Ice fishing, snowmobile rides, and leaving Alaska!

We rode out onto the frozen Bering Sea to make a short video for the staff at Jack's new school in Eagle Mountain! It's just amazing to be on the ocean, frozen.

Mark took us ice fishing at Moses Point.  It is 10 miles outside of the village and it was around 20 degrees.  By the time we got there the kids were cold and complaining, but I thought it was a great little outing!  In this picture we were getting ready to leave.

 Ila rode behind Mark and Zax rode in the sled for a short time.

 Me and Crew on the snowmobile ready to leave.

 Zax was a white ball of snow and opted to ride on the back of the snowmobile.

 We are at the fishing hole!

 Mark dug some more holes to fish in.

 I was the only one who caught a fish!  Look closely or you'll miss it, lol!

I am apart of the family fur hat club now.  I finally finished sewing the hat I'm wearing at my sewing group with lots of help!

 We were checking out these fox furs that arrived and were ready to be cut out. 

Every Friday we get together with my neighbor and her granddaughter for some time to connect!  I enjoy having a friend to hang out with and have missed it so much while living here.

 Ila, three of her friends, and Crew enjoying a snack after school.  Maya, Caris, and Ava.

Jack's new job for Fall 2018 school year is at Eagle Valley Elementary School in Eagle Mountain, Utah as the principal.  On the map it is blue with a white circle around it on the bottom left side (sorry, not a very good map!).  It is a couple miles from the school he worked at for 5 years when we lived in Provo.  We are so excited to be moving back.  I've been making lists, "window" shopping online, and decluttering every area of the house.  The kids get treats each week for putting 10 toys in the give-a-way bag.  It is a very unique way to move since it is by aiplane!  Our house here came fully furnished so we don't have to worry about furniture so the next step is only taking the essentials since mailing is very expensive.  The post master showed me Utah is in zone 7 from Elim so it is the second most expensive place to mail things to!   I'm not overwhelmed by all of it yet, but ask me again in the middle of May how I am feeling!    

2018, we are ready!

In September, I started attending a "sewing group" in the village that was funded through a grant called Suicide Awareness Prevention.  We chose fur mittens to start with because they are the easiest.  I brought Zax to sew because he is a crafty kid and bugs me all the time to do crafts.  It is hard to sew through leather and fur, but I was super impressed he did it.  Ellen, the lady in the back, was patient with me and helped me through the whole process.

 My first pair of mittens!  And now I just started a fur hat for Jack to wear.

 I got the knitting "bug" over Christmas break being with my sister Holly and am loving the new patterns Holly has taught me how to use!  These two are my favorite duo.  I brought back two grocery bags full of yarn to get me through these cold days.  But now that I'm home I am already slacking in projects.  Homeschooling Zax and Ila takes up a lot of time and I find myself holding baby Ky (Skyler) a lot because he isn't going to be small for much longer!

This is a sad month marker picture because he is sick!  We all brought some bugs home with us from Christmas in IL.

Zax's friend, Darin, moved in August to another village and Zax has missed him.  He was just talking about Darin and we happened to see him in the Nome airport!  These two had fun playing for a couple hours.

Christmas break at my parent's house was THE.BEST.  I had so much time with my sisters and parents.  The cousin time was full of laughs!  And of course, my mom made great food.

 ALLLL the cousins together.  Martin/Spencers, Knowltons, and Kingsfords.

My mom took us to a zoo!  There were some pretty incredible animals there and mind you, this is in Cental IL!

We drove a couple hours to Great Wolf Lodge in Ohio for two nights and they had a blast.  The waterpark was impressive and Ky slept really well in a stroller while we played.

 My friend Adrienne is a very thoughtful person and bought these two wands from the gift shop they were eyeing!  I am blessed with some pretty awesome friends.

We welcome 2018 with gratitude and excitement for new adventures to come.