Spring break is over, the sun is shining and Some more friendly facts :)

Well I suppose if I can spend hours with my nose in my kindle, I can write a quick blog post. Spring break is over and Em goes back to work tomorrow. For the first time in three years Em's college and work had the same spring break so she was without schedule work for 5 days! She also normally has a lot of school work to do, but since she's student teaching now it's different. It worked out though because John's new boss (I'll get to that later) needed to go to Seattle for his daughter's surgery and needed a dog sitter. His dog though is a 24/7 kind of dog and requires company literally all day. Perfect for a dog loving teacher on break! So Em spent the week with 3 dogs and a cat hanging out mostly at home reading 3 books and occasionally taking a break to go have lunch with John, take the dogs for a walk, or clean up a bit. The pup's name is Benelli and she is just under a year old with LOTS of energy. Mili and Ammo definitely got more activity this week and loved it. Benelli had to go back to a new dog sitter this week and she was sad to let them and John go. John had to walk her out to their car because she wouldn't leave him :( Fortunately we'll see her a lot and get to play often!

 Lunch break at the Glacier one day and through the beautiful disc golf course the next :)

So yes about that new boss thing, John is still working for Hecla as a cost analyst so don't fret. A few weeks ago John went into a local gun shop (WHAT :O) with his ISU jacket on and the owner (Benelli's dad) started talking to him because he used to live in Idaho Falls. He loves ISU and found out that John studied accounting there. GO BENGALS! They were jokingly talking about needing someone to help out with the books and run the show on the weekends. As John was walking out he said "I'm not kidding about that work thing". So long story short, John ended up going back in a few times and by the next weekend was working there. The place is extremely nice with some really cool guns and a nice gun range downstairs. They have a special secured section that holds guns that are not for sale, but just to look. We thought this was the perfect place for John to put Em's grandfather's WWII service pistol. This place is secured more than our house so we didn't mind putting it there for others to enjoy. Em has no expectation of ever seeing a paycheck from them, but does expect to see new(er) toys and spending a fair amount of time there. The place is like a museum and really chill so Em likes to spend a few hours there to bring John lunch and let the pups say hi. Benelli is always there when her dad is so we get to see her. John's always been THAT guy in gun stores that hangs out all the time and enjoys it so for him it's a fun way to spend part of his weekends. The guys and gals there are all really cool too and make for a fun group to hang out with. Today John was sold a slide fire grip that turns a semi automatic gun into an automatic gun and we both got to shoot it on a few of our rifles in the range. Gotta admit, it's pretty freakin fun and ridiculous in a good way! John is pretty proud of Em and her ability to handle it :D

After John closed up the shop we drove the dogs out to Eagle beach, which is at about mile 27 of 36 in Juneau so it's fairly "out the road" as us locals call it ;). It's unbelievably beautiful out the road because it's the highway following the coast line and there's mountains surrounding you on every side, plus you can't see town! Eagle beach is one of many turn out points that is available and is one of the areas that the ocean meets fresh water. It's just passed Herbert Glacier, where we were a few weeks ago. It was very quiet and Em plans to go there more often to run with the dogs because it's dirt road with water and mountains! We came home just after sun set behind the beautiful mountains and worked together to make a good pesto dish...Go TEAM KLEIN haha, and to get ready for the week.

One other fun update is that Em has a summer job with the school district teaching PE to a k-5 summer camp! She was officially offered the position over break and is really excited to be able to put her skills to use and continue working with kids. They even said she gets to do all of the planning and can use the pool, so she plans to schedule it weekly and do swim lessons with each group! John has also decided to sign up as a volunteer firefighter for the community and will begin his journey to becoming an EMT and firefighter 1. It's a long process because the classes are already scheduled, but he's able to attend the weekly training's and work his way to going out on calls. He's always enjoyed being a part of Search and Rescue or organizations like that so he's excited to start this! Interesting fact for you...did you know that only about 3% of fire calls in the country are actually for fires?! Crazy huh?!

So now begins the end of the academic year, which has snuck up on us so fat. Em defends her master's project this week and is excited for the CEC conference coming up in April. She looked over the sessions this week and is really looking forward to what she gets to go to and to present on her and Alex's paper! John is getting more settled into his job and into the community. Summer is just around the corner and we are both enjoying the recent addition in sun light!

A few more friendly facts for you before we say good night...

1. The Norther Lights are so amazing and cooler than we ever thought possible. We saw them a few weeks ago and spent over two hours watching them on the balcony with our Christmas blankets.
2. Merrils are awesome shoes! Em is on her 3rd recent pair and wears her water proof boots almost every day. They're like slippers.
3. The mail moves very slow here and overnight shipping is NOT POSSIBLE so please don't ever pay for it, because it won't ever work.
4. It's not unusual to be running or driving and see a glacier pop up out of nowhere, it happened three times this week.
5. John has a new scar...on his head from being too tall and forgetting to duck. He kept his eye on the prize and not what was in front of him. He required 10 stitches but is ok :)

6. The bears are not awake yet, but it's time to start being on the look out.
7. Alaska is an amazing adventure!

It's been a while...update on Juneau/Douglas

Well it's been a while since our stuff came in boxes and we began unpacking. John and I spent all weekend and multiple nights doing nothing but unpacking. It was tedious and felt like a never ending process, but eventually it did come to an end. By the time we had everything unpacked and organized, John and I had filled the dumpster a half a dozen times and made 3 trips to the storage unit. We came to the conclusion that we have WAY too much stuff and that we needed to condense. In the past, we never went through everything, instead we just stopped when we got tired and were ready to be done. However this time around we pushed through and got it all done. It's amazing how much stuff we've held onto and never really looked at in the 9+ years we've been together.

In the last month, we've signed the closing papers on our condo and received a new matching fridge that works as well. We have most of the place decorated, with just a few more pictures to hang. In less than two months, I think we've paid for our Costco membership twice and earned more free gas from Fred Meyer's than the 6 years in Pocatello. We both really enjoy coming home at night to our little place and a spectacular view. We've both been cooking much much more and using our kitchen far more often than we ever have before. It's been a very warm winter in many parts of the country so we haven't skied or snowshoed, but we have spent many days walking on the beach with the dogs and hiking to glaciers. The great thing about Juneau is that it still has a lot of outdoor activities to offer when snow isn't around like glaciers, rivers, waterfalls galore, and trails at your doorstep! Sandy beach has become an almost daily occurance when we get home from work. It's a great place to take the dogs for their walk and it's so close. Em actually learned at school the other day that the reason it's called Sandy Beach is because it's the only beach in Juneau with sand. The rest have just rocks funny enough.

The animals are doing great and have adjusted well. I think Mili and Ammo actually get more exercise now than when we had a yard, because we make sure to take them for a walk/run every night since they don't have a yard. TJ has adjusted well too. He still comes by the door and looks out, but plays with his toys a lot and Ammo keeps him busy. Poor kitty will always want to be outside. He's figured out that if he jumps on Em's side of the bed at night he won't get kicked off, because she sleeps through it, unlike John :)

As far as work goes, we are managing. It's been a VERY busy couple of months and things haven't been perfect, but they are progressing. Em has gotten her first IEP's submitted and gotten to know a lot of great people at her new school who have all been really helpful. The special and general ed. teachers are always willing to help her answer questions and figure things out. This last week was great for Em, she got and is getting a lot of new supplies for her class. These supplies will make planning much easier and help her to feel more efficient while she teaches. She's excited to see other teachers excited about adopting a new curriculum and looking forward to getting all of the new goodies that will help make the classroom great for her students! This new curriculum has a lot of the things that Em believes in and likes to use in her class's anyway :)

John really enjoys being out at the mine and looks forward to the days he's going to be there. He finds it all very interesting and always stays busy while he's there. The guys out there are great and it's a beautiful area. He's been learning a lot more about payroll processing and supporting the payroll process. He's looking forward to learning more about the mine processes in the future. Em can already tell he's learned so much when we go to the beach and see the old mining equipment. On our most recent trip to the the beach, Em took John up to her newest discovery...the Glory Hole of the old mine that is at the base of a beautiful waterfall! This trip was even better than usual because it was a week day and John got home early from work, plus the sun was still up, so we got to go for a walk together before the weekend!


We haven't been out and about in a few weeks because of the rain and our busy schedules, but this weekend we knew it was going to be beautiful! John took Em and the dogs out to Herbert Glacier, where he had been once before in December. However this trip was more adventurous and longer! The sun was shining all day and the sky was BLUE! I can't believe the day we had when it's still February. It's been sunny the last few days, but it always feels better when you can get out and enjoy it. The Herbert Glacier is about 20 minutes away from our place in the other part of town and about a 4.5 mile walk one way from the road. The parking lot for Herbert is small and easy to miss if you're not looking. You would have no idea there was a glacier back in the area, if you weren't looking for it. We hiked in the 4-5 miles to the view of the Glacier and the Herbert River. It was amazing and no picture will do justice, but we did make sure to get some good ones. We were walking and couldn't see it and then we just came around a corner and there it was front and center. The river goes right up to the glacier so you can't just walk up to it like you can the Mendenhall Glacier, but you can hike (or slide) around the rocks and sit on top of small peaks to get a better view. With equipment and probably no dogs, we may have gotten within a few feet of the glacier, but we were very satisfied with the the views we got and the adventure we had. It was also 1:30 and we still had a 4-5 mile walk back to the car and it was starting to get cool. By the time we made it back to the car John's Fitbit said he walked 25,000 steps so we all know Em walked more because she's a shortie. The dogs did great and were far less tired than we thought they'd be considering the last big walk we went on Em was literally dragging Ammo the last 3 miles. We discovered that Ammo is very agile on the rocks and seems to think that we all take too long being safe. Mili was still playing in the water even though it was probably below freezing and of course doing her best to keep the crew as close together as possible. We had an amazing time and even ran into some friends that we met on the ferry towards the end of the our trip.

 The rainforest leading up to Herbert

 Herbert Glacier

 Winding up for the fetch

 My man crush!

 Everything I could have asked for!

As time goes on we are getting more settled in and learning about all of the great things there is about living in Juneau. Just to give you an idea, here are some friendly facts for you:

Fact: It definitely rains more here than anywhere else in the country
Fact: No matter how much it rains, it's still beautiful and it keeps everything GREEN year round
Fact: Running/walking in the rain and/or colder temps is far better than hot muggy temps, you can only take so much off but you can always put more on. Oh and everyone plays outside regardless of the weather.
Fact: Sunglasses aren't really necessary here
Fact: My eyes are sensitive so it's ok that the sun doesn't shine as often
Fact: When the sun comes out, it's something people celebrate and take advantage of. It'll literally brightens your day...no matter what.
Fact: The produce in Juneau is meh
Fact: Safeway has the best produce
Fact: Juneau (especially Douglas Island) gets VERY windy (90+ mph winds) every few weeks (or less) for a few days often resulting in power outages
Fact: The infrustructure and trees here are use to the high winds and seem to handle it quite well. Damage is rare and usually minor compared to what we've seen in Nevada and the Palouse. The power company is also very efficient and fast working before the power even goes out!
Fact: The locals have told us that this has been a very abnormal winter and that it doesn't usually rain THIS much
Fact: Our rain coats and Danners that we've had for 1+ years (most many more) have earned their purchase 10x over in the time we've been here
Fact: It is completely normal to see bald eagles every day
Fact: Our view is still stunning and seeing mountain goats from our condo has become a normal thing on the weekends
Fact: Juneau is quite the adventure!

Home is getting here!

Wahoo! Our stuff finally got to Juneau and the movers will be delivering everything tomorrow. They're even nice enough to make a second delivery to the storage unit. Our place is feeling more and more homey and by the end of this week it will be completely our home! Em is really excited to have all of her decorations and pictures up around the house, especially her willow trees and Americana items. We put in small coffee table over the weekend so we actually have a living room. We also got lucky enough to find an awesome little dyson hand vacuum at Costco. Between that and the rumba, we're able to keep up with all the hair from our fur babies. The puppies are enjoying the balcony now that we have a working fridge and don't need it to keep food cold. Em still heads towards the door to put food away, hopefully after this week she'll make it a habit to put it in the fridge lol. The balcony is great for the dogs to check out the neighborhood and snoop without getting soaked. We're on our 7th or 8th day of straight rain, so each time they go out they get a towel bath. Poor TJ wants out, but after seeing a bald eagle sore over our place the other day, our decision to keep him inside was confirmed. TJ's a tough cat and would put up a good fight, but we'd rather not take chances so he's been spoiled with catnip and toys to keep him busy. Ammo does a good job getting him to play too and TJ taunts him lol. 

 Ammo thought he should pose :)

John spent three days at the mine last week, so he was pretty tired but we spent the weekend inside getting things done for the house and hanging out our some friend's houses. Having the rain actually helped us both to rest a little. We made it to the gym Friday, but took some nice walks over the weekend with the pups and started to new books and rounds of candy crush lol. Em's first week of school went well, it was interesting and challenging, but Friday was productive and she feels like she and her supervising teacher are becoming more of a team. She really misses her coworkers and kiddos from Troy though. Her Alaska licence is coming along and she's looking forward to Wednesday, because she should be starting her first teaching job! She was offered a part time special education teacher for 3rd and 4th graders at the same school she student teaches at, which is very convenient! The principal and directors are super nice and very helpful. The PE teacher is fantastic and super nice as well. They all see potential for this job in the future. Both of us are thrilled for her and can't wait for her to start! This is what Em has been waiting for all her life! She can finally call herself a teacher!  

We're still in the process of finding new doctors, dentist, hair stylist etc. but we're getting there. We hope you are able to enjoy some free time today,if you are off and if you're not please don't forget to do so. We love you all and wish you a happy week!