So far so good!

Sorry we haven't posted in awhile, but we're back now. Bret's parents came to visit for a week so we weren't online much. It was great to see them and we all had a REALLY good time...the only complaint was that we didn't see any belugas...sigh...hopefully next time.
It was great to have help with carrying groceries, cooking etc...it made our recovery alot easier than it could have been, so we are very grateful that Karen and Monty could come visit/help us.

Other than that recovery is still going well. I saw my doc last week and will have the collar for at least another 6 weeks, ick. Bret has his 6 week post-op appt. on the 2nd of Sept....so keep your fingers crossed, he's getting anxious to get back to work.

Lee is all registered and ready to go back to school. He and Bret are out buying school supplies as I type this. We all know that Lee's first year of middle school will go well, but he's not so much convinced yet....poor guy!

We'll keep you posted as school starts on Wednesday!

take good care!

Jan,Bret,Lee

2 surgeries down...just recovery to go...

So I had my surgery yesterday and came home this morning. Overall it's going reasonably well today, but day 3 and 4 tend to be the worst. My neck pain seems to be a little less than Bret's but my throat sure is sore.

Lots of popsicles and jello so far....we'll keep you posted as the days go by!

jan and bret

Home sweet home

Bret came home late yesterday afternoon....then night for him was so so....he was pretty nauseous but he slept really well. Today is Day 3 which is supposed to be the worst day post surgery. He definitely is feeling the swelling in his throat and is living pretty much on pudding and Popsicles. The bonus is he's still able to lay down without feeling like he's choking...we count that as a HUGE plus.

So it's simply a day of taking it easy today. Lee comes home tomorrow afternoon so we're really excited about his arrival!

Will write more later....

thanks for ALL of your support!

jan

latest news

Bret is out of surgery and lounging in his hospital room. All went as expected during the operation! The doc said that he had a bunch of bone fragments pushing against his spinal cord which were most likely the main cause of his numbness. He was put in a soft collar instead of a hard one, so our hope is that he will be able to drive by the time my surgery rolls around next week.

I spent about an hour with him after he got to his room, but he's still really groggy so I'm home to catch a few zzzz's myself...it was a short night last night....and then I'll head back to the hospital later this afternoon. When I left he was dozing away and had convinced the nurse to get him some pepsi, so life was good. I've been ordered to bring more pepsi when I go back, so he's well on his way back to normal....lol....

I'll post more as time goes on!

thanks

jan

Bret's surgery is today....

So it's 5:21 in the a.m. and Bret and I are just getting ready to go to the hospital for his surgery, which is at 7:30. The surgery itself will take about 3 hours and I'll be at the hospital for most of the day I suspect. I will post an update before I go to bed though.

Please send positive thoughts Bret's way!

Love to all!

Jan

As promised....

Here is a series of pics to fill you in on some of what we've been up to....I hope you enjoy....

Here are a couple action shots of our budding viola star during his spring concert :)

These are some huge ice "chunks" that calved off of the Portage Glacier, which is about a half hour from Anchorage. They're just floating around in the lake...but you don't want to get close because they are really unstable and can flip without notice.

this was the views from our lake side campsite a couple weekends ago...

This is Bret and Bailey making dinner at our camp, and I threw in a pic of our very old, but very beloved new pop-up trailer....woot woot

If you look really closely, you'll see a cute yet prickly porcupine that we came across in the woods

So that concludes our slide show for now....I'll try to keep more current on the pics from now on. For the next post I'll take some shots of the inside of our house to give people an idea of where we live....

We love you all tons!!!

jan

Checking in once more

So I'm doing my best to get back into the swing of posting regular blogs, so here I am checking in. The latest news is that I too need neck surgery, like Bret. My doc wanted to do it next week, but in reality I'm hoping for the week after Bret's surgery, if all the stars align. I just found this out tonight, so my mood is less than chipper lol....but I'll spare you all my rant....I took care of that in my other blog....lucky you lol.

So to recap....Bret has surgery on the 21st, Lee comes home on the 24th (yippee), and I'll have surgery that next week....fun summer huh?

I've done some painting in the kitchen and still have those camping pics to post (several of you have reminded me that they are still missing). I promise they will be posted by Thursday!

Hope all is well with you guys....I'm keeping this one short....until Thursday....take good care!
jan

Many big events and well wishes!

So I know I said it last post but

belated HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!!!! to all my fellow Canadians!

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY ALASKA!!!!!!!!! to all my fellow Alaskans!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!!!!!!!! to all the Americans with whom I live!

But most importantly and definitely closest to my heart goes a huge and heartfelt....

HAPPY 9TH ANNIVERSARY TO BRET AND JAN!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep folks on July 3rd Bret and I celebrated our 9th year together....crazy huh....we've definitely built quite the life together, and it's been the best 9 years of my life! I love you and look forward to 9 more (x5) together!

jan

Latest update...

Check out these pictures of a tornado that hit Manhattan and Chapman Kansas on June 11th...

The first photo is of the tornado that hit Manhattan, Bret's parents house was hit, but luckily they had minor house damage, but alot of tree and landscaping damage....here is a picture of their house, for those that know it....

Wowzers is all that I can say! We are thankful that Karen, Monty and Sean are all ok!

As for us, life is just chugging along. Lee is still with his mom and Bruce, and by all reports they're having a wonderful time! We are always happy when they can spend an extended period of time together like this, since we live so far apart!

Bret....well he does indeed have to have surgery. He will be going in for it during the week of July 21st, we haven't got a specific day yet. It will put him out of commission for a significant amount of time, so I'm hoping he will become an expert blogger...lol...NOT! This does mean however, that we will not be able to go to Canada as planned...sigh...but we got to do, what we got to do.

I may follow close on Bret's heels with the whole surgery deal. They have finally deduced, that my shoulder problem, is in fact a neck problem. I had yet another MRI done last week and I'll see my doc on Thursday...we will keep you posted on that one.

On the fun side of things, Bret and I got a chance to take our Pop-Up trailer out for the first time this past weekend. We had a blast! We went down to where the Kenai and Russian rivers meet, and camped right on the shores of lake Skilak! A great time was had by both humans and canines...we hope many more trips are in our future!

Well I'm trying to keep this short, but I should be on more regularly now that we've found some medication that calms my shoulder pain...hope all is well in your worlds!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

jan

pause...

I again apologize for the long absences! My shoulder is quite messed up and just sitting at the computer causes a fair amount of pain...so needless to say blogging has not been a priority.

A brief update is....Lee finished grade 6 and is now an official 7th grader...Middle school, here he comes! Congrats to Lee! Lee is currently in PA visiting with his mom and Bruce and will be back at the end of July.

It looks like, keep your toes and fingers crossed, that Bret does indeed have work this summer, which has taken a big load off of our shoulders. The flip side of this is that he's having some neck problems, and we're not quite sure, but he just may need to have surgery...sigh

As for me, My shoulder sucks, but I had a cortisone injection, via fluroscopy last week, and it might be getting better, but it's too soon to tell.

I have sooooo many pics and things to post....just waiting for my body to cooperate....please don't forget about us! Keep checking in.... we miss you all TONS AND TONS!

bret, jan and lee

a quick check in...

So if you've read my fms blog you know that I'm still really struggling with my shoulder, and thus have not had the time, or inclination, nor the pain free moment to blog much lately. Is the shoulder better? "kinda sorta, but not really", i'll keep you posted though.

As spring has sprung in Alaska, it brings with it many changes in our lives. Elementary school will be over on May 21....can you believe it? Our little man will be a 7th grader this August. i'm not sure, even Lee has accepted this concept yet. All the Anchorage 6th graders put on a band/orchestra concert at the hockey arena tonight....all 3000+ of them. Bret and I attended and took a few photos that I will share with you this weekend.

Bret is home for another week and then goes up to the slope for his last guaranteed hitch of the winter. After that we have our fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed that there will be slope work for him this summer. Keep good thoughts for us, and we'll keep you posted.

I was recently offered another job in a different department in the hospital, and in negotiating with them, I was given a raise and promotion in my current position, so I'm feeling pretty proud of myself right now. We are putting in and designing a huge new case management software program of which, I will be the system administrator, so there's alot of new things happening for me at work right now. My hope is that my health will co-operate and let me take full advantage of this great opportunity.

The snow is all gone and the buds are budding....wow is it nice to see the spring coming our way. Our temps are in the 50's most days now, and most alaskans are sporting shorts and fleece to celebrate the return of the sun and warmth. When I go to work at 5:30 it's bright and sun shiny, and the sun doesn't go down now until about 11pm....it is simply spectacular! We are loving it to say the least.

I just wanted to check in and say hi, and let you know that we are all alive and well. Obviously to those who usually get calenders....we sad to say, but it's a no can do this year. I'm just too exhausted and in pain to even get that project together at this point. I really apologize, but I've gotta take care of me,and I don't have the best track record in that department. Pictures???? I will post a bunch this weekend to keep you up to date!

until then, take good care!
love you all as big as the world!!!!

Jan, bret and Lee

a quick note

Just wanted to send a quick note to let you know that we are still here. I've torn my rotator cuff and it's excruciating to sit and type so I haven't been on the puter at all. I will sit with Lee and we will write something this weekend....sorry for the long absences.

jan

At long last we post again!

Sorry for the long absence folks it's been a hectic month! First off I broke my ribs when I lost a race between myself and our BIG dog Shep down the stairs. He wanted a scooby snack and knocked my feet right out from under me....sigh. Then Lee was on spring break and caught the flu he was sick all week, and just about when he was getting healthy I got it....ick. So Bret spent his time home nursing the sickies, Poor guy! So in a nut shell that's why I haven't been posting on either blog.

Lee's now back in school, and life has somewhat returned to normal. Unfortunately Lee missed the talent show because of the flu so we were all a bit bummed out by that. Hopefully another one will come his way in middle school/Jr High. The weather has warmed up alot here and our snow is slowly melting away. After this last week, there's not too much left on the ground, except of course where it was piled up....hopefully the warm weather is here to stay! They've been warning all Anchorage residents that the bears will be coming out soon, if the warm weather sticks around...so we're all on high alert. There are several bears and their cubs that live right in the city so one has to take special precautions. Usually there's a big uproar each spring because some poor resident gets to watch a bear take down and eat a baby moose which of course people freak out about. They always seem to forget how the food chain works in the wild. They're not just cute fuzzy animals for our amusement....lol....

Bret's back on the slope , and we're hoping that the flu that Lee and I had, doesn't hit him halfway through his hitch up there. That would be bad! There's rumor flying around that his crew is going to be assigned to a new year round rig, that has a minimum 5 year contract. We have our fingers and toes crossed for that one. A bunch of the work on the slope shuts down for the summer, it would be nice to know that we have a guaranteed income for the next few years. It would also open up the possibility for me to look at not working for a few years in order to 1. be home with Lee, and 2. not get so overwhelmed with my fibromyalgia....but that's just the hope at this point.

That's a brief update on the Williamson/Carmichael clan for now....I'll try to post more in a couple of days!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!

jan

Wow now it's almost March LOL

As per usual time has escaped me. We've been busy with life, but I can't really tell you what we've been so busy at. Lee is in his last quarter of school, and is rushing back and forth to the ski hill in between school and homework. By the by, he has a great ski lift story to pass on, but I won't spoil you with the details. He's also been accepted as one of the acts in the sixth grade talent show comming up in March. He's singing a popular song that's on the radio right now AND he's up there all on his own. He has made his Mom, Dad, Bruce and I very proud! What a trooper! I'll keep you posted on that one.

Bret went back up to the slope this past weekend, after several failed attempts due to poor weather up north, he finally made it Saturday evening....lots of trips to and from the airport for me....lol...but it was nice to have him home for an extra night.

Our weather has been really warm....up in the high forties...this week we're back into the thrities, but Spring is definately in the air. Our whole light situation is improving rapidly, we are definately close to 11 hours of sunlight a day right now, as opposed to 6 hours like in December.

As for me life just keeps chugging along, which I'm sure you know if you read my other blog, so I won't bore you with the same details twice. We're hoping that Bret will be assigned to a year round rig before summer hits, so that he doesn't get laid off again this summer. If all goes well, that may lead to me taking some time off work to get my health on track. we'll keep the updates comming.

Take good care all!

jan

Wow is it almost Febuary????? I'm slacking here

Well I hope everyone made it through the holidays safely and with some fun! We have really been slacking on the blogs, so I apologize for that.

We only just had our family Christmas yesterday....just a tad late, I know. Lee got home from his mom and Bruce's a few days after Bret went back to the slope so that delayed us some. Then we were going to do it last weekend, but some other issues came up that were more important. So I spoke to the people at work, and they graciously allowed me to take Thursday off. We pulled Lee out of school for the day, and we went to IHOP for breaky.....mmmmm.....pancakes! Good stuff! Then we went to the Anchorage Aviation Museum, which was pretty cool. Lee had gone to the museum in Seattle with his mom and Grandma Susan, last spring break so we thought we'd check out our local one. Obviously it's waaaaaaaaaaay smaller than the one in Seattle, but it was cool none the less. Lee is really into WW1 and WW2 aircraft so he's always excited to do something that involves planes. After the museum we went and got Lee a couple new pairs of shoes.......yikes we've hit the stage where the "label" means everything! AAAAHHH life with a teenager! Actually it's cool to watch and see. Then of course in true Williamson/Carmichael family style we went and browsed at the video game store and then the book store....we each got a little something. Then Lee finished off the night, with his snowboarding lessons.....and even got to stay later than normal since he didn't have any homework. All in all it was a great family day, and I think everyone really had a good time.

Other than that there's not much more to report. Bret left for the slope this morning and Lee was off to school too. We will get our well over due calenders in the mail hopefully by the end of next week, so keep ur eyes open for one. Lee and I are hoping to catch an Ace's hockey game either tonight or tomorrow....and then next weekend is supposed to be a good time to see the northern lights....provided it's clear and not cloudy. Can you believe that Lee and I still haven't seen them and we've been here 2.5 years.....ooooohhhhh well it will happen when it happens I guess.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying 2008 so far!

all our love
B-J-L

A New Year's Post from Lee

The New Year was great! Me, mom and Bruce, were downstairs playing "Pain" and "Rock Band" on the Playstation 3. So we never got to see the ball drop in New York on TV, because we were playing games. For Christmas I got about 5 fighter planes, a poker game for my Nintendo DS, some new clothes, and some new cars...all from PA. From Alaska I got 3 fighter plane models ( the snap together kind), an F-15 Phantom, a F-4 Eagle, and then an A-10 Thunderbolt. I also got a poker set with 2 decks of cards, 3 containers of white poker chips, 2 of blue chips, and 1 container of red poker chips. They didn't have amounts on them which is cool, because I can make up my own money value for them. It all depends on the blinds of the game. I also got some new HotWheels cars.

I'm going snowboarding this Tuesday, even if my wart is hurting my foot. I have 2 warts on my left foot, but I can't see the doctor until Wednesday at 2pm. Then hopefully I'll be on the hill every weekend, Tuesday and Thursday. Part of my christmas present from my Dad and Jan, is to take a family ski day to Alyaska to the big ski hill.

Hope you guys all had a great Christmas/New Year's party can't wait to see you in Canada, this August!
Love you all,

Lee

Best laid plans....

So Bret and I had great plans of writing a silly Christmas poem to post on the blog before he went back to the slope. He left Friday, and as you can see....no poem. So I'm afraid you're stuck with me again lol lol

Our Christmas break this year was oooooh soooo quiet and ooooooh soooo relaxing. We pretty much did nothing. We went to a couple movies....ate out a few times.....window shopped....slept in....played games with friends....and it was the best xmas ever. We had big plans of going off somewhere, but we really just enjoyed hanging out at home, we even did some home organizing type stuff???? wierd huh. Alas, reality has come back to our lives, Bret went back to work Friday....I had the stomach flu (ick) all weekend and then went back to work today, sigh. The good news is that Lee comes home tomorrow so things should be back to normal soon. Although the little rascal doesn't have to go back to school until next Monday.....oooooh to be 12 years old again.....NOT!

We've got a good foot of snow on the ground now so it's starting to feel like winter, we even made it through the winter solstice, so now we're just gaining light everyday! Yipppeee! I'm hoping to get Lee up to the hill for some more boarding this week, it works great getting off at 12:30, because that's the perfect time for him to get to the hill, so i'll just pick him up on my way. I'm sure he'll be excited to see all of our snow.

That's all I really have to say...I'll write more once Lee gets home and have him update you on his Xmas Holiday in the lower 48....

Happy New Year!

jan

Update

So the search for the helicopter has officially been called off. At this point the belief is that it went down in the fjord which is over 600 feet deep, much too deep for divers. I think there are still some private people who continue to search but at this point it seems that it's over.
This is a very sad day for the famillies most of all but also for LifeGuard, Providence, and Alaska as a whole.

On lighter news we are finally getting some more snow, our first accumulation melted away a long time ago. Today though we've gotten a good 2 inches and it's still falling like crazy. Lee is up on Hilltop as I write this, taking advantage of the new snow and hopefully learning some new skills. Needless to say, he is one happy camper.

The sudden realization that Xmas is only days away, has left me somewhat dazed. Yikes, where the hell has the year gone? It still feels more like Sept. or Oct. to me? Wasn't last Christmas only a couple of months ago? Man if time flies when your having fun, I must be deleriously happy! We will be sending out our usual Calanders again this year, but I fear they may not make it in time for the big day, but we'll try!

As I've mentioned before Lee is going to his Mom and Bruce's for the holidays so Bret and I are just gonna lay low. We always have big plans of going somewhere but in the end money and time bite us in the butt. We've been tossing around the idea that we may go somewhere like Hawaii or Disney World next year and send out a global invite to anyone who wants to join us. I know that we come up with some cool plans and never follow through, but I think this one would be worth the effort....we'll keep you posted, but as I've seen a year can go by in the blink of an eye, so it's comming sooner than I'd like to think.

Bret will be home on Friday. He has a horrible cold right now, so he's really looking forward to getting home for some rest. Hopefully I'll be able to coax him onto the blog to send you all some info,....i'm sure it gets old listening to me prattle on....lol

So that's all for now. I'm just trying to be thankful for everything I have right now, given what the famillies of the missing helo crew are going through!

we love you all!

jan

The body of one of the missing crew members and the back left door of the helicopter were found washed ashore, close to Whittier today.

please say a prayer for the families....the search will continue Sunday for the remaining crew members and patient.

jan

Missing LifeGuard Helo (see previous post)

So the search continues, with clearing weather and more and more services and people joining the search. There has been some discussion about them being near a glacier between Portage and Whittier and the railroad avalanche team are out on their snow machines investigating.

We found out today that they have a weeks worth of survival gear on board so let's keep hope alive for the families. There are several candle light vigils that will be held at 5:18 pm, which was the time of their last known position, and contact with dispatch.

Keep them in your prayers, and all I ask is that only POSITIVE comments be left, as there have been several nay sayers writing in to the Anchorage Daily Newspaper site.

If you want to track what's happening go to

adn.com

and you can see the story as it continues and is updated 24/7. Keep up the faith folks, this has hit Alaska, and Providence very hard, we're a close knit community!

thanks for the thoughts and prayers, I know the famillies appreciate it.

jan