Watermelon Day

Well, I haven't posted on here in a LONG time.  I didn't post very much while we lived in Alaska because our internet was not consistent.  You would think I would have plenty to post about living in Alaska, and a few people I knew in our village did have blogs that they kept up.  For me Alaska was not that interesting.  Sorry, Alaska lovers!  We lived there for three years and most of that time I was inside raising my babies.  While motherhood is not boring, the day to day of it can be tedious and who wants to read a blog about doing dishes and laundry?  There was really not much to do in our village and most of the year it is too cold to go outside for long.  There were times when it was -60 and Marlowe and I did not leave the house for five days.  FIVE DAYS!  Can you imagine not even stepping outside your small house with your young toddler for five whole days?  Then when you do get out it is maybe for 15-20 minutes?  Needless to say I feel like we are regaining our humanity.  We can go to the play ground or the beach, we can hang out with friends and family, or just be out in the yard.  Some people really love Alaska, but I kind of hated it.  So, enough about AK!  What I really want to blog about is anything crafty, kid stuff, family, natural living, and learning with my kids!  Crafts and projects are what I love to think and talk about.  I just got this book from the library called Every Day's a Holiday!  It has fun ideas for non traditional holidays like pi day and peanut day.

Well August 3rd is National Watermelon Day She makes a cool watermelon monster which we are going to try.  She suggests using a pumpkin carving tool.  Don't you wish you kept yours after last Halloween?  Here are some cute things you could do with your family.  This watermelon car is adorable and doesn't look too difficult.

Boys would love this:  

This one was making it's way around Pinterest and I LOVE IT:

These two are opposites, summer and winter.  I love the snow man, it would be cute for a Christmas in July party.

The Sand pail is perfect for summer and I love the shovel!

I like making little things like this on ordinary days.  It's not just fun for the kids, but for me too.  Hope you have some watermelon soon!

COLD!

It gets pretty cold in Akiak.  I think the coldest it got last year was around -40.  During January in the Kuskoquim 300, (which is a sled dog race,)  it was in the -40's and some parts of the race it was -60 with wind chill.  Some of the dog racers got frost bite on their eyes! 
Pretty consistently December through March it was in the -20s with the wind chill.  When I lived in Chicago I HATED the cold which is one of the reasons I wanted to move to Washington where the weather is milder. Kind of ironic that I live in Alaska now.  Actually -20 doesn't feel that bad if you have the proper gear.  We always wear snow pants and parkas and face masks.  If you have those things, especially the snow pants, it doesn't feel that bad.  Now if I was out there in jeans and a peacoat like I was in Chicago I would be freezing my rear off.

When it is really cold Marlowe stays in side my coat, (he's the bulge in there.)

This is the Kuskoquim River which becomes the ice road:

When it isn't too cold Marlowe rides in his Alaskan stroller:

Dogville

When most people think of Alaska they think of mountains and glaciers and jumping Orca whales and bears and moose.  In Akiak there are moose and bears and foxes around, but you never really see them, mostly because they get scared off by all the dogs and vehicle noise.  So Akiak is no wildlife paradise, it is more like dogville.  It is no great life for dogs though, I think Sparty is probably the oldest dog in the village.
Alaska dog treat:

There are a few people in our village who race sled dogs competitively.  Sled dogs aren't really used for travel, but there is money to be made in the sport.

When there is not snow, they train the sled dogs by hooking them up to a four wheeler and having them drag it.

Many of the teachers have adopted village dogs.  It is a bit risky since the nearest vet is in Bethel and is only there once a month.  Some of the dogs get parvo and die as puppies.  It is illegal to have your dog untied, but many are loose, and there have been a few round-ups where all the loose dogs are shot.  Jared and I had the misfortune to come across a pile of dead dogs at the dump.  It was especially sad since I had names for all the little strays around and we would give them treats.  Now I know not to get attached to the loose dogs.

Sparty at the beach with Alvin.  A dog party in front of our house.

Akiak entertainment.

Many people as us what there is to do in Akiak.  Not much.  There is not really anywhere to go or anything to do.  So entertainment is of your own making.  Places to go in Akiak:
The Post Office:

The Clinic:

The Store:

The School:

The River:

Somebodies house to hang out:

Whoopee!!!

Back in blog land

So, blogging does not work in Akiak because I have to use the internet at the school and it doesn't allow me to blog.  Hopefully this will be remedied next year.  I'll try and catch you up on some things this summer.  Here are some pics of flying in to Akiak at different times of the year.  I think the summer is the most beautiful but I only have pictures of Fall, Winter and Spring.  This is Springtime:

You can see what the river looks like breaking up.  Here we are getting ready to leave, Marlowe goes
inside my coat because it gets chilly.



Here is the tundra in fall and winter from the air:

Akiak

Some of you might not have heard, but we are moving to Akiak Alaska. Jared has to be in Anchorage on the 4th of August, I will probably follow a bit later depending upon how the baby and I are doing.
Akiak is a Yup'ik Eskimo village of around 300 people. Here is a map:

And some info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akiak,_Alaska
This is a YouTube video from a teacher who taught in Akiak for a year, it has some good images.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE4b09hYBoQ
Finally these are some pictures that were sent to us by the principal of the school:
This is the school in winter.

This is the teacher housing, it is a three bedroom duplex.

The kitchen:

So it will be an adventure for us. It looks pretty cold!