A morning with us

Today we got up bright and early, don't ask questions. We don't normally do this. We go to swimming lessons every day, and we spend the rest of the morning fussing around town. Today, we brought Lunette with us. She goes everywhere with us!

While one of my little ones was in taking her lesson, her younger sister took Lunette to the playground. Showing her what a good swing is. You should have been there, to hear them both giggle and laugh and roar...and scream higher!

Then we moved to the slide...oh, how I remember the metal slide in my hometown. It used to leave my bum all rusty and quite scorched!

After the  lessons were over we headed to the local Library, for our weekly return and borrow of new reading materials. Ok, ok, so we actually forgot to bring the library bag, but who noticed? Finnie shows Lunette how to do puzzles, and we got her a book about Ladybugs...that's the one that seemed to caught her attention. We spend a long time at the Library, so Lunette decided to take a quick rest on top of Adica, who lends herself as human pillow most of the time.

Coming home, we changed Lunette's hat as the sun was pretty bright, and her blonde hair and blonde eyes make her a little susceptible to it.

Overall we enjoyed our slow day, and we are happy to report that Lunette has adjusted magnificently to our daily puttering and seems to be quite at home with us. Most of our days are quite simple, full of little adventures, nothing too big to write down or take pictures of. But that is the way we like it, and those are the moments that we feel are the most important for our family. Perhaps Lunette has greatly inspired us with her quiet demeanor to take the summer a little bit more slower than usual. Perhaps you will feel inspired to do the same. To putter and relax, let the lazyness of summer be your guide.

A trip around the hood.

Packed with two little girls on their bikes, and a very excited Lunette, we went for a little bike ride around the block, to pick up a little friend who was coming to play with us. We missed her birthday a few days ago, and we wanted to treat her to a day of doll play and tea parties. She has big brothers, so she doesnt get to play like that a lot. We are happy to oblige.

Finnie selected a very fancy and flouncy kerchief for Lunette to use as protection...she looked quite funny. I dont think her Mom would approve, but she is so nice and did not say a word. She actually smiled and looked very happy the whole ride.

We stopped by the little creek to enjoy the sun, and cut a few flowers for our tea party centerpiece. The girls know all their names and they were showing Lunette what each flower was.

Back at the house, the girls decided to go and play and Lunette and I explored our yard. It is in full bloom with all sorts of wild flowers (or weeds as some people call them). I feel so lucky to share Lunette with all these wonderful women, as she is such a good little doll. There is a quietness about her, a gentleness, she resembles to me an old soul. And I love having her here with me. Joining me in my sewing room, and letting me show her my hood.

I hope you enjoyed the pics from our small day adventure. More to come!.

Lunette's arrival to Canada

Wow! Did we ever have to wait for her to come and visit!. We were all getting worried about her, and thinking how famished she was going to be when she was finally able to come out of her little box. And, boy oh boy, was I ever surprised to not find a little box as I expected, but a huge box, full of loveliness, generosity and little quirks that speak of the amazing nature of our Alaskan family. Thank you so much Shannon for all this kindness. We were reassured, one more time, that there is so much goodness in the world, and that dolls really unite people the world over!.

So after we oh! and ah! over the magnificent contents of the parcel, we set out to read her journals, check out her passport, snuggle and cuddle. There was much cuddling to be had as she is one of the most cuddly little dolls I've ever held in my arms. My daughters are quite smitten with her, and have placed requests for Christmas dolls already.

They suggested we took her to the play room, to see if our doll clothes fit her, and having such an array of handmade goodness, we were sure to find something special for her to wear at home. Once changed out of her travel clothes we fed her. Good food. A bowl of handmade blueberries and a big slice of felt cake. She was stuffed!

Kate (our in-house Moonchild doll, that was also given to us!) was so relieved and happy to see her. You should have seen them, they just couldn't stop hugging each other and giggling.

We are so happy to be hosting Lunette and plan on taking her on little and big adventures while she is with us. The love that Berrie and her daughters put into this little one, by sending her out into the world, and the love that Evan and Shannon shared with her while she was with them, is so palpable, so visible and so heart-warming, that I think the last recipient of this sweet doll is going to fall on the floor from so much goodness.

Stay tuned for the first Canadian chapter of her travels.

Bon Voyage Sweet Lunette!

We will miss having you here with us and we wish you all the best for all the new adventures soon to come your way!

*Fabs, I'm so sorry....Evan just couldn't squeeze himself into the box with Lunette. He sends big bear hugs though..to "all the ladies who like him".



Lunette Visits The Alaska Zoo

We snuck in one more activity before it is time to say goodbye, The Alaska Zoo. The local wildlife wasn't coming out much for Lunette so we went off to our local zoo who mostly houses Alaskan animals who have been injured or orphaned, give or take a tiger or two.

With map in hand Evan and Lunette led the way..

..and first up were the seals,

and then the Polar bears..

one was giving a show, and the other..

not so much.

Lunette liked all the pretty flowers planted at the zoo.

What's that peeking around the tree?

There were Musk Oxen here too, we thought this was the cutest baby Musk Ox until we walked down a little more and saw.....

..these two! Teeny-tiny fluffiness! Now who could ever resist those faces? You can read more about how they arrived at the zoo here. (it had something to do with creatures like the one below)



Brown Bears..acting a bit like the Polar bears, one was very active while the other..

..not so much.

This old gal who is a Sitka deer may not look all that interesting, but while most of this species only lives to be around ten years old, this one is EIGHTEEN!! If she can hang in there for another two years she will have doubled her life expectancy.

We couldn't get too close to this adorable baby, but what a sight! Look at this cute little girl's silhouette when she stands, belly and bum. You can read more about her here, unfortunately she won't be staying with us. 



At the end of the day we came across the strangest creatures of all! I've never seen anything like these two before in my life...

The Lunette-a-boo..

and a silly Evan-oose.
(what a face!)

Kuspuk for Lunette

Yumm...blueberry snack!

(Lunette's hair has actually "grown" while she has been with us, I was even able to put in braids!)

Lunette just couldn't leave Alaska without getting her very own Kuspuk! So off to the sewing machine I went. A Kuspuk is a traditional Yupik garment worn over other clothing, like a hoodie jacket combined with a dress (men's Kuspuk are straight like a tunic without a ruffle). Traditionally they are made using cotton calico and rick-rack and have large pockets in the front.  They are very comfortable to wear and I wore one that resembles Lunette's when I was just a little girl.

I think she fits in very well in Alaska, don't you?

Lunette's Camping Adventure at Skilak Lake

What a fun camping trip we all had! The weather was so nice, we decided to extend our trip.

Lunette was a wonderful sport the whole time and even braved a new activity while we were gone, Kayaking!

Weee...

(For those who may be concerned don't worry, Lunette's flotation devise is safely under her clothing!)

Tyler led the way...

Lunette was on the look out for wildlife!

We were hoping to spy some bears or maybe a moose, both are very common in the area, but but these two were the only critters who came out to say "Hello", although I think they were more annoyed than happy to see us..*sigh*..seagulls, what more can I say. 

When we returned to the beach, a friend had made the cutest pirate ship for Evan. Just look at that wee pirate on board....Arrggg!

Time to set sail Matey!

The weather was perfect so we stayed longer than planned!

And soon it will be time to say goodbye to sweet Lunette, we sure will miss her.