Summer in the Lower 48

I cannot possibly begin to put into words how incredible our summer was.  Marriage, two honeymoons, and lots of time with family and friends.  It really could not have been any better.  We are, however, very much ready to head back to our little place in Alaska and get back into our normal routine.  We have a lot to look forward to this school year.  Lucas switched classrooms and now we will be teaching right next door to each other everyday.  Lucas is the only middle school math teacher (finally!) and will also be teaching 6th grade science and PE.  I have one less course to teach (4 instead of 5), and only one is new to me (Alaska History).  I am also starting a Masters of Education Program in Reading and Literacy Education through Benedictine University in Illinois.  We are excited for a busy, but an even better year together than the last.  Here are several pictures that highlight our summer.  The best day, of course, being the day I married my best friend :)

Ashley with sisters Erin and Jessica

Lucas with brothers Nick, Peter, and Adam

Our wedding party

The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis where we were married

The Columbia Manor in Minneapolis where the reception was held

First dance as husband and wife

Honeymoon in Jamaica in Whitehouse, Jamaica

River safari

Zip-lining in the canopy

View of our resort from the glass-bottomed boat

Our favorite pool at the resort.  Lucas playing volleyball

Honeymoon 2.0: Western Road Trip

Mt. Rushmore

Crazy Horse Memorial

Great Horn Mountain, WY

Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, WY

At the Rodeo!

Yellowstone National Park

Hot Springs at Yellowstone

Old Faithful

Hiking near Priest Lake, Idaho

Hal, Lucas' Alaskan teaching mentor

Hal in his canoe on Priest Lake

Sunset over Priest Lake from Hal's deck

Lucas and Hal

Capitol Building in Helena, MT

Deadwood, SD

Calamity Jane's

Lucas at the spot Will Bill was shot

We fly to Anchorage on August 9th, Dillingham on August 12th for teacher inservice, and we start teaching in Manokotak on August 20th.

Surprise Bridal Shower

My co-workers surprised me last weekend with the most lovely bridal shower.  It was absolutely adorable.  From the yummy food, to the heart-shaped cookie cutter favors, to the poster of pictures that chronicled the lives and love of Lucas and I....it was perfect!  Thank you ladies, and a big thank you to Amanda for pulling off such a cute and classy party in bush Alaska.  I was, and still am, so impressed!  :)

Spring!

Who doesn't love a field trip?  Obviously students do.  As teachers, we do too!  Lucas and I were able to participate in a field trip a few weeks ago.  Alaska field trips are very different from your standard, lower 48 trips.  For example, forget the school bus.  Snow mobiles were our means of transportation.

Activities for the day included snowmobiling to the field trip location, which is just called "First Lake" around here.  It was about a 30 minute trip.  We spent the morning ice-fishing, where Lucas helped to drill holes in the ice with some machine-thingy.

Then we ice-fished and caught nothing.

My students think I am crazy for posing for a picture while ice-fishing.  This is nothing out of the ordinary for them, but it was my first time!

Lucas and I with Amanda and Scott.  They are from Texas and this is their first year in Alaska, too.  After hot dogs for lunch, the kids had a fire and shelter-building contest.  I wasn't really paying attention at first, and was super impressed when I saw the first fire blazing.  But they had lighters in their pockets, which I guess is no big deal when on a school field trip??

This was my first Easter away from my family, but we hosted a nice little dinner for our friends and it was fun.  We held Manokotak's first annual Peep Wars (a tradition I stole from my brother-in-law's family after participating in it with them last Easter).  It was more like Easter Bunny Peep Sumo Wrestling.  Two people each put a bunny on the plate and we put them in the microwave.  First bunny down loses!  So fun :)

Kirsten vs. Ashley

Nicole v. Lucas

Scott v. Kirk

Hope you had a great Easter!  We look forward to being back the Midwest soon :)  Less than 5 weeks!

March Madness!

Things don't seem to ever slow down here.  I feel like I'm still trying to catch up from missing four days of school at the end of February for the Alaska Statewide Special Education Conference in Anchorage.  It was a great trip, but I'm still paying for it!  Here are some things we've been up to lately:

Ice sculpture in downtown Anchorage:

My favorite co-workers with me in Anchorage.  

Starbucks :) Such a treat while in Anchorage!

Our one and only home basketball game:

Now that basketball season is over, we can have fun on weeknights with our snow machine:

Lucas shot his first ptarmigan!  We got some breast meat off of it (a little tiny bit), but have yet to eat it....

... because we already had a moose roast in the crock pot for dinner :)
 

And the decision has been made- we will be back in Alaska for the 2012-2013 school year!