Shake, Cam Cam, Shake!

Can I just say that I love the Duggars? I think they are an awesome family and do such a great job raising kids. I hope they have 20 more because the world needs more Duggars. My favorite thing about them is that they teach their kids to the love the Lord first, other second and themselves last. This is such an important thing for kids' today to grasp.  

A few months back, I was reading their second book when something in particular caught my attention. The family highlights Matthew 7:12 as a reason for overcoming shyness.

Do for others what you want them to do for you: this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teachings of the prophets. -Matthew 7:12 (GNT)

What the what? I mean I assume this verse is on the heart of many Christians for A LOT of reasons but overcoming shyness? But it makes so much sense to me now. It can come across as rude or disrespectful when a child hides behind his or her parents, avoids eye contact or won’t speak when spoken to. And would you want someone to be rude to you?

Those of you who know Cam Cam know this is something that she struggles with. Mainly because her sister is so overboard that she doesn’t need to be but partly because she is naturally more reserved. So, BAM, this became a new thing for Cambri and I to work on.

The Duggars encourage you to teach your child to make eye contact and to practice introductions through roll play. So we have been doing that! The problem is, we very rarely meet someone new in our little bubble of the world. But the girls’ teachers to do home visits before school starts and even though I already knew Cam’s new teacher, they had never been formally introduced.

So the day of the visit, Cam and I practiced like crazy. We shook hands, introduced ourselves, made good eye contact and we were both confident that this was going to go well.

Regular readers can probably see where I am going with this. It didn’t go so well.

First of all, Cam rushed the door like a groupie and immediately grabbed her teacher’s right hand with her left hand instead of doing the standard cross over. This gave her teacher the impression that were holding hands instead of shaking hands.

Then Cambri started saying her name but she did so with her “concentrating” look which closely resembles a scowl.

So it was like, “I’m Tambri” followed up with a mean stare down.

Then her teacher was like, “I thought your name was Cambri” which is what Cam thought she said because she doesn’t know her C’s sound like T’s. So that threw her off.

So Cambri started violently moving Mrs. P’s hand up and down, saying, “No, I said Tambri Burke.” Remember they are facing each other, both using the hand on the same side.

Ov vey.

At this point, I was thinking I should jump in because we were started down the road of failure.

Katie: She’s wants to shake your hand and introduce herself.

At this point, the startled look on the teachers face started to relax. Yes, Cam was still rapidly moving their hands up and down but at least Mrs. P. knew what was going on.

Cambri then looked over to me and said, “Now what?”

Katie: Say nice to meet you.

Cambri [turns to look at teacher]: Say nice to meet you. Now you say nice to meet you too.

Katie: No Cam Cam. You don’t tell people what to say next.

Cam: You always do.

Katie: That’s because we are roll playing. This is real-life, in-the-trenches experience.

Cam: Well, she’s not saying it.

Katie: That’s because we haven’t stopped talking.

Cam: Oh. [1 second pause] She’s still not saying it.

At this point, I scooped up my four-year-old and called the experiment off because accusing a guest in your home of not introducing herself correctly especially when you haven’t given her the opportunity to do so seems more rude than a timid kid. But that’s just me.

 Don’t worry peeps, I haven’t given up. Not in the slightest. Sometimes a parenting fail is what you need to become EVEN MORE motivated. Wish me luck?

The {adult} Burkes do ALASKA!

Well peeps. I have been to Alaska. And it was AMAZING.

It’s kind of a random story but I’ll start at the beginning. My man turned 30 this year and I wanted to do something fun for him but it had to be realistic.

Then I randomly got an email from a coworker saying he and his wife had purchased an Alaska trip at a benefit auction but they were going to be unable to use it due to some unforeseen housing expenses.

Seriously. On the SAME day I started thinking about Chase’s birthday, a week stay at a resort IN ALASKA just fell into my lap. Between that and some free frequent flyer miles, this trip was meant to be.

Since Chase and I had never been on a trip with just the two of us that didn't involve someone working, my dad volunteered to take the week off and keep the kiddos. Everything fell into place. 

Alaska, while not my first choice, has been my husband’s dream for as long as I’ve known him. So after getting the okay from my boss, I bundled up a box full of little Alaska goodies and mailed it to my man for his birthday.

And he was beside himself with joy and excitement. In fact, earlier in the day Chase had made his coworker promise that if he ever hit the jackpot, he would take him to Alaska. I hope you’re all glad to see how resourceful Chase is.

The trip started out at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, where we flew out of Idaho Falls into Salt Lake and then to Anchorage.

I’m going to take this opportunity to remind you that the FIRST TIME my husband EVER flew commercial airlines was with me holding his hand. This was approximately seven years ago when Izzy was about six weeks old and the three of us went to Denver.

My how times do change. When we arrived at the airport, he proceeded to tell me great little gems, like “You’ll have to take off your shoes for security” and “They’ll want to see your ID.”

The first reaction that went through my head was one of sarcasm and overall unpleasantness. Something to the effect of “REALLY?? YOU DON’T SAY?” I’m so human peeps. It was five in the morning and I taught my husband how to fly.

Luckily, the Lord pressed Ephesians 5:22 into my heart at that moment and I was able to thank Chasey for the reminder. Wowza, that was close.

Chase and I travel very differently. My husband has platinum status with Delta, so he doesn't wait in line and boards the plane very first. I always have to wait in line but I take extra pride in being the last one on the aircraft. I literally wait in my seat in the terminal until I hear the FINAL boarding call. I can’t stand the thought of breathing recycled air for one more minute than I absolutely have to. Plus, when we landed in Salt Lake, we had an hour and a half before our next flight, yet my husband was running through the airport like a cheetah.

Katie: What the what?

Chase: We need to get to the gate.

Katie: Call me crazy, but I have zero desire to break a sweat in a place where I can’t go outside.

Chase: This conversation is slowing us down.

Katie: For what? The next moon landing?

Chase: Why do you question everything?

Katie: I think I was born that way.

At that point, he wanted to leave me. But he’s too nice for that. He slowed down and even let me WAIT IN LINE for a Jamba Juice.

Once we arrived in Anchorage, we had to put on our jackets. In August. Are you seeing why this was not me living the dream? But I was IN ALASKA. So it was amazeballs.

Then we caught a bus to Seward, Alaska and ate a fresh salmon dinner. And since this is a very honest blog, I have to admit that Chase once again started grating on my nerves by lecturing me on overextending the kiddos during the school year. And I thought to myself, “We’re spending a week in nature alone? Underwhelming yay.” But thank goodness the rest of the week was a great reminder on what a beautiful person I picked to marry almost nine years ago.

Chase fished during the day and we hung out at night. My dear friend Megan came and spent a couple of days with me. I haven’t seen her since before she became a mom almost two years ago. It was so fun to see what an amazing parent she is. I can’t even begin to express the blessings that pour from surrounding yourself with good moms. When she moved to Alaska to be a teacher, she experienced some things with kids who don’t have the best home life and those experiences drive her to be the best mom she can be. I was so impressed. Let’s all hug our kids extra hard today.

Chase salmon and halibut fished. And then he fished some more. I have a freezer full of fresh Alaskan fish. So that is awesome. You couldn't have wiped the smile off his face if you tried. Even after he limited out for the day, there were other types of fish to be caught so he just got to keep going.

Here’s a fun little intermission story. When Chase went to buy his fishing license, he had to pull out his driver’s license to get the number. This is logical. Yet even after he finished with his ID number, he kept referencing his ID. Since I obviously wasn't buying a license, I had nothing else to do except watch him and I couldn't figure out what he was doing.

Katie: You already filled out your license number.

Chase: I know

Katie: Then what are you looking at?

Chase: My height, weight and eye color.

Katie: [Stunned silence]….You don’t know your eye color? Or anything else?

Chase: I want it to be official.

Oh M Ba Gee Gee I love him. I can’t figure him out all the time. But I love him.

Besides fishing, we went on a wildlife cruise that was included in our trip, hiked a glacier and walked around town. It was a great vacation filled with good company. But at night, we would lay in bed and scroll through pictures of our kids. They were greatly missed and the number one reason we were ready to go home at the end of the week. 

If you ever have the chance to go, you should. The mountains touch the clouds in a way that you will never see in the lower 48. 

Alaska is AMAZING. I'm a fan.