she ferociously gobbled that down with the cousins upstairs (no cousins actually consumed in the making of this birthday).  

School starts here in Healy next week and Mom had a real task getting everyone registered and geared up.  Marshall applied for a job up in Fairbanks and it sounds like he got a job as a lube tech with a shop up there. Zach opened a new bank account and is looking forward to having a little plastic card he can swipe. The kids unloaded the container shipped from WA that arrived monday and Dad just worked.

One fun group I took on a tour this week was from Indiana and knew of Grandpa Miner's Photography business in Napanee. One couple even had Grandpa take their wedding pictures and recalled that Grandpa went by Bud. Recognize there guys Grandma? The world gets smaller as we get older for sure.

Marshall got his mission paperwork turned in this week. Woot woot. Evidently so did Toby (his brother from another mother...and father). 

Madison is rounding out her summer gig there at Denali Fat Truck Tours and I can tell you she will be sorely missed! She has been soooo much help up there that Joel and I are worried how we are gonna do things without her.

Going, going, gone...

I decided to take a nap instead of finishing this post last sunday. I was dead after a long week racing back to washington to hopefully complete all the requirements for the house sale. 

Septic, electrical work, HVAC inspection, and worse of all selling all the required vehicles. Miracles do exist people. I sold all the things we needed there in Olympia in just the nick of time..

I might not sound like a miracle to others but there were some definite divine interventions that week.

 The motorcycle sold 1 hour before I left for my flight from Washington. Marshall got what he wanted out of Sparky, and the silver car went to the perfect buyer. I find it interesting that as the tender mercies are tangled in a tutoring for trust and timing for all this stuff and I probably have not unpacked all the lessons fully yet.

How I feel...

That week was rough! I also had to speak in church! It was definitely not my best talk, all over the map but the theme was "Trust in the Lord" and let me tell you...when you have no idea what the plan is in the future you are really putting that one to the test. In the past I have felt that we have been given nice little hints along the way that we were on the right path. This move have been very different in that way. No warnings, but also no big prompts either. Felt like the decision has been left all in our court and the training wheels came off there unexpectedly. Maybe that is what is needed this time for us to grow a bit more.  

We did look at a house this last monday that might fit the bill but we will probably wait till we are liquid to make an offer.

Work, work, work...

" So. unmmmm...(This is Madison by the way.) No Dad! Stop. I don'want to write anything....Stop it. I don't know. There is nothing going on. You should write your own words. You are going to delete all of that. You aren't going to post that. You are crazy Dad.

(anthyong else?) 

NO. You shoud write something you want to write, not what I am saying. I'm leaving..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

So that was Madison. She had a great week at her 1st JOB! She spent most here days learning from Aunt R how to run the giftshop, compiling and selling drone videos, and cleaning Sherps. She got her 1st tips too! She has fun just being up there and reading on her off time with Emmet (the unofficial company mascot) at her feet. 

Millie is planning to make some wishing stone jewlery for the gift shop and Eleanor is into collecting rocks and losing her glasses in Otto lake while swimming.

Mom had an awesome week (untill she caught a cold) going to Fairbanks and meeting with a dentist she might really like working with. 

Zach and Marshall are fishing down in Dillingham with Grandpa and Zach caught his 1st fish ever!

Here is a picture I should have posted from a few weeks ago of Gradatution. It's been a blur.

The house has not sold yet but we keep trying. Mommy is right now looking a places up here on Zillow after we finished watching our Choosen episode for the week. 

Dad just works, and works, and works. It's good to help things keep growing but this next week might get tougher with Aunt R heading home. Thanks for all the help Auntie R!