One week in Elim

Jack has been gone for 5 out of the first 7 days here so the kids and i have been exploring and putting things away. He has been at the new principal training and now the new teacher training all the principals have to attend. They get flown to the school district village and stay in the school, not sure what that's like. This new teacher training is 9 days!!!  He doesn't get cell reception in that village, but on wifi we can face time. 

It looks like great head way is being made on digging the ditch for the water line to be installed at our new place.  Our guess is two more weeks, maybe? I'm standing at the new house which are identical to the houses in this picture. 

 

The village is pretty small, but very hilly! Wherever you go is a workout! This is how close the school is to our new house (blue roof). The scary building on the right is the condemned high school. The kids all say it's haunted!

Here are some views of the scenery around the village. It's a beautiful area right on the beach with great landscape, but you'll see in the pictures their houses look like i am in a third world county.

This is at the opposite end of the village where i live and the school is. To the left is the ocean and to the right is the trees from the picture above.

And now our new villager friends. Zax loves to play all the time with anyone who will give him the time of day so it didn't take long for everyone to know his name. This is outside the post office.

This is right outside our door! If only it was warmer this really would be like paradise.

If it isn't too windy we go to the beach! The kids love playing in the dirt, sand, rocks...anything available to mold into their own creation.

Our teacher friends invited us on a walk to the beach on a perfect morning!

Ila, Aiden, and Zax.

Zax and Ila holding Miss Sammy's hand, the kindergarten teacher.

My usual look, Crew in a carrier wrapped in a blanket.

I've gotten back into working out by running outside, but when Jack is at these training, the four of us go the school gym to workout. It isn't much, but I'm grateful for what it is!

Crew sleeps on the bleacher while we exercise😃 I do not want him to get bigger. I love this stage! 

The reception is horrible (awful!). I'm living in a temporary apartment until the water hole is dug for the new ones. there are no restaurants, and when Amazon takes too long to arrive with my much anticipated "need" i borrow from someone else or do without (like dish soap). Not the life i ever wanted to live, but we are making do!

Our trip from Anchorage to Elim

Our first 24 hours in Elim has been interesting. We boarded a 9 seater plane and one of those were the pilot's seats! It was so loud, i don't care to go on one again. But that's impossible to avoid because it's the only way out of the village!

This is one of the airports in Nome. Nothing to it. We had a three hour lay over too.

Zax, ila, and i arrived in Elim a day before Jack because he was at a training in the school district village. We find out that our water wasn't turned on because the trench wasn't built yet! So we are in temporary housing that teachers live in. The picture is our brand new house and the boxes are our furniture. So we need to assemble our own furniture! 

11pm at night! Here's a view from the back porch of the temporary apartment we are in. I expect the trench to take over a month so sadly the nice house will sit with all of our boxes and furniture.

Jack got in today at 5 and we took a walk to the ocean. It was so windy and cold. The kids didn't mind too much. I miss the 90 degree Utah days.

I caught this sweet moment today. They love Crew and are so sweet.

Our time in Illinois!

Crew was a great traveler! This was Utah to Illinois travels to Holly's wedding.

5 suitcases, a stroller, and a carseat was not easy to travel with.

Bachelorette party at the nail

The wedding dance party was so fun.

Laina came with her family to visit from Chicago! This girl hasn't changed and i love it.

Grandma gives my babies baths every time  we visit and they love it

Once the cousins recovered from hand foot and mouth they loved holding Crew. No one else got it luckily!

My mom and dad took us to Nauvoo. It was our first time back since our wedding almost 7 years ago. 

L

Taking a nap anywhere, the Kingsford way!

We ran our kids ragged from Tuesday night flying out of Indy and arriving in Anchorage Wednesday morning. We spent two and a half days shopping for what we would need for the next nine months in our new home in the bush! It was exhausting and these pictures show it!

We ended up mailing 8 of these to ourselves. I'm not a meal planner, nor did we calculate how much we needed so here was a good guess, ha! Thank goodness for Amazon prime, i couldn't be happier they ship to my village.