Tom and I went with a couple of friends last night to the Elton John Concert. This may not sound like that big of a deal, but I do believe it was the biggest event Fairbanks has ever seen. The Carlson Center can hold about 7,000 people. I wonder if that's the smallest concert he's ever done. I am glad that he came up to the far north and it was a fun show. He is a very talented man!
Owen has a best little buddy up here in Alaska. They get together at least twice a week and it is so nice for everyone! Owen will actually play without being attached to my hip. And if I walk out of the room or am out of his sight for a few minutes, he doesn't scream bloody murder. This last week the weather was so nice we went to a couple of different parks and Owen and his buddy claimed their park and declared it to belong only to them. It is now known as the Owen and Amelia park. I am sure we will spend many a happy hours there this 
summer!
We're still under $4 here but just barely. I'm sure it will rise above that just as we start our much anticipated trip down to southern Alaska over Memorial Day with Maama and Popop. I thought that would be our big gas expenditure for the year, but unfortunately not.
We were babysitting some kids of friends last Friday and one of the older kids came up to me in somewhat of a panic. She kept telling me that her younger brother and Isabel were putting sand into the "thing". I didn't know what "thing" was and assumed it was our hose winder or plastic play thing that was in the backyard. I was mildly concerned but soon realized that my level of concern was very different from my young reporter. This was my first hint at what was to come. I went outside to check it out. I looked at the hose winder and plastic play thing, but the girl kept walking. I briefly glanced up and financial horror immediately set in. She slowly raised up her finger and pointed at...a small pipe coming out of the ground. The pipe was metal and relatively small in diameter and had a sticker that said "Sourdough" on it. Unfortunately it was a very well known pipe to me...it is the pipe to our underground fuel tank and is now filled with sand. I asked Isabel how much and she said about 20 "scoops".
Fuel oil is about the same price as gas up here (slightly more depending on fill up times) and the tank holds 500 gallons and was mostly full. Ouch.
I was not happy...really not happy. I yelled after Isabel (to find her) and when I saw her she clearly had no idea what she was doing. She knew she was doing something wrong, but I'm pretty sure she thought it was something on par with squirting her brother with the hose or not taking off her muddy shoes when she comes home. She probably didn't realize she just spend her allowance for the next 10 years. Ouch.
I too have had such experiences, although I don't think they were as costly. I remember at what I think was a similar age (5) spray painting a neighbor's green house (I intelligently spray painted my name on the side for all to see...not that great a criminal) and got into another neighbor's pantry and mixed toothpaste with Corn Flakes.
Anyway, the call will go out sometime next week to the fuel guys to come and flush our tank and refill it with liquid gold. In the mean time we have our furnace firmly in the off position. All I can say is that Isabel will have no sympathy from me when her kid leaves the upstairs faucet on and floods the house while she's at Home Depot. Watch out kiddo!
The school year is just about up here in Fairbanks. School starts pretty early (2nd - 3rd week in August) and gets out early as well. You can imagine trying to get through a high school football season when it's -20F in November (games I think wrap up in October in the snow). Anyway, Carol had me snap a few photos of the girls as they went to school at the beginning of the year and then I grabbed a few more last week. It's amazing what happens in a school year. The girls have both grown and learned a ton. They really enjoy their school and friends and each other. I continue to be amazed at the capacity of the human mind for learning. I feel inept at my lack of talent in adequately filling those minds with the stuff they need to grow, but I'll keep trying. Owen has also grown a lot in the past year. We watched family videos tonight (a great Sunday tradition from the Cooks) and saw Owen when we first arrived in Fairbanks at a wee 9 months old. He was crawling around and babbling and crying. The crawling and babbling have now been replaced by running and talking. I wish I could say the crying has also been replaced, but I fear it has just gotten louder although it is somewhat less frequent.
On Sunday Beth and Isabel got to display some of their hard work on the piano. Their piano teacher had a little recital and it was so fun to see Beth and Isabel perform. Take a little listen if you like.
So I was trying to get away with not giving the girls a "friends" birthday party this year. They both celebrated with family when we were in Salt Lake and so I thought they were done. They had other ideas. I soon realized I would not hear the end of birthday talk until the friends were assembled and some cake was consumed. Beth and Isabel helped plan the whol
e thing, and I helped them learn the art of compromise. They decided they wanted a slumber party; I compromised with a pajama, "late-over" party. They both wanted to invited every friend they have ever met within a 30 mile radius; I told them each to chose 5 friends. They wanted a huge elaborate three-tiered birthday cake; I baked some cupcakes, put a few different candies on the table and told them to let their creativity flow. It really ended up being a fun little party. All twelve girls arrived at 6:00 and we played animal c
harades. Then we had a delicious dinner of pigs-in-blankets, jello and whipcream, fruit, veggies, and chips. The kids then had a fun and creative time decorating their cupcakes. Then they all snuggled on the couch and watched "Enchanted". The movie ended about 30 minutes before parents were to arrive and I was a little panicked to have 12 screaming, unoccupied girls still at my house, until it was decided that they would all play hide and seek. All in all I think the girls had fun and it was a success. The best part, I got to take care of both the girls parties at the same time!
My nephew Andrew was baptized on April 26, 2008. It was really nice to see the Cooks even though it was much too brief. What a great day for Andrew! It had been a while since I had been to a baptism and the service was perfect. I also got to see my sister-in-law Mary's new twins. They are beautiful! I'm already looking forward to my next visit in June. Congratulations Drew!
