Sunday Dinner at the DeKays house

Beverly and Eldon invited us over to their house one Sunday during the month of June. We took this family portrait. The young man on Carolyn's left is Konsti. He was our exchange student from Austria.

 

 

Dating Delights with the DeKay girl

I married a wonderful woman. We are going on 10 years now as a married couple. I recently took the following photos out of their collage frame and scanned them. I have tried to put them in chronological order.


We started dating in February of 2002. Here we are sometime thereafter on a walk through downtown Anchorage. I managed to break the railing on this gazebo located near the Captain Cook Hotel.


Something that really impressed me about Carolyn was her athletic ability and her sense of adventure. Here we are on top of Baldy.

 

We at least made it to the parking lot of Baldy's equivalent in Anchorage, Flatop Mt. We haven't yet climbed to the top together.

This is us along Eagle River. We took Raisin for a walk there.

The DeKay family hiked the length of Crow Pass the summer of 2002. I thought that was pretty cool of her family to do this type of activity.

Here we are on the home stretch towards the Nature Center along the Crow Pass trail.


The following are a bunch of photos taken of us during the fall of 2002.

 

Carolyn's mom Beverly took the following photos of us along the bike trail near the Maplewood Chapel.


 

We were sealed for time and all eternity in the Anchorage Alaska Temple. I am grateful for the sealing ordinances that bind her to me, and me to her. This is such a blessing and a source of strength to us.




What a rascal my wife is.

We had a nice wedding reception. All of our family members came to celebrate with us.

I love my wife. She is the greatest thing that has happened in my life. I thank God for a woman like her.

 

May 2013 Projects

We moved into this house August of 2013. Since that time this pantry has been poorly used. There was only one shelf in it. We stacked food items on the bottom and on the shelf. I wanted to make it more efficient, so I built these drawers that slide out the full length. It sure makes for more storage. The refrigerator is covered in art work that the kids made for their mother for Mother's day. They sure are good kids.

This is the first time we have had a front loading washer and dryer. It was difficult having to bend down to pull out the clothes. I built this pedestal to raise them up higher. The wood was all salvage wood from pallets and construction sites.

We couldn't decide how many chickens we wanted so Carolyn ordered the surprise package. We ended up with 2 ducks, 42 chicks and 15 meat chicks. Wow we have a lot of chicks. I am going to start the chicken coop next week. I am going to construct it out of lumber from pallets and construction sites. I will make it look nice though of course since it will be 6' x 6' x 6' and it will be in our yard.

We had 6 cubic yards of top soil delivered Memorial day weekend. This pile is about half way cleared. We have been hauling it with wheelbarrows, buckets, and a trailer pulled behind the 4 wheeler. We had to carry it up the stairs you see in the photo or drive it around the house to the front yard. Our front yard is elevated above our driveway. I also picked up a yard of compost from Carolyn's parents house. We were mixing that in with the topsoil.

This is one place we are placing the topsoil. This was an old fish pond in the front yard. I don't want a mosquito breeding ground, so we are turning this into a strawberry patch. Here is our son who worked so hard today.

We are also placing the soil in these raised garden boxes inside our new greenhouse. We bought this frame from one of our friends. Once we finish filling with soil, we will cover it in plastic. The metal poles in the background can be used to make another 20' long section someplace else in our yard.

You can see the greenhouse frame in the left of this photo. The wooded area you see here was filled in with willow, young birch trees and other bushes. I cut down many of the small trees removed and some brush to thin it out. To the right in the photo is south and I wanted to reduce the obstructions so sunlight can reach our greenhouse. I might remove more trees in the future. We will see how much shade they provide.

Here is another view of the greenhouse frame from down the driveway. The dog in the photo is our neighbor's dog Coda.

Here is Cayden cutting down a tree that had fallen across the road to our house. He is sitting on an abandoned bulldozer.

Carolyn found these silhouettes at a garage sale.

Here is the view from our house this Memorial Day weekend.

We are worm farmers. They eat our kitchen scraps and make nice worm castings that we add to our house plants, vegetable starts, and soon we will add them to our garden. Thank you worms.

Snow Caving April 2013

We built a snow cave and slept in it this weekend. Cousin Keith came over to join us. We slept warm and the kids were smiling in the morning. It was a success. Temperatures were in the teens last overnight and there was a windchill.

 I love this girl. Catheryn is always game for adventure. 

 Here is Keith and Cayden. 

 I love my hair.

The view from inside. 

Bear mountain is on the left, Mt Eklutna is on the right. We live in such a beautiful place. 

March 2013 Cabin Trip

We had a great get away weekend. It was so fun to have time with no distractions. The weather was great and it was in the high 20's low 30's. Perfect getaway weekend!

 Crimson loved being outside on the snowmachines. She had no concern about the noise or the speed. She even took a nap sitting in dad's lap during the day. Here we are packing down the trail to the outhouse. She has no shoes on and her pants are not snapped.

 Carolyn brought her skis to go skiing. Here she is with Crimson on her back to get her to take a nap. Carolyn would also take a nap in the cabin shortly after this ski trip.

 Here is the lovely cabin that our parent's let us borrow. It sure is nice to use.

 Cayden definitely used the machines the most. He is a very good driver. I would take him on long rides and then have him navigate us back to the cabin. He is a good leader. Often stopping to make sure I am still behind him. He has a good sense of direction and is cautious on the machines. Good boy. I love riding with him.

 This is the best of the family pictures that we took this weekend. Carolyn set up her camera and used the timer. Her long focal length lens requires the camera to be some distance from where we staged ourselves. She had troubles running through the deep snow and making it to our family in time. She had to do it several times.

 The Great One showed itself on Saturday. It was magnificent. 

 Here is our couples shot. Don't we look good.

Chores done while at the cabin: I changed the oil on the generator. I shoveled the snow off the rear porch roof, the outhouse and the generator shed.

We had a beautiful day on Saturday. The skies were blue, the sun was shining, there was fresh snow on the ground from the night before. We enjoyed ourselves. Denali even showed herself. We went on a family ride on the Safari Lake trail. Max chased after us the whole way. He didn't want to ride in the sleigh. Tough dog.

What the kids think of their Father

I asked the same questions concerning their father.

1. What is something dad always says to you?

Cassidy – Don’t fight

Cayden - No

Catheryn - I love you

2. What makes dad happy?

Cassidy – When we snuggle together and when we spend time together.

Cayden – Being good

Catheryn - That I smile

3. What makes dad sad?

Cassidy – when our family is not together

Cayden – poor choices

Catheryn - when we do mean things

4. How does your dad make you laugh?

Cassidy – tickle me

Cayden – tickle me

Catheryn - by smiling

5. What was your dad like as a child?

Cassidy – you were the only boy. You played rough like Cayden

Cayden – teased your sisters and played with your dogs

Catheryn - painting

6. How old is your dad?

Cassidy - 35

Cayden - 35

Catheryn - 25

7. How tall is your dad?

Cassidy – 6’ tall

Cayden – 6’ 3”

Catheryn - really tall. He’s a dad.

8. What is his favorite thing to do?

Cassidy – movie night and hanging out with your kids

Cayden – when you play with my sisters but not with me.

Catheryn - make dinner for momma if she is sick

9. What does your dad do when you're not around?

Cassidy – work

Cayden – watch the little kids

Catheryn - like go to the store

10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for?

Cassidy - dancing

Cayden – work hard

Catheryn - that he might be rich

11. What is your dad really good at?

Cassidy - soccer

Cayden – pull ups

Catheryn - making dinner

12. What is your dad not very good at?

Cassidy - volleyball

Cayden – doing pushups while trying to clap (clap push ups)

Catheryn - he sometimes messes up while making dinner

13. What does your dad do for his job?

Cassidy – engineer at the airport to fix the runways

Cayden – engineering for the airport.

Catheryn - Sometimes he goes to work to stick a needle in and have blood taken out (the Blood Bank of Alaska comes to my work every two months. I donate blood when they come.)

14. What is your dad's favorite food?

Cassidy – spaghetti and lentils

Cayden – vegetables

Catheryn - vegetables

15. What makes you proud of your dad?

Cassidy – when you go to work and earn money for the family

Cayden – that you earn money to buy us food clothes and heat for our house

Catheryn - he smiles

16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?

Cassidy – Mickey Mouse

Cayden - Ninja

Catheryn - Lightning [McQueen]

17. What do you and your dad do together?

Cassidy – we go out on dates. We go to activity nights on Wednesday. (this is a weekly church activity)

Cayden – pick me up from school

Catheryn - go bike riding

18. How are you and your dad the same?

Cassidy – we like soccer. We like to go out.

Cayden – we are both boys

Catheryn - when we sit together

19. How are you and your dad different?

Cassidy – you have green eyes I have blue eyes. You have black and gray hair and I have brownish blonde hair.

Cayden – you have hair on your chest and you are taller than me. You have dark hair with gray.

Catheryn - when we don’t sit together

20. How do you know your dad loves you?

Cassidy – because you married momma and I am your oldest child

Cayden – you make sure runways are long enough so we don’t crash

Catheryn - when you hug and kiss me.

What the kids think of their mother

Carolyn went to New Mexico for a week for some training with CIEE. While she was gone, I asked the older children these questions about their mother.

1. What is something mom always says to you?

Cassidy – I love you

Cayden – no

Catheryn - she wants to paint with me sometimes

2. What makes mom happy?

Cassidy – when I want her to teach me to play volleyball

Cayden – me doing good

Catheryn - when Cassidy plays barbies with me and mommy wants me to paint a tree

3. What makes mom sad?

Cassidy – when I say “I hate her”

Cayden – me doing bad

Catheryn - when people do mean things

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Cassidy – when she funny stuff

Cayden – she tells funny stories

Catheryn - by smiling

5. What was your mom like as a child?

Cassidy – she had to do chores

Cayden – she was a tomboy

Catheryn - by giving people newspapers

6. How old is your mom?

Cassidy – she will be 30 in March

Cayden - 29

Catheryn - I think 28

7. How tall is your mom?

Cassidy – about 6’ tall

Cayden – 6’ 3”

Catheryn - very tall. She’s a grown up and she’s a mom and she cooks dinner

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Cassidy – be around her family

Cayden – send us outside to play

Catheryn - cook dinner, rice and noodles

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

Cassidy – take care of the three younger children

Cayden – babysit the little kids

Catheryn - clean the house

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Cassidy – singing and volleyball. She sings like an opera singer.

Cayden – she’s beautiful

Catheryn - be rich

11. What is your mom really good at?

Cassidy - volleyball

Cayden - volleyball

Catheryn - making dinner

12. What is your mom not very good at?

Cassidy – baseball and basketball and football.

Cayden – throwing snowballs at me. She misses a lot.

Catheryn - she hasn’t painted this whole entire house

13. What does your mom do for her job?

Cassidy – she works for CIEE finding homes for exchange students. Child care for Vaona children.

Cayden – babysit Evangeline and Olivia and CIEE (http://www.ciee.org/highschool/host-families/benefits.html) . She works for exchange students helping them find families.

Catheryn - She helps do people’s teeth at work. (Carolyn used to trim models of people’s teeth at Eagle River Orthodontics)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

Cassidy - pizza

Cayden – bet it would be strawberries

Catheryn - rice I think

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

Cassidy – when she places exchange students

Cayden – she works hard and earns money from CIEE (Council of International Educational Exchange)

Catheryn - She smiles a lot to me and tells me what to do everyday

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Cassidy – Minnie Mouse

Cayden – a beautiful wife marrying a handsome man

Catheryn – Mater [from the movie Cars]

17. What do you and your mom do together?

Cassidy – go shopping and get clothes and stuff. We both like to go shopping

Cayden – have dates

Catheryn - go to the store

18. How are you and your mom the same?

Cassidy – we both have blue eyes. We are both female and tall.

Cayden – she has blue eyes and I have blue eyes

Catheryn - because we are both girls

19. How are you and your mom different?

Cassidy – she has black hair and I have brownish blonde hair. she is taller.

Cayden – she has dark hair and I have light hair

Catheryn - she has long hair I have short hair

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

Cassidy – because she cares for me. She gives me clothes to wear. She never yells at me.

Cayden – she was up all night with me when I had an ear infection

Catheryn - because she kisses me a lot and hugs me.