Appointments, Bella Time, Epic Hikes

This post should be labeled, "Wednesday that feels like Monday." 😉 We were up and moving early this a.m.  I'm not 100% sure what Michael and the kids were doing. I know it had to do with trip prep.....the boys left tonight to fly to Anchorage for the long-planned "Epic Alaskan Hike" with the three older brothers. 

Mom and I had two appointments, stopped by Safeway to pick up some lunch fixings and then went over to BreZaak's to play with Bella for the afternoon.  Bella and GG (Great Grandma) had a lot of fun playing together. 

Mom had brought her calendar - the idea is we'd make sure we got everything on to it from the various appointments. We discovered Bella LOVES calendars.  Of course, big pages, bright colorful pictures and boxes to write in.

Bella LOVES GG's calendar 

BreZaak got home with just enough time for me to drop Mom off and meet up with Michael and the kids. We headed a couple of hours up the road to get the boys to their flight.

Through security with only one minor incident.....Alex had packed his Gerber in his carry on. The run back through the airport to security and the chance to watch them go through again was sort of exhilarating. 

Alex texted Stacia a photo 

JaRissa's living room has turned into a staging camp. 

We had considered driving up to Alaska this week....but the boys really want to do the AlCan with us.  We really want Nolan's help driving as we'll have two vehicles on the trip - Uchi pulling the trailer and Nimo - loaded to the gills. The hike was planned before the move to AK became apparent.  We are happy to have another week to prep here in Oregon. We are thrilled the boys are getting to enjoy this time and hike with their older brothers.

We are a bit peeved at Parkinson's, which has made it so Michael can't go on the long hike with them.

Tuesday that Feels Like Monday

Tuesday and the long weekend is over. I've begun receiving questions and realize we left everyone hanging with the house inspection.  The inspector did a great job and came back (as they always do) with a list of needed repairs. A few were on the big side, and there were many on the small side. We discussed the results of the home inspection with our realtor. We followed his advice and are in discussion with the sellers as to whom will handle which repairs.  

We are going ahead and moving to AK before it's time to close - our thoughts are several. We WANT to be there to close early - we'd like to make it to Krista's COT graduation the end of the month.  IF this house does not close, we'll be nearby to pursue our other two choices - which are still on the market. 

Today - the men continued to work on the trailer. Yes, it's time consuming but they are saving us at least $2500. 

Meanwhile, Mom had an appointment at radiology and then Stacia and I watched Bella so BreZaak could visit with Gideon.

Turkeys as we left campus 

 Gideon's beautiful smile....we continue to pray, watch and wait for Gideon's homecoming! 

Shew - Tuesdays that look and feel like Mondays have got to be  some kind of psychological warfare tool.

We Have a Trailer

Craigslist finally came through and we purchased a used 6 x 10 trailer.  It was delivered to my folks' today and Michael and the boys promptly began working on it. They removed some caulk and re-caulked, they hooked up lights (not sure how it's been used without the lights being hooked up LOL), they discovered brake lines and are working to get the brakes hooked up and working and everything in "ship shape" for the trip.  It doesn't match Uchi but it is "Duck Green." LOL

We plan to leave Oregon the 6th. We have much to do. 

Gideon Meets Aunt and Uncles

Gideon put on a show today. He had his eyes open, was yawning and I believe he even cracked a small smile. He is doing so well. He is down to just the feeding tube. The goal is 48 ml feedings so he can go home.

I think I see a dimple! 

 Today, three special folks got to meet Gideon in person. Yep, the aunt and uncles visited. 

I believe it was love at first sight for all. 

Alex Finds a 2017 Penny

Alex became the next to exchange a 2017 penny for a silver dollar! 

I think he may have had a bit of help for Lorri - 2nd cousins (?) are grand! Michael still has a cache of silver dollars waiting for the others to find their 2017 pennies.

A Very Good Day

Great news! We began looking for a used 5x8 trailer to haul a few items we have at Mom's to Alaska with us.  We didn't find any and the time to leave is quickly approaching. Yesterday, we went shopping for a new one.  We have to install electric brakes to go through the Yukon Territory.  The decision was made that 6x10 would pull fine behind the motorhome and the bigger size was o.k. if we had brakes. A new trailer, with brakes installed, would be $4500.

Michael has been hounding Craigslist and buy/sell lists. A new one came up. He drove to Creswell and looked. It's 6x10 AND already has breaks for $1800. WooHoo!

Josiah and Jamin met Biff, from Biff's Home Inspections, at the new house this afternoon. They were our reps during the home inspection. Apparently, we have a prior resident who likes the house too.  We enjoyed the moose that wandered into our yard in Eagle River. No problems at all - though we were late a few times waiting for him to leave our driveway. I expected moose living out in the country - and  found lots of scat when we looked at the house.  I DO want to have a garden. Several of the homes we looked at in the country HAD gardens; we're researching how to keep our garden from becoming Bullwinkle's favorite all-you-can-eat buffet! 😕💓😁

I spent the afternoon with the world's greatest walking partner ever! Bella enjoyed the flowers, the sun, the birds...and she fell asleep and took a nap at the proper time by the time we got back home.

Granna's walking partner

 Gideon is in real cloths and a real crib today. They also gave him his first bottle. He's not very impressed, but he did get 10 ml down via bottle vs. feeding tube. He isn't sucking much, but it drips into his mouth and he swallows. This is progress. Bottom line - he is learning to eat; they continue to try nursing.

 We suspected he'd be into newborn clothes by the time he left NICU;  maybe we'll go get a preemie outfit or two.

We topped the night off with pizza and games at my parents. Nadia and Casper dropped by for a bit. It was good to spend time with family and will be hard to say goodbye again....but there is more family to say hello to in Alaska.

Finally, we are contemplating buying a fridge here and hauling it to Alaska vs paying the higher price in AK. We hate to miss the good sales this weekend and know we'll need a fridge when we arrive.  In our search we found this....a style we're interested in...but check out that brand name!#EditingMatters

Oh - one final last thing 😉.....Krista texted and passed her PT test at COT (Commissioned Officer's Training).

We leave for Alaska in 10 days and a wake up.

Window Shopping

School and laundry - the drumbeat of  this full-timing family. 😅😃😅

We can see the end of the school year; not so much with the laundry.

Michael fixed the rear brakes and the emergency brake on Nimo (jeep).

We went to the Eugene VA for his last therapy session in Oregon. They are putting notes and referrals in the record for the VA clinics in AK. We have really loved his care team here in Eugene. They assure us the team will be just as good in Alaska.

We went window shopping....these would work well for a workshop for Michael....and outfitted correctly could even be a guest house. Unfortunately, Tuff Shed doesn't have an office in Alaska. 

And...if he has a workshop like the above...something like this would work for Uchi. 

We've been looking for a used trailer - but aren't finding one. This one is 5'x 8'.....the other possibility is 6' x 10'. Yukon Territory requires electrical brakes for even the small trailers (only spot on the trip that does - including other Canadian territories), but we're looking at how much it will cost to install brakes on a trailer....and needing to find one soon.

Michael continued on to look at woodstoves. I went and spent a few hours with Bella so BreZaak could spend time with Gideon. Gideon is doing well. He's down to just a feeding tube. Bella took a bunch of photos, but none of them are clear enough to share.

I finally saw a moment to make it for groceries as we left BreZaak's for the evening. Actually, Michael saw the moment and dragged me kicking and screaming into the grocery store.

Back at Uchi, Michael worked on more Nimo items and I balanced the checkbook and took care of some other business related items.