December 2022
December 2022 | Christmas in Iowa and Michigan
When Curtis accepted his new job, we knew that he would have to go to Wilmington three times for training — two weeks in November, three in December, and one in January. At first we thought we’d drive down for the November and December trainings and Curtis would just fly down for the week in January. But as time went on, and other plans emerged, we changed our minds and decided that I would stay in Iowa in December and Curtis would fly down on his own. He’s already shared about his time there, backpacking the Uwharrie Trail and exploring more of Wilmington. I can’t say I’m envious of his backpacking trip, but I’m glad he was able to do it.
All my siblings together for mom’s birthday! Gina (youngest, on the left) made our beanies!
At the beginning of December, both of my siblings living in the PNW came home for a few days to meet our niece and to celebrate Mom’s birthday. They chose to travel in between Thanksgiving and Christmas to avoid the busiest travel weeks. It was the first time our whole family had been together since August 2019, and those few days alone were worth staying in Iowa!
The rest of the weeks went by quickly; I worked on the website, helped babysit my niece, and had a lot of fun spending time with my parents. The weather wasn’t bad until Curtis got back and it dropped into the single digits, then brought a blizzard a few days before Christmas which ended up forcing us to change some of our plans. Thankfully we were still able to make a trip to Nanna’s farm to celebrate!
A few days after Christmas, Curtis, Charlotte and I said goodbye to my family and made the drive up to Curtis’ parent’s home in Michigan. We celebrated Christmas with his parents and younger sister, then made trips to both sides of the state (St. Clair and Muskegon) to visit his grandparents.
New Year’s Eve/Day marked 10 years since the night Curtis proposed! This year was much less eventful, with lots of building Lego sets and us all in bed before midnight. We did start out 2023 off on the right foot by going for a hike on the North Country Trail, walking the pedestrian bridge across the Grand River, and hiking through Wedge Foundation Natural Area.
The following day, it was time to return to Wilmington, NC to arrive in time for Curtis’ next week of training. We had decided that I would join him and that instead of going straight back to Iowa or Michigan, we would spend a little more time in the South to make the most of the drive and enjoy some milder weather. He would have some time to kill before his first assignment, and since he can work from anywhere and we don’t have a home, why not take advantage of the position we’re in?! And so we said our goodbyes and began our journey South. Overall, our holiday season was relaxing and we enjoyed spending time with our families — something we’ll never take for granted after our time with the military!
