This Old House

No, we're not talking about renovations. But we might be soon. I check out of the house in about 15 minutes. For the first time since I got it, I feel okay about taking pictures of everything at the same time.

A quick note beforehand: there are three things going to the new house that just haven't gone yet: the little freezer, the green couch, and the treadmill.

The kitchen:

See how tiny? See how little counter space? The new kitchen is huge, and has a real table with four chairs around it. Also, our food storage can go IN the kitchen instead of NEAR the kitchen. 

On that note, the storage room:

The treadmill does not belong in the storage room anymore. Also, there are two more shelves like that black one.

Living Room:

And a picture that Victoria colored. I found it on the back of the door this morning. Funny, funny.

And, where I liked to spend a third of my life:

Oh, you can't see the green linoleum on this picture. Just believe me that it's there.

And to tie the whole thing together:

Kitchen on the right, standing in the living room, and looking down the hallway to the bedrooms. Ah, there's the green flooring. 

Okay, what I would like to do now is show you the new house, but it's a mess. Boxes everywhere, and the table is already covered with stuff I don't know what to do with. So those pictures are going to have to wait. 

This wasn't a bad little house, but it also doesn't have enough room in the kitchen for both of us, nor does it have a king sized bed. 

Steve should be coming over to check me out in the next couple minutes. 

Good-bye house.

Tug-of-War

Okay, quick post today.

We had the end of the year assembly today. One of the silly little games we played was Tug-of-war. The k-3 boys fought the k-3 boys. Then the 4-6. Then 7-12. And just to be funny, they put the teachers against the high school boys. There were more of them. But we prevailed. It was our very very heavy brains that helped us out.

Or maybe we're just stronger. I thought I'd get a nice grip, so I wrapped the rope around my arm, and pulled with all my might.

I would like to take a moment to say that this is not a new and pretty rope. It's old, it's scratchy. And it gives one heck of a rope burn.

Steve Alston has one too. When we went to check them out against each other, he told me:

"Does yours hurt to poke? Mine hurts to poke." Turns out I hadn't tried mine yet, but yes, it hurts to poke. 

And this is the news for the day.

UPDATE: My mark is starting to bruise up very nicely. Steve still has his initial mark, but no bruising around it. We both still feel pain when we poke our arms.  But, to beat the high school boys, it was worth it.

Lake

Okay, prom is over, the move is underway, and graduation is tonight. But I have funny things to share.

First off, it snowed last night. And not a sprinkling, either. A good inch and a half. In May. MAY! So hopefully for the last time, I shoveled the front porch this morning.  Okay, it was the new front porch, which isn't nearly as big, but that's where the shovel is.

Then I walked over:

And yes, the lake isn't nearly as big as it was last year, but it's still wide enough that one can't walk from there to here without getting stuck.

I tried to walk over to the school from the new house, but hit the edge of the pond, and went to step up onto the hill next to my house.  And my foot slid down the hill. So I readjusted, and my foot slipped again. So I scrambled quickly, and both feet slipped. Then I stood there looking at the ice slick I'd made with my shoes, and figured: eh, screw it.  So I took them off, scrambled up the hill, and walked to my old house. It turns out that walking through snow is easier if it's on top of regular sand, and not a sheet of ice.

I'm at the school now, safe and sound. Amy followed me over, and hasn't mentioned my bare-foot prints. Maybe she didn't notice?  

It's time to get my room put back together for the week. Four more days with the kids.

Pond

This year, we had very little snow. Don't get me wrong here, we had snow. Lots of snow. Just not as much as last year.

Because of that, meltdown hasn't been nearly as horrible. I have only slid into a pond once, and I've only lost my shoe when my foot fell deep into the snow once. I did have to be dug out by a little kid with a shovel, but that was only because I didn't want to put my foot down in the snow.

Here's my house yesterday morning, and the puddle. 

I had big plans that involved documenting this lake that is created every year between my house and Ken's. So, of course, there is no lake this year. This makes me sad. In years past, it has gone from my porch post to Kens.

This sucks. Whatever. K. Bye.

Upcoming Events

Here's what's coming up in my life:

Wednesday: Assembly from our Elders about healthy summer-time activities. Should run from 3:00 -3:45.

Thursday: Public Health Nurses come back and check my TB test.

So far, so good. It's starting to bruise, which is not normal for me. However, it is completely flat, which is nice.  I also got a shiny holographic band-aid, and a Disney Princess sticker for not crying.

Okay, so the stickers were for the kids. That's not the point. I didn't cry, I get a sticker. That's all there is to it. Angie didn't get a sticker, because she didn't ask, so she went and bugged Steve the principal, and he gave her a couple small ones. She promptly stuck them on her face. For those of you not in the know, Angie is a real, live grown-up. Not a four-year old. I don't think any of the 4-year-olds stuck their stickers on their faces.

Friday: Starting at 1, we will set up the gym for prom. Prom will be held from 9-12, with crowning happening at midnight, and dinner to follow. Spaghetti, french bread, salad, cake w/ice cream. Good times. And because I never wrote about prom last time, and feel guilt, here are some pictures from last year.

Jordan, taking a break from blowing up balloons. See how we wrapped the gym in brick to make it be a castle? Yup, I'm awesome like that.



These are my seniors, dressed up pretty: Jordan (from the photo above) Jesse B, Patrick,  Katherine, Dolly, and Theresa. Also, James Kakoona in the red t-shirt is in there. I don't know why.

When I advised, we did "Night of Romance" and made a castle, the next year was "City of Love" and they made the gym look like Paris.  If I do say so myself, mine was more AWESOME, but that's just my opinion.

King Wesley Pootoogooluk, and Queen Victoria "Sweety" Sinnok. Very nice. 

Saturday: Little kid prom. We're splitting it up this way because the little kids like to spill their drinks, pop the balloons, and tear down the streamers. Drives me nuts. So now the big kids will have prom first, when everything looks pretty, then the little kids can run amok on Saturday, and no one will care.

Monday: Graduation.  Okay, these are not this years' graduates. These are my babies from last year. Katherine, James (oh, maybe that's why he's in my prom picture) Theresa, Roy Amos, and Dolly.

Jackie and Holly came into my room two days ago, wearing their robes, and I will admit that I got a little teary-eyed. I'm going to miss those buggers. It's unfair, really. I spend how many years teaching them to be competent adults, they finally get to the point where you can have an adult conversation with them, and then they leave. 

Wednesday: End of year assembly. I've heard that the perfect attendance kids are getting bikes this year. How awesome is that? I think this is because the group from last year (four kids, maybe five) got iPods, but since there is a large overlap, that doesn't make sense to do again.

Thursday: Last day of school. Locker clean-out, textbooks come home, tables are cleaned and stacked for the summer. It drives my kids nuts, but my morning classes continue to work. They can still turn stuff in, there's no reason to stack everything in the morning and sit on the floor all day. Also, early out.

Friday: Teacher Work Day.  Also, the annual cheerleader slumber party. And they get to help me move. Because, hey, cheap labor.  Let's put a picture of them in, just because they're so dang cute:

Then, less detailed,

1 Week: Unalakleet

2 Weeks: Anchorage with the Guy family.

4 Days: Ferry to B'ham

Hang at home.

Drive to Utah via Idaho. See babies. See pregnant girls. Be depressed about being single.

Drive Home. Sleep a lot.

Drive to Canada, load up camping gear for some kids, and drive to a big NA Pow Wow in Blaine. 

Aug 3: fly to Alaska, help with new teacher orientation (aka Welcome Wagon).

Aug 6: Fly to SHH, finish unpacking.

Holy crap! Where did my summer go?!? 


UPDATE:


This afternoon, I looked at my arm, and was shocked to see my TB test. So I drew a circle around it. And just now (8:00pm) I took a picture of it, just to see how it had grown since the circle. And since I know you are all hanging on my every post, I'm sharing it with you:

Stupid, Stupid Jokes

I walked into Ken's room today, and one of the girls was wearing a sticky-note, which forced Ken to ask, "Why are you wearing a note that says 'Kick me' ?" So she looked. Even though she knew the note was blank. So then we asked her if her note said gullible. She did figure that one out. And then the jokes started:

A man walked into a bar. Ouch.

A proton walked into a bar and asked for a beer. The bartender asked if he was sure. The proton replied: Positive.

A man asked an electron: why so negative?

There were others, I don't remember what they were. Sticky note girl just looked at me when I asked her to remember the other ones. Oh well. If I think of them, I'll add them later.

I think it's time for school to get out.

Moving Update

As of right now, all of Melinda's stuff is out of her house. She's gonna take a day or two to clean it out, and then we can start moving in. I've got some boys who are excited about helping me. If nothing else, they can carry boxes of books over.

And for a little perspective:

I'm standing on my porch, looking down the length of my house, and that truck is parked in front of Melinda's house.  Moving shouldn't be that hard.

Actually, Lake Deighton is starting. Right now it's just a dark area, with the promise of water. But I can see it coming. I'd like to get the move done before this happens again.

Here's the start:

I know it's not much to look at right now, but give it a week or two. I'll keep you posted.