Arctic Adventures

Winter camping is still kind of a "big deal" for us, but is becoming more routine.  We bought a used Arctic Oven tent early this winter and were excited to test it out.   This camping trip happened during our Spring Break.  The weather was warm and the snow was very heavy and sticky.  We ended up at a spot pretty close to town, but it was just perfect.  The kids had a sledding/snowboarding hill, we had a good snowshoe loop, there was ample firewood, and the camping area was sheltered by trees.   All our gear strapped into the sleds!  Our "new" tent all set up. We camped right at the bottom of a great sledding/snowboarding hill.   Oren was so excited to try out his snowboard on a bigger hill. Oren's first run on his snowboard. Anya chilling at the bottom of the sledding hill.  Can you tell she is learning how to love being outside?! It was tricky to keep the kids dry with the warm temperat...

March 29, 2019 We had a beautiful day for an outing; the sky was clear and it was one of the first days that we could actually feel the heat of the sun.   We took a ride out to Brett's farthest trap for some fresh air and adventure.   Oren and Anya ride with Brett, and Ryker rides behind me when we go out.  No matter how warm the air temperature is it gets cold when we are riding, so we bundle up.  I made each of the kids a new hat this year all from Brett's trapped furs.  Oren chose lynx, while Ryker and Anya chose marten.  Anya's ski pants aren't waterproof anymore, so I ordered her new ones, but in the meantime I used some waterproof fabric I had and sewed a piece onto the backside.  It certainly won't win any fashion contests, but made her ski pants effective for one more trip!   We rode out to Brett's farthest trap, a wolverine set.  In these photos Brett and Oren are working on it.  Oren is...

We are terrible at blogging.  Here's another try to get it going.  We had such a busy, fun, rewarding fall, but I'm going to work backward from now to last spring (LOL!). 2020 will be a year to remember.  The kids and Brett started Spring Break on March 16 with the expectation of going back to school.  By the first day of Break, we heard we weren't going back to school until March 30.  By the end of break it was announced at all Alaska schools were closed until May 1.   The teachers have been working hard to continue to educate children at home.  By the Wednesday after Spring Break the boys had school work for two weeks and a time for a conference call with their classmates and teachers.  All the teachers are working from home, including Brett, and teaching the kids via their phone conference meetings and homework packets.  There are so many frustrations and scary situations associated with the COVID-19 outbreak and the corresponding...

It's not always easy getting out with kids and sometimes you forget crucial supplies like blankies and pacifiers.  But the pain of packing up and getting kids motivated and ready is always worth it.  Everyone gets to "unplug," help out, learn new skills, and appreciate God's amazing creation! (We have also been known to say that the best part of camping is coming home and sleeping in your own bed!) Last weekend we took a trip along Brett's trapping trail to camp overnight at Robbie and Tanya's cabin.  It was a personal goal to drive Brett's whole trapping trail with the family, so it was fun to be able to check that off the list.  We took our time on the first part (around 30 miles).  Brett and Oren pulled traps, the kids explored a bit, the dog ran, and I drove slow ;)  We got to Robbie's in the late afternoon, unpacked, did some chores, and played.  The next morning after packing up we did the remaining part of Brett's trail (12 mile loop...