I am glad that we came to Barrow a bit early to get the girls settled into their new home. They have had a busy summer and they finally got to go to a circus camp. The camp visits several different states and countries. This is their 9th (?) year working with North Slope. They travel to the villages too!
Georgia was learning the trapeze.
She is getting so big!
And for the dismount...
The girls learned juggling, plate spinning, trapeze, silk, rope, tight rope, face painting and clowning.
Emily requested that I not take a picture of her while doing any of the activities. :) She is getting so big and has landed a part time babysitting job for the rest of the summer. She is growing up into a very responsible and respectful young lady.
It's now the end of July and I can say that I am loving it here in Barrow. I love walking out my door and seeing the ocean. I love the people that I have met. Everyone is so nice and helpful. We are trying to learn the language, Inupiaq. There are sounds that are difficult to make and there's sounds that aren't used. Its a slow process, but hey I learned Arabic and Japanese just by living in the foreign countries. I think we will be just fine.
The AC freezer went out yesterday and we stocked up big time! We loaded up on freezer meals for those times when we just don't want to cook. I was able to snag some Klondike bars before they melted. I was fortunate to get some frozen fruit and frozen juice. I have been craving oranges like crazy. They had oranges at the pot luck for the Disaster Camp. I could smell the rinds from across the room. It reminded me of years ago when I left Bahrain. I stepped off the plane and could smell the green trees.
Georgia has lost two teeth this month! She has a bunch of neighborhood girls that she plays with every day. The 24 hours of daylight mean that kids stay up and out later. I have been letting Georgia play outside with her pals until 9pm. Another mom explained to me that they need to play because in a few months, they won't be able to play outside. We are going to buy Georgia a bike when I sign my 2nd contract in April. She will be able to ride her bike with her pals between the plex-es (apartments). Don't worry traffic doesn't drive there. The neighbor girls have been building a club house behind our building. They have been using old pallets and scrap wood. Someone even added an old pot to the endevour.
Abi loves the library and its within walking distance from our house. She goes at least once a day to exchange books and pick out a new tv show to watch. She is still watching Dr. Who and we have made it a family affair. Every night we watch Dr. Who or an episode or two of the Simpson's. The Big Bang was getting to be inappropriate for little eyes to watch. I have been watching Homeland season 1. Its not a bad show, but the library doesn't have season 2. I have watched all the free True Blood episodes through my Amazon Prime account. Game of Thrones is a show I want to start watching, but the library is missing disc one and two. I am thinking about buying an episode just to make sure I like the series.
I have been slowly working on my new classroom. I've started writing my syllabi and working on my welcome ppt. I made a to do list to help me focus my brain on the important stuff. A past Principal and over all awesome mentor told me about prioritizing your to do list. It really makes a difference.
We should be moving into our permanent apartment in a few weeks. I will post pics of the permanent apartment when we do move. The building is nice because there's 8 apartments and everyone has kids that somewhat match our girls' ages. I've heard that the kids play in the hallways when its too cold to play outside. Works for me!
Enough of my ramblings. I need to finish up my list of food and items to buy in Anchorage. I'm thinking about doing freezer meals.
