Up, Up and Away

Brett and the boys came down to work today,

Brett's looking at a stereo system for the boat.

While he was otherwise engaged, and I was trying to get some work done,

Austin took advantage of our inattention to do his favorite thing...

Climb!! I swear he's part mountain goat!

He would have kept going higher if we'd 've let him.

In fact, every time I pulled him down required major prying of his little fingers. And without fail, as soon as he was set down, he'd head right back up. He wanted to touch the GPS screen displays- and see how high he could get away with.

Yummmm... Berries!

I made a berry mush smooth-ish.

Shane didn't like the seeds but Austin loved it...

Until it was gone.

Matchy Patchy

Grandma brought a nice plaid shirt among all the stuff for the boys.

It fit Austin and just happens to practically match one that Shane has.

I couldn't resist!

Theories Unplugged

The preschool called this morning, so we all moseyd on over there to get Shane evaluated (again) to see if he qualifies for the free preschool. He was feeling stubborn all day today, as evidenced by the scratch on his cheek from the cat- I repeatedly told him to put the cat down and leave him alone, did he listen..... noooooo... boys!
Anyhoo... it was rather funny. Shane was everything but attentive to the teacher. That ADD is kicking in already. The ever-present job of big brother was getting in the way for part of it (neither mom nor dad wanted to miss what the teacher was saying and asking Shane to keep track of what Austin was getting into- so Shane did) Surrounded by toys is NOT the best way to focus a 3 year old, any 3 year old. He did better on some things and worse on others. In numbers, he got 54/100. They weren't sure how much was inability and how much was "non-compliance", I tried to tell them that he's shy and stubborn. The Hearing Test was an absolute fiasco. Brett was put in charge of escorting that event and he said Shane freaked at the onset- would not let them put hte head phones anywhere near his ears. Poor little guy came back in to me with tears on his cheeks looking utterly pitiful. Luckily, they did that at the end of the appointment.
They also tried a Vision Test. Ha. I'd never seen a kid's vision test before so that was interesting, but Shane did a few and then just started playing (in my opinion). The teachers came back with avery bad score and suggested we take him to the eye doctor to make sure there weren't any problems. Brett has a different theory. As in almost all vision tests, they started at the top of the chart (making sure Shane recognized the pictures and could match them up with the ones he had in [Brett's] hands. Brett's thought are that Shane is so smart and quick that he gets bored with thier dumb base building questions and stops playing thier games. Instead, lets himself get distracted and play his own game. Brett thinks it's silly, but I'm going to look into what insurance has to say about when to start vision tests.
Part of me thinks that maybe Brett is worried that Shane has my vision problems (in addition to my coloring, family facial features, temperment, etc.) I too would be a bit sad to see my boy in glasses (he doesn't like things on his face or near his ears- could be problematic) but I also know the frustration of not being able to see clearly- something that Brett has never experienced.
Oh, well..

Beepin' Bus!

The one sure sign of school starting in a house where no one goes to school (yet) is the arrival of the school bus. That dag-nabbed, stinkin' beepin' school bus!
Every morning is much the same... first the noisy rush of kids to the bus stop- which is right in front of our house. They trample all plants, attack the trees and sheds and pull the wall down around the CG sign planter. The yelling and jabber is only lessened when it rains and they have to cross the street to the shelter. I like the rain. But the rain does NOT muffle the arrival of the bus. In most areas that wouldn't be a big deal. I don't know if buses down south are equipted with the strobe lights... talk about headache! The bus rumbles in, it's lights flashing- lighting up the whole house practically, stops... then backs up before stopping to let the kids on board. (This is so it doesn't have to do any turning around... just back out the gate. Yes, the bus BEEPS when it backs up! Oh joy!
There aren't a whole heap of kids that live out here... you'd think a bus in the morning and one in the afternoon wouldn't be insane-making.... There are 3 buses!!!!!!! AAAGGGHHHHH!!!

Stunt Men

When Shane was about 18 months old, Brett brought home a 'big boy bike' with training wheels and everything. It became his jungle gym. He still hasn't quite got the pedal thing down (not too many dry opportunities to practice outside), but he was nice enough to let Austin try the bike last night.

About 10 months earlier than Shane did it- Brett is so excited.
That boy has no fear.

Inherited Finery

Thank you to Grandma for hauling everything up to the boys.

Thank you Aunt Nikki for thinking to send the Superman bathrobes.

I remembered them the night Grandma and Grandpa left and tried them out after bath.

Austin's was a little big. We rolled up the sleeves and tied it tight.

Somehow, he still m,anaged to wiggle out of it, effectively ending his naked time.

(Yes, he is holding exactly what it looks like he's holding- Shane's underwear.)

Shane's was too big too. He tried to keep it on with his hands, but it was too much for him.

So, they down-shifted! Austin's fit Shane just fine and
Shane had a blast running around nude but not naked.
Dad liked it better too, he has nude issues.

Pass a thank you on to whoever they originated from, I can't remember.

That Cat

I know it's been a while since I promised that I'd post pictures of the furball that has been added to our home. He almost didn't make it when we found out the first price ticket for shots, declawing, and fixing the little fellow. $425! yuck! Luckily, I was able to get ahold of the local "country vet" who's only in his office 3 hours a day, has no staff at all, and only does it if you absolutely insist or need it. $40 fixed and declawed the little guy and we're good to go.

The picture here is a few weeks old, but you can see how filthy he was when we got him.Brett dunked him thoroughly, twice, leaving the water black every time.

Everytime i could catch him , I'd give him a "tongue bath" with wipes.

Finally, Brett asked where the animal shampoo was and was able to get the critter completely and totally clean!

He's alot lighter grey than I thought he was.

He's patient to an extent with Shane. Finally made peace with Paco. He'll drink out of Paco's water dish and make noise when he wants Paco to chase him around the house. He still gets skittish when he gets corrected by Brett. But is shameless in his attempts to get affection from me (and Brett when he's not holding a grudge). In the picture, you can see the scratches on Shane's leg. That boy is practically oblivious of the cat saying 'stop'

One thing we haven't been able to do is pick a name for the cat. Brett says nothing feminine or gooby... A contest!!!! 'll think up a prize for whoever comes up with the winning name!! Tell the kids! They can e-mail me lists, tell me which is thier favorite, and we'll see what gets the most suggestions, which one we pick, silliest, most manly, etc!

New Discoveries

Austin discovered ketchup.

Shane left his hotdog plate alone on the couch. I didn't realize it.
Apparently, it fulfilled all of Austin's expectations.
So that's good.

Toothy

This is a bit of an old picture, but it seemed to fit.

Austin officially has in his 2 bottom teeth! yeah!

And I am exhuasted! yeah!

'How does the picture fit?' is the question running through your head now.

Well, we got sent little dentist kits from our dental insurance.
Amid the pencils and flossers were not-so-very-little tooth shaped erasers.

Austin thought they were relatively tasty.

Ungaurded Secret

I'm not very good at picking out secrets, so went I had anything that I could keep to surprise Brett's mom, I did, no matter how silly it may have been. Of course, that meant we couldn't mention it to anyone, or on the blog... So here is the official yeah hooray announcement.

Austin is fully mobile!

That's my big boy! He's walking like crazy. Loves to climb up anything and anyone. Sidestepping, getting up off the floor to stand, all old news for him. Stairs are no big deal.

He's been going like this for a couple months now and we really love it!

If Shane lies on the floor at all, Austin B-lines it to jump on him. It's pretty fun!

I know it's not much of a big whoop, but still, it's something.

Totem Park

We went to visit Totem Park Friday before Grandma and Grandpa left. Grandma was missing her usual walks and since it was dry and not windy, we meandered along with the trails. We looked at the totems, watched fish spawn and die in the rivers, and saw tourists chasing eagles on the beach. We ran and munched Huckleberries and in general had a blast!

Making a Totem Pole

The best 2 totems in the park.
Mom didn't want to spend the $4 to see the actual museum
part of the park, so I can't tell you too much
about the workings of totem building.
It looks pretty obvious, but I'm sure there's a
trick out there that noone's told me about yet.

This was pretty cool, a little dirt on Sitka.
Below is one story of the volatile past of our little rock.
Shee Atika is the name of the Native performers here
And New Archangel is that of the Russian dancers.
We didn't go see either but I thought the relation was cool.

Castle Hill

After window shopping around town, we decided to do the walk up Castle Hill. It's usually a fun little mosey, but I'd never gone up the stairs on the back side of the hill before... it was a bit of doosy and we were all a bit winded at the top (except Shane who was just excited to be able to run. Here's Grandpa at the top.

Austin was also VERY grateful to be able to get out of the backpack and wiggle and 'run'.

It's worth the hike. Grandpa told us that the sign they're reading here said that when the Russians sold Alaska to the US (signed on this hill supposedly) they ( the natives) understood the sale to be of the hill and nothing more. Someone obviously forgot to read the fine print!

A great place to run when it's dry and empty.

I talked Shane into sitting on the cannon, he said it made his bum cold.

This is the view of the ocean from the hill.

This bridge is what we drive over to go home to Japonski Island everyday. Shane calls it his Troll Bridge after his favorite character on Dora. He likes to see the big boats out in the water from the top too. Gorgeous!