And...

I think that big bright thing just coming over the mountians is...the sun!

Finally...

after 16 straight days of rain in Seward, I woke to (almost) cloudless skies. The fall colors are here and as anticipated are spectacular! Ralph and Ron are visiting this week, my hope is that the next bout of rain holds off for a couple of days so that they may see the true beauty of Seward. (They are still in Anchorage with Mary, coming to Seward tomorrow night)

Late Night Adventures

Lots of things have happened since my last post- where does the time go...

The Outdoor Ed group (part of Friday advisory) learned how to skin a bear last Friday. (Pictures to follow but will put in slide show in case you don't want to view)

Seems that I may have broken my right thumb on Saturday. Let's just say I "feel" - down a group of boulders. I am very thankful it was only my thumb because the potential for greater injury was huge! Including coming to a stop in 28 degree water in Resurrection Bay. We will know more on Monday when they take another xray - for now the splint is a minor inconvience.

The week is a blur - and here I sit on a Friday night - at school - at 11:20pm...As the Student Government Advisor I am responsible for the chaperoning set-up/clean-up of the Homecoming Dance. The Student Government puts on the first dance of the year (Homecoming). The good news - my group is only required dance of the year...(Sophmores = Winter Formal, Juniors = Prom, and they have their own group of advisorys). However, last year the Stu Gov did begin a tradition by doing a benefit dance - donating the proceeds to a group/person. (that makes two dances a year - uhm)

We are so late tonight in our decorating because most of the kids are on the cross country team and we had a big home meet today. It included - elementary, middle and high school teams. Lots of fun...but it ran until 8pm. Afterwards - I got pizzas and the work began...stopping at midnight - finish tomorrow. For the record, I never would have done this with middle school kiddos! High School kids need only minimual directions. We have a great group of kids this year, who are finding support and help from our newly formed "Spirit Club"

Big homecoming weekend! Go Seahawks!

Still trying to figure out how I am going to renew my CPR certification on Sunday with this thumb...but much to do before that problems presents itself. :-)

Finally - it has been raining for 12 straight days...no real end in sight. Today the dogs doaned their yellow rain slickers and we went for a walk in the rain. FALL HAS ARRIVED!

Later -

Truth be told!

Gov. Palin is a cutie, that's for sure...but her politics are so far "right" of mine we may not really be in the same time zone! My vote will not be for McCain...even with Palin on the ticket.

on a side note - she is doing some good things as the Governor...but...

Labor Day Camping/Fishing Trip

The long weekend brought the opportunity to take the motorhome and boat on an outing. Acting on the recommendation of a fellow principal we camped at Hidden Lake over the long weekend. Hoping to reel in some nice Lake Trout. Saturday brought one of the best days of summer to the Kenai Peninsula.

Our friends Karen and Joey joined us for the weekend in their new trailer - what fun. We took the boat out on Hidden Lake (check out the pictures) all day Saturday. What a day! The weather could not have been better - no wind and lots of sun! Unfortunately the weather turned on Sunday making fishing and boating less than desirable. After a brief stint (very brief) on Skilak Lake we headed for camp and an afternoon filled with games (and Guitar Hero).

We hope that you all had an enjoyable holiday weekend. Enjoy the pictures!

Walking a very large animal

Ok, I had to tell you about this. The other day after work, several of us went to the Park Strip near downtown Anchorage to play soccer. I played goalie so I didn't have to run around too much. Anyway I was leaving and noticed across the park what looked like a very large animal being walked on a leash. Thinking it was too large for a dog, I strained harder to catch a closer look. Antlers! Ok, someone was walking a reindeer in the park. Later I found out it is a locally known pet reindeer name Star. (there have been several Stars over the years) These folks keep it in their yard near downtown, don't know what that was all about but it is the strangest thing I've seen yet out and about in urban Anchorage. Only in Alaska... And for those of you who don't know this bit of trivia, reindeer (at least in AK) are domesticated caribou. Actually, a reading I did on Alaska History talked about bringing reindeer to Alaska to domesticate them for the Native populations to raise, eat, whatever and they wandered off, mixed in with the caribou and got friendly and now you have their descendents.
Looking forward to our camping weekend, boating, fishing and playing games. Hope you all have a good one too! Mary

Total daylight today - 14 hours, 33 minutes, 28 seconds
Today's daylight loss - 5 minutes, 38 seconds (do the math that is more than 35 minutes a week)

Sunrise 6:42am
Sunset 9:16pm

Getting dark about 10:30pm

Of course we had a lot of rain this summer so it seems to have been a perpetual fall like summer...

Going camping for the Labor Day weekend - Hidden Lake...taking the boat out for some trout fishing. YEA!

Vist again for pictures after the weekend.