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
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