I saw a moose!
This is in Unalakleet. You can see the fish dying in the buildings.

I saw a mountain goat.
I went imprompu sledding on someones coat, in July.
Dad really likes flying in these little planes. Whenever he had a choice he chose the ones with the most stops. We saw some amazing things on the way back from Unalakleet.

I was reminded of a story that I meant to blog about at the time and didn't. My mother in law said she sent it in to reader's digest:)

OK, My friend Sarah bought us Tshirts that say "I love Paul" on them because we are both married to someone named Paul. Our Pauls have Tshirts that say "Paul" on them. It's very cute, I should have a picture of all of us together. Anyway, I happened to be wearing this T-shirt one day when I was walking into Wild Oats (a grocery story)and there was a person outside giving free samples of Silk Soy Smoothies (or something similar). Well, I got my free sample and I was chatting with the young man about his product and then I said goodbye and turned to walk away. THEN - I hear him call out from behind me, "Who do you love?!?" Now, I had totally forgotten that I was wearing the shirt and hadn't the foggiest idea what he was talking about. His product? was it a pickup line? I turned slowly and said, "ummm, silk soymilk?" He gave me the weirdest look, "No, you love Paul!" he said laughing. At this point you would have thought that I would have figured it out. But no. I'm Annie, remember. "How did you know that?" I said. This man was cracking up. Anyway, you can guess how the rest went.

This is kind of fun:

www.praize.com/sgifts

Now I can start my normal life again. smiles. it's a hot, hot day. I think 103. too hot to be outside so I have the laptop outside even though it's 11pm. we were thinking of sleeping outside tonight. it is soooo good to be home. Paul and I decided that we are much more effective together than apart. Oh, the company of a person who helps me where I fail and needs me more than I realized. Thanks to everyone who took pity and invited him over for meals and fellowship.

I have about a month to do nothing before school starts, and believe me, it's an important nothing. I will write about Alaska at some point but right now I still need some time to process. This ministry for our church is really not a one time only thing. I feel like now we are committed to going back and parntering with this village. anyway, still processing.


"Your face is beautiful, and your eyes are like the stars
your gentle hands have healing, there inside the scars
your loving arms they draw me near, and your smile it brings me peace,
draw me closer Oh my Lord, draw me closer lord to thee"

I'm baaaaaack!

from Alaska

really tired

pictures and stories later

hugs

annie

Hi from Alaska!
I found a computer. yeah, I think this is probably the one and only time I will be using one. On Monday we fly out to a remote village. I am going through blog withdrawls. Alaska is great. I have seen a moose and a mountain goat and am hopeful about seeing a bear. You know I am all about the animals. Also hiked to a glacier today. Paul would be hyperventilating if he were here right now. I'm pretty sure we would be taking pictures every ten minutes down the highway. I'm planning to bring him back as a tourist. I am staying with some people that live by the Kenai River, a famous fishing river. In fact when we drove here there were fishermen lined up down the river catching fish.

Annie

Paul and Brandon exploring the caves.

Mark, Barb and Will (Paul's sister Rebecca's boyfriend). This was Will's first time camping ever! He said he liked it.

Tahklahk Lake - we just love this campground, it's so beautiful!

Mark and I tried fishing with no luck. Last year I caught six or seven, but this year they just weren't biting. Maybe I'll have better luck in Alaska?

Our campsite

You won't hear from me for a while. I am leaving tomorrow on a mission's trip with my church. A great adventure! Paul and I just got back from camping at Tahklahk Lake with our family and friends. I will try to post some pictures before I leave, right now my computer is being a little wierd.

Paul comes into the kitchen from the garden:

Paul: "guess what, the birds LOVE me."
Annie: "have you been talking to them again?" (he has a history of this, and whistling to them)
Annie: (note to self: this is going to be great for my blog)
Paul goes on to tell Annie elaborate story of a hummingbird who got REALLY close to him.
Paul: "... it was so close, but then I got freaked out a little, and I moved, and it flew away."
Annie: "freaked out?"
Paul: "yeah, haven't you ever seen thier beaks?"

Yeah, Sarah is probably the only one laughing right now, but I think it's so funny.

Do you love to cook? Do you love to eat? Share your recipes with us. I created a new blog called Food Love where you can share recipes and food stories with everyone. Email me to become a member!

CYIA team from Lewis County, from left: Mark, Tobin, Alicia, Emma, me, Alana and Marie.

I'm back from summer camp! I am soooo glad to be home.

Isn't Paul a great photographer? He took this picture of our neighbor's dog, Dexter, yesterday. I will miss him (the husband, not the dog) next week when I am at camp. You won't hear from me for a while but I will make sure to post many pictures when I get back.

Our first crop of strawberries. Last year we harvested about two the WHOLE year. So we're very excited.

Two of my friends from highschool, Addie and Kara, and I got together last night for fun. Addie lives in South Carolina and was home for a week. Kara lives in Bellingham. Thanks Alysun for the recipe for Emergency Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Broiler frosting. It was a hit. Anybody want to start a recipe blog? I've been seriously thinking about it. You can have multiple contributers on one blog, so we could all contribute. Let me know if you are interested. Leave me a comment. People are always asking me for recipes, and recently my sister in law pointed out that I never remember to give it to them. Maybe this would help.

Isn't she lovely? And yes, the curls are natural. And yes, at 29 she's still got 'em. Eat your heart out. Check out Smith's Bliss for more.

My husband actually said this while we were shopping at Macy's (eyeing a salesperson suspiciously):

"Don't look too lost or they'll come and harass us."

He said this under his breath as if we were on some secret mission. Shopping is a foreign thing to him. Everything must be questioned. In fact this is the only time when he sees me at the leader and he as the sidekick. Even though we are shopping for him. We shop for the polo shirt, the button up shirt, and the T-shirt. He views all other styles with extreme suspicion. Once we went into Eddie Bauer and I said, "How about you go over there and look at the men's, and I'll look at these dresses." He gave me a look as if to say, "Are you out of your mind? Leave me alone to wander this store? You're not going to protect me from harassing salespeople?" I actually started to walk away to see what he would do. He just stood there, like an abandoned child. One time I saw something across the store and headed over to look at it, somehow I lost him, and when he finally caught up with me, he expressed his displeasure at me leaving him alone. "I couldn't find you," he said.
I have to say though, after we were all done shopping for him, he actually followed me around while I shopped for myself. I even modeled some clothes for him. It's a give and take thing I guess. In the end he did have fun. He tried on all his clothes when he got home, just to make sure that they went with the things he already had. I love him. Paul is starting an internship in a week and needed the appropriate clothing. He goes shopping about once every four years (I'm really not kidding). We have been married for almost 5 years and I can only remember one other major shopping trip, where he actually bought things other than for hiking or camping or other such outdoor sports.
It's Monday and it's raining torrentially outside. I am in my (empty, sniff sniff) classroom cleaning up. Have a great week.

Kayaking at Tugboat Annie's (6/10/06)

Bliss (and a bit of sadness too)

Yes, it is the last day of school. I bet you were wondering (all three readers of my blog) where I have been all this time. The kindergarteners cried, the first graders cheered....the joy, the sadness, the pure freedom of it all....some faces panic stricken (what? kindergarten is over, why, it just started!)....some faces joyful (get me out of this prison!)

Yes, now I start that season of the year which actually takes a little getting used to. I know, you're saying, "Gag me, lady, I have to work all year." Needless to say, I'm outa here!

Here are some quotes that I forgot to blog about:

"Teacher, my grandma got her gold-bladder cut out."
"My favorite part of kindergarten was learning how to read." (I'm tearing up)

Have a great weekend. We are (weather permitting) going kayaking with the fam tomorrow. The whole family. As a blogger, I live for these outings because I KNOW there will be a story. More later...

One of the benefits of my job.

We went to the zoo in Tacoma today. Some of these kids don't get to the city very much and here's how I can tell:

Student: "Look, teacher, there's cool writing and pictures and stuff on that wall."
Teacher: "Yes that's very nice"
Teacher: (to herself) "Yeah, that's called grafitti"

Smile

I really miss college sometimes, especially MY college, MBC. Here's one (of many) reason why:

Once found, now they're lost

"Yeah, we voted for Taylor twice. We were gonna vote again and then daddy told us it was a dollar each time you vote."

-Kindergartener

My husband works very hard.

Wife: You are going to get sick if you don't sleep and relax more.
Husband: I don't get sick lady.

Two days later:

Husband: Well, lady, you're gonna say 'I told you so'...

(no, I don't nag my husband and yes, 'lady' is a term of endearment in our house)

Post #555 - a post about nothing in particular

This is one of the two personal days I get per year. I always save them until the end of the year in case I have an emergency. But then I get to the end of the year and realize that I can't take a day off because there is too much to do. But I did anyway. How can you just give up a day off? That's why I'm blogging at 9:28am, contemplating doing laundry and going to the gym or Walmart to get my oil changed.
At school my students have been taking standardized tests. They have been so good about it, and have been trying so hard. I'm really proud! I think Kindergarten is a little young for standardized test (ya think?) but they think it's a pretty fun game and it makes them feel like big kids so I guess there's no harm done.
Well, the day stretches out before me and I'm sure it will be gone before I know it. I went to a Christian elementary school and in the morning we would always sing, "this is the day, this is the day that the Lord hath made..." What a great start remember that God made this day, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Of course, it's a little easier to "be glad in it" when you have the day off, but you get the idea. I think there is a treadmill with my name on it...

For a while I have been so irritated at the evangelical community that I am a part of. Why so much hysteria over the Davinci movie? It's just a book / movie, and it has lies in it, but people tell us lies all day long, what's the fuss over this one? I finally put my finger on it today when I read this very articulate article. Let me know what you think:

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/pc_article.php?id=7179

Maybe we could take some of this fear / hysteria and direct it at the pornography industry? abortion? anything else! just a thought.

Paul and I saw Caedmon's Call this last weekend! I was not disappointed. I have really liked this bands sound and message for a long, long time and it was neat to be able to see them in concert.

Mother's Day Spruce Up

I have a picture of them doing this when they were teenagers. There was the inevtitable "whoops" (something you don't like to hear when your hair is being cut) and "how do you feel about a shorter hair cut?" Dan's hair started out about 5 inches longer (not kidding) than it is now.

Wes and Paul share a love of books, books, books. Wes seems to be fixated on a certain page of this I Spy book. It's seriously all he ever wants to look at.

Paul and the fam have started demolition of Kyle and Anna's bathroom in thier NEW HOUSE. They had fun tearing down walls and pulling up floors, now comes the hard part of actually putting the bathroom in.

Paul got the internship! Also, it will turn into a part time job in the fall (he has a few more classes to finish up) if they feel they work well together. This development is moving at the rate of six (cookie-cutter) houses a month, so you can imagine that it will be a busy place. Paul is excited! He will be working on scheduling and infrastructure (i'm not really sure what that means) and helping manage things.

Paul has an interview today: Please pray for him if you get a chance! It is for a summer internship with a developer in the area (and by area I mean our county, which is what were hoping for).

Also, our chicks are beginning to hatch. Every year we hatch chicks in our classroom. I love this celebration of life. They are so fragile and have to be handled with care. It's good for the kids to have a part in such an important task. There are two that are just beginning to poke holes in thier shells, and I hope is that the students will be able to watch the hatching process from beginning to end.

Wanna buy a GOWN? I am selling my wedding dress. I told someone and work this and they said, "Oh, so you're not sentimental, eh?" I guess not, it will be hard to see it drive away though. I never wore it with the train out because I had an outside wedding (five years ago if you can believe it). If I wait too much longer to sell it, it will be out of style. The proceeds will go to our church's Alaska missions trip.

The sweet potato quesadillas were very good! I was surprised and I will definately make them again. I used goat cheese, since I don't do cow's milk (I'm not snobby, it's a crazy sinus thing). And I made Paul's with cheddar. I would post the recipe, but I am afraid of copywriting. It's from a book that my dear friend Kara got me, Simply in Season, GREAT book, especially if you like vegis, or even if you don't, you will after this book.

I have been teaching about non-fiction procedural writing, which is fancy for "how-to". One of the things we are studying right now is recipes, and I thought it would be cool if each child brought a recipe from home and I made a recipe book for each mom for mother's day. So I ask each child to bring a recipe from home, one that's special to them or that they just like a lot.

Child: "In our family, we don't use recipes, we just eat normal food."

I ask you, what has this world come to? Now I am one that makes more homemade food than most, but NO recipes? All food from a box? I find it hard to believe. Anyone, woman or man, with the least streak of domesticity would have at LEAST one favorite recipe. Do people not ever cook? At least on Christmas?
I do find that the freezer section at my local Walmart is strangely crowded. And I do admit, I have a weekness for fish sticks. And when I am busy I do pop a 50 cent chicken pot pie in the oven. I guess I just found this comment very sad, because I love food so much.

To each his own, however unhealthy it may be.

Currently Reading: Dwelling Places

This is a little bit depressing, but has me hooked and I really want to finish it.

Currently listening to: Watermark "The Purest Place"

I love this!

Thirty more school days and counting...

and I can't believe all I need to do before school gets out. Did I really teach them all I needed to? I guess it'll have to do. This is that panic time of year again, but also exciting because, well, thirty more days until FREEDOM. I am planning a very full summer. My brother and sister in law might start a fruit stand that I will help with, I am going to camp, going to Alaska, I have a week long math class to take, actually, I am a little afraid that I won't get my canning done. Ah, that would be a tragedy. Paul and I are on a high-stress course until classes are over for him. If you know us, you know that we are low-stress people. We really try hard to live slowly and purposefully, but the world has gotten the better of us. We miss having people over for dinner and hanging out, just the two of us.

Yesterday I took care of my two year old nephew for the whole day. It was a lot of fun, but I think I tried to have TOO much fun. We played at the playground, and we went swimming, and we went to McDonald's (this is his restaurant of choice) and we played with Paul and we played at Grandma's house. By the end of the day he was ALL wound up, but also really tired, so, you know the rest of the story...

The whole day I kept apologizing to him. "I'm sorry, Wes, Aunt Nanny doesn't know how to put on the swimming diaper." or "I'm sorry Wes, I don't know what 'nee' means." Sooner or later I will get the hang of it, I hope.

Today we witnessed the baptism of some of our friends, Brandon and Casey, and I always cry at baptisms but this was really special, it was really neat to see their enthusiasm for Jesus. And then we took the membership class for our church. So now we are enjoying the calm before the storm of the week takes over, maybe watch a movie from the library. I am off now to make "sweet potato quesadillas", I know it sounds like a bad idea, but it's from a reputable source. Have a great week!

"To go faster you must slow down."

— John Brunner, Author

"It is very hard to interupt a man with a beard."

-Aunt Bea, "The Andy Griffith Show"

Some Things:
This is my nephew, Wes, hunting Easter eggs yesterday. I fear I will never live down being known as "Aunt Nanny" - the aunt who spilled wine on her nephew. It's a long story. He's two now. I just can't believe how many hours of enjoyment can be found in playing with a two year old. He has a toy train and he makes it go through the "nunnel" (tunnel), where he thinks that it goes "nigh, nigh" (good night) because it's so dark in there. I'm getting a bit anxious to have some of my own!
Anyway, today I stayed home sick. I can't wait to go back to work, it's pretty boring here when you're sick. I actually felt aweful this morning, but after my regimen of Emergen-C and EHB I feel much better, besides a really bad headache.

I just love to tell when I find something I love, and I love Radiant. I just got the magazine. It is a magazine for Christian women, without being too wishy washy or touchy feely. www.radiantmag.com

"You can move heaven and earth but providence knows you can't bring a Methodist and a Presbyterian together."

-Mrs. Rachel Lynde

Easter at the Tupper's house:

(from left) Dan and Alicia

Kyle, Wes and Anna

Dad and Mom

Paul and Annie

Grandpa and Grandma

Every year for Easter we try a different cuisine. Two years ago it was Greek, last year Cajun and this year German. Next year we are thinking Thai.

I wanted to share some pictures with you of Unalakleet, AK, where I will be going this summer with some people from my church. I was actually watching the Iditarod this past week and they went right through Unalakleet on thier way to Nome. I was really excited to see the flyover shot of the village. It's really small. We will be teaching teens to share thier faith at a camp called Christian Youth In Action.
This is obviously only what it looks like in the winter. Since we are flying in small planes we can only take 30 lbs. with us. Yikes!

Please enjoy pictures of our Spring Break trip to Klamath Falls, Oregon!

We took a trip to the wildlife refuge and saw some beautiful birds.

On the way to Crater Lake, we figured there was about 15 feet of snow on the sides of the road.

Paul's parents came with us. Happy Aniversary to them!

We went snowshoeing at Crater Lake. You can see the lake and Wizard Island behind us. This was my first time to Crater Lake. It was beautiful!

We stopped at the Greenleaf for lunch in Ashland. It was one of the best lunches I think I have ever had! It was awesome. I loved walking around Ashland too. It reminded me a bit of Hood River or Port Towsend.

The handsome driver. Actual conversation:

ME: There's a food co-op in Ashland, let's stop!

Paul: (rolls eyes)

ME: Aww, come on, you love me and my ways, I'm good, I'm fun!

Paul: (under his breath) You're expensive, lady.

As we head north from Ashland on I5 we have a long trip ahead of us. In the middle of our trip we were both very tired of driving. We saw a sign for "Dancing Oaks Nursery". Paul mumbles, "I'd like to see that." (meaning that he would like to see oaks really dancing) We both laugh so hard that we have tears in our eyes. I think we had been driving for too long. Paul is not one who likes to take breaks from driving, no, he's is actually pretty insistant that I keep my bathroom breaks to a minimum. Stopping for lunch? I'm sorry - no.

We stopped in Monmouth at the Peter's. Jeff has been a good friend of Paul's since Multnomah days. It's really convenient that he married Alysun, because that gives me someone to talk to when we go visit them. I love talking to her about being a mom. They are those kind of relaxed, laid-back people that we love to be with.

Emma waves goodbye to us. After dinner at the Peter's we headed home, after a quick stop at Trader Joes in PDX of course (no trip is complete without it). We got home about 10pm last night.

Student: I hate bein' sick. Last time I was sick I had to go to the place where they take your coffin.

ME: Your coffin?

Student: Yeah.

ME: Where do they take your coffin?

Student: You know, the doctor, that place where they take your coughin'.

*note*: Please pray for divine intervention in my life. I literally feel as though I am being coughed and sneezed on in all directions. Hey kids, have you ever heard of PERSONAL SPACE? It will be an act of GOD if I make it through this round of sicknesses unscathed. And you know I don't want to be sick on spring break. I'm off to the store for more emergen-C.

Yesterday we went down to Portland to help our friends Kara and Jason out with a house they are buying. But first we went to the early service at Mosiac, our old church in Portland. It still feels very much like home and it really blessed me to see what God has been doing there. These are some of our friends at Mosaic.

Kara and Jason are OUR HEROES (or are they just crazy?). This is Paul consulting with Kara about rebuilding the front steps.

This is a two ton dumpster full of debris that they removed from the house AFTER the tenants had been evicted and moved out.

Kara and I worked on cleaning the kitchen. It was literally the filthiest place I have even set foot in in my entire life, and I am not exagerating. There were cockroaches (which I wasn't aware could even live in our climate) and maggots EVERYWHERE. I told Kara that this was my own personal version of Fear Factor. The walls had crusted food all over. Yes, that is a mask I am wearing.

There were dead bugs encrusted all over the cieling of the kitchen.

Great podcast:

http://www.derekwebbchat.com/audiochat.php

A conversation with Derek Webb (of Caedmon's Call) and Don Miller (of Blue Like Jazz) on theology and social issues.

We are *NINJA* entertainers!

Yesterday we had people over after church, Casey and Brandon Korpi, who by the way OWN snowshoes and LOVE to backpack. How lucky are we? Now if we can only lure them into being friends with us!

And then, we went to a community worship / prayer event (for http://www.convoyofhope.org/) at Bethel Church and had five people over after that! We didn't get to bed until 10, which is late on a school night for us, but that's OK. We love hanging out. Actually, we were in bed last night and realized that we had completely forgotten to eat dinner.

On Friday we both had the day off so we went snowshoeing at Mt. Ranier. It was beautiful and then we had coffee at Copper Creek Inn http://www.coppercreekinn.com/, we decided to go back for breakfast or lunch sometime, dinner prices looked a little steep for us.
I am going home and taking my report cards with me!

*Ninja is code for "the best" or "really good at something", Paul and his construction buddies made it up I think. Also, if something is "not so ninja" it's not up to par.

Students found a note on the floor today and were trying to discern whether or not it was from a leprechaun.

"No, I think leprechauns write cursive."
-student

Tornado (this is our classroom pet) says, "Happy St. Patty's Day to you!" I know it's fuzzy but I thought he was so cute.

Our class is celebrating St. Patrick's Day tomorrow because we have no school on Friday. It's a big deal and something that the students asked me if we were going to do at the very beginning of the year, because they remembered it from last year. I pretend that there is a leprechaun on the loose in our school. I have a green wig this year and I am planning on really playing it up. It's also a great time to talk about St. Patrick because he was a missionary, and a Christian. I am also getting some Lucky Charms at Walmart so we can graph them. I was thinking about making green jello jigglers, but I don't really think I will have the time. This is one of my favorite days, besides the 100th day of school. Happy St. Patty's Day!

I was listening to our local Christian radio station when I went to work this morning the impossible question of the day was, experts say doing 15 minutes of this everyday with make you less stressed. Guess what it was? journaling! Which is almost the same as blogging. I have been needing this validation for some time because this means,

blogging is good for you!

I spend at least 15 min to half an hour looking at other people's blogs everyday, and sometimes writing my own. But this gives me a REASON, you know, other than just blogging for blogging's sake. Right now, for example, I am sitting in my classroom, blogging, when I should be planning, cleaning, and so on. But no, I'm eating peanut butter and blogging. Well. Stress relief.
Stress relief is something I need. I have spent 27.5 hours in the last month just going to classes on top of my work. I can't complain, I volunteered for most of it. And I really do enjoy most of it too. But it's still work and if there's anything I've learned from being a teacher for the past year and a half it's that work that's fun it STILL work, and you need to take a little time to blog now and then.
Speaking of, horror of all horrors, I woke up on Saturday to about 2 inches of snow. And what did I have planned for Saturday? I had to go to a math class. I can really identify with children who have to go to school when it snows now. It's tough to leave all that white stuff because you know it will be melted when you get back. Paul had a good time playing in the snow. He grew up in Costa Rica, so snow is quite the novelty for him, and he loves it.
Well, blackboards and lesson plans await me....

Currently reading: How come no one told me that Sherlock Holmes was so good? I have to tell you that I have given up on new fiction. Rarely does something come out that is worth reading. I have reverted to classics. Right now I am listening to the last book in the Anne of Green Gables series in the car, on the way to and from work. I also just finished reading God's Smuggler, by Brother Andrew, which couldn't really be considered a classic, but good anyway. Please give me suggestions on what to read next. What is your must-read right now? Leave comments.

Snow!

I took this picture early this morning before I went to work.

Readin' writin' and 'rithmetic were a lost cause today! It would take a magician to calm these kids down.

Quote 'O' the day:

"Math? BRING.......IT.......OOOOOONNNNN!!"

-first grader

This day just keeps getting better. Smokey the Bear is coming to our classroom on Friday, and I wanted the kids to guess who the special guest was.

ME: There's a special guest coming to our classroom on Friday. He's tall, and he's furry, and he wears a hat. Can you guess who he is?

Student: My dad?

Snow showers forcasted for Thursday / Friday!

My favorite thing that happened today was when I asked a student to use the word "ditch" in a sentence. Here is what he said:

"Throw the deer in the ditch....(long pause)....unless it's a good one."