Winter comes early in Alaska. .

Like anyone would have thought otherwise but I really didn't expect it to be here this fast! Snow arrived on the mountains last week and it looks like it is slowly making it's way down. The weather has been wonderful lately though! A little on the cool side but a lot of sun which is nice. I finally broke down and turned on our heat this morning. September and I am turning on the heat. It is still a shock to me! We are slowly starting to get ready for winter. Justin will be getting an engine block heater this weekend and it's time to take the outside hoses inside so they don't freeze. As crazy as it sounds I am looking forward to snow and everything that goes with it. Snowboarding will be the first thing on my Alaskan Winter To-Do List! Let's just pray for no broken bones this winter!

I have also come to a very strange point in my life. I am super happy, don't get me wrong. But for the first time in years I seem to have all this free time on my hands but somehow seem to stay so busy. I am loving my new job and it fits in with my school schedule perfectly! That being said, I only work about 8 days a month. Lucky, right? The problem is that I need a fixed schedule and can't seem to get into the groove yet. I feel like things also pop up or I just don't feel like doing it! How do you stay at home mom's stay so dang organized?! Maybe if I had kids it would be easier. But not yet. No children for at least a few more months and I am very happy with that decision. Finishing school is #1 on my list right now. And sitting down to blog is #2. Seriously. I am doing it this time. I feel like things are happening and everyone is missing out!

New Beginnings. .

I am just so thankful and happy for where Justin and I are in our lives right now. We had a wonderful weekend of softball with the fire department and relaxing. It was nice to finally get to spend some time with Justin. I feel like I haven't seen him in weeks! Although he did get a little banged up from playing so many games on Saturday. His knee surgery is in 2 weeks and I think both of us are ready. Hopefully this will correct the problem he is having!

The big news for this week is I am employed again! Finally! And the best part is I don't think I could have found a better job. I will be working for clinic in Anchorage doing front desk/administrative work. There are so many wonderful things about this new job. It is in the medical field which is clearly where I want to be working and this gives me a huge "foot in the door"once I get done with school in less than a year (yay!). The hours are low and the pay is pretty high so I don't have much to complain about! But probably the best part is I will have time to spend with Justin, work on school work and have a little bit of time for myself! Very excited about that! I start this Friday so I will let you all know how it goes!

The weather is beautiful so I am going to head out and enjoy it while I can! =)

FRIDAY!

And I will finally get to spend time with Justin this weekend! Believe it or not me not working has actually meant that I see Justin less. . Crazy, right? He has been in this class for the fire department since I quit my job and has been at work every single day. But the class is over today and that means that he is off all weekend and I will actually get to spend some time with him. Thank you Jesus!!

The weather has been amazing the last few days. Hard to believe that summer is really coming to an end. I hope the beautiful weather continues for the weekend so we can get out and enjoy the sun!

I went to a new dentist yesterday and I must say I don't think I have ever been so excited about a dentist! The office staff was amazing, the hygienist was a blast and my dentist was super sweet. I really like that they kept me in the loop the whole appointment and let me know everything that was going on. Of course I have pretty good teeth so the dentist is never really an issue for me. However, they did point out that I had some staining on my bottom right side. Stupid smoking. Why did I ever think that was a good idea?!  Now if I can only convince my sweet husband that he should quit then we will finally be a smoke free family! He is working on it though and I guess that's all I can ask for! Have a wonderful weekend everyone and try to stay cool. I see the temps aren't letting up too much on the east coast! xoxo

I have been super busy!

At least that's going to be my excuse for not blogging in over 2 months! How sad it that?! The worst part is I feel like so much has happened but not really. Alaska summers are beautiful as long as it's not raining. Which we have been getting rain almost every day for the past few weeks which is pretty lame. We haven't really gone and done too much lately. We did a 5 mile hike a few weeks ago which was nice. Here is a view of Anchorage from our hike!

And we went to see the Portage Glacier which was amazing! It was really windy out on the water though and it was kind of spur of the moment. Poor Justin had on shorts, flip flops and a t shirt!

A few other happenings.

• I currently have a 4.0 in college which is pretty awesome. It isn't easy but I know it will be worth it in the end.
• I am unemployed at the moment. Don't really want to get into too much detail but my job and I found different things important in life and at the end of the day I had to do what was right for Justin and I in the long run. I have a few things I am looking into and will let you all know when I finally start working again. In the mean time, Justin is enjoying home cooked meals and a clean house!
• Summer is quickly coming to a close to Alaska and this makes me sad and excited at the same time. As beautiful as it is I am almost a little ready for snow! We are looking forward to having a white Christmas this year!!

We miss everyone very much and think of you often! I promise I will try to keep this blog updated with all the interesting (and not so interesting) every day life happenings here in Alaska! xoxo

It's been fooorrevvverrr!

I know. . I know. I feel like I haven't been posting anything in weeks! Truth of the matter. I feel like this life is so normal to me that I forget it is new and exciting for everyone else. I don't even know where to begin. First off the weather has been gorgeous. The sun has been out a lot of as long as the wind isn't trying to blow you over (which is does a lot!) it really feels like springtime back in SC minus the humidity. Which I might add is AWESOME! My hair looks great here when I take the time to dry and flat iron. Speaking of hair, I added a little color to mine. Picture to come after this weekend. I did a few blonde highlights and a few red lowlights. I really like it. And since I wont be spending half of my time outside or by the ocean this year, I figured these locks weren't going to change color themselves!

I start back to school on Tuesday (Yay!) And honestly, I really am excited. I feel like this is finally the end for me. We are stationed somewhere long enough that I can finally finish. While I wait to get into the RN program, I am taking classes towards a medical assistant/phlebotomy technician. I figure it will keep me busy and hopefully teach me a lot of things I will need to know.

I feel like Justin and I really haven't gotten out and done a whole lot here yet. First of all bears are awake. And we don't have a gun or bear spray yet. Might I add they have been sleeping all winter so what are they looking for? Food. . And I don't want to get in the way of a hungry bear! Although we haven't seen bears yet ourselves there was a siting at one of the base gates yesterday of 3 black bears. Sad I missed them however we have been bear stalking ever since. I would like to see one from a safe distance. Like in my car. We have been eating at lots of local restaurants here however. There aren't many chain restaurants here aside from fast food places so that has given us a chance to eat local stuff which is exciting. Here's a run down.

Humpy's - This is a cool little dive bar type place. It was featured on Man vs Food where he did a seafood challenge. We did not do this. I ordered a blackened salmon burger and Justin ordered a blackened halibut burger. We split each so we could get a taste of both. . Seriously. Best food ever. Both burgers were amazing. But then again we are in Alaska with fresh fish and seafood.

Glacier Brewhouse - I went here once without Justin with a few girls I know. I had a few different things since we all ordered apps and just shared. The hummus here was amazing. And I also had a shrimp and smoked king salmon Cesar salad. Delish. Really. I could eat that salad all the time. And the salmon of course was fresh and tasted like no other salmon I have ever had. When Justin and I went we split the shrimp and okra po' boy sand which. It was good. I liked it more than Justin but then again he doesn't really like to go outside of his "box" that often.

The Moose's Tooth - We went here for Justin's birthday. It like a pizza place. But better than any other pizza I had ever had. I had the Spinach Garlic Chicken Pizza which was Roasted Chicken, Portabella Mushrooms, Spinach, Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, Diced Romas, Mozzarella, Provolone and Garlic oil. Justin had Santa's Little Helper which is Pepperoni, Blackened Chicken, Steak, Bacon, Red Peppers, Cilantro, Mozzarella, Provolone, Marinara. Amazing food. And their beer is amazing as well. I had a raspberry wheat. Loved it. Justin had a little of everything. It was his birthday.

Samurai Sushi - This was probably the best sushi I have had. It is a really small place but had a lot to offer. I of course has sushi. I had the Hot Night Roll which is shrimp tempura, crab meat, avocado, cucumber and topped with spicy tuna. Justin had beef bulgogi. It's a Korean beef dish which he had not had since he left Korea. He was very happy that we found this place since they have Korean food.

Snow City Cafe - Sunday we had breakfast here. I ordered an eggs Benedict with king crab cakes. I don't even think I need to go into detail how good this was. Justin made his own omelet which included reindeer sausage. He really liked it. Tasted like cubed ham or something to me. Either way this place was really cool and run by hippies. Which are my favorite.

I think that is about it. We are trying to get out more and more now that the weather is nice. And I promise I am going to try and update my blog every day from now on so I don't miss out on so much. I miss everyone back home tons. xoxo

Happy Easter!

Justin and I decided to have a seafood dinner today. It was amazing. Crab legs, crab cakes and shrimp. All of my favorites. Not to much new here which is why I haven't posted lately. I did start work this week which was good. I was going crazy sitting in the house all the time. The job is good. Seems easy enough which is nice. It will be nice once I start back to school. Which happens next month. I can't believe it. I feel like there is finally an end in sight for school. I am soo ready to be done. I will have a hard schedule for the next year or so but it will all be worth it in the end.

Justin and I went downtown yesterday just to walk around and check out some local stores. I wish the weather was nicer because I would have taken pictures but it was cloudy and gloomy so pictures will have to wait. We did eat at Humpy's for lunch. It is a cute little dive where you seat yourself. The food was beyond amazing. I had a blackened salmon burger and Justin had a blackened halibut burger. We split them so we could each try both. Probably the best thing I have ever had in my life! I am so looking forward to doing things like fishing and camping this summer. . Crazy, right? Who would have thought I would look forward to camping! It is getting warmer everyday and with that comes more sunlight every day. Right now it doesn't get completely dark until around 10:15 or so. This will be an interesting summer and I can't wait! As much as I love it here I do miss everyone back home. It is nice to talk to everyone and Skype sometimes. Pictures are coming. . I promise! =)

What a day!

I have had the craziest day so far and it's only 2pm! But first I will catch you all up on "Alaska" stuff. As of right now, Alaska is the only state that doesn't have a veterans museum. Sunday all of that will change with the opening of the new veterans museum. Justin and I are planning to attend which I am pretty excited about. Something new and exciting to do! We also have started planning our summer trips and things that we would like to do. I am so looking forward to seeing new things in Alaska. The snow is almost completely melted and hopefully we won't be getting anymore of that stuff until next year!

Now for my crazy day. Justin left for work and for some reason I wasn't able to fall back asleep. I called my dear friend Trisha and talked to her for a while. And I might add that I miss her like crazy. Being able to talk and Skype is nice but not being able just to hang out stinks. Plus she has the most gorgeous baby and a pretty cool husband too. Then I called my Memaw and talked to her which is always nice. I am so looking forward to a visit from her and my grandpa while I am here. My grandpa's brother actually lives in Alaska. Upstate though in a town called Barrow. Which I learned today he is the mayor of. . pretty cool, right? So anyway, after all that catching up I decided to try and get some sleep. Took a nap, woke up, took a shower and made lunch. As I am sitting on the couch eating lunch, the doorbell rings and the dogs go crazy! I look out to see a little boy standing there. He was maybe 3 years old and in his pajamas with snow boots and a dog. Super weird. When I open the door he asks if he can come inside my house. Umm, no. I don't know you and you don't know me. We "talked" for a while. I found out he took his dog (whose name in Flin) out for a walk and then he got lost. The dog wasn't on a leash but seemed nice enough but very scared. The little boy said his dog was very nice but I know how dogs can be. When I tried to look at the tag on the dog's collar, he turned and snapped at me. Just the chance I knew I had to take to try to find this little boys home. I finally was able to see the address and walked the little boy all the way to the end of our street and to his house. His front door was open but the screen was closed. He didn't want to go inside and told me his daddy was at work and his mommy was upstairs sleeping! Really?! How do you fall asleep and let your little boy escape from the house. I finally convinced him to go inside and made sure he stayed inside for a while before I walked back to my house. Looking back I probably should have rang the door bell or something but honestly I was in such shock and soo mad about the situation it's probably next if I didn't. I don't have kids so I try not to judge but I just don't see how something like this could have happened. This mother is not only lucky her little boy ended up at my house and I was able to find his way home but lucky that she lives on base. Because it's sad to say but in this world today, her little boy could have easily disappeared. The sad thing is I am sure this happens more than I know about. Just breaks my heart for this little boy who was such a doll. It is a lesson for me for sure.

. .

I don't even know how to title this post. As I sit here watching the countdown to the government shutdown, I am feeling so many different emotions. I must say that I do love Anderson Cooper. He knows his stuff, he speaks his mind and takes up for the military. I am in complete disbelief that this budget deal should have been done LAST year. The fiscal year is over in September 2011 and they aren't clear on a budget? Aren't we halfway through the fiscal year already? 6 extensions? Just seems crazy to me. I am upset that the people that fight so hard for this country might not get a full paycheck. What if they only fight half as hard as they could for this country? That would be not only unacceptable but it is not the moral code of any soldiers I know. The worst comment I have heard so far through this whole thing is where one law maker made that comment that she couldn't afford to give up any of her $170,000 a year salary due to the fact of "things going on in her life". Really? But you don't give the military the option to get paid or not. I hope that everyone can come to terms and agree on something. Not only because of course my income is on the line, but for everyone else as well. I have never seen or remember hearing about such a thing as this. Let's hope for the best. Right now, I am not too hopeful and am preparing myself for the worst. Just in case.

Before I close this out it just came across that they came to an agreement. This will keep the government funded until Thursday. Which is good for us. My only concern is what about next year? Or the year after. And it was said that since the senators are so tired from this whole thing they are probably going to take the weekend off. Well I am glad that they get a break since this was so hard on them. But lets hope that they come back to work on Monday with their heads on straight and really trying to work to get a solution to this problem. Being a military spouse is never easy. This is just something else that I signed up for and will deal with. . but not without a little anger. =)

Vegan?

Today I watched a re run of Oprah which I am now wishing I didn't watch. She had a challenge for her staff to all go vegan for a week. Didn't seem too bad and I thought it would be full of interesting information. I have slowly been cutting meat out of my diet for some time now. First pork and then beef. Now pretty much chicken, turkey and fish are all the meat you will find in our freezer. Not that I have anything against people who eat meat but it is a personal choice. Trust me. Justin loves a good steak or burger. After watching this show and seeing what happens in slaughter houses, I think I am slowly going to try and at least become a vegetarian. Driving to Alaska we passed plenty of slaughter houses and I always got a little emotional about them. I don't want to be someone who forces my beliefs on everyone else. Like I said, this is a personal choice and I know for a fact I will have to continue to cook meat for Justin. Which is fine. I just feel like I need to finally do this instead of thinking about it for another 3 years. New home, new job, new lifestyle, right? That being said, I think I am going to check out a book they had on the Oprah show. It's by Kathy Freston and called Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World. We will see how this goes. Since I just went to the grocery store yesterday, this is going to have to wait a few weeks. Plus I would like to read the book first. I will let you know how it goes!

A little bit of everything

I feel like since we have gotten to Alaska that things have been a little crazy! We have been in this great state for about 2 1/2 weeks now. I must say that I am in love with this place. Although we haven't gone out and done much yet, the city is great. I was recently on the "job hunt" which I must say I hate! I just don't like going in and talking to people about me. You don't realize how much you don't like talking about yourself until you have to do it. I ultimately got a job here on base. It is about 2 minutes away from the house. When you first arrive to Alaska or right before you go on a deployment, you have to get all your cold weather gear. Now those people will be coming to be for that! It is Monday - Friday from 7:30am to 4:30pm. Not too bad. And I can come home for lunch which is awesome. I don't start until April 18 so it gives me a little time to unpack and relax. As much as I would have liked to work off base in as an admin again, this job just seemed right for me right now. It looks like school will be on hold at least until the fall for right now. I am pretty sad about that.

We are in the process of getting unpacked for good. It seems to be taking longer than I would like. I forgot how much stuff we actually have. I will try to get pictures of the house up this week. Trust me, you don't want to see it in it's current condition. Total mess. On a side note we got about 2 inches of snow today. Yes. April 5 and we are getting snow. The good thing is it warmed up and most of it has already melted.

Things are suuuper expensive here. Everyone warned me but I should have really listened. A regular bottle of Olay lotion here is around $9. Crazy, right? Plus there is no Bath and Body Works or Victoria's Secret. Soo, my dear mother has already shipped me out a care package! 2 birds one stone luckily! She stocked me up on some things and it will end up being cheaper for me in the long run. As sad as I am to be far away from family I must say the one thing I am excited about it getting packages from them! And the fact that I can at least Skype with everyone and get to see them. I am going to try and get better about this blog and updating it. I keep forgetting that what is normal life for me is still new and exciting to everyone back home! I miss all my friends and family like crazy! The race is one to see who will be the first to visit us. I look forward to showing our new home off to everyone! <3

Since we arrived. .

Last few days in a nutshell

Wow! The last few days have been crazy to say the least. Friday when we got here we were told we could have a base house available on March 21. We went to look at the house and came back 10 min later and they were giving our house to someone else! Seriously. So the next available house was on April 8. Not much we could do. Of course they didn’t have rooms available for us and the dogs at the hotel on base. Which meant we either had to kennel the dogs (out of pocket) and stay on base ourselves or get an off base hotel that accepted dogs (out of pocket of course). After all the dogs had been through I really didn’t want to kennel them. So we decided to stay at the only hotel with rooms and see what our options were the next day. Saturday we found a hotel that seemed decent enough with a weekly rate of 425. Crazy, right? A week in Charleston is around 175. We check in. They assume we only have one dog and charge us for only one. Not like we are going to correct them. It’s $10 per day per dog on top of the weekly rate. The room was. .decent. I didn’t take my shoes off and always slept fully clothed. We got groceries and were going to try to make the best of it. Other than sneaking the dogs around and not having internet, it wasn’t terrible.

Monday morning I went to housing and pretty much made them feel bad for me. I hated to do it but we would have put out almost $2000 on a hotel by the end of the stay. Soo, long story short. We moved into our new house on March 22. .the very next day. I was so happy I pretty much cried in that poor lady’s office.  Although we don’t have any of our things yet, we have a house that I feel safe in and is nice so that’s all that matters to me! The dogs are happy and love having their own space.

The house is 3 stories. The bottom is a huge basement which is the laundry room also. It’s about 300 square feet. It came with a washer and dryer so lucky for us we didn’t have to wait for ours and we all have nice clean clothes and blankets! We are going to store stuff down there and also use it as a work out area. It’s heated which is also nice. The 2^nd floor has the heated garage which leads into an entry way with a coat closet and a ½ bath.  This entry way is also where the front door is. You go up 3 steps and you are in the dining room/ kitchen area. It’s laminate flooring which is easy to clean.  The kitchen is a decent size and the dining room has a pretty big window . Walk forward a little and you are in the living room. Which has a huge closet. The living room leads to the back yard. We have a cute little porch and then a pretty small back yard. It is all fenced in though so that was a relief. Up stairs in the 2 bedrooms and 1 full bathroom. The  bed rooms are a decent size and our spare room has the best view in the house. Perfect view of mountains. It’s amazing. Most of the house is carpet which is nice. The dogs loved the steps yesterday. Running up and down them over and over. Today they are hurting and feeling all that exercise!  The outside of the house is out dated. Light brown vinyl siding with dark brown trim. Typical military style. But we have a house and that’s all that matters to me!

We did get a new TV which Justin is excited about. I am ready to get all of our things so I can get everything up and take pictures. I am also going to start looking for a job today. With everything being so expensive here Justin and I couldn’t do much of anything if I didn’t work. It has been nice to have a break but being a grown up means having responsibilities. I am looking forward to everyone coming to visit! I love this place and am glad to call it home for the next 4 years. I can’t wait to show it off to everyone!

Day 11

The last day of our long but very interesting journey.

Day 11 – March 18, 2011

Starting the day: Nancy made us amazing Belgian waffles for breakfast which was a nice start to our day. We left Tok, AK around 7:56am. It was sunny. But a freezing -22 degrees. Yes. That is negative. The coldest we have seen it yet. And from our phones it actually got down to -30 degrees overnight. When Justin opened the door to the cabin steam came rolling in from the huge temp. difference.

The dogs: Were cold. Like everyone else. They didn’t seem to want to go outside because it was so cold. When they finally did they were like high stepping horse trying to keep their paws off of the ice/snow. I think we will need to invest in booties for next winter!

Ending the day: We finally made it to Anchorage, AK around 2:30pm.  It was around 30 degrees which felt super warm to us! The sun was out and it was gorgeous.

Justin drove. .Which I am sure you already figured. Which is kind of funny because a little known fact about my sweet husband is he hates heights. Really hates them. The whole ride this day was on steep mountains and hills which overlooked some of the most gorgeous scenery. Poor Justin didn’t get to see much of it. He has tunnel vision when it comes to heights. Luckily the roads were great or it could have been a very long day. I do appreciate that he drove most of the way in the bad weather. He wanted to make sure that “his 3 girls made it safe and sound to Anchorage.”

Total miles: Who cares! We made it to Anchorage! Haha I was so happy to get here I really didn’t even think to write it down. I think it was somewhere around 300 or so. We will go with that.

Highlights of the day: Umm. .hello?! We made it! And it was a gorgeous ride.  Anchorage seems amazing and I can not wait to start our lives here. Thank you to everyone who called and answered our calls. It was a long trip but we finally got here. I will keep this blog going to update everyone on all the fun stuff we do!

Day 10

Better late than never. .right?

Day 10 – March 17, 2011

Neither Justin or I wore any green. Sad but true. We have been trying to wear the same clothes and just wash them because it’s so much easier than getting into the suitcase every single day. 

Starting the day: We left Whitehorse, YT at 8:11am. It was 24 degrees and sunny. But there was snow on the ground.

The dogs: Had their first elevator ride! Once they got into the elevator they kind of looked around and then tried to jump out. Siren hates it. . like she hates most things. Poor girl. She will never get to broaden her horizons with an attitude like that. Of course our sweet Raven didn’t seem to mind it too much.

Ending the day:  We stopped for the night in Tok, Alaska around 3:28pm. It was 20 degrees but still sunny.

Time spent behind the wheel: Justin. And Siren when she jumped in his seat while he was getting gas. I have a feeling  I wont see the open road for a while. At least until summer!

Total Miles: 399.9 – One of the easier days!

Highlights of the day: We finally got out of Canada. Not that there was anything wrong with Canada. It was just a long speed bump in our road to Alaska. And not to mention they use the metric system which totally confused me. And their Department of Transportation (if they even have one!) sucked. The roads were most of the time bad. I had to use one of those nasty rest areas today. It was horrible. Just as Justin said, a giant hole in the ground. G-ross. For tonight we have a cute little cabin booked. It is really nice and the owners are super sweet.  Nancy and Bill moved from Fairbanks, AK in the 60’s to Tok. Which is pronounced “toke” because word on the street is most of the people here like to participate in extracurricular activities if you know what I mean. I don’t think Nancy and Bill get down like that.  They started this little cabin business and also raise super cute sled puppies. The cabin is gorgeous and is probably the nicest place we have stayed so far.

Tomorrow. .Anchorage!

Day 9

Today was a pretty easy day. We got up and hit the road for a short trip to Whitehorse, YT. The roads were clear and we made good time today. Although the car is making me crazy, I keep telling myself we will be in Anchorage by the weekend..

Starting the day: We left Watson Lake, YT at 7:52 am. It was 3 degrees. By 8am it was -1. It snowed a little last night. About an inch or so. Nothing too crazy.

The dogs: Are ready to have their own house. Hotels make them crazy I think. Plus they bark at a lot of things which I am scared will get us kicked out. Let's hope they can make it to Alaska without getting us evicted!

Ending the day: We got to Whitehorse, YT at 1:47pm. It was 23 degrees which is like a heat wave for us! It was amazing. Still cold. Don't get me wrong. But better than the past few days.

Total miles: 278.3

Highlights of the day: We saw a lot of moose today. They were in the road a lot. We had to stop a few times for them to move so we could go by. The rest stops along the way are gross and Justin advised I not use them. He said it was just a hole in the ground that went down about 15 feet. Gross.  I will try to add pictures to this post soon!

On a side note, this experience along the Alaskan highway has been an experience. We have seen some amazing things and have enjoyed seeing all of the different sites of the road. But for me it has a little more meaning. Knowing that my grandpa drove this same road about 12 years ago gives it a whole new meaning for me. I am seeing things that he saw and probably commenting on some of the same things that he did. Although he saw it in the summer and I am seeing it in the winter, just knowing that he was on the same road I am on at any given point in the day makes this whole trip a little easier to handle.

We are staying in a small hotel tomorrow so not sure if we will have internet or not. But if everything goes as planned we will be in Anchorage on Friday. I am ready to just be home. And I guess home for me now is Alaska.

Day 8

On to day 8!

Staring the day: We finally got out of that nasty hotel at 7:25am. It had snowed about an inch the night before and it was 1 degree. Suuper cold.

The dogs: Since they are actually doing something I decided to keep this section around. Raven loves the snow. She loves to pounce around in it and try to climb the highest hill of snow. Siren is freezing. Poor girl. But she goes outside and does what she needs to do which is all I ask for.

Ending the day: We stopped a little earlier due to not wanting to drive anymore! ha We stopped in Watson Lake, YT at 3:30pm. It was 7 degrees when we stopped which was like a heat wave after the temps we had seen that day!

Total miles: 325.9

Time spent behind the wheel: Justin. And he will continue to drive until we make it to Alaska. =)

Highlights of the day: The coldest it go this day was -7 degrees. You read that right. .Negative 7! The high for the day? 3 degrees. On the Alaskan Highway you can go hours and not seen anyone! It's the craziest thing. And you can also go hundreds of miles without seeing a bathroom. We stopped once this day. Most of the campground and RV parks are closed. I mean, who in their normal mind wants to come up here and camp out when it's under 10 degrees all the time and tons of snow? But lucky for us there was one open today along our way so we were able to stop. They always have signs on the side of the road of moose and today we saw a buffalo sign. Think like the deer signs in the south. So of course we haven't seen much wildlife so when I saw the buffalo sign I about died laughing. No jokes here people. We saw buffalo. A lot of them. Everywhere. I will post pictures. But the best part was our hotel. It wasn't nice. I cried again. I really need to get it together. But the food from their restaurant was amazing! Probably the best road food we have had this whole time. I had homemade chicken pot pie and Justin had spaghetti. Both were delicious. I was really impressed. And the breakfast was great too. I was very happy with that! Here are some pictures.

Frozen. In person it is a gorgeous blue color.

They were everywhere!

Close up!

Day 7

Finally!  A hotel with an internet connection I actually have the password to and that allows me to upload pictures! The past few days have been pretty crazy but I am happy to say we should be in Anchorage, AK by Friday. I am so happy for that. Let me share with you the past 3 days. .although some of it I do not want to relive.

Day 7 - March 14, 2011

Starting the day: We left Edmonton, AB at 7:28am. By the time we got on the road about 30 min later, the temp had dropped from 28 degrees when we left the hotel to 21 degrees. It was pretty cold and windy.

Major cities we went through: None! And to be honest I am going to remove this section from my blog from now on. We haven't been through a big city in days! We are lucky if the cities we go through have a hotel or a gas station at least! It's pretty rural up this way!

The dogs were: Good. They slept. If they don't start doing something interesting I am going to delete their section from my blog as well. . seriously. They do nothing. Lazy dogs.

Ending the day: We stopped in Fort Nelson, BC at 6:30pm. It was zero degrees. Which seems like it would be pretty bad. No. It gets worse. I will expand on that in the highlights. Although none of it was really a highlight of my day!

Total miles for the day: 660

Time spent behind the wheel: About even. I drove in the morning and Justin took over for the afternoon. Lucky for me because we started hitting areas with more snow and Justin is the better driver (although I will never tell him that!).

Highlights of the day: Let's get the bad stuff out of the way because there really were some cool moments. Let's just say WORST HOTEL EVER!! Want to know how bad it was? I cried. I know I cry at a lot of things and am sometimes over dramatic, or so I am told anyways! , but really. Even Justin thought this place was bad. The other 2 hotels that accepted dogs were booked so we ended up at The Fort Nelson Hotel. The lobby was nice and the overall hotel was nice. But we ended up on a side "motel" building. It was loud, paint was peeling off the walls. I didn't even want the dogs to have to sleep there. They had internet but weren't concerned when the password didn't work for me. I didn't touch much in that room and always wore shoes of some kind. Maybe one day I will look back and laugh but as of right now, it isn't funny at all! But on to the fun stuff. As a kid I would go to the IGA in my grandparents town and always remember what a small little store it was. Well I guess the Canadians like it too because we have seen a few of them since we have been here! There is snow everywhere and a lot of it. Makes everything look so pretty although I am sure the area is much prettier in the summer. We pulled out our new sweet boots that I won't be winning any fashion shows with anytime soon and our big winter coats. We ate lunch at an A&W. They don't put ice in their drinks which Justin thought was weird. But their reasoning is their fountains are set to the perfect temp for sodas and ice just waters down your drink. Justin seemed to disagree! We saw 3 wolves today which are gorgeous animals. And we also saw a few moose which were cool. But I guess since we saw more than one I should call them meese? Ask my grandma. She is a crazy old lady. haha

Here are a few pictures from this day!

Here we go!

It was coold!

Amazing view all day.

Moose!

Days 5 & 6

It seems like I have been living out of our car. .technically I guess we have. But yesterday was an amazing day! Lets recap.

Starting the day: We left Salt Lake City, UT at 8:11am. It was overcast and 44 degrees. It seemed like everyone at our hotel was leaving to go ski and snowboard. We were leaving to drive. I must admit, I was a little jealous.

Major cities: Not that any of these were that big or anything but we did go through them non the less. Idaho Falls. . Butte, MT. . Helena, MT.

The dogs: Are getting really tired of being in the car. I don't blame them. I am too. But Raven was up most of the day looking out the side window and Siren spent most of the day with her head on the back of my seat.

Ending the day: We arrived in Great Falls, MT around 5:00pm. It was sunny and 50 degrees. Which we later learned was considered a heat wave. Awesome. That's what I have to look forward to!

Total miles for the day: 574    And in case you were wondering, the miles for day 4 was 670.7!

Time spent behind the wheel: I drove in the morning and Justin drove in the afternoon. So it was about even. But there was nothing in any of the states we went through so the 5 hours behind the wheel seemed like 10. Suuper boring driving day. Nothing like New Mexico, that's for sure!

Highlights of the day: Probably the only highlight was that Justin and I met up with some old friends and it was amazing. We were super good friends with Amanda and Rick when we were all stationed in North Carolina. We were all young and new to the military. Justin left for Korea, I stayed in Florence and our dear friends left to spend 4 years in Japan. It had been about 6 years since we were all together and yet it seemed like we picked up right where we left off. That is the one thing I love about the military. We let them know one day before we were going to be in their neck of the woods and were able to meet up. Did I mention that they cooked for us so we had a homecooked meal and we were able to have adult conversations with other people! It was a great night. The only bad part was that we stayed up later than we should have and paid for it on day 6.

I would love to add pictures however Internet in Canada leaves a lot to be desired so I am not even going to put myself through that torture!


DAY 6!

Starting the day: Due to the time change we were a little late getting started this morning. That and the fact that it was freeezing! We left around 8am. It was 36 degrees and WINDY! Whew. . Made it feel much colder than what it was.

Major cities:  Calgary, AB

The dogs: Were Ok. Not much they can do I guess. Luckily we had a shorter day today so they are relaxing in the hotel with us as I type this. They sure do hate when we have to put them back in the car. The worst part is we don't let them eat during the day. Only at night when we stop. But they seem to be doing ok.

Ending the day: We arrived in Edmonton, AB at 4:45pm. It was 35 degrees and sunny. This town is crazy. Weird roads and one way streets. I thought Justin was going to lose his mind. Poor guy. We will get to that. .give me a minute!

Total miles: 497.6

Time spent behind the wheel: So why was Justin going to lose his mind today you may ask. .because he drove the whole way! I don't know how or why he did it but he did it. I took about a 30 minute nap and I was woke up by Justin singing his little heart out. How cute. Guess I will be driving most of the way tomorrow!

Highlights of the day: We went through the border today. For some reason I was so nervous they were going to deny us entry to this country. Don't ask me why but as we were waiting in line I was freaking out. Not sure if it was because we have 2 miniature ponies traveling with us or what but luckily they let us in no problem! I had a nice nap today. There is snow everywhere but the roads as of right now. Justin just announced that Edmonton is expecting snow tomorrow. Looks like we will get out of here early! We have been lucky to find hotels that let us have our dogs. I hope it continues that way until we reach Anchorage. As we walked into the hotel with our dogs, the girl at the attraction desk makes this statement. "Wow. .those sure are large puppies. It's hard to tell who is walking who, eh?". This single statement made my day. I love that everyone says eh. And they have funny accents. I am sure they think the same thing about us though.

Justin and I have tried to map out the rest of our trip since from here on out the places we stay are going to be pretty rural. We are trying to get hotels lined up and our route down to a tee. Looks like we have about 4 more days of driving. The end is near. Thank goodness. I hope I can have Internet access at every hotel we stay at. If not, I will report once we are in Alaska. Love you all!

Days 3 & 4!

We finally had a shorter day today and so I am able to catch up on the past couple days!

Day 3 - March 10, 2011

Starting the day: We left Oklahoma City at 7:23am. It was pretty cold. 36 degrees but sunny. I got up earlier so we weren't rushing to leave and get packed up. Justin was pretty happy about this.

Major Cities we went through: Amarillo, TX . .Albuquerque, NM. .

The dogs were: Good again! Not much new to report on them. They sleep. That's about it.

Ending the day: We got to Flagstaff, AZ around 7:34pm. It was dark but a cool 50 degrees.

Total miles: 859.6 . .let's not talk anymore about that.

Time spent behind the wheel: I drove through the rest of Oklahoma, all of Texas and most of New Mexico. Justin took over and drove for a few hours but I ended up driving the last hour or so of the trip.

Highlights of the day: The day was long. 13 hours in the car was brutal. But we did learn that shopping carts were invented in Oklahoma. And that Justin loves Oklahoma so much that he wants to move there. We will see I guess.  Justin has named our GPS Cherry. She is kind of a pain and yells at me a lot. Plus Justin realized the has a bit of a stammer which is why he thinks that they get along so well. New Mexico might be my new favorite state. It was amazing and the landscape was always changing. When I asked Justin to sum up New Mexico in one word his answer was "sweet". Guess that's what we will go with then. Here are a few pictures from this day.

Oklahoma

Texas

New Mexico

Arizona

Ok. Now on to day 4. Today was a pretty good day. We went to bed pretty early last night so we seemed to get caught up on sleep. It helps when the scenery is nice and gives us something to look at and talk about. Today in a recap.

Starting the day: We left Flagstaff, AZ at 7:36am and it was a sunny 26 degrees. Elevation? 7, 550 ft.

Major Cities: Las Vegas, NV . .Salt Lake City, UT

The dogs were: Crazy today! I think they might have been in the car too long yesterday because it didn't seem like they could get comfortable. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Ending the day: We arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah around 6:35pm. It was a chilly 45 degrees but sunny.

Total miles for the day: I am going to guess around 650 or so. I forgot to look and it is way to cold for me to go out there now!

Time spent behind the wheel: I drove a lot today. I just prefer to drive. I hate sitting in the passenger seat. I made it through the rest of Arizona, all of Nevada, Arizona again for about 30 miles and about 40 miles into Utah. Justin drove most the way through Utah.

Highlights of the day: It was a very sad start to our day waking up and seeing the reports of the massive earthquake in Japan. We listened to some of the news reports on the drive today. Just such a horrible event. On a brighter note, Nevada was super hot today. But it was nice. I will never complain about being hot ever again. All this cold weather and my soon to be new home of Alaska has made me appreciate the warmth. As a tribute to our dear friends The Fleishman's, we stopped and ate at Del Taco. It was pretty good. Not going to lie! Utah should be called the windy state. Whew! My hair looked crazy after out little pit stop. Also, Utah has a ton of cops. They are everywhere!

Overall it has been a pretty nice trip. We have seen pretty amazing things and I am excited to see more!

A very long day 3!

As much as I would love to fill everyone in on our amazing day. . It's not happening tonight. After 4 states, 13 hours in the car and over 800 miles I am exhausted. Both physically and mentally. Tomorrow brings Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. I will post about both days tomorrow!

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Day 2!

Oh man. What a day! It wouldn't have been so bad if we saw the sun sometime before 4pm. Here is a recap of the day.

Staring the day: We left Nashville, TN this morning at 7:55am. Let me say we would have left earlier however I decided that I would like to straighten my hair this morning which of course was not in the plan. And then I spilled the cooler ALL over the car including the passenger front seat which Justin then had to sit in all day. Oops. When we left it was 54 degrees and raining. . Soo gross.

Major cities we went through: Memphis, TN . .Little Rock, AR . .Oklahoma City, OK

The dogs were: Awesome. They slept most of the day but the best part was we went 4.5 hours without stopping and they were fine. The only problem is when we stop for the night, the dogs tend to bark a lot since they aren't used to all the noise. It sucks but luckily no one has said anything yet so we will keep our fingers crossed.

Ending the day: We stopped for the night in Yukon, OK (which is right outside of Oklahoma City). When we stopped it was 50 degrees, sunny (although the sun was setting) and 7:00pm.

Total miles for the day: 695.2 whew!

Time spent behind the wheel: I started out the driving this morning around 8am. I drove through half of Tennessee, all of Arkansas and about 20 miles into Oklahoma. This was a total of about 8 hours. Justin took over and drove for about 3. I really don't mind driving. And I know that once we hit snow and mountains he wont be letting me drive much. Figured I could do most of the driving now.

Highlights of the day: It rained. A lot. All through Tennessee, all through Arkansas and into Oklahoma. It was horrible. Arkansas is pretty long. And boring. Not much there. But Oklahoma is amazing. Maybe has more cows than people. However, we did stop for gas (which we we almost ran out of since Justin kept "forgetting"!) and we ended up stopping at a little country store. We had to pre pay for our gas inside because the gas pump did not have a credit card reader. Something we found super outdated but very interesting. '

I don't want to speak too soon but the drive so far has not been bad. Justin and I try to keep each other company and the dogs have been very good. I am looking forward to heading west a little more and seeing more of this amazing country I call home. It's so interesting for me to see how the landscape changes from state to state. Tomorrow is a new day so rest is needed. A few pictures for your viewing pleasure!

A packed car!

North Carolina Mountains

Siren's favorite spot!

Downtown Nashville

Oklahoma!

More Oklahoma

Oklahoma City

Day 1 of this crazy adventure!

Whoa! What a day. First thing is I think our car is so full we couldn't buy any thing along this trip if we wanted to. We ended up leaving some stuff at my mom's house in order to have room for the dogs. The trip overall has been pretty good. Here are some details:

Starting the trip: We left Florence this morning at 8:43am. It was 45 degrees and sunny which was nice.

Major cities we went through: Columbia, SC. . Ashville, NC. . Knoxville, TN

The dogs were: Really good! We stopped about every 2 hours or so and walked. Probably more than we should have but they don't have much room with all our stuff. They are currently passed out at the bottom of our hotel bed.

Ending the day: Stopped for the night in Nashville, TN at 4:19pm (central time. . Trust me. My body was totally feeling like 5:30!) It was 48 degrees and raining.

Total miles traveled today: About 514

Time spent behind the wheel: I started the trip and drove until we were almost in Tennessee. I made it over mountains and interstate changes. Nothing to major. Justin drove the rest of the way and luckily he was the one that hit the rain and not me!

Highlights of the day: Looking through the atlas we realized there are only 3 states with a lower population than Alaska. . North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming. We also realized that Justin doesn't like sharing mountain roads with 18 wheelers! And finally we tried White Castle burgers which by the way are amazing!

I would love to type more but of course the hotel we are staying at has wi fi but it's not working so all this was typed from my phone. Sleep is in my near future. I feel tomorrow is going to be a long one! We love you all.

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Orders? Yes please!

So I haven't posted lately because to be honest there has been no news. .until today. Justin finally went in and picked up our official orders. The only problem? We now have 2 weeks to schedule and have our household goods picked up. Hopefully this all falls into place and it is a smooth transition. We tried to schedule the pickup for our things and of course it is on a website that doesn't seem to want to be working tonight. Of course.  On a few random notes:

1. The weather has been GORGEOUS in Charleston this week. In the 70's and sunny. I am sure going to miss this weather for sure. However, in mid July when everyone here is dying in the heat and humidity, I will be enjoying a comfortable 70 degrees. That will be nice.

2. Justin has gotten me hooked on Sons of Anarchy. I watched the first 2 seasons in the past 2 weeks and started season 3 last night. It is amazing. If you like the rebel biker club with lots of eye candy kind of show!

3. We had our first going away party this past weekend. Of course I couldn't make it through the night without a few tears but then again I am leaving my second family. The people I live with and surround myself with here in Charleston are nothing short of incredible. They have always been there for me and I am lucky to have them in my life. I hope I am lucky enough to find people like them on my life's journey.

4. My dear husband is on this "bun in the oven" kick. No. . no. I am not pregnant however he seems to think the time might be right. As much as we both want kids, I think we need to make it across the country with the dogs before we consider adding to our family. And as I try to remind him, if we have children in Alaska then we run the possibility of having my mom moving there and living with us. As much as we love her, I lived with her when Justin was in Korea and let's face it. Neither of us would ever want to do that again! Stay posted for more on this subject.

Stay tuned for more moving details!

<3 Jenn

First post!

I decided that since I am about to  move all the way accross the country (and lets face it, Alaska is closer to Canada than the US) I should probably start a blog. As much as I love all my family and friends, I have a feeling I would get really tired of telling the same stories over and over again. Plus, I would hate to leave out details! So this is going to be my way of keeping everyone up to date with our journey.

So now that's out of the way. Here is where we stand with everything. I got the call yesterday that I am medically cleared to move to a new base. (yay!) Not that there was any concern, however, the military loves paperwork sooo. .Justin went to go pick up our orders today which we were told would be ready as soon as I was cleared. So the big question. Do we have our orders yet? The answer. NO! Of course they weren't ready. I get it. "These things take time". A direct quote from my dear husband. But hello! We leave in 22 days. Not that I am counting or anything. And without our orders, we have no way to set up a pick up date for all of our things that need shipped to Alaska. All that being said, I was told I need to "get it together and things will fall into place". Another direct quote of course. So I guess I will slow things down and hope for the best.

We have found a super cute house that I must have in Alaska. Called the guy and of course haven't heard back yet. I will hope for the best on that as well. So that's where things stand with us as of now. I am super excited for this amazing journey and new chapter in my life. I am expecting great things. As much as I will miss my beloved home state of South Carolina, I am sure Alaska has great things to offer. So I will leave you with a snap shot of my soon to be home, Alaska. It really is an amazing state.