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!

Basketball and a Baby

Like most teachers, I experience moments when I cannot get over how creative/funny my students can be. Where do they come up with this stuff?  We studied the ancient Egyptian social pyramid and then made our own for Alaska and/or Manokotak.  Here is what two students came up with:

Yes, our faces were cut and pasted to their assignments.  In case you are curious, they compared us to the scribes of ancient Egypt, since scribes were the most educated members of the community :)

Lucas saw two moose on his way to the airport last weekend before he flew out with the basketball team for a tournament.

Coach Lucas in action:

His boys in action:

And in our free time we like to hold other people's babies :)

The good, the bad, and the always cold! :)

After quite the day yesterday in my classroom, I needed to step back and remember that I have it pretty good :)

I LOVE.....                                                     
My fiance                                                            
My parents
My sisters and brother-in-law
Teaching
My students
Working with Lucas
Our wonderful co-workers/friends- for keeping us sane
My commute to work :)  across the street!
Lesson-planning
Fresh fruits and veggies almost once a week now
Our snow-go
Learning about a new culture
Learning from my students
Reading on my Nook! (thanks, Lucas)
Wedding planning
How simple life is here

I could go without... ;)
Having to get on a snow-go and travel 45 minutes in below zero temps to get fresh fruit and veggies
Planning a Minneapolis wedding from Manokotak
Grading papers! (ha!)

Things I took for granted (and miss...)!
Grocery store
Not having to plan ahead for meals
Having a social studies department to work and collaborate with (oh you 22 social studies teachers at my first teaching job, I miss you!)
The honest, fair, constructive, and very helpful teaching mentors I had during my first years of teaching
Caribou Coffee :)


Life is good.  Here's to hoping that there is no hair-pulling and only love in learning in the classroom today! :)

...And We're Back!

Happy New Year!  We are back and settled in Manokotak and ready to start the second semester of the school year with our kiddos tomorrow.  We had a wonderful trip back to the Midwest and can't believe it has come and gone already.  It was fun, relaxing, and refreshing.  I am so grateful for the time we had to spend with family and friends.

After finals on December 16th, we quickly got on a flight right after school as there was a break in the light snow and clouds that we had been seeing on-and-off all morning.  One flight to Dillingham and one to Anchorage later, we were done traveling for the day.  Lucas' brothers Pete and Adam picked us up, and we were all able to head over to Greg and Celine's house for pizza.  Lucas' cousins Sam and Meredith are super adorable and Lucas is so good with them :)   We are so lucky to have kind and generous family members in Anchorage that provide a bed, food, and a key to their house when we are traveling through.   I can't put into words how much easier (both physically and mentally) it makes our journey/life in Alaska.

We went to lunch with Greg's family and Pete on Saturday.  Then it was off to the Bear's Tooth Theatrepub and Grill.   It is a movie theater that serves food and adult beverages-brilliant!  We got to sit in this nice little both while we watched The Christmas Story.  I hadn't seen that movie since we watched it right before Christmas break in 6th grade! :)  Loved it!

We flew out on an overnight back to Chicago.  We both got very little sleep and it was kind of a rough flight!  My parents picked us up at O'Hare and it was so wonderful to be back on my home turf.  My dad made us a delicious breakfast and then it was off to take some serious naps.  That afternoon we went to a bar with my dad and sister Jessica so Lucas could watch his Vikings.  My dad watched the Bears and Jessica and I chatted and enjoyed cheese fries :)  My parents made us a "Thanksgiving" dinner that night at my request.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here, but I missed our family's food (especially the stuffing!).  Our week in Chicago was pretty relaxing.  I had a dress fitting, found a veil, and finally cut a hair cut.  My mom and I had a peppermint mocha date at Starbucks (I was really looking forward to this)!   Lucas and I celebrated the anniversary of our engagement at Ruth's Chris Steak House- amazing!  My dad and Lucas cut up some wood that we'll be using as decor for our reception.  I caught up with my very good friends Jen, Lisa and John (all in our wedding).   My sister Erin and her husband Rick (and their dog Dixie) came in on the 23rd.  We left for Minnesota early on the 25th, but it was nice that the WHOLE family was in for Christmas Eve :)  It was a wonderful visit!

  On Christmas Day we woke up pretty early to head to Lucas' parents in Owatonna, Minnesota.  We celebrated Christmas at Lucas' grandparents' farm in Blooming Prairie.  On Monday, we ran errands with Lucas' mom, and saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie with his parents.  On Tuesday, we visited Lucas' other grandma and I was able to meet his Aunt Kathy who was in from Virginia.  We drove up to the cities on Tuesday night to visit with Lucas' friends (and groomsmen) Trevor and Jake.  They're always a good time :) The next morning we were off to taste cupcakes at Sweets Bakeshop in Minneapolis and let me just say picking out flavors was a difficult but heavenly task! Yum.  Having cupcakes instead of a wedding cake was a decision that was very much Lucas'.  His attitude is usually "do whatever you want" so when he has an opinion about anything in wedding planning- I listen!  With cupcakes tasted and a difficult decision made, Lucas met up with his friend Bill to look at tuxes and I went off bridesmaid dress shopping with my bridesmaid, Becky.  We picked out dresses for her July wedding.  I love that we are getting married the same summer along with our other college roommate, Kara.  June, July, and August weddings means triple bachelorette party- we are already planning :)
I went to Toby Keith's Bar and Grill to see the Johnny Holm Band with my lovely college girls (so much fun) while Lucas picked up his sister Alicia and her husband Adrian at the airport.  We all headed back to Owatonna that night.

It was back to Chicago on the 30th for my wedding shower the next day (the traveling never ends!).  It was great to see so many friends and family members even if it was just for a few short hours.  Thank you again to everyone who attended!  And thank you to my parents and sisters for hosting.  It was lovely :)   I love you and am very grateful for you all!

We had a fun New Year's Eve at Lisa and John's.  On Sunday Lucas and my dad camped out in their man cave (aka the basement) to watch the Bears play the Vikings.  I'm pretty sure there was lots of trash-talking going on ;)  That was our last evening in the Midwest :(   Then it was up early and off to Alaska on the 2nd.

We spent two nights in Anchorage so we could run a few errands- one of them being going to the DMV to get driver's licenses.  It is official now- we are Alaskans!  If you don't believe me, just look at what we did this weekend.

Being back home with family always helps to put things in perspective.  We get to work with each other and with great kids every day.  We enjoy our group of co-workers/friends very much (see picture above!)  We were able to visit our friends and family over our Christmas break.  We are both healthy.  We are getting married and will get to celebrate this with over 200 people in just a few short months.

My dad sent me this prayer a while ago and at the beginning of the school year and I taped it to the wall next to my desk.  At first I used it when working with challenging students (a quick glance and deep breath!) but now that I've been here a few months, I've found I actually need to use it more when dealing with other things:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.


There is nothing I am able to change myself that I would want to in our lives right now- we are truly blessed!  Happy 2012!

Town, tests, and turkey time :)

What a great holiday weekend!  It was so nice to have some extra time this weekend to do so many new things.  Before I get to the 'turkey' part of this edition, let me start with 'town.'  Two weekends again, Lucas and I flew to Dillingham to each take a test.  Our students refer to Dillingham as "town."  It is where our school district has its administrative offices, but there are also real streets(!), a health clinic, a few grocery stores, a bank, a coffee shop, restaurants, and two bars.  It is also home to the University of Alaska- Fairbanks, Bristol Bay Campus.  Lucas and I each took a Praxis test so we can become "highly qualified" teachers in Alaska.  Each state has very different standards when it comes to teacher licensing and being "highly qualified" in the subjects that you are teaching.  Because Lucas is teaching multiple subjects (he is basically our middle school generalist) and I am teaching every social studies class under the sun, we had to take a very specific test.  It was nice to get out of our village for the weekend (paid for by the school district!) and even though it was a ten minute flight, it was a nice break.  We were able to get A TON of food to bring home, eat out, get a mocha, and relax.   A blizzard caused us to get stuck for another day (we were there for three nights when we had to each take one two-hour test), and by the end we were both ready to return home.  This made us both realize that we are really settled here in Manokotak :)  Here is a picture of the little plane we fly on between Manokotak and Dillingham.  This was the day after big snow storm when we were able to return.

Lucas and I hosted Thanksgiving this year for the school staff.  This sounds like a lot of work, but everyone brought a dish or two to share, so our job was to basically handle the turkey.  Neither of us have ever made a turkey, which I was slightly concerned about.  We bought our turkey in Dillingham a few days before, and while there we were able to talk to another teacher about how her husband made the turkey at their school last year for the staff.  He recommended putting the turkey in a salt brine the night before, and after searching online for a recipe we actually had the ingredients for already, we put that baby in the bath the night before.

It turned out great!  Which was quite a relief since everyone knows I'm not exactly known for my mad skills in the kitchen.  I've been learning a lot this year :)  Lucas and I also set up some Christmas decorations before everyone came over.  We borrowed folding chairs and tables from the school so that we could fit all fifteen of us in the apartment.

Vikings and Vera Bradley stockings :)

 It was my first Thanksgiving away from my family, which was really hard.  But we kept pretty busy over our 4-day weekend which helped keep my mind off it.  On Friday, Lucas rode in to Dillingham with our friend Brian to pick up our new snowmobile (known as snow-machine or snow-go here in Alaska).  Someone in the district office was nice enough to pick up for us and store it until we were able to get there to get it.  There are two rivers that you cross between Manokotak and Dillingham, so we were basically waiting for them to freeze over before we could get our new toy.  That being said, it is so stinking cold here!  Lucas was not able to get to Dillingham by snow-go until after Christmas last year.  Here we were on the day after Thanksgiving and the rivers were good to go!  Once the boys returned with our machine (it was dark and WAY too cold to stand outside and try to take pictures...I will get some of it soon!) we got together with a few of our friends to decorate gingerbread houses. 

Lucas' team built a very non-traditional Star Wars- themed type "house."

My team went for a Balmy Christmas look (note the reindeer on the surf board in the pool)!

On Saturday, Lucas insisted on taking me into Dillingham on our snow-go.  It was -10 outside, but I said what the heck! :)  We bundled up and Lucas and two of our friends drove into town once again.  I got to ride on the back.  The trail is new, so it was super bumpy and then my goggles frosted over.  So for the hour-plus ride, I could not see the beautiful mountains that we followed all the way there.  I knew the men were already driving slower so that I would not fall off, and I had already made us stop once to adjust my face layers so the wind was blocked.  So I closed me eyes, held on tight, and screamed at every bump on the way there.  Lucas was not my biggest fan.  I had to hold on for dear life the whole way because I could not see when a bump was coming.  My arms and back are soooo sore right now,  and I was totally exhausted when we got back.  I don't really understand why, but I am already excited for another ride next weekend! :)  

Here we are in Dillingham on Bristol Bay on Saturday.

Count down until Christmas break: only 14 school days left!  We will be in Chicago Dec 18-24th, Minnesota 25-30th, and back in Chicago the 30th-2nd.  We look forward to seeing our friends and family then!  Can't wait :)

Let it Snow!

Winter has definitely arrived in Manokotak!  Today is the only day this week that will reach above 30 degrees.  After that we have highs in the 20's!  Brrrr!  Lucas and I attempted to go on a walk yesterday, but we got a little distracted.  Lucas didn't have enough layers on, so we had a bit of fun in the snow, then high-tailed it back indoors.

On the last Friday of October, the school held its annual Halloween Carnival.  It is a fundraiser that had a pretty good turnout.  I am the 7th grade class sponsor, so I helped the 7th graders run a game.  There are only seven 7th graders, and they took turns running "Bozo Buckets." I had the pleasure of sitting here for two hours, and I look thrilled :)  Lucas is the 10th grade class sponsor, and they made the big bucks doing a cake walk!

I have more exciting 'food news' this week, too.  Last Wednesday night, Lucas received a text from the girl's basketball coach informing him that the "Store Plane" was going to be in Manokotak soon and to spread the word to the other teachers.  Sure enough, a few minutes later, we heard the plane buzzing around the village- sending a message to get in the car or on your 4-wheeler and get to the little airport ASAP!  We hopped in the school vehicle with a few other teachers and made our way as quickly as we could.  The store plane is basically a grocery plane that brings in items that are hard/expensive to get to Manokotak like fresh produce and frozen treats.  The plane lands, the man unloads, and it is a crazy free-for-all to try and grab what you want.  It was also freezing, dark, and snowy on this particular night.  We grabbed what we wanted, stood around with our goodies in a pile, and eventually the pilot came over, added up our total, and we wrote him a check.
We got:
Onions
Eggs
Grapes
Oranges
Apples
Summer Sausage
Mountain Dew (Lucas' treat for himself)
Drumsticks (my treat)

All of this snow is really getting me in the Christmas spirit.  I've ordered a few things for the apartment to decorate for the season but I have not allowed myself to turn on the Christmas tunes yet.  This is mostly because I still want Lucas to love me :)  ( I don't want to overkill him with Christmas cheer)!  I think I'm overly excited for the holiday because I am more than ready to travel back to the Midwest to see all of our family and friends.  And to have a peppermint mocha from Starbucks with my mom :)  Less than 6 weeks!!!

Living in Alaska is really killing my style ;)