Gingerbread House :: 12.21.16

Since we didn't have a lot of bakeware with us (our stuff was in boxes somewhere in la-la land and the owners of the house we were staying at didn't have a fully stocked kitchen), we made some changes in how we normally do things.  Normally, I like to do a homemade gingerbread house, but this year we just bought a pre-made box kit and that was just fine for us.  The kids enjoyed decorating it.

Quent's parents and sister Natasha arrived on the 19th.  Quent picked them up in Spokane and drove back through a snowstorm.  They made it back in the morning of the 20th after getting only hours of sleep (Quent went to bed after arriving home).  We were excited to have family with us for Christmas.

Sled Ride :: 12.20.16

The place we stayed had a pretty long driveway, so we often took the kids on a sled ride down the driveway to get the mail.  They loved it, especially Joel.  He would make these cute, excited baby sounds.

Learning to ski :: 12.18.16

Quent brought the kids' skis.  The driveway where we were staying was the perfect place to help them get comfortable on their skis.  And Lady was always sure to tag along.

Hello Idaho Joel :: 12.17.16

Joel did great with all of the transitioning to a new place and new state.  He started crawling *just* before we left Ketchikan, so it was all a new adventure for everyone.

Snow Play :: 12.13.16

We arrived in Kamiah on December 10th.  Quent started work on the 12th.  And the kids were already playing rigorously in the snow.  When we came for a house hunting trip a few weeks before, we were told that Kamiah doesn't get much snow...maybe a few inches each year.  Well...let me tell you...they got a LOT of snow this year!  I have heard so many times that "we haven't had this much snow in 20 years!"  In fact, as of today, March 23rd, they are less than 2 inches away from beating a record for the most snow recorded.  There was snow when we arrived and it just kept.on.snowing!  Seriously, so much snow!  When we came for our house hunting trip, I packed the kids' snow pants and snow gear, totally thinking that it was probably a waste of packing space, but whatever, I did it.  And I'm SO glad I did!  Their snow pants got a workout this winter, that's for sure!

And it wasn't too long after arriving that Jeralyn and Joshua (who are very friendly children) made friends with Caden, our new "neighbor".

We were super blessed to have a place to stay while waiting to buy/close on a house.  Last year, one of Quent's coworkers, Keith, bought a retirement home in Kamiah and that was the first time Quent had heard about Kamiah. So then Quent accepts this position and we go through the process of moving.  Part of that process is finding a temporary place to live in between homes.  Keith and his wife, Cheryl had to go back to their home in Alaska to get things settled there and wait for their new permanent positions to become solidified in Kamiah.  So long story short, we stayed at their place.  It worked out perfectly!  It was such a huge blessing!  And the view was amazing!

The kids also became close companions with Keith's dog, Lady.  Lady was part of every outside adventure.  The kids loved playing with her!

To Bellingham and beyond ::December 2016

And we were off to the races...

Well, not exactly.

Our house was packed.  Empty.  We loaded up our car, kids, and cats...said tearful goodbyes...and hit the road.  Oh wait, I mean, the ocean.  On a ferry.

The ferry departed on a Wednesday around 6:30/7:00 pm and we arrived in Bellingham, Washington on Friday around 9:00 am.  Two nights on the ferry.  We stayed in a room with 4 berths (beds). It was tiny but we made the most of it.

Jeralyn and Joshua shared the bottom bunk.  Quent slept above them.  I slept on the left side bed and Joel slept in his pack-n-play.  We were packed in tight.

Jeralyn eating a snack in the window seat.

I bought some gifts for the kids to open while on the ferry.  I thought it would be fun to have something new to play with on the ferry.

My friend Valoree's husband (Jere) was second-in-command on the ferry, so he gave them a tour of the bridge and then took them for ice cream.  Fun times.  I stayed in the room with Joel while he napped.

Jere is in the background.

A Wrangellite and friend, LaDonna works on the ferry.  She spotted us and we spent some time catching up.  One of the great perks of traveling in Alaska is that you always see people you know.  It's like a big ole Alaskan family.

When we got off the ferry, we eventually headed toward Idaho.  We had to go through a pass that was quite snowy.  What a year for snow!  Right?

I don't remember where we stopped for the night.  We weren't sure if we were going to make it all the way to Kamiah that day because it was 8 hours driving, plus the conditions weren't the greatest.  So we stopped for dinner and a hotel.  The cats slept overnight in our car.  The cats did so well with all of the travel and ferry time.  The kids did too, but they were definitely ready to be out of the car.  That's what happens when you live on an island; you aren't used to spending much time in the car.

The next day the roads were still a bit snowy and their was a fog over the prairie.

Check out Quent's bike tire!  Whew!  That's brown ice!

Home sweet home!!

And so our adventure begins.  A new place.  New home.  Less rain.  More sun.

We are excited to start and continue this new chapter.

The last days of Ketchikan November 2016

On November 29th, the packers arrived.  I thought I was prepared, but I actually wasn't.  I'm SO thankful for our super wonderful neighbors who opened up their house to us while the packers were at our house because otherwise it would have been CRAZY!  The kids and I learned very quickly it was better to be out of our house and somewhere else.  So we spent a lot of time at our neighbor's house.

Here's our bedroom during the process:

Jeralyn playing with Legos at our neighbor's house (with their dog Greta).

This was our last visit to the library.  I miss this library!

Our empty home.  It felt SO weird!  With it being empty like this, it no longer felt like our home.  I was definitely ready.

Ketchikan gets 14 FEET of precipitation annually.  Kamiah, Idaho gets 24 inches.  Inches.  Do you see that difference?  It's HUGE!

Alaska was our home for just 2 months shy of 12 years.  SO much happened in those 12 years.  All of our babies were born in Ketchikan.  I feel like a very different person than I was when we first arrived in Alaska.  We've met the most incredible people in Alaska that have become close friends and people we will never forget.  Will we ever go back?  Time will tell.

2016 was a bittersweet year.  It's one I will never forget.  It's one of those years that will stand out in my memory.

Since this blog post is being written 3.5 months after we moved, I can say these are the things I miss about Ketchikan:

1. the library (the library in Kamiah is tiny)

2. the coffee shop I would get away to by myself

3. our neighbors (this should be #1).  One of the hardest parts about leaving Ketchikan was saying goodbye to Olivia and her parents.  It was heart-wrenching.  Jeralyn would say, "Mommy, Olivia is crying."  Like she didn't really understand why she was crying.  Ha!

4. friends

5. the ocean

And I'm sure there's more, but those are my top 5 reasons I miss Ketchikan.  Do I miss all of that rain?  No.  But I miss hearing the rain.

Welcome to the table 11.23.16

The day after this day was Thanksgiving.  In 6 days the packers would come.   So much happening in just less than a week.  I felt like I was pretty relaxed during this time, but I did have some stress (obviously).  It's a whole different story when you are moving with 3 young children.  So much more to plan and think about.  Whew!

Joel: 9 months 11.12.16

All three kids have had their picture taken in this brown recliner chair at 9 months old. Here was Jeralyn.  Here was Josh.

His face cracks me up!

Hello baby (and goodbye couch) 11.7.16

Sorry...these photos are a little out of order.  That's what happens when you have several cameras you are taking pictures from.  #thestruggleisreal

So we've had this couch that my Aunt Judy gave us many years ago when we were first married.  It was in rough shape in the end and we didn't want to take it with us to Idaho, so it RIP'd in the Ketchikan dump. It served us well all of these years.  It held us while watching movies, aided in sleepovers, and the cats thought it made a great scratching pad (grrrr!)  Does it look familiar, Nicki?

Oh, and here's our cute baby with the couch.

Joy's last visit in Ketchikan 11.17.16

My friend Joy came to Ketchikan for her daughter's basketball tournament.  We spent a very short time with her, but it was so sweet to see her one last time before we moved.  I will miss visiting with her very much.  She and I met almost 12 years ago in Wrangell and she's a gem.

Joel November 2016

Joel is growing so fast!  Here are some photos of him in November.

Change of scenery October 2016

It was some time mid-October when Quent accepted a job offer for a position in Kamiah, Idaho as a technical services staff officer for the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest.  Were we ready to move away from rainy Ketchikan to a drier climate?  Yes!  Although the rain didn't seem to affect me (Christina), I was ready for a change of weather. And Quent was very ready for more challenges in his career.  When Quent shared that he accepted the position, I was overjoyed (and may have cried some happy tears).  When we told the kids, Jeralyn was excited, but when I told her that summer in Idaho would be hot and sunny, the girl jumped up and down and shouted joys of excitement.  This girl is excited for HOT and sunny!

We did a school project of finding out some Idaho state facts.  Jeralyn and I were both pretty excited to find out that Idaho's state insect is the monarch butterfly.

So our life and home was about to change...and so will the name of this blog...