Deja vu, kind of.

We are back in Elim to start our third school year after a great summer in Illinois with my family. Coming back with a 6 week old was like deja vu! Crew was 6 weeks when We first arrived two years ago.  But this time I already had my house set up and I knew what to expect.  So not really.  

We now have to purchase 5 plane tickets and with the Bush planes having a max of 9 seats and all the luggage/mail/packages they carry, this time we were the only ones on it! We even got to leave as soon as we got to the airline instead of waiting 3 hours for the scheduled evening flight.  That was an added bonus.   It felt like a chartered flight just for us!

Since Crew turned 2 this summer our 4 legs of flights were his first ones not as a lap child.

We missed our connecting flight in Chicago so we got to wait 16 hours for the next one! We took several ubers around town to pass the time.  McDonald's was our first stop at 9am and Crew successfully took a nap!

Chicago airport around 11pm waiting for our flight to board to Anchorage.

9 suitcases, 4 backpacks, 1 stroller, and two carseats! We're back in Elim!

Our doors are boarded up over the summer to help prevent break ins. This is our neighbor's door.

The village kids love swimming in the ocean! It was around 68 degrees and these boys were catching jellyfish!

Kindergarten teacher, Sammy, took Zax and Ila berry picking! They were elated and I was so happy they got to go out and do something fun!

This is how we roll with two babies around the village!

About 9am these boys were already in the ocean for a swim using that boat to jump off of.

We had a mini family workout at the beach after Zax's run. He does half a lap around the perimeter each morning and recruited Ila even. We started running with the cross country team this week, he's so excited about running for some reason and it's motivation for me to exercise!

Crew and Ila stretching with the cross country team.  Crew likes to be included in everything his siblings are doing.

Just another day at the beach

Well, kind of. The snow has melted on the land and the ice covering the ocean is melting rapidly. Hunting season is in full force for whale, seal, birds, and probably other animals I'm unaware of. We walked to the store to get the kids ice cream they earned for finishing their reading chart and then headed to the beach for a walk and this is what we found!

This is the insides of a bearded seal. It's pretty incredible how they use every part of the animal.  The hunters pointed out all the parts and talked to us for awhile.

Graduation day was Friday for these two only seniors, Ralph and Jerome.  Since there were only two in the graduating class they both got to speak and both will be attending Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks.

We have Jack the principal, superintendent, school counselor, guest speaker and interim high school math teacher, and native leader over funds...He has a real title, but that is a key thing he does.

Last week was my 31 week marker.  It can be scary seeing myself in the mirror!  How in the world do our bodies do this??

Last week the temperature hit in the 30's and higher consistently and the kids were on the deck playing happily with rocks. Now the snow is all melted around the house and hours are being spent at the playground!  One more week til we leave for the whole summer!  First Utah then Illinois to wait for this baby to be born.

Jack is the best at crafts.  He has so much patience and creativity, it is pretty cool to have a husband with these traits.

Prenatal care in the bush

As soon as we moved out here I thought it would be insane to be pregnant in the bush. The clinic here doesn't have doctors or P.A.s, but health aids. It's a different certification than CNA and that route. So, I'm still confused by their qualifications. Doctors and P.A.s do fly to villages and see patients for a week. Otherwise In order to be seen by a doctor you fly to Nome. It's 90 miles away and $200 one way on Bering Air.  I'm 28 weeks and it was time for the RHogam shot.  The clinic didn't administer it so I booked an appointment at the Norton Sound Hospital in Nome.

What the view was like most of the way to Nome.  I flew by myself!  That was a vacation all on its own.  I knitted and read a book instead of holding Crew!  It was amazing.  I parent 24/7 here so anytime by myself is heaven.

View of Nome 

As soon as I landed I got a taxi to the Norton Sound Hospital.  It was a lot bigger and nicer than I imagined.  This building stuck out like a sore thumb in this town.

On my way to Primary care, the Tribal Healer sign caught my eye and made me smile.

Blood drawn twice and waiting to be called back for my RHogam shot and check up. Baby boy is fluttering around!  We are currently deciding between Skyler, Kizer, and Titan for names.  We most likely won't decide until right before delivery.

Belly shot in the Dr office! And to prove I actually own clothes besides pajamas.  The last time I put makeup on was in January when we went to Anchorage and I love my lipsense!  Feels so good to feel like me today. 28 1/2 weeks.

Notice the three posters/pictures of natives. I love it, representing the culture the hospital serves.  Everything looked great, heard the baby's heartbeat and overall had a great experience.  If this was my 1st and not my 4th baby I wouldn't be as calm about only having 3 appointments in 28 weeks of pregnancy and with three different doctors in three different cities.  It has been a hassle transferring my records though.

Flying back to Elim with a great view of the village. And that's it! That one square mile to the left fo the airstrip is where 9 months of the year my life is spent.

And the next day I went to the Elim clinic for the glucose test!  I got my blood drawn 3 times, but since I live so close to the clinic I was given permission to walk home in between each blood draw.  This picture of the clinic was from last fall, we are currently still covered in snow!

AND in other news of my life...

We go to the school for one hour for reading group (rti). Kids are divided into their reading level not grades. Ila loves it!

Crew and I help out in the transition room as the teachers take kids out. Crew loves all the kids that will share their ipads.  It has helped him tremendously with being comfortable around people.  If someone put their arms out to hold him he would fall down in a trantrum.  It was so ridiculous.

We went to the school to help the iditabikers get food and rest up. 1000 miles on bike, in the snow, same trail as iditarod.

Iditarod winner's dogs eating and taking a quick break at Elim's checkpoint.

The vet checking on each dog.

This batch costs $73 at the village store. Shocking!! Even after two years I am still surprised each time, but I have gotten into the habit of not looking at the register price when checking out. That heals the pain a little.

The coldest place I've ever lived

The "feel like" one night was -45 degrees! I mean, wow! At times I didn't leave the house for two days. I realize I live close to the arctic circle, but the temperatures never got this low last year!

The bicultural teacher brought in her kill to show her classes how to skin it. A dead caribou carcass in the school, ha!

And this cutie ❤

January principal training In Anchorage

Ila went with me to pick out new glasses and really wanted some too!

What i finally decided on after 45 minutes!

Dentist time! Our visit to BTY dental. 

I found a new place to play at when we go to Anchorage. The kids loved the bounce house!

We lost our baby carrier on the trip back from Christmas break so i got this one off Amazon and he loves the backpack carrier.

I was struggling to get Zax to read more than his required amount of books everyday so I let both of them choose from a couple incentives and they read their 50 books in about a week and a half, Ila two weeks.

Zax picked to stay up late, play Nintendo, and have an ice cream sandwich.

Ila picked a movie night with friends and treats.

Valantine party with the 1st graders.

In Anchorage I got to meet two branch (church) members attending the same conference as Jack, who usually we only hear over the phone. It was such a treat. Roxi Wolfe and I visit teach each other.

Steve Alston is in the Branch presidency.

And then Signe, also from the branch, flew to Elim for the district spelling bee this week! I've been so spoiled! It's awesome to meet the other members in villages like us calling in to participate in church.

I'm 21 weeks and baby looked great at the ultrasound in Anchorage! I'm planning to fly to Nome in April for my glucose test and rhoGAM shot. That will be three different doctors and three visits. If this wasn't my fourth pregnancy I would not be as calm as I feel now!

Just got back from a walk and it was -22 degrees. Sundays get long if you don't force yourself to get out for a couple minutes.