Last days

Darius' last day with Alaska Airlines was on Wednesday. His coworkers treated him to a moose spaghetti lunch with other goodies (can I just say....chocolate chipotle creme brulee is delish!). They were also very kind to give him a beautifully framed aerial photo of Cordova. I know Darius has really enjoyed working for AA and will miss the people and work. On the flip side I know he's also excited at the possibilities that await us in Florida.

Today was the boys' last day of preschool at Mt. Eccles Elementary. Although it has been just a month, and even though they may not be able to articulate it, I know they will miss their teachers and their classmates. When we picked them up this afternoon I could immediately hear Zach crying from down the hall. He was so upset because in class they have stories paired with stuffed animals/puppets in backpacks that the kids can check out to take home, and Zach couldn't take one home with him today. His teacher told me that she had put a little surprise in their packs that would cheer him up once we got home....did it ever!

Zach has had a favorite dragon hand puppet at school and would talk about it ALL the time. A few weeks back there was a lice report at school and although I don't know of any cases of it in their class, I guess it was cause for the teachers to put up certain toys for a set amount of time. It was probably 2 weeks that the dragon was "missing" and Zach was so upset. I finally had to tell him that Dragon was sick and that he would come back to school when he felt better. Oh happy day when Dragon reappeared.

 

In Zach's backpack was Dragon. He is such a happy little boy right now and has yet to let go of Dragon. She also slipped in a toy shark and whale for Ben, which I believe were some of Ben's favorites. Their teacher also made them each a little book titled Ben/Zach is Moving. Inside there are pictures of the boys and their classmates and activities they did together with the narrative of how they will be missed. So very sweet. The boys even had a special surprise visit earlier this week from their teacher from last school year. She came to read the class stories and had a little one-on-one time with the boys. If there's one thing I'll miss the most it will be the boys' school and the experience they've had there with preschool. What great teachers and staff!

Packed

The last of our things are all packed and on the way to FL. The apartment is pretty much bare with the exception of our makeshift bed on the floor and a few of the boys' toys and books. With less than a week to go before we head out, I'm finally allowing myself to get more excited. For the past couple weeks it was a little hard with the miserable weather we were having and all of us coming down with colds.

With the reappearance of the sun yesterday and today (so far), I'm really hoping we'll be able to enjoy beautiful weather our last week in Cordova. It's just so darn gorgeous here when the sun is out and the clouds aren't hiding the mountains from view. I want to soak it all in as much as I can these final days.

One more time up Haystack

While Darius oversaw our moving sale yesterday, we decided it would be best for me to keep the boys out of the house. We were a little concerned that they would have a hard time watching people carry off their old toys that we were selling.

The weather was looking questionable, but lucky for us the rain held off long enough for us to enjoy a mostly dry hike up Haystack. The boys seem to really love the hike, probably as much as I do. It was definitely a hike I wanted to get in one more time before leaving Cordova.

The recent rain left a beautiful shine on all the foliage, and lots of mud! I told Zach that lots of water and dirt make mud, and he enjoyed repeating that little factoid to me throughout the rest of the hike. He also enjoyed the many potty breaks along the way and whenever he needed to go, he would say to me "I need to pee on the moss." I don't think I officially announced it, but Zach is indeed potty trained now!

 

I know for a fact that the one thing I will miss the most about this area is how incredibly gorgeous it is, and there's no better way to appreciate the beauty here than by simply getting out in it. For me it's taking a hike, and for Darius it's getting out on the water to fish. For the boys, I think it's a combination of the two. They seem the happiest splashing in whatever puddles they find, or throwing rocks into a body of water.

Shedding

We've given Alaska 3 years and we're moving on. As with most of our decisions, this was a last minute call. A couple weeks ago we decided our move would be now or next year in the spring. Thank goodness it's now because I don't think my nerves could handle another winter here. My hat goes off to the residents that have called Cordova home all their lives. I don't regret our time here, but I'll be the first to admit that I don't have the backbone needed to thrive in this part of the country.

So needless to say, the past couple of weeks have been busy as we prepare for a big move. Before we made our decision, we went back and forth with our options for the move and decided the best way to do it would be to shed as much stuff as we can, ship the stuff we want to keep, and drive/sail out of here in one vehicle.

With 3 weeks to go before the big day, we are well ahead of the game. Darius was able to sell his truck, we found a buyer for all of our furniture, and then yesterday we had a moving sale which went even better than we expected. It's a little odd to have nearly bare rooms, but it's also a huge relief to have it all gone.

On the travel side of the move, that too has gone surprisingly smooth so far. Our original plan was to take the ferry from Cordova to Valdez and from there drive out of Alaska, down through Canada, and back into the US through Montana. To Montana alone would have been around 2200 miles, and as much as we've heard how gorgeous the drive is, we still had some concerns about the length of the drive, especially considering we still had a cross-country trip to Florida to consider. Lucky for us another option became available. A vehicle slot opened on a ferry sailing from Haines Alaska to Bellingham Washington. We jumped on it and now our trip out of Alaska will take us through the Inside Passage which is something we're very excited about.

We're still deciding what our route from Washington to Florida will be, but we're excited about our options and the fact that we're not under any time constraints. I can't believe I'll be making a 2nd cross-country trip this year. I'm so excited that Darius will be with us on this trip.

Our decision to move back to Florida wasn't much of a decision. I think it's the one place that Darius and I both agree feels the most like home to us. It's where it all started for us. With everything going so smoothly since making our decision, it reassures us that we're headed to where we should be. Waiting for us with an open door are our good friends the Bacon's. To have friends that are willing to open their home to us while we look for our own, and to be on the receiving end of all our shipped stuff is such a huge blessing. It seems like we'll always be in their debt for something, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to repay their kindness.

Florida here we come!