School in Alaska

The weather is back in the 20's now, but not much snow to speak of. We got about 1/4 inch the other day, but that was about it. Today I am sharing some pictures of the kids from this past year at school. They have really done some interesting things here. Jess learned how to shoot a bow, and was very good at it. They taught the kids how to shoot at the indoor range here on Elmendorf, and then they took them to the outdoor range for a bow competition and picnic. They really had a great time. (And discovered some new talents!) Jess did even better with a rifle. She took a hunter safety course at school, and part of the course was a field trip to the shooting range south of Anchorage. Jess definitely takes after her father, and is a fantastic shot. The teachers were calling her "Sniper" by the end of the day. Not to be outdone, Brandon was chosen to represent his school in an art show at the Anchorage Museum downtown. It was really cool to see his art on the wall of a real museum.

He had some fun field trips, as well. His class had a visit from REI, and they taught them how to use snowshoes. Trust me, it's a lot harder than it looks.
The kids had a blast running relays and taking part in other competitions while wearing the snowshoes. He got to participate in an egg relay, hurdle jumping, and kick ball.

I think it's great that Jessica (our artist) found her inner outdoors woman, and Brandon (our outdoors man) found his inner artist.

Moose Crossing

Things have been a little busy, so I've been slacking off a little bit on this blog. I have been so busy taking pictures at school lately, that I haven't taken any for myself. I thought I would share these that I took last winter in front of our school. I was parked beside the school, waiting for Brandon to come out, when this Mom and calf decided to stroll through.

It always makes me a little nervous when they walk so closely to the vehicles, but despite their massive size, they are very gentle creatures. This is not uncommon in our area. They make regular announcements on the school intercom before they release the kids concerning moose sightings. They will tell the kids to not take certain routes home, because there are moose in that area. In this case, the moose were right in front of the school, so they held the kids a little longer and "shooed" the moose away.

Unfortunately, the moose refused to go very far this time, so our Principal and some volunteers walked the kids safely around the wildlife and up into our neighborhood. Just another day in Alaska.