Alaska Life

After pouring ourselves into planning for so long, and then two weeks of high activity and exploration, we now find ourselves in the inevitable adjustment period of settling into everyday life. We've reached that "Now what?" point. Back home we were used to a certain rhythm and our individual schedules. Now it's time to create a new rhythm and schedule- together. Fortunately, the setting couldn't be any more beautiful and the company more choice.

My husband has gone back to work, which means waking up for conference calls and finding a quiet spot in the house to work on his laptop all day. This is easier now that the kids are older and can entertain themselves, but I'm sure it's been weird for him. He's used to having a creative environment where he enjoys impromptu brainstorming sessions in the hallway and a dedicated space to do his thing. I'm sure he misses the face-to-face interaction even though he loves his family. We've been exploring our new surroundings in the meantime, and have visited the local library and community, reporting our findings back to him.

I'm pleased to say that our kids exceeded our expectations in the cramped car during our travels and have joined forces (for the most part). Where I expected griping and arguing, they've been laughing and creating new games together (mostly). We are discovering things about them that give us new insight to just how much they have grown. Our older two are even capable of rowing around the lake next to our current house all by themselves. It's a wondrous, and sometimes scary thing to jump into the unknown and do something new but it's the unexpected discoveries that make it all worth it. This is our oldest rowing me around the lake.

The house we're staying at is perfect for us and, as I said, located next to a lake. We can hear Loons calling to each other daily. It's a beautiful sound and we've discovered that we're hearing two parents and a baby. I never knew that they dove for food. It's kind of like watching submarines, as they only pop their heads out of the water for short periods of time between their dives. Even the baby watches them from the surface with it's head submerged.

We can also hear roosters and hens across the water, which I love. Every morning a float plane takes off from the lake. It's a thrill to hear the engines rev up and see it lift off the water. We look for it when it takes off around 7:30am and again when it returns around 6pm. How cool would it be to have the ability to fly to work every day?!

There's new plant life to explore and the weather has been beautiful and warm, which for us is around the 70's.

"Our" house is located the Matanuska Valley, near Anchorage, which is in the southern part of the state. Now I know that Alaska is big business on TV these days, but none of the high-adventure shows we've all been watching really talks about the history of Alaska. Most of us only know that it was purchased from Russia at some point and that it has snow, glaciers, gold, the Iditarod, and all kinds of dangerous animals. So in the past week, we've been trying to immerse ourselves in "the real Alaska" to get a better understanding of the local history and culture.

Did you know that the Matanuska Valley was heavily influenced by The Depression? Struggling Farmers were brought in from northern states with harsh climates as part of President Roosevelt's "New Deal ." These settlers faced serious obstacles, which you can learn more about here: http://www.explorenorth.com/alaska/matanuska_colony.html Today, the MatSu Valley is regarded as "The bread basket of Alaska." Of course, one of our first things to do when we visit someplace new is to find the farmers market, which is a perfect way to get a peek at some of these farmers and what they produce locally. The Wasilla Farmers Market takes place on Wednesdays, so that was the one we visited. It's a small market but the vendors are worth the drive! There were all kinds of things like hand carved art, farm fresh eggs, baked goods, fragrant lotions, organic vegetables, one-of-a-kind clothing, and so much more!

One of our favorite goodies was the Fireweed Jelly from Jingle Jellies. Fireweed is that fuchsia flower in the picture above. It's everywhere up here! It grows in Washington, but definitely not as abundantly as here in Alaska. The one we bought was full-bodied and not flowery at all. It was almost grapey and hinted of tomato. I'm not talking about marinara sauce here, I mean like when you first pick a ripe tomato off the vine and get that fragrant aroma in your nostrils. Like that. It's fantastic!  I'm seriously fighting the urge to try making some myself because there's just no way I can haul it around the country with me. Plus, I love being able to support local small businesses wherever we go. We're looking forward to seeing what Willow and Palmer have to offer at their markets.

This week our new math and science curriculums arrived (is it weird that I'm excited about that- because I totally am!) so I've been organizing those for when we officially begin our school year. Our oldest son began an adventure of his own and had his introductory flight lesson last weekend. They flew over Knick Glacier and my husband was able to be a passenger. Talk about thrilling!

We also drove past the tide surfers in Anchorage http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/08/surfing-alaskas-bore-tide/100787/ and visited Seward. I love small towns with a lot of character, and this is definitely one of them! Did you know that they are the mural capital of Alaska? It's a thing! We really enjoyed the SeaLife Center http://www.alaskasealife.org/ where we were able to see puffins swimming under the water and get up close and personal with them. The SeaLife Center rehabilitates Alaskan animals and then releases them (if possible) back to their natural habitats. Check them out!

I hope you are able to find the adventure in your own backyard wherever you are. It's out there! If you happen to take a picture, I'd love to see it!

- Jen