Gearing up for Alaska

I have officially moved out of this amazing Guest Cottage and am homeless/jobless AKA Funemployed for a few weeks again.

I have signed a contract to begin work in SE Alaska the second week of April, and now all of our focus is on making this a safe and enjoyable adventure! 

The good news is I have more time to take care of the mountains of paperwork and tasks required to begin a job up there. The bad news is, Brad does not have a lot more time as he will be working up until the last minute before we journey off. We are still finding time for fun tasks like shopping for new rain gear, outdoor survival gear and even getting in some good food before we head out of the South. 

This also means I have done a lot of my shopping online to be most efficient. Before I made it back up this direction, my pink fuzzy Alaska hat arrived in NB, and archer seems to be pretty fond of my choice :) 

When I got to Brad's parents home the end of last week, they all gave me my new fishing rod which was ordered by Brad piece by piece and built by his dear Father. His dad was not thrilled with the pink bling I repeatedly insisted upon, but somehow he was able to grit his teeth and make this beauty a reality! 

Me and Brad spent about 4 hours at Cabella's last weekend, and though I begged and pleaded for him to get this sexy hat, Brad insisted it was too silly. I am sure he will regret that decision one day soon... 

We both are now proud owners of rain suits. Of course we had to test them out to ensure they were in fact water-proof. Sadly I didnt get any pictures of the next couple of hours but it involved us in our new gear washing my car, then both of the dogs and then having an all out water war in the backyard like 5 year olds without any parental supervision. It was all fun and games until I switched to my flip flops and accidentally stood in a fire ant hill... Which quickly turned into me screeching and tearing off my pants and hollering at brad to continue to spray me to get the ants off. Having ants in your pants is not as fun as the childhood game made it sound!! 

So we are slowly checking off items from the to-do list and making sure we enjoy the process as much as the destination. 

Will try to keep y'all in the loop more, the past few months were just... rough for me. Nothing terrible, just glad I am getting to close that chapter of the book and grateful for the lessons I was able to learn. 

  

Sherwood Forest Faire

A few weeks ago, Brad and I got the joy of joining his sister out at the local Renaissance Faire.

I was concerned about anything in Texas being called a "Forest" Faire, as we are not known for huge forests or trees in these parts. But alas, it lived up to its name tucked away in a wonderful little Forest outside of Austin, Texas.

Amy (Brad's Sister) is a member of one of the clans, which means she gets to camp at the Faire nearly every weekend and is greatly involved in all of the festivities that make up this annual event, which runs for a little over 2 months. I loved not only getting to spend time with Amy this weekend, but also getting to know her world better, because this is her passion and where she gets to lets loose and have fun with a clan that protects her and loves her.

I arrived, knowing Amy had brought extra garb for me to wear and get into costume for the day for a greater experience of the Faire. What surprised me most though that after I was all made up, even Brad got into the spirit enough to borrow some garb.

Hairpiece created by Amy

Another bonus of the day is my good friend Wil came to visit. I have not seen Wil in years and years even though he was one of my dearest and amazing friends. So glad he was able to make the trek and spend the day with us :)

Throughout the day I got to ride to the dragons with Amy (Brad drew the line there, he wouldn't budge on riding), shop in the artisans stores, eat delicious food, buy new essential oils, watch live jousting, comedy shows and interact with the variety of folks that make up the Forest Faire.

Live jousting

 At one point, this gentleman began to give lessons to Brad on how to bow to me and walk along beside me with the sword on the correct side to protect me and such, never a dull moment at Faire :) Thanks for capturing these moments, Amy!

Some guy teaching Brad how to ask for my hand.. 

This is apparently the expression I make when Brad bows to me!

This is my favorite picture of the day, and not only because it is the only picture within the last decade of Amy & Brad together, but their expressions and outfits and bright colors, I just love it. We were sitting in the fairy garden listening to a band play beautiful music during this.

Amy & Brad