Rewind

Weeks after my trip home to the Carolinas for Christmas I am finally ready to share the events. Out of the 400 hundred, that is right 400 pictures, taken these were the chosen. I didn't take any of them. Typically I don't take pictures for numerous reasons, the main one being they are bad. This is one art form I have given up on completely. Instead of learning to be a photographer I just I like to position myself around others who are documenters. Typically on my blogs I put the 3 pictures up that I took, or better yet have my incredibly gifted photographer roommate upload her pictures on my computer and chose from them. But in this case in a house with 8 other individuals, many of them being trigger happy, I had endless options. All of these pictures have been looked through infinite times by myself reminiscing.

Christmas even after the hopla of not getting home until midafternoon after endless hours of travel all said and done was delightful. It was sunny and warm, and I was able to be surrounded with the best company any girl could ever ask for. Goofiness and laughter were as abundant as the delicious food. I even have the pictures to prove it!

Welcome to Town

So last Thursday a person from my past became again a person of my present. This time however in the form of a peer and friend. Sitka has just recently welcomed to town Thomas Gibson and he is fitting right in to the Sitka summer camp life: hiking mountains, post church whiffle ball, music jams, the list goes on.

Thomas was one of my youth kids at Trinity Presbyterian Church where I was a youth leader for three years. Currently he is a junior at Appalachian State getting a degree in Sustainable Agriculture. This semester he decided to take off for Alaska to be a kayaking guide at an outfitter where he will be taking multiday trips (why didn't I find that job when I moved to AK?). That job doesn't begin until April however so he called me up asking if he thought I could find him a place to live and/or job until that point. Done. He is living with some friends of mine and working as a sub in the school district here.

When we went hiking on Saturday I don't think I have heard the word unbelievable more times in my life. When we reached the top of Gaven he spoke the words I think everytime I go hiking here in Southeast " I have never seen a more beautiful place in my whole entire life. " Welcome to Southeast I said. I don't know if he is going to making it back to App for that Agriculture degree. I warned him.

I'm back....

Well after what I would call a disastrous trip home, no offense all people that I saw and hung out with, that part was amazing, for the holidays, I made the return flight last night. What was to greet me was a foot of fresh snow, friends, and a sushi party.

After the party late last night Emily looks and me and asks the anticipated question of what adventure I was wanting for my first day back. The answer was simple, what else do you do with a foot of fresh powder, snowboarding. So that is just what we did. Here are some shots. We were sidetracked for awhile and made self portrait snowmen. My snowman needed a little trim, but at least I don't have horns like Em's.

It is good to be home.

AK meets SC

This morning I woke up to 2 inches of fluffy powder, had a nice run in the fresh falling snow. Yesterday after 11 days of sunshine I hiked up to the top of Gaven with my friend Shari and played in the snow all day. When I returned from the hike after a nice dose of caroling with some friends I headed to Swan lake to ice skate for my 5th day out on the ice. In an hour I am about to get on a plane and fly south to South Carolina, and even though according to my dad it has been "the coldest fall on record in 123 years, getting down to 30 at night" I think the transition is going to be a bit of a culture shock. Goodbye beautiful snow capped mountains and fresh falling snow, hello flatness... Next year I am going to have to rope them all here!

Monsters

"Ms. Bradford, Ms. Bradford can we play monsters at recess?" - Lenny and Nelly

Meet Nelly and Lenny (above) polar opposites, best friends, name inverses, and always found together cracking each other up. This year my work world involves hanging out with these two all day everyday. I swim with Lenny (boy) each morning and then we head to Keet to hang out and work together, unless he fires me, which he does regularly when he thinks he can do the work alone. Nelly runs circles around Lenny but somehow their friendship endures. Lenny loves Star Wars, Sponge Bob, and kittys, Nelly loves horses and puppies. They both love laughing and tag. Last Friday Lenny wrote a story...

"If I could give anyone any gift the Christmas I would give Nelly a stuffed animal rabbit. I like rabbits. I think that Nelly likes rabbits. I think that Nelly would like a stuffed animal rabbit. I would give Nelly a stuffed animal rabbit."

WIND

above are pictures from a trip up Starrigaven on a windy but beautiful day that it was just too nice to stay inside...

Below is the 12 days of Christmas Sitka Style...

1 headlamp shining
2 snow tires biking
3 sightings of northern lights
4 falls on the ice
5 days of ice skating
6 surfers catching waves
7 sledders sliding
8 snowmen smiling
9 snowboarders on Verstovia
10 shooting stars
11 cups of coco
12 sunny days

Life at Work

Here are two funny interactions I had with some kids today:

"Ms. Bradford? Have you ever tried to close your nose and mouth and blow air out of your eyeballs?" Reilly just tried and his eyes turned bright red"

a few moments later another girl looks up at me and says this:

"My eyes are blue. Me and my grandpa are the only people in my entire family with blue eyes, well and my cat. Me, my grandpa, and my cat are the only poeple in my entire family that have blue eyes."

Wonder what would happen if the cat tried to blow air out of his eyeballs? Would his eyes still be blue?