Our Life in Alaska and Beyond

Last Friday Noelle's preschool got to go on a field trip to the Reindeer Farm! Robyn and I got to go with too, and it was so fun! The reindeer are starting to get their white winter coats and they are so pretty! We don't have any snow yet, (usually we do by now), but I'm sure it will be here soon! The kids all loved feeding the reindeer, and then we got to go on a wagon ride pulled by a tractor, and the kids were able to play in a corn maze too. It was a very fun morning!

One of my favorite photos I've ever taken. I couldn't get enough of that sun flare! 🤩 I shared this one in the "My Home is Alaska" FB group and it got over 800 likes!

I could probably sub-title this post "the longest week of my life" lol. Haha, but really, it was very challenging taking care of the girls all on my own for a week. Scott is the best husband and daddy and we missed him so much! Scott left for St. Paul on Sunday (Mother's Day) and then returned home the following Sunday (his birthday). The week he was gone was also Ruby's last week of school. Haha, the timing wasn't the greatest, but we made it through! And Scott got some amazing pics while on St. Paul Island! I had so much fun going through these and learning more about the wildlife there. :)

Also, check out these links to learn more about St. Paul:
 -The Island
-The cliff-nesting birds of St. Paul
-Many birders go to St. Paul to see rare migratory birds from Asia. The author above wrote this post on his personal blog, which includes some of these rare birds.
-More pics of St. Paul from the same author.

Thick-billed Murres

Ruby has Music almost everyday in her kindergarten class. (We love Dena'ina Elementary!) Last Tuesday all the kindergarten classes put on a concert with some Christmas songs they've been singing at school. It was so cute! I think they sang five songs so the whole program was just about 20 minutes. Perfect for families with small children! Ruby did great and it was so fun to see her perform with all her classmates. Unfortunately she has been sick this past weekend with strep throat, but by Tuesday night she had been on the antibiotics long enough to not be contagious anymore, and she was feeling much better than the previous days/nights, so she got to be in the concert. Enjoy these cute pics!

Also, on Wednesday, Ruby's class got to go on a field trip to The Alaskan Nutcracker! (The last two pics.) I was lucky enough to be a chaperone and go with them while Scott stayed home with Noelle and Robyn. The Nutcracker was very cute with Alaskan themes throughout the show, and I'm so glad I got to see it. I think I enjoyed it more than most the kids, Ruby included, haha. But we all had fun! :)

Ruby and her music teacher, Miss Daley

Getting ready. This pic cracks me up!

I'm guest blogging for Holly. I'm Holly's husband, Scott. Last week I had the opportunity to spend some time on St. Paul Island in the middle of the Bering Sea. We boarded the plane in Anchorage, but the left engine was smoking and wouldn't start. We eventually got on another plane and arrived around 11:00 pm Sunday night. There were many setbacks over the next few days. I was traveling with two coworkers and between the three of us only one cooler out of our five checked bags made the trip. Because my suitcase didn't make the trip I wore the same clothes for 4 days in a row (day and night) without changing or showering. Finally, on the 5th day I broke down and washed my clothes and borrowed a pair of scrubs from the clinic.

Me at the airport showing just how Alaskan I've become.

We climbed a volcano and explored a cave on a field trip with the school. It was probably the most dangerous field trip of the 21st Century.