Laundry, dishes, cleaning AND some fun : )

Sundays seem to come entirely too quickly for me. Another weekend has come to an end but it was a good AND productive weekend for me!

After going to bed at 9 pm on Friday and sleeping until 9:15 the next morning, I was pretty much caught up on my sleep and it was really great! Saturday was a gorgeous morning so I decided that I needed to get out. I ended up spending my morning with Heiden and we took a ride down to old village & the beach... got a nice walk in & it was really nice to enjoy the sun and sit on the beach for a little while. Anyone that knows me, knows I could spend hours on the beach - and a beach in Alaska is no exception!

I took some pictures and I was really shocked to see how much it had changed just since my trip down there on Thursday...  No more frozen ocean!

After some thinking/relaxing time down there, we made our way back. I came home and the middle schoolers that I work with every day were across the street playing outside with their younger brothers and sisters and my innocent little walk across the street to say hi turned into a "let's attack Miss N with snow balls" snow ball fight. Needless to say, I was out numbered. Three of them throwing them at me, a kindergartener throwing them at me and two preschoolers wrapped around my legs. I think I got more hits to the face and over the head in that half hour than I have my whole life. BUT, it was a fun time with them and if nothing else, they enjoyed it. : )

When I called the snow ball fight quits because I was soaked and cold, one of the villagers wives & their daughter came by with another wolf in the back of the truck that had just been shot over the hill from where we were playing. Another smaller black female... she said there were a few more still roaming around. I feel like it's never ending but I'm very anxious to see this big guy that they keep talking about!

I decided I need a trip to the store for some soda, of course. I may be in a small, remote village in Alaska but I still need some soda. ; ) So I made a trip down there and picked up a few other things, as usual. I can't just go in there for one thing - I ALWAYS come out with more than what I need.

I went out on a ride with Jeff and Heiden that afternoon. And again, thanks for Kasie & Derek for letting me borrow their four wheeler, it was so much fun. We drove out through the tundra and were going to try to get up the hill towards Trapper Hill (which is where all the wolves are) but after we made it across the swamp and tundra, we got halfway up the hill and realized that it was more work - us getting on and off the four wheelers, pushing and getting out of holes, etc - that we called it quits and went back down. However, it was so much fun. It was my first time driving the four wheeler on anything but the road and I must say, I can hold my own pretty well. It made me want one 10x more. I honeslty think I could spend all day on those four wheelers and be completely happy! Even attempting to get up a hill full of holes and bumps. We decided to take the roads up to Trapper Hill then and got to see some amazing views! Signs of wolves, but we didn't actually see any of those. We took a small trail to the other side of the hill and stood and watched probably over 100 caribou in the distance... this place is full of places to explore and views that are pretty amazing!

This picture - as most of them - doesn't give the same effect as actually being there. It was so much prettier than the picture makes it seem.

After a few loads of laundry both last night and today, some cleaning & a lot of dishes, this place is pretty picked up and I even got some muffins made. Now, it's off to dinner at Alecia & Jerik's with little Tate before I head into school to get some things done before another week comes tomorrow morning!

On another note, Spring Break starts on Friday and that means a trip to the Bay (another village) for a few days with Kasie and Derek to visit Amber and Kaleb - they were in Anchorage with us to help us get ready & shopping so I got to meet them then! Then it's a few days off in Port Heiden and it's carnival time - which is a few days long & I'm not sure what all it has in store but it sounds pretty fun. : ) Lot's to look forward to!

Honda rides are my favorite!

Thursday night this week turned out to be an eventful one! We went for a girl's ride after school today... Alecia, Kasie & I. We were planning to go out to the beach but the "road" to get out there proved to have other plans for us. After attempting it and having to push the four wheelers out of the snow that was up to our knees, we decided that we'd wait on that one. So instead we went down to old village & were able to just walk on the beach from there. It's a little different looking than the last time I was on the beach. Now, the ocean is frozen up. It's pretty unreal to be out on the beach and not hear the waves or even see them.

 

 

 

We saw caribou on that ride, and a little fox was eyeing us up while we were exploring old village - he was a little curious about us!

 

We also explored old village a little bit, I have too many pictures to put up here but here are a few...

This is the house that I've posted before from up top that's hanging over the cliff and will fall soon. This is from the bottom looking up this time!

This little house is right on the edge of going down soon. Apparently, one of the grandma's here in the village was born in that house. The picture below is taken in one of the two tiny rooms of the house...

That's the old school. And below is the enterance to the old school... creepy!

 

After we got back to the school, I left to come home to eat dinner and as I was pulling out of the school, I saw a snow machine go flying by and once I looked a little harder, I saw that it was chasing something black - immediatly I realized it was a black wolf. I slowly followed the snow machine (who was in the tundra) and eventually I stopped the truck on the road to watch. Morgan, who is the same guy that shot the bear and another wolf the other night, was the one on the snow machine & he shot the wolf he was chasing! So I was sitting there when he brought it over to the road... at this point, there was about 5 trucks in a line parked on the road too. When someone is out hunting for a wolf or a bear, the villagers follow along in their trucks just waiting for the moment that it's killed.

This one that was killed was a rather small female and they were telling me that there's still a larger male roaming around that they want to get next! I was glad I was there at that moment so I got to see all of this happen!

 

Today was a good, not too eventful Friday at school. After school I got to hang out with my little Valentine, Tate for the afternoon and some of the kids during culture club! Then, before I headed home for the night, there was a few caribou walking behind the school. Madi and I decided to sneak out back to take some pictures. After trudging through snow that was past our knees - while I was in my short sorell's and jeans - we were able to be quiet enough to get a few pictures before they heard us and ran away. I'm pretty happy with the pictures I got : )

 

 

 

Tonight is a night of relaxing on the couch with my down blanket and sweats... a much needed Friday night! And then tomorrow I'm thinking I'll head out to get some air. I'm so grateful that Kasie & Derek are letting me borrow their four wheelers while they're away for the weekend so I can get out. I know I say it ALL the time and every one is probably tired of hearing about it but this place is amazing!  : )

 



Making me smile :)

There were a few things that made me smile today but one in particular that I had to share because it made my whole day & it made me laugh, a lot. : )

 

 

The little kindergartener that I've mentioned before & who you have gotten to see in some of my pictures, says some of the funniest things. He is always making me laugh whether he's trying it or just being silly. Today, we were doing his spelling & he stops writing his words - which I've been giving him a hard time about because we're working on neat handwriting and to a kindergarten boy, that's torture - anyways, he looks up at me and says, "You've got tiny nose holes. You probably can't fit your finger up there!" Needless to say, I just looked at him and started laughing, I couldn't help it. And then he thought he was hilarious because he made me laugh. What makes this even better is that he's pretty fond of picking his nose, haha. He's a character, that's for sure! I love little moments like that.

 

I talked to my dad today at lunch! That's always nice to just check in & say hi... plus, he always gives me good advice. And my mom sent me a gift from Omaha that I will be anxiously awaiting... I'm pretty lucky. : )

 

I love, love seeing the students I work with every day start to understand what we've been working on or complete things that they have to get done to graduate or just really enjoy what we're doing. I had some of those moments lately and it's a good feeling. And that's one of the biggest reasons why I've always wanted to teach!

 

I got to hang out with little Tate after school and got some smiles out of him and then got to cuddle with him while he fell asleep. He's the sweetest little man... a very good Valentine!

 

Alecia and I made an unnecessary but really great trip to the store. You say soda (or pop - to her) and I'm there and so we took a short little drive to check out the new produce that was just delivered. I got a big thing of bananas & a huge bag of carrots that I have to clean and cut. For those two things of fresh produce, two sodas & alfredo sauce, it was only $24. I don't even look at the prices anymore - it's not worth looking at it when I know it'll make me happy. However, I should probably start checking out the expiration date because my alfredo sauce that I was so excited to eat, expired in 2011, haha. But I've been told that "only in the bush would I say to go for it and eat it" so I just may do that, we will see how brave I get!

 

I also go two packages today, one from some of my best friends from home which I loved! Full of candy & even some treats for Heiden, haha, he'll be so excited. I miss them! As well as from Aunt Kendall, Scott & Carly - thank you guys! I was very excited about the candles that were in that package. I've got one burning right now. Anyone that knows me, knows that I LOVE candles & I love burning them and I've been going through some withdrawl without them up here so that was a nice little surprise!

 

Now I've got the 90s country station playing and I'm cuddled on the couch, listening to the wind outside! It was much warmer today, about 30 degrees which was a big change from yesterday's 6 degrees with the wind making it feel like it was in the negatives. The snow melted today and then as soon as it got dark tonight, it started to snow again. I never know what exactly I'm going to wake up to! I'm hoping for some nice days this weekend so I can get outside.

 

I do have to share a few pictures... some may not want these shared BUT I have to share some Just Dance pictures from the other night - a good time with good friends! : )

 

 

I made this last night on a new APP that I downloaded on my iPad thanks to Madi! It's some Luke Bryan lyrics & a good reminder. : )

 

 

 

 

Just a lot to be grateful for... that's all : )



Another weekend has come to an end

I wasn't planning on posting anything today but after a two hour video chat session with my parents and my granny & pop-pop, there is a few things that I was told to post. So here they are :)

 

First, since I've been up here, I've had some time to work on art again. Which, I haven't done since high school probably. It's been too long regardless. So I've been doing some oil pastels just for fun. And just finished my second one this weekend.

 

The first one is a picture that I used of Kasie's and it's looking out towards Aniakchak volcano.

The second one I just finished is of my back yard at home... well, back yard looking out into the field & the woods. It's one of my favorite pictures that I have of home.

After our long Skype call, I decided to use the apples I have to make my granny's apple dumplings. It was my first time making them and it took some work but I think they turned out okay. :) I haven't tried them yet but if they turn out even half as good as hers, I'll be happy!

 

 

I know a while back I said I would post pictures of the homemade pizza that we eat on Friday's and I finally got them uploaded :)

 

This place and this view NEVER gets old. It's pretty amazing around here & I just want to keep exploring :)

 

 

 

 



Birthday Weekend :)

I would have never thought that I would be spending my 23rd birthday in Alaska, in a village for that matter, but it was definitly a memorable one! In the morning during morning meeting, which is when the whole school - that sounds like a lot of people, but it really isn't - gets together in the gym to do some activities/read a story/make announcements and then say the Pledge every morning, they all said happy birthday to me and then sang to me. That was a nice way to start out the day. It was a good day at school and I had forgotten that it was Friday so the kids got out early. I saw about 100 caribou cross behind the school during the day - when I saw 100, I'm not exaggerating. They were counted and the line was never ending. They just made there way through... so neat to see! On my way home from school that afternoon, I had to stop on the "road" to let caribou cross. They got a little scared when I got too close with the truck so I had to stay back a little ways but I was able to grab my iPhone - that I use for an alarm clock or music (since it doesn't work up here) and it happened to be right in my bag - and take a few pictures. Obviously they're not the greatest pictures since they're on the phone but you can get the point. It was pretty neat to see, and who really gets to say that they had to stop to let the caribou cross the road? :)

 

Again, it's not the best picture quality and I wish it was because there were a lot of "bulls" as they call them, I think I just refer to them as buck but that's the PA in me coming out, talking about deer I guess!

 

 

Last night I was fortunate enough to get to spend the night with the great people that I get to work with every day! They planned a birthday dinner for me so everyone came over and got to hang out. We had chicken and pork burritos and then some funfetti cake! And I got sung to again and got to blow out my candles! I couldn't have asked to be surrounded by better people! Thank you all for making this birthday so great, and also for the soda, pickles and beaded glass float.

 

As well as everyone from home that wished me happy birthday! :)

 

 

Today looks like it could be a nice day or the clouds are going to take over, it could go either way! It's a cold weekend here in Port Heiden. I think the temperatures are only supposed to be in the teens or below and it's a little windy but right now the sun is still peaking through. So we'll see what happens! I'm not sure what today has in store but you never know up here!

 

 

Back tracking a little bit, Valentine's Day was a fun one to spend up here, as well. Kasie, Derek, Pat and the basketball team got back from being away, we had Valentine's celebrations, I iced and decorated cookies with the preschoolers and exchanged Valentine's with them and the Elementary kids, got to work with the middle schoolers as usual and then I got to spend a little time with my Valentine... baby Tate :)

 

 

I also experienced my first big snow drifts. With all the wind and the snow we've had in the past couple days, the drifts on Valentine's day morning were big! Well, at least to me... I drove to school that morning in what seemed like half a foot of snow. At certain points, I couldn't tell where the "road" stopped and the tundra started. Luckily, I've become quite familiar with my drive and the fishtailing that I do has become part of my every day drive. :)

 

 

That same morning, I opened the door and had snow fall in... and right off of that step there, I walked right into snow that came up over my boot and into it...

Just two more pictures to show you how quick the weather up here can change. It went from this...

... to this, in a matter of 15 minutes! And along with this big cloud, came hail!

 

 

:)



 



Lunch time!

Just a quick update while I'm eating my really healthy lunch - spaghetti-o's and meatballs and a Dr. Pepper. I also brought a small bag of chips but I'm thinking that may be pushing it to a really unhealthy level! I'll save those for a snack for later :)

Yesterdays weather was absolutely perfect - at least to me! All day it was sunny and clear and pretty warm, I mean for Alaska in the winter time that is. It seemed like a Spring day every one was saying. So of course all day I was thinking about how I wanted to go be outside after school and what I could do. The end of school came and we all decided to go out on the four wheelers and get out a little bit. It was so nice out! Jerik, Alecia, Pat, Jeff and I road out to the beach and drove down the beach - sidenote, Jeff taught me how to drive the four wheeler because it's been a LONG time since I've driven one and I don't even think I ever changed gears back then - so I needed basically retaught. So I got to drive down the beach :) I have to say, I really enjoy that. I would love to invest in one, someday! It was low tide on the beach so the space was huge to just ride... I have only ever seen it at high tide where we had to dodge and weave around ice chunks so this was so much nicer! We drove for a few miles and then we were able to get across North River. (I posted pictures of North River before and we weren't able to drive across it then) However, I did not drive across that... I wasn't taking on that responsibility so soon. :) After you get across North River, there's 30 more miles of beach until you can't go anymore... which sounds pretty amazing to me! We went a couple miles and ended up stopping to hang out for a little bit and then turning back. We obviously caught the sunset when we were out there and I have to say, this place has got to be one of the prettiest places I've ever seen. The sunset over the water - and it was really bright reds, pinks, oranges, etc. - and the big black sand beaches... it was so awesome!

While we were out there, we saw bald eagles and at one point, they were actually flying along with us. Apparently that is kind of common, sometimes they just fly along with you while you're cruising along on your four wheeler. I think that's so neat! Unfortunetly, I got my camera out to take a few pictures and it was dead. Something I learned up here is that I need to constantly check it and make sure that it's charged because otherwise, carrying it around with me everywhere isn't doing any good! But that just means that I need to get back out there and I'm SURE that there will be many more gorgeous evenings like that. I've been told and I think that it's really true, there's just somethings that you shouldn't capture in a photo. There's just some things that you should just take the time of looking at and really taking it all in then trying to worry about if you got a great picture. I find myself doing that too much. I try to focus on getting the perfect picture of things that I miss just actually taking it all in for a second. So last night was one of those nights that I didn't get to capture in pictures but it sure was gorgeous out. :) Missed Kasie and Derek along for the ride! I'm excited for them to get back on Thursday! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather holds up. It's another nice out out there today.


I also wanted to say thanks to my parents for my package full of Valentine's day candies as well as my birthday gifts. It really does make me smile to get things from home :) As well as thanks to Aunt Donna, Uncle Joe, Pam, Susie, John and Jared for my package from them full of the same. I loved it all and I think you all want me to gain 15 lbs this month! ;) I need to start back up with my excersizing that I have neglected since Kasie's been gone.. opps!

I'm positive that I could keep rambling on and on but since my lunch break is about to end, this post has to end, too! I had my camera charging all night last night and so it's ready to go for the next outing, whenever that my be!

Talk to you all soon :)

This & That

Since I haven't posted anything new in a little while, I figured I'd add some more pictures that I haven't gotten up here yet. It's been a pretty laid back week, a lot getting done at school. It's a little dreary and rainy out there today so I'm figuring there's not too much that will be happening this weekend but I could be surprised! My internet isn't working great at the house again so I'm hanging out for a little bit at school to get some things done.

 

Hope everyone at home is enjoying the snow ;)

 

 

You guys hear a lot about Heiden in my posts but I realized that I never really posted a picture of him. Well, here he is :)

 

There's my little Valentine! Although, he's only my Valentine when it's convienent for him, haha!

 

Looking out over North River that was partially frozen. This was when we were out searching for glass floats.

 

This is a little older but this was all of the tutuors in Anchorage before we flew off to our villages. :)

 

We got stuck the one day... North River road looked like that. Some parts were better than others.

 

Finding glass floats! This one was easy to spot!

 

My first two :)

Kasie and I with some floats... you can't see all of them but they were shoved down my jacket as well!

 

 

When we saw the caribou outside of the school... you may not be able to tell but it was FREEZING that day!

 

 

Well, that's all for now. I will go get something productive done! :)

 

 

 

 



Thoughts and prayers

Just keeping a lot of people in my thoughts and prayers this week. On Monday I found out that my hometown lost someone that I went all through school with and then graduated high school with, on Sunday night due to a car accident. Tonight, some really close friends of mine, family is more like it, lost a father/family member due to cancer. Heaven got a little brighter tonight!

I'm keeping both of those families and friends in my thoughts and prayers!







And to end on a little bit lighter note, these kids keep me laughing :)