The Last Frontier--one last time.

Now we go back to June. Shortly after my parents arrived back in Alaska after being Super Grandparents and babysitting for us for 6 days while Jared and I were in San Diego, they put their house up for sale. Although I was not giving my "yea" vote on the matter, I told them they needed to do what was best for them. My parents got a cash offer the second day on the market. They had to be out in less than 30 days by July 13th. Holy cow, that was fast! My mind was whirling with all the things they had to do to prepare and the actual move. It's a logistical nightmare moving to or from Alaska, even worse for a couple anticipating leaving the country shortly after selling their house and not sure if they will be able to find another one in another state to buy before leaving, and thinking about storage in the lower 48 in the interim and needing storage in AK until they leave for the summer, etc., etc.

Later that night or the next day, I started wishing I could go up to Alaska to help my parents out. Don't get me wrong. My parents are the most efficient movers you will ever find! They've packed us up, loaded our trucks and helped us move more than their fair share. Which is why I wanted to help. I wanted to give back to them just a tiny portion of what they've done for us. So I started looking at the calendar. And then I started devising a plan. Jared worked the night of the 4th of July at the Urgent Care. However, if I took a flight out that night, I could stay Sunday, Monday (Jared didn't have to work that day!), and then he would only have to take Tues. and Wed. off. I would fly home Thursday morning because Jared doesn't work til noon on Thursdays. That would get me a 4 day trip with the least amount of vacation days used. I proposed my plan to Jared. He was all for it.

I asked my parents what they thought. First of all, Dad wasn't even going to be in town during those days. He was going to be hanging out/fishing off Kodiak Island. So Mom was going to be alone. GREAT! Even more reason to go. An extra adult can't hurt. Their first reaction...they didn't want me spending all that money on a ticket. I was still just outside the 2 weeks advance ticket purchase. But the more Mom thought about it the more she got excited. So I bought the ticket. And under $550. I was happy with that. Especially since I was flying out of Portland.

A week later, the contract on the sale fell through. We suspect the buyers got spooked by the renters next door. Oh well. I told my mom the ticket was non-refundable, non-transferable. I was coming whether she needed me or not.

The 4th of July was a HOT day. I got everything cleaned, organized, labeled, sorted, and outlined for Jared. Menus were planned, groceries were bought, bills were paid, laundry was done, fireworks were purchased, the house was spotless. All Jared had to do was make sure the kids didn't kill each other or burn the house down.

My friend Celina took me to the airport while her mom (my friend Cheryl) watched the kids for the 45 minutes when I was gone before Jared got home. What lifesavers they were!

I was stunned when the plane backed away from the gate. It was half empty! I have NEVER been on a flight to or from Anchorage where even 1/4 of the seats were available. They cram you in like sardines on those limited flights. I had a whole row to myself.

It was fun to see the fireworks dot the sky below us as we left the city. Once we reached cruising altitude I settled in and stared reading a book I had with me. You know you're going to Alaska in the summer when you leave one place in the dark and it gets lighter the later it gets. I soon became obsessed with the what was outside the plane and started taking pictures. Because the flight was so empty, I moved from one side to another and from one row to another getting as many different shots as I could. It was incredible.

I had the moon behind me.


The midnight sun in front of me.


Mountains, snow, glaciers and rivers below me.


Goodnight Moon!


Hello Anchorage! This is the Sleeping Lady or Mount Susitna (located about 30 miles northwest of Anchorage across the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet).


It was an awesome flight! I feel so blessed for once-in-a-lifetime views. I arrived around 12:30am which is when the above picture was taken prior to landing.

It was about 2:30am before Mom and I turned in for the night. We couldn't stop talking. She had another offer on the house already and ironically enough the renters that scared the first sale away, packed up and moved the week after! Oh well. Their loss. My parents would sell their house. It wasn't if, but when. Mom had countered on the second offer (because Dad left her in charge while he went gallivanting around Kodiak Island with his brother and friend). She was waiting to hear back from them, but was still showing the house.

The next day was Sunday. We walked to church and entered a very WARM chapel. Apparently the air conditioning was out (yes, some buildings have A/C) and the Bishop welcomed everyone to the "Honolulu North" ward for the day. Anchorage was experiencing some unusually high temperatures while I was there.

Because the house was still being shown, we couldn't do a garage sale or pack or paint as I had anticipated doing, so we played instead! Darn.

When Mom asked me what I wanted to do Sunday night, the first thing out of my mouth was "climb Flattop." I think she thought I was kidding. I assured her I wasn't. She double checked. I continued to assure her. I wanted to climb it last year when we were up there with the kids, but we just didn't have time. Seeing as how this was my last hoo-rah, I wanted to do it one more time. Mom had NO desire to climb the Glen Alps, but because she loves me, we did it.

Our goal :)


Downtown Anchorage on a hazy afternoon due to a couple of forest fires.


Going up...


The parking lot is the light thin strip beyond that second hill on the right. (Mom, you're the best! What a trooper!)


At the top...


The views...


See? It really is flat!


Going down...MUCH harder than going up! Woo--we were tired at the end, but what an accomplishment.

After cleaning up we got dinner at a Mexican restaurant and rented Mamma Mia!

Tuesday we went shopping in Wasilla for the "Original Poop Moose." I own one. But Mom wanted to get one and in looking for one for the Hickens last year, we discovered the guy that makes them sells them in one store only in the valley. There were only 2 or 3 large ones and a couple of small ones. And they were on sale. Sweeet!Mom got hers and I bought a baby one for my "other mother" Vickie. She holds Calvin (often a very squirmy Calvin) all through Relief Society for me (and has for the past 9 months since I was called to the Relief Society Presidency). She very much deserved a collector's item that you can only find at one store and only in Alaska!


On our way back into town we stopped at a theater and watched the new Ice Age movie and then we had one of my favorites for dinner: spaghetti.

Wednesday morning we went to the temple. Such a special place.




I packed up (boy those 4 days went by fast--not sure Jared could say the same, however) and then we headed to the Sourdough Mining Company for dinner and the Alaska Wildberry Company for souvenirs for the fam. And then it was time to go.


Goodbye house.




Goodbye Silver Spruce Drive.