It's been a long time...

since I have blogged! I will try to update what has been happening. Is anyone still reading this?

Well, I'm still here in Alaska, and still loving it! I just finished my third year teaching and it was the best one yet! I had awesome students...and saw so much growth in both them and me! I am going to try to recap what's been going on since the beginning of the year--I had some Excellent Adventures!

January brought the dark and cold! My roommate Erika and I tried to fiend off the winter blahs by cross-country skiing quite a bit...even in below zero weather--our eyelashes froze! It was very fun once we prodded each other to get out!

February is kind of a cool month here in Alaska...we begin to get more daylight. By the end of the month I can actually see the mountains on the way to and from school! I also joined a "bootcamp" and began working out--hardcore--three times a week!

March was a great month--Spring Break (yeah...it's really winter)and Christopher came up for a visit. It was the Fur Rendezvous Festival and the start of the Iditarod. The weather was great 35 and sunny the entire time he was here. We ran with the reindeer ( a hoot of a race), saw the ceremonial start of the Iditarod in Anchorage, and then went to the Restart in Willow--it was great fun! What a party atmosphere, the race start on a lake and people are lined up along the route--drinking beers and cooking out it's great fun. Larry also drove us up north of Willow to see the Northern Lights--what a spectacular show mother nature put on. It was the first time that both Chris and I experience this magnificent event. We had a wonderful visit! About a week later, I was invited to head north of Talkeetna on a ski train adventure--what a party! We rode about four hours with the most spectacular views...it was 40 degrees and sunny...BEAUTIFUL! We unloaded the train and skied for a couple of hours, then boarded the train and headed towards Anchorage. Well,like I said what a party, the food, drinks, polka car, friends...way too much! :)

April is testing month here in Alaska--all of our students do their mandated NCLB state testing--joy! I continued bootcamp through April, but as the snow melted is was more inviting to head outdoors!

May bring the mommas and baby moose, bears, longer days and the end of the school year...always an adventure! Jean Peltola from TC is back up for a few months--it's so nice to have someone for home here. We did lunch in Talkeetna last Saturday...one of my favorite places.

June--well, I'm teaching summer school again--writing. Teaching 7th and 8th grade students (most boys) to write is always an adventure--ha ha! They are pretty receptive--mostly because I bribe them with candy. We finish up June 30th and then Larry and I head for a way cool adventure up the Dawson Highway to Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay--waaaaay upnorth! This is the Ice Road Trucker road--we should see plenty of wildlife--no, not the truckers--caribou herds, grizzly, musk ox, mosquitoes...

And in mid-July back to TC...can't wait to see my family and friends--I miss you guys!

Check out these links about our trip north!!!

http://milepost.com/highway_info/dalton_highway
http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/recreation/dalton_hwy/dalton_recreate.html

January 2011

January has gone by soooo fast--that's a good thing! We are now on the upswing with daylight...almost 7 hours and 30 minutes! It sure does make a difference! We haven't had much snow--and for the most part January has been cold. It sure is beautiful though-cold temps equal sunny, clear skies!

I have been cross-country skiing quite a bit. There are so many great trails here, it's hard to choose.

School is going great, I have the nicest students...who would have thought I could say nice when describing 8th graders. Conferences come up in February...then Spring Break! It will be summer before I know it!

Christopher will be here for SB--it's also the Iditarod, hopefully we can see some of the race. He doesn't know this yet, but I plan to get him outside and exploring during his visit! I'll have to take him to Girdwood and Mt. Alyeska.

I can't believe I have been here over two years...time sure does fly by!