Thursday morning I got up at 4:30 and pulled out my school visit suitcases and loaded up the car. Also loaded up everything that I needed for work. Six am, I was on the road to Duvall. Just as I expected I had wonderful traffic on 405. No worries. That is why I always leave early. A no stress drive in rush hour traffic.
I decided to call Jule and see how early she was arriving at the school. She was on her way and we figured that we would both arrive at about the same time. Her husband Bruce was on his way and was stopping at Starbucks to get us all coffee.
Cherry Valley Elementary was the first school in Washington State that I visited after my 2012 Iditarod. It is one of my favorite Elementaries to visit...and it is one of my earlier visits as these kids come an hour before school starts. Julie has been involving Iditarod in her reading program for over 18 years. She is awesome !
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| Early arrival and going over my presentation. Enjoying my Mocha ! |
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| Kids arrive and they enjoy their muffins and fruit. |
Great listeners...what always amazes me is that the kids remember my dogs names from previous visits. They also remember my stories. I love it ! I never know which stories I have told...there are so many. When I visit Cherry Valley I get to see some of the kids year after year. Nice to see familiar faces.
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| The 2012 Suit worn to Nome ! |
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| Interesting shot...the Red Lantern and my helmet. |
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Sharing Moose Stories
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2012 Red Lantern
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The students wanted to know why I didn't get to keep the big red Lantern Trophy...Iditarod must have known that I would be taking my Red Lantern on the road to school visits far and wide...so they gave me a travel size one. There are two of the Large Red Lantern Trophies, one is in Nome and the other one is at the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla.
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| "TOK" |
The students unanimously agreed to the name of "Tok" for their mascot. I will have to sew his left ear down. Tok will be in my sled and will travel with me to Nome. Tok is my "One Ear Up" dog and my kennel was named after him. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge while I was on the Iditarod last year. A very special dog in my heart.
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Leader Tok
Always in my heart |
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| Julie's Reading Stars |
I would like to thank Michael, Samuel, Sullivan, Lita, Sam, Maia, Kazandra, Faith,Tyler and Joey for a wonderful Visit. I am looking forward to visiting you kids again after Iditarod. I also want to get updates on your training for your read-a-thon. Train like the dogs ! Read every day like they run every day ! Happy Trails, Cherry Valley!
And Happy Trails to YOU Jan! Thank you again so very much for coming. The kids were still very excited and talking about your visit on Friday. You have, once again, set some little minds on fire with the idea to work hard and achieve their goals!
ReplyDeleteWe will be following you and your journey, as we always do. Have a safe trip up to Alaska and enjoy seeing Bob and all your puppies again!
Julie
Thanks Julie ! It is great to be home !
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