End of Week 1...

Whew!! What a busy week... I felt like alot of the time I spent babysitting, but we worked alot on expectations in the classroom and school... We discussed appropriate behaviors. However, I also know we need LOTS more practice with that. Ha.

Its weird getting used to this new schedule... I am sort of stuck on Patrick's schedule of recess and specials and stuff... Kinda crazy. But, I do like this schedule... Kids don't get to school until 8:50, which means I don't HAVE to be here until 8, but I've been here by 6 most days because I have lots to do. Ha, this spring maybe I'll have an idea of what I'm doing before the day of school! :)

This weekend was much needed and wonderful. Friday afternoon I left my classroom and didn't look back. We went to the Tribal Hall for the dance to welcome the  new teachers to the community and welcoming the old teachers back. It was soooo fun!! I danced some with the natives and enjoyed getting to interact with some students in other classes in a setting outside school.

And then we had some family time... Minus Jana, the crip. Ha! Michael and I are going to convince the students that we're married because one girl asked me if I was "her husband." Gonna be a fun year... :)

Saturday was a sleep in day. :) It was glorious. I slept in until 9... Ha! Thats pretty late for me these days. I was lazy all morning then we headed to Michael and Zoey's for some breakfast around noon. Michael made us pancakes and bacon, such a tasty treat, and I didn't have to cook! :) Then I busted out Gramma Robison's white bread recipe... It was fun making the bread for the first time. While the bread was rising I went to visit Clark and Becca and Baby Emma... Nothing like an hour snuggle session with a 2 month old to put this girl in a happy mood. :) Thanks Clark and Becca for sharing your baby! Haha. Oh, and the bread was DELICIOUS!!! We ate 1 1/2 of the 5 loaves right away, while it was still warm.... Jana brought over some homemade strawberry jam and it was so scrumptious!

And Sarah and Jana enjoying the treat....

Saturday night we had a bonfire at "The Dock." We had lots of boxes to burn (the whole staff, not just Sarah and I)... It was a great time. I walked out in the Yukon for quite a ways... Got a pedicure, Yukon River style... Squishy mud, brisk water... :) Oh... And you'll notice the picture of me having a wet butt.... While it may LOOK like I peed my pants, what really happened was me being a goofball and trying to stand on one foot in the Yukon, losing balance and splashing one foot down to avoid falling in head first. :)

 Doing what I love.... Playing with fire! Haha. :) Someone asked what we should do if we caught the forest on fire... I told them it'd be fine, Smokey the Bear told me what to do. :)

 Me and my husband.... And someone's dog. Haha.

 Gotta love the weenie roast at the bonfire!! Wish we would've had some marshmallows and chocolate bars and graham crackers!! :( Next time! :)

 Not a very good picture, but this is the girls standing in the Yukon... Complete with Jana's crutches. Ha!

 Okay.... And the one above this comment and below is what happends on a Sunday night in Alakanuk... This girl gets bored watching the movie and begins to twist her hair.... Her roommate asks her if she is channeling her inner Bob Marley. But Sammy thinks its more along the lines of her 5th grade self when she wanted to be a hippy and have dredlocks, but her parents wouldn't let her... Thanks Mom and Dad for saving me from that. :)

 Then she straightened the dreds into long red straightness... Its actually really light, which is surprising for how little sun I've seen lately.

 Oh, here we are back to the Yukon... You can tell where the color changes a bit.... To that point its all about 1 1/2 to 2 feet deep... Past there it drops off a bit, I guess... I didn't make it all the way out there, next weekend! Ha.

 And apparently here I am channeling my inner gorilla. Ha!

 Burn baby burn!!!

 Little family shot... Sarah and Jana are "sisters" and Michael and I are "mom and dad".... Oh boy...

 Here's the pee pants pictures.... Haha... Gotta pee in every river I swim in, right?!

 "Here I come to save the day!!!"

 Eleanor was stuck in the mud in her boots... Like really stuck... In fact, we both almost fell over trying to get her boots out. Haha!

 And here I am being a goofball.... (I would say jacka** but I'm trying to keep this blog PG)!

 This is just a short walk from my house... I'm excited go out in a boat on the Yukon... Hopefully we can do that soon... And I'm also excited to see the river when its icy... :)

And there I am just hanging out in the river...

I know this post is super long and many of you have already seen these pictures because they're also on my facebook... But I think some people who don't have facebook are also following this blog...


So far I'm settling in just fine to living here... Someone asked the other day if I was homesick, and surprisingly I'm not really... I mean of course I miss everyone, but I haven't had a breakdown and wanted to come home yet... So I guess thats a good sign. :) We've gotten quite a bit of our food, but we're still waiting on a bunch of the canned goods.... Should be here this week or next, I'd imagine.

Oh, I had a WONDERFUL surprise in the mail from Danny and Susan and Noah and Ethan! A care package full of candy, books, chalk, and some pictures. It was soooo sweet of them and TOTALLY made my friday! :)

I would love to hear from you all, even just a card here or there. :) I don't know if I really want to put my address on here, so leave a comment and I'll figure out how to email it to you. :)

For now, I better go to bed... I'll be back at the school in about 7 hours, so I better get a little beauty sleep while I can. :) Love and hugs to everyone... Enjoy preparing for fair, or the last few hours/days of summer vacation!!!