Alaska

 Alaska
The Last Frontier
Motto: North to the Future!

We were not sure anything could ever be as fun as Alabama. But we faced our future and went north, to Alaska - to unforgettable adventures and memories.

We watched Balto, so many nature bear videos on YouTube, and Iron Will(which twist, in my head he was from Alaska - turns out he's from...South Dakota? Looks like we might be watching this again later in the year - so yet another way we were looking (north?) to the future!).

We read a picture book about Alaska that had a whole page of illustrations of what poop from different Alaskan animals looked like. (Even as I type this a year and a half in the future, my kids still talk about that book. If I had known that was going to be my future, I might not have gone north.)

We listened to Jewel. And Frozen.

We made Northern lights, had a Northern lights dance party every night, and camped under the Northern lights one night.

We built igloos and made crystals and topiaries and cut snowflakes.

Unfortunately this week, Sarah's family went north to a future of covid and quarantining, so for our service project we walked their "sled dog" for them.

We climbed snowy mountains as we yelled, "North to the future!"

And we hiked to a "glacier" waterfall and scaled rocks as if they were the mountain cliffs of Denali.

We played Inuit games - games that led us north to a future of pulled muscles and sore bums.

This one was a shoulder push one, it was pretty fun.

This one was hilarious, you were supposed to jump, kick the rope, and land on the same foot you kicked the rope with - so hard, and so entertaining.

There was even one where you had to do it crouched down and holding onto one of your feet.

You can see in this one that Rodger thought his shirt was holding him back from his best performance.

We made Eskimo ice cream out of snow with cousins(weeks later due to very little snow during Alaska week and I refused to go north to get snow from the mountains in order to avoid a future of giardia(being now able to identify various poop from woodland animals, I was very aware what could be found in snow from the wild)).

We ate trail mix for days.

We attempted and failed a few times to successfully make a juicicle science experiment(if you think of going north in hopes that juicicles are in your future...maybe brace yourself that it might all go south every single try). *too frustrated to take pictures

For our state dinner, we ate: salmon, creamed salmon, berries, "reindeer" dogs, sour dough bread, and had a beef jerky taste off. And of course, Baked Alaska for dessert. And at some point this week we also made "Alaska" cookies.

At the end of the week we realized how bright our future truly was - it was the week where David had promising job interviews, the week we started seriously discussing the possibility of another baby in our family, the week the end of covid restrictions seemed in our near future. And if that's the future we could get by going north(according to Alaska), I'd go north every time. Except next week. Next week we go south to Arizona.

Missed opportunities: Making totem poles, a glacier experiment, fishing(or even just a cute fish craft), and going on an actual dog sled ride(I wanted to do this(https://www.lunalobos.com/kennel-tour) so badly, but I promised myself(and David)I would not spend a million dollars in the name of the states project. Maybe if I keep looking north, it will one day happen in my future.)

Links:

Favorite youtube videos: 

Pretty - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr284c-q8oY

Facts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-3iNqQ1QEY

Animals - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIkzjc8XtLM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6uBkbgStTw

Bears - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mphg2feuAPo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSSPDwAQLXs

(basically any bear documentary on youtube or disney plus)

Moose Fight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M26ug8MGYlY

Northern lights chalk art: http://elementsoftheartroom.blogspot.com/2017/12/4th-grade-aurora-borealis-landscapes.html?m=1

Igloos: https://thecraftyclassroom.com/crafts/native-american-crafts-for-kids/inuit-crafts-for-kids/sugar-cube-igloo-project/

Crystals: https://www.deliacreates.com/snow-and-ice-activities-for-kids-part-i/

The fish craft I wish we did: https://nurturestore.co.uk/foil-fish-craft-ocean-theme-preschool

Totem Poles: https://www.cindyderosier.com/2016/08/totem-pole-craft.html

Crafts: https://3boysandadog.com/alaska-crafts-for-kids/?epik=dj0yJnU9N2pHWWFPTGlWMEFuTUhWNl9EekVPc3F4NC03aUJZUGcmcD0wJm49akQ5alB1ckNmUEFZeUhEWDAtbm4zUSZ0PUFBQUFBR01kWnFR

Juicicles(all lies): Tried it this way from a random site: "Fill plastic soda bottles with colored water. Hang them from tree branches using yarn. Puncture the bottom of the bottles with small holes. As the colored water drips out, it freezes, forming bright icicles. Keep adding different colored water to the bottles to create rainbow icicles. If the icicles stop forming, make the holes larger or poke new holes."

Tried it this way but with juice: https://kitchenpantryscientist.com/rainbow-icicles-winter-science-for-kids/

Tried it again using paper cups with yarn hanging through the hole so the juice could form on the yarn. Nothing.

Baked Alaska: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a54800/best-baked-alaska-recipe/

Alaska oatmeal cookies: https://www.alaskafromscratch.com/2011/10/08/wilderness-lodge-cookies/

Books/Movies/Songs:

Balto

Brother Bear

The Proposal (impossible to say Sitka, Alaska without saying it in Sandra Bullock's voice)

Northern Exposure, anyone?

Molly of Denali

Christmas Under Wraps

Inuit Games by Thomas Anguti Johnston (awesome book that taught us all the games)

Up on Denali by Shelley Gill(the poop book)

Anything by Jewel: The Shape of You(best one), You Were Meant for Me, Hands, Somewhere Over the Rainbow(better than Judy Garland, I will fight you), any of her yodeling

Not Iron Will