First Snow

It is October 13 and we had our first snow.

We went on a snow hike and found a bunch of mushroom rings in one area.

My son drank warm milk with a drop of chocolate as "hot cocoa" on the trail.

We played pappa bear chasing baby bear a game the little guy made up on the trail.

and we loved it!

Superman Wears Red Boots

We Rock

Our school and district just made Scholastics Top 25 Cool Schools list.  If you click on the school listed under Alaska you can read about our awesome Whittier Community.

I am so thankful to work for such an amazingly innovative school district.

Alyeska

We spend a lot of time hanging out on the ski hill at Alyeska Ski Resort.  It is about 15 min walk from our house.

 It's pretty spectacular.

The little guy likes to run down the half pipe.

Sometimes on the way home we stop at Moose Meadows to watch the paragliders land.

I feel pretty darned lucky to live in this place.

How to Make Really Big Bubbles

If you want to make really big bubbles.

Strip the leaves off a bendable branch.

Make a loop as big as your branch will allow.

Dip it in the bubbles.

You now have a bubble wand for a super big bubble.  Sometimes it take a few tries because the branch  may be moist.  Bubbles away.

Summer

Summer I wait for you all year and you never disappoint.  

We have been super busy adventuring.  We went to our land and stayed in our 16 foot yurt.  Sigh... breathe it in. No electricity or plumbing, and none of our daily oblligations. The little guy just loves it.

Although this beach is not warm it is truly amazing in every other way.  A beach with a view of glacier mountains is pretty hard to beat.

Then there was the salmon that needed to be smoked.  I have to admit that one of my favorite meals is Annies White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with smoked salmon in it.  I crave it as soon as I see or smell smoked salmon.

The Good Life

“Fire is the most tolerable third party.” Henry David Thoreau    

Yesterday we lived the good life.  We were gifted a beautiful day. The little guy and I worked in the yard for hours.  "We" stacked the wood into the shed, and broke down our brush pile to bring to the woodlot.  We watered the garden, made green smoothies with our veggies and cleaned our our canning jar supply.  This is the most satisfying type of day for me.  Hard work, accomplishments, nature, family, and at the end having a body that feels alive with sore muscles.  

Denali Continued

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” 
-John Muir

There is a 30% chance that a person would see Denali (Mt. Mckinley) as it is often surrounded by its own weather.  On the way we crested a hill and there it was, so amazingly big and white.  I had thoughts that I wished the forest were not there as the mountain went in and out of our view.  We stopped at a rest stop that had a panoramic view of the mountain range, but by the time we got there Denali has hid itself in the clouds.

The little guy and his mamma took a hike on the Taiga Trail that led down to Horeshoe Lake.

And when we got there we had snacks.

These bags of gravel were flown in by helicopter so they could be tampered down to improve the trail.  Just imagine all that goes in to keeping such a huge park.  Thank you trail crew, and thank you little man for wanting to help.

Camping

The little guy and I are back from Denali.  We had a blast and got to see Mt. Mckinley peeking out of the clouds on our drive there.  Amazing.  More photos to come.

Denali

I am heading out for a mommy and me camping trip to Denali.  Not what I was expecting as my hubby was supposed to come, but work interfered.  The norm for me would be to not go,  but go we do.  I am proud to be taking on such a big adventure and first camping trip with the little guy.

We gave the tent a trial run tonight so he could "help" learn how to put it up.  Firsts are growth periods for our little man and I treasure all he learns on each outing.

Local Flavor

This past weekend was our annual Forest Fair.  A weekend full of crafts, food, music all tucked away in the forest.  It is our one big event in the summer and folks come from all over Alaska. (only phone for photos this time so they are hazy)

The little guy's favorite part was Beth and her spinning wheel.  Nighttime has been filled with "Mommy tell me the story about Beth and her spinning wheel."

The music through a child's eyes is way more interesting than through an adults eyes.  

The bears.. well they did not enjoy themselves as much.  Imagine too many people in your habitat.  This might have been a bear treed by his mama for safety.  

This Moment

This moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. An idea from Soulmama.

Kimchi

A few weeks ago a friend of mine had some gals over to make kimchi and fermented garlic.  This is the kimchi before I squished it allowing all the natural liquids to come out.

Please excuse the poorly shot photo of the finished products.  Hope the reflecting light does not blind you.  After we put the ingredients in the canning jars they had to sit for 2 weeks before tasting.  The outcome is a 2 thumbs up from my husband who has juts about cleaned out the kimchi already.

While we were in Kazakhstan we ate some kimchi from the local market.

Mmmm....It was so good, and the bread was so good, and the fermented milk, well that was not my favorite.   We both got sick, but that's another story.

This Moment-Generations

This moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. An idea from Soulmama.

Wood Shed

Look what our neighbors gave us.  Pretty isn't it.  He, he.  They are moving and we need a wood shed so they chained it to the back of their truck and dragged it down the road and into our side yard.

They also gave us their wood which is the bigger score.  The best thing about this wood shed is that when we build a new one we can tear this one apart and use it for kindling.  It's a win-win now don't ya think.

Land

This is our beautiful land before it greens up.  We keep meaning to build a house on it.

It will be filled with wildflowers once the sun does it's thing.  Until then it is wide open and a little brown.

Father's Day

Father's day was celebrated all weekend in our house.  We played in our vegetable garden, went for a bike ride, over to friend's for dinner, up the ski hill, and on a hike.

Isn't this a perfect beach find.  A work of art washed up on the beach.  A wood heart with a place for a message.  I want to make a necklace out of it, but it might be too delicate.

I have seen a few piles of bear scat in the hood.  Hope they stay out of my yard this year.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

To Homer and Back

The little man and his family took a trip to Homer this week.  While J. attended the Kachemak Bay Writers Conference the little man and I checked out the new playground, played on the beach and visited with friends.  Leaving your home even if for a short time is so necessary at times.  I think it is healthy to step away from obligations and just breathe the air.  They seem to be less important and necessary when they are not in your eye sight.

The little guy did lots of plane spotting on the beach and learned the difference between a float plane and land plane.  I did lots of breathing in of the sea air and the hubby relished in learning from Barry Lopez, his favorite author.

This amazing driftwood sculpture was hanging at the new Homer playground.  Had I shot it at a different angle you would see the snowcapped mountains and bay in the horizon instead of the baseball field.  I was doing a little follow and shoot, follow the little man and shoot pictures.

This Moment

{this moment}: a Friday ritual. A moment from the week to savor and remember.

Lions

We are reading the Magic Treehouse books in our classroom.  I love the series.  A few years ago I made a Magic Treehouse in my classroom. It was an actual raised loft like treehouse.   It was amazing.  We just read Lions at Lunchtime.  I love attaching art and literacy.

Here are our lions that the kiddos made using scraps form our scrap box.

 This was the model I used.  I found the image on the internet so I can not take credit for the design.

 I love what young children come up with during art.  Adding the color and pre-cut shapes made this rainbow lion pretty festive.

 This is one of my special little 2nd graders.  

 So amazing.  This looks like modern art.

Look at those awesome eyebrows.  What a great expression.