Oops...

I got a little ahead of myself... We squeezed one more adventure into the month of July - another sheep scouting trip. This time, just me and my hubby... quite nice. So, I'm not usually fond of showing off pictures of me looking, well, quite goofy, but... oh well... I think I'm learning these days to just get over it...

Me, putting on some much-needed moleskin (that somehow found its way to the side of my ankle over the course of the hike, resulting in some quite lovely blisters), and showing off my "big" 4 1/2 month baby belly I had to lean over to do so! Goofy smile, I know, but I was trying to keep a straight face, as Scott was making me laugh... Good times.

Sometimes it just amazes me the things that grow out of the rocks up here. I had a thought out there, as all kinds of wildflowers surrounded us amongst the rocks... I'll bet there are very few people that travel up that valley, and yet God decided to cover it with all sorts of blues, purples, pinks, yellows, and whites in the form of wildflowers. I like to think that maybe He put 'em there just for us... you know, add to the *ambiance* of the trip... Haha... that made me laugh. Ambiance... Maybe it was more to make up for the nauseating swarms of biting flies we fought on our way in and out... Something to think about anyways...

This picture just makes me laugh. (Can you tell why?)

I told Scott that he needs to frame it...

My two boys... Handsome as ever.

Before heading down the snow field on the way home...

I sure love adventuring with my Hubby. Wouldn't trade it for the world...

Baby Update!

Here "we" are.... 18 weeks here, and growing leaps and bounds by the day!

So... we've learned a few more things in the last several weeks... Care to know?


- Maternity pants stink. You'd think after thousands of years of women going through this, that they'd come up with a better system. A piece of elastic attached to demin? C'mon... Do they actually work for some of you?! I'm not having much luck... *Stretchy pants* (for you Nacho Libre fans out there...) have become my saving grace...


- Dehydration causes the uterus to freak out... like really freak out. Like, want-to-drop-to-your-knees-in-the-middle-of-Freddies-'cause-the-pain-is-so-terrible kind of freak out. Yeah... not a fun experience, but I sure learned my lesson. The lid to my water bottle is never on, unless I'm en route somewhere. Otherwise my water bottle is practially attached to my mouth. Which also means I'm never far from a restroom!


-So, I'm not sure what this "fluttering" sensation is all about, because it feels more like someone is gently poking me with his finger from the inside, out. Either way, it's incredibly exciting and mind-blowing all at the same time. Here was the scene a few nights ago: Scott and I are laying in bed, chatting softly before falling asleep... "I think I feel the baby moving!" Scott reaches over and puts his hand on my belly... In a 'I'm-sorry' kind of voice, I tell him, "Babe, you won't be able to feel it..." "Shh!" he says, his hand still pressed against my belly, hoping for something... anything. Too cute... I love his excitement... Gives me a great peace.


- Picking a name is probably one of the hardest, most overwhelming tasks. Waiting on God to give us one feels like we not "doing" anything to help (which is obviously the wrong perspective), but looking for one feels cheap, like shopping for a piece of clothing.


- Baby still can't get enough fruit and bread...


- Tea... it's hard to find a tea that "they" say is not only good for you, but that isn't potentially harmful to Baby. Even the "pregnancy" teas out there contain herbs that aren't recommended during pregnancy. Sheesh... Somebody should just tell me that all teas are bad so I'll at least stop looking for one!


- "Nesting" started long ago for me... For many, many weeks now, I've had the itch to rid my house of anything unnecessary, unused for some time, and to organize the heck out of things. Thinking ahead to all the "stuff" that accompanies Baby makes me want to gut our house and all that's in it, to "start fresh" when the little one arrives. The Arc of Anchorage hauled away several boxes and bags of items just this week, and I already have another growing pile that will need hauled away here soon. I'm seeing corners of rooms that I haven't seen in a year or more! And I feel that I've only just touched the surface... So much to do. It's work, but it sure feels good to get rid of it all, and to organize our house a little better.

July Adventures

For the 4th of July, we headed back into the mountains as far as an old beat-up Toyota pickup would take us, and as far away from as many people as is possible on that particular weekend. We headed to "our spot" in Hatchers Pass looking like hillbillies for sure... Vince, my brother, was at the wheel of Ol' Blue, I was riding shotgun, and the bed was loaded to the hilt with gear, guns, fireworks, dogs, and 5 other people. It's a shame we don't have a photo of that... Quite priceless. Anyways... here's some evidence of the fun that weekend...

This little guy came for a visit while the boys were out galavanting amongst its friends, and while I was in camp catching up on some much-needed R & R. He poses quite nicely for photo shoots, I must say...

Grampa and Gramma Bertolini came for their annual summer "fishing" trip. Grampa got to fish from a private dock and smoke his cigars (the highlight of these trips for him), and they both just soaked up all the quality time with family. Love, love, love my grandparents... they're one-of-a-kind.

The third weekend in July, Scott and his cousin headed to sheep country to do some scouting, and encountered some unique terrain, as well as a handful of the much-sought-after animals...

It's a shame this first picture is so small here; those animals really are quite stunning, even from a distance.... I sure enjoy my fair share of hunting, more for the adventure involved and knowing that it will fill my freezer, but there's something about these sheep that just draws some excitement out of me... They're quite majestic... Just like the country they live in...

June Adventures

The first weekend in July, we found ourselves drifting in the ocean waves for halibut... in a zodiak. A great new adventure for us, and likely not the last time we'll be seen out there...A few dozen eagles decided to camp out along the beach as fellow fishermen tossed their "leftovers" aside... Made for some good entertainment, to say the least.

A gal I work with and her boyfriend offered to have us up to the Copper River out of Chitina to go dipnetting with them out of their boat. And who could turn down an offer like that?! So... the second weekend in July, we got ourselves all kinds of slimy and sandy, as we camped on the beach and fished at odd hours of the night. We took home 30 reds and 5 kings. Just what we'd been hoping for....And then we proceeded to processes the fish for days thereafter... most of which included smoking and canning it.

Third weekend included some rather unsuccessful fishing on the Kenai, and then a 5 hour-long stint of wood cutting. Do you think we'll have enough for the winter? I don't know...

We wrapped up June with an annual rafting trip down the Kenai. Not many salmon to be caught then either (thanks to the no-show run of fish). But the boys had fun trying their hands at fly fishing, even catching a few trout.

When we're not backpacking, we sure do camp food well. It's actually probably one of the highlights of these types of camping trips for us - we eat so well! Let's see... pork loin, deer chops, corn on the cob, steamed mixed veggies, and...

...A baked potato bar that would rival any found in any restaurant. We have... s & p, sour cream, bacon bits, butter, scallions, and shredded cheddar cheese. Mmm... Makin' me hungry!

And the aftermath: one pooped puppy. We couldn't have kept him awake if we'd tried!

May Adventures

The beginning of May found us atop some new terrain, looking for what most folks try to avoid: bears. As you can tell by the snow, we were a little early for the area, so our bear sightings came in at a grand total of: 1. We had a fun chase, but that bear was not to be had this spring. Maybe he'll stick around 'til this fall or next year...

And yes, in spite of the snow, it was quite warm. Warm enough that Tucker was a little particular about finding just the right spot to stop and rest...

Our next adventure took us to a new-found spot for falling birch trees that will provide wood for our beloved wood stove this winter. Though it was just a one-load day trip in my Ol' Blue Toyota, it provided a few days worth of work for Scott as he split and stacked it.

A second trip back to "Grizz Ridge" later that month brought a little more excitement and wildlife, with a couple close enounters with bears and... ptarmigan? And lastly, the month came to a close with Scott's annual Proving Trail Adventures' Youth Hunt. Three bears were taken on this trip, but you'll have to ask this rugged bunch for the details...

Prego! (Said with a thick Italian accent, of course...)

So... For those of you keeping track, we're almost at 11 weeks now, and unbelievably so! How does time pass so quickly? We still find it hard to believe that there's a wee one growing oh-so-rapidly inside my belly, but we're excited as ever. A few things we've learned:

- Morning sickness shouldn't be called "morning" sickness when it strikes at all times of the day.

- 85 grams of protein is a LOT to consume when one's body is so finicky about food. And speaking of, how can the thought of food seem so, well, appetizing, but the thought of actually putting it into my mouth seem so nauseating?!

- Chance of miscarriage drops by 97% after you can hear/see the heart beat. Thank goodness for technology sometimes... What peace of mind seeing a tiny flutter on a black and white screen can give to a worried/paranoid mom-to-be.

- Must have fruit. Now.

- Water, water, water... this whole baby-making production require endless amounts of water! I should be walking around hooked up to an IV t0 get all the water this body requires right now...

- Who knew you could nap and wake feeling more tired than before you laid down? Oh to feel rested again... Maybe in 5 years, right?

- People love to give you their personal lists of "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts." Whether they're valid or asked for! Interesting...

- Choosing which people to tell when is probably the most challenging thing of all thus far.

- Getting married changes family dynamics for sure; having a baby, I'm foreseeing even more so...

- Midwives are amazing... They truly are the experts in this field... Not to mention much more approachable than a white coat. They don't treat you like you're sick or like there's a problem to be fixed; they treat you as if your body was designed to go through this process, that this is "all natural..."

- Girlfriends who've "been there"... absolutely priceless!

- A hubby who's even more excited than you... the best support a gal could ask for!

- Interrupted nights of sleep begin now... The toilet and I have a date every night at some point during the wee hours of the morning. Like they say, this must be prep for what's to come...

- Week 11 - The wee one is the size of a lime this week!

- Our bodies surely were designed for this. For our bodies to create the environment it does, for "baby" to form with such order and so perfectly, and for our bodies to "cope" and grow and change in the ways they do makes me wonder how anyone could think that this is all just random happenstance. I'm continually amazed at how perfect and with such intentionality God designed our bodies. (Okay, so I know the whole process isn't always nice and pretty, but it's all still incredibly miraculous to me!)

...Okay, that's all for now. More to come, I'm sure. We're sure to have more learning ahead of us in the next 6 months.

Farming...

So, while the rest of Alaska headed to the highways this Memorial Weekend, we stayed put, enjoying the georgous, sunny weather from the comfort of our own backyard. As in past years, this is the weekend we work on the yard and plant our garden. And we did just that! Liz finished building her arbor in the front yard that she started with her dad, and Scott went to town on the back yard tearing down one bed and building an even larger one on the other side of the yard to accommodate his wife's growing love of seeing things grow. Among the usual lettuces, chards, zucchinis, squash, kohlrabi, peas, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and radishes, we're trying our hand at brussel sprouts, tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, arugula, celeriac, parsnips, a myriad of fun flowers and sweet peas, and, of course, Scott's beloved corn! Fun times around the Luber Farm... We already have more rhubarb than one family can eat, raspberries that are about to start producing, Liz's experimental bulbs planted last fall are coming up all over, and our apple trees are looking healthier than they have in years! *Sigh* We just love this time of year......

The pictures you see are of Liz's arbor, the spot where the old garden bed was, the new bed!, our new "pea wall" against the side of the barn (since our not-so-neighborly neighbors put up a second fence that blocks the sun where we used to grow our peas), and our new little lattice for pole beans.