It was Amanda's 20th Birthday on Friday so after dinner with my co-workers, Kim and I went over to her place to spend some quality time with her, Josh, Samantha, and India. Happiest days Amanda : )
Saturday I set off to Portland with Amanda, Samantha, India, and Rosie for Bridesmaids Dress Shopping. Andrea and Autumn met us at David's Bridal for our first round of dress trying-on. Amanda is getting married in October of this year on a beach in Kennebunk, Maine. Kim and I are hoping to make the trip back over for the wedding if it is possible with school schedules and finances, but either way I am happy to be a part of the wedding planning process. It was a long day with many options to take into consideration and we walked away without a winner but I'm sure we will find one soon. Here are some photos of the contestants.
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Father's Day was on Sunday so after dress shopping we headed straight up to Kim's parents house to spend the night with them. We had lobster and clams, drinks and a fire. Sunday we went over to my Dad's house where the family gathered for a noon time brunch. After we dug out the old photo albums and Dad shared stories with us of the old days. Kim and I are both so happy to be able to spend time with both of our families and very grateful to have two amazing Dads in our lives.
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Old family pics:
Monday was my very last day of school. After the sixth grade "Step-up Breakfast" I was able to finish up a project I have been working on with the kids. Each year the 6th graders at Rowe leave their mark on the school via the 6th Grade "Tiles" Project. I give each student a square on the wall to paint to represent themselves and what they want future Rowe students to know about them. I love how unique each and every square turned out.
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It was very strange watching the students walking out of the school, mainly because it felt like every other day but at the same time I knew that this was the last time I will most likely see them. After a staff brunch, hugs, and goodbyes, I locked up my room for the last time. On Tuesday I met up with the new art teacher. Sarah is a very kind person who has been working in the school system for some time but has never had the opportunity to have an art classroom of her own. I was able to give her a tour of the room and school and fill her in on all of the amazing things that have been happening in the world of Art at Rowe. I hope that she is able to continue on some of my traditions (like the end-of-the-year art club lock-in) and start some fantastic ones of her own. I grabbed the few boxes I had packed up of my teacher things, passed on my keys, and walked out of Rowe for the last time.
Wednesday brought one of my very least favorite things, going to see the dentist. I'm not sure why or when but at some point in my life I developed an intense, irrational fear of the dentist. Just talking about it, or hearing someone else's dentist story will bring tears to my eyes. Unfortunately I did have some work that I needed to get done on my teeth and I knew it needed to happen before I left so off I went to Falmouth Dental Arts. Luckily I found a group of very understanding and patient dental folks that worked with me to develop a plan that I could handle. I was able to be under conscious sedation for the procedure which left a lovely amnesia effect. I am so happy to know that my teeth are up to par for our leave and mainly happy to know that I will not have to go back for (hopefully) some time.
The rest of the week involved swimming, lunch dates with Meg, going to the movies, and of course PACKING!!!
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We had to make a very big and difficult decision this week, one we have been fighting for months now. Ellie, our golden retriever will be staying here while we go to Burma. If you don't know us well you might be thinking "It is just a dog, not a big sacrifice for an amazing life experience," but that is not even close. Ellie is a part of our family, she makes us laugh, gives us comfort, and depends on us as her pack. I shed more than a couple tears over this but in the end know that it will probably be for the best. This is how we came about to our choice.
On Saturday Ellie and Macy were scheduled to have a vet appointment to get a check-up, their necessary shots, and a rabies antibody blood test, all necessary for them to travel with us. To get ready I called the airline on Wednesday to confirm that this was everything we needed. The very fast speaking representative went over all of the information with me and everything was looking good. In informed him that Ellie would be flying as an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) and asked him to double check the requirements for this to be sure we had everything in order. He agreed that we in fact had everything we needed to get her out of the country but then proceeded to tell me that she would not be considered an ESA at our layover in Soel, Korea. Once there she would need to ride underneath the plane in the cargo area. I was blown away that this fact never came up in any other conversation with the airline. Finishing our conversation I researched for some time with the Air Carrier Access Act and other airlines to find out if this was the norm. I also, emailed the airline to get a second opinion on the topic.
Unfortunately all of the information came out being in line with what the representative had said. Ellie would only be recognized as an ESA on a flight to or from the US, as soon as we step off the first plane she is just any other animal. Kim and I had been doing all of this work because we have heard the horror stories of animals not making it to their destination. Many animals die in the cargo area due to the extreme heat that is unavoidable on the tarmac (while the plane is waiting to take off or waiting to unload). With even a small chance that Ellie would not make it to Burma it was not even a choice for us to take her over with us.
Not being able to have our whole family with us has really been tearing us apart and began to sour us to the move. This is really unfortunate because until now we have only had one emotion: excited! Luckily we have an amazing family and Ellie will be staying with Kim's parents while we are gone. We are very grateful to have a home for her where we know she will be just as adored as she is with us.
On Saturday Ellie and Macy were scheduled to have a vet appointment to get a check-up, their necessary shots, and a rabies antibody blood test, all necessary for them to travel with us. To get ready I called the airline on Wednesday to confirm that this was everything we needed. The very fast speaking representative went over all of the information with me and everything was looking good. In informed him that Ellie would be flying as an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) and asked him to double check the requirements for this to be sure we had everything in order. He agreed that we in fact had everything we needed to get her out of the country but then proceeded to tell me that she would not be considered an ESA at our layover in Soel, Korea. Once there she would need to ride underneath the plane in the cargo area. I was blown away that this fact never came up in any other conversation with the airline. Finishing our conversation I researched for some time with the Air Carrier Access Act and other airlines to find out if this was the norm. I also, emailed the airline to get a second opinion on the topic.
Unfortunately all of the information came out being in line with what the representative had said. Ellie would only be recognized as an ESA on a flight to or from the US, as soon as we step off the first plane she is just any other animal. Kim and I had been doing all of this work because we have heard the horror stories of animals not making it to their destination. Many animals die in the cargo area due to the extreme heat that is unavoidable on the tarmac (while the plane is waiting to take off or waiting to unload). With even a small chance that Ellie would not make it to Burma it was not even a choice for us to take her over with us.
Not being able to have our whole family with us has really been tearing us apart and began to sour us to the move. This is really unfortunate because until now we have only had one emotion: excited! Luckily we have an amazing family and Ellie will be staying with Kim's parents while we are gone. We are very grateful to have a home for her where we know she will be just as adored as she is with us.
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