September Snow

To all you East coasters enjoying fall beers and breathing in that fresh, crisp, fall air as you read this: take another big sip for us and please send us a sign that fall has actually just started...and is not yet over.   After several snow flurries and some pretty cold walks home this week, we woke up this morning to a fresh coat of snow blanketing the ground.

Don't get me wrong, it's peaceful and beautiful and making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...but it's going to make for a really long semester if I'm already humming Christmas carols.

Instead of spending all of our time pining for Saranac Pumpkins, Sam Octoberfests and that perfect "sweater weather," we've been staying as busy as possible.  School is, as usual, taking up the majority of our time.  This year has definitely been easier than last year, but now that I'm getting the hang of the whole teaching thing, I'm finding that there is always more to do and always something I can do better.  I think we are blessed to be living in a place where we don't have a million other obligations pulling us every which way.  It's really allowed me to focus on becoming the best teacher I can be.  Not that we don't miss all of the distractions...

Brendan traveled to Koyuk with his Cross Country team and had a very successful race.  Each of his kids improved over last year's times and they all had a lot of fun.  He's been able to see most of the district in the past few weeks and has plenty of pictures to share! (Hopefully they will be up soon!) My kids wrote sonnets this week and Brendan's kids ran 5Ks.  That is definitely more than we could say at this time last year.  We'll take what we can get!

Wedding planning has already proved to be challenging from a distance, but we're determined to conquer it.  Save the dates are ordered, but they of course don't ship to Savoonga, so Mom and Dad came to the rescue once again and are getting them to us. We're really missing our wedding experts, Meg and Mar, and are wishing they were as close to us as they were this summer! Honeymoon brainstorming is in full swing, and gives us something [warm] to look forward to!

Veggie delivery day!

 It's Sunday evening and my lesson plans for the week aren't quite complete, so it's back to work for me!  The snow has just about melted in most places from the afternoon sun, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was back to greet us in the morning.  Stay warm for us and enjoy those fall brews.  We wouldn't hate it if you stashed a few away for us for Christmas.

And the Adventure Continues!

Well, the first week of school has somehow already come and gone.  All in all, I'd say it went pretty well, though it was mildly chaotic.  My week can be summed up by the following:

Monday:  Fell out of bed when our alarm clock randomly started chirping.  Wrote 2011 on the board. (I'm pretty sure it hasn't been 2011 in about, oooh, 7 months and 26 days.)

Tuesday: Fell back into my snooze-button-hitting-habit...on day 2.

Wednesday:  Engagement photos, The Hunger Games and Season 6 of Dexter arrived. (Cue procrastination.)

Thursday:  Accidentally wore my slippers. all. day. long. (Which I can't say was horrible...)  Date night with B that consisted of Thai "take-out" (microwaved) and a big-screen (Smart board) movie.

Friday:  Couldn't keep up with my students, they were doing so much work. (Totally cool.)  Our big Fred Meyer grocery order arrived.  Had taco night with good friends.  Craved a glass (bottle) of wine.  Took Melatonin instead.

Saturday: Woke up at noon, ate the pancakes B made me, and immediately took a four hour nap. 

Now it's Sunday and even though there was a 40% chance of snow for the past two days--yes, it's the first weekend of September in Alaska, too...the sun is shining and I'm feeling pretty stoked for the new year.  I'm about 200% more prepared than I was last year, and my students came back ready to work. 

I've come to two conclusions so far:

1)  I should have waitressed this summer, liked I'd planned.  I'm completely out of "being on my feet all day" shape, and by Tuesday, my legs were reliving my multiple-double-shifts-in-a-row feeling of exhaustion.  For this I blame the countless summer hours I spent sitting in/by the pool/beach/lake/campfire/etc. (And enjoyed to the absolute fullest extent.)

2)  First year teacher adrenaline is no joke, and I should have bottled some up for this year.  Not that I'm not motivated or energized...I absolutely am.  And I'm even more excited this year than I was last year, because I seem to have a clue as to what I'm doing.  But I do not remember being ready for bed when the clock hit 3:40 last year.  Suggestions other than pounding 5-hour-energies are extremely welcome!!

As for other updates on the home front, I can't say there are many.  Life has fallen back into our hectic routine and we're loving it.  Brendan's cross country season is in full swing and he'll be traveling with a great group of kids to Koyuk in a couple of weeks.  

We made a major upgrade to our kitchen and invested in a dish rack...you'd laugh at all the time we have spent admiring it, so I won't tell you just how long that's been.  Our (extremely) humble abode is feeling more like home than ever...but our family and friends are in our hearts and thoughts every day!

Onto week two!!