Living in the midnight sun

Last summer was technically our first here in Alaska, however we were so busy moving, unpacking, getting our house set up and preparing for our first school year that we didn't get to experience all of the fun that Alaska has to offer in the summer.

This year we have taken full advantage of this beautiful place. We kicked off the summer by hosting a work team from Arizona who came to help do some upkeep and maintenance on campus, getting it ready for our new students in the fall. We had a great time showing them around the area, and enjoyed spending time with old friends.

While the college students and the dads worked on campus chopping wood and building awnings the kids and moms worked across the street, providing a VBS week for our church. It was a huge success! Our church in AZ was very generous and sent up all the materials we needed to put on a great VBS.

After each long day of work we took the work team around the peninsula. These pics were from a fun trip to Homer, AK.

The wood that the work team chopped served two purposes. First, it helped clear some of the extra trees on campus, reducing our fire danger. Second, it will provide fuel for many Alaskan homes which are heated solely by a wood stove. We gave all of the wood to an organization that distributes it to Alaskan's in need.

One of the highlights of the week was taking the work team to hike Russian River Trail. We weren't able to leave for the hike until they completed their whole day of work, so we hiked from about 8pm-12pm. One of the benefits of round-the-clock light is that you can be active outdoors at any time of day.

Throughout the entire summer Noah has been learning how to play hockey. This has been a really fun experience! He has been playing 3x3 which resembles half-court basketball. Starting in October he will be able to join a local team and play "full ice."

Our family loves to camp, but in Alaska camping comes with some higher risks than we were previously used to. Although people do tent camp here, most opt to go in a camper for that extra layer of "bear protection." I imagine a bunch of people in a tent might resemble a burrito to a bear. :)  We had the chance to go camping down in Homer-right on the Spit (the piece of land that juts out into Kachemak Bay.) We stayed in a camper with some of our friends. The kids had a blast playing on the beach, flying kites, and exploring. The adults enjoyed the close proximity to the coffee shop on the Spit!

This park is right down the street from our house, and we have spent many hours watching the kids play there. One creative Alaskan mom rigged up an ice cream truck with a booster seat in the back for her toddler and spends the summer driving around with her kids selling ice cream. Stopping at the park she struck gold on this warm day!

There are many hiking trails of all difficulty levels right in our area. Most are somewhere between where we live and Anchorage. Steve has been wanting to hike Skyline for some time now, so we decided to attempt it one afternoon. We had heard that it was a more difficult trail- but we had no idea just how difficult it would be, especially with two younger kids.

We managed to reach the summit, but I am pretty sure that was due to shear will power and not any ability on the kids (or my) part! Once they heard that there was a box at the top they could sign they were hooked. At several points you pretty much have to rock climb up sections so it got interesting to say the least. We won't be attempting it again with kids for a few years- and we will probably bring some rope the next time we do. Fortunately there are many less intense hikes to practice on until then.

Steve and his friends enjoy "running" skyline which to me is just craziness. They can do it in about 1 1/2 hours. It took our family 6.

Signing their names at the summit

The day after hiking skyline (and with a new appreciation for steep mountains) we went to watch the annual Fourth of July Mt. Marathon race in Seward. This race started as a bar bet between two guys almost 50 years ago. Now hundreds of lucky individuals (you have to win a lottery to qualify) race up and down the mountain each year. It is not really a marathon- that's just the name of the mountain. It is more like a 5k...a very vertical 5k. This year the weather was beautiful, but it is not uncommon for the racers to be slipping and sliding down muddy slush as they make their (controlled fall) descent.

Of course Steve is hoping to enter the lottery next year.

The whole first part of the summer Steve was working on three intensive courses for his Master's in Mathematics program. After working with the work teams, or hiking with the family he would stay up all night doing very complicated math. He is the best! He has never sacrificed family time for his schooling, and this degree is the same. He should finish the degree next summer. This degree allows him to meet the accreditation requirements as the department head of General Studies at ACC. 

Other than his math courses, Steve has spent the summer finishing his Syriac Grammar textbook and developing an online statistics course for Kenai Peninsula College- the school next door to ACC. While he slaved away I took the kids to visit my family in Colorado and Wyoming.

Noah and Grandpa Jim on the Alpine Slide

When asked what the one thing he would like to do in Colorado was, Noah said, "Ride the Light Rail!" So, ride the light rail we did! We took it into downtown Denver and walked around for the day, having a picnic in front of the capital.

After a few days in Colorado we drove up to Wyoming where we spent time with my Grandma, Aunt, and a brief day with my mom, my step-dad, and the kid's cousins.

Concert in the park

Enjoying the Frontier Day parade with Maureen, Grandma, Aunt Erin and Dad

The Wyoming Capital

Celebrating Grace's birthday with family

We got back from Colorado/Wyoming the night before Grace's 8th bday. For her birthday, Grace requested that we go dip-netting. Dip-netting is a form of subsistence living that is available to Alaska residents exclusively. Basically you take a giant (5 ft diameter) net attached to a 12-20ft pole and walk out into the river or the inlet. Eventually (usually) a large salmon swims into your net at which point you flip it over and drag it in, trying not to slip on the way. Then, you bonk the fish on the head with a club. I struggled with the idea of this until I realized its probably less painful than getting hooked and slowly suffocating. We didn't have much luck on her bday, but over the month-long season we caught around 40 lbs of fish. Plenty to get us through until next summer.

After fishing we spent Grace's bday having her new favorite dinner (thanks to Grandma Terry)-Shepard's Pie. We had several close friends over to celebrate with us. The kids did a great job decorating the cake!

The final thing our summer has consisted of is swimming. Grace has continued to swim on the Peninsula swim team all summer. Noah has been taking daily lessons in hopes of joining the swim team this fall. For the lessons and swim team the kids swim in the local high school pool, but for a fun treat the other day they got to go swimming in a local lake.

It was a pretty cold day but that didn't stop them from jumping right in. Steve and I stayed huddled on the shore under their towels while they explored the lake, swimming, playing, and catching minnows.

Noah with his minnow friend

In just two weeks we will be heading back to our regularly-scheduled program. It is bittersweet to watch summer come to a close, but we are excited for what this new school year will bring.

We will have the largest class ever at ACC- almost 60 students. I will be moving into a new work position there- more to come on that next month, while continuing to teach my English course at ACC. Steve will be teaching 3 math courses and a Bible course as well as continuing his administrative duties for ACC. He is also teaching a couple of math courses at KPC (for some extra income and experience.)

Grace will be starting 3rd grade and Noah will be starting 1st grade at Kalifornsky Beach Elementary, right across the street from ACC.

In a few short weeks the light will start noticeably fading and hints of cold weather will begin. For some this can be a sad time, but with everything we have to look forward to in our work, ministry, and family life, Winter is just a new adventure waiting to be experienced.