Lauren In Alaska: January 2013

December and the first half of January have been a whirlwind, as they usually are. But they were a whirlwind of the best sort. I was able to....

spend some time celebrating Advent season here in Alaska with close friends,

fly home to Colorado and soak in it's general splendor for a few days,

drive to Kansas City with my family to celebrate Christmas with all of my 20+ cousins,

head back to Colorado to celebrate Christmas with my parents and brother,

pick up David and do a bit of exploring Colorado/ 'lets introduce you to ALL of my people' (he took it like a champ),

enjoy skiing at Breckenridge and Copper Mountain,

fly back to Washington with David to spend a few days with his family - including a fun trip to Portland to see his brother and sis-in-law,

and finally fly back in the wee hours of the morning to the one and only Alaska...

Going home for Christmas is always wonderful, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to do so. But I will say, it certainly can be an emotional roller coaster. It's one I am happy and excited to ride, but the transition back and forth and here and there can be rough at times. Seeing people you deeply care for is such a gift...but it definitely reminds you of many of the reasons why you deeply care for them - making it that much harder to leave. That being said, I wouldn't have traded my time at home with my family and friends and David for anything. Now that I've been back for a while, I have slowly gotten into the rhythm of life here once again and am happy to be where I am. There really is no place like Alaska in the winter. And, the light is coming back! Oh the joy! So here is to another wonderful trip home for Christmas, and to making my way back to Alaska to enjoy yet another winter on the Last Frontier!