MY BOY!!!!   Here is an example of how the kids handle using the bathroom when we are camping if possible.  We cut the bottom out of a 5gallon bucket, dig a hole....insert waste....burn paper....cover hole with dirt when done....AND.....  a midnight snack!  Smore's with an oreo......   below are some of the photos from a recent camping trip with some friends over July 4th weekend. 

The weather in Alaska is always unpredictable.  On this trip it was particularly so....we had sunshine, lots of rain, driving wind and rain!  and even some snow....   We found a place out of the wind to hunger down and make hot chocolate and wait for the rain to quit.  I was relaxing on the hillside trying to soak up one of the only sunny moments.  The kids enjoyed the huge snowslide that we encountered while hiking......  

It was great to have Collin and Karen's boats on the trip to play on the lake.  The water was so clear and beautiful!  We rowed the kids across the lake and went for a hike at the other end.  Collin is here in the boat with Amelia and his son Jake......one of Reid's best buddies!!   There was  alot of snow still around the edge of the lake...here Lance is fishing from a snow bank....only in Alaska in July!!!!

Camp-life is so much fun to me. Waking up and having coffee and making breakfast.....doing dishes by the edge of the lake.....  some would say I'm camping on a daily basis...but to me....this was it!!!   Reid and Amelia both are proving to be quite the hikers......Amelia seemed like she had a motor attached to her feet this day.   The kids were wearing their life jackets boating across the lake and then kept them on to keep them warm.  It was windy and rainy.......

We wintered over 6 mallards in our chicken coop this winter.  Three of the hens decided to sit on eggs and delivered us many ducklings in the past couple weeks.  It has been so exciting for the kids (and me!) to have this experience.  This mama had 12 !!!  babies...   We have been able to experience predation  close at hand.  A raven was stealing duckings for a while and ended up taking 7 total.  We now only have 12 ducklings which is more than enough!!!   Not really sure what is going to happen to them this winter as we also now have 26 chickens!!!   This place has gone to the BIRDS!!!!