August 2020

 We quickly learned with owning a home much work is required. We got to work on many projects before our household goods even arrived. It felt so good to work on a project that would remain OURS even if we don't live in this home forever, it's nice to have the stability and ability to work on a project.

We found Alaska has so many berries. Raspberries grow really well, and blueberries and strawberries as well. The raspberries are delicious.

Our household good FINALLY arrived. Only a little over a week late, which was still better than almost 2 weeks late with our move to Texas.

Let the organizing, cleaning, and unpacking begin!

We worked I would say sun up to sun down, but the sun was never going down. Early in the morning until around midnight. It was hard to stop when the sun was still up.

As to be expected not everything arrived in great shape. In fact the few things I hoped wouldn't break actually broke. They put the table back together wrong and broke a few boards. I may have cried a little, but I worked really hard on that table and benches. The piano electric screen was broken, and the new TV we had recently purchased... So many big things. And they broke a piece on the washing machine...

BUT overall, most things arrived intact, and I'm grateful we didn't have to drive everything up on our own or pay for it!

Kael decided to turn 12 on August 6th! The kids is amazing and just keeps getting older and won't stop.

We celebrated with just our family, but we know how to have a good time. The kid was spoiled rotten. 

Dear Kael,

We are so proud of the young man you are turning into. You are so brave, strong, and talented in so many ways. You are growing into a natural leader. You always try to do the right thing. You help when you are asked, and try to serve others. You care about those around you. This year you started liking girls. Pretty sure Swift Webber takes first, and this last year it was Kiana a girl down the street. You try to treat girls with respect and are always kind. It makes me proud. Just slow down a little. Remember I'm always here to embarrass you. And I will. And you can always try to embarrass me back. You've hit the official tween stage and are trying so hard to be like the adults and don't want to be a "little kid" anymore. You still know how to play and have fun, but are ready for more responsibility in your life and you are constantly trying to prove that. You're the best kid a parent could ask for. You aren't perfect and make mistakes, but everyone makes mistakes. You on the other hand try to do better and be better and that is what makes you special. Mom and Dad love you. You are amazing and we will always be here for you even if you try to grow up too fast.

Love you always,

Mom

We met some of our neighbors who have 2 pug dogs Cosmos and Hugo. 

The kids love that the dogs have dog "friends". We love our neighbor Oksana. We will grow to become good friends over the year and look out for each other.

With all of our belongings finally here it was time to sort through what would fit in the house or not. So, we had a yard sale, and the kids put together a lemonade/sweet shop. The kids loved earning a little extra cash, and I loved getting rid of some things we didn't need anymore.

The Roger's family moved from San Antonio as well almost at the same time as us. Chase is a Radiologist with the military. They have 4 kids and are really fun. So, we had them over for dinner over a fire and smores.

Alaska is without a doubt is beautiful! It is majestic. It is alive. We were able to go on many hikes during August.

A short near by hike "Barbara Falls" did not disappoint for one of our outings.

On the way back Elara was stung by a wasp on her hand. Thankfully we were on our way back and it really was a short hike, but the 15 minutes drive home was pretty miserable for her. After that we purchased some insect sting medicine and a first aid kit to keep with us on hikes.

The next day we hiked up Highland and were looking for a lake or river we never found. Once again on the way back we ran into some unfriendly flying friends. Elara was so nervous about getting stung and on the way up I told her it was so unlikely she would get stung again, and it'll be ok because bee stings don't happen that often. Well literally less than an hour later a bee flew into my mouth and I got stung on the inside of my lip. Derek had to get the stinger out, and I got a huge fat lip. It was pretty hard not to freak out it hurt so bad, and poor Elara I'm sure was scarred for life over flying insects now. Lots of drooling, but we made it home. A lip triple in size and a great story. I'd been bitten by a wasp when I was 5, but my first bee sting.

We heard hiking Mount Baldy was a must do, and it was just a 10 minute drive or about 3 miles to the parking lot. It is about a half mile up the mountain. It is pretty rainy in August, and so it was cloudy and we couldn't see as much as we hoped for views, but the hike didn't disappoint as we found tons of blueberries! Derek was working, so we went with our new friends the Roger's. It was really a fun hike. The little kids were troopers. It took us quite a while and a lot of stopping, but they all made it up! I was so impressed.

Started out really wet, but calmed down by the time we came down off the mountain.

Connor was just happy to be outside and finding blueberries with friends.

Elara likes hiking the least of all the kids. Eden fell in love with it although she has flat feet and doesn't love going downhill.

They all survived, and actually were quite happy when it was over. There may have been some complaining and lots of bribes of jolly ranchers.

Elara got a package from Charlotte in Texas. She sent her so many fun little treasures.

It was fun pointing out where we hiked for Baldy and showing the kids how high up they got. This is a picture taken from Walmart that shows Baldy really well.

With starting homeschool around the corner it was time to go back to school shopping. We were so happy that our charter school would cover the cost of so many homeschool supplies. We were also grateful for the pandemic to help push us to decide to homeschool for certain.

Kael and I were able to attend a fireside for all the young men and women for church. The stake presidency dressed up as characters from the movie UP. They did it like a drive in movie and we got to hang out in our cars and listen. It was really fun, and clever. I still can't believe Kael is old enough to attend these kind of things.

There is a beautiful lake about 30 minutes away called Eklutna lake. It has ATV and biking trails and a camp ground. It is a glacier fed lake and so beautiful. We hiked around one day. There were tons of driftwood tepees around the lake. There was also a cute icecream shop nearby we stopped on the way home.

Thunderbird falls hike is very near Eklutna and we hiked that next. Alaska has many amazing nature things to do all right where we live, and it's only a tiny part of the HUGE state. You could explore the state of Alaska your whole life probably and never do and see all it has to offer.

Connor was looking dapper for home church and found a picture of him holding chicken Becky and wanted a picture and to send it to the Pinkston's, so of course we did.

I was able to experience my first earthquake. It was a small one, but it was nice to have a small one to break me in to how many we were going to have over the next year. It seemed like if we didn't get one every 2-3 months then you'd be nervous.

The table took some time for me to fix with Derek, but we were able to at least get it functioning for a while. I loved seeing the table in my kitchen. It was exactly what I had imagined in my head for what I wanted for the table and it fit perfectly in the new house.

Silly pug dogs just need their picture taken and will have them in here so much because we can't get enough of them.

Next up, Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop on the Alaska Railroad.

We went with the Roger's family. The train was having a HUGE discount because of covid, AND kids road free for a certain time. It was incredible. We saw beluga whales heads pop up. We rode on a train. Bald eagles, glaciers and so much beautiful nature and had so much fun with friends. Spencer Glacier is only accessible by train or helicopter basically. It has a lake by it, and it was SO beautiful and chilly! It was such an incredible experience. We hiked for 1 miles after we got off the train. It was a really long day, but so worth it!

We stopped in Whittier, Alaska. It is a port for fishing and is only there because the military built a tunnel to access it long ago, and now it's a tourist stop. It is a beautiful TINY little town.

Once at the glacier I wanted to see how cold the water was. It was well below freezing. I could barely last a few seconds before my feet were completely numb. There is a bunch of frozen ice in the lake in August, it was cold!

Glaciers are one of the most beautiful sites in the world. The ice really does have a blue tint to it. It is incredible to behold.

I think the kids had a really fun time. We are official Alaskan Adventurers.

This bridge just was so beautiful.

We found this wicked big wasp hive.

Then, we hopped on the train and came home. It was truly an amazing adventure.

The last days of August brought the kids first ice skating lessons. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would have my kids in ice skating lessons when I first had kids. I had some of the best advice from Sarah Chen, Elara's friends Mom in Texas. She told me to embrace whatever our next duty station had to offer. I was sad to leave gymnastics behind, but this new opportunity was new and exciting. We gave it a go, and the kids seemed really happy about it.

Our first whole month in Alaska was coming to an end. We filled every minute of sunshine with amazing things. We were sad our extra long summer was coming to an end, but were excited for our new homeschooling adventures to begin. Derek was preparing for pain boards, and getting acquainted with his new job, and life was simple and amazing.