October in AK 2007

Brad just graduated the NCOA which means 6 weeks of absent Brad. It counts as 12 credit hours so it was pretty intense. He had plenty of homework and extra events. He had a graduation ceremony so we got dressed up and attended a formal dinner with his commander and classmates.

While Brad was attending the Academy I met a wife of one of his classmates. They were RVing in the spot right beside us. The good news is she is a hippy just like me. So the two of us hippy, artsy gals hung out every day for 6 weeks. She also homeschools her 2 boys and has a passion for nature like me. We even learned to knit together. The bad news is she lives in North Pole, AK, 6 hours away.

Brad has been absent from work for 6 weeks by now, not that it bothered him, and he is thinking he’s going back when he gets selected to participate in a base exercise. They go through a mock mobility line get to dress up in chemical warfare gear all day, all week and play M.A.S.H. Fun times there.

Brad is being told he will be deploying in January. The time frame has bounced around so we just know sometime in January. He has to take one for the team and do his obligation for the AF. In 18 years of service he has not deployed (Thank the Goddess!) He feels it is his opportunity to serve his country proud. He will be deploying somewhere in HI. Yeah, miss the winter of AK and live it up beach style. Pretty rough, I know. I am not a beach person but we might go, just to suffer along with Brad in HI in Jan :).

Ashley turned 15 this month. We hope she had a wonderful Bday in AZ. It kills us that we miss out on so much of the girl’s lives. From the big moments like birthdays and little ones like a bike ride, we miss them daily. The kids talk about them, what if they were here or they would love that. Brad tries to stay strong but there is a void when they are not with us.

We celebrated Samhain by remembering those who have passed before us. This is also the time to reflect on the past year and set hopes for the new.

The kids celebrated Halloween by taking to the streets as a Rocker, Fairy and Cowgirl. They hit the mother load and got a ton of candy. We were told the streets would be covered in snow but this year, not the story. It has snowed but not very much and it has mostly melted away.

We are still in search of a house. The water got turned off at the RV park so we are using the water tanks we bought. Brad has a heat lamp on them to keep from freezing as temps are in the teens. We have a dehumidifier running in the RV as we would be growing mold otherwise. Also the bath houses are now closed so showering is done at the base gym or at Brad’s work. I really enjoy running into his co-workers before showering and brushing my teeth. Wonder what they think of us? Oh and the potty…. we get to share a porta potty with the other RVers.

What an adventure!