MARCH COMING IN LIKE A LION, GOING OUT LIKE A LAMB???

With all the world catastrophes that have happened so far ....I’m not sure how that saying goes or if it hold true... but I can say that our weather is simply beautiful.  We haven’t had any below zero weather for about two weeks. 

Each night, the temperature stays around 0°, warming up during the day.  Yesterday, I went out for a walk mid-afternoon.  It was one of those days that made me thankful for living in Alaska.  The mountains were beautiful; the weather was perfect walking weather.  I might even have been getting a little tan from the sun reflecting off the white snow.  I want to think I was being tanned.    

March is definitely a month of madness.  The loggers work nearly around the clock to get their logs out of the woods while the temperature is mild and while the ice road is still strong and holding.  Livestock is being born – they never seem to mind when they’re born – middle of the night is probably their favorite time, it seems.  Rich’s dairy cow had a calf, and if a cow could be cute, this one is!  It is “carhartt” brown all over with the cutest, inquisitive face.  Tommy has had around 20 beef cows born this month.  And, one of the pigs had 10 babies, but three were runts and have gone the way of all runts.  They will be used by the EMT team for dissection.  The kids have been out skating every night because one day soon, the ice will no longer be skatable. Also of course, us teachers are madly trying to finish school work up before OPEN HOUSE in mid April AND...

Rob and I have been invited by the AGSD (Alaska Gateway School District) to attend a special needs field trip to the south of Alaska. Seward and Homer. We will be visiting, the marine center, a museum, riding on a catamaran, and watching whales. Should be very interesting! I have never gone that far south in my 20+ years in AK...we will be gone 5 days.

Bethany Ch. came home from her Georgia/Kansas trip.  Scott’s wedding was a success.  J  Wenda is still gone.  She was inGeorgia for the wedding and now she’s in North Carolina with her sister, Aunt Patty.  Wenda will come home next week. 

My BIL Ben Mehaffey, had his usual ornamental blacksmithing booth in the homeshow last weekend.  He did pretty good.  Lately, he’s been selling gimlets to a commander in the Army.  I think gimlets were used by soldiers of old to screw into rocks and break them open for whatever reason.  Now they are an honorary thing used in some sort of knighting ceremony type thing.  Ben gets a list of names and he takes he done gimlets to an engraver in town.  The engraver puts the men’s names on the gimlets.  Then Ben delivers the finished product.  It’s been some steady income for him this past year. 

Oh, this weekend, Liz and Sarah Jepsen are going to Anchorage for a very quick trip.  They are taking the Lupo girls or they’re taking us (our van, their trip, they know the shops) so they can look for bridesmaids dresses for the girls.  Rebekah will have her sisters (3), a cousin, and Lizzie as bridesmaids. I heard they sorta have a color scheme but they will all be able to wear whatever style dress they can find within the scheme.  Chris will have Jake as his best man; Kevin and Seth will be groomsmen.  They will get to usher two girls each down the aisle.  Every man’s dream, right?

A bald eagle has been spotted close to the pole barn. Annie went out with my Canon SX200 PS and got some nice shots. AMazing how close the bird let her get...his eyes are fierce! Definitely a bird of prey...lol

PatLou came back from 2 months in the UK with Beth and family. He appeared at the wee hours and woke us up on a Saturday...oh well...had a serious case of jet lag poor boy. Now he is madly trying to get all his ducks in a row to get ready for his firefighting training which starts on Tuesday. He has been promoted to a Tech2 and the whole crew is now in the "hotshot" category...more pay and more status. So it's all good. Hope and pray all goes well for him from henceforth. Come August he will be reunited with the twins and B. Hope we get so see them all together sooner than later.

Pat took Rob out snowboarding and sledding. I think the kids had a good time. The weather is gorgeous! 40+ today....Rob enjoys hanging out with Pat, and his big bro is being a bud to him...THANKS PATPAT...

Pat's already sporting his firefighting beard..

 Pat is trying to get as much time with the guys as he can before he leaves tomorrow for the valley and firefighting (until August)...

 May and Annie share something funny after supper...

 Rob enjoys watching Michael play on the computer...they are buddies...

GOD SPEED PATPAT! WE LOVE YA AND WE WILL MISS YA!