The Corbin Flight

Joy School Halloween Program

2011-10-30T22:32:00.000-08:00

Will and Ethan started Joy School this semester, and we are all loving it. Last week they got to put on a Halloween program for the parents.

Our Jokester

2011-10-03T17:32:00.001-08:00

I know that I seriously need to update the blot, but in the meantime, I'm posting this video of Jonathan's new talent. He thinks he's pretty funny. My favorite is that he always looks to make sure you're still watching, and then he laughs even harder.

Goodbye, Will

2011-07-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

The Cure for Picky Eaters

2011-06-14T14:57:00.001-08:00

I've never really been one to get organic foods or be the all-natural "granola" mom. But for awhile, I've been looking for ways to help us be healthier. I think we do a pretty good job on a normal basis--we rarely (as in once every few months) eat out, and I don't buy a lot of snacky foods (my kids hardly know what soda is). Not that I'm bragging. I just know we all REALLY like that kind of stuff, and it would be way too easy to go overboard (do I need to mention my Doritos addiction again?). So I don't even buy junk food. We've always had a hard time with vegetables though, which I'm sure almost any parent with toddlers can say. Ethan is the pickiest--the boy refused to eat berry cobbler because he didn't know what it was--and I'm pretty sure he doesn't eat any vegetables unless they're hidden. I received a book a couple years ago for Christmas from my mother-in-law that was called "Deceptively Delicious." It was something I had requested, but it sat on the shelf because I didn't think I had time, even though it sounded like a good idea. Wow, was I wrong. The idea is to make vegetable purees and then mix them in the foods in your regular meals. That way the kids don't even think about turning up their noses because it's something they already like. I had also purchased a Baby Bullet a little while ago to make some baby food for Jonathan, and I pulled out the book to see if I could go ahead and make the purees along with the baby food. So easy! I actually decided to more incorporate the ideas she gives, instead of using the recipes in the book (although I'm sure I'll be using some of the recipes--the brownies with spinach are supposed to be great--Oprah said so!). I ended up making a meatball dish and hid sweet potatoes in the meatballs, carrots in the sauce, and cauliflower in the mashed potatoes. And the boys cleaned their plates! Will would have eaten most of it anyway, but not Ethan, so I was pretty excited. The next day I made macaroni and cheese that had cauliflower and navy beans. Ethan actually said, "This is great!" The boy has never said anything like that about any food. The funniest part was when Anthony and Will split a sweet potato, and Ethan turned his head away and refused a bite, without knowing that he'd had some at dinner with no complaints. Anyway, I just wanted to share because I'm loving the results. Even I love that I'm eating some of the vegetables that I know are good for me, but aren't super exciting. I don't have to cover them with cheese sauce to make them more appetizing, and nobody notices any difference because the purees mix right in. And no, even though it sounds like it, I'm not getting a commission for selling the book.

Not sure what's happened, but somewhere along the way I've become Molly Mormon. Grinding wheat and making bread, cooking with our food storage (totally loving "The Essential Food Storage Cookbook" too), and I'm even trying to be more crafty (as in making crafts, although I am being quite cunning too). Whatever it is, it's kind of fun!

Eating Champ

2011-05-30T23:58:00.000-08:00

We finally got the chance to try Jonathan out on baby cereal (I know, he's 6 months already--we're way behind). He really seemed to like it and got the hang of it quickly. Of course his brothers had to help too.

Before the big event

All finished!

The Last Few Months

2011-05-30T23:30:00.001-08:00

Ethan pretending to be Iron Man. When they say "Pooh", that was Will's baby word for "shoot" that everybody's picked up. And I don't know why Ethan is always just in a diaper.

Really, we clothe our children.

Will and Ethan (but mostly Will) singing "Popcorn Popping"--February

Will and Jonathan--February

Worn out from playing Angry Birds

Anthony receiving "Below The Zone". The house was a mess, and we were not expecting the Commander to show up at our front door, so even though we were very grateful and excited, we were

a little shocked.

The boys were playing in my garage sale stickers, and I found this one on Will's back. I thought it was appropriate.

Ethan looking for Easter eggs. He got so excited each time he found an egg that was "hiding".

Ethan asked Anthony to put the glasses on him and then went around the corner and completed the outfit. Anthony heard him giggling and found this.

And Will had to be part of the fun too.

Jonathan and I after his baby blessing

Ethan enjoying a chocolate bunny. He LOVES candy!

Grinding our wheat, or as Will put it, "Making weed."

Will's drawing of a dragon. We thought it was pretty good!

Jesus Wants For Me A Sunbeam

2011-02-10T14:17:00.005-09:00

I figured out a few days ago that while Will usually refuses to sing songs, he is actually learning the words. He knows every word to "The Wise Man and The Foolish Man," "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" and "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam." I know he messed up a bit here, but it was a bit of stage fright. And he always says "for me" instead of "me for". I think both ways are true. :)

Will also told me yesterday that when Jesus was born, there was a helicopter in the sky. What the what? Where does he get this stuff? I think it's from watching Madagascar, when they think they see a star and it's actually a helicopter, but still.

Ethan's decided he will do anything for candy. I woke up Saturday morning because all the lights were on downstairs, but I could see Ethan trying to wake up Will. I went to get him and found him with half a chocolate orange in his hand! I was too tired to do anything, so I just took it out of his hand and put him back in bed. It wasn't until I went down to turn off the lights that I saw that it was 3:30 a.m.! Apparently he woke up and just needed chocolate. I know I certainly did at that point.

And we actually have a thumb sucker! Our families know that Anthony and I were both notorious thumb suckers for way too long, but Will and Ethan have never picked it up. It surprised me to catch Jonathan doing it every once in awhile.

This video isn't super exciting. Just a bit of Jonathan babbling and smiling. Mostly I enjoyed it because of Jonathan's gesture in the first few seconds, since I'm wicked. "It's kind of like a souvenir."

Our branch of the NRA

2011-01-16T02:35:00.000-09:00

The boys like making guns out of pretty much everything. Ethan made an outstanding pistol from our Trio blocks, and Will just had to make his own too. Anthony taught him that even if he has a shotgun, he should have a pistol in his pocket for backup.

Jonathan earlier this evening. This is as up-to-date as you can get,
so no more requests for awhile! :)

I don't mean to be so bad at updating, but he always wants to be held from 8 p.m. until at least 2 a.m. and it's hard to work on the blog when he's squirming around. Plus he's so cute, I'd rather pay attention to him anyway. I'll try to be better at sharing him.

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam!

2011-01-16T02:33:00.000-09:00

Last Sunday was Will's first week in Sunbeams at church. The Primary had pushed it back a week because their teacher was on still on vacation, so Will got an extra week in Nursery. On Sunday, I made sure Ethan was distracted before we slipped out of Nursery because I knew he'd have the hardest time. I can't even take Will out to the car without Ethan having a breakdown, as if he's never going to see Will again. Will wasn't excited about leaving (he threw himself down on the floor and said, "I want to go in THERE!"), but I convinced him to try Sunbeams out (by dragging him down the hall). Once he was there, he was fine. They said during singing time, he loved singing "Do As I'm Doing"--he did it high, low, fast and slow. My kids are growing up too fast!

So grown up!

Showing off their new ties

December Pics

2011-01-02T22:00:00.003-09:00

Visiting Santa at the Ward Christmas party. No tears!

Helping Daddy sand down our table

Ready for the Hawaiian Christmas party for Anthony's squadron.

It took some work to make sure we all had Hawaiian shirts!

A little disgruntled the first time in the bathtub

One month old! But why must he always flare his nostrils?

We made our Buche de Noel for New Year's Eve. So good!

Christmas

2010-12-30T23:00:00.001-09:00

We're still at the point where Christmas morning doesn't have to start at the crack of dawn. I think it was almost 10 before the boys came downstairs (we spent Christmas Eve with a group of friends, so the boys were awfully tired by the time we made it home). I had stayed up all night getting everything ready, so unfortunately we didn't get a lot of pictures, but it was a wonderful day. Will was excited that Santa had finally filled their stockings--every day he was looking and telling Ethan that Santa hadn't come yet. (The night before he was wondering why we were putting out cookies and milk for Santa: "Is Santa very hungry?") Ethan was so excited to finally see his pillow pet that morning under the tree. It was pretty cute, "Pillow Pet, Daddy!" We'd been in Fred Meyer the week before, and he was almost in tears asking for a pillow pet. Darn marketing department! That was also the evening that he was trying to open a Matchbox car in line, and I told him we had to buy it first. He said, "Okay" and tried to take a bite out of it. I guess bite made more sense than buy. Anyway, Christmas morning we started out by watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional and ate cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate. By the time we started opening presents, it was already noon. We got part way through and once again, they were done. Ethan refused to open any more that day (I think it took 3 days to get through all of his), and Will just wanted to "tear the presents." He'd pull off the wrapping paper and move on without even looking. Some of their favorites were the Pillow Pets, a telescope, their doctor's kit (everyday they say they're going to "shot me"), all of their movies, and these awesome I Spy bags our sister-in-law Laura made. They loved everything of course, but those are the ones that stick out. The best by far was the bouncy castle we got them with money from Great-Grandma and Grandpa. They've always loved to bounce when ever we're at an even with one, and I found a great deal on this one, so we figured it would be wonderful to get out some energy while we're stuck inside these next few months. Every day Ethan tells me, "Jump bouncy castle! Come on Will!" and they head downstairs.

This is probably loud, so you might want to turn down

the volume on your computer.

And it's kind of long--I figured mostly the grandmas

would want to see it. :)

Christmas morning before the fun began. I guess that's why everyone looks so somber.

Not excited at all.

Opening presents from Santa

Ethan's 2!

2010-12-23T22:45:00.002-09:00

It's hard to believe that Ethan's already 2! It doesn't seem like that long ago that we were with him in the NICU, scared of what was going to happen and wondering if he'd be okay. And now, there's' no stopping our little tornado. We celebrated at home because the boys were getting over being sick and Anthony was just starting to be. We had a wonderful dinner of barbecued ribs, opened presents and had a peanut butter and chocolate cake.

Playing with the new toys and rug

Every time I tried to get a picture, I saw Ethan's hand creeping in to grab a piece.

Happy birthday, Ethan!

Our Thanksgiving Baby

2010-12-15T22:30:00.002-09:00

This year we weren't too sure what to do about Thanksgiving. I was due to have Jonathan on Saturday the 27th, and I was sure if I bought a turkey, I'd go into labor as soon as I started cooking it. We were invited to have dinner with friends, and that seemed like a good idea, until we were blessed to receive a full Thanksgiving dinner from the First Sergeants group. Every year they choose families (usually young Airmen with families) that may need a little extra help during the holidays, and this year they chose to do a breakfast and then we "shopped" in the Commissary--really we just walked through the front of the building and they handed us each item. The only issue I was worried about was that we had to be at the breakfast at 7 in the morning. I've been blessed with boys that like to sleep until 9 a.m., so having them up and out the door by 6:45 seemed like a tremendous task. Will is the one I really worried about--Ethan's totally a morning person--but I explained to him the night before that we were going to get up early for a special breakfast, and he totally grabbed onto that concept. As soon as we got him up, he was asking if we were going to our special breakfast, and for days afterward, he asked if we were having another special breakfast. Nothing can ever compete with it in his mind. When we got home, I was faced with the task of figuring out where to put a 16-pound turkey. Our freezer was already filled to the brim with 3 weeks worth of meals I made for after the baby was born, so that was out. We decided that as long as Jonathan didn't come early, we'd go ahead and have Thanksgiving at home, which ended up being a great choice. Everything was pretty relaxed, and we had a wonderful dinner together.

Ethan, being picky as ever, mostly ate turkey and deviled eggs.

Will ate so much, he had to unbutton his pants.

That night at midnight, I was checking out some of the Black Friday sales online when I started having contractions. By two a.m., they'd started getting pretty painful, but I didn't think we needed to head to the hospital, so Anthony tried to get some sleep. I went to bed too, but I definitely couldn't sleep. Around 3:30 I told Anthony that we might want to go in, just in case. By the time we got the boys over to a friend's house and headed back to base, the contractions had pretty much stopped. They had me walk around for an hour and then put me back on the monitor, and even though the contractions had started again, they still sent me home. I couldn't believe it, especially since I was having trouble walking out to the car, but you can't argue with military doctors. I decided that I didn't want to be sent home again, so I'd just wait until I couldn't handle it any longer. That lasted until 3 in the afternoon, and we headed back at 3:30. This time we were lucky enough to first be stuck behind a car going 20 mph in a 35 mph zone, and then once he turned off, we were stuck behind a bobcat endloader going, at least it felt like, even slower. By then I realized I'd probably waited too long, and I was starting to worry that I'd be one of those stories on the news for giving birth in the car. Anthony dropped me off in front, and even though I knew there wasn't a lot of time, all of the nurses nonchalantly went about checking me in. We arrived at almost 4 p.m, and at one point we were alone for about 10 minutes while they downloaded my file. By the time the Captain came to check on me and ask if I wanted an epidural, it was about 4:15. She then checked to see how far along I was, and suddenly everyone was rushing around to get everything ready. No time for an epidural, not even time for the doctor to make it to the hospital. As she told me later, she was at home watching "Keeping Up With The Kardashians." I can understand--it is near impossible to drag yourself away from Kim and Kourtney. It wasn't really the doctor's fault; no one called until I was at the hospital, and she never would have made it. They kept telling me to wait for her. Yeah, right. Jonathan Joseph was born at 4:26 p.m. on Nov. 26th. He was 7 lbs 15 oz and supposedly 22 inches, but he'd shrunk a quarter inch at his 2 week apt, so I guess we'll never know. We were both pretty surprised that he had dark hair, and quite a bit of it. Will's was dark when he was first born, but he didn't have a whole lot, and it lightened up pretty quickly. So far Jonathan favors me, at least in that way.

Will was so excited to hold Jonathan. He loved having

a new brother right away.

Our favorite things he said were, "Can he talk?", "Does he have teeth?", "Is he hungry? Does he want macaroni and cheese?" and "He just walked out of Mommy." (as if it was so easy!)

Will was obsessed with touching his toes.

Ethan was more interested in running away.

He just had to get back to the light switch.

From the beginning, the Government staked its claim on him.

Our hospital experience was pretty different from the first two times in a civilian hospital. Everyone was very nice and helpful (except when they forgot to bring my pain medication and had to have a conference to determine if I was lying about not getting Motrin), but we didn't have any cell phone service or Internet access, so we had trouble getting the word out. I've never felt so cut off! Anthony had to sleep on a ridiculously small and uncomfortable fold-out chair, and by the time they released us, we were more than ready to be on our own.

Leaving the hospital

They were using Jonathan as their race track. He didn't mind.

Before the 1st bath at home

After the bath

We Broke The Rules

2010-11-15T07:30:00.000-09:00

Since I was little, the rule has been that the Christmas tree doesn't go up until after Thanksgiving. We'd start begging for my dad to bring in the decorations from the shed as soon as dinner was done. Well, being in Alaska puts you in the Christmas mood early. There's already snow on ground, and the sun is setting by 4:30. Plus I bought all the presents really early this year in anticipation of the baby, and it just feels like it's time for Christmas. So on Veteran's Day, we gave in and put up the tree. And we couldn't be happier that we broke the rule.

Will decided the top of the tree was all we needed.

The Finished Product

Will remembered what stockings were for from last year--candy! Every morning he checks, and the other day when he went in to wake up Ethan, the first thing I heard was, "No candy in our stockings, Ethan." I guess there's no way I can put the presents under the tree. They wouldn't be able to stand it. I'm sure they'd be ripped open while I was taking a shower anyway.

The boys are still being their normal crazy selves. They've taken to "washing dishes" when I leave the room. I left a couple pans soaking one morning, and later found Ethan had dumped about 5 gallons of water all over the kitchen and laundry room floor. You never realize how much area a little water can cover until you see it first hand. Once I got it cleaned up, I went to get the mail and came back to find a dozen eggs had been smashed in front of the refrigerator. That boy. He had a look on his face like he knew he'd done something very bad, but he just couldn't help it.

Will saw me putting on eyeshadow last Sunday, and he was amazed at what he was seeing. "What are you doing, Mommy? Are you painting yourself?" All I could think of was the term "painted ladies" and I didn't like the connotation.

Anthony just finished his first semester of school, and he's starting up his second semester at Wayland Baptist University. They're very flexible on their scheduling, plus they have multiple, shorter semesters each year, so he's hoping to get a lot of schooling done even with his limited time each week. So far he's had wonderful teachers, but he had an interesting first math class that started out with two hours of a brimstone and damnation lecture. Probably a good thing the professor doesn't know yet that he's LDS. :) When they talked about math, he was a great teacher--he's in his 49th year of teaching this course!

I think that's about all the excitement we had this week. No baby news once again, but I'm sure there will be something to post in the next few weeks! Hope everyone is well!

Extra time?

2010-11-07T01:09:00.000-09:00

I decided that with my extra hour from Daylight Savings Time, I'd update the blog! Of course, that involves backtracking, as always.

September

Will got to attend his first concert when Gary Sinise visited our base with his group, the Lieutenant Dan Band.

Will wasn't too happy with how loud the music was, but he was very excited to have his picture taken with a fire truck.

Anthony, along with several other Airmen, was able to have breakfast that morning with Gary Sinise and a Medal of Honor recipient. My favorite story from the breakfast was when the MOH recipient was in the middle of imparting his wisdom, and he looked up at a television screen to see Lady Gaga sporting a dress made of meat. "What the h*** is that?" he asked the Airmen. They tried to explain who Lady Gaga was and what she did. He replied, "See, that is why we work so hard. So people have the freedom to wear a dress of meat." In the end, it's true. All of the things that we are able to do, no matter how wonderful or ridiculous they may be, are because men like him put their lives on the line to fight for our freedoms. What a great lesson.

That month we also celebrated both Will's and my birthday. For Will's, we took the boys to play miniature golf. Ethan was more interested in running around with everyone else's golf balls and saying hi to the alligator statue.

Will was very helpful throughout the game. Each time we would hit it, he'd grab the ball and put it in the hole. Amazingly we all had a hole in one every time!

Then we had our ice cream cake that I made in the shape of a cheeseburger. Maybe that's an odd choice, but Will loves cheeseburgers, so I couldn't help it when I found the recipe. Not only was it classy, it was delicious too.

Will and Ethan have discovered the joys of dressing up after receiving some super hero costumes from Aunt Katie (Biehl).

Batman/Superman is having an identity crisis.

For my birthday, Anthony surprised us with a sunset trip to Arctic Valley, a beautiful area that overlooks part of Anchorage.

On another occasion, Will told us one evening that he was Daddy and he was going to work. Both boys like to dress up in Anthony's uniform, so this was no surprise. Will put on the boots and the hat, but then we heard the front door open, and he was heading down the front steps. He got to the car, then turned around and asked Anthony to open the car door so he could drive to work. Good thing he can't reach the car keys, or he might really be off one day.

And this was Anthony and Will being silly.

October

We spent most of the month getting ready for Halloween and doing a few fall activities. Since we can't put our pumpkins outside except on Halloween--apparently moose love to eat pumpkins!--we had to wait until late in the month to carve ours. But we made it a fun night with homemade doughnuts as well.

So good!

How many of you used power tools on your pumpkin?

And after all our hard work, we forgot to take a picture of the pumpkin, which was destroyed in about two days by a combination of the boys and mold. Pumpkins don't last long here!

Since Halloween was on Sunday, we did our celebrating on Saturday with a trip to the downtown trick or treating and then an evening at the Church festival. Last year we had to almost force Will to wear his costume, but this year he was all for it. Ethan didn't argue at all.

Ethan got to be the zebra this year, although he says zebra with a British accent because that's how Carla the Zebra says it on Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies. Will was Corduroy the Bear, from the Corduroy books.

Both of them were very cute and way into the trick or treating. I learned that we need to work on waiting our turn, instead of shoving to the front of the line and grabbing a handful of candy, although they always said thank you.

November

The big event this month so far has been our first snow fall. We were all surprised we made it this long, and even now, there isn't a lot of accumulation. But winter is definitely here.

Why Will still insists on saying snow cows instead of snow plows, I don't understand. Must be his stubborn streak.

Ethan has also graduated this week from a crib to a toddler bed. It seems much too soon, since Will only made the switch a few months ago, but it became necessary when Ethan started climbing out of the crib. So far he's doing well, except for nap time, and it makes me laugh every morning when he runs into our room with a cheerful, "Hi Mommy. Out bed!" He's very excited to be so grown up.

We also had a funny experience while going to vote earlier this week. Anthony explained to Will where we were going, and then as we were getting ready, Will told Ethan, "We're going to vote! It's very important!" Such a smart boy. The way they express themselves is always so funny. A few days before, Will was trying hard to do something (I forget what), and Anthony told him to use his brain to figure it out. Will told him, "No, I'm just going to use my hands." You've got to love him.

Striking it Rich

2010-08-16T01:56:00.000-08:00

In July, we had the chance to have a truly Alaskan experience--panning for gold. We took a day trip with our neighbor Dan, his son Devon, and friend Daylinda down to Hope, AK and spent the day searching a river for gold and silver. The boys loved playing in the water, even though it was awfully cold, and while we didn't find anything, it was a fun to do something out of the ordinary. My favorite part was on the drive down, I told Anthony that before we left Alaska, I really wanted to see the Dall sheep on the mountains that run right next to Turnagain Arm. It's a beautiful drive that we love taking whenever we get the chance, and you're supposed to be able to see the Dall sheep right from the road, but we'd never been lucky enough to do so. This time, not more than two minutes after I said how much I wanted to see them, we passed a row of stopped cars where people had gotten out to see two sheep that had come all the way down the side of the mountain. I wasn't able to get any pictures, but it was still neat to see. What a great day!

Ethan panning in his own water

Will was mostly interested in throwing rocks in the water.

Not a surprise.

The Professional

The Pet Experiment

2010-08-16T01:27:00.000-08:00

For a few weeks, we got to experience what it was like to be pet owners. We were asked to watch both a dog and a cat by two different friends, so we thought it would be a great chance to see if we'd like to get a pet of our own. The boys loved it, and it was kind of nice to have animals around again, but we also realized that our life is full enough right now without adding that extra responsibility. But it was fun while it lasted. It even worked out well that the dog's name was Gus, so Ethan was all ready (see the previous post about Psych). Even now, all dogs are named Gus in his mind. He also loved running up to the animals to tell them, "Hello!" Thank goodness they tolerated it, but I can only imagine what they were thinking.

Will liked to read books to Gus

Psych Fans

2010-08-16T01:10:00.001-08:00

We've decided that maybe we have watched too many episodes of Psych with the boys. Is it bad that Ethan, who doesn't say a whole lot of words just on his own, can identify the characters? Any time we put a DVD in, he immediately thinks it's Shawn and Gus.

Growing

2010-08-16T00:58:00.000-08:00

I guess this is late in coming, but for those who don't know, we are expecting boy #3 in November! I figure, at this point, how much more trouble can another boy add, right? Right? I'm a pro at using the steam cleaner on the carpet, I've pretty much locked down everything that can be accessed, and it's only when we slip up that there's a problem. Like leaving my deodorant on the bed and finding Will painting our sheet and pillows with it. Or leaving the bathroom door open ONE time and finding Ethan wiping soap all over the mirror. I can't think of many more things they can surprise me with, but I'm pretty sure they see it as a challenge.

So boy #3 will be here around November 27, two days after Thanksgiving. I'm still deciding on whether to buy a turkey because I know if I do, I'll start having contractions the second I put the turkey in the oven, and if I don't, I'll go several weeks past my due date. Anthony suggested we get Cornish game hens, so we might be trying that out this year. We also can't decide on a name. A few we can't agree on, but mostly it's that nothing sounds right. I keep hoping that perfect name will appear somewhere, so I'm scouring lists of baby names. The only one that jumped out was Fernando, but only because it made me start singing the ABBA song. I promise our baby will not be Fernando Corbin. Hopefully something will jump out at us in the next 3 months. Maybe I should start a contest? Anyone who can come up with the perfect name will win a great prize, to be announced later. We like pretty standard names, not Jacob spelled like Jakub, or anything like that. Any suggestions are appreciated!

It's just that cold

2010-08-16T00:35:00.001-08:00

I've seen so many posts from family and friends about swimming, air conditioning, and unbearable heat, and it makes me laugh to think how very different our summers are now. A few Saturdays ago, we spent about an hour outside chatting with our neighbor, and by the time we came in, we were all so cold that we made hot chocolate to warm us up. Only in Alaska would we make hot chocolate in July.

The Beard

2010-08-16T00:09:00.000-08:00

Will received a Buzz Lightyear doll from Grandma Corbin while we were at home. He was looking at it one day and asked me what was on Buzz's chin. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a beard or a cleft, and I wasn't sure how to explain what a cleft chin was, so I said I thought it was a beard. Then a few days later Will ended up developing a small bump on his own chin. He came up to me and said, "Mommy, I have a beard!" It took me a minute to figure out the connection. Now anything on his chin is a beard.

Vacation!

2010-08-14T01:40:00.002-08:00

We had a wonderful trip to Indiana and South Carolina in May. It was great to see family and friends, and in a way it felt like we'd never left. Warm weather was also a bonus, especially since Alaska has had such a blah summer. We're VERY close to breaking the record of consecutive days of rain--27 currently! It's not as exciting as it sounds. It's nice to look back at the pictures and remember a time when we could wear shorts outside. I'll let the pictures do most of the summary of the trip.

Playing at the park

Driving Daddy's Jeep

Visiting the Indianapolis Zoo

Will didn't care for the shark petting tank.

Ethan wanted to help Aunt Katie push the stroller.

The Butterfly Garden

Great-Grandpa Burger, Grandpa Biehl, Anthony, Will & Ethan

The Children's Museum

The boys were intrigued by these funny things called Barbies.

They LOVED the Carousel.

I went in to get Will up from his nap one day and found him with a piece of the coat rack stuck in his pacifier.

He told me he was an elephant.

Then he found an old swimsuit and decided he wanted to be a zebra.

We spent the last week of our vacation in South Carolina and Georgia, which is where Anthony and I went on our honeymoon. It was wonderful to introduce the boys to a beach and ocean where it's warm enough to go swimming. A tropical storm threatened us for a few days, but luckily it blew over and we had lots of sun and great weather. The boys loved digging in the sand, running into the waves and looking for shells. I'm sure we'll be heading back there as soon as we can.

Hilton Head Beach, South Carolina

Making holes occupied a lot of their time.

They were brave until the waves came in, and then they usually ran right back to us.

Ethan always wanted to sit in the holes.
He's our little "Fragile" Frankie Merman.

He wasn't so happy when the tide came in.

We spent one day touring downtown Savannah. I was most excited about eating lunch at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons. It was the restaurant she started before she became famous, and I'd heard so many good things about it. We had to get there first thing in the morning to make a reservation for lunch, and then we took a trolley tour around town. Since we finished a little early, we decided to go by the restaurant's gift shop, and as soon as we stepped through the door, I couldn't believe who we saw--Jamie Deen, Paula's oldest son, was signing autographs and taking pictures. Anthony's mom and I were a little hesitant, but Anthony finally convinced us to get in line, and we were able to catch him just before he left.

Once we made it to lunch, we were very impressed with everything. Our waiter was awesome, and the food was absolutely delicious. I was so glad that I had bought a cookbook with all of the recipes from the restaurant when I was looking for something for Jamie to sign. Now I can recreate the meal anytime, as long as I stock up on butter.

Will regaled us with his impression of a walrus while we waited for our drinks.

I love visiting the South. We always have such a good time. You've got to love Southern hospitality.

On our way home, we made a detour to see the Angel Oak, which is believed to be 1,500 years old and the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi. How often do you get to see something like that? We were a little nervous about our directions because even as we got close to our destination, we never saw any signs. I know it's just a tree, but you would think that something that historic would have at least a billboard or a road sign. We ended up at a church and it seemed like a dead end until we noticed a dirt road and a small sign on a tree in front of us.

If I was the Angel Oak, I'd be offended. We were all glad we found it because it was definitely neat to see.

Ethan & I felt tiny next to it

The boys had the most fun looking for acorns as a souvenir and finding a tiny frog.

Will was trying out a new smile while showing off his frog.

Overall it was an awesome trip and hard to head back to Alaska. Thanks everyone for some great memories!

The Update

2010-04-27T23:49:00.000-08:00

Long story short, we've been having trouble with our computer lately, and we're waiting until we get back from vacation to do a complete rehaul. So, I was trying not to download pictures because I wasn't sure if I could, but it looks like I can, so I guess I can do some updating.

Right now the boys and I are learning how to get along on our own for a few days. Anthony's off in D.C., where he's representing his squadron at an awards ceremony. His unit won the best small maintenance squadron in the Air Force, and he was one of two Airmen who were chosen to go along with some of the higher-ups to the ceremony. He's staying in a hotel that he said "blows every Marriott I've ever stayed in out of the water." While he had a blue crab sandwich for lunch, we had fish sticks and canned fruit, so it's pretty much the same. When we took Anthony to the airport, Will told him, "Don't do it," when he said he had to get on the plane. That is one of his favorite phrases to try to keep us from doing anything he doesn't like. And Ethan has been following me around everywhere, as if he doesn't want me out of sight. Other than that, they're pretty oblivious. There are far too many things to destroy around the house to notice anything is different. Patience is wearing a little thin (today I cleaned up an entire box of macaroni noodles that were thrown all over the basement), but it's only for a few days, so we'll make it. I think.

We're also REALLY looking forward to flying home on the 8th. I'm worried about the temperature difference, since it's usually 30 degrees hotter in Indiana, but hopefully we'll adjust. We will definitely need super sunscreen when we go to South Carolina. The boys have never been to a beach where you can go swimming, and we are all white, white, white. We were able to go outside and play on the playground for the first time today because it finally made it to 50 degrees and most of the snow is melted. It was really nice for the boys to be able to run around and play in the sand. We had to watch out for multiple piles of moose poop, but that's just how it is here.

Will's learning that he has a mind of his own, which in turn has made Ethan realize the same thing. Instead of the little boys that would come when I called, they like to run halfway to me, laugh, and then bolt in the other direction. Some days it is funnier than others. We've also learned to be a little worried when Will says, "I did it!" A few weeks ago, I was making chili for dinner (if you're a Corbin, I mean goulash) and I went to the bathroom. I came out to Will telling me, "I did it!"

"What did you do?"

"I dump it all in!"

"Dumped what in where?!"

Then I noticed he had in his hand the what was once full jar of chili powder that was now half gone. I frantically started searching the house and finally glanced at the fish tank. The water was blood red. I yelled for Anthony to get out of the shower, and he helped me grab the fish and the snail out of the mess. The fish got in the clean water and gave what looked like a cough, which made chili powder fly out of his gills. Amazingly the two are okay. Our pets are invincible. We just have had to remind Will that spices are not fish food, and he shouldn't feed the fish without our help.

Ethan has learned to climb up the bench in our entryway, pull himself up the windowsill, and stand with only his toes gripping onto the window ledge as he holds onto the frame and yells out the window. He has absolutely no fear. He also drags the little rocking chair around to wherever he needs to reach something, so nothing is safe. My favorite thing is when he picks up an item he thinks I need (everything from my iPod to a toy car), brings it to me and says, "Go" as in "Here you go." He's very helpful. He also told me dinner was "gross" the other night. He is SUPER picky. I'm pretty sure he takes after my brother Daniel, who even at Thanksgiving will only eat turkey and rolls. If Ethan doesn't like a food, or even thinks that there is a possibility that he won't like it, he will turn his face away and stick his tongue out so I can't get anything in. Waiting until he gets hungry enough doesn't work either. Hopefully it's a phase.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple months:

Ethan enjoying his first taste of soda

Will with his new blanket from Grandma Corbin

Celebrating Fur Rondy, our annual winter festival

One of the snow sculptures at a Fur Rondy event

Sledding at Hillberg Ski Area in March

Ethan after his first sled ride down the hill

The sunset turned the mountains a beautiful purple that this picture really doesn't do justice!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

Happy Marmot Day?

2010-02-02T00:00:00.002-09:00

We don't get to celebrate Groundhog Day in Alaska. We get Marmot Day. I wasn't even sure what a marmot was until I found some pictures on Wikipedia--where you know you are getting the best possible information. Here's the picture I found:

So, groundhogs are marmots, but since we don't have many groundhogs here, we have decided to encompass all species. Well, aren't we politically correct, Alaska? Unfortunately, he is not expected to make any weather predictions. I guess he doesn't feel the need, as there is no doubt that we will be having 6 (and more) weeks of winter. Perhaps Bill Murray can make a new "Marmot Day" movie, so we don't feel left out.

Nothing big happening up here, but I wanted to share some of the silly things the boys have been doing lately. Will has been pretty funny:

His favorite phrases are, "That's purty neat!" and "That's a awesome!" And anytime he leaves the house with Anthony, Will tells me, "Bye. I going to work."

He thinks a girl is called "a toot." We think maybe he's saying cute, but we have no idea where he got it from.

He told his first "joke" last Thursday. I was getting them down from the table after dinner, and Ethan started heading upstairs to play in his room. I was trying to get Will cleaned off, and I kept saying, "Ethan, stay downstairs!" because I was pretty sure the bathroom door was open, and he loves to play in the toilet. Instead of listening to me, he started laughing and crawling faster, but I couldn't let go of Will. So I just yelled, "Ethan!" again, and Will turned to me and said, "He a punk" and laughed. It made me laugh pretty hard because that's what we call them whenever they're being, well, punks.

He's still very obsessed with the movie Monsters, Inc., and we think he's imitating one part on the special features. There's a character named Roz, and in the "gag reel," she keeps appearing and saying, "Hello!" in unexpected places. Will loves to hide behind doors, walls, anything, and pop out and say, "Hewwo!"

Yesterday he was playing with Ethan in their own version of Peekaboo.

What is Peek-a-bookie?

Ethan is still being mischievous. I found him this evening in the laundry room, where he had learned a new trick.

He has even been practicing using a spoon by himself.

He has also gotten very good at imitating dinosaur sounds.

Those are our crazy boys. Every day is a new adventure. So, happy Marmot Day to all, and I hope your marmots are lucky enough not to see their shadows!

Celebrations

2010-01-13T21:38:00.010-09:00

I know, I need to be better at updating the blog. But I'm not going to say it's my New Year's Resolution because I never bother with those. We are getting everything organized around the house, so I'm feeling like I can get more things done in the future, and we'll see if that includes the blog.

Ethan turned 1 two days before Christmas, so he was able to practice his present unwrapping skills. He went right to it.

But Will just couldn't take the suspense anymore.

Doesn't our tree look cool in this shot?

Since neither of the boys had been too interested in the presents beforehand, I wasn't sure how this would go, or if it would start a tidal wave of wanting to open everything. But they were very good and only opened the ones we gave them.

I was having a hard time deciding on Ethan's cake, but a week before his birthday, he was messing with my cookbooks and surprisingly only pulled out two, instead of all of them. One of them was a cake decorating book I'd forgotten about, and I found this cute bear idea. I think Ethan was trying to give me a hint.

And of course he loved eating it.

One of his best presents was a rocking horse from our friends Sheila and Tresanay. Both of the boys love it, although Ethan prefers mostly just to pat the horse for now. Once he's a little taller, I'm sure he'll be more excited about riding it.

For Christmas we started the tradition of everyone getting new pajamas to open and wear on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning we watched the Church Christmas Devotional, made cinnamon rolls and homemade hot chocolate and finally got around to opening presents around noon.

Ethan was stealing cinnamon rolls off our plates.

We almost had to force the boys to open presents. Every time they would open a new toy, they wanted to play with it (of course). So unwrapping took quite awhile, which is why we didn't take many pictures. It was enough effort just to get them to sit down. We felt very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who care about us so much. It was a wonderful Christmas.

That night we decided it was time to convert Will's crib into a toddler bed. He seemed to really like it--for the first week. Then he liked it too much because he realized that he could get out whenever he felt like it. After several days of no naps and staying up playing until 3 a.m., we went back to the crib and decided to wait a little longer. And he was okay with that. I think he just wasn't ready for so much freedom. He doesn't try to climb out of the crib at all, so we'll try again when he understands a little better.

Last weekend we were able to go downtown to the Ice Carving Competition. The Town Square is one big ice skating rink, and the ice carving was happening all around it. There's an even bigger one held in Fairbanks, but I liked that the drive was only 5 minutes instead of 9 hours. Maybe someday. It was neat to see what people could create out of a block of ice. Just one more cool thing to see in Anchorage that doesn't happen just anywhere.

For quite awhile, Will's favorite book has been "No, David" by David Shannon. A few days ago, I heard him "reading" it to himself, so I just had to get him to do it again for the camera. Either he has an excellent memory, or we read the book way too often. Either way, it was pretty amazing.

Everything else is great here. We're up to 6 and a half hours of daylight, but we're also wondering if the real cold is about to begin. So far we've been very lucky! Not a whole lot of snow (just a couple feet), and the weather's been bearable.

Anthony received "Airman of the Quarter" yesterday for his flight. We're going to have to set aside a whole room for all of his awards and accomplishments at this rate! He works hard at everything he does, and it truly shows. That reminds me that I also never did post the picture of him when he met Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. So, here it is.

At home, Ethan and Will are teaming up on me and getting into all kinds of mischief. Whether it's playing in the fish tank, coloring on the walls, playing in the fridge, putting lotion on our new TV, pouring all the black pepper into a pot, drinking salt out of the canister, throwing up that salt back into the canister, or climbing onto the counter to get the candy out of the cabinet, I know that I can't turn around for even a second without something happening behind my back. I think the next few years are going to be big trouble. Whenever I see a rerun of "Malcolm in the Middle," it makes me cringe a little more each time. Boys. But no complaints. Life is good!

Santa is scary (and sometimes drunk)

2009-12-21T01:31:00.005-09:00

We've had two visits with Santa, and neither has been what we would consider a success. The first was at our Ward Christmas party, where Will watched as one of his friends from Nursery sat on Santa's lap and started shrieking. Since Will was next in line, he didn't do any better. Then we tried Ethan, who screamed as well. The only picture I got of either was Anthony taking Ethan away from horrible Santa:

Our second try was at Anthony's work party. That was a whole different experience. The boys got to learn firsthand why we do not drink. We're pretty sure some of the Airmen had started the party a couple hours before on their own because I don't think it's possible to get that drunk that fast. One guy from Anthony's shop was trying to talk to the boys, and they weren't having any of it. Will just kept staring at him, and Ethan put his head on my shoulder and stared off into space as if the guy didn't exist. Then Santa arrived, and we found out he'd been hitting the sauce as well. He drove up in his sleigh and chucked a candy cane at a kid, and when Will's turn came to sit on his lap, Anthony told me Santa smelled like a brewery. Will wasn't thrilled with this Santa either, and once again started crying.

The only way we could get him to sit was if Anthony sat with him. And even then he wasn't too happy and spent the rest of the night saying, "No Santa!"

Ethan felt the same way.

Will also heard Anthony refer to Santa as Jeff, so now he says it's Santa Jeff. Santa Jeff did a pretty good job (we'll turn a blind eye to the candy cane incident), and I was glad to at least get some kind of picture with Santa. A photographer also took pictures of the kids with Santa then printed them off for us so we could put them inside glass ornaments to take home. The rest of the party was pretty great. Will LOVED the bouncy house. Every time we turned away from him, he was off and running to get back in. Even when we left at 11 p.m., he was still begging to, "Jump, jump, jump?"

Anthony's favorite part was the Sumo suit.

My favorite part was letting him struggle to get up in the Sumo suit.

We won a couple raffle prizes, including dinner at a local steakhouse. Anthony stayed to listen for our ticket numbers because the final prize was a 32" Sharp Aquos t.v. He wasn't really paying attention to what prizes were left, but he heard our number and jumped up to claim our prize. He started to hand the ticket to the announcer, who said, "Don't worry about it. It's the only prize left on the table." Anthony took this to mean the t.v. He started to get really excited, until the announcer pointed out what the last prize on the table really was.

And to think we almost got stuck with a t.v.

So we got some free stuff, learned a new drinking game (Eggnog Flip Cup), spent time with friends, and took home some really good leftovers. All in all, not a bad party.

The boys are getting excited for Christmas (and mostly I mean Anthony), and they've been very good about not messing with the tree or presents too much. Ethan likes to rip the name tags off the presents, so I guess it will be a free for all on Christmas Day. And Will's pretty good at guess what each present is. They were playing with one and somebody found a button that turned on the siren, and Will knew it was the fire truck we had picked out a couple weeks ago. I'm going to have to be more tricky when they're older.

We've also been making all kinds of candy and cookies. Some have turned out pretty well, like the Snickerdoodles, Butter Toffee, and Turkish Taffy (although we may have pulled it too much because it started to fall apart the next day, but it tasted good!). The fudge, on the other hand, was a disaster. No Theresa, it didn't back up into a fan. I followed every step exactly, but what a mess.

Anthony said if we ever needed to make chocolate bricks, this was the perfect recipe. So, anyone planning on building a palace in India, let me know. "I will not eat my palace! I intend to live in it!" Ah, I do so love Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Just to back up a little, we did have a wonderful Thanksgiving too. We spent the day playing the Wii and eating too much.

Will did his impression of Randy from "The Christmas Story" eating like a pig. Really. We watched the movie a few days before, and he was pretty interested in that scene.

And Ethan was grabbing turkey by the handful and shoving it in as if we never feed him.

We missed being around family, but it was nice to have a relaxing day to be together and remember all of the things for which we are grateful.

Will is learning so many things every day. While I was putting on his shoes for church a few weeks ago, I told him which was his right foot and which was his left. I only showed him twice, but he can still tell you which is which. He can tell you his hands, arms, ears and eyes as well. He's also learned to count to 4, and Anthony taught him to read "Mommy" and "Daddy." He saw one of those commercials for Your Baby Can Read, so he tried it out, and it worked. Who needs an expensive program?

Ethan's becoming very mischievous. His sole purpose in life is to pull out every plug in the house. His favorite is the wireless router, so multiple times a day we think the Internet is being very slow until we realize Ethan has struck again. Most of the time, he waits until you're paying attention, and then he laughs hysterically as he tries to get the plug out before you can cross the room to get him. Will likes to get involved by following Ethan so he can be told to stop too. Ethan's most amazing feat is that he's started walking. He's not incredibly steady, but he's getting better every day.

Here are just a few more pictures we've accumulated:

This is how much snow we got earlier in the week
and why Anthony had several snow days.

Since the snow doesn't melt until next Spring,
they have to cart it away in big trucks.

While my parents were here in September, my dad and I
visited Test Cell and got to sit next to an F-22 engine
while they ran it. It was loud, cold, windy, and very cool.
Yes, that is the actual flame coming out of the engine.

Ethan sporting his Cheerio's.

Will putting in his contacts.

Will throwing his moose down the stairs

Anthony & The President

2009-11-25T00:45:00.000-09:00

A couple weeks ago, President Obama visited Elmendorf AFB. He spoke to some of the servicemen and women, and Anthony was chosen as one of 200 to sit behind the podium. Anthony said that as they were getting going, the announcer started with, "Ladies and gentlemen," and everyone's cameras went into the air to try and get a picture of President Obama entering. He continued, "Introducing Chaplain...," and the audience groaned. The Chaplain joked, "Sorry to disappoint you with just a prayer." When he finished, the announcer again said, "Ladies and gentlemen," and again, all the cameras went up. "Introducing General...". Groans again.

Here is the video of the President's speech when he finally appeared. He spoke about the sacrifices military members make, the lives that have been lost recently, and plans for the Defense budget. It's about 15 minutes long, and if you want to see Anthony, at 2 minutes 30 seconds President Obama asks everyone to applaud the terrific looking Airmen and Soldiers, and Anthony is in the top right corner. You can also see him at 6:47 when they pan across the military members again. Enjoy!

"Facts" About Alaska

2009-11-25T00:38:00.004-09:00

Now that we've been here 7 months, I've been compiling a few things that I've learned about Alaska. I looked back at the post I wrote last December when we first found out this would be our base, and I had to laugh at some of the things I had "learned" then. What I've learned since then is that you truly have to live here to understand.

1. IT IS COLD. It's so cold...How cold is it? It's so cold that my pinky finger froze to the shopping cart that I grabbed outside the Commissary. I got about 30 feet into the building before I started wondering why my finger felt like it was on fire. It's a very dry cold (we've had a humidifier running constantly all week), and thank goodness it hasn't been windy. When the high temperature is 9, and the low is -6, you don't need to add wind. Is it sad that I'm looking forward to more snow because it gets slightly warmer? I don't want to hear anyone who is enjoying 50 degree weather back home complain that it is getting colder.

2. You get used to the darkness. We're losing about 4 minutes of light every day, but that's only going to go on for another month. By this time in January, we'll be back to the amount of sunlight we have now, which is almost 7 hours, so it's not too big of a deal.

3. You also get used to the wildlife. One day we were driving out of the gate, and I looked over and saw two eagles take off out of the trees. At first I simply thought, "Oh, there are some eagles," as if this was just a ho-hum daily occurrence. Then I snapped out of it and pointed them out to Anthony. How cool is it to see something like that when you're driving to Target?

3. Driving in the snow is interesting. I guess that would be the word. In Indiana, as soon as there is snow and ice in the forecast, the salt trucks are out covering the roads. In Alaska, salt can't be used because for several reasons. Once again, it's just too blasted cold to do anything, since salt lowers the melting point, but not enough to do anything up here. Also, it would probably attract a lot of wildlife since the roads would be one giant salt lick for them. Instead the trucks drop gravel, which helps a little. This does not help in finding lanes that are now covered in snow and ice. And there are no reflectors, so mostly it's up to you to decide if it's one, two, or three lanes.

4. For some reason, the radio stations seem to be stuck in the early 90's. I know it's hard to ship things up here, but I didn't think new music was included in that. In one hour I heard "Fly" by Sugar Ray, "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind, "Get the Party Started" by Pink, and "Push" by Matchbox Twenty. Most parents and children have a generation gap in music, but it's nice to know that the boys and I will be able to share a love of the music from my high school years.

5. Commercials can, and are, often made in home basements. Our favorite is the one below from The Mattress Ranch. This is also the most professional one. Many of the other commercials are for restaurants we don't have here. If I have to see Sonic advertising Cherry Limeades (yum!) one more time, I'm going to have a meltdown. Enjoy this jingle. It always gets stuck in my head!

Candy Overload!

2009-11-06T01:45:00.001-09:00

Once again, a busy month. A few weeks ago, we had our very first Chuck E Cheese experience. Well, I've been there, but Anthony swears they were never allowed to go as kids, so they thought it was some kind of wicked place that respectable people don't visit. That may still be true. It sure has changed since my last visit. Does anyone else remember when it used to be called Showbiz, or does that just show my age? Now it's all lights and noise and craziness, but we had a fun time. The birthday party was for an Air Force family in our ward, the Jacksons, who have three boys. We're sad that they're moving to the Azores (Portugal) in a few weeks, and totally jealous that they're leaving winter in Alaska for a tropical island. It was nice to get the chance to celebrate with them before they go.

Will, of course, was terrified of Chuck E, but Ethan was more than willing to pose.

They both had lots of fun with the games and rides.

Will put his arm around Ethan all by himself to help keep Ethan in the car.
He's such a good big brother.

Will's favorite was probably the Whack A Mole game.

The week before Halloween, we carved our pumpkin for Family Home Evening. Unfortunately, the pumpkin had to come from the grocery store since there aren't any pumpkin patches or apple orchards here. Or none that I can find. I miss fall in Indiana! But we had a great time working on the pumpkin. Will was a little more helpful this year, but we still spent a lot of time keeping Ethan from eating the gunk.

Our pumpkin, Homestar Runner

This is the only time we were able to light the pumpkin. I put it on our porch the next afternoon, and two hours later, an animal ate the face. Usually we have to worry about punk kids, not wild animals.

We were able to go trick or treating twice on Halloween. The community center has an indoor event in the afternoon, which was nice because it was freezing that evening. Ethan was a dalmatian, and Will wore his zebra costume from last year. To say that Will was not excited about putting on his costume would be an understatement. He was sobbing and telling me, "No zebra!" I finally was able to get him into the pants, but we thought that would be as far as we would get until I convinced him that the top was just a jacket. For some reason he was okay with that.

And once he caught on that zebra=candy, he was all for it. He ate quite a bit of that candy before we left the community center.

When we went out that night, our first stop was at our neighbor, Dan's, door. Dan gets really into Halloween, so his house was all decorated, and he was dressed up as the Grim Reaper. He tried not to scare Will, but Dan's a pretty big guy, and it was just too much. Will started crying, and for the rest of the block, at every house he said, "No Dan! No Dan!"

I had to include this video of Ethan attacking Will for his candy. This is how he growls whenever he wants food.

This is Will's version of "Trick or Treat."

It is definitely getting colder, but we're still waiting for the snow. They predict it every couple of days, but so far, we've only had about 10 minutes of it, and it melted right away. The main thing we're having to adjust to is a lot less daylight. Right now, the sun rises at about 8:30 and sets at 4:30, so we never are quite sure what time it is without looking at a clock. The one good thing is that it makes me start dinner a lot earlier than I normally do because I just assume that it's 6 o'clock. Which means in December, we'll probably be eating dinner at 3 in the afternoon and in bed by 5. Perhaps we'll move into a Senior Community. It's always an adventure in Alaska!

The Best Will Story Ever

2009-10-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

Every night when he puts Will to bed, Anthony has been reading the Book of Mormon to him. Will loves it and never wants Anthony to stop. After a few nights though, Will started interrupting and asking for juice. This kid loves juice. He'll drink his whole cup full in about a minute and ask for more, but it also goes through him just as quick, so we limit how much he gets. Well, Anthony couldn't figure out what was bringing on the requests for juice, so he would just tell Will there wasn't any juice and go on. He then read"...record of the Jews" and got the response from Will, "Juice? Juice?" That made us laugh so hard.

I know it's been forever since I've updated everyone, so I'll try to catch up on all of our good news. First, we closed on the house at the end of August. It was such a relief not to have to worry any more that the offer would fall through, as well as knowing that it's no longer empty and not having the vast majority of our paycheck go to the mortgage. We celebrated by going out for ice cream. I know, we're living large with our new found wealth. On the same day of the closing, Anthony logged onto a computer at work to find that he had received a promotion. Four days before. We thought he wouldn't be Airman First Class until the end of October, so it was a wonderful surprise. Anthony spent his lunch hour taking his uniform to have his second strip sewn on, and his uniform looks much better with the addition.

Ethan has been learning all sorts of new tricks. He is completely crawling, so nothing is off limits any more. He even throws himself off the landing at the bottom of our stairs, just like Will does. Even before he was up crawling on his knees, I would find him pulling himself up the stairs. I don't know where he's going, but he's in a hurry to get there. He also loves the washing machine just like Will.

Each morning he is standing up in his crib, and he spends a lot of the day using the furniture to make his way around the living room. It's almost scary how quickly he learns how to do things. He even knows that under Will's chair he can find the best food that's been dropped. I found him there one day after lunch with a piece of bacon from the leftover chowder Will had been eating. His other big news is that his first tooth came in at the beginning of September, a full four months before Will's first tooth had come in. Teeth 2, 3, and 4 all showed up within a few weeks, so now he has two bottom teeth and the two top canine teeth, but no middle teeth on top. He's also doing better with not spitting up, so those of you who invested in stocks for whatever company makes Resolve carpet cleaner might want to start selling them. We won't be buying quite as much any more, so I'm sure their profits will be falling.

Ethan had his first hair cut last week, and I couldn't believe the difference it made. Watch out girls!

Before

After

Will continues to do funny things each day. His friend Brayden taught him to dance, and it's pretty hilarious. He's in a mood where he doesn't like his picture taken, so I'll have to see if I can hide and catch him on video. He's learned how to say chocolate, and everything brown to him must be chocolate.

Will's also learning his colors and has orange and yellow down. We're working on the others. He finally learned to say "You're welcome," instead of just repeating "Thank you," and now he tries to get you to say thank you just so he can tell you you're welcome. His big phrase right now is, "I think so." That is the answer to every question. Sometimes he'll throw in, "I guess," accompanied by an eye roll. Who knows where he's getting this from.

Will had a great second birthday. One of his favorite parts was the candy his Aunt Heilit and Uncle Matt sent with his present. I could hardly get him interested in anything else. He is definitely a candy freak like his dad. If ever he even thinks you have candy, he's on you like a bloodhound.

His second favorite gift was his new tricycle.

As you can see, everywhere Will is, Ethan is usually with him.

For Will's cake, we made an ice cream cake shaped like a basketball, since ball's are his life. It turned out pretty well.

While my parents were here, we were able to take a trip to Fairbanks. One of the things we were most excited about was visiting North Pole, AK, where you can visit Santa Claus any day of the year. Except apparently between September and October, when Santa takes Fall Break. So here's Ethan in Santa's vacant chair.

We also didn't see the Northern Lights, which was disappointing, but we received our first snow fall of the year!

It hasn't started in Anchorage yet, and we're hoping it holds off for awhile. We're instead getting use to the lack of daylight. The sun doesn't rise until 8:30 a.m., and it's pitch black by 7:30 p.m. I have a feeling it's going to be a long, dark winter. To help combat the boredom, we purchased a Wii, and we're loving it. Anthony got the Wii Fit for my birthday, and I've been having lots of fun working out every day. I know, that doesn't sound like a sentence that could be true, but it really is fun. I like all the different games, plus I know that I'm doing exercises correctly--since it certainly lets you know if you're doing something wrong--as well as keeping track of how much I've worked out. It's the best!

As for Anthony, he's finishing up his CDC's (career development courses), and then he'll be able to start working on college courses for his degree. He's still really considering becoming an officer, so it is going to be a lot of hard work to get there within the time frame allowed, but it will be worth it in the end. He also was able to go on his first hunting trip with a friend from the shop, but unfortunately the only animal he saw was a field mouse. I asked why he didn't shoot that and bring it home. He promised me a bear skin rug, and I at least could have made a doll size one with that. In other wildlife sightings, we saw 3 porcupines while my parents were visiting, and today I looked up at the window while I was doing dishes, and this is what I saw 50 feet away at the playground:

I took Will out to see it, and he started shouting, "Hi Moose!" Then it ran off, so he sadly called out, "Bye Moose." Every day it's something new.

A few weeks ago I received a notice for jury duty. For Indiana. It said they would pay the mileage to go back and forth each day, but I don't think they've calculated the distance from Anchorage. I'm pretty sure I can get out of it. I also have officially switched over to be an Alaskan resident. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it's done. Otherwise, I have lots of projects I'm working on, including Christmas stockings and doing some photo shoots of the boys. (Laura, I miss you! I need your expertise!)

On Labor Day, we were able to go on an amazing hike with the boys, called the Winner Creek Trail. The boys did really well, and our favorite part was at the end where you had to pull yourself across the gorge on a hand tram.

It was pretty neat, although it made me feel really dizzy. Lately, I've had vertigo, and I'm thinking of changing my name to Lucile 2. (If that doesn't make sense, you need to see Arrested Development.) Will did incredibly well, walking for almost 2 miles, but Ethan spent a lot of the trip sleeping.

That's about all that is going on in Alaska. Everyone's keeping busy, growing and learning new things. We love and miss you all!

Random Pictures

2009-10-13T20:29:00.002-08:00

These are just some random pictures I wanted to add.

Ethan crawling up the stairs

This is Will enjoying his sophisticated snack of tomatoes and mozzarella. We don't know why he likes tomatoes so much since Anthony and I both hate tomatoes. But I parked him too close to tomato section at the grocery and turned away, only to turn back to him with half a tomato in his mouth. So he gets them for snacks once in awhile. The first is him trying to smile on cue.

This is Ethan being his crazy self and crawling over everything.

Never a dull moment

2009-08-26T19:00:00.001-08:00

Funny Things Will Does:

Each morning he puts in his contacts. He grabs my case, take one lid off, sticks his finger in, then pretends to put something in his eye. Then he takes the other lid off and does the same thing.

He started saying "Amen" very distinctly a couple months ago. And when I say distinctly, I mean as if we were part of a Southern Baptist church. We knew the day was coming that he would say it in church. A few weeks ago, right after the Sacrament prayer, everyone was treated to a hearty "Aaaa-men!" from our row. I had to duck my head, but I was definitely smiling.

We've found that one of the best ways to keep Will occupied in church is by reading his books. That also brings the problem that he likes to narrate what's happening in the pictures. Last week I took Ethan to the mother's lounge, and Anthony pulled out a book. So in the middle of someone's talk, Will points to the book and says, "A duck! Quack, quack, quack!" Actually, it's more like, "Fuack, Fuack, Fuack." He knows how to whisper, but we haven't gotten through to him on when we need to whisper.

He has to have as many stuffed animals as possible when he goes to bed, so by the time you're done, he can barely get his arms around them. He also has to make each animal's sound. He's pretty good with all their names, although horses are still sheep, sheep are shoes, and cats are tacs. Then in the morning, he picks a couple animals to play with that day, takes them to top of the stairs, and throws them down. He screams, "Aaaah!" for each one as they tumble down the stairs. It's a little disconcerting.

There is a brown and green plane right outside our gate onto base. Will always called it something, but we couldn't figure out what it was. Now we think he's been saying "tato," his word for potato. Then he changed it to "tuttle" (turtle). We were at a friend's house and they had a small turtle in an aquarium, so I think that's where he got it. But I said it wasn't a turtle, it was a plane. So now, even for his stuffed turtle, he says, "No tuttle, a plane."

He took the empty scoop from Ethan's formula, and he stuck the handle in his mouth, so it looked like he was smoking a miniature pipe. He even would grab the bowl and hold it and gesture just like you would expect an old man to hold a pipe.

Daddy is now "Dadoo," and if he's feeling especially silly, everything ends in "oo." He asked for "crackoos" the other day.

Funny Things Ethan Does:

When he thinks something is funny, he starts laughing through his nose, making this funny face and sniffing really hard. It's almost as if he's trying to develop a snort.

As long as he thinks I'm not paying attention, he can play by himself for a very long time. But as soon as he catches me looking at him, he immediately starts crying and fussing. He was on the floor the other evening, playing happily, until Anthony said, "Ethan." He turned around, saw us, and immediately, "Wah!"

He learned how to pull himself up using a full laundry basket. He grabbed onto one end, started pulling himself up, and suddenly he was standing up with an astonished look as if he wasn't sure what he was doing. We don't think he was quite ready because almost as soon as he was up, he toppled onto his side. Before long we're going to have a walker!

We're out of there!

2009-08-06T16:06:00.003-08:00

I'm sure most everyone knows by now, but I have to say it anyway. We got an offer on the house, and we're on our way to closing! What a blessing, and so unexpected! It took a couple days to get the offers and counter offers ironed out, and we'll probably walk away from closing breaking even, but hey, we don't have to pay someone to take it, and we'll be done with it. I can't even describe what a relief it is. At the same time, I'm a little sad because we loved that house so much, but it's time to move on. Thank you so much to everyone that helped out with everything there and for all the prayers on our behalf. We could never have done it without so much help.

Life in Alaska continues to be a hectic whirlwind of activity. We're still trying to get the last boxes unpacked, although I'm pretty sure some of them will still be here the next time the movers come to take our stuff. Once in awhile I get to them, but I have so many projects I'm working on, it's hard to see the progress in any one area. I'm leaving some things for winter though, since we're trying to get outside as often as we can when it's nice (which has been rare lately). But everyone says all the time to get out while we can, so we spend a lot of time away from home.

Will's still wanting to help around the house. He always wants to help Anthony work on the cars, and he loves to wash them. It works for a bit until he starts dipping the sponge in the dirt and running for the car.

Ethan had his 6 month appointment several weeks ago, and I was FINALLY able to get someone to listen to me about his excessive spit up. I've been told everything from "All babies spit up" to "He's still gaining weight so he's fine." There must be a list of phrases they all have to learn in medical school, especially since the doctor who said he was gaining weight was seeing him for the first time and didn't have any of his records but magically she KNEW he had gained weight. The doctor we saw this time was wonderful and helpful. His weight was 16 lbs 10 oz, and he was 29 1/2 inches, which was in the 25th percentile. Since he'd dropped about 10 percent, she prescribed some Zantac to help him keep everything down, and we'll see where he's at next week.

Will, on the other hand, is growing at an astounding rate. I'm not even bothering with getting 2T clothes anymore, and some of the ones he's wearing are even 4T. And he won't be two for a month and a half! He's very active and doesn't seem to know his own strength. He loves throwing toys and leaping on you when you're on the floor. With it raining so much, we haven't been able to get outside a lot, so I think we're all going a little crazy from being cooped up. Once it stops, hopefully we'll be able to get his new sandbox set up and spend sometime outdoors before it gets too cold. Most days it's been in the high 50's. I'm scared for winter. But since we've been indoors, Will's really gotten into reading. He wants to hear the same books over and over, and he loves anything with animals. He's pretty good at most of them (he even knows a lemur!), but horses are sheep, and sheep are often shoes. He even can tell you a lot of the sounds they make. We need to find a local farm to visit, but I don't know if he could handle the excitement.

Anthony's decided to make us a true military family. We all have to do push-ups every night, even Ethan.

Okay, not really, but look at that form! Ethan IS getting very close to crawling. He usually does his version of the Worm, going up and then flopping down on his stomach to get around. When he's on his knees, he usually gets so excited that when he tries to go forward, he lands on his face. Soon he's going to figure it out though, and Will's going to have to watch out because he'll have a constant companion.

Anthony's been impressing everyone at the shop with his mechanical skills. If there's a difficult job to be done, he's the one they call in. I told him to be careful or they'll just make him do all the work, but when we have to worry about downsizing even in the military, it's nice to know how important he is to the squadron. He's also really considering becoming an officer and will be attending a meeting next week to find out his options.

Anthony's parents were able to come visit at the beginning of July, and we were able to act like tourists with them and visit some of the places we hadn't seen yet. We took them to Six Mile Lake, a really beautiful area on base.

It is also the reason I will never step into a lake again.

This is the leech that tried to eat me. Theresa saw it just in time on my foot before it hooked onto me. It still makes me sick to think about it. Anthony thought it was funny to sing his version of the "Millions of Peaches" song: "Millions of leeches, leeches on me." I did not agree.

We also went on a short glacier cruise and saw Portage Glacier up close.

Then we walked to Byron Glacier. We spent the 4th of July throwing snowballs. Anybody else do that?

We tried out some local restaurants, saw a moose run across the street right behind our car, and had a wonderful time. It was great to have them come and I know the boys really enjoyed spending a couple weeks with them.

Here are just a few other random pictures we've taken lately.

We were driving around base to find the ocean, and suddenly
there was a fox right next to us. He finally stopped long
enough for a picture.

A little farther down the road, a bull moose stepped out
in front of us. It's hard to see, but he's right in the middle
of the picture.

Ethan found a pen on one of his escapades around the living
room and created an artwork on his face.

I don't even remember what he got into. A cookie, maybe?
He just looks so pleased with himself that it made me laugh.

Ethan trying out the Sit 'n Spin.

Will's started wearing one mitten around the house.
He either misses Michael Jackson, or he's pretending
it's an oven mitt to help me with dinner. I can't tell.

Enough said.

Our new pets, Goldie Hawn (the fish) and Ruprect (the snail).
It's a long story.

The laundry basket can also be...a hat!

We're being watched

2009-06-23T01:30:00.000-08:00

Anthony and I took the boys out to do some errands this evening, and as we were leaving Target, a woman stopped us. Since Anthony was in his uniform, I assumed she was stopping us because of that. Instead, she told us that she and the cashier had both been remarking that it was nice to see a family where the parents were treating their kids so well. Both of us were taken aback. We weren't acting any differently than normal, and it was surprising not only that someone would even notice us, but she went out of her way to say something. It made me so grateful for my wonderful children and our family and made me want to be a better mom to always live up to that compliment.

Will has been a big help around the house. He's very interested in using Anthony's tools, and he even helped put together Ethan's crib on Sunday, so we got him his own play set of tools today. I had a hard time finding tools that didn't make "authentic" noises or play songs, but we finally found just a regular set. He loved banging the hammer into the nails, and I'm sure I'm going to find him trying to use the screwdriver throughout the house. Before, he would take a pen and put it in a hole, so now at least he has the right tools. He's also been a little accident prone lately. He rolled halfway down the stairs a few days ago, and today he tipped himself backwards in his chair. He had been tipping back on the back two legs, and I told him to cut it out or he'd fall. He chose the latter.

Ethan's been trying new foods, and we're both loving this new arrangement. He tried sweet potatoes, and while he seemed a little shocked at the taste, he loved it. He finished the whole jar and hasn't looked back. Ethan also started babbling a little bit. On Sunday during church, he decided it was time to start talking. All through Sunday School it was, "Da da da da." I think he was trying to say, "Happy Father's Day." It was an appropriate first sound to make, but now I can't get him to be quiet. He has such a cute little voice though. I'm sure this is the beginning of the end with two talkers.

Here are some more pictures of our boys and our home here in Alaska.

Will loves his stuffed animals. Every morning he grabs two before I can lift him out of his crib, and our living room is always littered with them.

He always hated hats, but lately he can't get enough of them.

He even wears Ethan's hats.

I don't know why everyone looked so unhappy when we first got to the zoo. It's a beautiful day, Anthony was off work, we'd just had lunch. Why do they look like I've forced them into a day of grocery shopping?

At least Ethan would smile for me.

Will is enjoying his grilled cheese sandwich at the outdoor market.

Gathering more rocks to take home.

He figured out how to get the sunglasses on his eyes instead of around his neck.

Several times I have been working around the house and I notice that the bouncing has stopped in the Jumperoo only to find that Ethan has jumped himself to sleep. But if I take him out and lay him in his crib, he's immediately awake.

Here's our awesome Landcruiser that we got for such a good deal on Craigslist. I love driving it! And I'm even starting to get good at parking it. Starting.

Before I put the pictures of our house, please excuse the mess. Like I said, we're unpacking all over the place and it's not been very easy to get organized. But I wanted to get pictures up before it's time to move, which is when I will be organized. So try to look around the piles of things to get the picture. I only was able to get the main floor and the front and back yards because the basement is where all of the empty boxes are going, and the boys were asleep in their rooms. Also, these pictures were all taken at 10:15 at night. Do you see how bright it is outside? I'm not complaining. We're storing up the sunshine for the very nearby winter that is coming. Even in June, we've had a lot of days that are in the LOW 50's at best. I had to wear a sweatshirt to weed our back yard today. Where is this global warming I keep hearing about?

Our house

Each building is a group of four homes. We have a single car garage (heated!) and we share the driveway with our neighbor.

We have a special room called the Arctic Entry to take off our shoes and wet clothing in the winter. That scares me. How much snow is there?!

The living room, which opens up into the dining room/office.

I had to take a picture of Anthony the way most of you would recognize him.

The kitchen is in there somewhere.

Half of our backyard. The other half looks about the same, except with a tree. There's no grass right now because the people before us had a dog, so it's our job to restart the lawn. They do give us free grass seed at least. And again, it may look like the middle of the afternoon, but it's definitely not. No wonder the kids couldn't sleep without blackout curtains!

Our garden area where we're about to plant lilacs, and the playground behind us.

The view of the mountains from the back yard.

I am Curious George

2009-06-18T22:24:00.010-08:00

For the last few weeks, Will's been calling me what sounds like "money." He used to say "mama" but then it suddenly changed and we couldn't figure out what he was saying. Finally it dawned on us when we went to get him the other morning. I picked him up, and he pointed at his Curious George doll and said, "Money." Anthony pointed to me and asked who I was--"Money." Then at the monkey--"Money." So apparently, in Will's mind, this is what I look like.

I don't see the resemblance.

Life's been pretty hectic for us the last few weeks. Anthony has had a lot of training exercises, so he's had not fun twelve hour days that last through the weekend. The boys and I are still working on unpacking and cleaning, although Will seems to be working more on repacking and tearing everything apart. I tried to make a Goodwill box of things we don't need, and I keep finding movies and toys that I know we want to keep. I'm sure I'll have to repack it before I drop it off or who knows what we'll be missing.

Anthony won a major award a couple weeks ago. And no, not a leg lamp like he was hoping (if you haven't seen the movie "A Christmas Story," we highly recommend it). He was called into the Master Sergeant's office, where he found three other Master Sergeants waiting to speak to him and he was told to shut the door. Usually that's not a good thing, but they assured him he wasn't in trouble. They were interviewing candidates for the Sharp Troop award, and he'd been nominated. The nominations are based on their outward appearance (a nice looking uniform and well groomed), knowledge of training and current events, and being a good worker. He found out last week that he had won, and part of his reward was to attend a speech by Secretary of Defense Robert "Bill" Gates, who was visiting our base. Anthony even got to shake his hand and get a picture with him and received a Secretary of Defense coin. Hopefully they'll send the picture to us so we can post it.

To make sure I have something to do instead of just visiting Target, we decided to become members of the zoo, and we've been able to go a few times. The first time we went, it was just the two boys and I, so that was an adventure in itself. We didn't know what to expect, but the zoo is pretty nice. It's set in among the trees, so it looks like you're in the middle of nowhere, except for the other people and the fact that the animals are in cages. The majority of the walkways are gravel, and I spent way more time than I wanted to getting Will to follow me instead of picking up every rock in sight and saying, "A rock!" as if there weren't 10 million rocks all around us. It took us a couple hours to see all of the exhibits, so by the end I was pushing the stroller and carrying a very tired boy uphill to the entrance. It also didn't help that near the end, Will had stuck his head in between some wooden posts on the bridge near the brown bear exhibit and had gotten really excited about the stream below us. He had his pacifier in his mouth--which he normally is not allowed to take outside of his crib, but we were trying to go to storytime and I thought he might need something to keep him quiet. When he opened his mouth to say "Wa-wa!," the pacifier became part of the exhibit. He promptly forgot this, and I spent the next 15 minutes trying to drag him out of the zoo while he was crying for Paci and searching all the pockets of the stroller because he thought I'd hidden it from him.

We decided to try the zoo again with Anthony on Monday because he got the day off for our anniversary, and we thought it would be fun for the kids. Our first anniversary we got to go for a nice dinner by ourselves, but now that it's our third, I guess times have changed. It was a really
beautiful day though, and we had a good time. Here are a couple of videos we took there. Will's getting closer to saying moose (before it was just moo, but now it's a little bit like mooth).

The moose at the zoo must not have been as scary to him as this one.

But given the chance, I'm pretty sure the one behind the fence would do more damage. We found out what the goats could do if they got close enough.

Poor Will. He seemed so interested in the goats until their playing got too rough. After that, anytime they came near him, he'd say "No" and start crying. I think it will be awhile before we visit the petting area again.

To make up for it, we got some cotton candy to share, which Will loved! We were a little worried about the price. It's Alaska, and the zoo, and summer, so we figured it must be pretty expensive, but the kids selling it must not have gotten the memo that it's tourist season and you're supposed to over charge for everything--it was only $1. They even asked whether we wanted small, medium or large. For the same price. We chose a large. Even if it was the size of a Volkswagen, we still would have chosen a large.

Ethan wanted to share a message with everyone too.

Last week Anthony and I gave each other our presents for our anniversary early (he never can wait). I got him a print of "The Prayer at Valley Forge," and he got me a new wonderful camera so I can take pictures of all of our adventures without having to worry about whether they'll turn out okay. Or work around the chocolate on the lens that I can't seem to get off. Our first video we shot was of Ethan trying rice cereal for the first time. He didn't do too bad with it.

Our boys are growing up fast. Every day Will figures out something new, and Ethan is ready to join his big brother. I can't believe how much they've changed in the few months we've been up here. Thank goodness we have the Internet to help close the gap. We miss all of you and love you!

A Celebration of Facial Hair

2009-05-23T13:44:00.009-08:00

There are contests for pretty much everything, and we were able to attend part of a very "different" kind of contest on Friday--the beginning of the World Beard & Moustache Championships. Words almost escape me, but I'll try. Anchorage is actually very privileged to be hosting the Championships. The first one happened in 1990 in Germany, and since that time, the WBMC has only been held in the USA once previously. Anthony and I thought it sounded like an interesting and probably once in lifetime event, so we packed up the boys and headed downtown for the Beard Parade. We saw a grand assortment of some fabulous facial hair:

(Yes, I know he's waving a Canadian Flag. Beard Team Canada tried to convert him, but we switched it out for an American Flag when Beard Team USA came by.)

Willy Wonka

and Moses. Who knew they would ever be together at the same event?

The best part of the day for us was probably the worst for Will--his reaction to the Anchorage mascot, Seymour the Moose, who was sporting his own beard and moustache for the event.

At first Will just looked a little frightened:

But then he lost it.

We couldn't believe it. The boy who will run off on his own in the airport to look at giant stuffed bears and fears no one, but he can't handle a cartoon moose. I know, we're horrible parents for laughing, but it was just so baffling and out of character that it was hilarious.

We also found a guy dressed up as a garden gnome, which Anthony hates, so he had to be brave and conquer his fears too.

And this guy was my favorite. I don't know why.

We think that some of the more elaborate beards were waiting to be unveiled at the actual competition today, but we were still very impressed. If anyone wants to join in the festivities, they're streaming the online judging at http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/. Moustache and partial beard judging is happening now (6 p.m. EST), and full beards at 11 p.m. EST. Enjoy!

You Asked For It!

2009-05-22T23:02:00.026-08:00

Here's an assortment of pictures and video we've taken in the last month or so. Some of them are a little fuzzy because they're either taken with our phones, or because someone smeared chocolate on my camera lens. Enjoy!

Will trying out Ethan's bouncy seat

Bob took a nap on the luggage, and Will covered her with a towel and told her, "Night night."

Will packing himself

Having cake at our friend Tresanay's house

Grandpa Corbin & Ethan sharing a nap

Leaving for the Airport

Ethan's First Plane Ride

Will's First Plane Ride

At the Anchorage Airport

Playing at the Park

Ethan enjoying a baseball game on t.v.

Will enjoying a snack

Driving along Turnagain Arm

Visiting the Conservation Center--still snow in late April!

Will's favorite part of the Conservation Center was the rocks. He carried a large one around the entire time.

The Corbins, brought to you by...The Air Force

2009-05-16T17:38:00.007-08:00

In one of our ventures around town, we came across yet another Wal-Mart. I've found three within about 15 minutes of each other, which seems fairly normal until you consider that you can see all of Anchorage within 15 minutes. Three Wal-Marts seems excessive. This last one is a new Wal-Mart, and as we pulled up, we could not believe the sign.

So even Wal-Mart, giant superstore of the world, cannot survive without a sponsor. According to Anthony, "I knew the economy was bad, but this is ridiculous." Even the restrooms were brought to you by Pepsi. I don't know what that means.

We have been officially in our new home for one week now, and we love it. Of all the space to run in and things to do, Will's favorite--the washing machine. It's a front loading one, and he loves to stick his head in and watch the soap and water dispense. He shouts, "Wa-wa, Wa-wa!" every time.

Will's also found something that he loves to eat even more than bananas--apples. As soon as he hears the fridge open, he's right next to you, shoving you out of the way and opening the drawer. He'll eat the whole thing if you let him, core, seeds and all. He's gotten confused a few times with onions and peppers, but so far I've caught him before he's taken a bite.

I had a major find the other day as we were trying to kill time while the carpet layers invaded our house for 6 hours. We went to Once Upon A Child, and Will was so excited to find a Fisher Price popper. He's missed his toys so much, and I felt bad because he probably thinks that we took his toys there and left them. I had to drag him away from the toy area, and doing so, I noticed a Thomas the Train track. Will has a couple of the other engines, but no track, and this was the whole set, including the Thomas that blows real steam. Every time he does, Will blows the steam and says, "It's hot?" He helps me in the kitchen the same way, even putting on his own oven mitt when I open the oven door. I was able to get the set for $20, which isn't much more than some of the trains. I think Anthony's having the most fun with the train set, but Will likes pushing the engines around the living room. And on the rare occasion the track is put together, even Ethan will watch the train go around again and again.

Will also has picked up the habit of saying no in front of every word. Not like he used to just say no all the time for anything, but it seems like he's confused about expressing his wants. You ask if he's having fun, and it's, "No fun." Or if he wants milk, "No milk." It's pretty hilarious.

So far our neighbors have been very nice, and our main concern is an over-territorial squirrel. When Anthony first mentioned it, I thought he must be exaggerating or going crazy. Anthony was in the car in the driveway and had the window rolled down. The squirrel came from the tree, started chattering at him, and then made a dash at the car as if he was going to jump in the window. Two days later, the same thing happened to me. Even being in the Landcruiser, I started to put up the window. He seemed pretty mad, and I've seen National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation enough times to know what squirrels can do. We've had some other wildlife sightings. I saw a large red fox sitting next to the road on base, and we all saw a moose wandering around The Commissary.

Ethan went to the doctor last week for his 4 month check-up (a month late), and we learned the pros and cons of universal health care. I was busy filling out paperwork when an Airman came out and said she was giving us the 4-month-old brief. I looked around and realized all the parents had babies Ethan's age, so I guess appointments are filled by age group. The Airman then read down the list of do's and don'ts for the next two months. Thank goodness I've been through this before, or I would have no idea what was going on. Individualized care it is not. Once she was done, we were told to strip our babies down to their diapers and they would start calling us back to be weighed. Anthony said this is how most of his appointments work, so I guess Ethan got his welcome to the Air Force. I can only hope my doctors appointments aren't run the same way! Ethan was 14 pounds 15 ounces and I think 25 inches, which put him in the 25th percentile. Will's always been in the 75th percentile, so I guess he's our Andrew while Ethan's our Anthony. We're going to try him on rice cereal soon, so keep watching. Ethan's other big news is that he's learned to roll over! That would be fine if he wasn't using his new found power for evil. He still won't sleep anywhere except his car seat, but as soon as he wakes up, he flips himself over onto his stomach and starts working his way out by kicking his legs. I had no idea he could do this until I went into his room one afternoon and found him three feet away from his car seat. I had no idea how he did until I saw him half way out the next morning.

Our things also arrived this week, and we were so glad to get them. The movers mis-labeled the baby swing, so it took us all day to find it. And it looks like Anthony's computer was pretty seriously damaged, so he is NOT happy. Except for a dented garbage can, that seems to be our only mishap with movers so far. We've heard stories of much worse moves, so we are grateful the majority of our things came out okay. The main problems have come because everything is spread all over. Will likes to explore, and I now have a bag of rice that has been strewn throughout the kitchen and living room, which means walking barefoot is no picnic. He also came across the Vicks VapoRub while I was laying Ethan down, and when I found him, he was covered. I gave him a bath, and then an hour later, I noticed his hair was still sticking up and looked wet. I did an Internet search and found others had used Goo Gone. It got the greasiness right out without any problem. I'm afraid to think what other things I'm going to learn during the next few years.

A Pleasant Experience at the DMV?

2009-05-01T14:23:00.002-08:00

Alaska sure knows how to do it. Our venture to the DMV to get our title and registration only took 20 minutes, the lady was friendly, and the whole thing only cost $30! The exact opposite of every other trip I've had to the BMV in Indiana. So now our Toyota is legal, and surprisingly, our Cavalier showed up at the beginning of the week too. So much for the month long wait. Now we have two cars, which makes life a lot easier. The boys and I were able to make a trip to the Commissary during the day instead of waiting for Anthony to get home, but I may not try that again. They are trying to discourage people from bringing carts outside, so there is no cart corral except at the front of the store. And since I'm not a very good parker anyway, I had to park the humongous Landcruiser half a mile away to avoid parking by--and likely hitting--another vehicle. Ethan went in the baby sling, but Will refuses to hold my hand, so I had to walk at his pace while holding the hood of his jacket. Once we made it to the carts, I had to lift him up into the seat and try to not knock Ethan in the face. After I managed that, I realized the belt was broken on the seat I picked. I told Will he better sit still, which he amazingly did through the whole store. Before the trip was done, I managed to drop about 20 coupons all over the floor and cart, and I lost my shopping list, so I had to go by memory. Exhausting.

Today we got to visit the Airman's Attic, a wonderful place where people donate their items like Goodwill, but you can shop for FREE! We got some clothes, and Anthony found a great stroller for Ethan. That will make going out a lot easier, since we still don't know when our things will be arriving. It's only open 3 days a week, and Mondays the day to go, since people who are moving drop off their things on the weekend, so I'm looking forward to trying again next week. Sometimes people decide it's too much hassle to move things, or they have too much weight, so they drop off everything. They get nice tv's all the time, but that's what women fight over. And I mean fight literally. So watch for me on the news next week. I do pretty well on Black Thursday. I'm sure I can handle a few Army Wives.

One more week in Temporary Housing, and Base Housing can't come soon enough. Anthony found out we're a lot luckier with our housing than we even thought. He went to turn in our receipts for our reimbursement for the hotel, and the lady asked where we were going to be living. He said we'd gotten a place in the Cherry Hill housing, and she gave him a look, looked at his uniform with only one stripe, and said, "How did YOU get into Cherry Hill?" All we did was show up at housing and say we needed a place. Who knew that Cherry Hill was actually the cherry of base housing? Once again, this is something that has caused fighting. What's with the knock-down-drag-out mentality here? Even officers, who I would think would be more civilized, get crazy over getting into Cherry Hill. So without knowing it, we've gotten in the best place in an amazingly short time. The lady warned Anthony not to brag about it since a lot of people wait a very long time to get in there, and also to watch his back. What does that mean? Are we going to have a mob on moving day? Will we be shunned by our neighbors since Anthony's a lower rank? I guess we'll see.

After the last post, I realized I didn't say a whole lot about what it's like here. So far, we've had to get used to the sun going down a little after 10 p.m. (although it's still kind of light at 11) and coming up at 5 a.m. And this is only the beginning of May. We have two sets of very heavy curtains, but the light comes in the bottom, so we'll have to do something. I also woke up to an earthquake last Sunday, but I was so tired, I forgot about it until a few days later. I believe they said it was a 3.7. Not crazy, but enough to be a little alarming for a few seconds, until I fell back asleep. The weather has been wonderful, especially this week. Even if it's only in the 50's, it feels warmer. Maybe we'll need shorts after all. But not for a little while. The closest Wal-Mart is not open 24 hours, nor is it a Super Wal-Mart. Some foods are more expensive, even at the Commissary (milk is $3.56 and Kraft macaroni is $1.05), but a lot of things are the same price or cheaper (Breyer's ice cream is $2.48). Plus it's nice that most of what the Commissary carries is brand names, so I can use coupons and get great deals. But if you want to have them bag your food, you have to tip the baggers, and if you say you want to bag it yourself, the cashier usually gives the bagger a look, even though it's supposed to be your choice. Most people have been very friendly, but Anchorage seems very small and it's a little dirty right now. I'm sure things will look better as the weather warms up.

I made an odd discovery today when checking lds.org. I wanted to see if our records had been transferred already, which they were, and I happened to notice that there is another Laura Michelle here! Her last name even starts with a B, and she lives on base! How weird! I'm starting to see why people choose outlandish names now for their kids.

I'm sorry that once again there are no pictures, but if anyone has a problem, talk to Ethan. He's still making life rough, so I'm lucky to even get to write while holding him. Why is it always the second child that's the difficult one? He's adjusting a bit though, so hopefully life will be easier soon. If not, maybe a grandmother can come up so I can at least get a nap? Please?

I don't think we're in Indiana anymore.

2009-04-27T13:28:00.006-08:00

We made it to Alaska! What a hectic month it has been. Anthony came home on March 27th, and we got to surprise everyone since he was home earlier than expected. But as soon as he was home, we had to spend most of the next two weeks getting the house fixed up, finishing packing, and saying our goodbyes. By the time the movers came, we were exhausted. Has anyone ever seen what a professional moving company looks like in action? What an experience! Five people showed up with a huge semi, and immediately our things started disappearing into boxes. We had tried to stay up and finish packing the night before, but by 4 a.m., we couldn't do anymore. Which meant some things disappeared into boxes that shouldn't have, such as Anthony's caps for his uniforms, his uniform belt, and his civilian coat. Who needs a coat in Alaska? I was able to grab most of the things for the boys, but every once in awhile we come across something--or technically, the lack of something--that shouldn't have been packed. We will be glad to get our things from the movers, especially Ethan, who is missing his swing.

The day before we left town, I received a phone call that our passports had arrived. Nothing like waiting until the LAST possible minute, but I was so glad to have them with us instead of coordinating getting them sent to Alaska. The number of times we've used them since then: Zero. I'm so glad I spent all of that time and energy on them.

Our first leg of the trip was to St. Louis, where we were scheduled to drop off our car so it could be shipped. We made it there half an hour before they closed, but the rules were that there couldn't be more than 1/4 of a tank of gas. We had about 1/16 more than that. So while Anthony had to wait with kids that were no longer happy to be in the rental car, I spent half an hour driving around the highway, trying desperately to burn through that little bit. Our other option was to pay a place down the road $10 to empty our tank. Pay someone to take out gas we paid for? I don't think so. I also had to stop and vacuum Cheerios off the floor, and I made it back 3 minutes late, but Anthony was able to get them to wait for me. We then made a stop at Scott AFB to purchase Anthony's missing uniform items, and afterwards we headed back to St. Louis to stay the night. It was a huge hotel, definitely older and renovated, but they put us about as far away from the lobby as possible. We had to drop off the rental car that evening, and planned to take the shuttle to the airport in the morning, so we had to drag 9 huge pieces of luggage as well as the boys and their car seats to the room. It was not pleasant. We ended up ordering Chinese food, which Will kept dropping on the floor and then eating it (I had to squash the images of Dateline reports on the germs found in hotels!), and then we got a few hours of sleep before dragging the luggage back out the door.

The plane rides went pretty smoothly. The boys did very well. Ethan ate or slept most of the time, and Will was okay as long as he could get up once in awhile. Anthony was behind us during the second, and much longer, flight, so we traded the kids back and forth over the seats. The main downside was that we didn't have time to get lunch between the flights, so Will had a $6 fancy fruit and cheese plate on the plane, and I had a $7 sandwich at Starbucks once we landed in Anchorage. Shouldn't it be the most delicious meal you've ever had for that price hike-up? When we got off the plane, we were very impressed with the airport here. The view of the mountains was amazing. (It's unbelievable to look out the window each morning and see that view.) Mostly we were just glad to be out of our seats and up moving around. It took a little while for our ride to pick us up at the airport, and then we got to see a lot of Anchorage on the trip to base. I found two Starbucks, a Papa Johns, and even a Dairy Queen, where I got to do some comparison shopping as they had advertised their value meals--buy 2 items for $4, unlike in Indiana with 2 for $3. We made a stop at the Commissary to buy a few things since we wouldn't have a vehicle, and then we checked into our room in Temporary Lodging. It was very nice, with a full kitchen and a living room, but we were surprised that with four people, we'd only been given a one bedroom. There was just enough room to set up one crib by our bed for Ethan, but Will had to sleep in the closet. He did fine in there, especially since it was dark, but we worried a little about the ventilation. We also had very sketchy Internet service (only for a few hours the first week) and a dishwasher that didn't work. Overall, everything was okay, not ideal, but definitely livable. Will's sleeping habits have gotten better, since he used to be a light sleeper but he's had to get over that. With being in such close quarters, it's pretty loud, and once you add in "Reveille" being broadcast across base at 7 a.m. and the planes starting right after, Will's learned to drown out the noise. Ethan, on the other hand, has regressed horribly in his sleep habits. If he does manage to sleep, it usually only lasts as long as someone's holding him, and he went from 7 hour stretches at night back to 3 hour stretches. One day I'll get some sleep, but not any time soon. Luckily we were able to move into a two bedroom last week, and the extra space has been great.

In the last few days, everything else has come together. We visited the Base Housing office, and our wait time to get housing went from one year to two weeks. So we'll have our new home on May 8th. We got to see an example, and we were really impressed. We'll have 2200 sq ft, almost double of our home in Indy, with 3 floors, including a finished basement. There are 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Anthony and I even have double sinks! Which doesn't at all matter. I always laugh at those people on the show House Hunters when they care so much. And now we have double sinks when we're never going to have a problem since I'm not getting up and ready at 5:30 a.m with Anthony. But I could! We're very excited to get into the house and settled, especially since we realized that if we stay here for the three years they're projecting for us, that will be the longest either one of us have stayed in one place since high school. Normally we're moving every year. Who knew that the military would actually make our lives more stable?

Our other big news is that we were able to purchase a new car. Well, an 11-year-old car, but new to us. It's a 1998 Toyota Landcruiser, and it is one sweet ride. Heated leather seats, room for 7, and a remote starter--my dream. We found it on craigslist, and we were able to pick it up Saturday. It's still hard to believe it's ours. Our neighbor in the temporary lodging, a Major, also has a Landcruiser, and he had been looking at this one on craigslist as well and thought about buying it. He had nothing but good things to say about the brand, so we're really happy with the deal we found. I'm glad just to have a way to the grocery store and a chance to get out of the house. A week and a half of bumming rides was not fun. Since we had the car this weekend, we were also able to visit our church for the first time. Our building, but not our ward. We were having issues for several days again with the Internet, so we ended up driving all around downtown Anchorage for a couple hours before finding the building (and Anchorage is not that big). We attended Sacrament meeting in the other ward, but we met the Bishop and a few others from our new ward, as well as Will being able to go to Nursery. As always, he did just fine and had a great time with the other kids. I met the Primary President and let it "slip" that I'd been in Primary in our previous ward, and she hurried to write my name down. Anthony met several other AF men, one of whom is married to a woman named Laura. So she's going to have to be my new best friend, just so it will be more confusing. Everyone was very nice and helpful, so I think this will be a great place for us.

Will's adjusting well, and he has been very excited about all of the planes around us. He wakes up every morning saying, "A plane! A plane!" whether he can hear one or not. But he does recognize the sound and he can spot one anywhere in the sky. He's learned to climb up on the kitchen chairs and even the table, and he's all over the place all day. The other day, I laid him down for his nap, and when I went in to get him, I looked down in the crib, and all I could think was, "Did I forget to put a diaper on him?" I thought the lack of sleep was finally catching up to me, but then I saw the diaper, which was dirty, lying on the other side of the crib. I guess he decided he'd change it himself if I wasn't going to. He also likes to hide in the coat closet with the sliding door and then pop out and say, "Boo!" Every day we're surprised by how much he's grown. He's definitely not a baby any more. He's still being wonderful with Ethan, and he's even able to get Ethan to stop crying by coming up and talking to him. You can see how much they love each other, and already Ethan looks at Will like he wants to be just like him. Before long I'm going to have two of them standing next to me saying, "A bite?", or hiding in the cabinets, or grabbing the stick of butter I set out and eating it together. Boys.

I have lots of pictures to post, and I'll try to do that soon, once I don't have a baby in my lap. But I wanted to let everyone know that we're doing well, and we're so happy to be here in Alaska, even though we miss you all! Sorry we haven't kept in touch as well as we'd like. The four hour time difference is hard to remember, especially when the sun's still up at 10 p.m. As we get more settled in, we'll do better!

The Government Is Trying To Kill Me

2009-03-05T19:21:00.004-09:00

I can't believe I haven't been able to post for almost a month! It doesn't seem like that long, but so much has happened. Ethan and I were able to go to Texas to visit Anthony for Valentine's Day/President's Day, which was wonderful, but a nasty drive. We spent 23 hours in the car, and Ethan was such a good little traveller. He only woke up to eat every few hours and slept most of the rest of the time. I, on the other hand, was not enjoying the car as much, especially once we made it into Texas. Have I mentioned how much I dislike Texas? I know most, okay all, Texans think their state is the most amazing place ever (according to a friend of Anthony's: "The best country in the world!"). Even at the hotel we stayed at, the breakfast included make-your-own waffles in the shape of...Texas! I cannot imagine any other state doing this. But I have to admit, they were dang good waffles, so perhaps Texas isn't so bad to eat. Everything else about the state is up for debate. But once we got to Anthony, it was worth it. Almost. Okay, it was worth it, but I don't want to do that drive any time soon. We got to meet one of his friends and see where Anthony works on the jet engines. We also were part of breaking base rules. Anthony had forgotten a few things in his room, so we drove to the base to pick them up, and just as we arrived, it started to hail along with a lightning storm. I didn't know those two went together. Ethan and I went into the Base Exchange to wait, while Anthony took the car keys and went back to his room. As soon as he signed in, he found out they were on lockdown, due to the lightning, and he was told he couldn't leave until the storm was over, which could be hours. He told them there was no way he could stay because I was waiting for him with our two-month-old son, and he had the car keys, so I was stuck. Anthony also didn't have his cell phone, so he couldn't even let me know what was going on. I don't know what I would have done if he didn't come back. Finally he was able to convince them to let him out, but he said they were probably terrified he'd be struck by lightning as soon as he left the building and they'd have a lawsuit on their hands. No such luck. We were able to spend four days together because of the long weekend, and then Ethan and I had to make the long trek home. I was able to cut it to 18 hours, and then I got 2 hours of sleep before starting another long day of running around to get things done for our move. Military life does not leave room for sleep.

We're getting closer to our move, and things are finally falling into place. I have spent numerous hours trying to get our passports together, along with having people both here and in Texas treat me like I'm an idiot that doesn't know what I'm doing simply because they both tell me different things and no one can agree on the protocol. If I have one more person tell me that I don't have the correct form or I need a signature TODAY from a person 1,000 miles away from me, I'm going to have a stroke. One day we'll get it together, and by that time, we'll be moving to our next base and we'll start all over. At least both boys' passport pictures truly reflect the frustrations we've had. Will looks so sad and forlorn, and Ethan is screaming. I'm sure they'll appreciate showing those off when they're a bit older.

Ethan's started smiling and looking around quite a bit. I love it when they get to this stage because they truly start connecting with you. He's got the cutest smile ever, but I can't seem to get it in a picture. And most of the time he's awake, I'm dodging spit up anyway, so the camera has been at the back of my mind. Here's a picture of him enjoying the swing that I finally broke out for him:

Will's talking more and more, and I'm starting to understand a few more of the words. He loves pointing out any dog he sees. Maybe Bob the cat needs a friend? And he's loving being in the nursery. We've been going to the Plainfield ward the last few weeks because Ethan's a night owl, especially on Saturday nights, so we need to hit the later church. Even though he doesn't know anyone, he's happy playing with toys and singing songs. The leaders said he's clapping and singing along. I'm not surprised. He's always making up his own songs at home, even though we don't listen to music all that often. I'm trying to get psyched up to listen to preschool songs in the car, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do so yet. Mostly since we don't have any kid's cds except for his bedtime cd. Any suggestions on music that's not too annoying?

A few days ago, Will attempted to put on sunglasses just like me. I think he missed the point of protecting his eyes from the sun, but he seemed to enjoy wearing them.

I also learned that Will is my opposite in food preferences. We stopped by McDonald's the other evening when we were out too late to make dinner, and Will decided that he wasn't thrilled with his hamburger.

So he took off the hamburger and just ate the bun.

This was even funnier because of this picture my Grandma had of me when I was not much older than Will.

I'm eating a McDonald's hamburger without the bun because I didn't like bread when I was little. For me, these pictures are priceless. Who knew we would be so different? Although I'm blaming his aunt Katie (Corbin) for poisoning his mind with her "no red meat" ways. Will used to eat anything and everything, but that's changing little by little. Growing up is hard to do!

The Road to Wellness

2009-02-09T19:40:00.010-09:00

The last few weeks have once again been hectic. We were sick, again, but this time it included an ear infection for Ethan and RSV for all of us. Will got to do breathing treatments with a nebulizer every 4 hours for a week, and Ethan had to be sitting upright at an angle at all times. It was a fun week. But after all was said and done, we were well enough to make it to church, even arrived a few minutes early, and we made it through all three hours! It helped that Will was allowed to attend nursery, although technically he has another month and a half before he should be going, but I hear he did very well. I can't believe he's so grown up! I also was able to try out my new baby sling outside of the house, and it was wonderful. I may be ready to attempt grocery shopping.

Today we attempted to apply for our passports for our "overseas" base. The sergeant who was helping us actually filled in the question on the form that asked what country we were visiting with Alaska. I hope they don't think I'm filling out the form. ALASKA IS NOT ANOTHER COUNTRY! We spent two and a half hours there, but they still need more paperwork, so it's up to Anthony to track down what we need. The boys were not very happy by the time we left, but I don't know why Will was complaining. Everyone was giving him crackers and suckers, plus when he tired of the box of toys they had, he ran around dumping out jars of paper clips and trying to make calls on the sergeant's phone. He was also VERY excited about the large concrete balls outside as decorations. He started yelling, "Ball, Ball!" and running--if you can count it as running. He's learned several new words, including baby (baba), basketball (baball), and please (although I can't spell his version), and he can point to most of the parts of his body if you ask him too. We had fun visiting with my old roommates on Sunday, and he was even converted to be a Cubs fan, which will make Matt and Heilit, and Great-Grandma and Grandpa happy.

Ethan's growing bigger every day. He's up to 9 pounds 6 ounces, although he spits up so much I don't know how he's gaining weight. Both of us change outfits multiple times a day or just give up and decide to be stinky. Every day I think he gets a little cuter.

Ethan sporting his Alaska pajamas

He's starting to look a bit like Will, but he definitely has his own look too. If that makes any sense. The debate continues, so I thought I'd let everyone else decide. Will's on the left and Ethan's on the right:

Anthony's still working hard at tech school, but he's ready to be done. Life isn't very exciting outside of class, and it's hard to be away from us. I'm hoping that Ethan and I can go down and visit this weekend. We're down to about 10 weeks before we officially head off to our next adventure! I'm sure it will be here before we know it.

An ABUNDANCE of Wild Animals

2009-01-22T20:47:00.005-09:00

While reading about our base housing in Alaska, I came across this sentence: "Elmendorf AFB has an abundance of bear, moose and other wild animals that are seen frequently in family housing areas." WHY are there wild animals on base? That was a major reason I wanted to live on base. There are walls around the base! How are these animals getting in?! Anthony said they must get in the same way we do, show their military id at the gate. So I guess I need to read the chapter in my book again about how to ward off bear attacks since apparently they're going to be coming after me in my own home. Another reason to keep Bob the cat inside. Although I think I'd like to see what she would do when faced with a moose.

Speaking of Bob, she's made her way back home. She'd been staying at my friend Tresanay's for awhile, where she was treated like she was at a luxury day spa compared to here. She came back with an assortment of dry and wet cat food, a box of toys, and bad habits--such as waking me up to be fed or wanting to get under the blankets at night. Not happening. I've already got a baby all over me; I don't need a cat too. I'm starting to feel like the king size bed is too small, and Anthony's not even here. Bob got to come home unexpectedly because we had a situation. A mouse had decided our home would be nicer to live in then outdoors. I think he feels differently now. I got the scare of my life--well, not really, the worst was several years ago when a mouse crawled up my arm while I was asleep--two weeks ago when I pulled the couch away from the wall to fix the cable cord and the mouse was wedged halfway up between the couch and the wall. It dropped to the floor and started running for the kitchen. I, on the other hand, had jumped onto the love seat and was trying, and failing, to remain calm. I somehow made it into the kitchen and grabbed a glue trap on the way, but then I saw it crawl into the barely open drawer under the stove, so I was up on a kitchen chair, trying to figure out if I could lob the trap across the room to the stove. I couldn't, so I bravely made my way over. But I didn't sleep well at all, and Bob was on her way home the next afternoon. Nothing happened for a few days, and then I caught something twice--Will. I tried to remember to put the traps away during the day, but I forgot one morning, and Will stuck his hand to one. For future reference for anyone else that may one day be in this same predicament, cooking oil works wonders at getting the glue to unstick. The next day he found the trap in the drawer that had peanut butter on it, and I found him with peanut butter all over his face and a big smile. So gross. But finally, a couple nights ago I caught the intended target. I heard a bang from the kitchen, and after getting up the nerve, I pulled back the drawer, and there was the mouse, completely freaked out and squeaking like crazy. So hopefully we're mouse free, and if not, I'm counting on Bob to take care of the rest.

I had some sad news from Anthony this week. They don't have enough instructors, so their classes are running a little behind, which means he'll be graduating a little later than planned. Maybe only a few days or a week, but even that's not sure. Not the news I wanted to hear, but we'll manage. I guess it gives us more time to get ready for the move.

I also did a search today to see what stores they have in Anchorage. I'm not a big shopper, but I'm used to living in a big city, so I wanted to see what was available, and I was pleasantly surprised--Target, McDonald's, Wal-Mart (2 of them), Baskin Robbins (Anthony will be thrilled. There are 5--how are there more of these than Wal-Marts?), Michaels, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Fred Meyer (kind of like Meijer), and 10 Starbucks (not that I care, but the more Starbucks there are, the more domesticated a place seems). I also saw that many places sell moose nuggets (yes, that is what you think it is) as souvenirs, including jewelry. I know what everyone's getting for Christmas this year!

As for the boys, Ethan is one month old today. It always goes too fast! He's been sick with a cold and had yucky eyes, so I haven't really gotten a lot of pictures. Will's still been very helpful, rocking him in his bouncy hair and stroking his head if he's upset. He also likes to put his forehead up to Ethan's--I think he's doing the head butt that Anthony taught him, but thank goodness he's gentle. Will also thinks it's hilarious to do things he shouldn't. He starts laughing uncontrollably if I tell him no and chase him away from whatever he's gotten into. I'm managing pretty well, although not getting enough time to do everything I need or want. Otherwise, I'm just living the dream. As long as the dream includes a hundred dirty diapers a week, endless crying, being covered in spit-up, multiple illnesses (one day we'll all be well enough to go church), and kids that won't sleep. It must though because we're still plugging along!

Back to "Normal"

2009-01-06T17:33:00.008-09:00

Things have finally started to calm down and get into a routine around here. Ethan's been home from the hospital for a week, and he's doing wonderfully. He's already more alert and looking around, and he's very scheduled as far as eating and naps go, which is completely different from how Will was (and is still). He even sleeps in his crib for the most part, but at night I either have to leave a light on or let him sleep next to me. Will is wonderful with Ethan. He likes it when I put Ethan in the car seat so he can rock it and sing to him. He also is constantly wandering over and kissing him or playing with his hands, and I keep finding toys in the crib that Will wants to share. The only issues we've had are that they both want to be held a lot--I'm getting really good at holding two kids at once!--and the fact that they have identical pacifiers, so Will thought we were giving his away. Now I find him once in awhile with one in his mouth, and one in each hand.

Anthony returned to Texas on Sunday, which is very hard on all of us, but most of all on Anthony and me. It was nice having everyone home together, and it's hard thinking that we won't be able to have that for several months. But that's our life now, so we're learning to deal with it. I'm also learning how to juggle taking care of both boys, and we're managing. We've had all of our meals on time, taken naps, cleaned the house, and gotten baths for both of them (I even found time to shower!). Will took his first bubble bath, and he of course had to taste the bubbles. He also learned to say "Uh-oh," so he's been using that one the last few days appropriately, when he's done something he shouldn't. I have to watch out for him because he's learned how to lock the doors, so I'm worried I'm going to be stuck outside one day. He locked Anthony in the garage, but at least I was here to open the door. I don't think I can convince Will to do the same.

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks:

I so want to know what Will's thinking. I'm guessing it's along the lines of,
"Who does this guy think he's fooling?"

Will's American Idol debut

Will contemplating the gingerbread house

Then Will eating the gingerbread house

Will enjoying a cold one--I mean, a soda

Ethan in NICU

Leaving the NICU

Our first time all together

Ethan's first bath--he's so happy!

Ethan's baby blessing

Adventures in the Hospital

2008-12-28T12:13:00.003-09:00

We're on day 6 at the St. Francis NICU, and hopefully tomorrow will be the last day that we're there. It has been a long week of driving back and forth to the hospital, and we're thankful that even though it has been tiring, we've been very blessed. Ethan is doing well. They took all of his breathing and feeding tubes off a couple days ago, but then the jaundice showed up, so along with making sure that he does well eating (which he does, but we weren't surprised--he's a Corbin), we've spent some time with the lighted blanket and a little bit under the spotlight. He was doing well today, but the head nurse thought it would be best to keep an eye on him until tomorrow. We are very excited to get him home and spend some time together as a family. I will have some more pictures soon. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

A Christmas Eve Eve Surprise

2008-12-24T04:23:00.002-09:00

Even though he wasn't supposed to show up for another few weeks, Ethan Andrew Corbin decided to make an early appearance. I'm so glad Anthony was able to come home when he did because I don't know what I would have done without him and this little adventure. Anthony arrived on Saturday afternoon, and Will and I were very happy to see him. Will hesitated a little at first, but it seemed like the busy airport was throwing him as well. Once we got in the car, Will started talking more, and ever since, he wants Anthony to hold him all the time.

On Sunday morning, I started having a few contractions but they stopped, so we weren't too concerned. I had a doctor's appointment Monday, and the doctor said I could go anytime. An hour and a half later, I started having contractions again. I don't think he meant I would go into labor right away, but apparently Ethan took that as the go-ahead. Everything was off and on for a few hours, but by that evening, they were coming pretty regularly. I still debated about whether or not we should go to the hospital, so I went ahead and made dinner and followed my normal routine, but we decided to go ahead and ask Katie Corbin to come over and watch Will in case we did need to leave. A little after 9:00, we thought it would be best to at least go and check things out, and we ended up being admitted within the hour. Everything went very smoothly (once my second dose of the epidural kicked in), and luckily the doctor made it just in time so the nurse didn't have to deliver the baby herself. Ethan came so quickly that the nurse had to tell me to quit laughing with Anthony (which Anthony pointed out is probably not something she often has to tell patients) because it was making me accidentally push. Ethan was born at 5:07 a.m. on December 23, weighing 6 lbs 14 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. He was having some trouble breathing, which was something we had been concerned might happen since he was exactly 37 weeks. But the NICU team was able to stabilize him, and Anthony and I were able to hold him for a bit. On the way to the nursery, the nurse saw that he was still panting and grunting, so she went ahead and took him to the NICU for monitoring, and that's where he's been ever since. The next few days will tell us a lot about what needs to be done, and the doctors are still deciding whether it's an infection, fluid, or lung immaturity. From everything we've heard, no one is overly concerned about his condition. We just need to find out what will be best to help him breathe correctly. He does have a breathing tube, but it is not pumping oxygen--it is mostly to help him stretch out his lungs and make it easier to take breaths--and he has a feeding tube from his mouth to his stomach since he's not ready to suck and breathe at the same time. Whenever we visit him, he is doing very well, and he seems a little better each time. Hopefully he will be released in a few days, but it could be sometime next week. We'll continue to post info as we get it, and we'll have pictures later. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Alaska?!

2008-12-18T18:36:00.002-09:00

I knew it was an option. I just didn't expect it to be a serious possibility. But Anthony got his first base assignment today, and at the end of March we'll be heading to Elmendorf AFB, adjacent to Anchorage, Alaska. After I got over the shock, I was excited. Never in a million years did I think when Anthony and I got married that we'd be spending our third wedding anniversary in Alaska, and not just on a visit either. I also didn't expect the Air Force to send us overseas (and Alaska is considered overseas for them), especially knowing that they are sending a family of four, with a one-year-old and, by then, a three-month-old. But as we've been told from the beginning, the Air Force's needs come first!

Some things I've learned so far about Alaska:

1. Winters aren't so bad in Anchorage. They're situated so there's warm air currents coming from Japan, and they're sheltered by mountain ranges, so it's not extreme weather. According to Accuweather, it's the same temperature there as it is here. But while we might get up to 45, there going to stay in the 20's. It looks like the highs in July average 65, which to me still doesn't sound warm, but maybe I'll adjust. Snow from September to May, so I won't be packing away the winter clothes. I also think it's time to upgrade to an SUV.

2. It may take up to a month for us to get our stuff shipped there! And since we'll probably fly and they'll ship our car (which will also take several weeks to show up), I don't know how we're going to pack enough to get us through. Although the nice thing is that with military fares on an airline, they don't charge for the first three bags or so. Can I convince them that Ethan has three large bags as well? I guess I should have asked for luggage for Christmas. I also saw that American Airlines will check antlers (for a fee), so if Anthony bags an elk while we're there, we will be able to bring it home. Thank goodness!

3. We will get certain pay bonuses for higher cost of living. Groceries are 31.4% higher and health care is 91.1% higher (thank goodness that one's taken care of the Air Force--or Obama and his socialized health care). The Commissary on base "tries" to keep it's prices lower.

4. The animals most often hit by cars: moose, fox, and bears. Once again, I think an SUV is in order. I do not want to see what would happen after I hit a moose with my Cavalier. We're also warned that it is probably better to hit the animal with a "glancing blow" than to end up in a ditch or go over a cliff. I don't there is such a thing as a glancing blow with a moose, unless you hit it as you are leaving a stop sign.

5. If anyone wants to visit us and go camping, it's only $11 at the on-base campgrounds! Or you could get a hotel room and still have all of your toes in the morning for probably just a little more money.

6. There's a ski lodge, snowmobile trips, ice fishing, a skating rink, and a tubing hill. I'm definitely going to have to work up some excitement for winter activities. The first and last time I went skiing, I never left the bunny hill. But at the Recreation Camp a short drive away, you can see whales, porpoises, puffins, sea lions, eagles and mountain sheep.

7. The movie theater has showing times at: 7 p.m. That's all. There will be no late nights out, I suppose.

8. Not only do we need to watch for crazed animal wildlife (caribou, reindeer, polar bears, grizzly bears and the musk ox), but we also have volcanoes and earthquakes. I'm assuming blizzards, even though no one bothered to mention that. Good thing Anthony is an Eagle Scout. Wait a minute, maybe that's why they chose us to go there.

9. Population of Indianapolis: 781,870. Population of all of Alaska: 677,00. Half of those live in Anchorage, so at least we won't be too lonely. Population of Caribou: 1,000,000+

It's definitely going to be an adventure. I can't even imagine, but at least our blog posts may be more interesting!

In other news, Will learned a new trick on Monday. He woke up and was chatting to himself for a minute or two, and then I heard him start crying as if he was hurt. I got into his room, and when I looked at the crib, it was empty! I looked down, and there he was, kneeling on the floor. How he got out, I don't think I'll ever know. I don't think he's tall enough to throw a leg over to climb out, so maybe he pulled himself up somehow. The mattress has now been lowered to the bottom level, which makes it harder for me to lift him out, but I don't have to worry (as much). He's been quite the monkey this week, climbing on everything. He learned how to get into the little rocking chair that used to be mine when I was little. Sometimes I'll find him in his room just rocking away.

Will's also decided that he's done having people feed him. He's old enough to do it on his own, thank you very much. I made the mistake of trying to feed him macaroni and cheese, and I've never seen such a meltdown. Both hands started sweeping the rest of his food off of his high chair, accompanied by howls and tears. He's getting better at using his fork, but halfway through, it's usually back to using his hands. We're working on it though. It's nice that he's becoming a little more independent so I can just let him go at it while I'm taking care of Ethan, who will be here in 2 weeks (oh my gosh!). Other than that, we're still fighting colds, finally finished with Christmas shopping, and getting very excited to see Anthony in 2 days!

Sometimes you're just too tired to think of a good title

2008-12-14T18:47:00.003-09:00

This week has been filled with great blessings. We were able to get Anthony's flight set, and it wasn't quite as expensive as I had feared, plus we were able to get good flight times, so he'll be able to spend more time with us. He'll be arriving on Saturday at 4 p.m., and Will and I are very excited to see him. I'm probably a little more so, since Will doesn't seem to grasp that anything different's going on. If I could only get inside his little head to know what he was thinking. So far the only answer I'm able to get from him on any subject is "No." (He really enjoyed watching Shrek 2 tonight and repeating "No" every time Shrek did in the scene where Donkey asks over and over, "Are we there yet?") Whether he realizes Anthony's missing, I can't tell. I'm curious to see how he acts at the airport.

We also were able to FINALLY sell our truck. It has been a headache from the beginning--thank you Andrew for giving it to us. :) I think I just have bad feelings toward it because it started out stressful since it needed a lot of work, and I've never quite forgiven it. Mostly it's been good to us and helped out a lot on multiple moves. But we've been trying for awhile to sell it, and it is so wonderful to look out at the driveway and see just my car. I even parked in the middle of the driveway and took up part of both spots, just because I could. Ah, luxurious lanes. Now the only thing I want to see even more is a "Sold" sign in our front yard.

Will's taken to pressing his face into my stomach and yelling. I can only imagine what Ethan thinks of having someone screaming inches away from him. I'm sure it's a little disconcerting. But it's probably also good preparation. How am I supposed to explain to a one-year-old that babies sleep a lot and need some quiet? Nap times are going to be loads of fun, I can tell. Will's already given up his morning nap as of this week, which makes it a little harder to find time to get a shower. Maybe my aversion to those fences where you can corral your kids will fade after a few days with two babies and no showers. Something's got to give.

Will's also walking more often than he crawls. It still is a little weird to see him pop around the corner, but I'm getting used to it. The other day he and his cousin Jerod wandered into the kitchen together, Jerod all steady and Will a little shaky but right alongside him. I could almost picture them running around together as teenagers, which was a little scary.

Anthony's still waiting to officially start his classes at Tech School. Right now it's still meetings, details, and assignments--like watching the front door. Exciting stuff. He gets to act like a true government employee and refuse to go find who ordered pizza from Papa John's. As he put it, "I work for the US government, not Papa John's, so that's their problem if the person doesn't show up." I think the power's going to his head. He was also being threatened to be put in the band again--even though he didn't raise his hand this time, they have the list of the band members from Basic--and now he's thinking of volunteering. He says it's because he gets a special Letter of Appreciation in his file that shows he was willing to sacrifice his time, but I think deep down he doesn't want to let on to me how much he enjoys it, knowing my aversion to band geeks, I mean, members. He'll start classes just a few days before coming home, and we actually may get to find out this week where our first base will be. I'm praying for something a little more exotic than Idaho. Sorry to anyone I've offended, but really, between England and Idaho, which would be more exciting? Which means we're going to Idaho.

I've been busy selling trucks, arranging flights, dragging myself and Will to finish Christmas shopping, visiting doctors and making appointments, and fighting a nasty head cold. But you know what? It's been a good week.

Graduation & What You've All Been Waiting For...

2008-12-10T18:19:00.009-09:00

Pictures of Anthony with cool glasses and no hair. I finally had time to download the pictures and get this blog updated (sorry, I've been sick). I didn't get any pictures without his hat though because he has to have it on when he's outside. But hopefully you can use your imagination. Or you'll just have to wait until Christmas.

First, here's a picture from the Airman's Coin Ceremony. It's the first time Anthony saw me. Notice that he is not doing so well with his serious military face.

Graduation was on Friday, and it was freezing cold. I did not plan for sitting outside in 30 degree weather in Texas. So I had to scrap the skirt and go with pants, but I still was under the impression that it would warm up soon, so I just grabbed a sweater instead of my coat. Then I made the mistake of getting to the Parade Grounds as soon as the first bus showed up, so I got to sit in cold bleachers for an hour. The plus side was that I got a front row seat in front of Anthony's flight, so I found him easily.

Anthony's to the left of the girl in the gray hat

I also sat next to a really nice family that was smart enough to bring blankets, and the mom kept wrapping me up in one. One of the daughters had a little boy about Will's age, and the poor thing was so upset about being out in the cold that his mom didn't get to see any of the ceremony. So while I missed Will, and Anthony and I both would have liked for him to be there, I'm glad I didn't bring him with me. It would have been too hard on all of us, and I was really glad to be able to enjoy the different ceremonies. Unfortunately, it was mind-numbingly cold, so I don't remember a whole lot of what was said. I did enjoy when they recited the Oath of Enlistment. I know I heard Anthony shout out his name, even amongst the 700 others doing the same. He agreed that he said it pretty loudly.

After the ceremony, I had to get on the bus and go back to the squadron to meet him. Stupid rules about the band. I was afraid I would miss him because I wasn't sure where they were going to show up, but after wandering around for awhile, someone told me the band was marching up to the dorms. I found Anthony and he got to show me the dorms. I also was warned several times not to touch his stuff, or anyone else's. They had to be inspected again before they could be released. Anthony said he appreciates me even more for all of the work I have to do around the house. Although he never had to work in the kitchen, so he still refuses to do dishes. But he sure can make a bed!

The last official part of the weekend was taking pictures with the flight. Since the band flight doesn't get to march by everyone at graduation, their TI wanted to let them do that and get some pictures. They also took a flight picture in front of one of the planes. Of course the plane they chose ended up having not the nicest picture on it, but they were already there.

So we took our own picture in front of a slightly less scandalous plane.

Then we were free for most of the weekend. We visited the Base Exchange, went to a hockey game, and went to Denny's. Anthony wanted to eat as much as he could. He said he never got enough, and apparently he did not make friends by telling everyone in his flight about all of the food I would make him at home. Everyone I met said he talked about me all the time, and food was a big part. I'm more than a little afraid to be weighed at my next doctor's appointment. Living on fast food and Oreos for four days cannot have been good.

By the time Sunday came, I was not ready to go home. It was a wonderful trip--one of the best I've ever been on--and I hated to say goodbye. But at least I know he'll be home soon for Christmas. Anthony's flying in Saturday December 20th at 4 p.m., and he'll be here until Sunday January 4th at 2 p.m. Enough time to have a baby and then head right back to school. He's in Wichita Falls, TX at Sheppard AFB, and so far it's been a lot of sitting around at meetings. He is ecstatic that the last kid who was in his room left a bunch of items, including an 8GB Zune. That's mostly what I hear about. He does get more liberties than he did at Basic, so he's been able to call each night for just a little bit, which is nice. And he'll be done with Tech School on March 23rd. We probably won't know which base we'll be assigned to until closer to that time. But we do know that he'll be working on the F100 and F119 engines:

That definitely limits the number of bases we could be assigned to. He put down on his "Dream List": Virginia, North Carolina, Arizona and Florida. Our other possibilities are: California, Alaska, Japan, England, Idaho, and Nevada. So we could be pretty much anywhere and in all kinds of different climates and cultures. From what I've been reading, it sounds like most first duty stations last for 2 or 3 years, but that probably depends a lot on the military's needs as well.

Here are a few more pics we took on the last day, when it was finally nice enough for Anthony to take off his coat and show off his 4 ribbons. Check out how tight his shirt has to be too. The blousing straps that hold it down are strapped to his socks, so the dress blues are NOT comfortable. He kept asking me to bend down and pick things up. 8 months pregnant and I'm the one more capable of reaching down to the floor.

First Day of Graduation Ceremonies

2008-12-04T17:24:00.003-09:00

I was able to (barely) fit my laptop in my carry-on, so I'm able to update on the road. It was a long flight to get here, and I had to hurry to get my rental car to make it in time for the Airman's Coin Ceremony. Thank goodness I asked several times how to get to the Interstate because there was a total of 1 sign pointing me in the right direction, but no sign to tell me where I needed to turn and nothing telling me that the road I turned on was correct for quite awhile. San Antonio roadways are not so user friendly. I also got off on the wrong exit because the Lackland AFB website says get off on exit #7, when actually they mean get off on exit #4. I figured the military knew what they were talking about when they posted directions to the base. Once I made it to base, I was even more confused about where I needed to go. EVERYTHING is brown. And there isn't a lot of signage (is San Antonio against directional assistance?), so I was driving around base with 10 minutes to go until the ceremony and praying that I didn't drive out onto an airfield or some other restricted area where I'll be immediately executed. Plus the rental car was a little nicer than my own car, so I'm stopping on a dime any time I even think about touching the brakes. I finally found someone to ask where I needed to be at, and he gave me excellent directions. I found parking fairly close, and as I was walking up, I could see that the band was standing at attention right in front of me, so I knew I was in the right place. All of the flights were introduced and then the band came in, and Anthony was right in front, so I was able to find him easily. He's definitely got the military look about him. A lot of the other guys seem so lax about how they stand, walk, or present themselves, but not him. Stiff as a board, always ready to salute the higher-ups, and pants hiked way higher than I've ever seen them. He's the same, but different. I don't know how to really describe it. I'm curious to see how he'll act once he's on leave for a couple weeks. Maybe I can convince him then that he can walk on the grass, and we won't have to take the long way around. Several times already I've lost him because he's had to stop to salute someone or I've tried to take a shortcut.

After the Coin Ceremony, we then had the Honor Grad Ceremony where he received a special coin and he'll be able to wear another ribbon tomorrow after graduation, which makes his grand total of ribbons 4, the highest amount you can get in Basic Training and his goal. He said people usually get 3 if they work hard, but they either have brains (the Honor Grads) or they can shoot well (the Marksman). He's the only one in his flight (of about 48) who got all 4, and only about 32 of 640 received Honor Grad, so he has worked very hard during the last few weeks. Unfortunately, he had his Base Liberty Pass cut short by 2 hours today. His flight decided to not bother with cleaning up their dorm properly, but even though they were the ones who did it, they received all of their time off while the Element Leaders and the Dorm Leader were punished. How that's fair I'll never understand. What do the rest of the guys care if they don't get in trouble? If they do it again, I am going to be really angry. I did not come down here for them to mess around and get Anthony in trouble. So after all the ceremonies and trips to the clothing store to get last minute things for graduation, we ended up with about an hour together. It was wonderful to see him though. I'll be able to post pictures once I get home. His hair is SO short, but at least the glasses are not so bad. Thank goodness he doesn't have to wear the BCG's!