Some how the shortest month seemed to go on foreverrrrrrr. February felt like it was 6 weeks long even though there was a lot that happened. First off, basketball season was in full swing and that occupied quite a few weekends. We were either working concessions and cheering them on at home or traveling by to watch the teams play. After borrowing a snowmachine to travel, I am hooked. That purchase will be made in the next year. Last weekend we drove to Kotzebue. It's about a 2 drive through the tundra and it was a lot of fun. The not so fun part was that we had a snow machine break down. That meant we got to travel by pickup truck on the ice road back to Noorvik. That took over 3 hours, because of how bumpy the ice road is this year. Now I can say I've done it!
Right now I just returned from Seattle. As much as I love Noorvik and the state of Alaska I was so ready for a complete mental and physical break. Everyone was ready for this break, and fighting the laziness that is the precursor to any break was starting to get on my nerves. It was good to clear my mind a bit and recharge mentally and spiritually. Also, I never thought I would be tired of snow, but after 7 months of straight snow I was ready for the sweet rain of the Pacific Northwest and some sun. It was a close call whether I was going to make it out last Saturday because it decided to storm after a week of fairly clear weather. Era cancelled all their flights, but thank goodness Bering was flying so I could make the evening jet out of Kotzebue. This week is exactly what I needed. Here's to a lot of good espresso, friend time, and some good brews/wines!!
We now have a week of classes and then state testing is happening. I get really bad test anxiety when I take tests, and after attempting to walk all of my students through the practice tests I have high test anxiety for them. The beauty of this being my first year is now I know what to do differently in terms of preparing them better for the test next year. Mainly the curriculum is hard to navigate and align to the standards for the secondary students. It's been a headache, but I think I'm maybe kind of getting more of a hang of it. After that we have over a month until the end of school. I am currently looking for hands on math projects or activities to keep the kids interested without the caveat of "you need to know this for the test." If any of you have ideas for 7-12 grade math, let me know.
And of course Mocha (if I leave her out, it usually results in so many emails about how she is doing). She is still a ball of fire and energy and definitely has kept me active. We have gone on a few long runs in preparation for the half marathon and she definitely loves it. She still chases her tail and makes weird breathing noises and chews on everything, but yet I still love having her around. Being a village dog doesn't give her much of an edge, but I love her none the less. Plus she's getting SO big!
And of course Mocha (if I leave her out, it usually results in so many emails about how she is doing). She is still a ball of fire and energy and definitely has kept me active. We have gone on a few long runs in preparation for the half marathon and she definitely loves it. She still chases her tail and makes weird breathing noises and chews on everything, but yet I still love having her around. Being a village dog doesn't give her much of an edge, but I love her none the less. Plus she's getting SO big!
Since it has been a while since I have blogged, here are some more pictures from the last month!
A few weeks ago we had the most incredible display of the aurora. The solar storms were going crazy. It was really cool and really creepy. When you see them moving fast, it's strange. For like 3 nights in a row they were super bright. These photos are from my iPhone, and not edited at all. I'm currently on the hunt for a new DSLR camera, and hopefully going to be able to capture some more quality images. The second two are looking straight up at them. God's creation is quite the wonder!
Spring time is here! Hello to more daylight and longer days! Not a bad back drop for arctic runs and walks with the pup!
And more recently:
Being back to civilization was so good to me. On Sunday after being picked up super early, we headed straight to Pike Place. There is a soft spot in my heart for Pike Place and it's sweet being back in the city.
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| My absolute favorite flowers are in bloom! Spring time does exist somewhere!! |
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| The perfect latte! [no Starbucks, but fun out of the way coffee shops are the best!] |
I think that's all for now! Thank you for reading and supporting me!
Cheers,
Whitney
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