Potter Creek to McHugh Creek

Today I was happy to hike from Potter Creek trailhead (just after Potter's Marsh) to McHugh Creek. The total hike one way was 3.3 miles, so round trip 6.6. It was a great way to spend a morning. My friend's daughter watches my kids while we do this (there was a larger group, today of only 4, that meets weekly to do these hikes). It was a great morning to be out!

Despite these pictures this trail was pretty tree-sheltered which was nice as it's a pretty hot day. We saw lots and lots of bear scat so it is something of a bear highway but we didn't see any real live ones (which is just fine with me).

Potter's Marsh (pictures!)

Yesterday Allen was working late and I took the kids and went to nearby Potter's Marsh. It's got some nice dead-ended boardwalks that I can let Andrew go crazy on and no fear of him disappearing!

Aidan

We took one stroller for Alex, and the kids were vying to push it! Perpetua got the most Alex time.

Perpetua would point Alex's stroller out at whatever she was looking at. Considerate!

Andrew ran to the end and promptly fell asleep. Weird, right?

Very uncoordinated shot

Aaron & Alex

Aaron, Allen, Alex

There's never a bad time for handstands.

Pet and Aidan

morning vs. evening

It's been like night and day around here.

This morning, I got so many pleasant things accomplished:

• I took Perpetua to the gymnastics place to buy a new gym outfit (all around positive, even though she "lost" her other one - I couldn't find it either). She was thrilled with her new choice.
• I got a Thai iced tea to drink while driving around - always good!
• I took the girls downtown for some "girl time" at the downtown market. This was kind of an accomplishment for me, since I'd intended to visit it last year - all summer long, I kept saying 'next week.... next week' until the final week was over and I never got there. I am not sure I'll go again this summer; once is enough and I didn't really buy anything but it is fun to look and the girls and I got a bite to eat
• The girls each had a pony ride! Kind of spendy at $8 each but at least they let them ride for several minutes and not 3 turns around or something chintzy like that.
• I got to go to the library - alone. That is always a treat! I got several early reader books for Rosalie, some books for myself

This afternoon and evening:

• Discovery of water seeped into our laundry room carpet, hallway carpet, girls room, and girls room closet
• Allen spending over an hour using our carpet cleaner to suck the water out of the carpets. There's still more to suck but we didn't want to break our carpet cleaner.
• Alex fell and busted his lip with his top teeth
• I burned myself putting a pizza in the oven

Minor complaints but seriously?? Can today end yet?

excruciating experience at the grocery store

Tonight (way too late - as in almost 10pm) I ran to our local grocery. It's a 5 minute drive from our house even though we live in a residential area. I wanted to get some equipment for my hike tomorrow. One of the things I bought was a new-to-me tank top and I had the following exchange.

Setting: Grocery store, 10:30 PM. 2 lanes open, one of which is express self-serve.
Cashier: checking groceries (baby food, yogurt, pizzas, clothes)
Cashier: This item doesn't have a tag on it.
Me: .... blank stare...cashier is clearly hoping I'll say "oh well, then never mind". .... silence stretches out...."Don't you have someone working in that area?"
Cashier: "Yes" (continues to scan groceries)
Me: How about if you call them to get a price check while you scan the other items
(meanwhile, other folks are stacking up in line behind us... yeah, I was that customer)
Cashier: "Ok...." (continuing to scan items

So she does call. I ask, "So, am I going to be given trouble if I need to return this item even though it doesn't have a tag on it"

Cashier: More than likely. I don't know what to tell you
At the end I just walked back there and got an identical shirt WITH a tag in case I wanted to exchange. Which is a good thing, because turns out... I kinda hated the way it looked. Oh well. More motivation to lose some weight, I guess.

catching up, and things I wonder about

Our incredible weather pattern has continued since I last posted. I was all about "not missing a day" - but there hasn't been any day with bad weather to interrupt an amazing, and almost too hot, stretch of very unusual days for us.

On days like today - EIGHTY THREE DEGREE DAYS at my house - we take off in the early afternoon for Point Woronzof on the other end of town, by the airport. The temperature fell from 83 degrees at our house in southeast Anchorage to 65 degrees by the time we arrived. It is right on the water, with lots of rocks to throw, some "Alaskan beach" sand to play in, planes flying right overhead which is thrilling for our little guys. It was great. We had light snacks there and fixed dinner when we got back - we actually started eating sometime around 8pm.

I am part of a hiking group of ladies training for the Lost Lakes (Run)/walk. I'm not actually doing the run as I didn't think it could work, logistically (it is in Seward) but I'm loving the hikes. My friend's daughter babysits my children and we are good for a real, adult hike. On our first one of the summer we did 10 miles round trip, to Rabbit Lake. The trailhead is off of Canyon Road/Upper DeArmoun and really a nice gem of a trail. On our way back we saw former Alaska governor Tony Knowles out for a hike as well. We spent about half an hour having lunch and catching sun by the (still mostly iced over) lake.

 

This is just me and my friend Gretchen with Suicide Peaks in the background. Distance and perspective is deceiving and these were really mountains. It was great and I can't wait to go back. It's also nice to hike in a larger group of people (we had 8+ people for much of the hike). I'd be all about small groups or solo hikes if it weren't for the bear issue. Haven't seen any, except in my yard - but I never want to!

As I write this I am waiting for our house to cool down a bit. We do not have A/C and living in Alaska our houses are insulated and designed to hold heat, which is just amazing when you have a day that tops 80 degrees and a living room made mostly of windows. I have the shades drawn all the time now (to block out some amount of the sun/solar gain) except to allow my screen door to be open. 

This evening after dinner and after the kids got off to bed I was working at reconfiguring and tidying up our living area. I took down the baby playpen (sniff!) -- we never used it as a playpen, just another place to sleep and it hasn't been used in a long time - in fact, Aidan, Andrew and Alex (ages 4, 2, 1) are all sleeping in the same room now. This is new as of this week - it's been the goal for a while but here we are, living it! Yeah!

Anyway - as I was cleaning up my living area downstairs I had to wonder....

• Why do my kids see a pillow in a pillowcase and immediately strip it off? I've asked, shown, illustrated, etc. why we want pillowcases and still they (especially Aidan and Andrew - maybe only them?) take the case off. I will leave the details to your imaginations but pillowcases are a good thing with children! I've even gone so far as to get pillowcases with zippers and still they are rejected. I have confiscated that pillow until I find the case that no doubt got discarded somewhere.
• Thinning out the toys. Still ongoing. I did some work on bookshelves tonight but more could definitely happen. I feel a little guilty getting rid of things the kids like but play with once in a blue moon or have outgrown. We have fewer toys than some but definitely still plenty of toys! Do I have an obligation to hang on to this stuff, or to keep a large toy that is taking up space? We have a comfortable amount of space for our family but not if we all just accumulate space-sucking things all the time.

I don't know. Clearly I don't have all the answers. I have to laugh, a little - not that I don't appreciate advice, but people who know how to solve whatever issue - they're not me, they don't have my kids, and they probably didn't have seven kids in 11 years. So... I take all advice with plenty of grains of salt. 

Enjoying the sun

Look up the forecast for Anchorage and you will see we are enjoying some amazing weather. Clear skies, temps of 70+ (plus plus! Like 77!). We have been hiking both alone and with the kids, spending time at parks, and just being outside in our yard. It is amazing and I feel driven to get us out in it as much as I possibly can.

This past week Allen took a Friday and this Monday off so he got four consecutive days off during this lovely weather. We have made the most of it. Today was our first BIG family hike. We did the small Virgin Creek Falls hike in Girdwood, and then headed up to Alyeska Resort for the Winner Creek trail. We got a fair amount of distance in, with Allen and I each backpacking Aidan and Alex respectively. We didn't make it to the tram (not open for the season yet anyway, according to the signs) due to snow and ice still remaining on the trails. Most of our older kids wiped out at least once on the ice further in on the trail so we called it and headed back, in the 70 degree heat, and played in little streams along the way. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

I would've loved to tote my camera along for the ride but the truth is our hands are full managing backpacks, water bottles, rescuing toddlers from themselves, etc. so I left the camera at home. More later, on a cloudy day... The forecast is for 70+ all week!

Down to one in diapers!

Wow!

I'm calling Aidan one of the "big kids" now. We are able to have him not wear diapers any more, and have progressed from wearing nothing on the bottom to a full set of normal clothes with next to no accidents! Yeah!

Next year, it will be Alex's turn! Woot!