Spring/Summer 2010

We decided to stay home this summer. Well, at least some of us. Karl spent a month commerical fishing halibut. Kirsten went to Nicaragua on a Mission Trip, and Pete went to D.C. to encourage our federal government to make good decisions about Alaska education. Claire and I stayed home thankfully. One of our new projects was getting chickens. It started in 1st grade. In Krista's 1st grade class at McNeil eggs were hatched. This led to a 'chicken tractor'. This is a movable ark type chicken house that we relocate around our yard for 'organic' chickens and for free grass fertilizer.

Princess dandelion

Our latest addition to our family is Claire's new kitten. As of today, it is still nameless, but we are working on names like, Chestnut, Toffee, and Spice.

After Karl and Kirsten came back to Homer, we took a 3 day canoe trip with the Taylor family. We try to camp with them every year. We went into the Swanson Lake (yes really!) area and packed in (with land and water portages) 5 lakes. We set up camp there. Then the next day, we explored other lakes with just day packs. Our friends Tom and Sarah joined us for the first day as well. Pete, Karl AND Kirsten all carried a canoe by themselves during the land portages.. WOW. Karl actually carried 2, one at a time. Claire and I carried gear and paddles.

Wild Lupine likes to grow near the Swanson lakes, and all lover Alaska.

Kirsten, Grace and Claire enjoyed the outdoors. Really outdoors. We had no toilets, water etc. Just plain old good Alaska canoe and pack in.

Collecting bait for fishing at Lonely Lake.

Grandpa Swanson gave us this boat which we brought home last summer. She paddled along beautifully.

Claire and Ian carrying their 2nd load of gear and paddles.

Looking for bait. The loons called and 'sang' all day long, but especially in the evening.

Lonely Lake

Man and his dog. Acutally my man and his/my dog. This is a 1/2 mile portage..

Break and snack time. A little lounging and fishing on the way back out.

Kirsten and Casey in Nicaragua at the top of a volcano.

One of the highlights of the summer was Kirsten getting to take a Mission Trip to Nicaragua with her friend Casey. They went along with Grandpa and Grandma Stonoff. They spent a lot of time building, as well as helping at in the evenings with the Vacation Bible School. Kirsten really enjoyed her time, even when she tasted Boa Constrictor. Yuck. The guys, Kevin, David and Pete go out for a late evening fishing venture.

Claire and Amanda are strolling around on their scooters. Thank goodness for asphalt at our campground.

We are putting our 2 new canoes into action.

Grace, Ian and Karl go for a paddle on Hidden Lake.

Phil, Daniel, Karl and David have an airsoft war. Yikes.

Summer in Alaska means a lot of roasting marshmellows and campfires. This campfire pit is right outside my kitchen.

Karl and Tom are getting ready to set out again for another halibut run.

Beaver Dam on the far side of the lake.

The elder's from church spent 3 days together at Hidden Lake. Our families camped and played together. We brought our canoe's and Unlce Paul's boat along for fun. Claire went swimming even though the water was VERY cold. Guess that's what happens when you grow up in Alaska.

We went to the Homer 4th of July parade and then to some friends for a big 4th of July BBQ and party.

With both Kirsten and Karl gone for most of the summer, Claire had friends over to help fill the gap. These girls love to be in the garden.

The boys ran into a week of weather on their first trip out. They anchored up in a tiny town and spent a week of watching movies and walking the beaches. They created this crab pot out of scraps they found on the beach.

Cleaning up the boat after selling fish.

Clear the kitchen for a dance floor.

Greg and Megan Sullivan came and hung out with us before fishing at Bristol Bay. This is what we do in Alaska without T.V. :) Swing Dancing.

Pete was drawn for Brown Bear this past year. He 'harvested' one in June. He went hunting with our friend Mark on horseback. They ran into quite a few brown bears. This guy was close to camp.

Claire and Lenore get the giggles

Kirsten and Claire stop on the dock for a photo shoot.

Karl is putting bait on the line before heading out to fish.

Karl commerical fishing on the Julia Breeze.

Karl celebrated his graduation with his 4 closest friends. They call themselves the Bros. They spend all winter together snow machining and hanging out. Only Ben will be going to UAF with Karl.

Swanson Summer in Alaska started out with Karl graduating from High School. We were lucky enough to have Grandpa and Grandma, Auntie Britt and Uncle Pat here for the festivities.

Winter

The Swanson family hopes you are having a wonderfully wintery winter. At least that is how we love it. The more snow the better.
Kirsten and Claire with their great smiles.

The Bros love to snow machine together. Here they are getting ready for a big trip.

Claire won the McNeil Canyon Elementary Spelling Bee and went to Anchorage to compete in the State Level. Although she did not win, we had a great time shopping and watching the sled dog races during the "Fur Rondy".

Hello from wintery Alaska! We have missed 2 days of school in the past week due to blizzards. The only other time we have missed school in 10 years was for ashfall from a volcano. We have so much snow right now that we couldn't even get a vehicle out of the driveway. We LOVE it! For those of you who have wondered how football ended up, we lost in the semi-finals, but we did set a record for Homer High School. Last Saturday we went on the Snomad fun run. Best snow in 10 years. I kept thinking that my nephew Robert should have been with us. It was VERY cold and snowy, sometimes I couldn't even see the machine in front of me, but still great fun. Our family all went together with "THE BROS" and a couple of other friends.

Claire and a couple of her friends hung out waiting for he prizes to be awarded.

Karl, who was Captain of the hockey team finished up his season with Senior Night.

Karl taking one of the many medical tests to apply for the USCG academy. He has since decided (or mostly decided) to study mechanical engineering at Fairbanks, UAF.

Here are "THE BROS". The best group of boys in Homer. All seniors, all best friends.

And the Bros again.

Fall Highlights

Happy Fall! Now that I'm working full-time it is much harder to find the time to sit down and add to our blog. In August, I was hired to teach full-time. Now, in addition to teaching music at our k-6, I also teach PE and 2nd grade science and health.

Pete, Karl and Kirsten have been full time into football. Pete is varsity offensive coach, Kirsten manages, and Karl is one of the captains. Homer High School Varisty football team just made history. We won our first round of championship playoffs. That has never been done before in the history of HHS. The team is very excited. This weekend, we go to Anchorage as one of the top 4 teams in our division. Keep us in your prayers for Saturday. Mostly for safety and that we would play our best. The team has really worked hard for this opportunity. And of course, wish us a WIN!

Kirsten has started her rehearsals for Nutcracker, Karl starts hockey in 2 weeks, and Claire is becoming one of the Bruins Basketball Team players. Karl has been filling out college apps as well as keeping good grades in 3 Advanced Placement classes. Life is very full. We are blessed. We will keep you posted on our football status.

Swanson family celebrating after our first Championship round win.

The 3 Swanson football fanantics.

BENTO!!!!!

Kirsten ran off the field from managing to join the Swing Choir in singing the National Anthem at the last home football game.

Pete is still trying to get the Brown Bear. He got drawn this fall for a local tag. He has been out several times now chasing them down. So far, no bear.

What we look at out our front windows in the evening. Alpineglow.

My deck box full of Livingston Daisies came out for a sunny day in late September. They only open when the sun shines directly on them.

Another view from our window in September. Everyday is a postcard in Alaska.

Dad and I spent 2 days fly fishing together. Probably one of the highlights of my life. I came back very muddy after getting stuck in a mud sinkhole. I wasn't about to lose my Keen sandals so I dug down until I found them. Still managed to keep the fish though. Not very impressive by Alaska standards, but nevertheless...lots of fun to catch.

One of the views along the trail in Idaho. You can even stop and use it if needed.

The night before Pete, Karl and Kirsten flew out of Portland, Summer and Spark hung out with us and went to the movies. Kirsten loves her cousin Summer. For those of you that don't know Summer, we wont tell you her age...BUT she does have 3 children...some people have all the luck.

Since there weren't enough 4-wheelers to go around, I decided to take on the dirt bike. After one nasty fall, I got the hang of it. Pete, Karl and Kirsten had to fly home from Portland and didn't get to go to ID for the annual Stonoff family trip. Claire and I had a great time though and want to go back again next year.

Auntie Spark and Cousin Summer along with Aiden and Bethany sell goat cheese at the Portland farmer's market.

Claire loved playing with all the baby goats at Auntie Spark's farm in WA. We went to OMSI in Portland with the whole gang of cousins. Dee Creek Farm is primarily goat cheese and poultry, so you can imagine there were many goats around. Here are all the cousins (acutually this is only my family with 1 of my 3 sisters families...) outside of OMSI in Portland.
We also visited my niece Elbereth and her family in Seattle. Claire had a great time playing with their kittens and the kids. Beth introduced us to Bento.....we have become FANS!