We Made It!

It has been an adventure to get here! If you were following us on Facebook, then you know that we dropped off the planet around July 4th. We left Columbus, Ohio on July 2nd. We flew to Chicago which is a prettier airport than what I remember. Then we took a too small for the trip plane to Fairbanks, Alaska.

We had a long layover in Fairbanks and were unable to sleep at the airport as planned. (not my plan) We hopped in a taxi and headed to the Extended Stay near the hotel. Its located next to a Fred Meyer, large grocery chain for Alaska. Toby ran to the store and got us some food for the night. They had a bag lunch of a sub sandwich, cookies, chips and soda for $6. We passed out and slept till about 2am. (jet lag sucks!)

We finally left the hotel at 4am, just in case there were issues. We went through security with no problems. There was one little problem with my bag. I guess I look like a drug smuggler or terrorists, but I was stopped in Columbus and Fairbanks. I had secondary searches of my luggage.

We waited for our flights, it was a long wait. The plane was scheduled to fly  from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay to Barrow and onward to Anchorage. The layover in Prudhoe was very long because of the weather. The pilots got the go ahead to fly to Barrow. The flight was full of clouds. When we got to Barrow we were unable to land. It was thick! (I'll add a pic soon! or you can check my facebook pics.) The pilot flew back to Fairbanks!

We joined the others that were in a similar situation. They rebooked us on the next flight that was leaving the next day. The evening flight to Barrow was cancelled due to weather. We returned to the same hotel, same room and almost same food. :) This time we ate pasta and I bought a bag of apples for the plane.

So you might be thinking about our luggage at this point. We were able to leave it at the airport because we had so much. We checked our luggage in the next day. And once again our luggage was searched. They had to break the locks on our ammo cases because we couldn't find the keys. No big issue! They broke Emily's make up case and spilled some liquids. We received a claim paper for it.

Going through airport security was easier this time. Georgia was a pro and Em didn't have to go through the full body scan because only one parent was with her. We spent time talking with other people headed to Barrow. They had us all over the airplane. People were very nice and helped put Abi with me and Georgia with Toby. I could see Em from my seat. She was sitting with some older women and chatting away. When we arrived in Prudhoe the seats were changed and we had to move. Georgia sat with me and Em and Abi sat by themselves. Toby  was stuck in a row of men.

It was cloudy! I was so worried like others on the plane that we were not going to land. In fact, we didn't land the first time. It was too cloudy again. The pilot pulled up and circled around and tried from the other direction. We landed and everyone cheered! I didn't get the video of it because I was in the aisle seat.

We arrived in Barrow, Alaska on the 4th of July! We are doing good and I will write more and update soon. We have no phone service, no cable, no tv right now. And we love it!!

The Mother Load of Posts

Sorry for not posting sooner, but I have been without access to a computer since I arrived in Cincinnati. (Something I completely forgot about.)

We left Cincinnati on our usually route to West Virginia. We passed several places that we loved.

 

On the road!

 

Good bye Newtown Café!

 

We missed the pic of the cool gas station with messages on the sign that makes a chuckle every time we read  them.

 

We won't miss the traffic at Eastgate due to construction.

 

Good bye Jungle Jim's!!!!

 

Good bye Popeye's!

 

When we got to West Virginia we passed one of our old favorites!

 

We stopped at our favorite place to eat. Georgia didn't like waiting for her food.

 

Great-Grandma Connie was so happy to see us!

 

 

Emily relaxing after the trip.

 

We ate at the new Steak and Shake.

 

We did some shopping and playing at the mall.

 

All the girls on the porch swing, singing their hearts out.

 

This is from the trip to Virginia. It made me think about the Stephen King book, "The Mist." Creepy!

 

Oh the West Virginia Hills!

 

We are not in Ohio anymore! The roads are curvy and winding around the hills.

 

Charleston, West Virginia

 

Massie has a new family with girls that will love her!

 

Trying to fix candy boxes. Yes, my kids are strange.

 

Georgia's box

 

Abi is working on her box.

 

This is the mother load of all posts. We have ran all over several states to see everyone before we left for Alaska. It was fun!

No More Cincinnati

 

This was taken the morning that we left Cincy. I thought the moon looked amazing.

 

 

 

And this was a trailer full of everything that we were taking with us.

 

Very sleepy helpers!

 

 

Fancy knots from a Marine and Sailor.

 

 

 

Another view of the trailer. We didn't want to loose anything.

 

We had to improvise since we didn't have a cinder block.

1 Day and a Wake Up!

We are down to one day and a wake up until we leave for West Virginia. I can't believe that we finally made it to this point. It has been like a roller coaster of emotions inside of each of us. I'm sure that our family and friends have had the same reactions. 

Today we got more things accomplished and I have the pictures to prove it. Today was dedicated to the kitchen, bathrooms and most of my bedroom. The goal was to clean the baseboards and scrub the deck. The walls got a good wiping. It was like brand new when we were finished. 

Everything that we have left is sitting on the counter. There's barely food left in the frig. We have been shopping daily for our meals. We are trying not to eat out very much during this transition time. We are trying our best not to go over budget and definitely not touch the emergency fund. (Thank you Dave Ramsey!)

The girls found this on the wall in the kitchen. Em and Ab had no clue what was the purpose of this outlet. They guessed power outlet for frig or special outlet for microwave. They laughed when they found out it was for a phone. LOL! Millenials are so silly. It made me think, wow they have no clue what life was like before computers and cell phones. 

Anyways, after all that hard work we headed to Mariemont Kroger for some refreshing treats. Kroger has been running a special this month, A Taste of Mexico. I couldn't pass these up in the freezer section. No one in this house likes shredded coconuts so I never get the opportunity to buy anything with coconut, except for coconut milk. They love it in their oatmeal. These were yummy delicioso!

Its been a long day and I have to wake up super early to finish everything before the U-Haul gets here. I've been trying to stay in a routine of bedtimes and wake ups. Georgia is the only child that wakes up before everyone. She is becoming my alarm clock. :)

She loves the sun! I wonder how much she will love it when it doesn't set until September....

Tuesday!!!

It's Tuesday and we are still set to leave on Friday morning! I feel dizzy thinking about leaving this place. We have accomplished a few things today. I have started watching True Blood on Amazon. I can watch three seasons for free. If I space them out correctly, I will have happiness until The Walking Dead returns. 

In the meantime, I'm moving....

We headed to Switzer Arms in Old Milford for two more seabags. We usually go to Newport, KY for them, but today it was rainy and overcast. No one was in the mood for a long drive. We were lucky we got two at a great price!

We love Old Milford! The statue store is the best to explore and look at the wonderful pieces. I love this dinosaur so much that it needs to be added to my grave stone when I am old and have passed on. I think it would be awesome!

Don't mess with Sasquatch! Imagine painting this thing and sticking it behind some bushes for trespassers. 

Georgia got in on the action at the statue store. Don't blink! Don't blink or else! She loves Dr. Who and this is one of her favorite episodes. 

While we were in Old Milford, we had to stop by Big Poppa Slim's for one last meal. We usually go there for breakfast, but today it was lunch. It is such a fun place to go and eat. Its small enough that you meet interesting characters, but large enough that you can be left alone. The owners, Sheila and Jeff do an amazing job. They remember what we love to drink and eat. I first went there as a vegan and they helped me stay true to it! 

Georgia had a huge grilled cheese with chips. 

Abi had a huge grilled cheese with chips.

Em tried the Caesar Wrap... yum!

I had the Barbara Streisand and Toby had the Billy Ray Cyrus. Delicious!!!! We will miss them!


After the delicious lunch, we headed down the road to the U-Haul station to reserve our trailer. U-Haul has great prices for in-town moves. We used Penske to move to Cincinnati. We are leaving with everything in a small trailer. 

We were lazy until our last customer showed up with cash in hand for ALOT of our stuff. No more shelves on the walls, No more large black thing in the kitchen (which I really did not like after I put it together, but was too lazy to take back to Ikea). 

I'm going to finish today being lazy and not working anymore. Wednesday is going to be a big push to get things done. Grace is coming on Thursday. Adding another kid into the mix is always fun!

Still counting down and moving closer to Alaska!

Sunday-Monday Activities

We finished the girls' bedroom. The walls and baseboards are wiped down. Windows are dusted and clean. Doors are beautiful. I declare this room finished, especially because I cleaned the carpet. 

The Alaska bound pile is getting interestingly larger. I need to weigh the seabags one last time before we leave. I'm thinking about switching the girls' smaller suitcases for large seabags. 

I'm thinking about going through the "Save Me" pile one more time before we leave Cincy. 

Argh! We are leaving at the end of this week! I have so much to get accomplished. 

A week to go!

This morning was great! Everyone slept in their own beds and woke up well rested. We were ready to seize the day! And we seized the day big time! I posted the end results.

Our living room has turned into our staging area. This lovely pile is full of things I refuse to part ways while I'm in Alaska. They are special items that I will never get again. Yes, that includes the carpet cleaner. I love that machine!

This lovely pile represents everything that needs to get to Alaska. It has to be in our checked luggage or gets shipped. Seabags are being checked in! We were able to put Emily's clothing and a sleeping bag in one seabag. Abi and Georgia's clothes, waffle maker and toaster are in one seabag. There's a seabag with pots and pans and my clothing. The red suitcase has silverware, kitchen materials and the rest of my clothes. I still need to pack my shoes! While we were busy, we decided to pre-pack our carry ons and decide what clothing we need to last us the month. 

These babies were on sale for $2.99 and I couldn't say No! Toilet paper is expensive in Alaska. I have packed lots of it. 

This is our living room now that we sold our couch. We are having fun with the mixed-match chairs. Its like living in a bachelor pad. LOL. 

We are down to a week and still have lots to do. I will keep writing and posting pics as they happen. Its going to be quite the adventure.