The Inside

Sorry, AGAIN that it has taken me awhile to get blogging! I already posted pictures of the outside of the house I thought you might like to see the inside completed (sort of). Not all the rooms are done so I will send pics of those rooms later.

The house is 3 tiers which I think is really cool. The living room is the only thing on the second tier.

Living room looking down from the 3rd tier with the kitchen, dining room, bathrooms and bedrooms. The 1st tier is the office/workout room. We got a treadmill! Now I have no excuse not to get into shape!

I really like the kitchen. It may look small but those of you who came to see us in Maine know the kitchen there was barely half this size.

Guest room. It is a catch all room right now for everything I don't have a place for yet.

The fireplace finished, pretty much. I have a few pics of Aaron in uniform with our friends that I need to get made.

Looking into the living room from the dining room. I don't know why but I love being able to look down and talk to Aaron from the kitchen.

Our not so exciting dining room. The good news is we are in search for a new dining room set. The bad news if I hate looking for stuff like that. It stressed me out!

This little retro radio hangs on the wall in the kitchen there are speakers in every room so you can here the music. Pretty cool! I like that it is an intercom although, I can pretty much yell to any point in the house and Aaron can hear me.

So that is it in a nutshell so far. I didn't want to bore you with bathrooms and the garage. Although, Aaron might beg to differ. He had a lot of fun organizing the biggest garage we have had yet with all of his stuff.

Our First Hike

Today Aaron, Boone and I decided to be crazy and try to hike up a mountain. Mt. Baldy was around 3100 ft high. I only went up to about 3000 ft. It sounds like a lot but Aaron was able to hike to the top while I waited for him (out of breath). I was impressed with Aaron and Boone! Those two are like mountain goats.

We had a great time hiking even though it was hard on my legs. I really need to get into shape but that is for a future post discussion. I took a few photos of our time on Mt. Baldy...

View from somewhere near the top. There is a mountain out across the way. I only took one lens on the trip so I didn't get a great pic of it.

Aaron and Boone on a break. One of the reasons we went on the hike is that Aaron is trying to get used to his gear again. There are A LOT of mountains to climb in Afghanistan! Unfortunately he will be deploying again soon. I will keep you posted!

A picture of me taking a picture!

Boone taking in the view.

There were still a lot of little patches of snow. Boone would dive head first into them as if he was never going to get any water again. It was pretty funny!

We went the other day and purchased bear spray at the urging of a few folks up here. I did wear the bear spray on my spiffy new holster but fortunately, we didn't see any bear. I am glad I have it. Although, hopefully if I ever see one my screaming in terror will be enough of a scare tactic!

I hope you are having/had an adventurous Monday!

An Alaskan Night

I took this picture at 9:53 at night. And no, I am not kidding! Thank goodness for black-out blinds.

Our New Abode

I thought you all might like to see where we will be laying our heads for the next few years...

Boone helping us unpack.

The fireplace is my second favorite thing about the house.

The living room windows are the #1 thing I love about the house!

This is the view from the garage.

Our home! (I don't know why this is underlined and I can't get it to stop!)

We Made it!

Well, actually we made it on Sunday but things have been nuts. We got here Sunday afternoon and hit the ground running trying to find a place to live. We had one lined up but when we went to see the place it was great to look at not so great to smell! The previous tenant had a cat and it the smell was so strong I started to get a headache just being in the house for a few minutes.

We went to see a bunch of places before we settled on the last one. We had been praying for a sign from God on which place to pick and to have peace in our decision. How is this for a sign? We now live on Trinity Circle! It is a beautiful place and it is in a very nice neighborhood. We have already met a bunch of the neighbors and they seem very nice too!

We get our household goods on Monday. I can't wait to have our own bed and couch! And the cable/Internet guy comes on Tuesday. I am getting sick of coming to the library to check e-mail. I can't wait to feel connected to the world again!

Well, soon you will be inundated with stories and pictures from our adventure and new life here in Alaska. Keep checking back!

Day Five

We are alive! I am typing to you from Dawson Creek British Columbia. It is day 5 of our trip to Alaska and we are doing well. The trip so far hasn't been to eventful but I guess I should be thankful! We drove through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois (tolls much? Holy cow! I think we paid over $30 in tolls to drive through.), North Dakota, and then into Canada.

It is snowing outside which is no fun but we are excited to start our trip tomorrow. Dawson Creek, BC is the beginning of the Alaska Highway. I will write more about it when we get there. We went to a few museums today and it was cool to read the history behind the highway.

Keep praying for us! I have taken a few pictures so far but I am sure that amount will grown once we start out across the rest of British Columbia. We have heard it is beautiful!

I hope all is well with you guys!

Day One

Today is the first day of our trip to Alaska. I will try to keep you posted while on our journey. We don't have a laptop so I will try to write from any hotel with a business center. We plan on being in the US for about the first two or three days and then we are off into Canada. Keep us in your prayers!

A Cuddly Bear

Tuesday we all went fishing at Rainbow Paradise Trout Farm in Coudersport. It is a fun place to fish since they stock the lakes. It lake was catch and release so there were lots of fish to catch. I enjoy fishing a whole lot more when you are almost guaranteed to catch one. Aaron could fish for hours, not catch one and just be happy he was out fishing all day. Not me, I need results! I am not a fly fisherman by any means. When I usually go with Aaron I have a bobber, worm and a book. And only when I see the bobber go under do I really pay attention.

Anyway, we all went and had a blast. Everyone caught a fish too! It took me longer than anyone. And I didn't even cast the the line I caught it on. Aaron did it for me. I tend to tangle the line every time!

A random little pine cone I thought looked cool.

Don't worry we didn't fish in this pond!


Aaron helping Trevor catch one.

Me attempting to catch anything that I could get to bite.

Myles and Allison with the biggest catch of the day. Allison fought that thing for quite a while. It was a beautiful fish.

Steph, Clint and Allison enjoying the day.

We were ready to head out when the gentleman that worked at the lake pointed out a bear across the road. He surmised that the bear must have found something good to eat because it had been in the same place for quite awhile. When we left we pulled over and I got out to take pictures of it. I didn't get as close as I would have liked but I decided a good picture was not worth me becoming his second meal of the day.

He sure was cute!

It was a great day of being outdoors! I am sure we are going to try and enjoy being outside as much as we can the next few days. We will soon be confined to a car and that already doesn't sound like a lot of fun.

I love coloring Easter eggs!

We are now at Aaron's parents home and have been enjoying hanging out with everyone. It has been a hectic yet relaxing vacation. I know that may sound weird but no matter how relaxed I start to get, my mind always wanders back to the trip/move we have ahead of us.

Below are some pictures while at the Pearsall's house:

Clint, Aaron, Myles and Trevor hanging out.

Clint and Steph

Steph had gotten supplies for us all to be able to dye eggs. Allison working on a yellow one.

I love coloring Easter eggs!

Our adventure yesterday involved fish and a black bear! It was a fun day. But I am going to write that post and have it post another day. I don't want to leave you guys hanging to long without any updates! Keep checking back!

Lots of Goodies

Aaron and I arrived in Bradford safe and sound on Wed. We started our time at home visiting my mom. It was a great weekend because not only did I get to be around my family but it was also the weekend of my sister's baby shower.

It was a lot of fun seeing people I hadn't seen in years. Amy planned great games, Mom made great food and as always my Aunt Cathy made a great cake!

It was a full day of fun! Here are some pics...

Nickie and Sydney playing games.

My cousin, Amy, Nickie and my Mom. They were the hostesses for the shower.

The cake made by my Aunt Cathy.

Lots of baby goodies!

My great friend Stacy and I, who I don't see/talk to enough! Love her!

It was a great day and everyone is excited to meet little boy Fowler. He still doesn't have a name but I guess Nickie figures she has 2 more months to figure it out.