The life and times of the Godfrey ten.

Latest

Savannah Sights

One thing on our pre-moving bucket list was to visit Savannah Georgia ( please insert your own slow southern drawl). After all we are only about an hour and a half away. So, even though time is tight right now, we put aside a day for Savannah. We wanted to see what all the ya’ll is about. Further more, we had an opportunity to hook up with some great old friends who have been featured in this blog several times. So north to Savannah we went.

Savannah oozes south. The buildings are old, the trees are huge, the roads tiny, the traffic patterns odd as if made for horse and carriages, and the tea is very sweet. The town was built around town squares, small blocks of park basically. One of these is where Forest Gump sat on his bench and told his story. Our story is the bench is now in a museum, so we could not give you the obligatory blue suit, candy on lap picture, although we tried. You know what they say, life is like a box of chocolates, you never………..

Sans the bench, there was still a lot more to Savannah. We enjoyed it thoroughly, even the torrential downpour we got caught in the biggest square in the town. Although we did have to head to the nearest Ross’s for some new shirts, pants and yes even underwear.

I could describe the uneven rock laden roads for you, the swaying weeping willows and magnolia trees, the aged brick buildings with white faded letters, missing brick, vine-covered stairs and moss embossed alleys, but I could not do it justice. So instead I will let the pictures do the talking, and give you the highlights.

We drove north to Savannah and landed at the tourist aimed River Street.

Savannah0064

Some locals gawking at us.

Savannah0025 Savannah0023 Savannah0038

Savannah0015 Savannah0004 Savannah0001 Savannah0011

We watched massive container ships in the river.

Savannah0016 Savannah0017 Savannah0005Savannah0007 Savannah0008

We toured the wind billowing, tree filled, monument centered squares.

Savannah0049 Savannah0046 Savannah0047 Savannah0048 Savannah0022 Savannah0019

Savannah0043

Awesome Cafe right on Chippewa Square.

Savannah0010

I think it was Steel Magnolias Livy, not Steal Magnolias!

Savannah0009 Savannah0012

We got caught in a mega rain storm.

Savannah0045 Savannah0050

rain kids

We bought new clothes.

brief case

We met up with some long-lost dear Alaskan friends ( HIGHLIGHT!)

Savannah0058

Making ghost images, appropriate for Savannah.

Savannah0057

If you look closely, you can see that Nya has already picked out her man.

Savannah0056 Savannah0059 Savannah0061 Savannah0055

We ate crab and shrimp.

IMG_0836 IMG_0837

We thoroughly enjoyed the day and appreciated the history and scenery. 

Savannah0041

Me thoroughly enjoying the scenery.

Savannah0029

Our favorite letter.

Savannah0053

Rock stars

Savannah0062

PAULA DEEN’S restaurant.

Savannah0066 Savannah0063 Savannah0054 Savannah0052 Savannah0051 Savannah0042 Savannah0044 Savannah0040 Savannah0039 Savannah0035 Savannah0033 Savannah0031 Savannah0027Savannah0020 Savannah0021 Savannah0018Savannah0036 crop

Prologue. It was truly amazing seeing Ty, Niki, Nya and Elli. We have traveled similar paths and have come to similar conclusions. They encouraged us greatly. What are the odds that we would both move from the Kenai Peninsula, only to reconnect two years later in Savannah Georgia? I can’t wait to see where we connect with y’all next time yonder down the road.

Savannah0032

Until our ships meet again.

Round and Round We Go

In case you haven’t heard, the herd is on the move again. Yep it is true. Our fate was sealed with an ominous private message from a great friend at 4 am a few weeks ago. The moment I read the message, I had this deep gut feeling that we would once again be moving, and quickly. I cannot say I was excited. I feel as though we just got here. We are just learning the area, just learning the culture, just learning how to properly say ya’ll, how to eat crawdads and cook with extra butter. Summer is upon us, the temp is in the mid 80s, the birds are out daily, the pools are warming up and school is about to end. This was to be our time to explore, expand and relax a little. And just like that, life changes.

IMG_9949 leavingIMG_0575  _MG_3747 copy

Ever since that message my head has been in dizzy haze. My to-do list has been spinning at 1000 RPMs through my brain. Sell this, store this, buy this, fix this. Moving is not fun, moving is stressful. Especially three moves in less than three years; three moves each over 3000 miles, and each to a different country. Oh yeah  did I mention we were moving back north, back to Alaska? Come on, that is pretty much like moving to a different country.

leavingIMG_0514 IMG_0597 IMG_0605 IMG_0599

So as I sit and type this, I constantly battle the thoughts and anxiety welling up in my head and heart. I am acutely aware of the pattering of my heart, my every evolving task list, all the what-ifs and what-could-bes. It makes it hard to breathe and hard to sleep. I feel as if I am on a playground merry-go-round. Slowly being pushed faster and faster. As the ride speeds up, I close my eyes, drop my knees down to the rusted steel plate, wrap my arms tightly around the yellow chipped paint bar, hold on for all I am worth and try not to throw up. And it is this position I find myself in now. Dropping to my knees, closing my eyes and praying. Praying for strength, praying for wisdom and guidance, and praying for all those on the ride with me. And as I do that, I remember that I was the one who got on the ride, I was the one screaming “faster, faster”, I was the one longing for that feeling of exhilaration. So perhaps I just need to hold on a little bit longer, open my eyes, smile and enjoy that sick feeling that comes with ride, knowing that it will not last forever, and accepting that when I open my eyes, the temperature will be a little cooler and the scenery a quite grander. It will smell familiar,it will look familiar, it will feel familiar, it will be home.

IMG_9931   IMG_9928      IMG_9923

IMG_0617    IMG_0602

Spider Man?

Growing up in Alaska has its benefits. For instance, there are no poisonous creatures in Alaska. Nope. If you are going to get killed by a creature, you are going to know about it. No sneak attacks. You will be getting stomped, mauled or eaten by something bigger and badder than you, just the way it should be. No sneak attacks on your toes, ears or nose. Just good old-fashioned nature at its finest.

Here, in Georgia, that could not be further from the truth. There are critters everywhere, poisonous spiders, poisonous snakes, poisonous scorpions and fast food on every corner. Because of that, I have become quite proficient at the killing of these critters.
Now I know that most of the critters are not poisonous  but I can’t tell which is which. And probably much like I used to mock those that cannot tell a flounder from a halibut, or a humpy from a Chinook, I get mocked here for my lack of discernment amongst the species. None-the-less, it has not stopped me from being the knight in shining armor for my wife. For those of you who are unaware, she is deathly afraid of all eight-legged creatures. I mean she cannot even look at a picture of one. If they come on TV, the channel is immediately changed, or she is curled up in a ball with her ears and eyes completely covered.

IMG_0702 copy

Kassie’s climbing spider

Although I have limited knowledge of the creepy crawlies, I have not developed a deep desire to learn. I figure if they are crawling around in my house, then it is my duty to exterminate them without prejudice. Now this is not like squashing daddy-long-legs, or nameless tiny spiders back in the 907. Nope, when you dispatch one of these critters you feel it. It feels like you are poaching, or that you need a hunting license and rifle to get the job done. They are big, hairy and scary. Two good-sized ones could probably make meal.

IMG_0693 copy

Jake’s spider that needs a diet!

They appear in your bedroom, garage, kitchen, or the most horrific place of all, the place you are most vulnerable, the bathroom. For some reason that is where I seem to find the biggest baddest bugs, and usually I am predisposed so that I cannot immediately deal with the threat at hand. It can be a stressful situation.

IMG_0695 copy

Livy’s colorful spider

Now I know some of you will think I am a big fat meanie for killing this innocent little critters, but it is my duty as the man of the house to ensure the safety of my family and the sanity of my wife, but mostly the sanctity of my eardrums. Because until it has been dispatched, I will hear about it; loudly.

IMG_0696 copy

spider eating a mouse, real life size!

I know it is nearly impossible to tell, but the images I have included are artist renderings of spiders. Remember, Tracy cannot look at pictures of spiders and my job is to keep her happy. The artists I have hired live under my roof and are home-schooled here, so they have seen them first hand. I would say they are extremely accurate renderings.

The below video is an actual giant spider being killed by Jake. WARNING, this may offend some viewers, weird ones!

Seasons of Soccer

In Alaska, the outdoor soccer season was short and swift. Practices often started indoors sometime in May, while teams waited for the snow to clear the fields in anticipation of playing actual outdoor games in June.

_MG_3821 IMG_4051 _MG_3858

On the Kenai Peninsula it was a well-known tradition during the months of June and July, and sometimes August, every family would meet up on Tuesday and Thursday nights at the freezing fields in Kenai. We would brave the wind and battle the cold to clamor around our kids while they chased the black and white ball throughout the pitch. It was an event, a modern-day hoe down.

IMG_4022

Elbows are legal in soccer…right?

_MG_3943

If done correctly, this is impossible to defend!

_MG_3815 copy _MG_3818 IMG_4031 _MG_3936 _MG_3801

Here in Georgia things are a little different. They take their sports very seriously in this area. In fact football, American football, is a sacred and sworn passion to the residents of Camden County. If you don’t play you cheer, and if you don’t cheer you support, and if you don’t support, you surely don’t tell anyone. So this passion trickles down to other sports including soccer. Which, unlike Alaska, starts in February, at least the spring season does, and I know because we have been practicing and playing games since then.

_MG_3933

which ball is he going for here?

IMG_4022 IMG_3979 _MG_3912 _MG_3892 _MG_3908 _MG_3858

_MG_3945

I love this shot, because the two boys are in the heat of battle, about to feel pain, and then the guy in the background has his hands on his hips watching, the goalie is red and ready, while a plane flies overhead. A lot going on.

_MG_3847

The big difference here, we don’t have to worry about the snow melting, and most of the time we are battling the heat rather than the cold. There are also about 2 gazillion teams between Georgia and Florida, so you don’t really play the same team 33 times. The downside, when the weather is bad, say thunderstorms, the games get canceled. Conversely, In AK, I have watched games being played during blizzard.

_MG_3843 _MG_3912 IMG_3979

Another huge difference, we actually play games in other states. Not tournaments, just regular old games. In Soldotna, unless you were on the comp team, every game was at the same field, always; Tuesday night, Thursday night. Here they are all over the place. But each venue has one thing in common, passionate loud parents, and heat. I am not sure that we have fully embraced the passion yet, but we are learning to love the heat.  That southern charm kind of goes out the window during a 9-year-olds soccer game.I know this for sure, if I ever catch myself  trying to buy a cow bell or megaphone, that is the day I need to think about cooling off and heading back to Alaska, where we are too cold to be obnoxious. Most of us anyway.

IMG_3954 IMG_3951

_MG_3927

Table It

During the recent holidays ( I use the term recent very, very liberally) we were fortunate to have some friends stop by the house on the way to Florida. This was not only great because we got to see some long-lost friends, but also because it motivated me to actually start and finish a project that I had promised to my wife several weeks prior. You see, sadly, I am a bit of procrastinator In fact I made up a motto years ago that procrastination is the greatest motivator, and for me that is true.

The project was a dining table. Now I am not talking about a high-end fully lathed and routed Ashley furniture dining table, but an old fashioned barn wood style table. The only reason I even said I would attempt such a crazy thing is that as we shopped around this area for furniture, Tracy was oft drawn to these ratty old rectangular, beaten down un-fancy tables. And these beaten down ratty tables, had high-end price tags with at least three zeroes after the leading number. The more I looked at them, the more I was convinced that I could do it. I just needed the prodding.

 

IMG_0421

IMG_0417

IMG_0422

IMG_0427

Finally, about two days prior to arrival, just when I thought it wouldn’t happen, I was gently reminded that we needed a place to sit for our big family Christmas dinner with friends, and the little square garage sale table was not going to cut it. I wandered slowly out to the garage pondering what I had talked myself into, when I had an epiphany. There strewn across the gray slab concrete of the garage floor were four pallets left over from our move. Worn down wood, slivers and splinter, ratty old pallets. Perfect! Exactly what I needed. Inspiration and motivation instantly hit and we were off to Lowes to pick up a few more pieces of wood and some miscellaneous materials, and the building began.

IMG_0423 IMG_0418

IMG_0425 IMG_0419

Frantically, the boys were tearing apart two of the pallets providing me wood pieces for our project, while I engineered a way to mold two pallets together. There was sawdust flying, hammers and crowbars destroying, saws sawing and screw guns smoking, and dad quietly yelling out directions as we set out to make up a table on the fly. Soon it started to take shape and it actually looked as if it may work. There was no grand design, no pre-planning, just action.

IMG_0433

Within four hours we had a nearly finished product. Four square legs holding up an 8 foot by 4 foot surface. It was rough, it was dinged and dented, it looked as if it had been made in a barn, pretty much exactly what my wife ordered. Upon her arrival home, I could tell by the look in her eyes she was well pleased. She pointed out a few extra-rough spots that perhaps I could touch up and then it would be ready for the final round. I did as she wished, and by that evening we had already applied the first coat of paint and stain.

IMG_9615 IMG_9613

IMG_9617 IMG_9629

Humbly, I must admit, I could not believe that we had made that from a couple of pallets and some store bought planks. It was pretty much exactly what we had seen out shopping. It was giant, it was rough and far from perfect, custom fit to our dining room,and for Tracy it was perfect. But perhaps the best part was not the finished product, the finished process. The process of me, my kids and wife coming together to construct something that we not only needed, but that perhaps we can always have.

IMG_0677

IMG_0675

I hope we always have room for this table, but I will always regret having to move it, because knowing how much food we require at family meals, I slightly over-built it. But we wanted it to be huge, we wanted it to be special and we wanted it to be ours. There is only one more thing that it needs, the main thing that we built it for, our friends and family

Just Skating By

The contrast between The US and CR is apparent to me wherever I go. Even in the smallest things.

For example, we have surfing here, it’s just not Costa Rica surfing. There are waves, which are smaller. There is water, which is colder. There are beaches which are far more crowded and much farther away. So in the hecticity of life in the US we must take what we can get, and what we can get is a skatepark 5 minutes away, and this is where the contrast is most apparent.

skateIMG_0552                                            skateIMG_0576

skateIMG_0579                     skateIMG_0577

The park is very nice, no graffiti locked with a nine-foot fence, rules such as helmets, regulations, open and closing times, waivers and even a safety attendant. A classic American park, where safety and liability reign supreme, engulfing the aura of fun.

skateIMG_0580

I think Kassie left her ripstick at the bottom of the ramp.

skateIMG_9866 - Version 2

skateIMG_9872

Tamarindo had askate park too. Lots of graffiti, 1/3 of a rusted jagged fence, a concrete bowl otherwise known as an empty pool, no attendants, and no rules or regulations, other than the one where you need to get out of the bowl if you break a bone so others can continue skating. And that is more of a suggestion than a rule. It was the kind of skate park you might see in a movie after the holocaust.

skateIMG_9876 - Version 2                                skateIMG_9883 - Version 2

skateIMG_9887 - Version 2

Jeremy lives for air

skateIMG_9902 - Version 2

skateIMG_9896 - Version 2                                  skateIMG_9904 - Version 2

So since we are back in the states it is time for us to embrace the lifestyle we recently left behind, with helmets, pads and waivers. But I think we are going to draw the line at wearing life jackets while surfing, unless of course the Lifeguard is watching.

skateIMG_9884 - Version 2

The airborne crane

skateIMG_0574

New Year’s Post on Last Year’s Life

Well after a lengthy absence, due to a myriad of reasons, I have finally updated our blog. I apologize for the absence, but as I readjust to real life once again, I must readjust my schedule, attitudes and blogging style. I will strive to do better in 2013, but I cannot guarantee anything, as I have no idea what the future will bring. However, I already have a couple of them in the hopper, so we shall see what happens.

The new post is a page at the top of the blog ^ on the far right titled New Year’s Letter 2012-2013. For those of you too lazy to look, just click this little link RIGHT HERE.

We wish you all a prosperous 2013, and we pray that out paths will cross in a non-digital way. Thank you all so much for the comments, private letters and notes, and prayers. Those are the things that keeps me blogging. That and nagging from my beautiful wife.

IMG_3485

God Bless you all,

Love the Georgia Godfreys.

Children of the Corny

As we continue to adjust to a new state, a new job, a new climate and a new lifestyle, our strategy to speed this process up is to soak in as much of the local color and culture as we can. This past weekend we had a chance to do just that in the form of a corn maze at Poppell Farms in Jesup, Georgia. Even the name Jesup just sounds southern. There are not many corn mazes in Alaska or Costa Rica. In fact this time of year you would have better luck finding a snow maze in Alaska, so this would be a new experience for us all.

Kassie keeps on growing.

Jake is trying to catch up.

Perfect for me!

Heading in for a sunset jaunt through the corn

It’s all fun and games until it gets dark.

Poppell Farms  hosts a corn maze, haunted forest, petting zoo and general fall event every fall. It is a southern as fried chicken, and it has a true fall feeling, warm, yellow, crunchy and just overall fally. Something that lasted about a week in Alaska, and was non-existent in Costa Rica, is very present here and celebrated; with farms, hay rides, decorations and more. The farm had the giant hay maze, and when we arrived the corn had already started to turn yellow and crunchy. The maze was several acres big and from a bird’s eye view it was supposed to be in the shape of the two presidential candidates. From ground level it was hard to tell, but I do think we got lost in Obama’s ear for quite a while. The corn maze was littered with corn and plastic eggs full of surprises and some sections the plants were well over 8 feet tall. Confusing in the light, scary in the dark.

I can’t say that no corn was thrown.

feeding dinner.

too pretty to eat.

ummm, please don’t feed the animals corn.

Livy’s favorite smiley face.

Speaking of dark, as soon as all the daylight is gone, the haunted forest was open for business. The highlight of our visit was probably the haunted forest, at least for those of us who were not crying and screaming (ummm I am not admitting anything), and perhaps for those as well. It was a true trail through a real forest with ghouls, goblins, zombies, screams and the traditional scary redneck with a chainsaw to chase you out the door. It was a great  exhilarating experience and left a trail of tears and screams for those who dared followed us into the deep dark maze.

this is what I always pictured as a fall sunset

Jake waiting for a sunset scare.

riding the pipe

daddy helping.

Jerms vs. the bull and dad.

In between the maze and haunted forest we had time to feed the horses, goats, rabbits, birds catfish and ourselves. There were plenty of things for the kids to jump or climb on and even a room full of corn to roll around in. Jeremy decided to try his hand at bull riding, and I controlled the bull. Jeremy ended up on his back, and the bull ended up upside down. I would call it a draw. There were a lot of unique things to see and do and to me, a fall novice, it lived up to what my vision of a fall carnival would be. It was warm, a little breezy and smelled like corn and farm animals. And I had to continually remind myself that the crunch beneath my feet was not from a layer of fresh new snow, but from the shedding dry leaves of the corn stalks. It’ll take me a few years to get used to that one.

Jakey do you see a way out?

ahhh the corn.

what a way to end the day.

Too convenient

It is frightenedly easy to flow back into the American lifestyle, as we are doing. It is scary because we can easily become accustomed to having all the conveniences that we used to know and then some, especially the food. There is food everywhere we look and it is available 24 hours a day, it is cheap, it is unhealthy and therefore it is extremely tasty. That can be a problem, especially for Gypsies like us, because we don’t have any cooking utensils, ergo we currently eat out a lot.

Peppers, a great place for some Mexican cuisine.

Chicken Chimichanga action

It reminds me of my years of commercial fishing. We would spend weeks at sea, before cell phones or sat phones, before twitter, facebookor email, away from all news except the weather, because in reality ,at that moment, the only thing that could really affect your life, was the weather. We had no real contact with the real world, other than tidbits we would hear from amongst the fleets and from week old newspapers supplied via the tenders. It was a different life. Certainly not pleasant and certainly not easy, extremely stressful and tiring, but not weighted down by anything other than the weather.

Shrimp is big time down here.

Cheese fries, thick thighs.

A healthier option for dad, BBQ.

However, whenever we pulled into port and as soon as we stepped back into the real world, I noticed something about each and every one of us; if there was a television on within eye-shot, our eyes were on it. We were mesmerized, locked in, focused on nothing but the tv, as if we had never seen one before. It didn’t matter what was on, it didn’t matter who was talking to us or what we were doing, we could not look away. I recall several deep important conversations, likely about the weather,a small tv flickering way off in the background displaying  a Spanish soap opera, and not one of us hearing what was being said to us. We were so starved for the real world, that when it was presented to us, we overdosed on it, gorged ourselves until we could not stand it.

Post-church Ihop in panaroma.

That is what we are doing with food right now. We have essentially lived a year of our live’s without the easy access, without the 24 hour availability, without the “real world” influence so that we are overdosing on it right now. I’m sure our health is suffering and I know my waistline is suffering. But the good news is that each and every one of us has become sick of it. We are ready to go back to normal. The problem is, we don’t know what normal is anymore. Stay tuned as we try to figure it out. And if you know you can shoot me an email, or likely you can find me at Hardees, Zaxby’s, KFC, Applebees, Chili’s, Chick Fil A, Sonny’s, Sticky Fingers…………

Aside

Gypsies

Gypsies, that is what they call us. We are wandering, homeless and wearing really wild and crazy clothes. Okay, our clothes aren’t that crazy, but we are currently homeless and wandering. If you haven’t heard, we have relocated to Southern Georgia, to a small area just north of Jacksonville Florida. Up until a couple of weeks ago, it never ever occurred to me that I may someday be a peach. A prune perhaps, due to the rains of Kodiak, but not a peach. Well as of today, things are heading in that direction.

Life has been moving fast the last couple of weeks. First of all, we spent a month in the Kissimmee area, while I looked for our next home. During that time we bought a car, got out stuff from Costa Rica, put two kids in college and job hunted like it was moose season. The job hunting turned up several prospects, and one of them was in Miami Florida. So we spent 3 days in Miami while I interviewed for the job. And although the job seemed great, and right up my alley, Miami was a whole different story. It become quickly evident that we are not a Miami type of family.  Sad, because I have been a Dolphin’s fan since as long as I can remember. We decided to turn our prospects to a more northern bound location, hence Georgia is on our mind.

I am currently trying to qualify for a job here in St. Mary’s Georgia, one of the oldest towns in the US. This town is known for its history, high school football and for its submarine base. And Lord willing, it will soon be known as the home of the Godfrey clan.

But for right now we are holed up in a 600 sq foot motel room with two beds  pull out couch and one bathroom. You can imagine the joy. If we weren’t a close family before, we are close now, and not just mentally, but literally. But in it all we are excited for what is to come, trudging through what is, and trusting God that we will be walking in the direction he has laid out for us. And if that path is lined with peaches, then cobbler is new my favorite food and Falcons are my new favorite bird.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 66 other followers