Iditarod Restart

Hawken and I went to the Iditarod restart with friends last weekend. It gave Jaxon some much needed quiet time at home with dad to heal from his surgery. Little brother was getting on his nerves that day... We were on a smaller lake away from the big crowd. This is just a bunch of locals that come to this lake each year to watch the mushers take off. The real restart spot isn't far away on Willow Lake. 66 teams took off into the wilderness last week on an 1,000 + miles dog sled ride to Nome Alaska.

New Art, by me...

I have been working on a few little art pieces. Like this mom & baby batik that I adheared to wood then added a border and fabric butterfly. More in the works along with lots of batik clothing for the summer season. I have not updated my website for awhile but it's the same.  www.mountntopdesigns.com  

Kelle Hampton

I have been following this woman's blog for over a year (almost 2) Kelle Hampton. She is an awesome photographer and writes about being a crafty- work from home- mom & artist with a blog. Hmmm sounds familiar, I guess that's why I check out her site (link below) a couple times a week. Although we live in totally different worlds (her pics. are often of her girls on the beach or playing in the sun, she is near my mother in law in FL, while mine have alot of snow, kids on sleds, and trees with mountains) we are not so different. Well, her first book just came out BLOOM and this clip is about it. Her second daughter was born with Downs Syndrome 2 years ago and it was something she didn't expect, but since has bravely dove into the movement to show acceptance for people with all abilities and chronicles it day to day on her blog. Check it out and you'll be hooked on her story and mesmerized by her photos and the way she blends her family and busy life into something all moms with young kids can relate to. Also acceptance of all kinds is a great message to spread...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8mdtbVd1ek&feature=youtu.be 

Her blog is www.kellehampton.com   and her girls are just adorable!

Top Ten Ways You Know Your An Alaskan Mom...

10. It's OK to "go out" in hip-waders or Carharts.

9. You have a headlamp or flashlight in your purse all winter.

8. The back up wipes you keep in the car are frozen solid.

7. When it's 28 degrees out and you think it's a warm day.

6. Your child's school bag contains more snowgear than books.

5. To quickly chill a dish you set it out on the porch not in the fridge.

4. When your kids ask for salmon, moose or caribou for dinner.

3. You drive over 150 miles for groceries.

2. When you you wake up to a moose licking your car (seriously, it happens).

1. If you take your kids to the bus stop on a snowmachine or dogsled.

Not sure what Letterman would think of my top 10 list, maybe I should send it to him... ;0)

*I never did forward this to Dave... It's a repeat post from 2008 but still relevant today and could easily represent moms in several states besides Alaska.

family

me, my grandma & aunt last summer. July 2011

Andy on skis

he misses it... there is a lot of x-country but not much downhill around here.

Friends

These are Jaxon's buddies London and Theo sledding with him. We have known these families since we moved here six and half years ago. There's Hawken hiking up the trail again in front of the big boys (he's in the red and black coat) following me and our orange sled. Several trips up this hill is a pretty good work out.