So much time has passed...

I don't even remember the last time I wrote and I apologize for leaving you all hanging! October flew by at school with Halloween being the main event. I dressed up for three days because I love the holiday so very much. I was little red riding hood, a minion from Despicable Me, and a spider lady with a tutu and giant spider clipped in my hair. We had a parade at school with the Kinders and I didn't lose anyone in the process this year. Last year a few kids got misplaced in other classrooms as we paraded around. Our party was delicious and full of sugar. I made jello for my kids and deviled eggs for the adults. Parents brought in cupcakes, cookies, popcorn balls, and lots of candy. Last year I think I had 12 dozen cupcakes, but this year was much more manageable with the cupcake quantity. 
As soon as the halloween party was over I was on the plane headed home. The decision to come home was not an easy one or a cheap one. My flight cost over $1500, but being home with my family to mourn a lost member was worth all of it. I slept in airports and had a sore back for about a week, but if I had not gone home I would have regretted it my entire life. I got to see my family for five days and it was good to be home, even under less than desirable circumstances. I made it back to Nome and back to school missing only two days. Thankfully I have an aide in my class that is a certified teacher and she led my class wonderfully. 
November brought Kimmy back to Nome for Thanksgiving. We got to spend a week together over the holiday. We went out to eat and went black Friday shopping downtown and rode around on my four wheeler. It was a lot of fun having her here. I made my very first holiday meal. We had a full chicken, potatoes, stuffing, and corn. I even had to dig the guts out of the chicken; the most disgusting thing I have ever done! Food was delicious and the sister time was great too. After a week I put her back on the plane to Minnesota and cried as she waved goodbye through the security checkpoint. 
The three weeks of school in December flew by and before I could blink our vacation started. I was the director of the kindergarten holiday music show again this year. We sang holiday classics: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells, and We Wish You A Merry Christmas. We also had three eskimo dances we preformed and sang a song in Inupiaq. The kids did an amazing job despite the uphill battle to get 66 five year olds to stand in one place on the risers. Everyone sang and danced and looked so adorable in their holiday attire. Families cam in and filled the gym to watch their little ones perform and we had a post concert party in our classrooms. Parents came in and we had cake, cupcakes, juice, and candy canes. It was a great afternoon. We had decorated our room red and green with a paper Christmas tree and paper lights hanging from the ceiling. It was beautiful, although a lot of work! 
I didn't make any surprise appearances in Minnesota this year for the holidays and it was very hard to be here in Nome. I went home at the end of October so I didn't go home in December. I was housesitting in town for a lady with a rabbit. Rabbits are definitely the smelliest animals ever. The whole apartment smells like bunny and it carries hay all over the house. I think I vacuumed five times in three days! It also eats paper so there is shredded paper under the couch and bed so it can hide and munch all day/night. I decided not to sleep there because it smells funny and gets very cold there at night. I also have my Olive to snuggle with at my apartment. I spent Christmas snoozing on the couch watching movies waiting for my mail from home to arrive. Maybe it will come next week....I continue to wait! I got a few cards in the mail from home, but the exciting boxes have not arrived. We had a week where no mail came in to town so I am sure they are still backed up. Hopefully other people got their presents in time for Christmas. 
I miss home a lot and can't wait to see my family. I love Nome so much, but it would be a lot better if I had people here. My group of friends just don't make up for everyone back home that I am missing. Kimmy was here a month ago and my daddy is coming soon. I keep dreaming that he surprises me at school, I obviously miss daddy a lot! Maybe because I don't talk to him on the phone as much as I talk to my mom. I wish Nome wasn't 3,000 miles from home. 

Until next time....hopefully sooner rather than later

Mobile!

Woohoo! I got a four wheeler and I am mobile! I have only ridden it a few times because I really want a helmet before I actually ride it. I've gone into town once and just down the dirt road a mile or so. I will feel much better with a helmet. Not that I think I am going to crash or anything but it is comfortable knowing I am safer with a helmet protecting my noggin! And I know my mama will be happier too with a helmet on my head. I bought a 2005 Polaris Sportsman 500 from a woman at school. I didn't want to buy one from a stranger and have it blow up on me or break down a week later. The woman's husband works on wheelers too so if I need help with anything he will help me out. Awesome deal! I am pretty excited to be able to go to the store or the beach when I want. I love independence. 

Back and forth and exhausted

Well I am a month into school and I am still exhausted every day. I have too many kids in my little classroom. I literally have no extra room if more kids come like they usually do in October and November. My cubbies are full and so are my tables and there is no room to even add a table. I'm crossing my fingers that no more come! Even with so many kids they still are very well behaved. Much much better than last years kids. There are a couple of movers and shakers that I am still trying to wrangle in and calm down. There is an overly aggressive little boy that tends to fight a lot and has been sent home a few times this year because he actually rips skin off other kids. Yikes!! The majority of my kids are great listeners and have adjusted well to kindergarten expectations. I am constantly moving though. I don't even have a minute to pee these days! My feet are always sore because I never sit down. Someone always needs help with something and I am running around trying to get everyone situated all day long. I miss my little class from last year. I guess it is true, my first class will always be my favorite, even though they were crazy. 

Besides school I am loving the Nome life once again. The snow has already started falling and the mountains are covered and beautifully white. The kids love staring at the snow so I have been closing the blinds in our room so they are more focused on our work. I am still living outside of town and I am definitely getting bored with that. There is a loose bear out by my apartment that has not only destroyed our dumpster but also broken a car window and tipped over other property causing a ruckus. I am scared to take the garbage out with a 7 foot grizzly lurking around. The police thought it would be a great idea to shoot it with a handgun. Dumb. Now there is a slightly wounded and pissed off bear lurking around. I think it is time I move back to town. First foxes, then wolves, now bears? Time for me to get back to civilization where only dogs roam the streets. But where to live? That is the question. I don't have anyone to move into town with so I will be by myself. And finding a place for me AND olive is proving much harder than one would think. She's a 10 lbs cat, why is that such a big deal? People have 100 lbs dogs here! The last thing I need is to be mauled by a bear but I need to bring olive with me wherever I go. I am searching! Hopefully I can find a little place to call my own and then I won't have to move anymore. Living outside of town with these roommates is really driving me crazy. They are just too putsy for me to handle. It shouldn't take 90 minutes to get ready for school in the morning! But apparently it does. Without transportation of my own I am trapped waiting for them each morning to get ready to go to school and I cannot come in and work during the weekend unless they come in. I strongly dislike relying on people! I gotta get out before I smack them both upside the head. 

Oh, and I also met a wonderful young eskimo guy :) haha details about that later 

Polar plunge!

And then my camera fell in the water so I don't actually have any of me in the water, BUT I did swim!

Berry picking trip

I went out berry picking for the first time in Nome. I actually drove out to Teller to pick berries. Mile 57.5 and mile 62 have great berries! It just takes a few hours to get there! I picked salmonberries for about an hour and got a gallon sized freezer bag full. I think I am going to try and make some jelly from them but I am not quite sure yet. I don't know what else I would do with them so we will see! Shortly after finishing berry picking I drove into teller and saw a musk ox just prancing around in the street very close to where I had been picking. This beastly animal was all alone, which is very odd for musk ox. Usually there is a herd, so this one must be lost. 

 I also saw a lot of dry fish hanging in the breeze on the beach and thought it would make a great picture. Apparently this is perfectly safe and you don't get sick from eating this fish. Just shoo the flies away, peal the skin off, and munch away on the dried meat. It seems unsanitary and like something that would make you very sick, but everyone does it! 

 This is one of the coolest rocks that you see on the drive to Teller. This group of rocks is formed to the shape of a house. When you are driving up to it you would think it is a small camp, but it is just rock. The natives say that if you drive up slowly at night when it is dark you will see the little creatures that live in the house. Supposedly they have bright little eyes that you can see in the night. 

Pilgrim Hot Springs here we come!

 This is the road we have to drive down to get to the hot springs...

 Obviously it has been raining...

 And the road is pretty flooded.

 The hot tub!

 Abandoned site of a church and orphanage

 Abandoned church