May 22, 2016: Sunday fellowship

Sunday brunch turned into Sunday Funday at Abercrombie.  We played and ate and sang and played some more.  At one point, I was sitting near the campfire and looked over to see that two of my friends were engaged in an intense game of "we lock our hands together and try to tag one another with our pointer finger."  I can't remember the actual name of the game, but I remember playing it.  In middle school :).  For some reason this made me really happy.  Maybe it was because of the insane intensity they put into a finger tag game.  Seriously, Jim is hovering in the air in this picture!  Lots of random moments today made me smile.  From really funny volleyball mishaps, to friends falling out of trees into pushki, to lighting dandelion bouquets on fire, to terribly hilarious catch phrase guesses, today was a good day for laughs.  And fellowship.  

May 21, 2016: tide pool addictions

I think I could do this every day.  It's becoming one of my favorite activities in Kodiak.  This picture was my favorite of the day.  I want to start out by saying, Athur was actually a champ.  He wasn't too squeamish, and he even held and poked a couple different creatures throughout the morning.  However, he was very adamant that he did NOT want to touch certain creatures (crabs and big sea stars included).  Other than that, he LOVED looking into the water and watching the crabs scuttle across the rocks.  He was excited about the fish and shells.  At one point I was crouched down touching an anemone, and some creature squirt water nearly in my face.  He cracked up.  I am pretty certain that in this picture he was trying to make an excited face, it just came out as freakishly disgusted.  

May 20, 2016: ridiculously awesome sunrise #12

I apologize for another sunrise picture.  Today, this was the only one I took, other than a picture of a field trip flyer I sent home to parents.  This sunrise is slightly more interesting.  

May 19, 2016: walking dead in Kodiak

I got the day off today, so Meg and I went out for lunch and a hike.  I recently bought this really cool mini, flexible tripod for my phone, so we wanted to experiment with it.  We set the timer, and tried to get a cool picture of us jumping.  

Epic fail.  Like Meagan said, we look like zombies about to attack.  I think it's a much better picture than some overrated jumping picture would have been. 

May 18, 2016: nuthin.

Ha! This kid doesn't love writing.  We are working on nonfiction books about tide pool creatures we saw on our field trip.  This little guy was having a really hard time with the "things my creature can do" section of the book.  I finally saw him excitedly writing at his table.  Then he came bouncing over to me, exclaiming "I'm done with the whole chapter!"  This is what he had.  To be fair, sea lemons don't really do much that we observe, especially compared to sea stars, crabs, or anemones  I let him have this one.  

May 17, 2016: message in a bottle

Titus has a friend visiting from California this week.  Today, Evan actually found a message in a bottle! It originally came from a boat that was sailing from Washington to Alaska.  The note was wet, but legible.  What a cool find! 

May 15, 2016: Bear Aware

I guess we will keep our eyes open! It's the time of year now where bears are being spotted more frequently again.  There has been an adolescent who has been roaming around town.  Spotting have been posted frequently on the town's Facebook page.  Unfortunately some people started feeding the bear trash in hopes to lure it closer to get pictures of it.  It finally had to be shot because it wasn't afraid of people.  :( 

May 14, 2016: best ussey (ussie?) ever

We made it up Old Woman with kids in tow! What an awesome hike! 

May 13, 2016: one more reason why I teach...

I can't stop laughing.  It's a hand, not a wiener.  It's so freaking funny.  

May 12, 2016: sun, sun, and more sun!

Is this for real?!  I can't remember a time the forecast looked this good!! Will I get anything accomplished the next two weeks?

May 11, 2016: no big deal

The bears are back!!  We found these lovely tracks on our run today.  I will be excited when this half marathon training is finished so I can spend more time biking.  Along the road.  Away from the woods. 

May 10, 2016: tidepool field trip!

Best day ever.  Tidepool field trip with the class.  Kids were excited. I got over being afraid of touching anemones.  We found the most insane creatures.  I saw kids get over their fears of slimy weird things.  I saw kids show intense compassion for one another.  We had lunch in a light rain along the beach.  It really was a perfect day. 

May 9, 2016: sustainable living :)

This is me eating seaweed.  The seaweed was harvested on a beach here and prepared by my friend Kayla.  You also can't really see it in the picture because it blends into the trees in the background.  People harvest everything here.  Make their own jam out of anything that grows, sauté fiddlehead ferns, pickle spruce tips, you name it.  

May 8, 2016: goodbye brown mountains

I see green!!!!!!  When I moved here, the mountains were this emerald green color.  Breathtaking!  Then fall comes, and they turn this ugly brown color.  Then it snows, and they are beautiful and majestic once again.  Then spring comes, the snow melts, but the mountains stay brown and dull.  Until now! Every day there are larger and larger patches of that gorgeous green.  Summer is right around the corner! 

This mountain is Pyramid, and I haven't climbed it yet.  It's a the top of my list! 

Also I ran 9 miles today.  I am forever grateful for my friend for introducing me to the Moth podcast.  Nothing makes 9 miles go a little faster than listening to a man tell the story of when he tried to cross the English Channel in a bathtub. 

May 7, 2016: hauling wood

Today was great!!  We chopped wood, hauled wood, and stacked wood all day long.  Some trees fell in the woods outside the cabin a while back, so we came up to Chiniak to help the cabin owners take care of the trees. I haven't done much manual labor since moving here, and it felt good to be exhausted from working so hard!  It brought me right back to mornings on the farm, loading up wood with my sisters and grandpa.  Sadly, there was no trailer to ride in today, but nostalgic just the same.  The best part of the day was when we finished hauling the wood, there was a beautifully sunny spot in the grass where we napped.  I got a sunburn!!!!!!!!!!! It was gone the next day, but for a few short hours, I was an Alaskan with a sunburn. :) 

May 6, 2016: Chiniak

A group of people from my church and I went to Chiniak this weekend to camp at a cabin.  Tonight, we stayed at the cabin, built a fire on the beach, played some spike ball in the sand, had a killer UNO competition, and just hung out enjoying one another.  I of course went into full trance mode once the fire was lit.  This was my first beach bonfire since moving to Kodiak, and I am officially hooked.  

May 5, 2016: Russian Ridge Running

Stephanie, Alanna, and I went for a run along Russian Ridge today.  It was an adventure!  We spent most of our time slipping around in the mud, weaving through bushes in order to dodge huge rain filled trenches along the path, and legitametly crossing rivers by crawling along logs.  I love this kind of running.  Our mile splits were between 8 and 12 minutes, depending on the terrain we encountered that mile :).   

I also love that the second week I moved here, I went on a group hike up Russian Ridge, which is where I actually met both Alanna and Stephanie the first time.  It's fun to think that almost a year later, we are running around the place like we own it.  

May 4, 2016: Kodiak runs

I have always loved dandelions, but seeing them on a cliff overlooking the ocean makes me love them even more.  

Also- going for runs in Alaska is 7 billion times better than going for runs in Chicago.  I miss quite a few things (rather, people) about Chicago, but running there is not one of them.  Here's why: 

-in Chicago, cars try to hit you while you run.  Or bikes. Or other runners.  Inevitably, someone is going to smash into you. 

-you always have to do that weird half jumping, half running in place thing when you're stopped at a stoplight.  Which is all the freaking time.  Kodiak has one stoplight. 

-aside from the lakefront, which is absolutely gorgeous, there's not a ton to look at. 

-there are far fewer cat calls being made in Kodiak. 

-I don't feel like I have to have the newest lululemon leggings on when I work out.  I can wear the same exact running outfit here for 4 runs straight, be seen by the same people every single one of those runs, and not be judged. 

After reflecting though, there are definitely some things I miss about Chicago runs.  Like running without the fear of a bear leaping from the bushes.  Or being able to find a long route filled with geocaches.  Or running in sunshine.  Or stopping for fro-yo afterwards.  Or having a gas station along the way in case you want to snag a Gatorade.  Or knowing that at any moment, you can catch the train or bus home if you're dying. 

Man, I guess I do kind of miss running in Chicago.  This view though... (and only a mile and a half run from my house...) 

May 3, 2016: new living room decor!

I came home and there was a tree in my living room.  Love it! Alanna rescued it from the side of the driveway.  She made paper flowers to hang from the branches and they look fabulous.  She also made the string art in the picture.  Artistic roommates are the best :) 

May 2, 2016: bearded man in the woods

Our kids have an art walk coming up in a couple of weeks.  They get to have an artist from Kodiak spend a week with them, teaching and creating with them.  This year, the inspiration for the whole school comes from the artist Andy Goldsworthy.   If you haven't seen his art before, look him up! He is incredible.  He uses only materials from nature, and his art is all temporary.  My mind was blown when I saw pictures of his work.  This week, the kids worked on creating mosaics and sculptures made from all natural materials.  One kid made this, and it made my heart happy.  Then another kid informed me that the moss used for the man's facial hair is actually called beard moss.  And that made my already happy heart even happier.  It's just now occurring to me that the kid may have actually made it up.  Regardless, I love how much my kids here know about nature. 

May 1, 2016: the view was the only good thing about this run

My run today was rough.  Last week I ran 8 miles down this same road, same time of day, and felt awesome!  And I ran it at 9:44 average pace.  Today I was supposed to run 6 miles fast, but I was dead tired! I ran my 6 miles (10:15 pace) and even had to walk some of it.  Stopping to take this picture was an excuse to walk a little bit more.  I guess the other benefit of running slower was that I had plenty of time to finish the podcast I was listening to.   Hoping this week is filled with some more upbeat runs!! 

April 30, 2016: surprise!

Happy birthday, Bonnie!!!!  This girl is so fun and sweet, so celebrating her was a blast.  Two of our coworkers planned a surprise party for her and I am pretty sure she was surprised.  If not, she faked it well!  :).  We love you, Bonnie! 

April 30, 2016: it's gonna be May...

You can all hate me if you want, but I only have 19 days of school left!!!!!!!  In Chicago I would still be teaching for another 2 months, but here in Alaska, we are in the home stretch!  

April 29, 2016: puzzle love

How great is my roommate? We have been working on this puzzle.  I went to bed earlier than she did and I woke up to find that she left the last piece for me to put in.  I have always loved doing puzzles and did them with Katie all the time at our place in Chicago.  I am happy Alanna also shares a joy in puzzling.  It's such a great way to relax and chat.  Especially on dark, rainy winter days.  I am going to need to stock up on good puzzles (or start a puzzle exchange!!) here in Kodiak to get ready for next winter.  

April 28, 2016: Killer Pillar run

This girl and I just ran up a mountain.  This was my first time running straight up one of the peaks here, and I am glad Stephanie convinced me to do it.  What a good work out!  We definitely got snowed/ sleeted on while at the top, but it was worth it! I am glad to have Stephanie as a running buddy!

April 27, 2016: idiot author

Before our tidepool unit, we spent a month studying penguins.  This book was in our classroom library and I am sure every kid in the class looked through it at some point.  Why does a kid need to know that some penguins have a "braying call like that of a donkey or jackass?"  Donkey would have been good enough.  Or leave this type of penguin out of the book entirely.  There's not enough time in the day for me to preread every book in my classroom library, and I know there are a couple in there that say "stupid" and "dumb" which I have been told are also bad words, but jackass takes this to a new level.  Sheesh!  Thankful I was reading this over a kid's shoulder and caught it before he did! 

April 26, 2016: hula hoop competitions

Hula hoop competitions definitely happened today during recess.  The ultimate challenge was trying to hula hoop while hopping on one foot.  As you can see in the picture, I am totally killing it! 

April 25, 2016: barnacles

My class has started studying tidepools.  This coming week, we are building a model of a tidepool in our classroom.  I grabbed Alanna and Titus this evening and dragged them to the beach so we could collect rocks, shells, and anything else the kids could use to make their model.  When you're not looking for barnacles, you see them everywhere.  When you want them, you can't find them anywhere! Beach #3 was where I finally found these guys.  There is a law that you can't bring home anything living when you are tidepooling or you have to pay a fine.  I was pretty sure these barnacles are no longer living in the hard shells, but I am no barnacle expert.  I grabbed a couple of rocks and threw them into my backpack hoping I wasn't killing tiny innocent creatures in the process.  I got halfway to my car and was overcome with guilt over not knowing if I was displaying the proper tidepool etiquette, so I walked all the way back to the beach, put the rocks back, and hunted for barnacle shells that were 100% vacated.  I have never been an animal rights activist, so I am not sure why saving barnacles was so important to me tonight.  Alaska is turning me into a softy. 

On another note, I found a chiton today! I have never seen one before so I was pumped.  My kids loved it too, especially since we have a huge poster in our room called "Chitons of Alaska" so they got to look at it and compare it to the ones on our poster.  

Can you tell I am loving teaching in Alaska?! 

April 24, 2016: CWOVERS! (Aka clovers)

CLOVERS! Find them, pick them, smell them, smell them again because you're not sure if you smelled anything the first time, blow on them, then lose all interest and throw them on the ground.  Two and a half minutes later... MORE CLOVERS!! 

Repeat seventeen times on your wall to and from the playground.