Snow

Eight Months.  Eight months since we started this new adventure.  We really can not complain. The Island has wonderful people, many places to explore and discover new hobbies, and the weather hasn't been all that bad.  I do miss the endless days of sunshine and the possibility of being able to travel easily off the Island.

After the January birthdays we moved right into youth basketball season, 4H Cloverbuds, and lots of Girl Scouting activities.  Molly has never played basketball before.  She is my creative child who wants to run free and do her own thing, BUT I convinced her to try it out.  I decided to help coach the team to help Molly with the transition of physical exercise and motivation.  We've been playing now for about 3 weeks. In games, we haven't  hit the rim, or touched the ball once, but we've done a great job running up and down the court. AND at the end of every game I say did you have fun and she always responds YES. I'd say that is great start. 

We also had two or three weeks of swim lessons.  Molly has become very comfortable in the water learning how to do the back stroke, use a kick board, go down the water slide and jump off the 3ft diving board.   So, I am thinking swimming and maybe cross country will be her thing.

Cloverbuds is a 4H program for ages 5 to 8.  I have  never been in a 4H program before but the community needed someone to run this program.  I said, sure I'd give it a shot.  We meet once a month and its a way for kids to learn a little bit of everything thru crafts, projects, science experiment etc...   We've had a bit of slow start with only 4 or 5 kids for each meeting, but am hoping for a few more to join.

Amelia and I are having a great time.  On Wednesdays we attend the FUN program at the Wildlife Refuge. We have learned about eagles, sea otters, snowshoe hare, and bears.  Each week is a new adventure.  She and I also swim once or twice a week.  Amelia is a little mermaid in the water.  Amelia has also decided she does not like the cold weather and hiking is not her thing.  Oh well, as she gets older I am sure she will appreciate it a bit more.

So, the alaska snow and cold temps have found us.  We have been getting a dusting of snow on a daily basis and the temps have been in the 20's.  When the sun is out its really quite lovely.  We are all fighting dry skin and very pale skin. 

We are all looking forward

Basketball

Swim

Dance Camp

a little rainy day fun

to a trip off the Island to see Mimi and Bubba in Portland OR.  Fingers crossed the weather stays nice and the planes are on time!

Joca January

Happy New Year!
As with every year, the Joca's have a lot of celebrating to do. There are many, many birthdays!
Our special two are Andy and Amelia.  A January shout out to our friends Jen and James, family Uncle Billy, Buddy, Lisa and Annalisa.

We rang in the New Year just the four of us in southern style with black eyed peas and collard greens and of course a few noise makers and confetti.  At first I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized the kids couldn't make a noise out of the noisemakers... that was until they got the hang of it and what a racket.  I did truly love the fact that I could drink champagne, watch the ball drop at 8pm Alaska time, and then head to bed :). 

Andy's birthday was next. He turned 38.  This year it was on a Sunday. Sunday Funday.  We started the day off with breakfast and presents. Had a huge lunch of all of Andy's favorite sea foods, halibut, oysters, black cod and cake.  It was fantastic.   With all good things we got some great news that he has been promoted to Facility Engineer of Base Kodiak. He will take over the position on or around June 1st.  We will stay on our current orders and will have the opportunity to extend our stay in Kodiak next year.  He will also be able to "frock up" to Commander.  Essentially he will wear the commander ensigna but will not receive the pay raise. This is a fantastic job and we are really proud of him.

He has also been working very hard on our house installing Laminate flooring. He may have found his calling after the Coast Guard... Just Kidding. It does look great and we are really enjoying our living space.

Next Up Amelia's birthday.  Amelia turned 3.  Its hard to believe that three years ago I was walking around the Providence Boat Show thinking, are these contractions...am I having a baby?. For my RI friends, the Providence Boat show is a fun outing.  Anyway, we had a great day celebrating with friends, lunch out on the town and a family dinner and presents.  Amelia then had a birthday party with her new Kodiak Friends. Princess and Pirates. The kids played games, did a craft, we ate lunch, and blew out the candles.  The day was a balmy 40 degrees and sunny.  A sure sign that Amelia's 3rd year will be one for the record books.

Molly and I are doing great. We are selling Girl Scout Cookies and if anyone wants to make a donation to our troop, please let me know.  We also have started youth basketball on base. This is Molly's first year playing but I can see lots of potential.  In swimming she is learning to jump off the 3ft diving board, and do the crawl stroke. 

Its been a whirl wind. We are missing our families as we celebrate but are steadily making plans for trips off the Island. We will be in Portland OR next month, Anchorage the beginning of June, and the East Coast Mid-July.  If you want to see us let us know and we'll tell you where to meet us. I should also tell you that Andy will be in Barrow, AK (check a map) the top of the state for a month in August.

Lots of Love. Enjoy the pictures!

A Family Visit and Merry Christmas!

Our first visitor to the Island arrived Saturday evening the 21st of December.  Nana arrived on one of very few flights heading to the Island due to weather and fog. BUT she made it.  It was a long 22 hours of flights, cities, and waiting. We are so glad she came to Kodiak.  Since her arrival we've had plenty of Island adventures.

On the night of her arrival was the Harbor Lights Festival.  The Boats in the harbor decorated, lit up, for the town to walk the docks, listening to Christmas Carols and the Harbor Isle Bells.  It was a tad bit rainy but the boats were awesome.  My favorite was the Kayak. Yes, a battery operated Kayak.

Sunday was a beautiful day and we drove around the Island to Pasagshak and Surfers Beach.  It was a beautiful but cold day for a drive.  We ate at the Olds River Inn: http://www.oldsriverinn.com/dotnetnuke/  The food is simple and the view is lovely.  We came across a group of Trumpeter swans and a ton of Bald Eagles.  The Bald Eagles are as abundant here as squirrels on the mainland.

Saturday was a day of pure Kodiak adventure.  We started our day off with a plan and it went south with a twist of unpredictable.  We took a drive to see M's school and then decided since it was a really clear day to drive up Pillar Mountain.   Pillar Mountain has a fantastic view for 360 degrees of the Island but it also holds the Island's source of power...the windmills.

 http://www.newsminer.com/new-wind-turbines-begin-turning-on-kodiak-s-pillar-mountain/article_2dea64ab-204e-5bcb-b8de-5ed390004e27.html

Well, the road was a sheet of ice, but we felt pretty confident. Almost to the top, we decided it was too dangerous to keep going. We slid backwards a bit, were able to turn around, but it was too dangerous to try to go back down without tire chains. We were stuck. Yes, stuck on the top of Pillar Mountain. Oh my.  So, we called the town tow truck. His response was "good luck."  We called the police department: "most locals do not  try to drive up the mountain."  So, what do we do, we walk. We walked down the mountain and with the help of good friends we got tire chains and Andy drove back down the mountain. 

In the meantime, we got notice that the F/V Alaskan Dream, a crabber vessel, was selling Live King Crab from the boat.  We headed to the docks not knowing what to expect.  It was awesome.  We got to climb on board the boat, pick out our crabs, pose for pictures, take them home and eat.  Wow. It was delicious.

Christmas Eve, was another day of Kodiak adventure as a blizzard blows into town. We went to the local Baranov Museum: http://www.baranovmuseum.org/ and then had lunch at Monks Rock: http://www.yelp.com/biz/monks-rock-coffee-house-and-bookstore-kodiak

When we entered Monk's Rock, Father Christmas was in the bookstore eating. He immediately greeted us, took our order, and PAID for our lunch.  No kidding. We were also serenaded by the St. Innocent's Academy Choir: http://www.stinnocentsacademy.org/

Christmas Day was perfect. Snow on the ground, the kids faces lighting up as they open gifts and exclaim "its just what I wanted." and "can I open another?"  Girls had so much fun.  We spent the rest of the day playing with all of our new things.  Dinner was quiet but very tasty.  We are all tired and ready for bed.  Our company leaves tomorrow and I think we will need the weekend to get cleaned up and continue to enjoy our new things.

Kodiak is proving to be a wonderful little community.

Bald Eagles

Surfers Beach

Kodiak

Touch Tank

King Crab

Sledding Kodiak Style

Monashka

Almost Christmas...

If anyone has the desire to come visit, plan a trip in December.  The weather may not be great, think wet, rainy, foggy, possibly snow and then cold temperatures; but the amount of fun stuff will create a an adventure and leaving you wanting for more!

I am truly amazed at how many wonderful events have been happening on this Island. There have been many weekend days when I just couldn't fit it all in...

Its started right after Thanskgiving with the Holiday Isle Bells Concert. Kodiak has their very own Bells Choir and they are amazing.  The group performs two concerts a year, one in the winter and one in the spring.  The concert was about an hour long, very casual  and kid friendly.  Kodiak has a Father Christmas who was the "real thing"  He did a rendition of the Night Before Christmas that gave you goosebumps.  Molly and Amelia are still talking about it.  He dressed all in green, with a lovely white beard and hands out chocolate coins to the kids.  Here is the facebook page of the Kodiak Isle Bells:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Isle-Bells/106975946076593

Next up was the grand opening of the Kodiak Library.  The library has received tremendous funding and it was a much anticipated event.  An all call went out for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts on the Island to perform the Flag Ceremony.  I decided to sign Molly up. We are working on her confidence and what a better way then to have her lead the pledge of Allegiance to half of the Island's population.  If anyone knows Molly crowds and strangers are not her thing; but this girl did amazing!  She marched the line out into a huge crowd, led the pledge and walked back.  It was until we were back in the "Green room" and I said do you want to sit down and relax that I really saw how nervous or scared she had been. Brave Confidence my little friend.  Awesome Job.
By The Way, the new library is amazing too. 
http://www.city.kodiak.ak.us/library/Pages/default.aspx

The Nutcracker.  The Nutcracker is an Island tradition put on by the Little School Of Dance and a few professionals flown in to help out an assist. Its put on every 3 years. This year was a Nutcracker year.  Woah.  The Island is almost put on stand still because so many people are involved in the production that every is there. Its a must see and do event.  We didn't go. Ha! We heard wonderful things and will probably hit it up next year.

This past weekend it was Winter Wonderland and Courier and Ives at the Baptist Church.  The Winter Wonderland is held at the Base and the highlight is floating in a raft through the pool. Its almost like being on a ride a Disney.  Andy took the girls. I had an Ornament Exchange/Steal party.  It was very fun too!  The Courier and Ives event is a potluck, with sleigh rides in the snow, a living nativity, songs and more.

To top it off every weekend is filled with wonderful craft bazaars, local artists, shopping locally to win prizes, boat parades with lights...

Andy's been perfecting his hunting and foraging skills with rabbit and more ptmarigan.  Its really quite nice.  Molly has decided she loves Halibut and Salmon. Yummy.  Amelia is just keeping up with it all.  We hike, ice skate, swim on a regular basis.  This week we made snow globes, and baked goods.

We did get our new flooring installed most of the way as we get ready for our very first guest!  Sharon is coming to visit for the week.

Enjoy a few pictures: