Wise Family: North Pole Disneyland

Yesterday we took the kids to North Pole to visit our friends Ken and Kirsten. They have two boys: Kevin, age 11, and Ryan, age 8. Ken is really into hunting and fishing. He has a house, two cabins, multiple 4 wheelers and tons of other rigs, much to Kirsten's dismay. Ken is the ultimate Alaskan Redneck. I told them I would be doing an expose on North Pole Rednecks on my blog. I promised Kirsten anonimity, so you will not see any pictures of her, just everything else.

In Kirsten's defense, I do want to make sure I include the fact that Kirsten has tried her hardest to balance the boy's upbringing with lots of educational toys, art and creativity. She home schools the boys using a modified Waldorf curriculum. There is a play structure in the back yard with a swing on a zip line. Kirsten has a really cool collapsible clothes line. She fed us a delicious moose-vegetable soup, salad and homemade bread. She subscribes to Mother Earth Jones and recyles.

But my kids don't care about any of that. They were only interested in the 4 wheelers and Ken's rusty rigs in the yard. They were in boy heaven. Kevin, who is a very responsible 11 year old, took the boys for rides on his 4 wheeler. Maya happily played inside with all their toys. I had to drag my kids away kicking and screaming. I made the boys exchange email addresses, phone numbers and promise to write. Riley, Chris and Bradley now have two new pen pals. And a good time was had by all.

Hockey camp: that's Riley shooting on Bradley.

Chena hot springs. The kids were not allowed in the man-made lake just beyond this hot tub. They enjoyed the pool and 3 different hot tubs. Matt and I took turns sitting in the hot lake and watching the kids. The last 30 minutes, Nanna sat with the kids so we could go in the hot lake together.

This is Roxie, one of their two rescued Basinjis, a breed of "barkless" dogs.