We're Alaskans!

Well, we made it to Delta Junction, Alaska. The drive through Canada was absolutely beautiful. The mountains and lakes and forests provided nonstop gorgeous scenery. So much so that after a couple days, I'd point out a beautiful mountain lake and the kids would say, "Yep," instead of, "Wow! That is so beauuutiful!"

The house we're renting is perfect for us. The kids LOVE the yard with all the space, a jungle gym, a play house, and a fort. They went outside Monday morning after breakfast and were pretty much outside until we had to enforce broad daylight bedtime at 9:30. The light is kind of messing with my mind. I already have the tendency to get my second wind after the kids go to bed, and when it's sunny outside at 11:00pm, it is pretty hard for me to convince myself that I'm tired.

Our truck hasn't arrived yet--it got to Anchorage by Monday, but they said they only swing through Delta on Fridays. SO they'll drop the trailer on Friday and pick it up the next Friday. That is definitely not what the company originally told us, but it'll work for us. We are excited to get our beds and kitchenware and computer all of our other stuff so we can really start to feel at home here. I'm eager for that settled feeling. And when we get our computer and settle on a slow-speed internet option, I'll even be able to add pictures to better document our adventures. I can't really upload family pics to the library computer. So, more to come. Until then, we miss all of you and hope that the internet will help make the thousands of miles not feel quite as distant!

Alaska or Bust

We have always loved roadtrips. A few years ago, we took a mega road trip from Colorado to North Carolina and down to Alabama and Texas, seeing all the family and friends we could squeeze in along the way. Our total for that trip was 63 hours of driving time. This road trip up to Alaska would be almost 60 hours one way. That's what Aaron calls "epic."

Our first two days felt like a pretty normal road trip--driving all day and stopping to enjoy the hospitality of family. Monday we went into new roadtrip territory--leaving the country.

Monday, June 20

220 miles, 5 hours

After stopping at one of our old favorite stores, WinCo, to buy some roadtrip and camping food, and then stopping in the last town in the US to find a thrift store where we could get Aaron a couple shirts to wear to work since we had accidentally packed them all in the moving truck, we decided that a good goal for the day would be to just get through Canadian customs, drive past Vancouver, and find a lovely spot to camp.

Getting through customs proved to be quite an ordeal. Since my husband is a hunter with very strong protective instincts we'll just say, he could not fathom camping in the Canadian wilderness without some form of protection from bears. Of course he declared this at customs, which apparently made them concerned that he was stashing other things in there, so they did a full search of the vehicle. Meaning they take everything out and you have to pack it all back in.

At least the kids got a break from the car while we tried to get them to sit respectably in the customs waiting area with only the Canadian News to divert their attention. We couldn't even use the bathroom without express permission from the officer handling our family, and since he was busy, we got to wait.

Once in Canada, we soon discovered that it is absolutely gorgeous. Yes, Washington was lovely, too, but things seemed to get more stunning as we drove further north. I was really impressed with the city of Vancouver. It is a HUGE city that just had a really cool feel. Something about it reminded me of the city of Luzern, Switzerland. I liked it a lot. Note to self: when we have more time and money, go back and take a vacation in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Our trusty roadtrip guide, the Milepost, described the awesome scenic route called the Sea to Sky highway. The views were stunning, with oceans jutting right out of the sea. 

These sea to sky views also reminded me of some places in the Alps.
We saw an awesome campsite right on the water, but it was full. Just a mile or two up the road, there was another campsite. It was definitely dinnertime and we were ready to get our campstove cooking and set up camp for the night.
This campground was on the other side of the road, so it drew the mountain climbing bunch rather than the seafaring crowd. This mountain face, Stawamus Chief, is apparently the second largest granite monolith in the world. It seemed to be some sort of granola mecca. I don't know if I've ever seen so many dreadlocks in one place. The surrounding view was awesome, but the campsites were basically a gravel spot for your car another spot about the same size for your tent, right next to the next campers. Not much place for the kids to roam free, but luckily Xander and Elodie were great at exploring close by. I just had to hold Hazel until she was ready for bed.
We fired up our sweet propane stove and whipped up some cheesy rice with broccoli and cauliflower in no time. Delicious food, gorgeous view, the best people in the world--needless to say, we all had a great time! Aaron set up the tent for him and Xander and Elodie. We decided it would help more people sleep if I just slept in the car with Hazel. 

Tuesday, June 21

300 miles, 7 hours

A little past William's Lake, we were ready to cook some dinner and enjoy the evening. We found a quaint little country campsite behind a mom and pop general store where there was plenty grass for the kids to run around. I've never been a huge fan of hot dogs, so I whipped up some spinach soup concoction that was pretty tasty and the rest of the fam enjoyed roasting their dogs.
Hazel LOVED the chance to stretch.
She was ecstatic to have room to roll.
Wednesday, June 22

600 miles, 13 hours

We didn't really mean to drive so far on Wednesday. We made it to Prince George around lunchtime and found an awesome park. The town had a great, family-friendly feel. I found myself really falling in love with British Columbia! The kids would have liked to stay at that park the rest of the day, but we managed to get them back in the confines of the car. They are really amazing travelers. After two nights of camping, it seemed like we had earned a shower and a night in a real bed. Plus, our Milepost warned that there were a lot of bears in the area, and Aaron didn't particularly want to risk camping with bears on the prowl. So when we got to Hazelton and a cluster of towns at the junction, we started looking for a Bed and Breakfast. After two nights of sleeping in the car with Hazel (trying to sleep, that is), I was really hoping for a place with an adjoining room or somewhere we could tuck Hazel where I was not in her line of sight. We discovered that our trusty Milepost didn't list every B&B, so we were just trying to keep our eyes peeled. We passed one--it was too late to make the turn, so we blew past. Not wanting to turn back, we decided we'd wait for the next. Whoops, we passed another one, I think. But there were still some more towns coming soon, according to the book, and we were all still feeling good, so we kept driving. Those towns had no B&B's, so we kept going, hoping to find just the perfect place. We got onto the Cassiar Highway, which turns out to be the most isolated stretch of road we encountered our whole trip. Mile after mile after mile there were gorgeous mountain views and amazing forests and not a sign of civilization beyond the paved road. No lodging for us. At nearly 10:00, we came to the Bell 2 Lodge. Not the quaint B&B I had been hoping for, but a very nice-looking, new lodge with lots of cute little cabins. It did not look cheap, but since it was the only lodging we'd seen in 2 hours, we didn't have much room for bargain hunting. There was only one room left, and they were about to close for the night. The lady said she thought there was another place about 1 1/2 further down the road. So yes, they could charge us whatever they wanted. And we paid it, grateful for a safe, comfortable place to sleep!

Once again, Hazel was so excited to have room to MOVE!
The lodge was really nice and the beds were super comfy. While there was only one room (it was a 4-plex cabin type thing), the bathroom was large enough for Hazel to sleep in, so we got a pretty good night's rest. The fact that it was still broad daylight when we arrived at nearly 10:00 sure helped make the extended drive that day very doable. And the blackout curtains did their job nicely.
Thursday, June 23

460 miles, 11 hours

Not too far from Bell 2 Lodge, we saw this little guy. When we stopped to get a picture, he came right up to our car. I guess Elodie wanted a better view, so she started rolling down her window. Aaron kinda freaked out 'cause the bear was right by her window and started to try to put its nose in the car. Aaron got her window up in a flash and took away her roll-down power. Then the bear mosied around to the back and tried to climb on the tailgate hitch haul thing, so Aaron decided it was time to drive outta there.
For lunch, we stopped by a beautiful river and cooked up the most delicious Ramen noodles and leftover hot dogs ever. We must have been really hungry. Or maybe it had just been too long since our last hot meal. Breakfast was not included at the lodge, and I couldn't bring myself to spend $40 on breakfast after what we'd just dumped on lodging, so we shook up some powdered milk and had cold cereal for breakfast. And with the late arrival the night before, we had eaten roadtrip munchies for dinner.
I wanted to cook up some tasty tortilla soup, but it started raining right after we stopped to cook. Too hungry to be deterred, we opted for the much faster Ramen noodles. Ramen has never tasted better. And gratefully, it was just a quick mountain thunderstorm, so it was over before the food was ready. Again, what a gorgeous, peaceful setting. These leisurely meal breaks were some of the highlights of our trip.
Later that day, after making it to a new territory, the Yukon, and a new Highway, the Alaska Highway, Xander got to learn what a Totem Pole is.
In all of our days on the road, we had not yet stopped at any type of restaurant to eat. After seeing the bear, Aaron had determined that he did not want to cook dinner at the same place we camped, and we had already stopped to cook lunch, so it seemed like the perfect time to go out for dinner. Here's the classy joint we ended up with--Wolf It Down. Yes, that is the name of the restaurant. The food was overpriced and mediocre. Aaron and I agreed that the Ramen noodles at lunch tasted better. Ah well.
The day had been long and the night short, so in no time, Xander was asleep and Elodie ahd to go to the bathroom.
This was the next rest stop, complete with portapotty and informative signs about the native peoples of the area. of course the view in person was far more spectacular than my pathetic photography can capture.
The bear had made Aaron hesitant about camping in a tent that night, and the price of lodging made me hesitant about that, so Aaron had the bright idea that we could lay down the seats in the Beast and all camp in the car. What fun! Well, if we were going to sleep in the car, there was no sense in stopping early, so we just kept driving. It was still daylight and we were still feeling chipper, so why stop? At around 11:00, we found a campsite and pulled in. Aaron rearranged the car and we all tried to sleep. Xander and Elodie thought it was pretty fun at first. Too fun. How are you supposed to just fall asleep when it's still light and you're all squished in there like a party? It was really hard for everyone to be quiet enough for Hazel to fall asleep. And it was hot and stuffy, but the cloud of mosquitos outside prevented us from opening the windows. Did I mention that it was a little squishy? By 5:00 in the morning, we were done trying to sleep. There was nothing to do but get back on the road. We had planned 8 days to make the drive so we could take it easy and enjoy it, but we just accidentally kept doing 10 and 11 hour days. 

Friday, June 24

450 miles, 10 1/2 hours




Saturday, June 25

Decided

While we were in Kotzebue, experiencing its unique extremes, we made our decision. I've just been so busy working out the details that the decision entails that I haven't had the time to blog about our decision. So what did we decide? (Drumroll, please.) We decided to go for adventure instead of the familiar, driving-distance-to-family comfort of Wyoming or Montana. For years, Aaron had geared me up for an Alaskan stint before settling down. We decided to stay the course and make that adventure happen instead of wimping out at the last minute, knowing that Aaron would regret it if the opportunity had been right in front of us and we turned it down. We decided to go experience what Alaska has to offer. But not in Kotzebue.

Gratefully, we had received another offer in Alaska, and compared to Kotzebue, it seemed to have everything going for it. It's on the road system, meaning you can drive to the temple; it pays more; you can still get great loan repayment; a gallon of milk costs only $5 instead of $11; it has a small-town, country feel rather than a cramped, city-in-the-middle-of-nowhere feel; it is a small, family practice rather than a bureaucracy-laden, large medical facility; you can live in a house with a huge yard rather than in an apartment, and it costs the same amount; at Church, just the primary is bigger than the entire Kotzebue branch; you can drive to Denali National Park, the Kenai peninsula, and lots of other cool places to really experience what Alaska has to offer; and while we're talking about roads, you can get a moving truck, which means we can bring up all of our stuff and actually feel settled rather than leaving a bunch of stuff in storage and just making do for a few years; it gets up to the 70s and occasionally the 80s in the summer, so there's a season that deserves to be called summer; you can grow a garden; speaking of growing, it's no tundra--trees grow everywhere, it's basically in the middle of a gorgeous forest; two huge rivers meet there and it is dotted with lots of little lakes; and in the winter, night doesn't last for 20 days straight, just for 20+ hours straight. What is this Alaskan dreamland called? Delta Junction, Alaska, a town of about 3000 people that is situated 2 hours southeast of Fairbanks, 7 hours northeast of Anchorage, and 4 hours east of the Yukon Territory, Canada.

I've been working endlessly on the details of a move of such magnitude and the paperwork of getting a medical license and securing loan repayment. I finally feel kind of on top of it, so I figured I could spare a minute to share our good news with the world. We are really getting excited about the opportunity. Especially since our connection in Delta Junction (my brother's wife's dad's aunt and uncle, I believe it is) got the inside scoop on a big house for rent with a huge yard that includes a small greenhouse and backs to a forest. Having a place to move in to up there is really helping me feel like we're going to be able to call this place home. Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam!

This is going to be one awesome adventure! Who wants to come visit?

Math Monday 4

You call it "War," we call it "Greater than Wins." Just use the classic card game of "War" to reinforce the developing sense of greater than/ less than. We play it with rook cards (no King/Queen/Jack cards to confuse little kids) and we chant "greater than wins" as we all flip over our card at the same time. Use math terms as you play and now it's a math game! Questions like, "Who wins this one?" "Are you sure that's greater?" or "How do you know?' go a long way, as usual.

Eight is Great

Eight years ago today was a pretty big day in the whole scheme of things--a new eternal family began. That's pretty huge to begin something that doesn't have to end. And I'd say after these eight years that this adventure called family life is beyond great. I've told Aaron many times that he should give good husband lessons. He is just so unbelievably good to me. It makes me think of some sweet, wise words spoken by Aaron's Dad. We were down in Texas celebrating their 50th anniversary and I heard someone ask him, "Wow, 50 years, how did you do it?" He replied humbly, "well, it wasn't hard, being married to her." That's how I feel about Aaron; it isn't hard being married to him.

Well, I was going to do something all cute and sappy and list eight of the reasons I love him, but then Hazel woke up screaming. Followed by Xander, who had a fever, and then Elodie, who heard the crying and figured she should join in. They are all sleeping snug in their beds again. But now I'm not feeling it, so no sappy list tonight. Just a simple, "Happy Anniversary, honey!"

Ode to Kotzebue

Shortly after we'd gotten home from our Arctic Adventure, I was just doing dishes and found myself singing an impromptu song about Kotzebue. I was just kind of making it up as I went along, so I decided to write it down and extend it to capture our Kotzebue experience!

Oh, Kotzebue!

(sung to the tune of "O, Tannenbaum," which is "Oh, Christmas Tree" for you English-speakers out there)

Oh, Kotzebue, oh, Kotzebue,

There’s no place that’s quite like you.

The tundra may not have real trees,

But who needs these with blueberries?

Oh, Kotzebue, oh, Kotzebue,

She made this Kuspuk just for you.

Oh, Kotzebue, oh, Kotzebue,

They say no roads connect to you.

With boats and planes and snow machines

And don’t forget your sled dog teams

You get to where you need to go,

No matter how deep is the snow.

Oh, Kotzebue, oh, Kotzebue,

There’s no place that’s quite like you.

In villages the Inupiaq

Eat caribou and meat that’s black.

Oh, Kotzebue, oh, Kotzebue,

Muktuk and fish are snack foods, too.

Oh, Kotzebue, oh, Kotzebue,

Yes Arctic is the name for you.

You’re not just white in winter moons.

No, icy snow lasts up through June.

Oh, Kotzebue, oh, Kotzebue,

The frozen ocean is your view.

Math Monday 3

So Many Ways to Make a Dollar

Age: 5 & up (depending on the challenge you give, even adults could be challenged by these)

Concept/ Skills: Money, Interval Counting, Place Value (foundation), Organizing your Thinking, Flexibility in Thinking, Reasoning & Logic (foundation of proofs), Problem-Solving

Materials: a big pile of various coins

Object: To figure out lots of different ways to make one dollar.

How to play: For a 5-7 year old, simply dump out a bunch of money and ask them, "How many ways do you think you can make a dollar?" Tell him to show each way and leave them all laid out so you can look at them. If the kid pretty good at working on this independently, but you want to up the motivation a bit, you could say, "How many different ways can you make a dollar in 10 minutes?" Then at the end of the time, you can lather on the praise when they have found SO MANY different ways to make a dollar. Or if they answer your original question by saying, "I think I can make a dollar in 12 different ways." Then ask, "how long do you think it'll take you to do that?" "OK, I'll time you to see how long it takes you to come up with 12 ways."

For an older kid who's more familiar with counting money, you can ask the more challenging question, "how can you make a dollar using exactly __ coins?" If you think they really need a challenge, ask them one you don't know the answer to and let them really think through it! Remind them to keep track of what they tried so they'll be able to tell you about the process. Older kids don't even need the actual coins, they can just use paper. Even if they do use coins to figure it out, you might want them to keep track on paper.

How to maximize the math learning going on: Let's say you're doing this with a 5-year-old. You ask the big question, "How many ways do you think you can make a dollar?" and they tell you one way. Xander's first response was the simplest, "A Sacajawea dollar!" Ask, "is that the only way to make a dollar?" He replied, "No, we could do 100 pennies." "OK, let's show all the ways we can make a dollar right here on the floor." He is kind of new to counting money, so I found I had to ask him leading questions like, "How many dimes do you think it would take to make a dollar?" And then, "How can you check to see if that guess is right?" I also needed to guide him to organize the money in rows to make checking your counting easier. We grouped the pennies by 10s, each cluster arranged in a 2x5 array. Doing this together helps him to develop the skill of organizing his thinking and his work, which will help him solve math problems more efficiently. Looking for patterns is a big part of math, and it's hard to see those patterns if you leave everything in a jumbled pile. I also found that while Xander is great at counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, switching gears in the middle is really challenging for him. It takes practice to actually think about what it means to count by numbers instead of just rattling them off like he memorized. Counting money is really good for this. And learning that concept of one thing (like a dime) being worth more than 1 is great for the developing sense of place value.

Let's say your doing this with a 7-year-old (or maybe older--you'll get the feel for where she is as you discuss it). You gave her 10 minutes to see how many ways she could come up with. When the time is up, ask her to show you her ways and tell you how she came up with them. "Do you think you found every way possible? How do you know? Can you think of a more efficient way to find every single way possible?" Those thought provoking questions really increase the challenge level of the problem. At that point, if they seem ready for it and haven't come up with it on their own, you could suggest creating a table with all of the different coins along one axis and using tally marks to keep track. Point out simple things like, "There is only one way to make a dollar with 4 quarters, so you could mark it like this. But if I try 3 quarters, I could first do the 2 dimes and 1 nickel way. (Mark it.) Then I could mark 3 quarters again (mark it) and use the other coins to make $0.25 in a different way. Is there a different way to do it that still uses 2 dimes?"

Let's say you asked an even older kid to make a dollar using exactly 5 coins. After working on it for a few minutes, he says, "it's not possible." This is one of the best opportunities to stretch his capacity to reason and prepare him for more formal proofs to come. "Can you prove that this is not possible?" If you can prove that it can't be done, then you'll be done with the problem. Make sure you write it down in a way that I can follow what you were thinking." If you ask one that turned out to be too easy for him and he solves it super fast, ask him, "do you think you can come up with a number of coins with which it is not possible to make a dollar?" You can actually do these kind of problems verbally on a road trip or something. If you come up with a challenging math problem for them to think about every time they complain, "Mom, there's nothing to do," they're bound to learn something. (Even if they just learn not to complain to mom about boredom, which is a valuable thing in its own right!)

I just love to get kids thinking! We surely wouldn't want our kids brains to turn to mush, now would we? Or our own, for that matter!