Life In Kodiak - the Summary

Well, it’s been a long while since we updated the blog.  I figure I should get y’all caught up with life in Kodiak.  We moved over to the island last April, and it’s been non-stop with the 4 grands since we docked.  We arrived on the ferry on April 25, last spring, and Jade and I had pedicure appointments THAT day.  We spent the spring and summer enjoying the stunning Kodiak sunshine while getting settled in a wonderful rental house that actually found us.  We bought a slightly damaged dining room table and set out to refinish it.  Using a variety of paints and techniques, we repainted the tabletop and the benchtop and have received tons of compliments from everyone.  Jade came over and helped me hang LOADS of photos and our beloved Terry Redlin prints; she was determined to get them all placed “just right” and boy, it was fun getting it all done. 

Not long after we landed here, Jade & the kids make a trip back home to visit her family; we sure did miss them but the kids talked about that trip all year!  They love hanging out with ALL of the family, and they’ve stored many memories of their fun adventures.  But while they were gone, we enjoyed learning our way around Kodiak and Sig (their Doberman) kept us company.  One thing Jade learned, though, is “never leave MiMi in your own house anywhere around your birthday.”  We conjured up a massive surprise birthday party and surprised her upon her arrival home.  My big concern?  I was really afraid the next door neighbor would see me hauling off Jade’s pretty serving platters and send her a message that I was stealing her dishes.  LOL  TRULY, I was worried she would get wind of the surprise somehow. But she did not…. She walked in to loads of fun and surprises.  The kids LOVED yelling surprise to her. And bless his heart; Trip had totally forgotten it was about to happen.  She was on the phone with him when she walked in and couldn’t get words across.  Friends made the surprise unforgettable; I will treasure my kids’ military friendships forever!   

But then time to start school… so then we fashioned a somewhat flexible plan.  The kids had school through the week, and MiMi had to work Tuesday – Friday… soooo, they planned to spend most Saturday nights at our house.  We had loads of fun, movie nights, reading books, playing pretend, building forts, learning to play football, roasting marshmallows, and even a last weekend shebang – camping outside in the back yard.  The usual routine wa ‘s to play, craft, color, read, most of the Saturday afternoon along with outdoor play with neighborhood friends; they loved to jump on the trampoline (left by our landlord) and would often go to the end of the cul-de-sac to play on a buoy swing.  Many suppers were consumed on the back deck, even in the rain.  If no precipitation was falling, we usually jumped in the hot tub and played, before supper, showered, watched movies with popcorn and/or ice cream, then hit the sack for the night.   It didn’t take many weeks for the kids to expect the “routine” ice cream from Poppy, or occasional popped popcorn during movie nights.  So that became the norm…. school during the week and weekend fun at our place.  And then….. Christmas came….

Sarah, Kyle, Railyn & Slade came up for 10 days to celebrate an Alaskan Christmas.  We had such fun and made some terrific memories.  But of course, no trip would be the same without Mr. GI Bugg’s visit. So, as most of us played and celebrated, 1 of us at a time took turns sleeping the day away.  We enjoyed “kid wine” in cute little plastic wine glasses; we built a snowman; we made 50 sandwiches for the homeless shelter here in Kodiak; we finished craft items to help us celebrate; each child had their very own disposable camera for taking their own photos – that I STILL need to put into a Shutterfly book…. Oh well, we created tons of laughter, danced til we dropped, and hugged on kiddos for days!  We spent the winter equinox together – the darkest and longest of our Alaskan days – and enjoyed the kids’ smiles to warm our hearts!

Then, we found out that the duty extension the Trip had been told he could have – oh my…. My heart is sad – we found out the USCG would NOT allow the extension because of special medical needs for Emma Kate; she has some pretty serious food allergies and other health problems that require frequent specialist visits that are NOT available here on the island.  SOooooo, this news really rocked our world; we had moved to Kodiak, planning to be here 2-3 years and now that was changing.  At first, we really thought that we would go ahead and stay here, but that idea began to take a stressful toll oh my emotions.  So, we made the decision to leave “the Rock” as well.  But, where would we go?  We had been planning to be here for a while longer, so the “next place” hadn’t really been explored.  After much prayer and discussion, along with some job hunting, we decided to move near Sarah.  After all, we’d spent 1 year with Adam & Kimberlee within 30 minutes, then a year with Trip/Jade 15 minutes away; shouldn’t it be Sarah & Kyle’s turn now? 

Once this decision was made, we had to get busy selling off our belongings; it’s a bit difficult to get items here and so we had NO desire to take many things with us out.  Poppy had bought a cool fishing boat last summer; we had a 4 wheeler & plow and other household possessions we had to sell.  Selling the boat was harder than I thought it would be; I only went out in it a couple times, but it sure was fun and relaxing! I learned to drive this 4 wheeler so I could plow our driveway in Kenai the 2 years we lived there, so getting rid of it also hurt my feelings a little.  But once again, my life’s mantra echoed in my mind, “relationships are more important than things” and I kept repeating it…. As we sold off dishes, frames, fabrics, sewing machines, threads, the refinished dining table, towels, and bed, we began to reminisce of the fun and memories we’d made here.  We KNEW we’d been here for the right time, the right reasons, and the right purpose.  We’d kept the big kids when Emma Kate had appointments in Anchorage, we kept them when Trip was unexpectedly hospitalized with massive complications following a simple knee surgery; we were here to help in a myriad of ways and we enjoyed every minute.  The memories we carry with us as we prepare to leave here are so very special and we treasure them deeply. 

We sometimes talk about “what if” and we have no idea how things would have worked out if we hadn’t been here – and they would have… the military families that our kids meet are amazing people! They become such close-knit “family” and truly do love and care for one another, as if they ARE blood-kin – because they are.  They are knitted together with the bonds of families who are able to choose their members, glued together by the distance of other family members, and welded together by the Red, White, & Blue!

All our belongings have been sold; our clothes are in suitcases.  We are shopping for a Class A RV and a lot for full-time living in the Bellevue/Plattsmouth area South of Omaha, near Sarah & her family.  We have said goodbye to half the kids here; and yes, we miss them terribly.  But we are getting really excited for new adventures yet to come.  Follow along on our journey to see how it goes.