Alaska Part 1

I've been on a few trips with Matt while he's working. We've done conferences in Philly, Seattle, Alexandria, Lincoln, Savannah/Hilton Head.. all where I leached a hotel room and hung out. A lot of times I would bring a computer and remote and we'd take in some sights or do some things but he has never been on a work trip with me... until Alaska. 

Alaska has never been in our top consideration list but it's also a place that if given the opportunity we weren't going to say no. Let's break it down into two parts... the part while Amanda worked and the part when the conference was over. 

We took off on Saturday morning. Timing wasn't ideal... it's the day after G's birthday and the kids have only had two days of school under their belt. Michele came and stayed with and we relayed the schedule as we know it. Our flight was delayed upon boarding and we had some trouble getting off the ground, which resulted in a run when we arrived. I took off first and I felt my age and my shin splints upon arriving to hear final boarding call. It was a long flight but we got into Alaska in the afternoon and had lunch or supper or something because we were starving! We split salmon tacos, I had a seafood chowder and a salmon ceasar. Matt had a seafood scampi. From their we took a stroll around. The weather was rain-y but much more temperate than I had planned for. 

We took in the waterfront and some of the downtown scene. It's high tourist season so places were incredibly busy. We picked up things for the kids but I was unprepared for three things upon deeper review. 1. The art scene... I'm referring to the art houses, studios, and galleries but also to the murals that covered any space available in the city. The style was everything and sometimes it related to Alaska and sometimes it didn't it was fascinating. 

2. The florals. There were flowers everywhere. Native grasses decorated the landscape and flowers were trickled in to give more vibrancy. I was even happy to see the toadstools, which I never would have guessed.

3. The homeless. They covered the downtown area, created compounds, and were aggressive. I would have assumed the weather would have created a deterrent but upon discussions with locals - these are individuals that have been "banished" from their villages/tribes and relocate to Anchorage because they have no other place to go. Substance and mental health also contributed to the stability of this population.

We crashed pretty early and easy but woke up ready to go the next morning... actually moving around before much of the downtown did. We hit Alaska Crepery... Matt did an Alaska Reindeer Crepe, I did a smoked salmon and we split a nutella and banana. It was fantastic. From there, we walked the coastal trail - it got a little away from us and after a 5 mile walk, we made our way back to city center. We found a little co-op of sorts that shared space between a smoothie shop, coffee house, plant stand, bakery and bodega. Super cool. 

By this time, the Alaska Museum had opened. This facility covered the history, heritage, and art of Alaska. Additionally, there was some interaction pieces. I wish we would have started in more of the Alaska wing as we began to press time and sailed quickly through that. We stopped at Humpy's. I had halibut fish tacos, Matt had a crab patty. We both loved the beer. They had a Turnaround Raspberry Lambic and then Matt tried a few Belgians that made him swoon.

We headed back for my conference and Matt hung out before day drinking with Wendy (my boss's wife, who also made the journey). The two of them had a great time - which wasn't a shock at all to me. They went golfing on Wednesday together too with another spouse from TN. Matt's main objective was to golf in Alaska - it's the best course in the state (Moose Run) and he said it did not disappoint. The weather worked out well for him too and held until they were done. 

Arik (my boss) and I went to the banquet and I went with Matt and Wendy afterward to Club Paris - for the best steak of their lives, or so the barber at the hotel told Matt. Matt said it was a good steak but .... it may have been a bit oversold. I enjoyed the company and snuck pieces of the homemade bread which was fantastic. 

The conference closed out the following day. This is basically a peer-group of state chambers who are sharing best practices and discussing trends. Last year was a totally different conference and I walked away totally shocked and felt like I finally understood my role a little differently. This time I felt a bit dizzy with being overwhelmed. So many good ideas and so many shops doing a lot of fun things but we have a small team at work and it's hard to dig in in the same way these big shops are. 

Start of school, G's birthday

Last week before school starts.. and it's a cluster. A full on slog. It doesn't help that I have a trip coming up for work so I'm trying to push to get a bunch done so I can do it and Matt has some heavy items on his plate for work including two separate big pushes with government and regs and we have no childcare.

So we split times all over the board - put in babysitters where we can afford and ask Grandma Di where we can too. It's a bit of a mess. But we made it work. We also infiltrated some more corn picking and school open houses and meeting teachers. Everybody was a little nervous.

First day of school!! It's a bit bittersweet. I welcome the routine as well as the fact that a trained professional is there to ensure the education and future of my child but it's hard to admit another summer is gone and with that they are a little older and never going to be as little again. G starting kindergarten caught in my throat a bit - I've never not drove him to school in his entire life. The past two years it's been him and me and only up until last year we added Ainsley to the car (which he didn't love - as she kept interrupting his conversation). I was also a bit nervous with Ainsley going to school alone again. We got over the separation anxiety that raged hard from the last couple locations due to the fact that by the time she was four, she was in her 4th location due to closures. Childcare has been a hard mountain to climb over the past 7 years for the Remynse house - that's one of the reasons I joined the MVM Board. It's been a hard summer to see the struggles that these facilities are enduring.

School went well but unfortunately, the school nurse called me by the end of the day... E had puked! Oh no! She picked up a bug. What a total bummer - foreshadowing, it really went through our house as Ains had puked earlier in the week and G's was to hit over the coming weekend. 

Friday was G's birthday... after school, we went off to Pizza Ranch (his choice because of the dessert pizza) and then had presents at home. 

That night I asked him how it felt to be six years old and we sat and talked about all the things he was going to do. 

Triathlon. G's party, canoe, corn

Last full week before school starts. The kids went to Lansford but came back just in time for Kevie to come for Grady's birthday festivities! Matt and I love that Kevie plans a trip up each year to celebrate him and reconnect with us and we know we are difficult!

There was a lot happening this weekend too - We kicked off Saturday with the Triathlon. Grady was the youngest competitor - they let him compete because he was a week away from 6 and we did inform him that it was his 6yo birthday party that day. I was so proud of how they both did. It's not easy and although we've had swim lessons this past year, it's still a skill that takes a lot of learning and practice. The course has some nasty hills which is a beast for the bike but running was all good. They both did well. G came in under at 28:40 - comparable to Eleanor's first time and Eleanor shaved 4 minutes off her time last year to be 24:10ish. She also did more solo swimming this time. I'm hoping next year, they'll have the confidence to be alone and no lifevest... let's see. 

That afternoon, we did G's party. I felt bad that I didn't let him pick his theme, like I have when E hit that age but given what we got him - an inflatable canoe. I felt he would be okay with it. We opened presents, had tacos in a bag, and then I presented him with the first clue for a scavenger hunt... which led him to our present. We typically don't give our present at the party, we do it at our personal family party but given some circumstances - thought it was best. 

He loved the hunt - he had previously almost busted me hiding clues but I was so happy to see them rush around. He did want to keep it himself and not have his sisters in the fray but I'm not sure how to avoid that. There were 11 clues total and it took them all around the house with some levels of familiarity to things - where the feline eats (laundry room), unpack your lunch box (freezer), where your shoes are supposed-keyword to sleep at night, think purple (Ainsley's shoe bin). There were a few times that they got offtrack on a clue but when they got it they went off running... To the Bathroom! To the Grill! To the Travy!

The last clue took them to Matt's boat and G's Boat was still boxed in there. From there we had to blow it up and go on a ride right away. I'm hoping we can get a few in before the freeze happens. We ended the evening with cake. It was a long day but G seemed so happy with how it all went down. 

The following day, we kissed Kevie goodbye and took off to the farm. Dad donated sweet corn to preschool. It was good corn and we were excited to pick and sell this year again. I was surprised at how tall it got - some stalks taller than Matt. 

Was a good weekend...a busy weekend but all good. 

MJR and GRR getting into canoe.
ALR: Aren't you going to give him a paddle?

MJR: I'm tired of him smoking me in the head with it. 
ALR looks at GRR sitting in the canoe. GRR sees her looking, gives cheesiest grin possible: I'm ready to go!

.

Lemmon, Great Grandma Elaine,

The first week of August is the official last normal week of summer for our house. It's the last week we have childcare before it becomes a serious shellgame of where do the children go. Eleanor finished Blast care on August 6 and until August 24 will be off schedule. E and G have another full week before the shift happens. One of our go-to's has been Art Camp. Like myself, E has loved to watch what she can create and has a patience and hand for it when the mood strikes her. The theme of the camp this year that she attended was Under the Sea. It was fun to have her come home and show me the pieces that she created and the confidence that she had in them.

Grady had a major milestone - he had his last day at Montessori. I will admit, I didn't tell him until we were walking out - he's pretty tenderhearted but I'm not sure you quite understand when you complete a rite of passage at age 5/6. He's accomplished a lot of things and gained a lot of ground through those doors. We knew he'd be the one to spend the most time given where his birthday sits in the calendar year and I even put him on the waitlist before he was born. 

We headed to Lemmon for a Moser Family "Reunion" - I feel like I'm being fast and loose with the word reunion because we used to get together 1 or 2 times a year but reunion may be accurate as I struggle to remember when the family was together almost in entirety (outside of a funeral). Life is getting busy and as everyone's little family grows it's hard to imagine Christmas's a million years ago in Morristown. Back then it was 28 (at the max) now it's on the conservative side of 64 (depending on how you want to slice it). My cousin (and childhood best friend) hosted at her house in her community. 

My favorite part of the weekend may have been the golf - was fun and light hearted. Was nice to catch up during an activity and give each other schit like we did when we were children. Matt and I were paired with Heather & Brad and then Twila with Nick and Dekker. We had the course practically to ourselves. The kids went with Heather's kids and eventually joined forces with others including Kate's kids and Cam's kids. 

Following day, before heading to Heather's, we went and saw local artist John Lopez. We showed up late but it was beautiful to see the thought and design put into his pieces. This isn't ramshackle-d together but designed with intent and definition. I think they are so interesting - Matt and I differ a bit on what we like. The kids thought the sheer size of these pieces was very cool. The whale is from airplane gas tanks but the wolf caught my eye for sure, as did the delicacy of the tree.

In the afternoon the kids swam. and swam. and swam. and swam. That's what they were angling to do and it was nice to just let them be and be happy. Heather and Brad had a fantastic set up for it with a slide and water balloons and after having them fight and needle at each other for the past day, I let them swim until they were the last ones in the pool. Eleanor's eyes took a full day to recover but I think she thinks it was worth it. 

It's hard to see my grandmother age. This was one woman who I spent a week each summer with - I would go down and stay with her and my grandfather but it was mostly her. She had a movement to her that I can remember from those summers. A quiet hurry. She wasn't big movements but intentional and deliberate. She wasn't a loud woman but opinionated and practical. As she faces the sunset of her life, it's humbling to watch. She still has a setness of mind and a quick opinion - one that scares me to get on the wrong side of but the shift of the world and her body create a fragility. I already miss the woman who I spent summers with but love that her humor is still there and I'm amazed her candor is untarnished. 

A visual representation of what it's like to have three kids:
Okay... on the count of three we are going to jump. 1, 2, 3. .....