Christmas Break +

Waqaa!

I can't believe I've been back in Alaska for 2 weeks already...time is going so fast. Only about 18 more weeks of school are left. So much has happened since I wrote my last blog. I'm sorry it's been so long...I've been so busy traveling and getting back in the swing of things at school. 

Before Christmas break we had a Christmas Program at school. My class performed the "Reindeer Hokey Pokey". It was so cute! Here's the video!

Nik and I dressed up as Mr. & Mrs. Claus for the program. The kids loved touching our soft velvet costumes. :)

The staff at school did a little Christmas dinner and gift exchange. My secret Santa was Trish, a high school teacher. She made me a beautiful Kuspuk. The Kuspuk is a traditional "sweatshirt" worn by Alaskan Natives. It has a hood and a large front pocket. I love it. Thank you, Trish!

Liz and I went for a walk two weeks before the break. The river is frozen!! We walked out to about the middle of the river. It was neat, but super cold! It was so cold my iPhone even shut off! Here are some pictures.

I haven't driven on the river yet, but many of the other teachers from my school have. It's a little scary!

We had a fish delivered to our house by one of the locals! It was still flopping around in our sink even after it was out of water for over an hour! Liz filleted it and stuck it in the freezer. 

We also had some moose one weekend! It tasted almost like roast beef.

This was the last day of school before the break...

Finally, it was time to go home for Christmas!!! I was traveling for over 24 hours and when I finally arrived in Philadelphia I found out that my luggage was lost!! Luckily I had enough stuff at home to get me through until my luggage showed up a day later. It was nice to relax and spend some time with my family and friends. I didn't get to do everything I had planned, but hopefully I can get those things done in the summer when I'm home! Here are some pictures from my break...

Leaving the village at 10:30 am.

My Dad's birthday present!

New kitty, Hunter.

Duds was ready for Christmas.

My mom and I on Christmas. :)

My mom and I made yummy chocolate chip cookies.

He loves his car rides. 

The most important thing all break...Sunny's Buffalo Chicken Pizza!!

Showing off our bowling shoes!

I got to see my little buddy, Garrett, wrestle the day before I had to leave. So cute!

The trip back to Alaska was smooth. I stayed overnight in Anchorage on Monday, January 5th at the Dimond Hotel. I would definitely recommend staying here if you ever visit Anchorage. It was beautiful! All my luggage made it back with me and I went to Walmart to get some frozen/refrigerated goods to take back with me to Napakiak. 

This was the view of the river from my flight to Napakiak. Still frozen!

We just had our second parent teacher conferences on Thursday evening. I had 10 of my 23 parents show up, but it was nice to see them and talk about their children. We are making goals for the month of January and started to do yoga to be healthy students!

I get to go to Anchorage on Thursday for the RTI Conference!!! I'm so excited. We're staying at the Hilton downtown which is supposed to be very nice. It will be great to get away for a weekend. I really want to go to Target since I didn't get there when I was home in Pennsylvania.

Lastly, my kids are experts in the king of ing! We practiced -ing endings for an entire week..it was so fun!

I'll try to do another update by the end of this month about my time in Anchorage!