Sunshine and warm weather

After many tears, a sleepless night and about 10 hours flying/in an airport, I've made it home to PA. Not surprising, saying good-bye to Kasie was the hardest one of them all. We tried not to make a scene in front of security in the airport when she dropped me off and I think we did a pretty good job. It was probably me walking down the airport to find my gate bawling that had every one staring. But I survived and made it through most of my over night flight as well as my morning flight, only to cry again when I landed at home. I was pretty much an emotional wreck and add to that only 1 hour of sleep (on a plane) and it was bad news. But I was glad to be greeted by my parents... whom I missed!

BUT before we said good-bye, I was able to spend a few days in town. Kasie and I spent Friday night visiting with Paula who works for the district, and a friend of hers. It was nice to hang out and relax. Saturday was a full day of shopping - spending entirely too much money. We got a lot of shopping done in and had a lot of fun doing it. Sunday was spent grocery shopping and tote packing, then the usual trip to the post office. Doing that is something that I miss... to most people, it's a hassle and don't get me wrong, it isn't the most fun thing to do while in town but I enjoy those grocery and post office trips!

We were able to stay with our good friends Kitza and Mike who live outside of Anchorage a little bit. They are two amazing people that we met when they were substituting in Port Heiden while Alecia and Jerik were away having little Tate. We spent a lot of time with them visiting and they showed us around the area... even took us up to Matanuska Glacier which we were able to hike up and in! It was amazing. To top off the great time, the weather was amazing! It even got into the 80s at one point... sunny and beautiful the whole time. We even took Kitza's convertible out everywhere. I would have never thought I'd be riding in a convertible in Alaska wearing only a sweatshirt? I spent some time with some of the LPSD staff members at a Memorial Day picnic. As I've said before, this district is full of amazing people. There's not another like it, I'm certain of that.

Matanuska Glacier

Convertible riding in the gorgeous weather. 

On the start of the Glacier 

Water moving extremely fast throughout the Glacier.

Hatcher Pass... 360 degree views. Standing in the middle of the mountains. At the top, there is an old gold mine called Independence mine. When the mountains aren't covered in snow, you can see the old mining caves.

Before I left, Jeff, Kasie and I with the help of Derek, jumped in the Bering Sea. I'm so glad that I can say I did that. At the time, I couldn't feel my legs but we ran in, went under and ran quickly back out. As soon as we got out, Derek pointed to a whale that was out a little farther. I can say that I swam in the Bering Sea with the whales... or at least that is what basically happened. ; )

 

Last day of school with these crazy kids... I'll miss them so much.  

 

 

I loved working with the middle schoolers every day... and although you may not be able to tell, they loved it too. : )

I'm missing this handsome puppy so, so much.  He hung out with me while I packed!

 

Going to make a fire with Kasie!

We make a darn good fire. : )

Last day on the beach, right after we swam!  

I love these three and I don't know what I would have done without them. Whether they like it or not, they're all stuck with me now!

Being back home has left me with mixed feelings. I'm very happy to see my family and catch up... I've missed all of these crazy people. ; ) However, I am really missing Alaska. I know that I've only been home a few days, but I'm beginning to think that I need to make my way back there. I've been told by numerous people while up there that once you get a little Alaska in you, you'll be back. I'm learning now that that has to be true. It's time for me to head back to AK....

It's the little things.

It's amazing how much living out here in the middle of nowhere in bush Alaska can change the way you think and the way you look at things. The past couple of weeks, the green grass has been poking it's way out of the tundra, the black sandy beaches and the dead grass. This weekend, we had one of the most gorgeous days thus far in my stay. Naturally, it was necessary that we take advantage of it as much as we could. A little vitamin D can go a long way when your skin doesn't see too much of it! It was a warm day, with very little breeze and there wasn't a cloud in the sky - it was almost like summer weather, for Alaska that is. After some repotting of plants outside, Kasie and I took a walk down to the old village as we usually do and then decided to keep going way on down to the point... needless to say, we ended up walking the beach for 2 hours or so. Along the way, it made me so happy to see the green grass growing taller and taller. The thought of a little patch of green making me that happy gets me thinking. Living here has really taught me a lot and it's really made me appreciate those little things... the simple things. A day full of sunshine, the sun on my cheeks that I now have and the tiny patches of green that I see scattered around, those things instantly bring me a smile.

 

We ran into a family from the village on our walk and they suggested we take their dog with us for some "protection" as we talked down the beach. The bears are back out and there was a wolf in the village a few days ago. Apollo walked along with us on our long journey... on our way back, a good amount of the village was at Goldfish Lake having a cookout so we stopped in for a visit. It was so much fun... the kids were in shorts and tshirts swimming and kayaking in the lake... running around in bare feet. All the dogs and the little puppies were out running around, too. A fire was going and hotdogs, marshmellows and burgers were being cooked - along with a Ptarmagin! For those of you who don't know what that is, it's the state bird. There's tons of them around but I'd never gotten the chance to try one before but now I can cross that off my bucket list. I can't explain how much I appreciate everyone in this village being so welcoming and nice. Being able to sit and hang out with them around the fire and talking was great!

 

This all followed a pretty great last weekend here in Port Heiden. It makes me really sad to think about leaving here in a few days and I've already cried a few times - those who know me won't be shocked by that, I'm sure. Friday after the mural reveal with the village, it was a mellow night spent with Kasie, Derek and Jeff... just talking and listening to music, unwinding from the last full week of school. Saturday was a work day so we were at school most of the day working - Kasie and I reorganized the entire office and rearranged. It looks pretty good if I do say so myself. ; ) I even got a little help from some of the kids that were there waiting for their parents during parent/teacher conferences... well, maybe not help but company for sure! Saturday ended up being not too bad of a night weather wise so we decided a fire on the beach would be perfect - after pizza night! The four of us had our fire on the beach and were joined by some of the people in the village, it was once again a good end to these past five months. After our day on Sunday, Kasie and I made roast beef, carrots and potatoes along with a salad and banana cream cake for dinner and dessert for the four of us!

 

The last three days of school started today... it's filled with cleaning out, cleaning up and odds and ends. The high schoolers have been working on a smoke house for awhile so they almost finished that today. Kasie and I made pizzas and delivered them up to the shop to the kids and the adults that were helping out! I'm excited to see it done.

 

Two more days left in school. I'm almost all packed up and ready to go... After school gets out half day on Wednesday, I'm looking forward to spending some more time with everyone and enjoying our last day and a half in town. Most of us are flying out on Friday which I think will help me some. Kasie and I will be flying to Anchorage and then spending a few days there, shopping and "girl stuff" before we visit some friends and I head on back to PA.

 

I've thought about it and this may be my last post from Alaska. The last couple days have been busy and I think that the next couple days will be no exception... I'm going to enjoy these days while I can. I never would have imagined leaving here would be this hard. At the beginning on this trip, I thought I'd come for three months and fly home, obviously having a good experience but not ever imagining that I'd want to stay longer. I was able to extend my stay by two months and so I put off this feeling of leaving but now there's no more extending it and it sucks to know that it'll end on Friday. I have no doubt that it'll be a hard good bye to all of these people, especially those who I've gotten really close with. But, I also have no doubt that I've made some lifelong friends on this trip and some people that I know I could always come back and visit. I fully plan on being back to visit this village and the great people that I've met here. It will always have a special place in my heart and I don't think I could ever thank anyone here enough for all that they've done for me and for all that I've learned. I think it's said a lot but in this case, it's 100% true, this has been the best time of my life.

 

Linda jumped in my picture : ) 

This mural was done by all of the students at school as well us all of us staff members. It'll be hung on the outside of the school. The top row has all the birds that are in Port Heiden, the sides are the land animals and the plants and the bottom has all of the sea/water animals. In each corner there is a type of machinary used here... the obvious little caravan plane, the honda, a boat and last but not least, a loader which is symbolic of the site here in the summer.  

I love these two! 

Little Tate man had a long night, it was time to cuddle : )

The Welcome to Port Heiden sign that will be hung out at the airport. The village painted this one during community paint night! 

Someone was being awfully quiet while I was doing reading group with the third graders :) 

 

 

 

I love these crazy kids and the fact that they always make their silly faces.

Prime spot on the beach for our fire! It was a cloudy night but the pink from the sunset behind the clouds, was shining down on the mountain range. 

Heido and his little twin, Buck... they look so much alike!  

GREEN! 

If you look close, you can see the shades of green appearing in the tundra! 

Veniaminof volcano was clear as day on Sunday... the perfect back drop for old village. 

Apollo

Perfect weather! 

Sitting around the fire - if you look, you can see the Ptarmagin on the stick cooking.

"You have to take a picture of that before you guys eat it!" Says one of the guys from the village : ) 

These were from a few weekends ago, I forgot to post them - I'm now a professional at shucking clams! 

So many of them 

I have to say, that is not one of the most appetizing jobs but they sure tasted amazing in the fritters Jeff made!

Pulling the bloody meat off - it wasn't quite cooked so needless to say, it was a little bloody. 

The verdict is that it's great! It tasted almost like roast beef ; )

The countdown is going quick...

Just a quick post with some pictures! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted... its been busy and I'm soaking up all the time I can here since the countdown is on and it's a little over a week until I fly out of Port Heiden.

 

Yesterday Derek, Justine (who is the artist that has been in town for two weeks to do the mural with the kids) and I went on a ride down to the beach. On our way back, we rode up ontop of the bluffs along the beach... the views were pretty amazing!

 

I've spent my free time recently helping with the mural. It's a good thing I love painting so much and it's awesome to think that this huge sign that will be hung on the outside of the school for years will have my paintings on them. Well, not just mine! The other teachers and the kids, too. : ) I have pictures of that process, too and will update when the mural is done on Friday!

 

On top of the bluffs, this is the trail we followed for most of the way. Until it dropped off the edge...

This view is just one more reason I love this place. You can see for miles!

Laying on the beach, enjoying the little bit of sun and the sound of the waves... it makes me so happy!

On top of the bluffs, we came up on an Eagle's nest. They weren't happy with us but they sure are beautiful.  

Miles and miles of Bering Sea....  

Laying on the beach next to bear tracks, watching the Eagles and Seagulls fly above us, a fox running around behind us and a seal swimming out in front of us... I still can't believe it.  

The beach full of pumice meeting up with the tundra and Aniakchak in the distance. 

One of my favorites... signs of warmer weather along the shore of the Bering Sea! Each time I go out, this green grass gets a little taller!

 

Painting their animals on the mural... 

 

 

 

Karina got done with her bear there so we were doing the flowers!

 

This mural is huge and it's going to hang outside on the school. Around the outside, their are land animals, ocean animals and types of birds - all of Port Heiden. Each kid got to do their own animal and when they have been getting done, they've been helping with other parts of the mural. It's awesome to see how excited they get about doing this. I love it so much so it's nice to see that some of them share that love. They're having fun with it and it's turning out awesome!

Tonight, the community members are free to come help paint! It should be fun.

 

This is the first morning in a few days that the sun has been shining when I woke up. Looks like it's going to be a gorgeous day. : )