A Slight Detour To....

Detour #1:

Mexico

In spite of all the chaos going on back in New York as we prepare to move to Alaska, we had a pre-planned trip to Mexico. At this point, I was excited to go, but didn't realize how much I needed to get away from all of that said chaos in New York!



While in Mexico, we did a few excursions, but for the most part, it was our #1 priority to sit by the pool and relax. By relax I mean do absolutely nothing but swim, sleep, and drink!


So, the first thing that we did while in Mexico was visit Garrafon located on Isla Mujeres.
We had an all inclusive day, which of course meant unlimited amounts of alcoholic beverages, sun, and food! By the end of the day here, all we wanted to do was sleep!
The second thing that we did, on the last day of our trip, was go to Boca Del Puma. Here, we did a zipline above the jungle trees, rode ATV's through the jungle, and swam in a Cenote. While ziplining, we also did it upside down over the trees! Yes, that might sound crazy, but you only live once! And lived is what we did! It was glorious!


The third event that we participated in was rooting for Portugal in the 2016 Euro Final, while eating and drinking 3 L of beer at Hooters. Portugal, of course, won, but I believe that we were the champs in the end. I mean, come on, look at this thing!

After enjoying our relaxation time in Mexico, it was back to 100% upon arrival back to New York. We had one day to finish packing, sell back our last car, load up a rental, start our journey.

What was I feeling when we left New York?
20 minutes into our drive I was overwhelmed with emotion that was difficult for me to comprehend. Of course, with a loving husband who cares for my well-being, talked me through it. I felt, in some ways, LOST. Lost because everything that I know, learned, and experienced was in New York. My family, my friends, my acquaintances, were all in New York.
I had a terrible feeling that I was going to be lonely, extremely lonely. I know this sounds crazy, because I can make friends, but it was more because I was leaving everything that I have ever known...behind. As we continued our drive, I became anxious and disbelieving even, that we were actually making this move official. Of course the move was official long before our departure from New York, but to me, it felt more official when we left. But, the journey to Alaska hasn't arrived yet!


Detour #2:

Kenosha, WI

The drive, initially intended for Kenosha, WI, ended up being straight to St. Louis, MO, where we dropped off the dogs, car, and other items. By the time we reached our arrival in St. Louis, this chick wanted nothing to do with a car! At this point, I was super thankful for the decision for us to fly to Anchorage, rather than drive. I was irritable and anxious just from 14 hours of driving, I don't think I could have lasted 62 hours.... I don't think the dogs would have either!


Anywho, from here, we headed (finally!) to Kenosha, WI were our good friends, Zack and Lexy got hitched! It was a beautiful day and so much emotion involved!

It turns out, this was our first wedding that we attended since we got married 6 years ago. This day was one of a kind, and I am truly blessed to have been able to witness these two becoming one. I cried, not only because it was amazing seeing two people who love each other so much, take the step into marriage, but also because I love my dearest husband, and I would have to say much much more than the day I married his crazy butt!

Additionally, it was hard for me at some points, especially watching Lexy and her Mom dancing. Her mom was emotional because it was a big day, where her daughter is now in the care of another person. Now, I know, I know, my Mom already allowed my husband to take care of me, but just watching Lexy and her Mom...made it hard for me. I was thinking about how, though I am already married and have moved away from home, I will be moving to Alaska, which is a much bigger jump than 2 hours away. It's been difficult for me, knowing that I will be leaving my family in New York.

Despite the emotional time I was having, I also had a blast watching the family and friends of Zack and Lexy celebrate on this special day!

Not only were we able to witness this amazing day, we also got to spend some much needed time with friends before heading back to St. Louis. The amusement that 5 men bring to one person, will never cease to amaze me!

We are back in St. Louis with our pups who missed up dearly! Aaron's parents have an apartment...which is our current home until we depart to Anchorage next week.

In between that, we still have much much more things to do than I like! We have to look into shipping food, ordering dog food, getting the pups updated on shots, and there is one other important thing to worry about.
I take my licensure exam the 27th before we leave....needless to say, there are too many things on our list that still need to be done before leaving!

Cheers for now!

* Winter IS Coming! *

As We Begin

Where to start?

Well, my husband, Aaron, and I are moving to Alaska. Aaron, 31, is a Special Education Teacher. I, 25, am a Social Worker. Aaron has lived all over the East Coast, including the Cayman Islands!! I have lived in New York my whole life, but now I get the opportunity to move! 

Now, you may be thinking that we are moving to the well known place of Anchorage, AK, but you are mistaken! Though we will be traveling through Anchorage, AK, we will not be residing there. 

We will be residing in Brevig Mission, AK, located 60 miles North of Nome, on the Bering Strait. There are approximately 400 people in our village, varying from youngins to elders. The radius of the town is 2.5 miles, so there are no vehicles there. The means of transportation is either walking, ATV, or snow machine. We do not have a grocery store, but a small market that tries to keep food stocked as much as possible. But, when the only way of transporting goods, people, and mail is by plane, some things are not easy to find. As we have prepared to send things to Brevig, we have also had to think about stocking up on food for the winter. Since the weather could get bad enough that NO plane will fly in, it has been a different experience attempting to figure out what exactly we would need to stock up on!

As we get closer to our leaving date, July 13th, 2016, it has become surreal in some ways. With all of the chaos of packing, not only for the move, but the house as well, it's hard to think about how one may feel in all of this. 
I begin by saying this....it's not easy to pack up your belongings, buy the necessary items you may need in potentially -30 degree weather, and prepare for a trip to Cancun in between all of that! It has been stressful, and there have been many many many, well too many (!) days where I have procrastinated in packing and in preparing for our move!
In light of that procrastination, I do have all of our needed essentials packed and ready to ship to Alaska, but need to get to the post office! 

Ok, let's get back on track here! I was talking about how it can become very easy, amongst the chaos of packing up your life, to forget how you may feel about your journey. 
Well, I will admit, I am excited, nervous, curious, scared, happy, sad, and everything in between! I am excited for the new experiences that we will have as we live in the bush of Alaska. 
Nervous about not having my friends and family within arms reach, well 2-3 hours! 
Curious about how this adventure will change my view of the world, and myself in general. 
Scared that I am not going to enjoy myself (this is mainly because I know how much I dislike cold weather!).
Happy about the somewhat smoothness of this move, in addition to the much needed change that Aaron and I have been waiting for. 
Sad that I will be leaving behind many great friends that have supported me through my current journey. 
Everything in between because at this moment, I am sure that I will have many more emotions arise as we get even closer to the actual flight to fly to Anchorage!

Those who know us, also know that we have 4 dogs, yes 4, that we will be also flying to Brevig. Also to mention, not one of them has flown before, and 2 out of 4 have never been crate trained!

I'll introduce our oldest, Eve, who is a 4 years old and is a Labrador Retriever. She can be a grumpy old girl, but she has the spirit of a 6 month old puppy! She loves playing catch with anything that resembles a ball! In the picture to the right, you can see Eve, patiently waiting for a ball to be thrown for her in the snow. She also loves to go swimming, especially if it involves doing the thing she loves the most....retrieving!

We have had this girl since she was 5 weeks old, and though she can be dangerous with her paws as your laying in bed, she is a cuddle bug!


Next in line, is Anubis, our 4 year old Akita who is a fluffy love butt! He is a goofball and can act doofy most of the time! 
In this photo, you can see him stalking the other dogs as they run around a baseball field in the middle of winter. 
Since he is slower than most of them, he waits them out, and only charges when he knows they are close enough for him to catch!

Anubis loves chest and back scratches, well, I should say anything that allows him to lick you like a lollipop!
We got this boy when he was 17 weeks old!


And now we have....Zver, the 4 year old Siberian Husky. I have no doubt that he will absolutely LOVE his new home, but he is the worst in regards to his crate! #huskyownerproblems
He is a spoiled husky who thinks he rules the house. He is energetic, while using the couches in the house as a jungle gym! 
When he wants, well demands something, he will howl at you until you get him whatever he wants. 
What does the husky love? Well, he loves being able to run, start trouble (!), and being mischievous! 

We traveled to New Jersey to pick his 6 week old behind up, and from that point on, we were hooked by the spells of Zver.


Lastly, the youngest, Tink, who is a 3 year old Chiwheenie (Chihuahua & Dachshund). She absolutely loves being next to you in any way, shape, or form. When she is next to you or on your lap, she is in heaven and couldn't be happier! She also loves going outside to look for anything she can bark at and chase!

She is our rescue puppy and we adopted her when she was 7 months old. She is most certainly stubborn, as many Chihuahua's are, but I personally think she tops the list! 
She was bought the highest rated winter coat as well as booties for the cold winters in Brevig! 
P.S. All of them were purchased booties, and Eve also has a winter coat!





For now, I will leave you to ponder about our new journey! 
Thank you for reading and allowing me to introduce our family!

Until next time!
❅ Winter IS Coming! ❅