Wow..... I can't believe how fast time flies. I haven't posted in over a year and boy the changes that have occurred have been both amazing and disheartening. I will try to bring my blog up to date and keep it up to date as I have promised Mark that I will try to do a better job staying on top of documenting our lives here in Unalakleet. Last October Mark mentioned that he was not as happy with his job as he had been. I happened to have looked at the current job openings in our district and saw that our Business Manager was retiring at the end of the school year. They wanted to hire someone before Kerry retired so the two could work together creating a smooth transition from one to the other. Mark contacted our then Assistant Superintendent, Jim Hickerson, who asked him to email his resume by Sunday. This was Thursday night so Mark set out to put his resume together and send it off by the coming Sunday. Jim emailed Mark telling him he had received his resume and he would be calling him in the next few weeks to set up an interview. Sure enough, within the next few weeks Jim called and set up a telephone interview. Mark was interviewed by Superintendent Davis, Assistant Superintendent Hickerson, and Business Manager Kerry Jarrell. A few days after the interview Mark was contacted by Mr. Hickerson. He wanted to know if Mark would be available to fly out to Unalakleet over Thanksgiving for a second interview. Mark, of course, told him it would not be a problem. BSSD flew Mark out to Alaska the Friday before Thanksgiving and into Unalakleet on Saturday. Mark was interviewed on Monday and was offered the position 30 minutes after his interview. BSSD then flew Mark over to me in St. Michael so we could spend Thanksgiving together.

My roommate had a fiesta for my birthday. It was also to welcome the new teachers to St. Michael. Although none of the new teachers showed up for St. Michael, we had a few party crashers from Stebbins, Barb and Becky. Welcome to the Island.

Jeannie, Lori, Joe, Barb, Betty, Len and Becky (up front)

Barb (in the background) and Betty, "Olé!"

Cynthia and Jill

It has been a crazy first week back to school with the kids. We have had so many kids transfer in that I am back up to the same numbers I ended the school year with even after Lori took over my ECE caseload. I panicked a bit the first few days and my boss from Unalakleet reminded me to eat chocolate....... all was good til I choked on the little flag from a Hershey's Kiss. They should have warnings on the bag :-) I have since calmed down and have been trying to stay on top of my paperwork. I thank God for the Sped Staff at the District Office. They are very supportive and help in any and every way possible. Thanks girls!

Judy and Mel
They make the Sped Dept. purr!!!!

Wow.... beginning my second year in the bush. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. When I left here in May I flew home for my niece's graduation. Way to go Kam! I'm proud of you! Here is me, Kami, and my baby sister, Bonnie. Bonnie flew in from Tennesee. We had a quick visit and then my mom and I flew back to Alaska and took my van out of storage. We took a few weeks to drive back to the U.P. (Upper Peninsula of Michigan).

We left Anchorage and spent the night in Wasilla. My friend, Matt, bought a house in Wasilla and is in the process of fixing it up. The next day we drove back into Anchorage for some shopping (as I had only been out of the bush for less than 2 weeks and had not even come close to having my fill yet). Then on to Valdez. We spent a few nights at the Eagles Rest and caught up with Barb and Harvey. Mom and I went to Peter Pan, bought some Halibut, and had it shipped back home.Here is Barb and Harvey. If you ever get to Valez look them up at the Eagles Rest. They will welcome you with open arms and treat you like family. Harvey made dinner for us one night. We had deep fried Halibut. Then the morning we left he made us homemade pancakes and caribou sausage.

The following pictures are from our boat cruise to the Mears Glacier.

Sea Otter

Sea Lions

Iceberg

The Mears Glacier

Man....... how time flys when you're havin' fun. I can't believe it is the end of March already. I haven't posted in over 4 months. I have had a ton of adventures since my last posting. I'll try my best to fill everyone in.
Let's start at Christmas. Lori and I flew out of here the 16th of Dec. into Unalakleet where the Assistant Superintendent of BSSD picked us up and took us to the Penn Air terminal so we could get our reservations squared away. He then took us back to his house where he made us the most delicious dinner. Yes he served us crab.

I ate soooooo much crab and butter that I became quite ill before our plane landed in Anchorage. The flight from Anchorage to Minneapolis was excrutiating. I was stuck between Lori and some young guy....... trying so hard to avoid throwing up or having to use the airplane bathroom...... I began to sweat profusely. When Lori wasn't sleeping she was trying to comfort me by holding the pillow to the cool window and then applying it to my head. What a wonderful roommate I have.

I spent 2 quick weeks at home...... well in the U.P. I never stayed home one single day. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a day in St. Ignace with my buddies from school.

I even took in a Saints Basketball game. Here is my best bud, Trudy, from St. Ignace and her basketball crazed son, Dan.

These are some of the crazy teachers I work with.

This is a beluga whale that was brought to shore and some of the students helped to harvest it.

Our first snow was October 1st. The two mountains in the middle are known as the Two Sisters.

Here is part of the reindeer herd. Can you spot the Albino?

These were some of the beautiful sights we saw on our way to Alaska. The bison and caribou pictures were taken along the Al-Can in British Columbia.
This is Sheep Mountain located along Destruction Bay. This is where Kluane Lake begins. It is the longest lake in the Yukon.

Here is a picture of Mark, Paco, Tiqa, and me and a picture of Dad, Mom, and me. These were taken the day I left for Alaska. Mom and Dad came down and helped Mark and me pack the coolers and then put them in the UHaul.