Summer and Loving It!

I've officially been back in Denver for over a month now and I couldn't be happier. In addition to picking up some summer bar tending shifts on the weekends, Parker and I have been loving all the fun in the sun! I'll admit, I went through total temperature shock when the weather climbed into the 90s and refused to leave the air conditioned house for a few days, but eventually I got over it and am thankful that no triple digits have been sighted (yet!)

Summer is cruising by and I can't believe my June cell phone bill is already due! Seriously? Where has summer gone? May was spent getting settled into Denver. I bought a few new furniture pieces, including a HUGE dog bed for Parker, and unpacked all of my stuff. A lot of winter items have been packed away and quite a few of them will be making an appearance on Craigslist once the weather gets cooler. Can't wait to say goodbye to the parka!

Just ten short days after M. and I parted ways in Seattle she showed up at DIA for our annual vacation. We spent an amazing week and a half tooling around the Front Range, drinking our way through downtown and munching up all the food we encountered. including some amazing Brazilian BBQ that M. treated me to for my Birthday. We welcomed June with a bang, celebrating at our favorite concert venue with our favorite DJ and some delicious mixed drinks. Talk about starting the summer right! 

M. with some good ol' summertime hail!

I also introduced M. to some class III and IV rapids on the Arkansas river and tried to show her the beauty of the I-70 corridor... unfortunately M. does not enjoy a 6am drive as much as I do. 

We parted ways just as the first week of June was coming to a close with promises to keep in touch and meet up in London for Christmas. Since M. is moving to Kuwait for her new job Europe is the new logical meeting point. Darn ;)

The theme for the rest of June was establishing my new stomping grounds in the Denver area. I've staked a claim at a fun local coffee shop, found a gym between home and work, toured my new school and seen my schedule (full time world history teacher FTW!), and purchased a car to cover all the ground in-between. 

I'm hoping the theme for the upcoming month of July is going to be travel. There are trips to Los Angeles, Boston, and Nantucket in my near future to visit some of my closest friends and enjoy their new home bases that they've set up away from the Rocky Mountain state. 

I'm not really sure what's going to happen with this blog. It all started as a way to stay in touch with friends and family while I was in the north, and now that I'm back I don't know what I'll write about. So I guess for now I'll bid all of my readers a fond adieu and wish you all a wonderful summer!

Summer Vacation!!

Bet you didn't know this is what summer looks like:

I mean honestly, didn't anyone tell Alaska that it's the middle of May?!

Denver, I'll see you on Sunday =) I'll be that one and only person in passenger pickup wearing winter clothes. 

Wait! I have a Blog?

Apparently I forgot that I had a blog...

That's a lie, but I really just haven't had too much that I wanted to blog about. Some time around March I put myself on autopilot and decided to just power through until I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Since the last time I blogged (when we were in Anchorage for Aca Deca) the following major things have happened:

1. Winter Fishing
The weather was finally nice enough for us to head out to Smith Point, or just down to the river, and go ice fishing. I am not a huge fan of Pike (the fish we fish for), but there's always someone willing to take my daily catch off my hands. Really it's just nice to get out of the house and see the sun again, even if it's cold and windy.

2. A Trip to Colorado
In early April I used my accrued personal time to fly home to Colorado for vacation. It was a much needed break, even if so much travel in such a short amount of time made me a little loopy. While I was there I got to spend a little time with family and very close friends, enjoy some tasty beverages of the alcoholic variety, and cruise on up north to attend a job faire. I had 17 interviews in two days and by the end of it all I don't even know if what I was saying made sense to anyone.

3. Culture Week
I came back to Alaska just in time for culture week. I did not teach out of my home like I did last year, but this year instead opted to teach sewing to a mixed group of 7th-12th grade students. Some students made quilts, others made pillows, and some created some really adorable stuffed animals. I'm not sure how cultural it all was, but now all of these students can sew on buttons, make button holes, and create their own patterns.

4. Prom, Graduation, Senior Banquet
They happened, I survived. I feel pretty accomplished since this week of events always feels like the longest for those of us who work in the high school. I didn't count my hours of overtime, but I do know that the only reason I left school when the sun was still up is because it doesn't set until well after 11pm.

5. Robbery
Yup, you read that right. A group of middle school student broke into not only our house (they nabbed my phone, not much else is left to take since M. and I shipped out our stuff), but also broke into and vandalized our neighbors house, and trashed the school truck. My phone was eventually returned to me thanks to an honest student who noticed it was mine and stole it back for me (Student of the year maybe? I think so.) and it had lots of nice incriminating photos and video on it that I gladly handed over to the Alaska State Troopers.

6. End of the Year
This one hasn't happened yet, but it's coming up this Thursday and I'm psyched!

I head home this weekend and I can't wait to permanently ditch my rubber boots and settle back in to the Colorado lifestyle. I'm happy to say that my Colorado trip payed off and I will be returning to good ol' 303 as a high school teacher.  It only took four years, but I finally get to do what I love in my favorite state ever.

See you soon CO!