Happy Birthday Roy!

July 16th found us back in the truck, this time headed to Haines, Alaska for a visit with Dave’s folks.  The trip to Haines is always fun, for so many reasons.  And this trip promised to be even more fun than usual, as we were going not just for a visit but for a surprise party of epic proportions.  My beloved father in law, Roy, was turning 80 and it seemed a good reason to celebrate. 

My sister in law, Megan, along with my sister in law Mery,  my wonderful mother in law, Carol and even myself(I just had a tiny part in all this) began planning a party last summer.  Invitations were mailed around the country, and given out all around Haines, with strict instructions not to let on if Roy started asking questions.  A hall was rented, decorations purchased, a potluck arranged. 

The Anchorage Lawrence crew planned a trip to Haines, under the premise that July 16-21 were the only possible dates for us to spend in Haines, and wasn’t it just grand that it happened to coincide with Roy’s birthday!  We were just the foil.   We arrived early Thursday morning, and that evening, people started streaming into Haines from all over.  Over the next few days the roads between the ferry terminal and Haines International Airport were practically smoking as we made clandestine trips back and forth to pick up  friends and family streaming in from all over the state and the country. 

Megan and her friend Amy were the first in, coming in Thursday night from Washington State.  Then the next day the ferry brought Nina and her hubby, Christian and their little girl Naomi(Roy and Carol’s 1st great-grand baby), from Washington DC, and Deanna and her boyfriend Ben in from Oregon, Steve (one of Dave’s brothers) and his terrific and extremely fun girlfriend, Shellin, from Juneau, and a host of other friends and family.  Saturday morning brought still more guests. 

Haines is not a big place, and finding hiding places for all of these people was quite a challenge.  There were friends and family members stashed in houses and hotels on nearly every street.  All with warnings not to drive in front of Roy and Carol’s house, for fear he would see them and know something was up.  hiding someone in a town of 2000 might not seem like it is that hard, but try hiding a couple dozen, including children, grandchildren and a great grandchild of the guest of honor.  Now imagine that the guest of honor, from whom you are trying to hide these people, lives on the main street in town and the only road to the ferry terminal.  It was pretty funny!

Everywhere we went in Haines, for the first couple of days we were there, people would pull us aside and whisper something about the party, what they were planning to bring, what gift they found, what one of Roy’s necklaces they were going to wear, etc etc.  It is a good thing that Roy is now really hard of hearing!

And on July 18, it all came together in spectacular fashion!  A bit over 200 people crammed into the ANB/ANS hall in downtown Haines.  The place was decorated with balloons and streamers and a fantastic banner put together by Megan, with pictures of Roy thoughout his life. 

My kids and Dave spent the day with Roy and at 5:30pm, began a walk to the park.  As they walked past the ANB/ANS hall my kids urged Grandpa to go on in and see why all the cars were there.  Grandpa was reluctant, saying that there must be some kind of meeting and they probably don’t want to be disturbed.

Finally, Broder opened the door and peeked in,

 then a bit wider and in came Roy.  200 and some people stood up and sang “Happy Birthday” to a very overwhelmed and astonished Roy.

 

 

 To see the look on his face as he surveryed all those people there to celebrate his birthday, and then to see his face, and the tears, as he saw his children grandchildren and finally the great-grand child he had never met, only seen pictures of, standing right there.

 

I don’t have the words to describe what we all felt at that moment.

For the next couple of hours, people ate, and talked and laughed and laughed and laughed.  The whole town of Haines seemed to be there. 

Countless people told me how Roy has touched their lives over the years, things from teaching a young kid to ride a bike when the child’s own father was too busy, to giving of his drift net catch to a family of 10 that could really use the fish, to being the guy who gave the troubled kid a 2nd, 3rd, 4th chance, and the stories went on and on and on.  Roy is a a man who loves and is incredibly loved. 

 

 

After the party was over and the hall cleaned up, the family, headed over to Mery’s house for our own private after-party.  We all stayed up way too late, and enjoyed our selves very very much.  It was a wonderful time. 

Throughout all of this, I was reminded again, of how blessed I am.  I have the great family I was born into AND  the great family I married into.

3 days, 780 miles, one really big bruise…

and we are back from our adventure to Chicken, Alaska. 

I have wanted to go to Chicken for years.  Ever since I read the book “Tisha” which chronicles the story of a young woman who is sent to teach in the village of Chicken, way back when.  It is a wonderful story, and I recommend it to all of you. 

So, this fall, when our friends the Riopelles, told us about the 4th of July Chicken adventure they were planning, I was quick to invite myself along.  And boy am I glad I did. 

Chicken is located about 1.5 hours from Tok, Alaska, which is about 6-7 hours from Anchorage(depending on RV traffic).  So driving up there is a major time and petroleum fuel commitment. 

As it came closer for the time to go to Chicken, I was faced with a major decision:

Do I take the 13 year old minivan with 160,000 miles?

or

Do I take the 19 year old truck with 190,000 miles?

As Dave put is “they have equal chances of breaking down, take wahteverone you want”.  easy for him to say, since he wasn’t going on this trip with us (ah, the sorrow of having to work).  Why I was worried about this, I have no idea.  I mean really, I drove the Lord’s Van all over the Midwest!

After much discussion and debate, we took the truck, because, in the words of my 9 year old, “we could haul a whole lot more junk”.

Right here and now I want to publicly thank Sandy and Shawn Friendshuh for taking such great care of that truck!  It ran like a dream and took the frost heaves like an old pro.

I have driven the road from Anchorage to Tok many times, but never before had I taken the turnoff onto the Taylor Highway.  Alaska really is beautiful, and so vast, and the trip up the Taylor just reinforced that.  The landscape on the way to Chicken was different than much of what seen in my limited travels around the state.  The mountains are big, but not jagged, more like grown up versions of the rolling hills of northern Minnesota.  Trees and wild flowers and little lakes here and there, it was lovely. 

As we pulled into Chicken, it was everything I had hoped:  quirky, dusty, hot!  With a name like Chicken… 

I could never get a definitive answer on the actual number of residents in Chicken, but I heard 3 as the year round population a number of times, with 70 being the standard for fulltime summer residents.  These seemed to be mostly people there to work the various gold claims in the area and a number of people who ran the 2 rv parks in the area, as well as the bar, cafe and store. 

The kids and I set up camp at one of the 3 tent sites at the “Original Chicken Gold Camp” RV park.  The owners looked at me a little funny when I said we would be tent camping.  I guess that isn’t really popular among the retired recreational gold mining crowd.  Then we set out to explore.  it didn’t take long. In the town of Chicken there is one store, one bar, one cafe and a post office, which only processes mail 1x a week, on Thursdays.  There are 2 RV parks, each with the required gift shop selling “I got laid in Chicken, Alaska” bumper stickers and t-shirts.  I did not get those. 

Kjell and his friend, Sam, immediately began to gold pan, while the other kids ran around and got dirty.  We had a lovely evening settling in and visiting by the fire.  

I woke up Saturday morning feeling that a shower would be a lovely thing.  So I sauntered on over to the campground shower house.  Happened upon an empty shower, plunked in my quarters for a 5 minute shower and realized(in a near panic) that I had not remembered to throw my shampoo into my toiletry bag.  I was determined to get the most out of this pricey shower, and make it more than just a rinsing.  A quick dig in the bag revealed a nearly full tube of toothpaste.  I thought, “What the heck, it cleans my teeth”.  I can now say, with complete assurance, toothpaste will take the grime right out of your hair and is a truly lovely body scrub to boot.

On Saturday, July 4th the big community picnic.  this picnic is a yearly fundraiser for a Gold Prospectors Assoc. and draws quite the crowd, about 200 people, the biggest weekend in Chicken all year, by far.  It was a great picnic.  For $12 you get the biggest steak (or grilled chicken) I have ever seen and endless side dishes, with all the water, soda and beer a person could possibly consume.   There are activities all day long, gold panning competitions for all ages, a massive egg toss event, and the indestructible pinata to cap off the day. 

Kjell and Sunny participated in the gold panning contest and they both won their age groups.  It was very very cute.  Broder was my entrepreneur and spent his afternoon plunging his arm into ice cold water to retrieve beer and sodas for the picnic goers.  his line was “tips appreciated, but not required”.  I think the little guy earned about $10, but he put all but $3 into the donation pot. 

 

We had heard that there was a German tourist component to Chicken (I have no idea why this would be true) and we were not disappointed.  The kids got the practice their language skills with a couple families, both of whom were delighted and charmed. 

I walked away from the weekend with a bit of a sunburn, and the aforementioned, really big bruise.  While packing up the truck to go, I completely forgot we had installed a hitch with which to pull our boat (another post), and ran into the stupid thing, HARD.  As was observed by a friend, “those suckers don’t move”.  I can say without any doubt, my right shin was the loser in the “shin vs hitch” battle. 

We drove back on Sunday, dusty, smelly, and thoroughly happy to have made the trek. 

Next stop, Haines, AK, to visit with Dave’s folks.

More vacation photos

the ever adorable Kajsa Stanley-Erickson

The closest I am willing to come to a picture of me on the beach. 

our little beach buddy.  He was crawling all over our snorkel gear one morning.  We watched him for a long time and took LOTS of pictures.

Baby it’s cold outside…

and yet, the dog still must be walked. 

If you look carefully you can see the ice on my eyelashes. 

Like the bags under my eyes?  Sunny was up at 4:30am, because she was SO excited to get back to school after break. 

Snowzilla…

a few blocks from our house is guy who really seems to love life.  He is a bit eccentric, collecting the odd car and refrig to decorate the lawn.  He would not do well in a sub-division with a lot of covenants.  In Airport Heights (our little piece of Anchorage), however, he thrives. 

For the last few years, from what we understand, he has been making a giant snowman in his front yard.  This creation has been dubbed “Snowzilla” and had made national and international news.  People drive by all day and night to see this thing, and take pictures.  Well, apparently this got a little old for some of the neighbors and a complaint was filed with the city.  The city cited the guy, told him to take Snowzilla down or face some fines.  So, he destroyed the snowman and that was that. 

Or not. 

Within a couple of days, Snowzilla was re-born, bigger than ever.  When questioned, the guy just responded that he had now idea how Snowzilla was re-built, but the “the elves must have worked all night long”.

I have long wished that I could live just this side of the law, it seems like so much fun.  But alas, I was raised Lutheran, in Minnesota, so all hope for that is lost, I remain firmly rooted in guilt and worry.  

There is just enough rebel in me, however, to cheer for this guy and his Snowzilla.  Nearly each night, the dog and I walk by and I wave my hand in salute to the guy watching from the window of the house over which Snowzilla stands guard.

Ahhhhh….

the last week here at the Lawrence house has been positively blissful.  Things have been relaxed and, I tell you, that is exactly what we needed this year.  After 6 months of tension:  leaving the Midwest and my family, cancer, surgery, recovery, insurance hassles, settling into a new neighborhood, new school, new church.  It has all felt frantic. 

the first few weeks in Alaska, we were so busy with all the medical stuff and school.  Then, as Dave began to feel better, we began to go again, catching up with friends long neglected in our moves.  A beloved aunt and uncle came to visit, Dave’s folks were in town. A long awaited trek to Homer.  A trip to Kenny Lake to reconnect with very special friends.  Each week that Dave was home something was going on. 

The weeks he was gone were filled with school and fencing and volunteering and Daisy Scouts.  Our Dave-less weekends were often spent in the Valley playing with the Riopelles or the Becks. 

So, when Christmas break rolled around,  although I missed/miss my family terribly, I was ready for the slow down.  And without extended family, it really was slow around here. 

We have never had a week like this.  Dave has been home since the day before Christmas, and has only been on the phone 2 times for work.  I think he only checked his email once.  The kids have been off of school, and since I don’t work… It has been wonderful.

Christmas eve was quiet, we went to church and enjoyed a lovely service complete with candles and volunteer choir.  Singing “Silent Night” with each persons face illuminated by the glow of the candles… knowing my family had done the same in Minnesota. 

At home that evening, we opened presents.  Not too many, that really isn’t our thing.  Neither Dave nor I grew up in households that went all out over Christmas presents and we have not made that a part of our family celebrations either.  Broder got some Troll legos, Kjell got an mp3 player, Sunny some doll clothes.  All the kids got pipecleaners and games and a puzzle to share. 

The most exciting present by far was the book box.  Dave and I had gone to a used book store in town and bought a bunch of books, some for each member of the family including our selves.  There were mysteries, car repair manuals, fantasy, history, knitting, learn to read , books of all kinds.  We had wrapped each book in newspaper(and didn’t label them as to whom they belonged) and put all the books in a large box.  When it came time to open the box, the kids pulled out any book, unwrapped it, and tried to figure out who it belonged to.  this was great fun and something I think we will do in years to come. 

Christmas morning brought the usual stockings stuffers, toothpaste, band-aids, toothbrushes and a little bit of candy. 

In the afternoon, our friend Tom came over for dinner.  It was great to send some time with him and catch up on all that has gone on in his life over the last 6 years.  It was an afternoon of good conversation, snuggled in our little house watching the snow pile up outside. 

In the days since Christmas, we have played a lot of games, put together a puzzle, taken the dog for long walks, baked some bread and lefse, drank good coffee and little wine,  and generally just hung out as a family.  We didn’t even start the car for 3 days! 

The holidays are so often a time of busy running and that is so much fun, and I missed that a little this year, there were times when I would get a little teary knowing that all my siblings and my parents were together, without us.  But, I think this last week was just what we needed.

Ice cubes and cigarettes…

here are a couple of funny things to brighten your day.

I was talking to a friend today and she said:

 ”my grandpa turned 88 and for his birthday he got to smoke a cigarette and have a steam bath”. 

I thought this was hilarious, and a good reminder that it is not the money spent on a gift that counts, but how much the recipient really wants it.

Last night the boys pulled an all-nighter.  The goal was to stay up all night long playing video games, xbox etc.  It is Christmas break, so I figured why not.  I bestowed my blessing in the form of a caffeinated soda for each boy.  Kjell has accomplished the all nighter once before and this time, Broder was determined, really determined. When I got up this morning at 5am, both boys were still awake.  I expressed my surprise that Broder was still going strong and he said:

“I have been putting ice cubes down my back to stay awake”.   

Oh, yeah, that’s Broder.

I am thankful for…(part 3)

I try really hard to be thank full each and everyday, and to express my joy for the countless blessings that comprise my life  each and every day, not just at Thanksgiving.

I am full of thanks this year.  Dave is healthy, really that is enough to fill me with thanks, but lucky me, there is so much more. 

I am thankful for my kids, my heart swells with gratitude when I look at them.  I feel an inadequate and incompetent parent many days, but always, always Thank Full.

I am thankful for my family, far away though they are.  I am thankful that they will be together tomorrow and I know that they will miss us as much as we miss them.  How great is that?  To have a family that enjoys being together and loves.  Thank Full!

I am thankful for my friends.  Here, there, everywhere.  It is amazing to me that I have friends at all, so when I stop to think about all the people all over the world  that I care for and that care for me, it is almost overwhelming.  I am not worthy, but wow, am I Thank Full!

Those are the big things.  But still there is more I have to give thanks for. 

Over the last few months, with all that has gone on, Dave’s health, the move back to Alaska, I have been pretty narrowly focused and have felt like I “can’t see the forest for the trees”.   

So, looking closer at those trees, this is what I found, a forest Full of Thanks.  And I am truly THANK FULL for:

dear darling Entropy rejoining our family, our cozy little house, the csa I just discovered that will bring me good organic produce each week, the chance for our kids to learn a 2nd language, the chance for me to learn a 2nd language, Dave’s steady job, an old blue honda minivan, not having a newspaper route, a gym membership, a diverse school for the kids, the beauty of the mountains that greet me each day, rediscovering old friends, making new friends, the time to bake bread, volunteer opportunities, a welcoming church, daily walks with the dog, the park 3 blocks away, the gas stove, water and ice in the frig door, non-hideous furniture, my really funky and warm winter boots, visitors, postcards in the mail, emails from near and far, facebook, my cell phone and  the crazy number of minutes we have a month, the end of the election cycle…

I could go on and on and on…  there is much for which to be Thank Full!

The kids wrote out their Christmas lists today…

and happily, they still think we are living just south of the poverty line. 

here are some of the requests:

pipe cleaners (2 kids)

books (all 3)

makeup (not the boys, you can breathe)

fresh flowers

cranberry splash sierra mist soda

lefse

really, pipe cleaners.  Isn’t that funny?  I am going to get them pipe cleaners.

The dog does not want to be left out…

and so the game of Twister was a little more complicated.