Jeremy and Brittany

Growing.... out

2011-10-07T19:09:00.003-08:00

So, I know this is relatively old news, but for the sake of finishing something I started here are the pictures from the remainder of the pregnancy. Minus some numbness in my right hand I managed to stay pretty comfortable up to the end.

39 weeks 6 days

38 weeks

36 weeks 4 days

35 weeks 6 days

34 weeks 2 days

31 weeks 2 days

New Toys = Finished Rooms

2011-08-17T15:16:00.004-08:00

J has been hard at work preparing a room for this little one to be. Or at least a really nice place to put all its stuff... We are starting to feel a little more ready for whenever baby decides to arrive. We are so grateful to all the friends and family that have been passing things our way!

The nursery started here...

And then we got one of these

And suddenly...

We had this!

Another one (month) bites the dust

2011-07-10T09:51:00.003-08:00

Oh boy, the months are flying by... I have tried to post twice, but my login for school messes up my login here sometimes and I am not savvy enough to figure out what to do other than go away and try again next time.

In June, we took our last pre-baby plane trip. To start, we spent about 5 days in Tucson, AZ with Jeremy's sister (Michelle), her husband (Jason), and kids. Luckily they had a pool in which to float Baby Beluga. We had a great time hanging out and getting in some good visiting. Michelle and I had some great girl time getting mani/pedies, dinner and a movie. Which meant Uncle JJ got to spend some quality time with his niece and nephew. He even put on a diaper! I suppose it's a little different when the diperee is taking off is own diaper, but it's a start.

After Tucson time we headed out to Albuquerque with Michelle and the kids for Jeremy's cousin's wedding. It was the hottest I've ever seen it in Albuquerque, in the 100s, but the wedding was beautiful and it was fun to hang out with all of Jeremy's extended family. Of course, we don't have a single picture from the trip... we have got to get better about using our camera. I'm actually a bit sad that we missed out on this opportunity.

Since returning home I took my last written test for grad school and scheduled my oral defense for the end of July. Yikes! Time to get going a little more seriously on that. Just two more classes for finish up after that! Jeremy has been working hard, for the guard, as well as, cleaning up/out our little home. He's had his work cut out for him, but has stepped up to take it on.

Finally, we took a quick trip to up to the Copper Princess Lodge with Martha and John over the Fourth of July weekend. We geared up and headed out for some dip-netting one day. After a few hours of me, very usefully, sitting on the bank, we discovered that the river was running a bit to high for catching. We weighed all our options, rounded up the wild beasts (dogs, not the boys) and headed back to the lodge for margaritas and Shirley Temples on the sunny deck. While our dreams of a freezer of fish were dashed, we did have a nice little vacation. Pictures of that will have to be another post since I can't get the camera to download on my computer...

29 Weeks

Annie's tough day...

Baby's room getting emptier

You know you are pregnant when...

2011-06-12T22:23:00.003-08:00

- People start giving you that look when you are out. I'm pretty sure most people are thinking this is more than a beer belly now.

- Your husband has to "survive" birth classes.

- Your friend has to take you last minute shopping for a new swimsuit.

- You are tired EVERY afternoon.

- You have to roll over every hour while you sleep, that is when you aren't getting up to go to the bathroom.... again!

- You cry completely randomly, at least once. Like when you see a sad, lost baby moose. They make really pathetic noises.

- You close your belly in the freezer door.... or the bathroom stall door... Sorry Baby!

- You look like this...

24 weeks 5 days

26 weeks 5 days

Same toilet, new bathroom

2011-06-12T22:01:00.004-08:00

J has been hard at work updating our small, weird bathroom. A couple weeks showering at my parents house, a few extra trips to Lowe's, and a month of hard work has the bathroom looking much improved! We are 85% there, and since we are opposed to doing finishing work in this house, this might be good enough for us.

Kayaking

2011-06-12T21:35:00.004-08:00

Over Memorial Day weekend Tiffany, James, and their friend Will came up to Anchorage for a wedding. While there were here it was gorgeous, for the whole holiday weekend! By Tiffany's request we went sea kayaking out of Whittier. Prince William Sound like I'd never seen it, great trip!

Traffic Jam

The bellies

The belly goes kayaking

Where did that come from?

2011-05-10T23:37:00.005-08:00

Okay, so everyone wants to see belly pics. I definitely stalk all my pregnant friends pages looking for them, but have not felt that to be a good enough reason to overcome laziness and post my own. So today is the day. Though I've discovered I don't really have that many. I think the fact that I didn't look pregnant for a long time, mostly just chubby, didn't really provide the motivation to take pictures. Plus, I always want to take them on the day that starts my pregnancy week, which mostly means two days after that I remember and decide to wait until the next week... The other issue could be that with the construction on the bathroom we don't have any mirrors in the house in which I can see anything lower than my shoulders. Looking down I don't feel like there is much bump. However, when we went to Humpy's to meet some friends for dinner the other night they had a full length mirror. As I stood there, waiting for my turn in the turned out to be empty stall, I was a little surprised that I looked like I might be pregnant. Short story long, tonight I pulled out the real camera (not attached to my phone) and took a picture at 22 weeks and 3 days so I could get the ball rolling.

11 weeks

Post surgery 15 weeks 4 days

18 weeks First day of maternity pants 20 weeks

Heart Run 21 weeks

22 weeks 3 days

Take 2

2011-05-07T13:20:00.006-08:00

Okay, I tried a massive update last week and the pictures wouldn't post right... so I deleted it all and moved on to other tasks... Guess this time I'll start smaller. Annie announced the news that she will have her first "sibling" in September. I don't think she knows what is coming, but I'm sure it'll make her all sorts of nervous once it gets here. She feels the need to be responsible around babies, but is not fond of the noise or things that poop in the house.

Here are some pictures of the baby at about 18 weeks. We don't know the gender, and don't plan to find out until the birth. So few real surprises these days, we figured this would be a big one.

Behind

2011-03-22T17:05:00.004-08:00

Contrary to what our site would lead you to believe Brittany has completed student teaching and we are busy moving on with our lives. This, apparently,did not include updating our blog... But now that Spring is making appearance two of the five or so I'm sure it will make here in Anchorage, it is time to get everyone up to date.

The good news is that Brittany recently got hired to fly C-130s at the Guard unit in Anchorage. While it will be sad for our family to say goodbye to the Tanker after our many years of service with her, it's time for us all to work in the same town! Though I guess Jeremy's goodbye is only partial since he still sees the Tanker from behind whenever he has to practice his air refueling. The hardest part will be seeing less of our friends in the more frozen North. The move will also mean several more months apart and some quality time in Little Rock, AR, but we'll take that hurdle when we get there.

Otherwise Brittany still spends most of the day working on school work and entertaining

Annie... or perhaps interrupting Annie's all day naps. Occasional visits back to see the first graders make Brittany feel more popular than she's ever been. The rest of the time is spent keeping up with family and friends and figuring out how to apply home improvement show learning to our house.

Jeremy is still flying pretty often. He completed his Aircraft Commander upgrade school at Altus in December and has had a lot of flying to do to get ready to meet his certification board next month. He also ushered in another new year in February. Since he was on the road, his favorite thing to do for his Birthday, we celebrated with Brittany's parents before he left and Jeremy's when he got back. He sure knows how to milk a Birthday!

On days off Jeremy spends most of his time trying to figure out how to apply Brittany's home improvement show learning. Since the current projects of finishing the kitchen and siding won't be nearly enough to keep him busy, we are getting ready to embark on the bathroom as well.

The neighbors are getting pretty used to us trekking between our house and Brittany's parents' house with dogs, snowblowers, lawnmowers, golf carts, and various tools, so they shouldn't bat an eye when we shuffle by in our bathrobes with our shower-baskets while our shower is out of commission.

We hope this Spring finds everyone well and will continue to work on improving our blogging habits!

Back to School

2010-09-05T18:06:00.002-08:00

August brought back to school time. I am student teaching in first grade this year. So far I am enjoying the experience, but it is keeping me very busy.

Jeremy has filled his free time this summer putting up insulation foam and new siding on the house. As fall pushes in the stack of siding in the garage is continuing to shrink!

Maybe not the most exciting fall we've ever had... guess we're grown-ups now..

Air Show

2010-09-05T17:58:00.002-08:00

July brought a few rough weeks for us. We were very blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends to help us through it all. Olivia did a great job keeping Jeremy company during the Air Show at Elmendorf.

Summer Trip

2010-09-05T17:33:00.003-08:00

We ended June by heading South to Sacramento for my Aunt Sally's retirement party. After Jeremy met all of my cousins we headed further South. We spent a couple of days with Michelle, Jason and the kids at their house in Tucson before driving to Albuquerque for Nano's Birthday week. I got to meet most of Jeremy's cousins and we celebrated the 4th with a great party for Nano's birthday. After a "quick" drive back to Tucson we spent another night with the Gastrocks and got in our Mustang to head for Phoenix. After a few travel delays, it was back to real life the next day. We sure enjoyed our trip and it was FANTASTIC to see so much family!

Anniversary Trip

2010-09-05T17:16:00.003-08:00

So I'm a little tardy on the updates... For our first anniversary we spent a great long weekend with the Heinz family. Karl, Jamie, and Paige showed us all Haines had to offer over the beautiful sunny weekend, to include the 18th Annual Great AK Craft Beer and Homebrew Festival.

The tough life

2010-05-25T15:46:00.003-08:00

Today I got our of the shower to the sounds of dogs barking from several directions in the neighborhood. I ran to the backdoor to assure our dog was not adding to this racket. This is what I found... She has become quite the sun worshiper and, on most days, prefers the comfort of her chair....

Here and almost gone!

2010-05-25T14:59:00.009-08:00

May has presented itself as a complete whirlwind in the Vancil household. Jeremy arrived home by Cinco de Mayo, as promised. We hit a few Mexican food joints and enjoyed a few hard earned margaritas. From there, we hit the ground running...

First, and most importantly, after years of looking we found

the perfect rug for our living room at Lowe's! It has changed our lives. Annie agrees. She and Jeremy gave it a trial run while catching up on bonding time after his return.

Jeremy completed his in-processing while getting construction running on

the house

again.

After ordering a dumpster, which they originally delivered BEHIND my car in the driveway, we now have a dumpster in our side driveway to handle all the siding "we" are removing from the house.

Jeremy is working on adding several layers of foam to our house and then new siding, we are hoping to have that complete before the first snow! Between work and upcoming trips Jeremy will have quite the challenge with that.

I worked hard to finish my semester of grad school before heading up to Eielson, yes we

enjoyed all 9 days together before we had to part again. After a week long inspection, mostly working night shift, I am back to town trying to get caught up on paperwork, summer travel plans, work scheduling, and getting my next semester rolling. I guess studying for my upcoming checkride should also be on that list...

We are planning a get away to Haines for our first anniversary. I can't believe it's been a year already! The time has flown by and I'm looking forward to the many years we have to come.

A little Easter

2010-05-01T10:19:00.003-08:00

Without Jeremy here Annie and I dyed some eggs on our own. I went to church with my mom, had a nice breakfast with both sets of parents and then we had some dinner at the Vancil's. Annie was very excited about the mechanical hamster I got in the Easter hunt.

A little busy...

2010-05-01T09:49:00.006-08:00

So I've been a little delinquent in my posting. Jeremy has been deployed for over 2 months now and between the house, work, school, family and friends I've managed to stay very busy. Somehow most of the picture for the last 2 months have been of the dog. So Annie will give a little recap of the last few months.

First, Annie is very helpful with my homework.

Next, Martha and John got a puppy so Annie and I babysit sometimes.

We had several fresh dumps of snow this spring.

I got to visit the Gastrocks in Tucson. The one sunny day we hit the zoo.

Finally, Annie is very particular about her sleeping area. This night she did not want her blanket in there...

Remembering

2010-01-31T10:15:00.002-09:00

As I sit watching Miss America 2010 I have many thoughts passing through my head. Unfortunately, most of them are not about the paper on phonics that I am editing. Hopefully that comes out okay...

I am reminded of the first time I hung out with Jeremy's family. Mostly his mom, sister and I watched Miss America 2006 while I held 5 week old Olivia. Wow has time flown! I never would have guessed at the time that I would now be part of the family, and aunty to 4 year old Olivia.

I also thought about the girls up on that stage. I'm obviously not the pageant type. Something about grace and walking in heels. But I do have to admit it takes some guts to get up in front of that many people that are all judging you on how you take care of yourself and everything that comes out of your mouth. As hard as I try to be a good person, I think I would not fair well if I was being judged on everything that came out of my mouth.

Finally, and mostly, I thought of the strange juxtaposition of watching this contest of beauty while thinking of the people in Haiti that just suffered such tragedy. I was sitting alone on Saturday watching Miss America because of that tragedy. I am greatly missing Jeremy, but I am glad that he is doing good work flying in and out of Haiti. I guess it is the definition of the phrase "the show must go on". I am glad that as a country we can step up and provide so much aid in a time of need. I hope that as we do begin to move on that we don't forget these people and the support they will need to rebuild any semblance of a normal life. I hope that I can a balance between dwelling and forgetting, for the people of Haiti and for so many more around the world dealing with tragedy I can barely begin to imagine.

Why I should have been a dog

2010-01-21T14:42:00.003-09:00

This is how I spend a good portion of my day

And this is how the dog spends a good portion of hers....

Enough said.

A new low to share a laugh

2010-01-13T09:34:00.003-09:00

I don't know how many of you will find this as funny as I do, and it is definitely taking our blog to a new low. So here goes! In the military particularly, but I assume it applies to most business, people say "Poop (censored for wide viewing) rolls (flows, runs, as applies) downhill." Today I observed a "concrete example", as we would say in the "education" field, of this. As we were out for our morning walk, and I was pondering where Bald Eagles sleep, since they are not in the tree where they perch all day if we walk too early or too late. I came to an abrupt stop at the end of the leash to realize that Annie had perched herself on the side of a snowbank to do her business, looked quite precarious not sure why she chose that over the flat ground at the bottom, but that is when I realized that poop does indeed roll downhill. Since I am apparently the recipient of poop in this relationship I discovered there is no dignity to dog owning as I scurried around the bottom of the snowbank collecting the evidence of her hard work. Hopefully you are finding this amusing and not totally disgusting, oh and hope you are not trying to eat right now... Sorry if I ruined your meal!

Attitude Adjustment

2010-01-08T12:39:00.007-09:00

I don't know who reads this blog, but I'm sure this will speak to any ladies. Yesterday, I pulled things together, along with studying I shaved my legs and blow dried my hair. I found, what I thought was, a pretty cute outfit and proudly entered "hot pink" on my facebook status line. Thanks ladies for all my fun treasures at girls night! After more studying I made my husband a nice dinner of Pad Thai, okay I cheated and it was a kit, but I made it. As we sat down to eat with our glasses of wine I was feeling pretty proud of myself. However, about half way through dinner I managed to lodge a piece of shrimp tail, from my "ready to cook, peeled and deveined" shrimp on my tonsil. I proceeded to cough and choke until I threw up. In front of my husband. If I was smart I would have removed my oh so cute they have to put the tag there because there is no where else to put it underwear, put on some granny panties and flannel pjs and headed to bed. But I for some reason waited three hours. This morning I crawled out of bed at 7:15 with a residual bad attitude, compounded by the fact it was 7:15 and I was up because tomorrow at that time I will be arriving to take a miserable test that I'm not prepared for. Who schedules tests at 7:30 Saturday morning? And why are they all the same weekend as drill forcing me to PAY to go up to Eielson? And how unfair is it that I had to pay $75 extra because I read the schedule wrong and missed the sign up deadline? Digression. Okay, the attitude part. After my other morning tasks I dressed to take our dog for her morning physical therapy walk. She had knee surgery and is now missing fur in several places (shaved, not stress) and is ever more high maintenance than before, but oh so adorable. And once I got out of the house I found that it was a beautiful sunny, though chilly, day. As we walked our two blocks I was looking at the Bald Eagles that have lived in a tree in our neighborhood since I was in high school. Something about it all struck me. Have these Eagles really been married for 10 + years? Kidding! I am so lucky to live in a place where, in the heart of the city, Eagles live in my neighborhood. Where everything is so beautiful covered in snow, and there are mountain views from everywhere. I think I need to take more time to appreciate the beauty around me. And perhaps I should feel thankful that the Eagles haven't prayed on my splotchy, limping pup. So that is the beginning of my attitude adjustment. The beginning!

Bad picture, but there are two Eagles in that tree. The one you can make out looks like a dark blob sitting on a branch in the middle of the picture. I'll try for better pictures when the dog isn't annoyed I'm interrupting her walk.

Almost Christmas Eve!

2009-12-23T22:19:00.004-09:00

So here we sit the day before Christmas eve. It is raining on my perfect snow and our dog has to have knee surgery. I guess these things are what memories are made of. Hopefully the temperature will soon drop again and Annie's ACL will heal quickly. However, we soon get to fill the stockings I made for our first Christmas living out of sin. And have two fun filled days of family and friends to come! We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas as well. On another note, Jeremy has been busily adding photos to our photo site. And yes, some are from the wedding! Hurray, wedding pictures at last! Click HERE or the link to the right to check them out.

Snow for Christmas

2009-12-17T22:54:00.005-09:00

I was getting concerned with the strange start winter had this year it might be an ugly Christmas. Once again the snow held up its end of the deal. After days of snow we have close to 2 feet in the front yard! Now it's time to finish up the decorating, make some cookies and wrap the gifts! Oh, and study for my final exam on Monday... But I'm in denial of that.

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-17T22:36:00.004-09:00

Finally, last weekend (after Jeremy's week long trip to the desert, our weekend getaway to Eielson, followed by my week long trip to the simulator in Indiana) Jeremy, Annie and I loaded into the truck and headed to the base for some Christmas tree hunting. We found our best tree yet... however, it was about 18 feet tall. Once the dead bottom and the second top were cut off it was a perfect fit for our little living room. After 4 years of searching and heart break over tree toppers that were ugly on arrival or out of stock we finally found one I am quite fond of at Target. Hurray!

Three months... still married!

2009-08-31T22:19:00.002-08:00

So, we've survived the wedding (had quite a good time in fact), the honeymoon and several months since, we're off to a good start! Now, I suppose, it is time to get the blog going too.... Since the wedding we've stayed busy working, flying and schooling. Then, of course, there's the house and the dog to keep in shape. All in all a hectic few months. As we settle into fall, and hopefully a routine, I'll try to keep more up to date on our goings on. I plan to post wedding pictures, for all those asking... if I ever get them. For now my cozy bed is calling.

27 Days! Warm-up those dancing shoes!

2009-05-03T22:35:00.003-08:00

We hope that everyone is having a fantastic spring! May has started off warm and beautiful here in Anchorage, keep doing those sun dances everyone! The planning is coming along. I'm finally back in Anchorage for a few weeks, and Jeremy will be shortly. We are starting the final steps in the planning, along with working on the house and all of those other "grown-up" type things. Lowes gift cards would now make super wedding gifts! For anyone that doesn't know Arctic Valley is off of the Glenn Highway, heading North out of town. It is past the Muldoon exit, but prior to the Ft Richardson exit. It's about a 45 min trip from midtown to the lodge parking lot and don't forget that the MPs (Military Police) do patrol the road as it is Ft Richardson property. When heading up Arctic Valley road it mentions paying to park, but once you drive through the gate to the lodge parking lot you don't have to pay, so don't worry about that. We are are planning the ceremony outdoors, if the weather hold out, so bring some sunscreen... or a light jacket. We are so excited to see everyone! Please let us know if you have any questions!

More Wedding Planning... In Hawaii!

2009-02-23T10:28:00.007-09:00

With just 3 months until the big day we are making progress! I am finally done with the bulk of my training, so Jeremy and I finally squeezed in a vacation. Jeremy, his family, and I have been hard at work on invitations when the Hawaiian sun goes down, so keep your eyes on the mail! For all those that have asked the question, I have found a dress and rest of the details are coming along as well. If you are looking to RSVP there is an email link on this page. Just send us an email saying if you are coming and how many people will be with you.

We also posted our registries for those of you that asked about that. In addition to shopping online, you should be able to pull up our registry at any Target store and if you live in Anchorage you can go by Metro Cooks on the Corner of Benson and the Seward Hwy. We would also enjoy getting plain old gift cards from either Lowes or REI as well. Speaking of gifts, we are in no way expecting gifts of any kind, but if you feel the need, we would also love to see people donate to any kind of charity. We listed a few of the charities that we like, but feel free to be creative!

When we get back to Alaska our next big project will be finding some accommodations around Anchorage for out of town guests. We have been talking to a few different hotels and Bed & Breakfasts recently so it is just a matter of firming things up. Also if you are looking at possibly traveling while you are here there are a few motorhome rental companies that provide you with wheels and a place to stay for relatively cheap. As always feel free to call or email if you have any questions. We hope to see you all soon!

Wedding Planning?...

2008-11-07T13:18:00.002-09:00

As it's been pointed out a couple times, not too many updates to the website lately. I am making small amounts of progress on the planning, but it's hard to do from out of town. For a little update on us... I am still in Oklahoma. I've passed my first checkride and start flying the actual jet next week (the first couple of months are in the simulator). I also started work on grad school so that I won't be in school for the rest of my life! Jeremy is at home keeping plenty busy himself. He's been doing a great job of getting our house set up, as well as being a single parent to the dog. Jeremy is working full time out at the Guard in scheduling and getting on as many trips/flights as he can.

We are working on getting more AK info together for everyone. It looks like hotels are going to be expensive all over town since May 30 is in the tour season, but we've got our eyes out for good deals. We'll get a list out of some "near-by" hotels as soon as we can. If you have any questions about hotels, or other things to do and see, please give us a call!!

The Plans Begin!

2008-08-24T09:00:00.003-08:00

We've made the first big decision of the wedding planning. We have a place and a date! The wedding will be Saturday 30 May 2009 at the Alpenglow Lodge at Arctic Valley. This is a little ski lodge set in the mountains (of course) outside of Anchorage. Just far enough from town to be scenic and close enough to get back and forth easily. We will keep everyone posted as the plans continue to develop! For anyone interested here's the website http://2007.skialpenglow.com

How It Began

2008-08-24T08:19:00.006-08:00

So, as cheesy as it might sound, in so many ways I think Jeremy and I were meant to be. For several months our lives kept crossing paths. After a horrible day working a cruise ship transfer day for Royal Celebrity, I came running around a Princess luggage truck looking for a driver to move it so I could load my guests luggage. Standing there, cool like always, was Jeremy (the hot guy) that I'd run into a few times on other occasions, we'd had drinks with some mutual friends from Fairbanks and such. Be it how horrible I must have looked, or him feeling unusually out going, he said "hey" and gave me a big hug. It was just what I needed after a huge day of disasters and being yelled at by total strangers. That was it for me. A few days later when a few of us from the tour companies were headed to a local bar, Humpy's, I got up the courage (with much butt kicking from Kelly) to invite him along. It ended up that a whole group of us hung out every Wednesday night and then more often. And that is how it all began.

The Engagement, 7 August 08

2008-08-16T14:01:00.006-08:00

On a short visit to Anchorage, between Mississippi and Oklahoma for me, Jeremy and I went camping in Hope for a night. After setting up our tent, a surprise thunderstorm moved in raining and hailing on us for about an hour. Once that passed it cleared up and turned into a beautiful night. We took a rather damp walk and ended up looking out over the inlet at the fantastic sunlit mountains. After Jeremy suggested we go make a fire I turned to start back up the trail, he grabbed my arm and when I turned he was on one knee. I was very impressed he had found a box and brought my Grandma Brendle's engagement ring with him. I, of course, said "yes". We got to spend the rest of the night roasting marshmallows and watching the dog worry about what was in the woods, lick graham cracker crumbs off the ground, and figure out how she would get the marshmallow off of her elbow. The next day we surprised our very excited families. Two days later I got to pack up and come down to Altus for my tanker training. Though the visit was short it left me a lot to look forward to in the future!