Family Reunion

Do you remember when you first met an aunt? I have 7 aunts on my dad's side. I love them all, they are all wonderful women and we have a lot of fun when we are together but I cant remember meeting them. They have just always been there. Even my aunts who married into the family. I was little and don't remember when they first came around. My mission was full of surprises and events that happened at home. Parents moved (twice), came home to no job, and of course she didn't wait. The second time my parents moved they decided to wait and tell me over the phone instead of email this time. During our conversation she also told me some what i consider now even bigger news. My mom has a sister. Crazy right? My mom was 45 and was just now meeting her sister who had at the time 2 (3 now) kids of her own! Things like this don't happen very often. I was so caught up in them moving that sadly it was pushed to the back of my mind for a bit. Let's fast forward a bit. After working on the north slope for 6 months I was introduced to Alaska. The land of my mother's forefathers. Finally I was able to learn about my culture and ancestry. But still i didn't meet my mother's sister. Life was crazy at that time and i never really spent any time in anchorage. After 3 weeks of work i was ready to get back to friends, family, and travel. After a good 8 month break from the slope, I'm back. This time as i came up I ended up with a few extra days in anchorage. It was my first time when I didn't have to rush to catch an airplane. My mom gave me her sister's number and after some phone tag and texts we set a time and place to meet. She has a busy family with 3 kids and works long hours so we settled to meet on her lunch break at the Alaska Native Health Center. I was excited! I wasn't sure what to expect! I had never done this before. After walking around the hospital I found the wing where she works. I began to be a bit nervous, I had never met anybody from my mom's side of the family other than those in Montana, we never knew she had a sister because my grandparents adopted her when she was young. All my nerves and worries quickly faded as I met my aunt Christina. We walked over to window seating area at the end of the hall where we could sit and get to know each other a bit. I got to be the first of 5 to meet our new aunt! We talked and showed pictures of our families, she had recently had a baby in october and my sister just got hitched a month or two before. It was great. I can't wait for the rest of my siblings to meet her! It was a huge blessing to hear her stories and her life. Its a meeting I will never forget.

Coming Back

So this blog was started after talking to a friend about the importance of a journal back in february. Well, ive kinda been slacking. Big surprise. It was meant to keep people informed on how my life was going, my friends span from alaska to mexico and a lot of places in between. Sp to all those people I say I'm sorry. I have decided its time to rededicate myself to the blog. Once a week at least. This first one I'll try to give a quick update to bring people up to speed so here it goes...

Mexico was awesome. I love teaching! It really deserves a blog of its own! I made tons of friends and really found I love teaching English. It was my first experience outside of the U.S. Oaxaca is a unique place. everyone needs to visit. To sum it up here is some advice. Eat quesodillas de flor de calabasa, Tlyudas, and Mangoes lots of mangoes. The zocalo is pretty much the coolest place to sit and people watch no matter what time of day it is. When i left Mexico I flew to California. I bought a van. Most of you probably know Chancho. He is the best. After a long and fun (ask Spence) roadtrip back i made it to montana. I hadnt been in montana since i left for my mission. It was what i needed. 3 1/2 years is too long to be away from the 406. Family, friends, new friends, it has been awesome. Being back makes me wonder why i ever left! No matter where i am Missoula will always be home. If you have never been there come and visit. I have a place for you to stay (chancho) Life has been relatively quiet all summer, just work, school and fun. I am grateful for al the new friends i made! This was a summer full of weddings! 3 I was in! I capped it all of with 2 weeks in mexico again visiting a good friend. It all worked out how it was supposed to.

Thats my life in a nutshell.

See you next week.