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!

Portland + Christmas in Napakiak

I haven't updated in a few weeks. Things are busy here in Napakiak. 

I went to Portland the second week of December for a conference. It was amazing! I got to connect with other 2nd grade teachers from rural schools in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. We stayed at Skamania Lodge just over the Washington border. It was so beautiful. I would definitely return there. Here are some pictures from the lodge...

Indoor heated pool

Outdoor hot tub! They also had 2 indoor hot tubs.

One night after the conference I was with 3 other teachers and we met some people who work for Nike! There is a company store near Portland where everything is 50% off. However, you need to have a special pass to enter the store. Our new friends gave us four passes to get in and shop! It was awesome.

After returning to Alaska there were only 5 more days until Christmas break! The week went fast because we had a staff Christmas party, a Christmas program, and grades were due! My class sang Jingle Bell Rock at the program. Some of my students dressed up and Santa came to visit!

On the last day of school Santa brought gifts for my class and we enjoyed some snacks while watching the Grinch.

Here are some pictures from the air...

...and some from Napakiak.

I will do another update tomorrow about my relaxing Christmas break in PA! 

Thanksgiving Update +

A quick update on my Thanksgiving situation...

I finally made it to Anchorage on Friday around 2:30. After spending all day alone on Thanksgiving I was ready to get to the city. I was on standby for the Friday afternoon flight and when they announced my name I was on the plane in 5 minutes! I sat in the very first row of the plane so I could get off right away and get my luggage that I was missing for two days! When I first called the Anchorage baggage claim desk they said they didn't have my bags. I was worried someone took them or they were misplaced somewhere. However, when I got to Anchorage and asked if they had my bags, a man brought them out! I was thankful for my luggage that afternoon. You never realize how much you depend on those small personal things. 

I had all of my belongings and I was in Anchorage. It couldn't get much better! I rented a car and booked a hotel room for two nights and was on my way. It was fun to drive a car again and listen to the radio! I stayed in downtown Anchorage at the Voyager Inn. It's one of my favorite hotels in Anchorage. The room is big, they have a small kitchen area, and great views of downtown Anchorage! They even gave me the government rate because I am a teacher!

 

 

 

 

After I settled in a bit it was time to get busy! I went to Walmart, a thrift store for my students' Christmas gifts, and dinner with my roommate from last year and her family. It was nice to see them again. It was fun to do simple things, like go grocery shopping. It's great to walk around a store full of food...which is fresh!

Saturday I got to watch the Penn State game!! It was disappointing, but it was the first game that I got to actually watch all season. Saturday was my last full day in Anchorage so I was busy shopping and visiting with people all day! I finally made it to the post office at 10:40pm to mail some totes back to Napakiak. Here are a few more pictures from my short time in Anchorage...

 

 

This is from the airport! 

I was sad to be leaving Anchorage, but knew I would be passing through to get to Portland in a week. When I was waiting for my flight to leave they made an announcement that said the flight was on weather hold because the weather wasn't looking good in Bethel. After 30 minutes they said the weather cleared and we could leave! I was lucky and made it into Bethel. Some teachers were on a different flight from Anchorage to Bethel and they didn't make it. They had to turn around and fly back to Anchorage because it was too foggy to land. To my surprise, only my suitcase showed up in Bethel. The airline had to hold back some luggage because the plane was too heavy, and my cooler was one that they held back. The airline told me they would get it to me as soon as it arrived. Luckily, it showed up on a different flight later that night so I was reunited with my fresh food!

I went to the next airline for my flight to Napakiak, about a 5 minute drive away. I was on the plane with my luggage and we were getting ready to take off when the pilot canceled the flight! I was so close, yet so far away. However, I was glad we didn't fly. The fog came back into Bethel very quickly. I would have been a little scared if the pilot decided to take off. So, I was stuck in Bethel for 1 more night. There were 10 other teachers from around the district that were also stuck in Bethel. We all had to sleep at the District Office for the night.  I spent more time in Bethel than Anchorage over my Thanksgiving break!

School had to start late on Monday because so many teachers and staff members were missing from Napakiak. We started school at 10:30, but I still didn't make it back until around lunch time on Monday. Again, my cooler didn't fit in the small plane so it had to stay in Bethel until later in the day. Finally, at 4pm Monday, I was reunited with all of my fresh groceries! Nothing went bad inside the cooler. After all, it is below freezing here now so that's not a problem. Yesterday the real feel was -16!

This weekend we had a movie night at the school. We watched the movie "Home" and sold popcorn! The kids got some mats out to lay down and it went smoothly! There were about 30 kids who came.

Here is a great picture of the sunset a few days ago. 

I will be leaving Napakiak tomorrow to go to Portland! I'm traveling with our principal and one other teacher. We will stay in Bethel for one night, then leave early Tuesday morning to go to Portland! It is a full day of traveling, but I'm excited! I've never been to Portland before. The hotel where the conference is located is about an hour away from the Portland airport. It looks beautiful. It's a mountain lodge and located near the Columbia River Gorge. We stay in Portland for 3 nights before returning to Alaska. Then, we have to stay in Bethel for one more night because we aren't able to fly back to Napakiak in the dark. So, I will finally make it back to Napakiak on Saturday at around noon. That means I will be in Napakiak for less than a week before returning home to Pennsylvania!

I will be home in 13 days! I only have to work 6 more schools days before I travel home. I'm in the process of writing sub plans for the 4 school days that I'm missing this week. The time is going extremely fast. I cannot wait to be home! I'm excited to meet Porter. Here is a picture of him dressed up on Thanksgiving. I keep hearing stories about him. My dad said that yesterday he opened up a 20 lb bag of cat litter and had it all over our kitchen and bathroom floor!

Thank you to my mom for the package she sent me last week. She sent some goodies and fruit snacks for my students and they all really enjoyed eating them. :) I wish I took a picture. 

I'm excited to start a new project with a school in Pennsylvania. Shawn Green, who is a librarian at a school near my hometown, is planning a unit for my class and a Pennsylvania class to work on together! We will be researching information about our school, community and our lovely state of Alaska. We will also be Skyping! I think my students will really enjoy this new opportunity!

Here are my students at library on Friday.

Thanks for reading!