Whale hunters

Naps were skipped and classes were dismissed to come see the first whale of the season hunted and taken apart on the beach! When I heard we were going to the beach to see a whale I thought we were whale watching, ha!  This is only in the bush because you are right, it is illegal to hunt whale except for natives. 

There is definitely an art or skill to this.  Since they live off the land for their meat this is a great blessing for them to catch this whale.

The black slab is the meat and the white is the outer body part.  It is all used somehow for something.

Ila getting up close to check this out.  I wonder what they will remember of this 10 years later?

The next day another one was caught! We got to see it before it was cut up. 

And for taste testing!

Ila is less willing.

Jack gave permission to this student to fish with his dad and skip school (which is common) so he brought Jack a fish that night.  He's the first student to actually bring him one after going out.

Jack had a meeting so he didn't have time to fillet it right away so it hung out in the sink for a couple hours.  There was no way I was going to touch it!

And for the first time I saw how to fillet a fish (cut it up and get the bones out).  I told Jack we would have to be pretty desperate for me to do it so don't ever think I will!

My life is so weird here.

Elim Aniguiin School hosted a cross country meet.  Since the schools are small junior high and high school run together including girls and boys at the same time.  One school only had 2 runners.  The teachers were in charge of standing at points in the course to direct the runners.  Besides that there weren't too many other people.  Elim won!

We participated in the 1k fun run!  Zax took off trying to keep up with the big kids while Ila and I pulled up the rear.  Look at that girl!  I let her dress herself so she's wearing her "Elsa" dress.

The beach is always gorgeous. 

Saturday morning we waited for the store to open to buy eggs for french toast.  I let the kids come out in pajamas and they were in shock about it!  I've trained them well, haha.

The store is pricey!  I think these three items were $14!

They have no choice but to be the best of friends and they amuse the heck out of me!

The school puts on a community event once a month and it was dodge ball this month.  Jack is pretty much in charge of it since he's the principal.

The teachers in blue taking on the students.

We had a Sunday night get together for one of the teachers' birthdays and there were way too many kids in one house!  This village has the most teachers with kids in any other village in the school district.  My family is winning with 3 kids!

Still so much getting used to going on!  I am volunteering in Zax's class once a week and taking on preschool at home with Ila. 
I was asked to be a relief society teacher (class with the women in church) and taught my first lesson Sunday, chpt 17 Law of Chastity!  So weird teaching over the phone, with a bad connection and delay.  So I ask a question and have to wait extra long for the delay and then for someone to un-mute to speak!  Jack was on the line listening in the kitchen and that made me a little nervous.  Next Sunday we are giving talks for sacrament meeting.   

Out of my element

We got invited to go four wheeling on Saturday and the kids were thrilled.  Mark, a teacher who has been in Elim for 11 years, has 2 four wheelers and the one the kids are sitting on has the wooden box for his dog!  Well these two were a perfect fit so they rode with Mark and Jack took me and Crew!  It was a 40 degree day and overcast.  I was just waiting for it to pour, but luckily it didn't while we were out.

The kids are getting gloves put on their hands by Jack and Mark.

Crew and I are ready!  So here's the before picture.  I am clearly out of my element, I'm wearing a WHITE coat in the bush.  This was a last minute buy in Anchorage.  I was by myself, Jack had already flown out, and I knew I needed a winter coat.  This one was the best fitting and warmest.  Little did I know that Elim has only dirt roads and is a roughing it kind of place. Any off decisions made from May to August is blamed on pregnancy/post pardom.  I was expected to think logically while having a third child, selling my house (and everythign in it), and moving to Alaska!  No, I plead the 5th. 

Crew is the black coat blob attached to me!  The kid slept the entire time, even when some mud splattered his face.

Joy riding!

Mark is helping Ila put her gloves back on.  He's a patient man for not having kids!  He teaches High school science....or social studies?

And this is the after photo.  I thought no big deal, mud washes out.  Right?  WRONG.  I washed this coat 7 times before I got it looking semi unstained.  Many stains are still on it and it was the first time I wore it! I even noticed a tag still attached while we were riding, ha!


And here's a better picture to show how muddy I was. I love my new rain boots I bought on Amazon.  I've never lived in a place you've needed rain boots!  

 It had rained a lot last week so we drove through a lot of mud.  We had to lean several times through some of the deep water not to tip the four wheeler and when I leaned I got nailed by the back tire spewing mud.  I actually had an awesome time and found myself smiling while riding because it was such a cool sight to see.  I got to walk through the real tundra!  We were going to pick berries, but its the end of the season and we couldn't find any.

The kids are pretty comfortable around here! The post master took an afternoon break so we were waiting in the post office for him to come back and take our mail!  Our closing papers for our house to be exact!

The road to the only gas pump is near our house so we hear a lot of truck and four wheeler "traffic."  I run this road sometimes to add extra time to my workouts (the village is kind of small) so I took Jack out to see it.  Photo courtesy of Zax.

The one and only gas pump.  I think gas is around $5.25/gallon

This cemetery is on the way to the gas pump.  It's in a really pretty area.



I know bread makers are not a new thing and many of my friends have and use them.  We ordered one because the bread at the store is around $5 a loaf and we ended up loving the bread maker bread.  Since it is still a novelty to us we are currently eating a lot of bread, so yummy!

I laughed so hard this day!  This is Willy and Terrance, they are cousins.  Everyone loves the teeter totters, but it's only fun if you have someone who matches your weight.  Willy is twice the weight of Terrance so he wasn't having any fun even with adding Zax's weight.  So I got on with Willy!

Their faces were hilarious!

This kid is only 9 years old and in 3rd grade!  I met my match for the teeter totter!  Zax and Ila together are Terrance's weight.  Hilarious!

Faculty parking! 

And the puzzle making has begun!  We have a drawer full luckily.

Ila did this one on her own...i think? That's what Jack said.