5th Grade Survival Camp

Joshua's school does a 2 day Survival Camp for the 5th graders, and while I love to help out at school, this event was a Dad's job!  Jared took the 2 days off, and spent them with Josh and his friends.  They went out into the Alaskan wilderness and had a blast!

This is Josh and his friends Tyler and Kaulani, before they headed out!

They played lots of games, and from the looks of it, Josh loved it!

They also had a survival time, where they had to build a shelter, cook their own food, do first aid, use a GPS, and build a fire.  Jared said, Josh "rocked" the fire!  They also learned about avalanche safety.

There was a main cabin, where they did all their eating...and Josh assured me that the food was GREAT!

He just had fun hanging out with all his friends!

We don't do sleepovers, so getting to sleep in a cabin with his buddies was the best...not so much for Jared!

It was a great learning experience, one he will never forget!

PINEWOOD DERBY

Joshua had his last and our final (hallelujah) Pinewood Derby.  He made his car into a Rainbow Trout...and it not only won "Most Alaskan", but he took 3rd place!!!!!  He was on cloud nine.  It is now proudly displayed in his room!

Another Catch Up

Another post for catching up....March has flown by, and I am so behind, not just in blogging.  I am not even sure anyone reads this (except my family), but I have to do it for journaling purposes!

YUMMY FOOD:  Joshua wanted to make Meatloaf one Sunday, so I told him he had to make it.  We also had a fun dinner making Spring Rolls!

JOSHUA:  Made a Caribou candlestick holder in art class, went hunting with Dad and Pete (on a warm Alaska day)

NATHAN:  Snowmobiled in the church parking lot for scouts, learned the Haka dance, has a best friend in Hank (love the height difference), had his last visit at the Pediatrician's office (they told us to switch him over to Family Practice, that he was too big to be hanging out with the monkeys and lions...he is 6'1" now!)

SPRING BREAK:  Saw some movies and did some tubing with friends!  We also went to an Ace's hockey game!

February Catch Up

VALENTINE'S DAY:

The boys and I put a fun surprise in Jared's truck for him that day and ended the night with a fun, at home, dinner!

JOSHUA'S SNOW FORT:

CHINESE NEW YEAR:

The Oldham family had us over to celebrate the Chinese New Year.  Julie had just been to Japan, so she had all sorts of fun stuff for us!  We made our own sushi, had flaming ice cream, and Michael Teeples even taught the kids how to do a little origami.  We ended with all the families sprawled out in the basement watching "Here Comes The Boom".  It was a great night.  Thanks, Oldham Family!

IDITAROD 2013

Last Saturday we went with our friends The Napolean's (I have to say thanks to her for a lot of the pictures), to see the "unofficial" start of the Iditarod, in downtown Anchorage.  The official start was Sunday in Willow.  It was crowded, cold,  and foggy, but so worth going!

It really was wall to wall people the closer you got to the starting line.

Come of the cool signs:

The dogs were so beautiful and very loud.  All they wanted to do was run!

There were dogs everywhere...some still in the warm trucks.

There was a lot of "Alaksan"  fashion walking around!

The boys had a great time (Well I think Nathan did, although you can't tell from his teenage expression!) and even enjoyed some Reindeer Sausage hotdogs!

A month of skiing!

February has been a great month for cross country skiing.  We have taken the boys quite a bit!  The Cocklin's have been great to ski with us beginners!

Boys will be boys.....sword fighting with ice cycles!  An accident waiting to happen!

Dog Sled Races

Last Saturday we decided to head into Anchorage with our neighbors and watch the dog sled races for Fur Rondy.  We headed out to Campbell Air Strip and had a front row view.  It was so cool seeing all the dogs.  They are a lot smaller than I thought they would be, and their tongues are so long (notice in the pictures).  It was a beautiful sunny Alaskan day!

The boys, especially Josh had a great time. Nathan did too, but because he has a teenager attitude now, he would never admit to fun with the family!  It was cold, so we were all bundled up!

Here are some pictures of the teams.....