Growing up

We finally got Avery's school pictures in the mail the other day. There was a problem with the picture company. They came and took pictures in early September and then the disk that had all the pictures on it was damaged/corrupt. So they had to come out and take all the pictures again in November. They assured us that they would put a rush on the pics so that people could have them before Christmas. Most of the pictures came, but there were many kids who didnt get theirs, including Avery. I called the company and they had absolutely no record of Avery whatsoever, even though they had cashed my check way back in October. I explained this to the customer service rep that I was talking to and she was completely understanding and easy to work with. She sent me their biggest package of pictures including magnets and a disk, even though I had originally ordered only one of the small packages. She even threw in retouching and his name and date on the picture. All in all, it worked out well for us. Although, the only reason I got his pics is because I called the company to track them down. I know there will be many parents who paid for pictures and never got them, but wont call or remember to track them down. The school is working on figuring out how they want to go about getting this cleared up with the company and parents.

He's soooooooooo grown up these days and very handsome. The basketball kids always dress up on the Friday's when Varsity has a home game. Avery dressed up in and even wore his tie and dress shoes. He was so handsome, one teacher said he looked like he had just stepped out of a catalog. When he came home, he said that he got alot of compliments and, more importantly, attention from the ladies :)

He's been doing very well in all aspects of his life. He really is starting to grow up and act more maturely everyday. He's doing well in school, although already looking forward to a greater challenge in High School. He has been very busy with basketball. He has practice Mon-Thursday and then games on the weekend. And he always stays to watch the other games, so he pretty much spends Friday and all day Saturday at the school for basketball. He is taking responsiblity for his schooling, home chores, and activities. He is learning how to balance everything and fit in some fun too.

It's been a few days...

This is Avery sitting on the edge of the ice where the river meets the beach(the fog in the picture is from my breath). I'm not sure why the ice gets pushed up like that. It wasnt like that last year or the year before. I think it may have something to do with the tides. the Kuskokwim river is a tidal river, at least this section of it is. so, my understanding of the ice is this...the river freezes, then the tide goes out. when the tide comes back in it pushes the ice up and out. This happens over and over until you get a huge layer of ice rising up from the beach. Anybody reading know if this explanation is true or if it is something else?

In other news...
I think this is the first time in a long time that I've gone more than a day without blogging. things have been hectic these last few days.

Last friday was the end of the semester and final exam week. Grades were due today. Mine are all done and most of my students did very well in my classes. Kids are generally more succesful in my classes than they were two year ago when I started teaching here. I think there are many reasons for this some of which are that I'm a better teacher, the district starting using SIOP and i have been implementing it to a relatively high degree, education becomes more and more important to the culture/community with each passing year, the students are learning how to be successful student and putting more work and time into school, we have implemented many solid programs school wide and district wide to help bring all students up to proficient levels. these are just some things i can think of, but whatever the reason (or combination of reasons), I'm happy that my students are doing so well.

There's some sort of stomach flu going around and, sure enough, Avery and I both picked it up. Avery got it first starting on Monday. Then I got it tuesday and we were both home from school on tuesday. My stomach hasnt felt right since. There were a couple times today I had to take deep breaths and count to ten to keep from hurling. gross!

we FINALLY got some snow. Just a few inches, not much, but it's something. and it would be enough to ride the snowmachine, if we could just get the dang thing started. Avery and I tried to get it to start after school today, but couldnt. hopefully the shop kids can look at it tomorrow.

well, i'm nodding off on the couch...time for bed. Happy Friday!

Number 17

This is the last batch of pictures that I want to post about the K300. It is over. I went to the mushers banquet and awards ceremony tonight. It was long, but fun. The mushers always have funny stories to tell about things that went down out on the trail. The picture above shows the start of the k300 from a distance. All the vehicles parked out on the ice always amazes me.
Here is the start of a couple of the teams. The teams start in pairs every two minutes and their times are adjusted accordingly later down the trail when they take their layovers. They are required to stop and rest twice through the race. A mandatory 6 hour layover on the way there and a mandatory 4 hour layover on the way home. Aside from that, they can stop whenever they like to rest either in a village or just out on the trail.
Here is what the trail looked like as I was waiting to check in the last Bogus Creek 150 musher on Saturday. You can see that there is hardly any snow at all on the river and the ice is showing through in big patches. The mushers told stories of how this was one of the worst year's for trail conditions that they've ever seen. There just is NO SNOW out there. Many of them told stories about sand blowing in their faces.
Here is the finish line from the opposite angle. With the setting sun in the background, it was very pretty. And since I was just about the only person out there at that time, it was very quiet and serene.
The dogs that came through the finish line all looked really good. For the most part, the mushers said that they had relatively few problems with their dogs. It was mostly the wind and ice that caused the problems.
You can see how the frost from their breath accumulates on their snouts. Most sled dogs are fairly small, not like the big, bulky, furry huskies that you see on TV. The kids and the people in the crowd enjoyed greeting the dogs back in the finish line.
Here are the dogs all loaded in the truck for the ride home after their long race. They get bedded down with straw for warmth.
Here is me working my shift at the K300 headquarters. The K300 definitely kept me busy this year. I went down friday night for the start of the race and the fireworks. Then I checked in a Bogus Creek 150 musher at the finish line. Checking in a racer at the finish line means you have to get their time. The clock stops as soon as the first dogs nose crosses the finish line. Then you have to give them a bottle of water and collect their bib number. You have to count their dogs. They have to have at least 5 dogs in harness at the end of the race. Then you have to check to make sure they have their ax and sleeping bag. Those are the only two pieces of gear they are required to take with them.
Then on saturday night, I worked the headquarters from 10pm to 3am. It was pretty dull at that time for the most part except for some guy that came in and stole a jacket from the merchandise table and we had to call the police. Most of what you do at headquarters is just answer the phone and try to answer peoples questions. As each musher goes through the checkpoints in the villages, the checkers there call in to give you their times. You also have to update the leader board and input new information about the mushers into the website.

Then on Sunday, Avery and I went down for the finish of the winner of the K300 and I got to help handle the lead dogs for the winner. I also stopped by headquarters periodically throughout the weekend. It was fun!

So, I think I've met Number 17 on the birthday list. I have also volunteered and made all of the arrangements to be a dog handler at the iditarod in March. One of these days I really would like to actually ride on a dog sled...that would be awesome.

In other news...
Avery is sick. He called me in the middle of the day today (we had an inservice so I was at work and he was home) asking when I was going to be home. He's got a fever, diarrhea, body aches, headache, and feels sick to his stomach. Sounds like the flu...I hope not.

Avery's team won their basketball game on Saturday. This is two in a row they've won. He's really enjoying playing basketball. I didnt get any good pictures.

We are scheduled to get some snow tonight and the temps have warmed up to only -5 below zero so that's promising.

I've already started working on my next birthday list. It has been really fun this year to keep track of all of the things I've accomplished. And putting them on a list really makes me focus on getting them done. Any ideas for the new birthday list... 30 things to do before I turn 31?

Finish line

Here is the video of John Baker crossing the finish line. You can see his dogs from the ones near the sled (the wheel dogs) to the ones at the front (the lead dogs).

2010 K300 winner!

John Baker won the 2010 K300 tonight at about 6:30 with 10 dogs in his harness (which is a good number, usually mushers have to drop more dogs than that before making it to the finish. He started the race with 14). His total race time was just under 48 hours. Can you imagine 48 hours out on a frozen river in temps anywhere from -30 to -70 with a howling wind coming straight from the north trying to get a bunch of dogs to follow a tiny trail in the middle of a huge, white, barren land?

The finish line was pumped up. There were tons of people screaming and cheering. It was so much fun. The lead dogs stopped right in front of me and I got to help handle one of them to keep it from getting tangled in the lines. I helped remove booties and take the dog to the musher for his photo with his lead dogs. I got to keep one of the lead dog's booties! I wish I could remember the dogs name. Anyone know?

2010 K300 start

This video shows the start of two of the K300 mushers. I love how anxious the dogs are to leave...the way that they howl and whine to get going. They love mushing.

I barely made it down to the river to see the start of the race on Friday night, but I did stay for the fireworks afterward. The K300 is in full swing...I just got home from my 10pm-3am shift at the K300 race headquarters. Most of the racers on are there way back toward bethel. We have only 1 musher that had to scratch (take himself out of the race) because his eyes were frozen shut due to frostbite caused by the wind. The musher that scratched int eh one that has won the K300 for the past two years (the two racers I've been here for). So this year we will have a new winner. Right now Martin Buser is in the lead with Lance Mackey right behind him. It has been a fun and exciting race weekend, even with the temperatures so cold.

You can follow all of the exciting dog sled racing at the K300 website, click here.

My layers

It just continues to get colder and colder outside. Right now it is -14 with wind at 28mph. That's well within the dark blue get-frostbite-in-less-than-10-minutes range according to the windchill chart. This is definitely a cold weekend to be standing out on the frozen river watching dog sled races....but that's what I'm doing just the same. So, how do I dress to go brave the harsh elements? I'll show you...

The first layer consists of thermal underwear (shirt and pants) and wool socks.
The next layer is another pair of really super duper thick socks, fleece pj pants, a long sleeved K300 shirt, and a face mask.
See my face mask...it's one of those with the holes that direct the breath out and down so as to fog up your googles or helmet or whatever as little as possible. I love it!
Next layer is jeans and a hoodie.
Then a scarf (GB Packers, of course), some wool mittens, an extra pair of thick protective mittens in my pocket just in case, my snowpants, and my -40 rated boots.
Then comes the big thick coat with the insulated hood and another pair of gloves.
Yes, this will pretty much be my outfit for most of the weekend while I'm out watching and helping with the races. And you know what? I stood outside for about 1.5 hours tonight watching the K300 and then the fireworks afterward and was not one bit cold. My camera would not take a pictures and my cell phone battery died because it was so cold, but I was fine. Next time I'll put those things in an inside pocket to keep them warm so that I can get some pics (I was able to snap a few tonight before my camera froze up and I'll post those soon).

Hope it's warmer wherever you are! Have a great weekend!

I'm going out in this to stand on a frozen river?

	Wind Chill Advisory
Statement as of 3:57 PM AKST on January 15, 2010 ... Wind Chill Advisory in effect from 6 PM this evening to noon akst Sunday... The National Weather Service in Anchorage has issued a Wind Chill Advisory... which is in effect from 6 PM this evening to noon akst Sunday. A cold airmass and north winds of 20 to 35 mph will produce wind chills as cold as 40 to 50 below through Sunday afternoon. The coldest windchills are expected overnight as temperatures fall to a minimum and will recover above advisory criteria tomorrow afternoon. Similar conditions are expected again tomorrow evening and through Sunday. Precautionary/preparedness actions... A Wind Chill Advisory means that very cold air and strong winds will combine to generate low wind chills. This will result in frostbite and lead to hypothermia if precautions are not taken.

Updated: 17 min 46 sec ago

-10 °F Partly Cloudy

Windchill:	-38 °F
Humidity:	61%
Dew Point:	-20 °F
Wind:	25 mph from the NNE
Wind Gust:	32 mph

K300 benefit concert

Wednesday night was the benefit concert for the K300, which is running tonight. For those of you who dont remember or werent reading the blog when I wrote this post, the K300 is a mid-distance dog sled race that is a qualifier for the Iditarod. It is considered Alaska's premier mid-distance race and we get alot of big names in the mushing world out here in Bethel to run this race. The K300 is a 300 mile race that starts in Bethel and goes to Aniak and then comes back to Bethel for the finish. We also have the Bogus Creek 150 and the Akiak dash races happening this weekend as well.There's alot going on with the race this weekend and I'm happy to be here. Last year I missed the race because I was in Anchorage with my robotics team. I will be helping a local team with their dog handling at the start line for the K300 tonight. I will also be the checker at the finish line for the winners of the Akiak dash. AND I will be working at headquarters from 10pm-2am on Saturday night. It should be fun! Although it is really cold outside and I will have to put on about 50 pounds of clothes and gear in order to stay warm out on the river tonight. Right now it is -7ambient and -33 with windchill. Brrrrrr!

Windchill

This is the windchill chart that is used by the school (by whoever at the school district makes the decision) to decide if school will be cancelled based on cold. My understanding of the way that it works (which may or may not be completely accurate), is that if it falls within the dark blue area or lower then school may potentially be cancelled. I'm fairly certain that some of it also has to do with whether or not it is a sustained wind or if it is just gusty. But basically the idea is that if a kid can get frostbite in 10 minutes or less, then that puts them at risk when traveling to school.

So Monday the temp in the morning was at around -4 and the wind was pretty consistently around 40mph with gusts up to 50mph. School was cancelled. It was crazy outside. FREEZING COLD. really. Even in the house it was pretty cold. When the wind blows like that it gets into every nook and cranny, making it drafty and cold. Tuesday the temps have been around -7 all day and the wind has died down a bit to around 30mph. you can see that that means we were just outside of the dark blue range. So, we went to school, but MAN is it miserable! The school is absolutely freezing. I had to wear my coat just to tolerate to sit there and work after school (during the school day it was fine). And when walking to and from the school to my truck it pretty much feels like you dont even have any pants on, the wind just whips right through them. When I walked out of school today, it literally took my breath away. I think tomorrow if it is still this windy I will start wearing my snow pants as well. (It's Wednesday morning, the temp is -9 and the wind is at 20mph, which you can see just barely keeps us out of the dark blue range again today.)

Now, if we could just get some snow....
and I could ride my fixed snowmachine...
I'd be happy.