Caitlyn's New and Improved Smile

Today was an exciting day for Caitlyn. She actually woke up before 11! It was 8:30 and my baby was awake. The day she had been eagerly awaiting for two years had finally arrived. With mere hours to go, she was giddy with anticipation. Today was the day her braces were finally taken off.

We left the house at 11:30 to head to south Anchorage for her 12:40 appointment. AS you can see, gentle reader, she was all smiles.
Dr. Julien has seen Caitlyn since she began her phase 1 braces in 2nd grade. She's great! (Hence the nearly 50 mile drive to see her).
After about an hour in the chair, Caitlyn shows off her new smile. She was given a red cup full of foods that she wasn't supposed to eat for the past 2 years. The cup contained: microwave popcorn, Air Heads, Starburts, Skittles, and Bubblicious bubble gum. She managed to stay away from Air Heads and Starbursts, but there were a few Snicker bars and a bit of popcorn that passed through those braces over the past 2 years. Thankfully, I no longer have to worry about breaking brackets. Now we have to worry about breaking retainers!

My knee novel?

As I sit here, "chillin' out" (literally. I have the cryo-cuff on the knee as we speak/read/type), I am pondering Cousin Dawn's suggestion of writing a novel. Well, it won't be a novel, but a brief reflection.

My mother-in-law, Joan, is coming up on Saturday. I absolutely love her! I am so happy that she is coming as I haven't seen her in a year and Ed and the kids haven't seen her for 2. I am hopeful that I will be able to walk a bit faster than the slow snail's pace that I am at right now. The hopefulness comes from the fact that I am completely off the crutches. (YEAH!!!!)

Mom and I, June 27, 2007, Bayonne, NJ. RA was held in Philadelphia, so I flew to Newark and rented a car. The ticket to Newark was a better price than the one to Philly & it gave me a not-so-much needed excuse to see Mom!

Anyway, she is flying up with her sister, Linda, who is also a wonderful person. I really lucked out in the in-law department. Ed has a great family! If I didn't love Alaska so much, maybe we would move to New Jersey. Maybe not...

Aunt Linda and I, June 27, 2007, Bayonne, NJ.
Linda and Joan 6/27/07

We have a week planned that is PACKED with fun. They arrive on Saturday. On Sunday we are driving to Alyeska Resort in the morning so that we can take Mom to the Double Muskey for her birthday. It is a world-class restaurant and they don't take reservations. We want to be there early, plus we'll have an opportunity to have a nice drive. On Monday, the "grown-ups" are taking the train to Seward for a Kenai Fjords cruise. I have never been on one of these, but I hear there is a lot of wild life to see. I already know that the scenery will be worth the trip. Tuesday, we will drive back to Seward to take the kids to the SeaLife Center. Wednesday will be a late start as Riley, our budding ballerina/tap dancer, has back-to-back classes. Afterward though, we plan to go to Hatcher's Pass. I think we have shopping in there Thursday with dinner at Sourdough Mining Co. followed by a trip to Alaska Wildberry Products (more Jelly Belly's for me!!!! hehehe)

Whew! I am exhausted just thinking about everything we are going to do! I know the girls will have fun (I did mention shopping, right?) and Ed will enjoy the time with his mom and aunt. I just hope that me moving a little slow won't put a damper on the visit.

The girls have taken good care of me over the past week and a half since surgery. They have put up with cranky, needy, mom, without TOO much gripping.

School pics from the 07/08 school year.

Ed comes home 2 days before his mom gets here. He is excited and nervous all at the same time. It's his Aunt Linda's first trip to Alaska and he wants to make sure it's a good one. Since this is such a big state, and they are only here for a week, we can't share ALL of Alaska with her, but we can squeeze in as much of the South Central region as possible.

My Honey.

Well, it isn't a novel, and this is a rather abrupt ending, but it is coming to a close nonetheless. I will try to post pics and what-not of the Great Alaska Visit of 2008.

RA 2008 in Washington D.C.

I left for D.C. on the 29th of June, for my 5th RA (Representative Assembly for the National Education Association). It was 8 whirlwind days of policy making, fundraising, and reconnecting with friends from across the country. Oh yeah, and a little bit of sight seeing. I think I worked more during this RA than I did in the previous 4! I went to the Holocaust Museum, but didn't take any pictures. That was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. When you think that some things in your life have been bad, just look at the persecution that occured during that time.

The Alaska delegation was originally supposed to get a tour of the White House, but that didn't happen. Instead we went on a V.I.P. tour of the Capitol Building. We began at Senator Murkowski's office and proceeded to the basement of the Hart building. It's supposed to be good luck to walk across the star that marks where George Washington's crypt was supposed to be. As we know, his wife, Martha, honored his wishes and had him buried at Mount Vernon, rather than in the Capitol Building. My foot is the white tennis shoe at the bottom of the pic. Can good luck be far off? Hhhmmm...who knows! There was so much to view in the Capitol Building, so much history (I know...Duh!), so many people!!!!
Outside of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's office in the Hart Sentate Building.
I also stopped by Senator Obama's office. Of course he was not there. He did speak to the RA via satelite from Montana on the 3rd of July. Last year he came to speak in person, along with 7 other people that were presidential hopefuls. Huckabee was the only republican that came. All of the democratic candidates came. This year, an invitation was extended to McCain. He declined, just like last year. I wonder if he realizes that there are voting republicans that are members of the NEA...
I went to Sen. Hilary Clinton's office as well. She has spoken to the RA, in person, twice. Once in 2004 and the second time was last year in Philadelphia. While we didn't hear from her this year, I thought it would be cool to stop by her office. I am such a nerd when it comes to this kind of stuff!

Each of the 50 states has 2 statues within the Capitol Building. Alaska's statues are Senators Bob Bartlett and Earnest Grueining. Being the good wifey that I am, I took a picture with one of the statues from New Jersey. Unlike a good tourist, I forgot who it was. Oops!

After the sightseeing, Speedy Gonzalez style, we got down to the business of making policy for the National Education Association. I was actually on the speaking order, standing at microphone 4 (in the center of the photo). I was so excited, because what I had to say was VERY important, and NO ONE could vote on the issue without hearing my 2 cents worth. And, as fate would have it, someone moved to close debate!!!! ARG!!! The first time I finally get the nerve up to speak in front of over 9,000 of my close, personal friends, and I don't even get to speak! Oh well, at least I got the courage up to speak. Isn't democracy great?
I was able to reconnect with good friends. It's phone calls and emails for Miss Anna-Maria and I until RA. She is from Maryland. She has promised me for the past 4 years, that she will make it up to the Last Frontier one day.
As the chair-person of the fundraising committee for Alaska (A.K.A. the Giveaway Captain) I need as much help as I can get. It's a huge job! One of my minions/helpers this year was the Alaska member of the NEA Resolutions Committee, Jerry! I could not have done my job this year without the help of Deanna, Ilona, Jerry, Kelly, and of course, Barb (from NEA-Alaska). Thanks much guys! We actually made it into the top 10 for "per delegate contributions" We actually were #7!!! YEAH!!!!!
Lisa was my roommate at my first RA, which was also in D.C. We did many things together, including designing the logo for the Anchorage Education Association. We have presented together at Pacific Regional Leadership Conference as well as the NEA-Alaska's April Leadership conference. I am often called Lisa. I am not sure how frequently she is called Jessica anymore, but we decided to lable ourselves "JoCo" (Her last name is Johnson).

Kelly and I hung out a bit. We went to eat Ethiopian food with Ilona at a restaurant in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of D.C. We went back a few nights later with Jerry and hung out and did some people watching at Meze. Definiely not a neighborhood to have a baby. There seemed to be a constant stream of emergency vehicles going down the street. Police cars, fire trucks, ambulances...and of course many taxi cabs were all over the place. It is a very multi-ethnic area. It was interesting watching the people. Since one can only watch people for so long, we ended our evening back at our hotel in Arlington, VA.

Next year's RA is in San Diego. I am hoping to attend. It would be really cool if the man and offspring could join me!

3rd time is a charm!

Ok. So 3rd time is supposed to be the charm, right? Let's hope that holds true. Summer is here, and it feels like it's almost gone! The fam has been pretty busy so far. In May, Ed and I went to see Elton John. That was a great concert! What a professional! 3 shows. 3 nights in a row. 2 1/2 hours each show! All Elton. It was fantastic. Ed was only home for 6 days though. He went back up to Prudhoe Bay for a 3 week hitch. While he was away, the girls and I kept busy. We painted most of the walls upstairs. We changed from the "we just moved in" off-white to "Wilmington Tan" which reminds many of caramel or peanut butter. I think it's warmer and more welcoming. After painting, I got to work and Cousin Bernie & Angie's wedding cake.



Cake for Mr. & Mrs. Bernie Kale. This was my first attempt at fondant flowers.

Not TOO shabby...

The week following that, Dawn came over and we built a deck. No pictures yet, sorry. I will post some as soon as I get back outside to get them. So, after the deck was finished, we had our 2nd annual Summer Solstice Block party. It was pretty fun, even though 3 homes are up for sale. It's a great time to get caught up and a good opportunity to meet the new neighbors. We have a pretty cool neighborhood. There are a lot of little kids though. I am sure Caitlyn and Haley wish there were more kids their age. Maybe some will move in...

So, after the block party, I began baking for Aliscia's quinceanera/Sweet 16 party. It was a HUGE event. All three of my girls took part in the festivites. It was a crazy weekend! On the 28th of June, I went to set up the cake for Aliscia's party at the Hacienda Restaurant, came home, and changed for Jake and Kristina's wedding. Haley, Riley and I went to the wedding. It was beautiful. After the wedding, we had to race home so Haley could change for Aliscia's party.
We got to the party and I had to leave after about an hour because that evening was the dinner for my 20 year high school reunion!

Aliscia's birthday cake. Center is white with raspberry filling. The satelites are

(clockwise: chocolate, confetti, strawberry, and yellow all with buttercream icing)

Aliscia standing by her B-day cake

Haley, Caitlyn, Me, and Riley at Aliscia's Quinceanera/Sweet 16 party

Well, after that wild day, one would think it would be time for a day of rest. Nah...not around here! The picnic for the reunion was on Sunday. It was ok, Friday and Saturday night were better, but oh well. We went to see a movie before Ed and the girls dropped me off at the airport for my flight to DC.
Caitlyn, Haley, Riley & I hanging out with Deanna at the reunion picnic

Whew! I am tired just thinking about that weekend. Well, I got back safe and sound on Monday, July 7. I went in for surgery on my right knee on July 8th. Now, since I am forced to take it easy, I am beginning my blog. I plan to add some D.C. pics over the next couple of days. Hopefully I will be fully operational within the next week or so. Well, maybe not FULLY, but at least more upright. Till then!