Finally Cold Enough!

Our kids have always loved seeing this experiment preformed and were so happy to have the chance yesterday to try it themselves.

Who knew that starting the day at -42° could bring such a great ending to the day.

It was very cold though.  We made the kids dress head to toe in their winter gear.  With much grumbling they put it on.

When I showed them this picture of mommy being out for just a few minutes later in the day they kind of got it...

Now we have one or two kids who actually might take this as a challenge to see who can grow the most frost on their face.  Hopefully that wont occur to them (isn't that sad that as their mom, it did occur to me though?).

So to those family and friends, living the warm life of 24° or 45° in Utah, Arizona or Oregon, we love you, but we enjoy our -temps too!

When the wind blows...

it makes the temps feel like -30 below.  No chance of a cradle rocking here....

We had our first REALLY cold day here yesterday.  You didn't dare go out with full gear and everyone's cheeks were still nice and pink when they got inside.

It was only -13, but with the wind blowing and bringing in the chill factor it felt more like -30.

The bad thing was, unlike in Utah were you go out to take the kids to school and everyone shivers and shakes and says how cold it is...this sneaks up on you.  You know its cold, but the shivering doesn't start.  You start feeling burning in any exposed skin and then it hits you that you have something uncovered.

Then to make it worse, you enter a warm building and the burning really begins for the next half hour or so depending on how long you were out...

So lesson learned...wear your hat, gloves, facemask or whatever your mom has told you.   Because duh!  Mom told you and she knows!...also cause it's cold outside!

Road Less Traveled

I always did like Robert Frost's Poem about the road less traveled by...tell I lived in Alaska....well in Buckland, Alaska.

There isn't any such thing as a road less traveled by.  The wind has been blowing for two days and we have entirely new roads to travel by so we would make do just fine with a path that everyone went down.

I know that isn't what the poem is about, but you get my point.

It is has been interesting to walk to places.  You step one foot in front of the other, and your mostly good.  One wrong move though and a short person like me ends up hip deep in a drift.

30 day challenge

 

 

For cub scouts we are doing a 30 day challenge...and yes it is kicking my butt!

 

But the good thing is, I am not the only one feeling the burn.  It is hilarious seeing these kids do

push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, squats and best yet a wall sit.

 

We did look up the wall sit online before we did it, and holy cow - not only does it look hard, it is!

 

The first day Ender was all swagger about how easy everything was...that was until we got down in the plank position.

 

He wanted to know why this was even something to do, cause it was too easy.  But then the timer started...5 seconds was cake....10 started to burn...by 15 he was letting me know he felt it...and twenty he was glad it was over (not to much more than I was though!)

 

They are already looking forward to the rest day listed on the calendar...At least they can walk normal unlike me.  I have that shuffling gait that tells you a person is trying a new exercise routine...and you usually laugh inside..grateful that it isn't you...

 

Well I am not laughing inside..cause it is me!

 

But we are doing another challenge as well.

 

This year we are going to make it ALL the way through the Book of Mormon.  We always do pretty well tell summer hits, then you know how it goes. We always make Alma, but from there things happen.... But I told Nia it was her job (chore she calls them) to keep us on our A game and make sure we do it, so with her on board I think our chances have increased probably 50 %. 

 

 

 

 

Bringing in 2018!

 This is how they bring in the New Year Buckland Alaska style.  May you have brought in yours in as fun a manner!

 

We started our countdown at 1 p.m.

Miss Nia started us off and you can see for yourself how the rest unfolded.

 

1 pm decorating cakes and cupcakes

 

2 pm making gingerbread house

 

3 pm pass the orange

 



 

4 pm hot potato balloon

 

 

5 pm play with cozmo

 

6 pm pizza time

 



 

7 pm Q-tip dart contest

 

8 pm M&M pickup contest

 



 

9 pm exploding kittens (very fun game)

 

10 pm polar bear prowl (instead of swim) and puzzle contest

 



 

11 pm epic nerf gun battle to end all battles (lasted almost an hour)!

 

12 am Welcome New Year!

 



 

1 am they at least made it to their beds, if not in them...

 

 

Bringing in the New Year

My goal this year is to stay more on top of blogging.  There is so much we do on a daily basis that I forget to share, cause it is our daily basis.  But family reminds me of how unusual or unique our life is every time I talk to them.

So here is to a New Year resolution of blogging if not on a daily basis at least a weekly one!

Happy New Year and welcome to 2018!

Not on my laurels

Well I haven't been sitting on my laurels that's for sure.

I looked at the last entry and was amazed that it has been that long since I wrote last.

What have I been doing?  Pretty much everything.

I have been subbing every other week which keeps me plenty busy cause when we get home there is plenty catch up work to do.

We have been enjoying the outdoors as well.  Until recently it hadn't been too cold so even with all the snow the kids have been out a lot in it.

I think the most recent happiest day of their lives was when our Jet Sled got here. 

I ordered it to help with mail and groceries, but of course their first thought was of sledding.

We also have had quite a few opportunities to see moose, foxes and caribou coming through.  The foxes amazed me.  I wasn't expecting them so when I quite almost literally ran into one in my own yard I was startled but amazed.

I also learned that the caribou can move like no buddies business.  When they are on the go, they are ON the GO!

I am not sure what to call the above pictured phenomenon.  I saw something similar once in Utah and they camp guide I was with called them moon dogies.  I just know they are quite pretty.  Reminds you of the Northern Lights but not as big or as many shades of color with them.

Well traveled

Well we went on our first Orthodontist trip to Anchorage.  That was a very interesting thing for Raiden and I.  I also managed to get my Alaska Driver License.  So YAY me!

Without mountains to my east and west I found myself getting lost quite a bit.  They have mountains but they are way to the east.  But thank goodness the main roads and maps of Anchorage are good ones so we still got back to where we needed to be.

From there I got Raiden back to Buckland and then I made my way down to Payson, Utah.  We needed to fix our storage unit problem we had and now when the weather was workable would be a time to do it.

I probably am not a seasoned traveler, but as far as Kotzebue, Anchorage, Seattle and Salt Lake go I think I have learned some valuable lessons and info about each airport. 

Most entertaining is that I left Utah with 70 degree weather and returned home to a brief snow flurry.

Can we say brrrrrrr!.....

Let's all go to Primary

Sunday is chaotic to say the least.  I used to think keeping a child reverent while in sacrament was the hardest thing on Sundays,  but I now know better.  It's even harder when they aren't seen and triple that when they are watching each other over a live video stream.

Home Sweet Home

My mom has asked over and over what our new home looks like.  So I "threw" together this clip.

 

 

 

The first little bit in the house you see is the arctic entry.

No brainer right?  The freezer is located in here and this is were we will also be removing and putting on heavy winter gear...

We are in a 3 bedroom 1 bath home that the school has provided.  We actually have the principals old home as it is the largest.

So enjoy our little bit of Alaska, I know we do.

Fall is here

I love living places ( and that is anywhere that gets this) that has fall.  That is one of the things both Kale and I missed most while we lived in Nevada.  You went so quickly from winter to spring with a long drawn out summer and then a brief dash through fall and into winter again.

 So yes we are loving the fall weather and temperatures.  While a lot of you are still soaring into 80's if not hire we are lucky to top out at 50 some days.  Others 40 is where we spend the day.  Amazing enough you still have to practically tie the kids up to put a jacket on.  I laugh when I see them all out in their shorts, even though it is most definitely NOT short temperatures.

So here is to hoping you had an enjoyable first Saturday as we approach Fall and the first of September.

Buckland, Alaska

Many have asked about where we live, and my mom among others has googled more than a time or two.  So here is a picture from Google Earth of Buckland, Alaska, the town we currently call home.  As you see we live right near the school.  It is a very nice home, much bigger than the last one we enjoyed in Port Alexander.  It is a 3 bedroom, 1 bath but it is as larger if not larger than our apartment we lived in in Richfield, Utah.

Everything is within walking distance, and because the town runs on a mix of generators and wind power they actually have LED street lights throughout most of town.  So when it gets its darkest our new little home will be well lit.

Two wonderful conveniences are the store and the airport.  The store is a little native store that is open Monday through Saturday from 10 to 6.  They have a little bit of everything.  And I do mean everything.  Ammo to toilet paper to Dr. Pepper to Ice Cream and diapers.  The airport is such that they actually get planes every day.  Twice actually Monday through Saturday and once on Sunday.  And at that there are two airlines that come out, Bering and Raven so it is more like four opportunities Monday through Saturday and two on Sunday.

So that's it for now, hopefully you enjoy our little or big insights to our town.

Inupiaq Day

On Friday for Inupiaq Day during school (this is the name of the local tribe) the kids went out and picked blueberries.  With five kids going out and participating we ended up with quite a collection of berries.  Nia asked if we could try blueberry pancakes for breakfast, so that is what we did this morning.

So, imagine my dismay at having to get up and make pancakes with fresh, delicious blueberries.  Makes you shudder huh? No!  It was a lot of fun and they turned out quite well.  All of the kids (Kale included) ate them.  Ender of course was the objector since he doesn't like any type of fruit in his food unless it is Banana Bread.

All of my photos of the day are on my phone and kales phone so I will have to try to get them posted on here when I am at home and have access to the internet.  (The school blocks wifi access to all devices that aren't a laptop)

But hopefully your Saturday was as good as mine, even if it didn't start out with Blueberry Pancakes!

We're back

Well we have made our way back up to Alaska.  We were in Utah for two years, which was a treat since that is the closest we have ever lived to either of our families, but here we are back in Alaska.

We went through Seattle again but this time landed in Anchorage.

After spending the night in the airport (which we will not do in Anchorage again especially with all the kids in tow) we left early in the morning to Kotzebue.

We were able to spend the day in Kotzebue so we could visit the town and go to the grocery store.
We finally made it onto our flight in Kotzebue and landed in Buckland.  After the long day we had put in we loved finally being on the ground knowing we weren't going to have to go anywhere soon.

So I look forward to keeping you up to date with pictures and stories of our life here in Buckland, Alaska.  Hopefully you will see something cool, or funny as we wander on our way.

About Time

 

I was pretty embarrassed when I saw how long since I have got on the blog.  I can't say I was "busy", but I guess I was.  Instead of trying to catch up by writing I figured I would take this opportunity to do a photo blog and that will kind of show what we have been up to!

 

 

 

 

Any Questions?