New Year's Eve

Well, it's New Year's Eve, and we've almost successfully endured the holiday season without lower-48 luxuries you all like to refer to as "family". Sure, everyone has their moments of sheer craziness, where a moment of silence is all they really want for Christmas or their most beloved New Year's resolution made is, "Make more time for myself," but take a year off, 3,000 miles from the chaos, and you'll understand just how deafening silence can be this time of year. At this point, even the craziest of holiday get-togethers are worth reliving, as long as there'd be a promise we could be reliving them with all of the loved ones we hold so dear in our hearts. Sappy, I know, but that's about as honestly as I can describe it.

Despite the depressing opening, things are going fairly well here. I have had plenty of time to snuggle in on the couch and watch some Disney classics since break began. I've put a dent in the laundry we've been neglecting, and even managed to do a little cooking. As time dwindles before Baby Good gets here, I've come up with some pretty idealistic plans for the house. We've rearranged a little bit to make room for the crib we've spoken for, and I've found joy in interior decorating as I use up the last of my gift cards to purchase curtains, rods, decals and other household wants. There are still a few items I'd like to claim on Amazon, but I'll wait until we've breathed a little life back into our checking account for those.

Next week, we're heading into Anchorage for another 2 appointments for me and the peanut, and an appointment for Brandon's shoulder. Apparently, something he's doing isn't agreeing with that joint, so we're going to make sure he hasn't torn anything. We're praying that the pain he's experiencing doesn't add to his already mile-long list of surgical endeavors, although it'd be just our luck that he'd need one right before his little girl makes her first appearance. We're praying for good results from both appointments, and looking forward to the next 8 weeks passing quickly. While we're not completely prepared to be parents, we also understand that if we waited until we were, we'd never have children. So, we're taking our chances and thankful we had wonderful role models to guide us through this parenting process...after all, ready or not, here she comes!

This is at 30 weeks.

Next week, we'll also be seeing the rental property we'll be staying at for 5 weeks surrounding this little girl's arrival. We're very excited to be "city-dwellers" for the short time before baby comes. My taste buds have been craving fresh produce and textures, something we've stated multiple times before as being quite inconvenient finds in the bush. We're also excited that we'll be within driving distance versus flying distance of a hospital. As the little one grows, I've noticed it becoming harder to find comfortable sitting or laying positions; two things very common to a woman 31.5 weeks pregnant. And standing for long periods of times has added a little pressure to my abdomen, but nothing I've heard that is out of the ordinary. I'm still taking my blood pressure every day, and making sure glucose and protein levels are within the normal range. I've had no swelling (knock on wood) and still wear all of my pre-pregnancy clothes, though some of them are more comfortable than others. My coworker commented that I was lucky I was still able to comfortably wear my wedding ring. I'm hoping that lucky streak continues and I only have to remove it for delivery! We'll see.

This baby loves music and dancing. As I've cleaned and cooked, Pandora has filled the lower level of our apartment with 90's pop. She moves most when rap or something with a heavy rhythm is playing, and most recently made her presence very well known to "Gangster's Paradise." While it's not my musical preference, I sure enjoy the flutters and kicks she produces when she hears it!

At the end of next week, we'll be visiting Sterling, Alaska. Sterling's a 2 hour drive down the Kenai Peninsula from Anchorage, where my friend's mother lives. We'll be visiting them the 5th and 6th. We're excited to see our friends, meet Robin's family and take in the sights that accompany the drive along Cook Inlet. I've heard the Kenai Peninsula is absolutely gorgeous, so I'm praying we have good roads and safe weather to travel in (otherwise we're staying put). Huxley will be along for the travels.

Anyway, I've attached a close-to-current belly shot (week and a half ago). I know we haven't been the greatest about updating the blog in a timely manner, and to be honest, I don't have much of an excuse, other than the fact that I'm pregnant and that excuse works for everything for another 8 weeks, right? Love to everyone as the holidays pass and the New Year approaches. We'll try to be better about keeping things updated as this peanut grows and decides to make her appearance!

Brie

Still Happily Married @ 19 wks

Well, Brandon has reminded me time and time again that I need to update the blog, and every time I tell him, “I’ll do it when I get home,” but find that by the time I get home, I’m exhausted, preoccupied and feeling the need to do something to fix the mess of a house we’re living in this year. So, feeling like I have a moment to breath, I’m going to put up a post, following the hubby’s, so I can share a little, too, and answer some questions that a few friends/family members have been curious about over the last few weeks.

First: baby talk. Above is a side shot taken at 19 weeks. I'm still wearing all of my normal clothes but thankful for my gray dress pants that have a higher-sitting button and hug my belly a little. :) In September, I had an appointment in Anchorage with Dr. Ha. At the time, we were a blossoming 17 weeks with a nice, strong heartbeat of 143 beats per minute for Baby Good. (S)he earned the nickname “Wiggleworm” from the nurse, as the little one kept squirming as they looked for the heartbeat. I’ve been feeling pretty well lately, with fewer aversions than what I was experiencing a few weeks ago. I still can’t stomach bacon or tacos, as Brandon previously stated in his post, and for some silly reason, I look forward to almost everything they serve for school lunch. The lunch ladies have been sweethearts, making sure that mama’s getting plenty of good food to feed baby. My students are finding it entertaining to pat and talk to my growing belly, although I don’t know that it’s grown THAT much. I think they’re giving baby WAYYY more credit than its due for the pouch I’m carrying. Part of me wants to remind them that I had a belly before the baby, but then again, I kind of enjoy using it to my advantage that very few of the little ones knew me well enough last year to know just how chubby I was before this little peanut took over my body!

Brandon and I are getting antsy to know what we’re having, as we get closer and closer to February. We still have a long way to go, and are starting to realize just how little there is for “neutral” colored and themed baby outfits. Right now, we’re still planning on saving Baby Good’s sex for a surprise when we deliver, but ya just never know what we’ll do when we get into Anchorage in November for our next appointment. I have a glucose test scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving, and they’re hoping to get a good ultrasound in either the Wednesday before or Friday after, so that they can check to make sure there are 10 fingers, toes, and all the rest of those expected parts, before I’m so far along that they can’t move baby around to see. Brandon will come in for that appointment with me.

Nurseries and registries: I’m determined to find fabric and make our own curtains and possibly some sheets for the bassinet that we’ll be using from February to May, but that motivation might dissipate if I start to remember the trials I had with the curtain mom and I made. I don’t have mom to run to now that we’re 3,000 miles away if I find myself in a jam. I have to say, though, that I’ve become really good at rethreading my bobbin and figuring out tension settings so I’m not breaking and replacing the thread every time I finish a sweeping pass. As you can see (below) I keep things pretty simple when it comes to sewing. The “curtains” I made for our front and back door were pretty elementary, only because they didn’t have to be anything but that: elementary. They serve one function, and the fact that they don’t look too shabby either, is just a bonus.

As for registries, I’ve had quite a few people ask for baby shower ideas or registry links so that even if we can’t have a shower before the baby is born, people can feel like they’ve helped us prepare and celebrate in some fashion. While we appreciate everyone’s support and enthusiasm as we prepare for #1, we also have a somewhat harsh reality to deal with in the sense that everything is extremely pricey to ship this far, and our space is quite limited, especially when considering the fact that we may not be out here forever and would need to either sell, give away or haul everything back to the lower 48 with us. And because infants outgrow so many things (clothes, toys, books, etc.) so quickly, we’re really trying to limit what we encourage all of our generous and thoughtful family members and friends in buying. The very last thing we want to do is hurt feelings or discourage anyone from sending something meaningful and sentimental that our little one can carry as they grow, thinking of those that sent it. But we also want to make it very clear that we don’t expect and definitely don’t want anyone to feel obligated to go out of their way to send something or set up a shower of any sort while we’re out here. Your kind words and constant check-ups on us relay to us how much you love and care about us, and that’s all we need to get us through until May.

In preparation of the little one, Brandon and I are focusing on a few major areas: lodging and transportation for our month-long stay in Anchorage when we deliver; diapers and wipes; onesies; bottles; and blankets. My sister is sending us a pump, my parents have our changing table, crib and bassinet, and we’ll probably buy a set of monitors for when Brandon’s working and the baby’s sleeping. Everything else, we plan to purchase once we’re back in the lower 48 and have a better idea of what this little one will need. Again, thanks for the questions and concerns over Baby Good. We’re very excited, and are getting more excited by the day as (s)he continues to grow.

Completely switching subjects, my principal was in Anchorage over the weekend, and brought back 52 pounds of muktuk, (whale blubber) which is a delicacy out here. Brandon and I were offered a nice chunk of it, but I gratefully declined it, knowing that we probably, especially in my state, wouldn’t appreciate it as much as some of the others here would. Sophie, one of the cooks, was telling me that it’d be great nourishment for my baby, as Brett, my principal, was telling me my child would come out with two heads and six legs if I ate it while I was pregnant. Sophie told me to pay him no mind, and that he obviously didn’t know what he was talking about; that clearly he never got to know his people in Barrow if he thought babies came out with extra heads over muktuk. We all got a good kick out of it, but I’m taking a rain check on trying it until my taste buds and gag reflex are functioning normally again.

After a short walk to the P-Store and the pose office today, I came home just in time to answer the door for Kyle, one of my coworkers and a friend of Brandon’s. Apparently, there have been whale sightings on the Nushagak, and Kyle, Jon, Mickia and Brandon are going to go see if they can find them tomorrow. It’ll be a chilly one, but what an opportunity, huh? I’m a little jealous, as I haven’t had the opportunity to see a whale with the exception of a time I saw one on a plane ride back in August over by Iliamna. Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing sighting, but there’s something about a boat ride on the Nush, and being literally within yards of the majestic creatures that gets my adrenaline going. I hope Brandon remembers the camera!

School is going really well for me. While I haven’t made teacher of the year or earned a “Bad Teacher” rep quite yet, I have been told that I am Jason’s “third favorite teacher” after Carissa (in first) and Lida (in second). I don’t mind a bronze medal from the kid, especially knowing and hearing of how amazing the other two contenders are. I feel like I’m doing the job I’ve been trained for, and while my students give me a run for my money on a daily basis, to the point where I literally have nightmares about losing control of my classroom, I can’t imagine doing anything else. That’s a far cry from how I’ve felt at points in previous years teaching, so I’m thankful to be where I am, doing what I’m doing.

My optimism is alive and kicking, and I definitely haven’t lost the spunk, passion, drive, etc., (whatever you want to call it) to continue clarifying and strengthening my role as a teacher in one heck of a district. We have our challenges every day, but I feel like our staff is strong and unified, despite the transitions we’ve experienced with administrative and curricular changes. I’m very excited, and a little nervous to see how we do this year.

Anyway, what was meant to be a short post has once again turned into a novel. But let’s be realistic, none of us are surprised. I hope everyone is having a pleasant and safe fall! I’m sure the bluffs are gorgeous in the tri-state, so those of you with access, take advantage of the views! We have our fair share here, too, but there’s nothing like October in the Midwest!

Love to everyone! Keep the emails and posts coming! We look forward to every form of communication we get!

Brie

Up to speed!

Its been over a month since Brie and I have posted something to our blog so I figured I would update everyone on how we are doing. We are going on our 11th week back in the Bush and I think both of can honestly say we see a lot of differences from year 1 to year 2 but there are a lot of the same things going on as well. One thing that Brie and I see as a major difference is how prepared we were coming back this year. We knew what to expect and what not to expect with living in the bush. Brie started a new job this year which added some stress to the beginning of the year but she LOVES her job and is very happy to be where she is and teaching the wonderful class that she has. Not much has changed in terms of my job. The Internet is still slow and my limitations are still there. I had some issues from the start with our power being shut off at random times for usually hours at a time. Over the summer the village was building in a new power plant and lucky for us they were completing it when we arrived. Much like everything else out here, there was no schedule for the outages; I would be working away and BOOM, no more power! Eventually the power plant was completed and the unexpected outages have ended.

Brie and I brought our Kitchen Aide mixer out this year. We really enjoyed the homemade cooking we did last year but it was a pain in the butt to make and hand knead the dough for our pizza's and breads. Since getting the mixer out here we have seen a world of difference with out cooking times. Unfortunately Brie has not been feeling well enough to do much cooking but I inform her daily on how nice it is to have that mixer out here. This year has been a good year so far with my cooking experimentation's. So far this year I have made homemade dinner rolls, found a new pizza crust along with making my own pizza sauce, failed on an apple crisp recipe, continued dominating in the homemade chocolate chip cookie department, baked a killer banana bread, tried crescent rolls, made a delicious chicken and wild rice soup, created a really good spaghetti meat sauce, and found out the hard way that my wife is not a big fan of bacon when she is pregnant. All and all its been a good 11 weeks so far!

We had less rain this summer/fall when we got back which gave me more opportunities to fish. Last year I only caught 2 salmon the whole year so I felt the need to redeem myself this year. I ended up catching 6 or 7 salmon plus one trout this year and I am pretty pleased with that. Our neighbor Ben put a net out and I helped him one day with that and he gave Brie and I another 6 fish to put in our freezer! We have about 20 fillets right now which should last us the year considering Brie and Salmon aren't a good mix right now. I made the mistake of using a Dill seasoning the first time I cooked fish this year and I quickly learned NO DILL.....I gave that bottle of seasoning to our neighbor Lida...

Moose hunting season for me was a wash this year. I went out with Brie's principal a couple times but we didn't see any bulls. I did get to see my first Moose up close but it was a cow so I couldn't shoot it. A couple of the teachers ended up getting a couple moose right before the season ended so I helped cut and process those; I was rewarded with a good stash of moose meat for the winter.

Brie has been feeling better over the last couple weeks. She has only had a couple days here and there where she has had issues; I started making her oatmeal every morning before she got out of bed and it seemed to help a lot. As I said earlier, we haven't tried making bacon again because the smell really made her sick. I miss bacon :(. Brie has been a trooper through the first several weeks of being pregnant. Nothing I say or do can make her feel better and obviously I cant understand how she feels; I do the best I can to help around the house and keep her from having to do to much.

The weather is slowly starting to cool down. We have been living in 50's and 60's since we got back here but over the last couple weeks its been more low 50's and mid 40's. All of our annoying bugs have finally gone away which is nice when we take walks. Huxley can be outside for extended periods of time now without getting a bunch of bug bites on his belly. Our extended forecast doesn't look very promising for snow. We are supposed to be in the low 40's and upper 30's for the next couple weeks but its supposed to be sunny. I am patiently waiting for the snow to fall. I keep looking at my snowmobile (for you lower 48ers) and thinking how nice it would be to take it for a spin but then reality sets in and I realize its nothing but dirt and gravel around me. I attached some handles to each side of my machine this weekend. I don't have a lot of storage options on the back so myself and a friend of mine figured out an easy way to attached these handles that allow me to use bungee cords to keep a bag or an extra gas can from falling off during my rides. One of the pictures above shows one of the handles.

Sunday was a busy day for both Brie and I. We woke up and realized our house was kind of messy. I had some dishes that needed to be cleaned, our microwave needed to be thrown out (sparking and smoking is never a good sign), our stove top needed to be cleaned, and laundry needed to be caught up. Once we started working together it didn't really take very long to get the house in order. After the house was clean I did my snowmobile handle thing and Brie made come curtains for our windows. We bought a bunch of fabric back in Des Moines this summer and we thought it would be fun to make curtains to cover our front and back door. Brie had extra fabric so she made a table cloth and a little something something for our kitchen window!! She is pretty amazing! Oh and I cannot forget her amazing job on the oven mitt. I kind of burned it a couple weeks back when I sat it on the burner which I had just used and forgot to shut off...Nothing like a smoky smell throughout the kitchen!! Brie loved that!

We are sure enjoying things out here this year. Not any more or less than last year but its nice to come back and actually enjoy things. We are looking forward to the rest of this year and the arrival of our baby boy/girl. We will hopefully do a better job with keeping this updated. Brie and I appreciate everyone that reads out stories and enjoys wanting to know how we are doing.

Miss you all! Looking forward to seeing everyone this spring!

Brandon

Up a River......

I have lived here in New Stuyahok for over a year now and the furthest I have been up river was maybe a couple miles and I haven't really seen a whole lot outside of our village except from in the air. This past Wednesday I had the opportunity to go fishing and hunting with a group of high school kids and some teachers as part of the schools Culture Week. I was really excited to go because I have enjoyed a much better fishing season so far and I finally got my Moose and Caribou tags.

Wednesday morning started out like any other day. I wont up at my normal time of 5:15 to get showered and tend to Huxley. I gathered the majority of my necessary items for the trip the night before so I was basically ready to go the next morning. We left for the river around 6:45 hoping for a 7 am start; everything was great until I had to push the boat into the water. I pushed us in and jumped into the boat like I always do but for some reason this time around I snagged my rain paints on the corner of Kyle's boat and they ripped straight down the back of my leg; I couldn't believe it and knowing I had about a 10 hour day ahead of me with ripped pants didn't make me any happier.

We took off up the Nushagak river until we met up with the Mulchatna river. In total we went up river a little over 100 miles; the way up wasn't bad but the trip back took a long time. I was really excited to see parts of the area that I had never been to before. After a while I started realizing that a lot of things really look the same no matter where we were. We stopped at a couple cabins along the way to stretch our legs and use the "outhouses"; it really is amazing how little there is to these cabins because most are one small room with a stove and room for a cot or two.

After a while we met up with the other boats at Mickia's cabin to get warm and decide on our plans for lunch. Shortly before this one of the boats got some fishing in and caught two nice Silvers for our lunch. We left Mickia's cabin and headed up river and found a big sand bar to dock and have lunch. Justin, who is an aide at the school, got a fire going and we grilled both Silvers along with 5 bags of cut up potato's. It was probably one of the best lunches I have had in a long time! We spend a couple hours on the sand bar; the kids got some fishing in and just spent time getting warm by the fire. Once lunch was over we headed up river a little farther and docked along this grassy hill so the kids could do some berry picking. It started raining on us so I found a nice wooded area that was perfect to hide out in while it was raining. I really enjoyed the hole in my pants at this point. After a while the kids started getting cold and wet and we all decided it was time to head back to New Stuyahok. The trip back was long and wet. It was raining pretty hard at this point and the wind from riding in the boat made things really cold. We stopped along the way to fill up with gas and it started to pour down rain while we sat there and continued to rain pretty hard for the majority of the trip back.

When we got back to New Stu it was still raining but I didn't care at that point since we were back. I helped Kyle unload the boat and headed up to our house hoping to see something covered along side our house! When I got home I saw my snowmachine sitting on the pallets that I had set aside last spring. I was so excited about finally having it here that I didn't even go in and say hi to Brie but instead I tore the cover off to see what I bought; i had seen it once before but it was only for a few minutes last spring!

Overall the day was a lot of fun. I didn't see any wildlife which was disappointing to me but also my brother because I was hoping to get a Moose that day. I have promised him the rack of the first Moose that I shoot. I am super excited to have my snowmachine and really excited to go out again next year for Culture Week. I hope the weather is better next time so we can do more stuff.

We're Baaaaaaack!

Well, summer's about over and the new year will be beginning before we know it. We enjoyed our time in the lower forty-eight, mooching off of our parents and interacting with some of the oldest and newest members of our families. And while we enjoyed the freedoms that grocery stores, cars, and restaurants bring, we sure are glad to be home. The go-go-go and gas-gas-gas crap got old, especially as we watched the checking account dwindle.

We started to feel the pressures of traveling 3,000 miles from home without the cushion we've kept as back up, just in case an emergency appeared in the midst of our well-planned out trip. And as we've been told since the day we got here, TIA, translated, "This Is Alaska," further translated, "Murphy's Law," AKA, "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." We didn't have too many issues on the way back, but we sure didn't like to hear that our flight with Denaina was pushed back from a 9AM check-in, to a 3:30PM check-in. Boy were we glad we had a 24-hour rental, as it just gave us more time to sleep in and kick around the wonderful city of Anchorage without costing us an arm and a leg. We realized that no matter how much time one has in that city to get things packed up, hauled and mailed, there is never enough of it. There's always one more thing one can buy, and one more thing one forgets in hind-sight when living in the bush. But the bright side is, it forces one to be creative, then, too!

Huxley's enjoyed being back, but the bugs have been eating him alive. He misses Daisy, but he's getting by. It'd be nice if his dog food would get here, though. It's costing us an arm and a leg, making beefy oatmeal, mixed with some sort of soup we have in the cupboard. Last night, he had sirloin and oatmeal, mixed with leftover squash soup. Minus the oatmeal, that's what we had for dinner! Hopefully he'll be ready to eat dry food once it gets here! Unfortunately, I feel we are training his taste buds to expect something more elaborately prepared than Purina small bites.

Anyway, life's good and we're happy getting back into the slower-paced lifestyle that bush-Alaska brings to the table. Brandon's excited that he'll be getting his snow-machine out here in the next couple of weeks by way of the barge system on the Nushagak. And I'm hoping to master the hill to the P-store within the next few short weeks, so I'm not so intimidated by the walk back up the hill when I walk down for groceries. Everyone's feeling pretty well, compared to Brandon's 30-day cold he had at the beginning of last year's journey. The time change and sunlight has posed the same challenges as last year, but we've responded better by hitting the hay early. The mornings have been good to us, but have started around 6-6:30 since we landed, leaving me ready for a nap by lunch time, but I'm happy with the productivity that comes with waking up so early.

Keep in touch as the year progresses. We understand everyone wants more pictures, and we'll do our best to satisfy those requests, but you'll have to be patient. We're still stuck with the same gem of a camera, that doesn't really do anything justice out here. We're in the market for something a little more reliable, so if you have any recommendations, don't be shy to share them with us! Until next time, take care and keep us in your prayers. We'll take any and all of them that we can get as this new year will bring with it new joys and challenges.

Love and miss you all already,

Brie

Graduation and Prom

Last night marked the official reference point to pull me out of the slumps when I feel like what I do is insignificant. 14 graduates accepted their diplomas or certificates of completion. 14 graduates gave moving speeches about their accomplishments, their goals and their biggest supporters, forcing audience members to proudly watch on through distorted, fishbowl images because of welling tears. 9 out of those 14 graduates were in my room, asking for help to put into words what their hearts wanted to say, polish what they'd already written, and gain confidence to speak in front of hundreds of people. I felt useful and honored, that out of the many options they had, they came to me for help to write one of the biggest speeches that most of them would ever write.
I knew I made a difference, when walking out to begin the ceremony, I caught eyes of a few of them and their close-mouthed grins turned into full-on smiles; eyebrows raised to say, "We're actually doing it!" Following the the ceremony in the receiving line, the first words out of many of their mouths were, "How did I do?" I had one proud mother say, "She did it! She talked!" I didn't need a shout out to know I impacted their day, it was just really nice they reaffirmed it by making sure I was impressed.

Prom celebrations followed graduation. It was so cool because the senior class fundraised for the dresses the girls wore, the kuspuks the boys wore, the band, and the decorations. I remember girls not attending my prom because they couldn't afford it. How cool is it that they removed one huge factor that would have otherwise prevented many from participating? The computer lab was used to get ready. Three or four of us were curling and straightening hair, taking pictures and enjoying the primping process. The girls looked like princesses, and the boys, their Alaskan princes, sported the traditional kuspuk. I was floored to learn that even the youngest of dancers at prom knew how to dance. A full band flown in from Anchorage, echoing classics from Patsy Cline, Johny Cash, and other country legends, was the base for the entire dance-floor's 2-step. How refreshing it was to see dance-steps versus the bump-n-grind crap I'm used to seeing on the floor!
These last weeks really gave me a great opportunity to get to know the sudents on another level. I was so impressed by how resilient our students really are and how supportive the community is after learning about some of the struggles they've endured and those who have opened their homes and hearts to support them through them. I'm a little disappointed it took so long to make such a connection with some of these seniors, as I thoroughly enjoyed the recent times we've spent interacting. I'm thankful and truly enjoyed celebrating graduation and prom with the community.

Sunshine on the soul...

It's 8:30 here, and the sun's shining as if it were 3 in the afternoon. Every extra minute the sun lingers in the evening energizes my soul. My 9:30 bedtime slides back later and later every night and I have yet to notice it in the mornings, which is nice. And even though the most recent weather has been riddled with raindrops, we're enjoying the mud more than the ice from the previous months. Maybe we'll even catch a glimpse of another double rainbow before we venture out to the lower-48 for the summer.

It's perfect bird-season for the hunters up here, and anyone with a boat and a gun is anxiously awaiting the big "break-up" of the river. Some of the men challenged the Nushagak and (prematurely) took their boats out the other day, crossing over to the other bank to do some goose hunting. While I'm known for being a nervous-Nelly in most circumstances, I was happy to know I wasn't the only one worried for their safety, or sanity for that matter. Luckily, everyone made it home safely.

There's talk that the break-up will be any day now, which to some, is an over-due holiday. The river is this area's greatest asset, providing travel, food, money and hobbies to anyone blessed by its presence. To most around here, winter has already outstayed it's welcome. It'll be intriguing to observe the last stages of hibernation unfold as the village livens up again. The weather's warming up, the river's showing speed, and the rest of God's creatures are beginning to settle into their loop within the circle of life again.

One of my administrators brought a bear home a couple of weeks ago, and she (the bear) was a vivid reminder of the part each organism plays in the food chain. She was a a pretty big specimen, with paws spanning the width and length of a grown man's hand. From nose to toes, she was probably pushing 6 feet tall and sported a rich brown coat. I was reminded of where I fit in the food chain as I stared at the skull, which size-wise, competed with the circumference and volume of a junior basketball. Had I not been in the middle of finishing dinner for Brandon, I would have had half a mind to take a picture, but I'm sure it wouldn't have done her justice. In addition to the visual display, the hide wreaked of fish, definitely one of the least appetizing scents to smell right before dinner, but we managed. While it's a little scary to think I'm surrounded by such wild-life, there's part of me that cannot wait for the opportunity to see more of it in action in the upcoming years.

We're encroaching on the last two weeks of school, and I can honestly say I've never felt more prepared for summer. Obviously, this is home for us now, which makes a visit back to what used to be "home" seem like an extended vacation. I've already begun a grocery list a mile long, going as far as bidding on and purchasing multiple coupons on Ebay for the bulk-buying we'll be doing while we shop amidst civilization. To add to my excitement, I have finished writing what might be my last IEP ever. I have been placed into a regular ed. position next year, giving me the 6th grade classroom I've been working towards since college graduation. I'm thankful I was open minded and willing to take the opportunities I've been given and utilize the experience I've gained as stepping stones. Hopefully, this will be the last of many big changes and I will be able to cozy into this position for the next few years until our next big adventure.

The dogs have been doing well, but we could do without Daisy mentoring Huxley in what not to do when movement occurs within a 40 foot radius of the perimeter of our apartment. The barking has been ridiculous as the activity increases with the warm weather and sunshine we've been experiencing. Daisy's reputation has grown around here, and in most circumstances, served us well, scaring off one particular guest who's been known to let himself into some of the other teachers' houses without an invitation, or host, for that matter. While we know she's harmless, most of the kids around here keep their distance. A week ago, while trekking through our yard, one student was startled so badly by Daisy's barking, that she was literally scared out of her shoes, and ran away in her socks, leaving her shoes stuck in the mud in our yard. The little boys of the village, trying to help her, thought they'd outsmart Daisy by throwing rocks and sticks at her to distract her. At the time, Brandon was infuriated by what seemed to be malicious actions towards his pup. But after a little discussion about what we'd imagine to be an 8 year old's perspective, the situation was quite comical; bringing back scenes of Sandlot and the problem-solving the children did to avoid the "vicious" dog in hopes to retrieve the beloved baseball. In hind-sight, we're glad Daisy could be the source and inspiration of a child's upcoming journal entry or personal narrative.

Overall, life is as it should be. The count-down has begun, making tomorrow 17 days away from our 11PM departure flight from Anchorage to Chicago. We plan to celebrate my sister's birthday that Saturday at a Brewer game in Milwaukee, and shortly after, welcome Brylee Jo into the world, spend the entire summer cuddling nieces and nephews, catching up with family and friends, and relaxing in temperatures above the brisk 40s we've been experiencing lately. Believe me, we'll take 40s over -20s any day, but it'll be nice to get sunburned instead of windburned for a change. I personally plan to live solely on purchases from Madison's, Ankeny's and Des Moines' farmers markets, as I know the summer will disappear, leaving me little produce to look forward to once we're back to Alaska's latitudenal disadvantages of garden growing.

I can see the beautiful pink of the sunset reflecting off of the apartment building next door, telling me it's nearly half-past 10 and time to head to bed. It was easy to get carried away writing tonight, knowing the laundry was caught up, all paperwork and grading was finished by 5, and Brandon was preoccupied with homework and Tiger Woods Golf.

See you in less than 3 weeks!

Love,
Brie

Weekend in Togiak, AK

Brie and I had planned to visit Dillingham over Easter Weekend but a couple days before Brie brought up the idea of going to Togiak to visit her sister Claire. We both felt this was a great idea because I wont have a chance to visit Togiak after this year and its a really cool place to visit!

We had a great time visiting Claire. We arrived Friday evening and just chilled that evening then Saturday we got up and started organizing and preparing the evening dinner feast we had planned for Easter! That afternoon we went to the school and played volleyball with some of the volleyball girls and a couple of Clarie's coworkers! We had a lot of fun but we were pretty tired afterward.

Saturday night we hosted about 10 people for a great meal. It reminded me of Thanksgiving because of all of the food we had . It was nice meeting all of them and spending the holiday weekend with family and friends.

The photos below are some random pictures I took before we left. Our camera isn't the best one out there so the pictures don't do the area justice! Enjoy none the less!

Brandon

For one of my writing classes, I had to write a personal narrative, recounting an experience that impacted my life. While I've been blessed with numerous people and occasions, giving me plenty of memories to put into writing, this one seemed to write itself over the course of the year, taking little effort or time. I thought I'd post it on here, in case some of you didn't really know why we decided to make the move we did.

And because we've been really bad about posting pictures on here, I thought I'd include one of me wearing the new hat I made myself on Sunday. While one of my students candidly reminded me that his mom crochets better than I do, I still like it and am proud of my accomplishment. Happy reading!




Personal Narrative: Open Windows

I once heard, "When one door closes, another one opens. And when that one closes, too, be open minded enough to look for a window." Well, there we were, climbing through a window, being as open-minded and faith-filled as a new couple could ever be.

My husband, Brandon, and I had been talking and hoping, wishing and praying for an opportunity to take together where we could experience a life outside of central Iowa, and ideally the Mid-west, to continue solidifying the foundation of our relationship, and ultimately tuck away some money for the family we'd hoped to have some day. Our search began with hopes for warmer weather, and if Brandon would have had his way, a short drive to the ballpark in Arlington. We focused our attention on metropolitan areas including Dallas/Fortworth, Phoenix, St. Louis and Kansas City. Because Brandon had an opportunity to work remotely, our move relied solely on my ability to find a full-time teaching job. This thought brought stress and pressure on me, not only because we wouldn’t go if I didn’t find a job, but because it’d mean I’d have to leave the middle/high school position that introduced me to the extended family I worked with on a daily basis.

Regardless of what we’d have to sacrifice, Brandon and I decided that our goal to have a family of our own some day would supersede any other goal we had in mind for right now. Eventually we’d have to be in a financial position we felt comfortable with to provide for little ones and that meant moving. As a result, I began updating my resume and all of my online applications in January, only to find that most schools weren't posting vacancies for the following school year until March or April. With generic interest making its way to my inbox on a weekly basis, Brandon and I started focusing less on a move for the current year at the time and more on a move for the following academic year. So you can imagine my surprise, when home with the flu on a Monday afternoon, I received a phone call from a superintendent in the Southwest region of Alaska.

My response to the phone call was mixed: a lot of laughter, a few sarcastic comments and a little curiosity. Reality set in and I was more nauseated by the idea of moving to the tundra than I was from the flu, especially after putting hours into researching districts south of Des Moines. Brandon and I laughed off the idea and skeptically researched this opportunity so we could guiltlessly rule it out. We searched for reasons not to go; but the more we read and talked to others about the opportunity, the more we found ourselves asking, “Why not? When would be a better time to do this? What do we have to risk? What do we have to gain?”

We answered these questions and ultimately decided as a young married couple, with no children, no mortgage and the ability to move with two stable incomes, we’d be able to take advantage of this opportunity with little calculated risk and an opportunity to impact our lives culturally, professionally and financially. We’d have to sacrifice seeing family and friends for an academic year, but we’d be able to come home over Christmas and from mid-May to August if things should work out for a contract the second year. Everything else we’d be sacrificing for this journey would consist of luxuries we’d come to rely on in the hustle and bustle of city-living. And if a village of 400 can survive without these luxuries, so could we, right?

As family and friends learned about the decision we had made, phone calls and emails went from trickling to full-on flooding my free time. Everyone wanted to know what in the hell would possess us to even consider Alaska, let alone sign the contract for the following school year. No matter how we put it, people thought we were crazy. Some people even went as far as to accuse us of being selfish and greedy, trying to guilt us out of moving three-thousand miles away. Luckily for us, we were dead set on going, knowing that the only reason anyone would have reservations about our leaving would be because they'd love and miss us too much to let us go.

By the second week of March, nearly everyone that was near and dear to us knew we were leaving, and plans for our big move were underway. By early April, my letter of resignation was submitted and our tax refund checks, cashed. We budgeted the remainder of our year, placing every spare dime we had into labeled envelopes for shipping, flights, car rental, hotel, food, rent and internet. By May, we had canceled our cell phone service, sold one of our cars and moved out of our own place and into our parents', knowing that we'd need every spare penny lying around to pay for the upcoming expenses. Our flights were booked, and anything we didn't absolutely need was sold, donated or distributed amongst family members to care for until our return.

By the beginning of June, I had created a book of information, including checklists for shipping, emergency contact numbers, banking information, passports, birth certificates and our marriage license. We were carrying our lives in a small portfolio, saving every receipt, and documenting every step we took to get ourselves safely to Alaska. We bundled up what was left of our lives in ten rubbermaid totes and six vacuum space-saver bags, and by our first anniversary, July 4th, 2010, had sent each one out to New Stuyahok, Alaska, hoping they'd be there to greet us when we arrived.

During the month of July, not only did we solidify our commitment to moving to Southwest Alaska, but my younger sister eventually accepted a position in the same district, forcing us to condense 7 months-worth of knowledge and preparation into, at most, two weeks to help her pack. July disappeared, and the closer we came to leaving, the more unprepared we felt in going, even though we knew we had never been more meticulous about the details of an upcoming event. In retrospect, I almost envy my sister for only having a few weeks to stew about moving, knowing that half of the things I spent most of my time worrying about didn't matter.

Just as we knew it would, our departure day crept up on us, making us feel like we still had so much to to and so many people to see before we left that afternoon. We spent the morning shipping off one more bin for Claire, shedding tears with our parents and every other person eves-dropping in our explanations to the postal-service worker, wondering what it was we were sending to Alaska, and why. My mom couldn't choke out a full sentence without thinking about her two youngest children, one-third of her offspring, being 3,000 miles away on "America's Last Frontier." "What if you get sick? Then where will you go? How far is the nearest hospital and how are you going to get there if a bear attacks you?" While my mother never asked them aloud that day, I'm almost certain they were what riddled her brain, as she'd asked them repeatedly throughout the summer. My sense of humor playing on her undying faith was the only way I could respond to her without crying myself, as I hugged her and said, "If I get eaten by a bear, it's what God has planned for me." After a chuckle shared by all, we managed to compose ourselves long enough for the ride to Chicago.

The flight out was more emotional than I had expected, especially considering that I was the one, out of everyone, that couldn't stop the uncontrollable sobs that wracked my body as we hugged one last time. I couldn't stand the look of desperation my parents gave us as we hit the departure gate, and for the first time since signing the contract, I felt like we'd made a terrible mistake. Brandon and I spent the next two hours awaiting a delayed flight, only giving me more of a reason to want to turn back.

After hours of waiting for the delayed flight, our three-leg trip was transferred into a direct flight with another airline at no expense to us. As much as I didn't want to recognize it at the time, it was a sign of the series of silver linings that would come from the sacrifices we had made. Since our move, Brandon and I have experienced our fair share of moments where we're reminded of everything we've sacrificed to be where we are. But for every difficult moment we've endured, we've grown closer as a couple and experienced as much good, if not more, to counteract the low points. I'm really glad we were open-minded enough to sneak out the window and experience the opportunities we have since then.

8 Weeks

After a skyping session with some of my family and friends today, I feel the need to clarify a few misconceptions about life in rural Alaska. 1) Contrary to popular belief, we do not live in an igloo, or know of anyone, for that matter, that does either. While some houses and other habitated structures within the village do not have typical plumbing or electrical wiring, most do. Our house is one of them that does. 2) Due to the Department of Natural Resources, you must acquire a hunting and/or fishing license in order to kill wildlife that is not charging or attacking you. Being nonresidents until July, these licenses are expensive and the tags are outrageous. Brandon is not a mountain man quite yet, but upon receiving all of the aforementioned licenses and tags, you can bet he'll be out hunting and fishing like the rest of the village. 3) We do not have a "snow machine rental" business in town. While there's a good chance we could barter for transportation, it'd most likely be during the "off-season" as most people are on their snow-gos chopping wood or riding to "town" to purchase groceries and other necessities. 4) If you hear me say I was in town the other day, I'm referring to Dillingham. If you hear me say, "the village," I could be referring to any of the following: Togiak; Ekwok; Koliganek; Manakotak; Aleknagik; Twin Hills; Clark's Point; or New Stuyahok. However, I should probably mention that I've only really been off of the runway and into the villages of Togiak and New Stuyahok. 5) When discussing grocery shopping, it's probably safe to avoid all conversation regarding the words "fresh" and "produce" in the same sentence, unless we're in the lower 48. It is also very common for us to go through pounds upon pounds of baking goods such as flour, sugar, eggs and spices. To date, we've used approximately 50 pounds of flour, not because we antiqued the neighbor, but because we've made all of our crusts, some of our noodles, desserts and quite a few loaves of bread, from scratch. 6) Whether you believe that vitamin D and sunlight are essential to maintaining stable mental and emotional health or not, I can tell you from experiencing it firsthand, that from about January 18th until March 1st, I was lacking both and in dire need of anything that would stabilize my mood. 7) In reference to number 6, I have become very good at writing compound-borderline run-on-sentences. 8) I've never met Sarah Palin, nor have I been on any of the shows referencing Alaska. I also will never have any interest in being followed by a camera crew, especially during the months referred to in number 6. 9) Making plans out here is about as realistic as tight-roping the Grand Canyon on cooked spaghetti. If we tell you we don't know when we'll be where, it's likely that we truly don't know. Waiting on weather, planes and pilots are very good reminders that we're just along for the ride and really have very little control beyond what goes in our mouths and what comes out. 10) "This is Alaska" is the most commonly used phrase to date to describe or resolve anything that is inexplicable or requires thought for resolution. It essentially means nothing and everything at the same time. Anyway, in addition to these top ten items, I'd also like to mention that we are doing fine. We do, on occasion, bicker and fight like most married couples, but we're shocked at how much more we love each other on a daily basis, despite the close corridors and stress that living where we work might bring. We love our dogs like they are our children and don't really care when people laugh at us for it, as they will remain our children until we're blessed with human ones. And despite some of your cruel senses of humor to tag us in pictures of awesome weather, perfect produce, or charcoal for grilling, we still look forward to seeing and spending time with you turds this summer. :) Love you all and see you in less than 8 weeks. Brie

Relaxing Sunday

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you think based on certain things its going to be a long and irritating day?? Brie and I had one of those mornings on Sunday. We woke around 8:15 and noticed a small wet spot near the end of the bed. We both had an idea of what it was and since Huxley was the only dog on the bed we had a pretty good idea of who it was. I got up and let both dogs out then went back up to remove the sheets since dog pee is not something either of us enjoy sleeping in. As we uncovered the sheets we kept noticing more and more wet spots until we hit the mother load of pee spots. At that point Huxley and Daisy were confined to their Box. We couldn't imagine Huxley being the only dog involved!! It wasn't the first time we cleaned up pee and lord knows it wont be the last. The dogs were in timeout for only a short period of time.

Once we had the bed stripped Brie had the idea of moving the bed. We don't have a lot of options in our room since we are limited on space. We decided to move the dresser and end table after moving the bed. Once all said and done we both liked the change. We loaded up all of the dirty laundry and headed down to start a morning of laundry and dishes. Two things both of us really enjoy. One thing we will never be without again is a dishwasher!!

Brie was folding laundry and brought up the idea of me making the banana cake that dad makes and we always enjoy. I knew we had some banana's in the freezer for such an occasion so it was settled, I was going to attempt my dad's banana cake. The excitement of eating such an amazing cake blinded us on the fact that we didn't have much sugar and we had no frosting so we decided to walk down to the P-Store and pick some up. Luckily I found enough sugar to make the cake before we left but we still didn't have any frosting so the P-Store journey was still on.

We loaded up all of our winter gear (snow pants, hats, gloves, boots, coats) and headed out the door. We hooked both dogs up outside while we were gone so we wouldn't come home to anything eaten, wet or pooped on. Huxley is kind of a baby and was not happy to see us go. Our trip to the P-Store is not an ordinary trip down the road. One day a few weeks ago Brie and I felt adventurous and took this snowmobile path that we hadn't been on before. We had a couple cans of pop and a few other meaningless items so we could have survived getting lost!! This path ended up being a really cool and quick way to get to the P-Store. We are planning to take a video the next time we go and share it will all of you!

Once we got to the store I headed straight for the frosting only to find Lemon and Coconut as the only options left. I asked Brie if either of them would work and she said "No". I did not argue since I didn't feel like either one myself. We both agreed that making homemade frosting was our best choice so we knew in order to do that we would need some sugar. They had no sugar other than a 30 dollar box of sugar packets. I was not happy. We picked up a few items necessary for living (pop, free cans of enchiladas sauce, and chips) and some other things and headed back home.

Both dogs were very excited to see us walking up the path. Daisy managed to get herself twisted around a pole and Huxley was just shivering. Did I mention is can be kind of a baby?

Our afternoon was pretty laid back and uneventful. Our good friends Dani and Ron dropped off a movie for us to watch and Brie popped some popcorn on the stove and we entered afternoon on the couch. We decided to end our day with a good meal. We weren't sure what to make so we got some cow and moose out of the freezer to make cowoose burgers. One thing about moose it the patties don't stick together very well because its so lean. Both Brie and I found a recipe online that was very easy and we had all the ingredients necessary. We were going to buy some fries at the store but Brie said we had some potato's at the house and we could just make homemade fries. (Saved us about 12 dollars). Our first batch didn't go so well. About a week ago I figured out our fan above the stove was not working and we desperately needed it for the fries. I burnt the first batch which wasted two perfectly good potato's and Brie sliced up another couple and I tried it again. In the mean time our house filled with smoke and the alarms were sounding. Daisy is deathly afraid of the fire alarm sound and was going nuts. We had the front door open, kitchen window, side window, back living room window and back door open to help with the smoke. Took a while but it eventually went away. The 2nd batch of fries turned out a lot better. I didn't burn them so that was the key. Our Cowoose burgers turned out awesome. We topped them with some cheese and pickles and wrapped them in lettuce. We have gone away with eating our burgers with buns. 1. we don't have regular access to buns, 2. Its better for you! Even Hardees has a lettuce wrapped burger.

Our evening ended with some TV at Dani and Ron's. We watched that new show "Secret Millionaire" and "Undercover Boss". Both shows can be emotional but that Secret Millionaire show is pretty neat! Finally someone with money doing something good with it!!

Well that was our enjoyable Sunday. Sometimes when your day starts our rough it can get better. No one likes cleaning up pee in the morning but we made the most of it and had a great day none the less!

I am sorry that I don't have any pictures. Our camera stinks and we are in the market for a new one. Any suggestions or public donations would be welcome! I guess when you go sledding you shouldn't put the camera in your pocket. I also think that when you go sledding while having the camera in your pocket you shouldn't slam into a tree making the camera fall out. Lessons learned!!

Brandon

Death by Christmas Bulbs

Depending upon the circumstances, my sense of humor can multiply by the minute, or my patience can quarter by the second. Living in the bush provides daily opportunities for both, constantly testing my ability to find the silver lining. In this case, I couldn't help but laugh hysterically, knowing there was nothing else we could do.

After a week away at a special ed. conference, I had piles of laundry, and little time to catch up on household chores and lesson plans. I still had a week's worth of homework to grade, and what seemed like a months worth to do between the three courses I am taking this semester. I was overwhelmed and interested in one thing, and one thing only, as my 10:00pm bedtime approached: sleep. I decided that I was going to call it quits and carry-on with the endless work in the morning.

I climbed out of the recliner and headed towards the bathroom to complete my evening routine before climbing into bed. As I hit the lights, I saw a flicker in the dark, windowless bathroom and nothing else. Go figure, one of the most exhausting nights since our move and I can't complete my nightly ritual or morning ritual for that matter, until the bulbs have been changed.

I called my 6'3" husband into the bathroom, begging him to utilize the gift of height God gave him and change the bulbs. We were stocked with energy efficient, compact fluorescent bulbs in the pantry, that we haven't been able to use since the move. I bounced down the stairs, knowing the quicker I retrieved the bulbs, the quicker I could hit the hay.

Low and behold, after making it all the way to the first floor, my husband hollered from the one above saying there was no use. I began thinking about all of the things that would prevent us from fixing a damn light bulb, knowing it doesn't take an electrician to replace a light bulb. Lefty-loosey, righty-tighty, right? Not in the mood for nonsense, but lacking the ability to control myself, I bickered back asking if he needed a woman to do the job. Needless to say, he wasn't amused, and by the time I made it to the bathroom, he held the 24 inch fluorescent tube he unscrewed from behind the fixture.

I was in awe that teacher housing, about 350 miles from the nearest Lowes, installed fixtures that required fluorescent tube bulbs. Knowing we had tube lighting on the underside of our cabinetry, we thought we'd be able to interchange them. But of course, what's better than installing "one size fits all" fixtures with fluorescent tube bulbs? Installing a different sized fluorescent tube bulb in three different locations. There was no hope in replacing the bulb that night.

We donned our resourceful hats and decided we could handle a temporary fix until talking to the maintenance guys in the morning. We survived the evening by "installing" two twelve-foot strands of white Christmas lights, held at the seams where the walls met the ceiling. The only thing more redneck than the Christmas lights in the bathroom was the duct tape that held them there.

Sadly enough, the strands still hang on our walls as the school doesn't provide the awkward bulbs, and we'll be sharing the Christmas spirit until Amazon decides to send our shipment. We can only pray that the moisture-sensitive duct tape holds, as the steam builds in our morning showers!

Maybe this is why I'm having a hard time feeling like spring's on its way?

Much love,

Brie

Looking Ahead

The pups are fine and have transitioned into having a sibling in the house. Daisy seems to love it out here. She has plenty of things and people to bark at outside. While she still loves going outside, she loves coming inside, too. The neighbor's dog loves barking, and has Daisy feeling a little sheepish to keep up. I'm happy she's taken a backseat to having that talent, but I wish she'd go nuts some day when other people are trying to sleep so our neighbor would know how much it stinks listening to someone else's dog go crazy.

Work has been great. While progress is slow, and sometimes seems nonexistant, I can tell my students are comprehending more of what they read and becoming more independent to complete their work. I don't know if they're making the connection with the relevance of their work, but I haven't lost hope yet.

I'm starting to fall in love with this village and the people in it. I can't tell you how much I enjoy hearing one of the lunch ladies call me "smiley" every day. She may not know my first name, but I'm glad she acknowledges my smile every day. But then again, why wouldn't she notice a smile, she's feeding me! In addition to the nice people, I'm starting to love the sunshine that peaks over the horizon in the morning, and sets a little later each day. It's a sign of hope that the one year we thought would be the most difficult for us as individuals and as a couple, is halfway over, and we survived. We're stroger than we thought, which is a pretty empowering feeling.

With that said, Brandon and I have agreed to sign another contract with Southwest Region School District if one's given. We're looking forward to the close of this year, and the new year approaching. As for the summer, we'll be flying home on May 20th to spend the summer with the likes of you. It's nice having something to look forward to on a daily basis. The first half of the summer, we'll be living with Jim and Dee in Ankeny. Brandon will be working from home for the summer so we can maximize the time we have with each side of the family. The second half of the summer, we'll be living in Wisconsin, to enjoy the time we have with my parents and siblings.

Meanwhile, we're doing fine and sending our thoughts and prayers to Bryce, Andrea and Kalee, as Andrea and Bryce overcome a scary, sickfilled weekend. Our love to you three and a half! We'll see you in May!

Brie

Long Time No Post

Over break, the biggest complaint we received was that we stopped writing on the blog. We haven't done it to keep anyone out of the loop, but when the life that feels like a constant adventure begins to feel like regular old life, you lose that urge to write about it. Anyway, this is my effort to write about our life in an adventurous way, for those of you living vicariously through us!

Since our last post, we've experienced cross-country skiing (pictured above), a Christmas Pageant, early flights out, Christmas vacation, a departure weekend in Chicago and traveling to the lower 48 and back with animals. So let's go back to the beginning.

It's refreshing to work in a school that recognizes Christmas and not just "winter break". Not only did we have a twenty foot tree, cut down and decorated by the students in our cafeteria, lit and all, but we also put on a school-wide Christmas pageant where what seemed to be the entire community congregated on the 23rd of December. We had students performing dances, singing songs, and doing skits over everything from Mele-kelikimaka, to Carol of the bells. The 6th and 7th graders reenacted the birth of Jesus, including the three wise men, Mary, Joseph, and angels surrounding the scenery. My students introduced me to the "Candle Dance". What's a candle dance, you ask? A dance where the students carry candles. Each class was responsible for doing something for the pageant, and this was what my class chose to do. I quickly informed them that I had no idea what a candle dance was, so if they wanted to do it, they'd be choreographing the entire thing, start to finish, I'd purchase the music on I-tunes and make sure we had candles of some sort. It turned out to be marching band configurations with artificial flickering tea-lights in the dark. The community loved it, but apparently they love it every year.

That day, Brandon had to fly out early to get Huxley to the vet before we flew. Originally, the air taxi assured us we'd be into Anchorage between 1:00 and 2:00pm on the 24th, leaving us enough time to make it to our 5:00pm appointment, but as the day drew near, the tunes changed between a dozen people. On Tuesday, the 22nd, at about 9pm, I was told that an administrator of ours pushed back the flights to make sure that there were teachers to monitor students during the early dismissal that Thursday, and our air taxi wouldn't be arriving until 2:30-3:00pm. I was infuriated, much like everyone else who'd passed the news onto me, but instead of passing that news onto someone else and stewing about it, I decided to do something about it.

I was laying in bed, knowing I wouldn't sleep, as Brandon and I problem-solved to get Huxley to a vet before we flew (TSA requires health certificates for any pet traveling in the belly or within the cabin of the plane; without one, we'd be leaving Huxley in Anchorage for 17 days at $30 a day, or staying in Anchorage until he was cleared to fly). I sat up and stated, "If his light is on, I'm going over there and confronting him about messing with our flight plans!" Brandon pleaded with me not to go, certain I'd lose my job for showing up at his door at 10:00pm, but I didn't care at that point. My mentality was that I didn't want to work here anymore if they were going to change flight arrangements two days before take-off. So, I trudged over to his door, told him what I heard, asked if it was true, and got every piece of information and explanation I was looking for. Whether he was behind the flight change or not, I wasn't about to let it go without talking to the air taxi myself. That night, when I returned, I assured Brandon I hadn't lost my job, even if I had felt like I'd lost my mind, and we discussed the option of having him fly the following morning if I could arrange it with Denaina.

The next morning, first thing, I called Denaina, only to find that business hours 8-5 in Alaska terms, means whenever they answer the phone, after 8 and before 5. I got a hold of them around 9, and discussed our predicament. I'm fairly certain the girl on the phone thought she was dealing with a lunatic, but lunatic or not, we put Brandon and Huxley on the flight that afternoon. I called Brandon, informed him of his flight change, and had him pack Huxley, the cooler and his bag, to be ready to go by noon. I was relieved that we switched his flight, but spent the next four hours concerned about my two babies flying out of the bush. There were 65 mile an hour winds that day, and landings, turbulance and headwinds were all something to be reckoned with. After turbulance bumpy enough for Brandon to hit his head on the ceiling of the plane (with his seatbelt on), and a stop in Kenai to refuel, Brandon called around 5:00pm to tell me they'd landed safely.

Apparently my persistance paid off for Brandon and me, and a number of other people. The following day, Denaina showed up in New Stu at 12:30pm, placing us in Anchorage at 2:45. That sure beat the heck out of a 2:30 departure! I was proud of myself for being determined enough to right what I thought was wrong, and be assertive with the people I felt the need to approach. The rest of the trip home was smooth sailing, with the exception of the lady sitting next to me on the redeye to Chicago doped up on Ambien, pooring over into my seat, and the DMV visit in Anchorage, but that's a wrong I'll right in February...darn test!

Christmas vacation was one of the best yet. We were able to spend the holiday with both my family and Brandon's parents, and for New Year's Eve, we traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, to see Brandon's brother Bryce, his wife Andrea and their daughter Kalee. With the exception of falling down the stairs that night, I was happy to have brought in the New Year with them, even if I went to bed at 11:30pm. Between holidays and before flying back to Alaska, I was able to visit Maxwell and see some of my old co-workers and students, and visit Belmond. Boy was it bittersweet to visit a place that fits you so well, but then reality sets in that you no longer belong there. So many what-ifs went through my head on the drive that day, but I made my mind up by the time I got to Belmond that New Stu was where we're meant to be. I went to Belmond that evening and was greeted by the best former roommate, Aunt Jeannie, and Uncle Pat. I miss our life in the shabby old apartment we used to live in, the nice townhouse we made into our home back in Ankeny, the nights out to eat and our visits to the casino. It was so nice to relive some of those memories that night. We went out to eat with a dozen family members that night and finished off the evening at my Aunt Mary's, catching up on who was where doing what these days.

The following morning, I woke up and visited my grandpa and his wife, Lee. I had never really visited him by myself before, and being one of the youngest of the six in my family, I only remember exploring the pool tables and trinkets in his basement, while the adults talked in the kitchen over coffee. That day was a day I'll never forget. I got grandpa all to myself to talk about whatever rolled off our tongues. I realized a few things that day that I feel appropriate to share:

1) No matter how many silly things come out of my grandpa's mouth, there will always be more truth and wisdom backing them than anyone will ever give him credit for. I respect him about as much as I could ever respect a man, and I resent anyone who will try to discredit him.

2) For an old man, he's more informed and "hip" than anyone I know. He knew who Mark Zuckersberg was (Facebook creator), not to be confused with a current politician Lee was talking about.

3) He may appear to be a hardass, but for those of you who really know him, he's one of the most soft-hearted and kindest men you'll ever meet.

As funny as this might sound to you, despite the physical pain my grandpa's been through in the recent years, I'm thankful for the health impairments that have forced him to spend some time at my parents' house. It's really given me an opportunity to get to know him and him me. I love him and I'm thankful for the times I've spent with him that allow me to write down and refer to in years to come.

After my visit with my grandpa, I drove back to Ankeny and spent the evening with some of the best co-workers and friends I've made. My friends, Melissa and Jean, orchestrated an evening out at HuHot with all of my favorite coworkers, minus Kate (who I got to see the week before), where we were able to catch up. I wish I could bring them back to Alaska with me so I could see them every day, but at some point I need to face reality. I can't wait for the summer to spend my days golfing and hanging out with them!

Thursday night, we spent our final evening with Dee and Jim at Waterfront's Seafood Market, drinking long islands, keylime martinis, eating sushi, coconut shrimp and clam chowder. It was a really great time chatting and laughing the evening away. After leaving there, I got to see my friend Megan. It was so great catching up with her and hearing about how well life's going for her. I was excited we visited our old stomping ground, Okiboji. It felt like old times again. I'm really excited to spend some time with her this summer, too!

The two weeks flew and we ended them with an evening out with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Dick at Houlihan's. We packed everything up, including Daisy (Jim was heartbroken, but we'll make it up to him some day!) that evening and got ready to depart the following morning. The next day, we drove to Chicago. We had to fly out on the 9th, so my parents, sister SueAnne, brother-in-law Jeff, sister Therese, Aunt Stacey, Uncle Dan, cousin Justin and friend Jonathan experienced the 8th in Chicago and a "last meal" at Bahama Breeze (one of my favorite Caribbean restaurants in the world). Leaving them was painful, knowing the next time we'll see them is five months away, but living life with something to look forward to isn't always a bad thing.

Well, there's your novel, catching you up to present day. We've spent the last week working, and I'll spend the next week in Dillingham for work, doing transition camps. I'm excited for the visit to the city, where hopefully we'll be able to get some groceries we forgot to pack over break. Everyone be sure to remind me to buy peroxide, rubbing alcohol, almond extract, and lots of produce!

Love you all!

Brie