Alaska at last

After a long and boring flight we landed in Anchorage, July 31.  We spent two days in the city shopping, sight seeing, and completing other mundane tasks.  We thought that the mountains surrounding Anchorage were beautiful along with the flowers and evergreen trees.  We even saw a moose cross the street.  I had no idea how big they were.  We took our Alaska drivers license test in Anchorage as well.  Sadly for me I did not pass, but John did, even though, I am the better driver:)


We flew out of Anchorage on August 2 and spent the day in Nome before flying to Brevig Mission.  While in Nome we saw the spot where the Iditarod ends, visited a really neat museum, shopped for groceries...oh and I retook my drivers test and drum roll please...I PASSED!!  We both are official Alaska residents.  We flew in a small plane that sat 6 into our village.  When we landed we were picked up from the airport in one of maybe two vehicles in town.  Our principal, Hannibal Anderson and John Lycan the science teacher met us and took us to our new home. 

Our new home is a trailer across the street from the school.  This makes a great commute and we have the least amount of yards to walk in the snow than any other teacher at the school.  We spent the next several days cleaning and unpacking.  We now feel like this is home and we are pretty comfortable here.  We were both impressed by the school.  It is probably one of the nicest schools in which I have taught.  I have a smart board in my room which is far more than what I had in Georgia.  We were also both issued Mac books by the school system. 

On August 9 we flew to the school district office in Unalakleet.  If you have watched Flying Wild Alaska on the Discovery Channel, this is where it is filmed.  We spent three days at new teacher orientation.  We were welcomed into the home of the superintendent.  He and his wife have two boys close in age to our girls.  Our girls played with their boys while we attended classes.  We were both amazed at how much of a family the district office feels.  Everyone knew our names!!

Brevig Mission has been super at making us feel welcome.  The people here are nice and friendly.  Our kids have made several friends as have we.  The teachers here have also been fabulous!!

Gypsies

We officially moved out of our home of 12 years.  We were fortunate to have a friend rent our home from us!  We were both sad to pack up the house that we bought together as a young couple and the home where our little girls were born.  I became teary eyed as I remembered the first meal we shared in our home -- take out on the floor of our empty living room.  Even with the flood of emotions we are excited for our future and are ready for a new start.  Things we will miss about Atlanta... our home and friends.  Things we will not miss... endless traffic, lines, road rage, and the overall urban attitude. 

We are spending the next month visiting family.  The first week of July was spent in Fredericksburg, VA at my sister's home.  We took Claire and cousin Will to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.  They share my love of history.  Cate and cousin Avery, the tiny dancers, enjoyed the Degas statues and paintings at the National Art Museum.

This week we are in Williamston, SC visiting my parents, Nanny and Poppy.  Our cat, Princess Peach, will live the next year here and has adjusted well to her new surroundings.  We have spent most of our time relaxing, swimming, reading, swinging on the Oak tree, and eating my mom's cooking.  The last week and a half we will spend in Rome, GA visiting John's parents, grandma and grandpa. 

Many people have asked us how we are getting our personal belongings to Brevig Mission.  Well... our new home will be furnished so we have sold or stored most of our furniture.  We have shipped via US post office most of our personal items.  I think we have shipped about 40 boxes and I am worried we are on the bad list of the person from the school collecting our boxes -- sorry, John L.!  I think 40 boxes for a family of four is pretty good, though.  We have shipped toys, towels, books, bedding, kitchen stuff, pillows, food, clothes...etc.  The post office in McDonough has begun to despise us.  We both agree, however, that this moving thing has not been so bad.

The kids are nervous about moving and making new friends.  This is understandable for their ages and this has become John's and my biggest prayer.  Claire who is seven is very worried about fitting in.  Cate who is four is worried about bears.  They are not really aware of what awaits them in the form of air travel.  I really do not think John and I do either!!

Our next blog will be from Brevig Mission, Alaska in three weeks! :)  Please keep us in your prayers!

April 2011

We just signed contracts to teach at Brevig Mission School in Brevig Mission, AK.  We are all super excited!!  We have gotten a lot of encouraging words and strange looks.  Yes, we know it is going to be cold.  Yes, we know there is no Target, Publix, McDonalds, or Walmart and we are okay:)  We are hoping to simplify our hustle and bustle life, reconnect as a family, and rekindle our passion for teaching.  This blog will serve as a way for us to share our adventure with others!! We know it is going to be hard, but we welcome this new change.