Just Wanted To Let You Know

That's right, Daddy's home! Josh got to the house at 1am Saturday morning. We both got the boys up (when it was time, not at 1am). As we opened Zeke's door, he saw me and said (as usual), "Mommy!" Then he looked over and saw Josh and as his eyes got all big he said, "DADDY!" Then just hugged Josh for a solid five minutes.

Deacon, on the other hand, played it shy. He insisted that I get him out of bed, and wouldn't let Josh hold him right away. Obviously he got over it very quickly. Josh is enjoying seeing all the changes since he left two months ago.

My mom also got in on Saturday. It was a big day for the boys. For all of us, really. We had a nice Easter too. Nothing very "Eastery" happened, so there isn't any pictures of dying eggs or digging through baskets, but it was a good day all the same. I hope that you all had a wonderful "Resurrection Day" and now I must go and start packing up some stuff for the big move this week. If you don't hear from me again soon, I'm sure I'll be back shortly after we arrive in Alaska on Saturday. (I really cannot believe that I will be in Alaska in just a few days. Life is very surreal right now. Don't worry, it's in a good way.)

Sure It's Nothing a Wipey Can't Handle

But is it necessary?

In case you can't see it in the last picture, there is sugar all over the side of his face from that candy bracelet he's munching on. Nothing is a "clean" food when it comes to Deacon. I have full confidence that he would be able to make a mess while eating celery. It's an amazing gift the child has.

The other week (as in, last month sometime) I gave the boys juice in open cups during lunch. Zeke is actually quite accomplished at this, so it wasn't a big deal for him, but Deacon had never had one (without some help from me) and was THRILLED to be drinking on his own.

I think you can see why we didn't do that too often here. They really do make enough laundry as it is. However, we have continued practicing, and he is getting MUCH better about it. The pants usually make it out unscathed. Sadly, I cannot say the same for the shirts - poor dears. We'll get it though. If there's anything Deacon is, besides messy, it's persistent. Hmm...I wonder where he gets that from?

Who Knew Sheep Could Be So Much Fun?

A friend of mine has been having a rough time lately. I commented on her blog today that I would leave something here for her. So, if she's reading this, this is for you (and I know you know who you are). I don't know why I think this will make you feel a little better, but here it is all the same. If she's not reading this, I hope everyone else enjoys it as well. Even if you've already seen it.

Don't doubt Mt. Redoubt

As many of you may or may not know, Mt. Redoubt has undergone a series of erruptions as of late. (I'm not sure how much coverage the news in the "Lower 48" has covered it.) While this has been exciting at times, I would like to point out that the Volcano is about 90 miles North West of Anchorage in a remote part of the state so there is not a huge threat from the erruptions themselves. The main concerns stem from flooding caused by ice melt from the volcano as well as ash fall which can be carried hundreds of miles by the wind and pose significant danger to aircraft flying through the affected area and if falling in sufficient quantities can lead to structure colapse, breathing problems, and eye irratation.

Part of my current assignment is to work these very issues from the Garrison Crisis Action Center (GCAC). In the GCAC we have software to conduct our own plume modeling in order to help predict the area at risk for ashfall, resources to mobilize in the event some disaster does occur, and plenty of coffee to help sustain the 24 hour operations pulled as neccesary. In reality, after the initial erruption, Mt. Redoubt faded to background noise as we returned to regular operations, even though it is still errupting regularly. The Alaska Volcano Observatory has the lead in any case and we support as necessary. The only ill effects I felt from Redoubt to date have been a couple days of sleep deprivation and some slight ash fall in Eagle River on Saturday. (Above pic: Ash fall on the hood of my car) You can click on the AVO link to get more info about Volcanoes and Mt. Redoubt in particular, as well as check out some great photos of recent as well as past explosions of Redoubt.