In two weeks, I'll be in Canada

Time is FLYING! But we have so much to do. In the next two weeks, we still have a ton of stuff to get done. We've been telling Ellie about our move and preparing her the changes. She's grown quite attached to the kids in our building. Hopefully, we'll meet new kids her age but it is kind of sad because some of these kids she's known her entire (albeit short) life. She is pretty happy that we're moving some place with a zoo.

Cleaning the house has been fun. We have to try and get the carpet clean enough to clear our inspection on the 14th. To the naked eye, it's fine but the Housing guys up here use a black light to look for, ahem, spit up, poop and pee. With two kiddos there's gonna be some poop and pee that we missed after the 38th time one of them had an accident. I have to put primer on the walls that we painted, which is nearly every room. Hopefully some of the PFCs from Jennifer's office will be enticed by the offer of cash and free pizza to come help me out.

The movers come on Monday the 7th to start packing up our stuff. We still need to pare down the things we aren't going to take with us. Besides stuff we brought up here that we didn't need, we have baby clothes that we're just not going to use again. We also need to get Jennifer's car shipped out. It will take 14-20 days for it to get down to Seattle. I thought moving to Alaska was a pain in the butt. Moving out of Alaska is even more so.

My best friend Ross is coming up on the 12th to drive out with me. This is going to be a blast. We haven't hung out since October 2005. I promised Jennifer that we'd behave. We'll try. Heh. Nah, we will. We'll be on the road for 4 nights and 5 days. Our stops are scenic Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory and then Ft. Nelson, Prince George and Abbotsford, B.C. When we came up, we caught the ferry part of the way. I'm pretty psyched about driving the Alaska Highway. We'll have some long days but it should be fun.

Jennifer's mom is coming on Friday. She's going to fly out with Jennifer and the girls when they leave around the 16th. I bet Linda's thrilled that this is her last trip to Alaska. She wont be the only person not missing the winters up here.

Jennifer found out today that school wont start for her until early July (not June 18th.) So we'll have 5-6 weeks in the Seattle area to find our bearings. We're looking at homes in Puyallup or south of there. Jennifer's going to have a bit of a commute the first year but hopefully she can catch the train to downtown without too much trouble.

There will be things I miss. It's 9:30 right now and the sun wont be setting for another 45 minutes. There's nothing quite like sitting outside at 10:00 with a good book and a cigar in broad daylight. It's a really odd feeling. For nearly 3 years, I've been waiting for the day when we'd leave Alaska. It will be here soon. We've been here for more than 1000 days. I thought this would be a completely happy occurrence, something that I'd be 100% ready to do. But I'm not.

We cooked out with our neighbors last weekend. Our kiddos ran helter skelter around outside as we grilled. We watched them play in the sand box and draw with chalk on the sidewalk. I held my youngest on my shoulders as I flipped the steaks and made some hot dogs for the kiddos. It was beautiful weather wise. 60 degrees in the sun with just a slight breeze.

After dinner, Ellie and Campbell got baths and went to bed. I ran to the store to get hamburger fixings for the next night as we had all decided to grill again. As I drove home, the sun was still up. I was wearing sunglasses in the car at nearly 10:00 pm. My sunroof was open as I jammed to some Marley and thought about the day.

I know why I'll miss Alaska. It wont be the -40 winter days. It wont be isolation from home and friends. It will be the days like this. Sure, we'll have experience like this some where else. But as I watched my oldest daughter play, I could see her with our neighbor's daughter. They are about the same age and have known each other their whole lives. Short lives yes but they are "best" friends. I could stand outside and watch the sun not be ready to set for another few hours. I am in the only home my kids have known so far.

I will miss Alaska. I really didn't think I would say that.