Christmas Break in Pennsylvania

My Christmas Break started out a little bumpy because when I woke up in the morning it was snowing and super windy! I knew the planes wouldn't fly if the weather stayed like that for the entire day. Luckily, it cleared up around lunch time. However, because we got so much snow the runways needed to be plowed in Bethel so the planes could take off. The plane coming to pick me up was supposed to take off from a runway covered in snow. There was no way they would clear the runway in time for the plane to pick me up and take me to Bethel. I didn't want to be stuck in Napakiak...so, I went on quite the adventure. I took a 45 minute snow machine ride to Bethel. We followed a trail just as it was getting dark out. Two other teachers were trying to get out of the village, too. They sat on the sled while I rode on the back of the snow machine. I had a cooler, suitcase, and backpack to bring with me. The other teachers also had their luggage so it was a full sled!! The man who gave us a ride dropped us off right at the airport. He was driving the snow machine on the main road!

It's hard to believe that everything fit!

I made my flight into Anchorage and all of my connections to Pennnsylvania. I was only traveling for a little over 12 hours. It was a great to finally be in Pennsylvania where the weather was warmer! I didn't need snow boots or a winter jacket for most of the time I was home. 

I took this picture on my flight from Anchorage to Chicago. 

I enjoyed my 20 days in Pennsylvania. I got to see my friends and family, I met Porter the new dog, and I relaxed! It seems like I only took pictures of Porter while I was home. He's so cute! We spent a lot of time together while everyone was working. I took him for car rides and walks. I also tried to teach him a new trick, but he didn't master it before I left. 

A few days after I was home we had to get a crate for him because.....

He went into our lazy susan TWICE and made a mess each time. One day he also went through our mail basket so that was all over our kitchen floor. He took butter off the kitchen counter one night. I didn't believe how bad he was until I met him. I can't believe a dog did all of this! We spent a long time cleaning up his messes.

After all the puppy excitement it was time to let my Dad and Lee deal with him. I was on my way back to Alaska. I traveled all day to get to Anchorage and then I finally arrived at 2am Alaska time which is 6am Pennsylvania time. I stayed in a hotel for a few hours of rest and took a walk to Walmart to pick up a few things before my flight in the morning. I made it back to Napakiak at 2pm Saturday. It was about 28 hours from the time I left my house in Pennsylvania to the time I reached my house in Napakiak.

I forgot to mention...I got a surprise phone call from my principal one day over break. She told me that the roof blew off my house in Napakiak!! The winds were so bad that the roof blew right off. The way she explained it, it seemed like I would have a lot of cleaning to do when I got back and I might be missing a few things. However, I called the maintenance man and he said everything would be fine. My roof was fixed when I arrived in Napakiak and everything inside was just fine. Here are some pictures of my roof outside of my house.

It has definitely been an interesting year. Our spring break is only 7 weeks away and I am going to HAWAII!! The teachers really wanted to go last year, but we didn't make it. I wanted to go this year so I found a great deal and booked my flight in October. My dad is going to meet me there and we will explore the island of Oahu for 6 days! I'm excited to be in warm weather and near an ocean. I've never been to Hawaii, but I keep hearing that it's beautiful. After spring break, my dad will be returning to Alaska with me! We will spend 1 day in Anchorage and then he is going to come to Napakiak with me for about 2 days. I'm excited. 

I also get to go to Anchorage this Friday for a conference. We are only staying for the weekend. It will be a quick trip, but it will be nice to be around other teachers I know and also visit the grocery store!

Last weekend I went to my first birthday party! One of my students was turning 10 and I was invited to his party. I had some moose spaghetti and cake. Something I found interesting about the party was that the birthday boy left after he was done eating! I wasn't used to that, but I still had an enjoyable time at the party. 

We've been busy the first week back to school. This student made a sentence that says, "I saw a fox and a moose"

We've also been playing a new dice game that the students love.

The river is completely frozen now and safe for travel. I walked down there on Sunday after the birthday party and took this picture. The truck is on the river!

Here's a comparison picture. I'm standing in just about the same spot. 

Here are a few more pictures I took recently...

Thanks for reading!