One Week From Today

One week from today our things will be boxed up and crated, not to be seen for a month or more. It is supposed to be raining, snowing, and sleeting on these days.  I have visions of our stuff arriving in Texas all mildewed and moldy.  Although that's just me being optimistic!  KIDDING! I'm sure all will be fine and our stuff will arrive in perfect condition.

We are plowing through many of the small tasks necessary to get this move going.  We've set up all of our utility cutoffs and have made hotel reservations for the first 2 legs of our trip after exiting the ferry.  We are planning to be in Texas by the beginning of the first week of June. Our house hunting will commence immediately.  While we wait to close we can spend a few weeks getting to see some sights and then start setting up our household. Our summer is sure to be exciting.

This is where we stand...

Ok, so here is where we are at this very moment...

• Our house is a wreck because we are "cleaning up and cleaning out" before the movers get here.
  
• Charlie and I are both done working so we are hanging out together all day, which is why our house isn't getting finished, because we keep starting a project and then heading out to lunch...we are highly distractable.
• It snowed on April 15, but since then the weather has been fabulous this week - in the low 50's, which is like 90 anywhere else, but as all things here, that will be changing soon. Tomorrow we will be getting more SNOW.  Yes, you heard me, more snow Friday and Saturday.  We still have mega piles of snow EVERYWHERE.  
• We are getting excited about moving, although the kids are getting a little suspicious of all the things that are going into "storage" (read: the dumpster) as we move through each room and "minimize".

Ok suppose I should return to my project so we don't get delayed going to lunch...hmm there's a thought I should take pics and post them of our hot dining spots in town.  That would be few and far between and may involve stories of indigestion, or possibly worse.  Maybe we won't...we'll see. 

Nowak Family Goes on Exotic Cruise

Ok, just like most headlines to bait you into reading the story I must admit that we are not really going on a cruise...or at least not the kind you are thinking of. 

We are going on the Nowak Family version of a Princess cruise.  Although, we will be visiting some exotic destinations.  This cruise will be aboard the Alaska Ferry system.  Now I know half of you are clutching your stomachs and the other half are weeping for us (I've done both and will, upon boarding the ferry, do both again). Now if you think about it, it's practically the same deal...minus the all you can eat buffets, the tropical sandy beaches, the onboard swimming pools, the luxurious staterooms, the room service, the dress up dinners, the child friendly activities/programs/babysitting and, of course, the on board doctor a la "The Love Boat" who will dispense sea sick meds at will.  The one thing we do have going for us is that we will get to see some beautiful scenery, visit Juneau which I am actually stoked about, and see a lot of Alaska that we haven't seen yet, as this is the biggest freakin' state in the union, and that's putting it mildly.  While we are "underway" (note my use of nautical terminology- oh yeah- if you're gonna be a sea faring bunch you need to know the lingo.  Note to self: start watching Deadliest Catch) on our great Alaskan Ferry adventure, Zach will be celebrating his 11th birthday.  He's excited about having his birthday "at sea", as he says. I just love that boy.  

Some random thoughts about the ferry:

• I saw pictures and I'm a little nervous
  
• It looks clean so that's a bonus
  
• I get sea sick very easily, like when watching episodes of Miami Vice or, the aforementioned, Love Boat
  
• I have to plan a b-day party for Zach with cake and presents...on a ferry 
  
• Hoping the birthday candles don't create a "situation" and send everyone to the life rafts
  
• Hoping the "room with sitting area" we reserved has enough room for a family of 5
• Praying the room has a ventilation system (too gross to expand on)
• Looking forward to seeing some wildlife, since I'm pretty sure we are the only family in history to drive the ALCAN and not see ANY wildlife...is that even possible???  Uhh YEAH!!

Ok so I am promising to keep you all updated on our adventures, the first of which will be the packers and movers...love that nameless bunch of crazy kids who seriously don't care one iota about other people's things. Honestly, that will be as nauseating as the ferry.

Look for our schedule of events to be published soon.  (Are people actually still reading this?  If so, thank you!)  Charlie says we'll have stalkers now but I think it's highly unlikely.  What are the chances someone would really want to join OUR family on this trip?  If there is a taker, there better be a reality show contract, a big paycheck, and a camera crew attached.  Otherwise don't bother!

Now there's an idea...reality show...someone films an actual family...no, who would watch...plus we'd have to get props, scenery, script writers...it would never work!!! 

 

Only 31 days... and a wake up

So here we are just about a month out from leaving the great state of Alaska.  Things are starting to kick into high gear.  We had a yard sale this past weekend and made a lot of cash on junk and winter gear, both of which are hot commodities here in Valdez.  Speaking of the yard sale, it was snowing during our yard sale.  It is still snowing...I think it will never stop snowing.

Charlie and I are both finishing up work this week.  I am officially done on Thursday and Charlie starts his leave Friday afternoon.  This should be interesting! We still have a few things to take care of, odds and ends, but for the most part we are ready to move on.

We will definitely be looking for a house as we just found out that military housing is not even an option, with the wait being 12-18 months minimum - hello, that's as long as we ever live somewhere.

Ok...so here's the run down... looking forward to the movers, not looking forward to cleaning and clearing housing, looking forward to Juneau, not looking forward to the ferry, looking forward to Texas, not looking forward to having the kids say goodbye to their friends here, looking forward to NO MORE SNOW, not looking forward to oppressive heat.  Guess that about sums it up!

Just try to keep up with us...

Ok, so here we are establishing a new, easier and definitely less expensive family website.  We are so busy and already getting ready to move again that I thought it would be great to be able to share our travels and happenings of our family.  I'll post pictures, travel destinations, opinions and funny, funny stuff to keep everyone in the loop.  

We are busy and we are fun.  So please try to keep up with the Nowaks!