Quick Update

So I've been SUPER busy since pretty much August. Scott has been busy too but he doesn't do anything with this blog except give me a smile which I know means he thinks I'm silly for doing this. Anyways, here's a break down of what's been going on in our lives!

1. I got released from Young Women's as the 2nd cousenlor. I didn't have a call for maybe an hour. I am now a primary teacher for the 4 year olds. They are adorable but a handful and WAY different from my 4th graders! :)

2. 1st Quarter of the school year is over! I've been teaching 4th grade for 9 weeks!  I know I already mention this but it's a good thing to say again. Yay for 4th grade! I have a tough group of kids (well, boys) but they are individually great kids. Just a little overwhelming when they get together. Also, I was getting buried in papers and I finally figured out an organization system that works for me :) yay!

3. Scott and I have been going square dancing! It's a blast! Next week is their Halloween dance and I'm excited to see what all the 'older' people are going to dress up as! I think there is one other couple that may be in upper 30s or lower 40s but besides them, I think Scott and I are the youngest by like 30 years! Ha ha, it's soo much fun!

4. Scott's decided to go back to school! Next spring he will be a student again! He still hasn't decided for sure what he wants to do exactly, but he's narrowed down. Yay!

5. I'm halfway through my 1st semester of my Math Cohort classes which will eventually lead to a Masters Degree! It's been kind of hard to take 2 college classes and teach full time but it's totally worth it. I'm learning a lot and it's going to make me a better teacher. Why put off being the best you can be? Plus, I got an iPad2 out of the deal. That means I can Skype or FaceTime with people now!

6. I'm coaching my elementary school's girl basketball team! It's a lot of fun. It's just 4th and 5th graders and it's teaching the basics. We don't even keep score during our games. It's tiring trying to teach the language and fundamentals of the game but someone's got to do it and it's well worth it when I see improvement! I love it!! The girls are so excited about it too!

Um...I think that's about it.Sorry that there aren't any pictures. I don't know where my camera cord is but I've been too busy to take pictures anyways! I'll try hard for next time!

Labor Day

Scott is such a sweet husband! We had a productive Labor Day weekend. We went to the Alaska State Fair (greatly lacking in my opinion but probably the only fair you'll see yak and reindeer in the livestock area.) Then on Monday we (meaning mainly Scott but I definitely helped) a shelf for my classroom and a chest for our entry way. The shelf is actually on it's end. It's about 2 ft x 6 ft.

I'm a COUGAR

A lot has happned since I last posted. I will have to add about the rest of Todd and Kristi's visit and my trip home later.

While I was home, I was sitting with Kayla at her house in Caldwell just hanging out. My phone started ringing and I noticed it was a 907 number. Earlier that week I had also recieved a call from a 907 number and got a little excited thinking it could be a principal. (I had emailed some princpals while at home.) That first call was the Alaska Unemployment Department so I didn't get excited about the call I got while with Kayla.

I answered and started talking. Kayla said that after a couple of minutes she could tell I was talking school. It's true! I was talking to the principal of Cottonwood Creek in Wasilla. She asked if I was able to come in talk with her later that afternoon. I told her I was in Oregon and she just asked if I had a couple of minutes to talk then. Of course I said sure but I had to do a 180 with my thinking. I was in vacation mode and had to quickly start thinking school. Well, the conversation went very well and I am now the new 4th grade at Cottonwood Creek! That means that I am now a Cougar! 

This was such a blessing for me to be hire before I returned to Alaska. Up to that point of summer, I hadn't really worried about getting another job. There was nothing I could do at that point that would make a difference. (I got laid off in May due to budget cuts and I was 3rd from bottom of the senority list. I was put on the Recall list and was pretty optomistic about getting rehired but hadn't really thought about it too much.) When I was in Oregon, Scott went to work in Rexburg. He is currently still there and will be until mid-Aug. I knew that as soon as I got home on Sunday night, I was going to start worrying and freaking out about whether or not I'd get a job and have no one to comfort me or tell me to quite worrying, which Scott does frequently :). I had to be in Anchorage for class the whole next week so I wouldn't have been able to go to schools to drop off my resumes. I would be at a disadvantage compared to all other applicants. Luckily, blessedly, I was called and got a job before I got back. There are no words to truly convey how I feel about this new job.

I'm so happy to be a Cougar!

Musk Ox

The only animal alive that was alive during the Ice Age is...the musk ox! Although it has ox in it's name, the musk ox's closest relative is the mountain goat. They only live to be about 15 years old and 3-4 ft tall. I'm by a 2yr old and Todd is by a full grown musk ox. 

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Bears, Bears, and Bears

We saw a total of 11 bears when we went fishing from about 10pm til 2am. It actually became pretty nerve racking, not knowing where the bears were going to pop up. Scott had a pretty good scare when he and 4 other guys were fishing facing the bank and out pop a brown sow and her two cubs right in front of them!
We saw 2 brown bears each with 2 cubs, 1 male brown bear, 2 black bears each with 1 cub.
Here's a few pictures I got:

Brown Bears

I have a video of them coming down into the water but I was backing away so it's kind of bumpy to watch.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Black Bears

My phone isn't great for nature shots but of course I didn't have my video camera with me.

Brown bears video coming...

-- Sent from my Palm Pre