At Bunco tonight, this dog was cracking me up. I love how he's just hanging out with his butt in Shannon's face. 
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
April 22, 2016: gooood morning!!
I have actually started brushing my teeth on our back porch in the morning so I can enjoy this view. It makes waking up for school a little bit easier. I am thankful for mornings like this! 
April 21, 2016: swinging
After tutoring, I spent some time on the swings with my kiddos. They thought it was hilarious when I started trying to get a picture of the three of us at the same time. As you can see, it didn't work too well! 
April 20, 2016: letter sending made even better
Thanks to Tisa, we got a ton of homemade envelopes (made from magazine pages) in the mail. The kids LOVED these. And since we have been working on writing letters, each kid got to choose one to send their letter in. They were so excited. Thanks, Tisa, for thinking of us! 
April 19, 2016: growing up fast
We have been working on writing letters. I saw this one and died. In all fairness, this kid is one of the most responsible children I have ever taught. But still... I can't wait to show it to his mom. Too funny! 
April 18, 2016: wildflowers!!
Ok, they were just dandelions, but we still got excited. Things are growing! Spring is here!! 
Saturday, April 16, 2016
April 16, 2016: Chiniak
We drove out to Chiniak for the day and it was so beautiful!! Well, it rained for the first 20 minutes, even though the forecast said there was only a 2 percent chance of rain. After it cleared, it turned into a beautiful day of beach combing, fire making, picnicking, swinging, and relaxing in the sun. We had some friends join us which made the day even better.
Henry was so funny. He was put into a trance everytime we took him by the water. He is usually so social and interactive, craving human attention. When he got by the ocean today, he just stared at it, completely zoned out. We kept getting in his face and trying to make him smile at us but it was like he didn't even see us. You can even tell in this picture, this kid was in another world!
April 15, 2016: sick day #2
I still felt awful last night, so I took another day off today. I figured that I had perfect attendance the entire school year, so I might as well make sure I was really back to health before jumping into returning. Today I felt so much better than yesterday. I still spent a lot of time laying around, sleeping, and coughing up my lungs, but I ate some real food! By the evening, I was feeling so cooped up that I needed fresh air. My mom and I took a short walk to the beach and we're excited to see that it was low tide! We did some impromptu tidepooling and found some really awesome creatures. I hadn't been tidepooling here yet, but my class is going in May for a field trip. I learned today that things that look like rocks might actually be squishy worm things so don't touch them, little fish can swim perfectly fine in a good inch or so of water, if you put your very expensive camera down on a rock, pay attention to where you left it, and that I scream like a little girl when I am touched unexpectedly by a sea creature. My body was more than exhausted when we walked back to the car but grateful for getting out of the house for a few minutes! These few minutes were really good for my body and my spirits :) 
April 14, 2016: rhubarb remedies
I was not feeling well today!! I took the day off from school because I had terrible stomach cramps, an insane cough, and could barely get out of bed. Alanna is a nurse for KANA (Kodiak Area Native Association), so she is always hearing about these home remedies for ailments. Today she came home for lunch and found me in bed. After telling her about my medical problems, she told me that just that morning she heard a coworker say that if you have a fever you can wrap your feet in rhubarb leaves to rid your body of it. She asked if I had a fever. I didn't earlier in the day, but we grabbed the thermometer to check. We both cheered with excitement when the little timer went off and I did actually have one! Alanna has been growing rhubarb on our porch, so she grabbed some leaves and we stuffed them into my socks. I laid in bed with them all day long. I drove to Safeway for Gatorade and crackers and kept the leaves attached to my feet the whole time. My fever went up at one point in the day, but by the end of the evening, it was back down to normal. If it wasn't for the rhubarb, I am sure I would have ended up in the hospital or something ;) 
April 13, 2016: McDonald's addiction
Island life means that sometimes you have to be flexible when you go to McDonalds. I get cravings for McDonalds so badly I really struggle to say no. Like tonight, I knew I had dinner plans after our school concert, but I still chose to come here before the concert and ruin a perfectly good appetite for real, homemade dinner. And when I got to the ordering machine and saw this sign I almost panicked, fearing they wouldn't have what I needed. I actually fist pumped when I saw that a double cheeseburger with pickles, fries, and sweet tea were not on the list of unavailable foods. I have a problem. I admit it. 
April 12, 2016: rain run!
It was raining sideways today but I really needed to get out for a run! I haven't missed many during my training for the half marathon, and I don't want to make it a habit of skipping runs because of weather. It's Kodiak, so I would skip the majority of my runs if bad weather was the reason keeping me back! I wore my running hat, pulled my hood up, and ran hunched over so the water streamed down the sides of my coat rather than in my face. It's safe to say it wasn't my fastest run. 
Had I known the weather was going to look like this a few hours later, I would have delayed my run! In Kodiak you just never know!
April 11, 2016: weirdo
This kid and his weird faces crack me up. I don't even know what he was attempting to do. He is clearly not even looking into the tube. If he wasn't so strange, I would stop hanging out with him. I like the weird ones! 
April 10, 2016: sunny rain
I shouldn't be surprised about this anymore but it still blows my mind how it can be so sunny here and raining at the same time. It makes terrible driving conditions because the rain on your windshield is reflecting constantly in the sun which is blinding you. I swear I was parked when I took this picture. :). 
April 9, 2016: My buggy boy is back!
I sure missed this kiddo when he was gone!! Look at his face. He is one of the most social babies I have ever seen. So social that we wears me out. I need a break from all the bouncing, overly exaggerated smiles and rounds of peek-a-boo. No wonder parents are so tired. Trying to act energetic and happy non stop is exhausting! 
Thursday, April 14, 2016
April 8, 2016: birthday socks!!
April 7, 2016: A Sign of a Good Friend...
Sorry about the emojis over their faces. I have to protect student privacy.
This picture melts me. It was sunny when we walked outside for recess, but within 30 seconds it had begun to sprinkle. One of my kids owed me a minute before he could go play. His friend came and sat next to him, put his own coat over his friend's head to ward off the rain, and waited with him for the minute before running off to play.
I love it.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
April 6, 2016: this is my morning view
This is the view from our back porch. That's the ocean. It makes waking up in the morning a bit more bearable. :) 
April 5, 2016: happy birthday, Alanna!
Alanna's birthday was today! To celebrate, we went to a ballroom dancing class. I struggle to clap and sing at church at the same time, so I knew this was going to be a struggle for me. It was actually a lot of fun! I had very gracious dance partners who were able to help and laugh with me, which made it a really enjoyable experience. I wish I would have taken a picture there, but I didn't, so instead you get one of us right before we unwrapped my new mattress. I'm telling you, never a dull moment in this apartment! I am very thankful for Alanna. I met her my second (?) week in Kodiak on a guided hike through the Audubond Society. I actually asked her flat out if she would be my friend, and I am so thankful she agreed. She is such a thoughtful, kind, adventurous person. She finds so much joy in everyday life. She thinks deeply about life and faith and challenges me to do the same. She is one of the reasons I have loved Kodiak so much. And now she lives across the hallway from me! Happy birthday, Alanna!! 
April 4, 2016: officially a pansy
Let me start with the background story on this one:
Thursday I went for a run with my friend Stephanie on Near Island. While running, we came across a nearly flooded path, so we detoured to the beach. Beaches here are mostly covered in huge rocks and slimy weird stuff from the ocean, so of course I fell on a boulder and hit the back of my leg pretty hard. Saturday, I could swear I was getting a huge bruise on the back of my leg. While playing games on Saturday night I tried to show both Kyle and my friend Titus how big my bruise was. Neither of them were even remotely impressed and I was a little irritated. It feels huge and I am sure in time it's going to be massive. Like battle scar huge. People will reel back in horror when they see it, or high five me because I am a champ for surviving such a nasty fall and having the mark to prove it.
Today at school one of my kiddos showed me this bruise on her leg, and it totally puts my stupid, puny bruise to shame!! This girl happens to also be the coolest, most tom-boyish girl ever. She wrestles, hunts, fishes, hikes, and once I caught her cleaning a dry erase board with her spit. She's awesome and pretty tough. I am instantly jealous of her bruise and feel like the worlds biggest fool for even thinking that mine should have been shown to anyone. 
Here is my bruise. The lighting is bad. I swear, there is something there.
April 3, 2016: Sunday treats
Some friends from my church have started getting together for potluck lunch, hanging out, praying, and discussing faith stuff together after church on Sundays. This guy shows up with stuff to make homemade lemonade! The trick was figuring out how to strain out the seeds and pulp. This strategy may have failed on the first attempt. :)
I am really thankful for this group of people. 
April 2, 2016: April sunshine!!
Kyle and I went for a nice run out by Pyramid today. It was a gorgeous day! I heard from everyone who has Facebook and lives in the Midwest that it was snowing there today. I love that we, for once, had beautiful weather here while everyone else suffered through grossness. 
April 1, 2016: duct tape
Tonight I went to Galley Tables, which is this story telling event in Kodiak held once a month. Each month has a theme, and seven different people come on stage and tell a story about their lives based on that theme. Tonight's theme was "duct tape" and my friend Laura told a story. She killed it! Her story was hilarious and she had everyone in the theater cracking up. The last story started with one man on stage explaining that he wrote a song about duct tape and wanted to share it with us. He sang one verse of the song and all of a sudden two more men in the audience stood up and sang another verse of the song. Then they joined the first man on stage. This kept happening until there were 8 guys all singing this ridiculous song about duct tape.
I am not sure why, but this really made my day. I love Kodiak. I love that people are willing to get up on stage in front of friends and strangers, knowing that they will most likely run into every single person in that audience at some point because it's such a small town, and tell their story. I love that the audience is so gracious and supportive. I love that strangers don't really remain strangers for very long here. I love that 8 men got together and wrote a song about duct tape to sing at Galley Tables. There are times I want to scream at Safeway because I was planning a zucchini dinner only to find out that there is no zucchini on the island until Tuesday, or I am sad because I can't just pop home for the weekend to see my family, or I just want to eat Chipotle or something remotely close to it but that's never going to happen here. And then I remember these moments that have made me fall in love with Kodiak. 
March 31, 2016: <3 from Tisa
I love opening packages from Tisa. When else do you get Michigan mugs, glitter yarn, and sparkly paper? My last package from her had a rubber chicken in it. Not kidding. I added the picture below today's. Thanks, Tisa, for supplying my classroom with homemade envelopes, picture frames, stickers, and all sorts of other random goodies. You make me smile :) 
March 30, 2016: Sock Hop
The teachers at Peterson put on a sock hop as a fundraiser for the music and PE program at our school. Michele and I were in charge of the photo booth. We probably had more fun than most the kids did. 
March 29, 2016: puzzle corner!
I can't wait to move in! We have a puzzle table all set up!! I move on Saturday, and I am excited to live in this cozy apartment with Alanna (and to save over $700 per month!). I will miss my apartment/ cabin/ tiny house dearly, but I am excited to be in a place that has a bit more room for friends :). 
March 28, picture perfect love
I love this picture. It was on the back of one of my kid's spelling test. Accordinf to the artist, the prince is giving the princess flowers and chocolates and the other prince is mad because he didn't get to the princess first. When I asked her how the princess felt about the sad prince she said that the princess would probably like him too if he got to give her his flowers but she might not ever know it because the first prince got her first. 
The saga continues as the second prince tries to take back what could have been his if not for the terrible timing. The princess has to intercede. I asked my student who the princess was going to choose and she said the first prince because he saw her first. 
I guess there's something to be said about the ease of having to love the first prince you meet, but sheesh, you better hope you get a good one on the first try.
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