Marshall in Bloom: The End of our Third Year

{Marshall in bloom}

 So I know I've said it before, but it deserves to be said again. My husband is amazing.  Last night he got home at 1:45 in the morning!  He was in his classroom off and on all day yesterday working on a large final project for his masters degree & meeting with his group for their presentation preparation.  He was able to complete his nearly twenty page paper and submit it last night, which is a good thing because this upcoming week is going to be cuh-razy!

{Taking a mid-walk break}

Monday he has to help inventory curriculum; Tuesday he has his final masters' degree class (!!!); Wednesday is a Community Appreciation Gathering; Thursday is the Spring Carnival; and Friday is the Community Feed Luncheon at the school... and all of this is in addition to his regular workweek!

{Marshall Field}

Meanwhile, back at the house, I am taking a different kind of inventory.  Making note of what we have and what we'll need when we come back in August.  I am also cleaning house (sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dusting...) and organizing things for our departure.

I have also been working diligently to empty out the drafts in my Blogger dashboard.  I am down to only four drafts, three of which should become Published posts before we leave.

{Marshall School Track}

I bought a new backpack for our travels and I can't wait to use it. It has a laptop pocket and a ton more room for this traveling mama! This time I am only looking forward to going home.  There's nothing I am dreading, except perhaps leaving in August.  Last year I had my wisdom teeth out, had to study & get my Alaska drivers license in Anchorage, and we road tripped with our three littles to and from Montana so Josh could attend orientation on campus at Rocky Mountain College over summer break.

Our day of travel will be a long one, don't get me wrong.  We will leave here at 10am and not get to our destination until twelve hours later.  While that will make for a tough day, we are very excited to get home all in one day.  

{Investigating a moth on the playground}

We did manage to find (thanks to a friend-- Hi Hollie!) a fully furnished house to rent for the summer, and we couldn't be more excited about it!  It's a big house, with a backyard and a garage, and we feel so blessed to have found something so perfect for our family.  (Thank you, Dayna!)

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{Elf cookies... Yum!}

I am reading Liane Moriarty's The Last Anniversary on the Kindle app on my tablet, rented through OverDrive via Fort Vancouver Regional Library where I have had a library card since I can remember. Moriarty's my favorite new author. I  enjoyed her books, The Hypnotist's Love Story and The Husband's Secret. But by far my favorite was What Alice Forgot.

Discovering this new way of borrowing library books is going to make not buying books so much easier for the next year.  I think it will be key to my success!

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{Ice Cream Treat from the co op}

As we close our third year here in the bush, I am blown away by how much more in love with this place I am.  Every minute I spend here, I feel it confirmed that we are in the right place.  I love the people, the sky, the wide open spaces.  I love the focus on family, the slow pace of life, and the adventure of coming and going each summer.  

It is odd, at times, this double life we lead.  Having two places we call home; going "home" to Washington for summer and coming "home" to Alaska for fall.  But I feel like we get the best of both worlds.  

The only way to do it is to remember:

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