Ice Fishing

Mir and I tried ice fishing on Loon Lake today without success. We had fun, though.

kicksleds!

We recently bought two kickselds: one for Mir and one for Kim and me. Our adult sled has a seat for a passenger, where Ethan sits. We (and I do mean all of us) love them. They are a great way to get around. Mir does a great job of scooting around on hers.

Our sleds are made by Esla of Finland and distributed localy by alaskasparken. Kicksled club Ketkupolkka has a great kicksled primer posted.

Family Pictures

Mir was sharing goldfish crackers with Ethan on a sledding trip on Loon Lake.


We tried to get a good family photo at home today.


Denise Haro took a picture of us over at my parents' home after a short sled ride on the trails.

Mir as Photographer

We have begun to allow Mir to use one of our old cameras. She has been doing a good job with it. The only problem is that she uses up the batteries in about five minutes. She shoots essentially non-stop from the moment we hand her the camera.

Some Oklahoma photos

Matt and Ethan hauling stuff

Mir and Grammy mowing

Photos September 30, 2007

Mr. E mixing bread dough

Mir riding Scout

Our little kayak at nameless lake (coordinates 60.53 N, 150.93 W)

Coordination and Vocabulary

Our little guy loves to play with balls. His favorite way to get
attention is to bring over a ball and start throwing it. March first
was his first day catching the ball. We made a big deal out of it,
clapping for him and cheering. He is obviously proud of himself, and
justifiably. He is doing a great job for a little guy. His
coordination is improving daily. He is starting to insist on drinking
out of normal glasses as opposed to sippy cups. The guy is growing
up!

Mir has been learning to recognize an write letters and numbers. At
this point she can draw A's, 8's, 0's, O's, Q's, M's, and i's.

She is also getting to be quite creative in telling stories. The
other day she was telling us that she shot a moose in our back yard
and she ate it. She shared it with Kim, Ethan, and me and gave the
skin to Bo. She is often flying helicopters by herself to see her
aunt Hillary, her Grammy, and her Grandpa Braun who live far away.
She spends a lot of time at the hospital administering mostly
surgeries and "pokes" for a wide variety of ailments of people and
animals. She has been racing sled dogs often. She likes to run a two
dog team for all they are worth and care for them well with plenty of
frozen salmon and water.

Ethan has been becoming more articulate, aslo, most notably with a
powerfully endearing "Mommy". Just last night at his grandparents'
house, he added "goat" (pronounced "go") to his vocabulary. He is
very much an animal guy who likes to pet cats, goats, horses, and
especially his dog, Bo.