Travel Update

We have updated our travel plans. We will be flying to Oregon on Monday the 29th. Then on Wednesday we'll drive to Redding to pick up Beth. Thursday morning after she gets off work, we'll drive down to Southern California. We'll be there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning. Sunday we'll drive back to Redding to drop Beth off.

The next phase of the journey is still a bit undecided. We'll probably spend a couple days in Redding (or even go to Berkeley!), and then Thursday and Friday we'll drive over to West Jordan, Utah. We'll be there for several days, and would love to see whomever is in the area. We're hoping to be in Salt Lake area, and also in the Provo area for some visiting. We're not sure how long we'll stay there, but are hoping for several days. Then we may go back to California, or we may make our way back to Oregon. Once we get to Oregon, we think our traveling will be over until around Christmas time, when we may brave the weather and drive down to Redding for a day or two before Christmas, once Logan has arrived. We'll have to see about that trip later. First we gotta make it through three plane rides on Monday. So, if you are interested in getting together, please let us know what kind of scheduliing works best for you. We're pretty flexible for now!

Webcam Fun

In anticipation of being away from Logan for the next 2.5 months, we decided webcams would help Elise and I stay in touch, and hopefully help her remember her daddy better than just talking on the phone. Talking on the phone for a 20 month old consists of lots of listening, blowing kisses, waving, and big smiles. Not much verbal communication. We thought if she could see Daddy, then she'd be more able to communicate using her signs and big smile. We finally got the other webcam set up, and did a test run this afternoon. It works great!!! She was so excited to see Daddy on the computer, and was happy to sing songs and blow kisses with him. I think this is gonna be a great way for our family to stay in touch, and help her remain strongly bonded to him. Hopefully this means she won't freak out when he comes down to Oregon for Christmas!

This is also an opportunity for us to stay in touch with far away loved ones. If you have webcam capabilities, we are using Skype and are willing to send our user name if you want...or send us yours and we'll find you! We won't be chatting a lot this next week or so....we'll be flying on Monday, resting Tuesday, and then driving. But let us know how to find you, and we'll chat when we get to a resting place! How exciting new technology is!!!!

Pretending....

Elise has discovered the art of pretending. She may have been doing this for quite some time, but in the last several weeks it has been brought to my notice more forcefully. She loves to pretend she is eating out of things. Anywhere she can stick her little fingers, she will stick them, and then she'll bring them to her mouth and make nibbling noises. Then she'll repeat the process. THEN comes the really exciting part. She'll give you a nibble too. She is fantastic at sharing her little pretend treats wherever she finds them. Sometimes they are in a book, sometimes they are in a straw, or a bowl. The worst was one day she discovered the trash can....I put a stop to that one quickly and got her interested in something else. Usually she will start nibbling on pretend snacks before I know that is what we are playing, and it is only brought to my attention that we are now doing pretend snacks when she sticks her little fingers close to my mouth and smiles really big. This makes for a great break when we've been packing boxes for a whole ten minutes....
Today we were sitting, reading, and she got up to get a bowl and measuring cups and sat back down with me. She handed me a measuring cup, which I used as a spoon, and we both got to dip and slurp from her bowl of imaginary soup. Occasionally she'd want to switch cups, so we could each take turns with the big one. What a fun little snack time, and how grateful I am that she shares the big cup for that wonderful pretend soup!

Phone and Address Book

I packed my address book somewhere....the problem is I don't know which box it ended up in. That means even the people who are positive I know how to contact you....the information is in a box in storage for the next several months......

SO if you are interested in Christmas cards, letters in the mail, phone calls to chat, and so forth, please send me an email with your info so I can make a new list. You can also leave a comment (which will NOT be published, so it will only be seen by me) with the information. I'll try to email the people I have email addresses for, especially as we're looking forward to planning visits with people in the Oregon/Utah/California area in October.....so let us know how to contact you, and we'll be in touch in a more personal way than a blog post!

Mission Reunion

To all missionaries who served in the New York New York South mission with President and Sister Spackman:

I was recently informed that there is a mission reunion in the works for the Saturday after General Conference. The address is one in South Jordan, and they are asking for a head count, and some idea of who is coming so they can assign different potluck items to bring. The date is the 11th of October. It looks like it was previously scheduled for the 20th of September, but the date is being changed so the Spackmans can come. I am thinking about driving to Utah from Oregon for the reunion, and was wondering who, if any, of the missionaries I served with will be able to come? It is a long drive, and may end up being just Elise and I (unless anyone has a week they'd like to take off work/school to drive the 18 hours to Utah, and the 18 hours back), so I don't know if I am exactly prepared to do it the week after we move down. So, leave me a comment, and let me know if you are going to be able to go, so I'll know if we should shoot for the reunion, or if I should just plan a trip farther down the road to head over Utah direction. I can pass on more information about the reunion when it becomes available to me, so email if you need it.

For those who are not involved in this mission reunion, we are also wanting to visit you in Utah and California as well. We are thinking about driving to Utah for a visit, then down to California, including Redding, and Southern California, and then back up to Oregon. We'd love to finish traveling in October, and would love to visit as many family members and friends as possible. We'll keep you posted about dates. One small glitch in this plan is that I packed my address book, and don't have phone numbers or addresses, so if you could email me, or submit a comment (the comments with personal information won't be published, so only I will see them), we should be able to stay in touch.

PFDs

There are many perks to living in Alaska. The clean air, the great scenery, the cool weather....the twilight zone quality of experiences with shipping. One of the best things is the PFD. This the Permanent Fund Dividend, and means the state pays the residents of Alaska to live here. There are lots of requirements, but the basics are that you have to be a resident in good standing, and intend to live here permanently. Even kids count. So, every October, for those who qualify, there is some money given from the PFD. This year, they added an extra amount to help ofset the high cost of energy in Alaska, which helps the Juneau residents with the avalanche recovery situation. They also sent the money earlier than usual, in September. All in all, a great perk for living in a remote (according to several post offices in the lower 48) place, or as I saw one person write on a blog recently 'a quirky state'.

God Bless America

I love this wonderful place we live, and the freedoms we enjoy. I also have a special place in my heart for New York City, and its inhabitants after living there as a nanny, and then from January 1, 2002 until June 27 2003 as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I received the letter assigning me to the New York New York South mission in August of 2001, which was unusual as it left me 4 months before I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on December 12, 2001. When all the chaos and tragedy of September 11, 2001 occurred, I felt a close tie with the people most personally affected. During my stay in New York I met so many wonderful people from all nationalities, economic statuses, and religions. They are amazing people, with memories of their past, and hope for the future....just like me and my family. We could see the Empire State Building from almost all the areas I served in during the mission, and the image of this building is a dramatic symbol to me of my love for the vibrant New York City, which is still full of memories and hope for the future. God Bless America, and those who protect our freedoms and beliefs.

Backpack Harness

We are anticipating our trip in a couple weeks, and to make the process of going through security, changing planes, and taking walks in the airports a bit easier, I wanted to get Elise a harness/backpack. Most of the models available nowadays are the kind with a stuffed animal of various species, including monkey, hippo, dog, cat, and several others. As I shopped online, however, I found it difficult to find any harness backpacks without an animal. As my child is afraid of stuffed animals, I thought it would be a not so calming experience to walk around with one staring over her shoulder, hugged closely to her back. I finally found this new model of backpack harness, that will grow with her, and can be used just as a backpack without the harness. We have used it in the grocery store, and on walks to check the mail and blow bubbles. She loves her backpack, especially when we put a special treat inside for her. Before we got the harness, Logan used a piece of rope we got at the hardware store. He thought it would make it easier to walk together than holding hands, as there is such a big difference in their heights. It worked really well for them each to hold an end of the rope, and I think got Elise in the habit of holding a 'rope' type thing when walking with an adult. Now when we walk she'll hold on to the middle of the harness, or sometimes she'll even hold my hand still!

Whoever first came up with this idea is a genius!

Kitchen Helper

We found a new way for Elise to help in the kitchen. She helps take the dishes out of the dishwasher, but this last week, I set her up on a chair to help wash/rinse the dishes. She was in the corner, so she was surrounded on three sides, and I was on the fourth. I put less than an inch in one side of the sink, and gave her one of her bowls to 'wash' with a wet wipe to use as a dish rag, while I washed the rest of the dishes in the other side of the sink. She loved it. She was so excited to be helping. Although she dumped a bit of water on the chair, and got distracted by the water, she did really well. She decided the water in the sink was more exciting than the bowl or the rag, so she put them on the counter and just splashed in the water for a while. Once we were finished with all the other dishes, I helped her put her clean bowl into the dishwasher to be washed. She did so happily, until I closed the dishwasher and started it. She was devastated that she couldn't have her bowl back. Then she got back up on her chair and used a paper towel to clean up the water on the counter, while I wiped down the rest of the counter with Clorox wipes. She was such a good helper. She wiped the microwave, and then got down and did the front of the dishwasher, the oven, and even the refridgerator. She is great at helping wipe off the down low parts. She even did the table legs! It is nice that she is getting to the point where she can be such a great helper.

She also discovered the broom and dust pan. She has been 'sweeping' the kitchen floor every day for me. She uses it like most people use a vacuum, and is so cute about letting me take turns with her. I got a great video, but my camera deleted it, so we'll have to try for another time. Here are some pictures of her sweeping the kitchen floor:

Sound Effects for Life

Do you ever feel as though in your mind you can hear sound effects for what is happening during your day? I have discovered in my efforts to talk with Elise about what we're doing, as to help her learn names for items around us, or things we are doing, I sometimes add sound effects. This didn't come to my attention until the other day when I noticed Elise doing sound effects of her own. We were having lunch, and she was eating her favorite veggie: peas. She would pick one up, and as she brought it toward her mouth make a noise like 'uuuuuuuuuuuuu', then as she popped it into her mouth she'd go 'ump'. Every pea was given the same treatment as she repeatedly popped them in like candy. It was incredibly cute! Unfortunately she got really camera shy. So I keep looking for opportunities to catch her off guard and get a picture or video.

I also noticed another sound effect. We were taking our walk, and there are large, bright yellow speed bumps in our parking lot. As we went up I would say 'Uuuup', and as we came down 'Doowwn' in a lilting voice, and then once we were all the way down, I'd say 'woah, that was fun'. Well, we anticipated each speed bump, and as we got to the last one, she was very excited and added her own sound effects. They sounded very similar to the way my voice had gone up and down, although without the distinct words. She also has learned to say 'wow' and 'woah', and says them often. What a fun thing to have sound effects for everyday things. It makes them much more exciting. Maybe I should come up with some sound effects for brushing our teeth, or changing our pants....

Little Pile of Rocks

We went outside to blow bubbles today. We needed a break from packing, and living in a chaotic space, so we decided to brave the parking lot out our door, and go for a little walk while blowing bubbles, one of my girl's favorite things to do. We managed to get a very short walk to the mail boxes before Elise decided we needed to get back to our parking spaces in front of our apartment. There we had plenty of room to blow bubbles, and she could pop them. We did this for several minutes, but she eventually decided that there were other things to interest her. Namely rocks. She found little rocks, medium sized rocks, and even miniscule rocks. She would pick one up, show it to me, them put it together with her other rocks in a pile. Then she'd look around the parking space, find another rock, pick it up, show it to me, then she'd pick up the entire pile of rocks and move them so they could be together. Sometimes she'd drop one, and then re-discover it as though it were an entirely new rock to add to the pile. Occasionaly she'd get excited and want to throw a rock. While I don't think it could have done any damage (we're talking pebbles and smaller), I didn't want her thinking its okay to throw rocks (a lesson I learned as a child with siblings), so we had to establish that rule pretty early. She was okay with just collecting them and moving them around after that. All in all, she was sad to leave her rock pile when it was time to come inside. I didn't let her keep them in a safe pile for next time we go out (another lesson learned as a child with a sibling who had a passion for a certain rock....anybody remember Brianna and Bing?) What a fun day! Bubbles and collecting rocks. Anyone wanna come have a walk with us?

Sick Little Girl

As I guess is almost inevitable, my little one is sick now too. Thankfully I'm almost 100% recovered, and am more able to care for her, with Logan at work. He's still healthy, and will hopefully remain so. Elise, however, woke up with a way stuffy nose. This means she doesn't swallow as much, and drooled through three shirts today. She is also having runny eyes, but she smiles and loves all the attention she gets. We did extra snuggle time today, and put packing on the back burner (even though we're down to 3.5 weeks). She is obviously not feeling great, but she still smiles and tries to give lots of kisses. Its a good thing I've already had this cold, cause there's no way I would refuse those cute heart felt kisses! We just hope she gets better soon, cause its heartbreaking seeing her look so miserable.