First weeks in Juneau

Well John and I have settled in pretty well and have not once second guessed our decision to move here or come up sooner than May. We got in last Monday around 4:45 am on the ferry and got John some breakfast and a quick catnap, since he had to work that day. The ferry ride was pretty adventurous and beautiful. The first day and a half was rough because we never docked and we went through a big storm with 15 foot waves. Most of the crew and regulars were saying that this was not normal and John said it was definitely worse than his first ride lol. The pups were able to get out of the car, but not out of the boat so they (and all of the other dogs) didn't understand that they could go on the boat. They were troopers though and did great! On the second day, we docked in Ketchican, AK and we all got to get out and stretch our legs. The puppies had way too much fun and Mili even did a little happy dance...literally.

Sunday went much better because we stopped in three different towns before we got to Juneau. Seeing these little towns in random parts of the state was pretty interesting and cool. All of them were far far away from the closest town and had beautiful scenery. We spent most of our time in the observatory room in the front of the ferry and on the side deck taking pictures. We also met two new friends who were moving to Alaska, one of which is in the Army, and spent a lot of time chatting with them. Although we enjoyed our time on the ferry (most of it anyway), we were happy to get off and settle into Juneau. The very first day, we got the keys to our new condo and John was officially checked out of his hotel. Em got to spend her time checking out her new home and taking the pups around the neighborhood.

Not long after getting into the condo, we started many trips to Fred Meyer (we've saved an average of $.30 on gas), found out our brand new fridge/freezer didn't work, and Em scraped her brand new jeep on the post of our car port. Never been in accident before and got too excited with the ability to see out the back and boom. Nice bill for her. John says we're even now! Fortunately the damage was mostly paint and the bumper was not affected. The balcony has been a great fridge for our food (although not a freezer like Pullman would have been). We missed the huge snow storm and frigid temperatures the west coast experienced recently. We should be getting a new fridge within two weeks and for now we found a deep freezer on sale that we wanted to get anyway for all those big fishing and hunting trips :D Emily rapidly started exploring trails and places to take the pups. There is absolutely no shortage of them! Less than two miles down the road is Sandy Beach, which is basically a place for all the dog lovers out there to take their crazy mutts and let them run (or swim) their legs off. It doesn't matter how good or bad the weather is, there are people on the beach with their dogs. Behind the beach is a dirt trail with an outdoor museum of old mining equipment because there was previously a gold mine in its place. The buildings and equipment are in their original place and look really cool! There are a lot of birds that hang out on the shore that Mili and Ammo love to watch. The first time we went, Ammo went full fledged into the water after one of them and literally stopped in his stroke realizing what he did and how cold it was. He promptly turned around and has since only gone up to his chest to see them. That is the only time he has voluntarily gone swimming and Em was so proud! Today we went again and saw a big shipping barge coming into town, we're hoping it has our stuff on it!

 We had a wonderful New Years together and hope you did too! We walked down to a local restaurant 10 minutes from our place and enjoyed their delicious pizza and our awesome waiter, Israel. He is from Mexico and has an incredible accent! Em loved hearing him and John share stories about Mexico City. However for the first time in Em's life and maybe John's we did not make it to midnight. We crashed out around 10:30, must have been all that excitement over the last few weeks! The diversity in Juneau is amazing. Em loves seeing so many cultures throughout the town playing, working, and enjoying each other's company. All this racial tension that we hear about doesn't seem to exist here. Like any place I'm sure there's some, but we have not experienced any and there are a lot of cultures represented in Juneau! It's pretty awesome. Em has also noticed multiple people with disabilities at the store, which reminds her of Moscow, ID. It's really awesome to see so many faces in town and a part of the community.

 As you can see the animals are not enjoying their new home at all :)

 Our backs really enjoyed getting new couches and the friends we bought them from. We had dinner with them the other day and will be going for a hike with them Saturday. They have both lived in Juneau their entire lives and have raised three kids here.

 Have you ever known a dog(s) to have their own room?

Yes the days are shorter and yes that takes some getting use to, but we already seem to be more energized than the first week and actually enjoy having candles lit more often. We've made sure to enjoy the sun when it's out and play a lot! Where we are located is REALLY windy (our neighbors dirt bike fell over 3 times) on a regular basis (today was the first day in a few that we haven't seen any wind at all), but we're protected by a lot of trees and we're a middle condo. The funny thing is over in the valley where John works, there is hardly any wind so if you want to get away from it for a while, you can. On Sunday when the power went out we decided to spend the morning at the Glacier until it came back. That's the price we pay for our incredible view in-between mountains :)
We've gotten a gym membership that conveniently has two locations making it perfect for both of us and we've started getting mail! 

I'll save you the energy of me talking more and post our recent pictures later. John is continuing with his ham radio stuff tonight and he and Hal were able to connect the other day. Both of them were ecstatic! Em is enjoying getting through "fun" books and getting ready for school to start. Keep your eye out for some awesome pictures and videos of this past weekend! 

Merry Christmas...we're off!

 John and I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that you had a great holiday! Today was really nice to relax and visit with family after the last few weeks. We had a busy few days, but are all moved out of the apartment and ready to hit the road and water. We head to Seattle tomorrow and set sail around 6pm. We'll be on the ferry until early Monday morning, when we get to go pick up the keys to our new condo! Merry Christmas to us! We are very excited to be together and to start our new adventure. We will be out of range once we get on the ferry until Sunday, but we'll keep everyone up to date. We love you all and can't wait see you again! MERRY CHRISTMAS! We love you! 

 Mili and Ammo wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and show you their treats!

 Last walk in Pullman today, we're ready for the two day trip to Juneau!

 We love our new travel blankets and will enjoy their warmth on the boat :)

 Skyping with the family is always entertaining...my nephews are getting way too grown up and tall...er!

Merry Christmas and goodnight! 

Good Weekend! Ready for the last week of school.

This weekend John and I went on a few adventures and got more settled in for the big move! Saturday I took a previous student of mine and the young man I teach swim lessons and his parents to the Palouse Falls national park. Mary had wanted to go after I showed her a picture of it. It was fun to take them out there and see them enjoy it so much. Mary had a great time taking some amazing pictures and Carter and his dad Kyle had fun exploring ways to get closer to the water. Afterwards I took them to the tastiest restaurant in Pullman and they were mean enough to take the bill from me that I already called and paid the whole bill, Even Carter was in on it and was hiding under his seat. I'm still mad at them! After dinner Carter gave me a beautiful Willow Tree that said "You'll always have my heart". They didn't know that I collected Willow Tree's so it was an amazing surprise for all of us. It was an awesome day! John also had a great time in Juneau. He spent the day hiking to two glaciers, one of which we haven't been to yet and required a 10 mile hike round trip! He loved it and says Alaska is awesome! He has his first "normal" week of work this week and is already impressing coworkers with his excel skills. I took another stab at the crock pot and my first approach at my favorite soup; it didn't work out because of the chicken broth I think, but I'm going to try a different recipe. Fortunately I didn't spend the whole day making it. After church Robin, Hal and I went over to the nativity showing in Moscow. It was really cool to see so many different nativities from around the world. I loved seeing and reading about all the different cultures and personal stories of the owners of each nativity set. I am very happy I got to see the sight before they took it down today. Now the new week starts and it'll be a busy one (I'm working 4 days in Troy this week instead of two), but it'll be fun and good to see everyone a bunch before I go. Troy gave me a great farewell lunch last Friday! I have one more assignment to work on this week and then it's Christmas and moving week. I get to see John next week :D Let the excitement begin!   

 The 5 mile hike into Herbert Glacier

Checking out Mendenhal falls again, man that guy is a cutie 

 Carter loved exploring Palouse Falls and the beautiful rocks around the river!

 The not so great broccoli cheese soup

 Unto us a child is born

 Loved this sign! #Sharethegift

 This one's from Quebec, Canada

 Loved this cool Silver Nativity!

 This one is my favorite, such a fun unique way to make a nativity :)

 These cool glass nativities were made in Poland, where my professor is from.

 This one was made out of leggos!

 These nativities are all from Mexico :D

 Oh Ammo thinking he owns the neighbors place.

I will cherish this forever, I can't wait to see it in my classroom! Thank you so much Carter, Mary, and Kyle!

Finally a moment to reflect and an update!

As I sit here tonight at 11:10 pm I hear myself going "is this is the best time to write a blog? Shouldn't I go to bed and get some rest since the last few nights I've only got between 5 & 6 hours and now I will probably get the same tonight?" Yes I suppose I should, but instead I want to update our blog because writing to you seems more comforting than sleep right now. Although I know most people don't have time to read our blog, I still find comfort in writing, because it's like talking. I just finished a long, but great conversation with my in-laws. Just them and me, the puppies were in bed and we conversed for hours about whichever direction our talk went. I finally had to call it as I thought about my puppies needing out and the meal in the crock pot probably getting dry (fortunately it is still great and the puppies made it till I got home :)). However if I could, I would have stayed in their presence and continued to talk. The last week (can you believe it's only been a week since John got to Juneau?) has given me a lot of time to have quite because I've needed to be home to let the pups in/out and I've spent a lot of this time reflecting. A lot has happened this last week; John made it safely and started his job in Juneau, he attended a company Christmas party and has spent a few hours out shopping/driving/misc. stuff etc., I completed two classes(including one that really opened my eyes about how the world sees people with disabilities), I COOKED 2 meals in the crock pot and they were BOTH SUCCESSFUL, I began reading a paperback (not audible) book for real (no breaks or long time spent not reading it), I went on a walk with my professor, I got the pets official health certificate from the vet (whoa my babies are expensive, good thing they're healthy), I had a little friend hang out with me over the weekend, John met new friends at a local gun store(shocker) and had a pretty cool holster maid, I was the main presenter in one of my graduate courses (I've decided I really like being a resource for people and hope that I can continue to be, even though we won't have classes anymore), I went to part of church twice(which is a lot considering I haven't been in a long time), I got an official placement for student teaching in Juneau, John went house shopping today and we skyped for the very first time haha (funny to think about that considering all of the time we've spent apart) and we put in an offer on a place (which is not technically, but kind of our first home!) !!!! With all of this said, I find it silly what I've taken from it. Although I miss my husband dearly and can't wait to be with him again, having him gone has left me alone most nights and made me find ways to stay busy. In the past I have visited with friends, watched TV and spent hours at the gym. Because of the dogs and the distance from my home to friends, spending a lot of time with them or hours at the gym isn't as possible, so I've spent more time at home doing homework, reading, or watching movies. Because we are so busy, this wasn't enough to fill my schedule so I've filled it more by cooking (cough cough hell did not freeze over), going to church, reading a lot more, pinning education and home stuff and recipes and visiting for longer with friends and family, rather than just a quick hi or study/work session. This has made me reflect on what I find important and what I make a priority. We all find family important, but do we make them a priority? I find God important, but do I make him a priority? It's so easy around Christmas, but what about the rest of the year? I find health important, but how much work am I willing to put into it if it's not active? I find my friends important, but do they continue to be a priority when it's no longer convenient? I think back to my experience with education and how I have always made it such a priority even when it's not easy, cheap, fun, or convenient. I'm diligent in my work, I never quit, I love my time spent doing it and I ALWAYS make it a priority. With finals being next week and my masters wrapping up, I won't have homework keeping me busy at night and on weekends. Instead I'll be busy with other things of my choice. Although I know it will be filled with reality such as paperwork, lesson plans, and cuddling with my family (don't get me wrong, these are all great), I also have a choice how I fill my time. While I love school and teaching and cannot possibly wait to be a teacher, I also have come to recognize that life requires balance of all things (not just school/work and my hubbie(although he's the best)). I want to make time for my biggest cheerleaders (my parents), my role models (my sisters), my mini me's (my nephews and nieces), my behind the scenes cheerleaders (my in-laws), both of my heroes (my grandparents, although I'm better about this one) all of my friends, and God (he has certainly kept me in his life and I've neglected to keep him in mine). Going on a walk with my mom recently and talking to her more filled such a comforting space in my heart. Having full conversations with my sisters and getting caught up on their lives brought such harmony to our relationships and showed me their great support. Conversing alone with my in-laws has given me a chance to see how far we've come as a family and gives me great hope for our journey ahead. Emailing my nephews and hearing about their current events from them personally has showed me even more how amazing they are and made me so excited to hear from them more. Finding time for God and more time for friends has shown me how important they are to me and demonstrated that I NEVER want to lose them. I want more than just a casual hi or amen, I want relationships and I want harmony in my life with my wonderful husband, like I have, who couldn't make me happier. Sometimes life takes you places you never thought possible and sometimes life makes you make hard choices. Last week at church a lady spoke about Sharing the Gift this Christmas season. Perhaps that was my gift, the start of a reflectful week, so I'm going to share the gift with you and although you may not be mormon, maybe this gift of Christ will bring you some comfort just because it's Christ (not because it's mormon). And if you don't want to hear about Christ, you can find comfort in your family and what brings the most happiness to you, not necessarily what you make the most priority for. I am so excited to become a teacher. I am so excited about our new journey in Juneau and as it gets closer and things come together, I look forward to seeing where life takes us and remember to make those people and things that are important to me, a priority!  
http://www.mormon.org/christmas http://instagram.com/mormonorg

 Mexican!

 John's prime rib and shrimp dinner from the holiday party (what a party)!

 Enjoying a 40 degree morning with no homework!

 Healthy babies!

 Look at all that snow!!!!

 Creamy chicken!

 The fairy in Seattle!

 John's room for two days on water!

 The crazies playing with a squirrel!

 Last time living in Pullman together!

 Last event with Moscow Special Olympics!

         #Share the gift

Alaska Day! A sign maybe?

I forgot to mention that John and I chose not to go on our camping trip for our anniversary because we new we'd be going to Alaska the next weekend hehe so that was actually planned and believe it or not October 18th is not only our anniversary, it's also Alaska Day! How perfect, it must be a sign :) Happy 9th Anniversary to us!

http://alaskadayfestival.org/