MELTING SNOW...

Hi folks,

Well, spring was here for about a week!  We had sunny days that just made a person feel like a bundle of energy.  Then yesterday it clouded over and a little blizzard flared up.  L  It was very sad.  Today has been a snow less gray day. It is a cool 15° right now.

Last week I hung my first loads of laundry on my outside lines.  It is such a milestone!  There is a process to hanging the first laundry outside.  Snow melts, I think, mostly from the underneath.  The top of the snow seems unchanged and has a tough crust.  If a person walks in undisturbed snow, it is relatively high until one crunches around in it.  That’s what I have to do under my lines before I can walk comfortably to hang laundry.  When my kids were little, they loved doing that job for me.  Now, I don their boots and do it myself. 

I forgot to mention that Seth went to Kodiak to work for Jason Underhill for a couple of weeks.  Jason has a big job in Kodiak building a lodge or resort.  Seth called on Sunday to say that he’s doing okay and could he stay longer.  Poor Kevin is stuck doing all of Seth’s chores!

The mad logging season is mostly over.  The guys have brought the equipment home.  Thomas spent his last day in the woods leveling out the road so that forestry would be happy.  

 All our little kids have been sick with the flu for the past week - I think we contracted the bug from Whitestone.  The whole of Whitestone has been severely sick for some time now.  Hopefully no one else from here will get this awful bug.

Garth has started building trusses for the new tack shed which will be located over by the root cellar, sort of by the old tack shed.  I really like the old tack shed.  I need to go get pictures of its ancientness before it disappears.  Because Garth pulled something in his back recently, he has been limping around.

Wenda arrives home today.  Rachel Trotter went to Fairbanks to bring her home. 

Ally has been hit with something with flu like symptoms.  We are hoping that it is only a flare up of her celiac sensitivity.

Tonight Jack Stockton will be flying through (since even when he drives, he flies).  He will be bringing Jim Mason home with him.  He is also bringing Matthew Campbell, Bobby Owens, and Nathaniel Jeffreys to or from various places in the Interior.  I did mention that Bro Bobby was ministering in SE Alaska and a little into Canada after he left here?  And that he took Jim Mason with him?

Tom and Carolyn’s second grandchild is due to be born any day.  Marki and Sam know they are having a girl which they plan on naming Gemma Gwen. 

Pat Lou is home from England.  He showed up here over the weekend to gather some of his things.  Now he is off to the Wasilla/Palmer area to take up his position as a Tech II on the Gannet Glacier Fire Crew which is now a HotShot crew. 

 Here is a photo of the #1 prize for the Ice sculpture park in Fairbanks.

Today is birthday day – let me see if I can name all the ones I know – Sarah Jane Trotter, Richard Jepsen, Rus Basalyga, Brandon Miller, Lee Wilkerson, Eddie Trotzke, and ????

Rob and self have been invited to join the Special Needs Field trip to SE Alaska. We will be gone 5 days at the end of April and visit Seward and Homer. I think it should be interesting and I am hoping Rob will do well with the car travel. 

 Wicked wind blowing outside but the sun is shining!

Have a great rest of the week.

Gotta go!!!! 

Liv, Annie and Bethany our grads...

My Annie Bananie...

Playing the part of Delilah in the HS play "Samson"

our 4 grads. Annie, Joey, Bethany and Livy.