Caribou Hunting

Paul along with the kids from Caleb on up got to go Caribou hunting.  Quentin and Josh A. went out in the first plane load and set up camp while Paul brought out the next load of kids.  You are not allowed to hunt the day you fly so they spent the rest of the day scouting out the caribou.

They also spent some time scoping out the caribou and

taking pictures :)

Quentin

Joshua

Caleb

The next day the caribou were all too far away so all they could do was watch.  On the third day, after a good nights sleep, they split up into two groups.  Paul, Anna, Joshua and Caleb went one way and Quentin, Josh A. and Deborah went the other.  Paul's group was going to chase the caribou towards Quentin's group so Josh A. and Deborah could shoot their first caribou.  It worked great, Josh A. shot a caribou and then Deborah and Quentin collaborated to shoot another.  In fact it worked better than planned.  Paul's group came across a huge bull.  Their bull was so intent in watching Quentin's group that Anna was able to spend an inordinate amount of time sighting in on the huge bull.  Seconds before Paul exploded with Buck Fever Anna shot and killed the bull with one shot :)

Deborah

Caleb and Josh A.

Quentin and Deborah

 They had to pack the meat about a mile back to the plane.

Paul started flying meat and kids home.

A hunting trip a few years ago taught them to leave one tent and survival gear for the last trip out.  On that hunt a fog rolled in after the airplane made its first trip out and they sat there for three more days until the fog lifted.

The antlers on Anna's bull barely fit into the C-172.

Family Week Kentucky

So, way back in the beginning of April, Dad, myself, Deborah and Quentin went to Family Week Kentucky.  Family Wk is put on by the same group we went to Israel with.  So a lot of the people that were there we had met in Israel last fall, which was awesome.  

A couple days before it started we flew to my Grandparents in North Carolina and visited them and my cousins for a couple days.

One day, while I was shopping with Grandma, Dad, Grandpa, Deborah and Quentin  put the boat out in the pond to try drain it so they could fix a leak.  The drain didn't work or something but they had fun.

I don't think this is how you put a boat in the water...

We borrowed Grandma and Grandpa's fifth-wheel and truck to drive up to Kentucky so Quentin put some kind of sealant on it before we left.  (p.s. why does blogger make all the pictures so blurry??? aghh)

One of  the main reasons we flew all the way the Kentucky was for Devin and Barrett's wedding.  They had their Betrothal in Israel while we were there.  It was beautiful wedding.  Unfortunately we didn't get many good pictures of it.  In fact that was pretty much the theme of the whole week.  If you're having  fun who wants to stop and take pictures?  Mom wasn't very happy with that though:) 

They tried to make their wedding as much of a mirror of Yeshua coming back to get his bride as possible. All anyone knew was that Barrett was going to come for Devin on Sunday.  No one but his father knew what time on Sunday just like in Matthew 24:36 where Yeshua says "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, but my Father only".  So we all just hung out at the campground all day waiting for the shofar to sound then we had an hour to get ready for the wedding ("and He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet (shofar), and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, and from one end of heaven to the other" Matthew 24:31).

  The guys riding through camp blowing the shofars and yelling "the bridegroom is coming".

Everyone waiting for Barrett.

The groom and his bride.

After we all gathered at the campground and Barrett came we walked up to the amphitheater.  There was a lot of people there and it was a fairly long walk so we quite a few cars piled up behind us.

It was a great way to start off the week:)  The rest of the week was awesome.  I got nice and sunburned but had a great time hanging out with old friends from Israel and new friends that we just met.  

Volleyball and four-square games were constant.

The Friday we were there was Passover so we had a wonderful Pesach meal with the Hilton's and Wahlberg's.  Keeping up with our theme, these are the only pictures we have.  Oh well, you can just take my word for it, it was great.

After family week we drove back down to grandma and grandpa's and spent another day with them.  Then we flew back up to Alaska.  Right now I'm really missing the heat that was down south.  It is freezing up here in AK.  It was snowing a couple days ago.  It's not supposed to snow in May!  I think I say that every year though and it always snows:)

Rosh Hashanah and The Mediterranean

This weekend was a three day Shabbat.  Rosh Hashanah, the Israel new year, was Thursday and Friday.  We had a big party at our house with all the people from our group living in Jerusalem.  

This picture's for you Aunt Carole:)  I don't have a good one of us in the vineyard but it's with Lindsey.

We had a movie night afterwards.  After the boys went to bed the girls stayed up and watched two more movies:)

On Friday our family went to the Mediterranean Sea.  

Then we drove down to Sde Boker to spend the night with some of our friends.  We slept outside in a big tent.  It was fun but we don't have any good pictures from when we were there.

On the Road

We have had a wonderful trip which I will blog about later. We are in Fort St. John, Canada on our way back to Alaska.

The guys played touch football in the lake at Family Week. The tall handsome guy fourth from the left is Paul out there playing with his sons.

Family Camp at Tanalian Bible Camp

Back in April, just before Passover, we spent the weekend at Tanalian Bible Camp in Port Alsworth. Every spring they host a family camp. It is always a good time of fellowship and good Bible teaching.

It always falls during spring thaw so there is lots of mud and snow. The little boys love it!

David swinging...

Paul and I along with Lavonne and our kids Joshua on down, decided to take a hike toward the falls. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for a hike. It didn't take us long to wish we'd brought a sled for Sarah.

The boys could have used a sled for sliding too, but they are very creative. They made do with what we had. Sarah's mud boots kept falling off. By this time she was asleep in Paul's arms.
Benjamin's raincoat worked the best. He was like a little otter sliding down the hills.

Lavonne took a picture of the rest of us resting alongside the trail.

Caleb found a fun tree to climb.

Remember the post about the guys that came up from Iliamna to snowboard with our kids in Nondalton? While on our walk we found some graffiti that one of the guys, Lee to be specific, left behind on a walk he took with his family about an hour previous to our walk. At least this graffiti will clean up very nicely all on its own.
Lake Clark Air and a few of their planes lined up alongside the runway. The plane to the far left is one that Paul flies a lot.
Lavonne, Josh, Tia, Caleb and Sarah are stuffed in the plane for the short ride home. They got to hold their pillows:)
We love Family Camp, so much so that we are planning a trip down the Alcan to a week long family camp in Canada this June. Paul's Mom is going to drive up from North Dakota and meet us there for the week. We are all getting excited for another motor home adventure. We love traveling in our motor home. Even though the quarters are tight, it is always a special time that produces lasting memories.