A Carlon/Banister Invasion!

Last week was a week of excitement and fun. No wait, its been 2 weeks since my class and I were so excited about having family come visit. :) My, oh my, how time flies when you're having fun! Ha.

Mom, Granny Norma, Papa Bob, Aunt Candy and Uncle Ron all braved the arctic temperatures and small planes to come visit my new home. They arrived in Alakanuk on Thursday. The girls got here safely with Father Rod around 2 and the boys came with Frankie Joe around 4. I was concerned what they would think of the tiny Cessna 207 airplane, but everyone got off with a smile on their face.

They had a short visit to my village, but we were able to squeeze in a trip to the Yukon Cafe, some fun time in the classroom, and even a short ski doo ride to the airport and back. It was pretty cold, so we didn't do much outside, but I think the family enjoyed working with my kiddos and the short tour of town.

Here are a few fun pictures. :)

Off the balcony at Snow Goose. Best dinner all around
in quite a while... Good company, funny waitress,  good food.

Granny and Papa

Aunt Candy and Uncle Ron

Only 7 kids came to school on the Friday the family was in town...
Bring on buddy reading and fun Friday activities!

Papa always finds the cool stuff. :)

Once an educator, always an educator.

The kids loved the individual attention they got.

Max, our maintenance man, was telling the family all about the Yupik culture and some history of our village.

Lots of fun for Mema and Granny Goose!

Scrumptious dinner at the Yukon Cafe! :)

We left Alakanuk on Saturday morning and headed into Anchorage for a night. Met up with my friend Sam for dinner at Snow Goose. Sunday we headed to Juneau to visit some friends and see another part of the state. We spent a little time at Mendenhall glacier and had dinner at the Red Dog Saloon in downtown Juneau. It was fun to visit with Timmy and Kathy and have one last night of relaxation.

Monday morning I was up EARLY to catch the early flight back to Anchorage so I could make it to Pilot Station (another village in the Bush) in order for some training that I'm super excited about. I made it, had 2 fabulous days of training then finally made it back to Alakanuk to sleep in my own bed. 

It was so awesome having mom and the family here to visit. I look forward to getting the siblings up here soon, I hope! :) The wonderful people I work with keep talking about wanting them to come... Started the piggy bank already.

The whole crew at Mendenhall Glacier.

Cheers with good friends!

So beautiful! Looking forward to going back sometime to hike over to the glacier.

Hahahaha. The Red Dog Saloon in Juneau. So fun.