Fish Bowl

Have you ever felt like you were in a fish bowl and that a lot of people were staring and watching you. Well, I had that experience this week at work. I received an e-mail on Monday telling me that about fifteen administrators from across the district would be in my room on Wednesday afternoon to observe. What they were there to observe I wasn't told, and I still don't know. They came in right before my last class started on Wednesday. Since that's one of my small classes, there were more administrators in the room than students. I have to admit that I was quite nervous about it. It's really hard to act normal and natural when there are a lot of people watching you when you don't know why. I even had a couple students comment that they were nervous too. One students said out loud in front of all of them, "I can't work with all these people in here." The good thing is, that I couldn't have picked a better day for them to come observe. I had the students working on a survey project and acted great. It looked like a perfect assignment. The students were applying math into a real life situation, they were graphing, calculating , and even writing about their discoveries. What's weird is even now I have no clue why they were there. I haven't heard a thing back from anyone. I guess I couldn't have done too bad or I would have heard for sure.

Shoveling Job

I haven't been using the front door to the building where I live this week and everyone else in my section of the building has been out of town since the start of the week. So, Thursday after the Thanksgiving dinner at the church this is what I saw when I was dropped off. I have to admit I was a little surprised at how deep it was. There was noway in. Luckily I have another door around the corner that wasn't blocked. I only had to wade through thigh deep snow to get to it. But, on the bright side, I was able to open it.

So, this morning I got up and shoveled. First, I shoveled out a path from the door I was able to get in. Then I went around and tackled this entrance.

The snow was almost as deep as the shovel was tall.

Finally, about an hour later, my door was accessible. Yeah! I didn't even feel bad about skipping my run today.

By the way, these pictures were all taken around noon. You can tell there's not much light left here.

Stake Visitors/Busy Weekend

Last Saturday and Sunday we had a bunch of visitors from the stake up here. The Stake Relief Society President, the Stake Primary President, the 2nd counselor in the Stake Presidency and the counselors wife were all here. I ended up with a pretty busy weekend. I picked them all up at the airport, and then had a presidency meeting with my counselors and Sister Wappett, the Relief Society President. We all had lunch, which I had prepared that morning. Then Sister Wappett and I went and visited some sisters. After that, I went home and made treats for the sisters meeting that we had Saturday night while Sister Wappett was helping with a Primary activity. Then all the stake visitors, my counselors, and the Branch President's wife all went out to dinner. (The Branch President was conviently out of town.) From there, we went

to the branch house for the meeting.

Sunday was full too. I picked up Sister Wappett and Sister Burkholtz, the Primary President, and took them to church. In church both of them spoke and the 2nd counselor put in a new counselor in the Branch Presidency. Following church we had a potluck. After the potluck, while there was still a little light, I took Sister Wappett and Sister Burkholtz out to take some pictures of Barrow. We took pictures at the standard tourist spots and of some ice fishermen we saw. Then I went visiting with Sister Wappett again. Then I sent them off. It was a packed, but enjoyable weekend.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. From their expressions & what they are wearing, you can tell it's a normal Barrow winter up here.

Sister Burkholtz & Sister Wappett at a traditional picture spot.

In the background you can see the ocean and the pack ice that has moved in for the winter.

Ice Fishermen & Women

Halloween

Even up here in the middle of nowhere, Halloween is a big deal for kids. Even some high school students still dress up. We adults celebrate the holiday too. On Halloween I went over to Brandi's house for some a night of Halloween treats and scary movies. All the girls in attendance dressed up, but none of the guys did. (I'm just glad I had the costume left over from our John Wayne party last year.) Here's a picture of me, Brandi, & Fred.

Fight

I'm sure it wouldn't surprise anyone to hear that there was a fight at the high school last Thursday. After all, it's a high school. Those things do tend to happen. As usual, two guys got a little over excited about something. They sent each other some nasty e-mails early in the morning. Later during lunch they ran into each other, traded insults, and ended up in a loud shouting match that was broken up the the Principal and Vice-Principal before it came to blows. They were both hauled into the office were they were lectured and one was sent home for the rest of the day. I'm sure you all witnessed that in school. No big deal right?

Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that the two guys involved were teachers.

Winter!

Well, winter has officially come. We have snow that is sticking on the ground. Last Sunday I woke up to find snow on the ground. However, by the afternoon it had melted. All week we had the cold winter wind. I had to put the outside on my light fall coat. (It's still not cold enough for my winter coat.) Yesterday it snowed and it stayed all day. It has been snowing lightly on and off all day.

A nice day at the beach.

The lagoon is already half way frozen.

I thought this looked pretty cool as I was out walking. Each blade of grass is covered in a case of ice.

Now only about eight more months until summer.

Surprise trip to Utah

A week or so after I arrived I got a phone call telling me to buy a ticket back to Utah. My sister Stacy had decided to marry her long time boyfriend, Dave. So a few hours after I ran my first race, I jumped on a plane and headed back to Salt Lake.

It was fun to see the family again. Not to mention the trees and mountains. Here are some pictures of Dad, Robert, Adrienne, Brooklen, and Hurley out on Whitney Reservoir. Not only can I look at these pictures and see family, I can remember that there are places in the world where it's green and things grow taller than four inches.

Pictures of the wedding site at the 10th Ward Building. Didn't I do a great job setting it up. (Well, I did have a little help. O.K., a lot of help)

The Bride and Groom (To quote the invitation . . . finally.)

Spaghetti Run

This year I've had a few students on the cross-country team who keep inviting me to work out with them. I've done it a few times and I have to say, even though I run on the treadmill everyday, I am out of shape. They leave me in the dust. They've been begging me to run in the Spaghetti Run this year. It's the annual fund raiser for their team.

Well, I agreed and so I competed in my first race on the 5th of Sep

tember. It was a 5K or about 3.2 miles for those of you who hate the metric system. (You know metric is really easier if you'd just accept it.) I ran against a few other adults and the cross-country teams from all over the slope. Considering it was my first race and I was running against high school runners, I think that placing

22nd was pretty good. That was out of just over 50 people, so I'm right in the middle. Next time though, my goal is to break 30 min.

The runners at the beginning of the race. I'm the bright yellow sweatshirt in the back.

Here are a few of the cross-country team. Many former and current students.

Aaron (The winner of the race. Too old to be one of mine.)

Nasuayaaq

(Try saying that one.)

Flora

(Fastest girl on the team. Also the one who keeps bugging me about running with them)

Eric

(A student from my days back in Nuiqsut)

Overall, it was a really good time and we had good spaghetti and stuff to eat after.

Road Trip

Once school was over, it was time to head out on a road trip with my parents, sister, Stacy, and brother, Matt.  We drove from Salt Lake to Detroit for my niece's, Hurley's, blessing and her brother Brooklen's second birthday party.  Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Mount Rushmore

Crazy Horse

Corn Palace

"Field of Dreams"

View down from the Willis (Sears) Tower

Rob's family in Ann Arbor

Henry and Samuel in Detroit

St. Louis Arch

DONE!!!

Believe it or not,I am finally done with my Master's program.  My final grades have been posted.  I can't believe it - all A's.  Wow, I really must be a nerd.

Now it's time for a vacation!

Fishing

On Tuesday, the 30th of June, I went fishing with Grandpa Bob and Matt.  We went to Jordanelle. It was a beautiful day.  It was warm and the sun was shining.  Here are a few pictures of the day.

 Since I don't have a fishing license, I drove the boat while the boys fished.

However, we didn't catch any fish.  If you look at these pictures, you may see why.

Tuachan

This week I drove my grandparent down to St. George to see Annie and Footloose at the outdoor Tuachan Amphitheater.   The setting down there is gourgeous.  The back of the stage is the red rock of southern Utah.  It's fun to see the plays under the stars. 

We attended the first performance of both.  Annie was pretty good.  I have to admit though that I was more impressed with Molly than Annie.   She was just a lot more animated and stayed in character the whole time.  Footloose was also good.  The dancing was great.  It's funny how much they change the movies when they make them into musicals.  I guess I can understand because they cannot do all the same things on stage that they can in a movie.  Even with the changes, they were good.   Overall, the trip down there to see the plays is worth it.  I miss being able to see things like that in Barrow.

Empty Room

I have to admit that I hate the last few days of school.  I love the first day of 

summer break and the rest of it.  But those last few days are awful.  I had my room completely  cleaned yesterday by the time I left.  I have all day today and will spend all day tomorrow with nothing to do.  I guess I can't say nothing.  I did manage to get a bit of my homework done.  It's just depressing to have an empty room.  There's nothing to show for all the work through out the year.   I have to say, it does seem to be a waste of time to put everything away just to put it back up again.  It's just all so empty and boring.  Oh well, two more months and I get to put everything back together. 

FHE & Marshmallows

Last night we had a branch family home evening.  About twenty people showed up for it.  The primary president and I were in charge of it.  She did the lesson and I got the fun part, the activity.  The topic was David and Goliath.  So, I brought my sling shot (why I have it up here I don't know) and had the kids (and adults) practice hurling marshmallows at each other.  Some of them are actually good shots with it.  Some weren't.  I think we will be finding marshmallows all over the chapel/multi-purpose room for months to come.  That is, the ones that the little kids didn't pick up off the floor and eat.  Too bad I forgot to take any actions shots.  It was pretty funny.

Chug

As a teacher you think I would be a good role model and encourage my students to do appropriate things.  That is unless you actually know me.  Last week, my students received a pizza party as a result of a state survey that they completed.    We had a lot of pop left over and I happened to suggest to the boys that they have a contest to see who could chug a can of pop the quickest.  Well, the record was 5.6 seconds, set by the boy you can see drinking.  The one in the background did 5.9.  I have to admit that even though I encouraged it, watching it made me a little sick.  I guess I haven't changed that much.  It's a good thing I don't have to be responsible all the time to be a teacher.   

Ok, so maybe it wasn't the best idea.  At least I got my entertainment for the day.

Flowers

Thursday I received a call that I needed to go pick up a package in the office.  As I walked down there I was trying to figure out what could possibly be in the office.  One of the aids I passed me asked me if I was going to the office and that I needed to make sure I went.  I walk into the office and all the secretaries are standing around the front desk watching me walk in.  It turns out the package was a dozen roses from mom and dad.  They were beautiful.  It was nice to have a bit of spring up here in the snowing winter.  Thanks!

I left them at school for the rest of the week and the students loved them too.  They commented that they couldn't believe how red the roses were.  They said they were the prettiest flowers they had ever seen.  I don't think they get to see too many up here. 

  Now I just have to convince the students that they really were from my parents. There were quite a few good rumors started as I walked to my room with the flowers.

Cowboy Night

Things get a little boring up here, so we at times we make our own entertainment.  A couple of weeks ago, a few of us teachers were talking about movies.  To the horror of me and Korey Packer, another teacher, we had two teachers who had never seen a John Wayne movie.  One didn't even know who John Wayne was.  Korey and I decided they had to be educated.  So, Saturday we had a John Wayne night.  We all put on something cowboy and watched "The Cowboys".  (Thanks for the bandanas and vest Dad and Mom.)  I have to say it was sad to hear people asking as the movie was going on which one was John Wayne.  There are somethings that every American should know.  However, it was a hit and we now plan on having a western night at least once a semester.  The things we do up here to amuse ourselves.

By the way, since the close up of the sign isn't showing up, it says, "Snow Machine Parking Only."

Odd

Sometimes, when I least expect it, I am struck by how odd this place is where I choose to live.  I see things everyday that I would never expect to see anywhere else and the worst part is, I don't even realize how weird they are most of the time.  Today as I was walking through the school parking lot, I saw this sign.  I don't think there is anywhere else in the world where you would find this in a school parking lot.  

Here's a close up of the sign if you can't read it in the picture.  

This definitely is a weird place.

Prom

Why in the world would anyone think that I would be a good choice to be the advisor in charge of prom is beyond be.   I think I went to one dance total in all my high school years.  I don't dance, I don't decorate, and I really don't care about prom.  Well, as the Junior Class advisor it was one of my duties this year to plan prom.  Luckily, I have a co-advisor who loves dances, but isn't too much of an organizer.   Between the two of us I think we pulled off an OK prom. This year's theme was called Midnight Masquerade.  It was Mardi Gras inspired theme.  

              Daniel & Savannah

We spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday decorating.  Thursday I got home from school at 10:30, Friday at about midnight and was there pretty much from 10-1 am Saturday.  

Olivia & Zsa Zsa

 

After all the

 decorating, problems, and hassle, I think it turned out OK.  At least the students looked

 like they had fun at  the prom.  Here are some pictures of what it looked like before the prom.

Here is the arch for pictures.  Didn't I do a great job!  It's a good thing I know how to use duct tape.  That's the only thing keeping it upright.