3 years

Happy Third Anniversary Mike!  These last three years have flown by.  I can not believe we have moved from Alaska to North Dakota.  Bought a House.  And are now having a baby! Can't wait to see what the next 3, 5, 10, and 50 years bring!

10 Years Together

10 years ago Thursday Mike and I started dating, after talking on the phone through an entire Viking Pre-season game.  It is really hard to believe that we have been together that long, I am starting to feel old.

 We have been through so many things is the last 10 years to list just a few of the happy memories:

• ·         started and graduated high school
• ·         met at the Mall of America for numerous dates
• ·         went to 2 proms, and at least 5 Home Coming Dances
• ·         made it through college, including me being in Sweden for 5 months
• ·         got Java in 2007
• ·         we have vacationed to Colorado, Maine, Hawaii, Sweden, Minnesota and numerous camping trips in Alaska
• ·         Mike took a leap of faith and moved to Alaska when I got a job out of college
• ·         moved into our first two condos together in Anchorage
• ·         Got married in 2008
• ·         Adopted Cora this past January, although it feels like she has been in our family for nearly 10 years
• ·         I  took a leap of faith and moved to North Dakota when Mike got his dream job as a Police officer
• ·         We bought our first home together

And those are just a few of the highlights.  I am in no way saying we have not had hard times.  Moving to Alaska, away from everything and everyone who we were close to was challenging.  Mike has lost both of his Grandfathers and we lost Callen.  But we have been each other’s shoulder to cry on.  Have made each other breakfast in bed, so the other would get up and go to work.  And have made each other laugh I am so thankful to have had Mike by my side through the good, the bad and the everyday.  He has kept me grounded and adds a bit of adventure into my life.  I can’t wait to see what the next ten, twenty, thirty and more years will bring.            

Last Picture Together in Alaska

Feeling better

As the previous post said I have had a bit of winter gloom.  Yesterday was by far the worst.  I woke up at 6:00 really missing Callen and not wanting to get out of bed.  After crying for almost 45 minutes and talking to Mike I decided that going into work was just not going to happen.  I went back to sleep, called in to work at 9, then slept until 11.  When we woke up I stayed in bed reading until 12:30.  Mike the wonderful husband he is brought me breakfast/lunch in bed. 

After getting up cleaning a bit we did some running around.  We went to the Vet office to get Java some more food, to Office Depot to get some ink, and then to Alaska Mill and Feed.  Mike had called Alaska Mill and Feed to see their prices on Christmas tree and found out they started as low as $15.  Well the $15 trees were only 3 feet tall so we went up to the $35 4-5 foot tree an got a bushy tree.  I have to highly recommend Alaska Mill and Feed to anyone in Anchorage looking for a tree, they were really helpful, had the trees in a ware house that smelled really yummy, wrapped the tree ina plastic bag so you could but it in the back of the car instead of on top, and I felt better buying from a local company vs a national chain like Home Depot.

We go the tree set up last night and will decorate it this weekend.  I am happy to say I took my last test for the Arctic Engineering course I am/was in!  It only took me 1.5 hours!  After I finished my test Mike and I went out to Carrs and got some Chinese food for dinner.  They have this "Feast for Two" for only $10.99.  You get 2 egg rolls, 2 entrees, a fried rice and a LowMein box.  We ate our fill and still have enough to eat another meal. Last night we vegged on the couch and went to bed early.

I am happy to say waking up Friday morning I feel 100% better.

I also want to say Happy Anniversary to my Grandma and Grandpa Bjerke.  They celebrated 50 years of wedded bliss yesterday!  Congrats!

Just Keep Swimming

This is the phrase I sing to myself when I feel like quiting during a run.  Monday night Mike and I ran this route in about 33 minutes! 
 
This is also how I am feeling about life right now.  Just Keep Swimming!  and you might get somewhere.  Life is just chugging along nothing really exciting going on.  This past weekend we went to our first Aces game of the season on Friday.  Saturday we hung out at home, walked downtown to the 5th Ave Mall, and then had our first Dinner for Nine of the year.  Our dinner for 9 group is great and we had a wonderful meal.  Sunday we went to church and then taught Sunday School to 2 Kindergartner's and 1 2nd grader.  It was a small group but they kept up laughing.  Sunday afternoon we just hung around the house, watching football and baking cookies.  Sunday evening we went to my friend Angela's house for a little while, her 1 year old Olive decided she really liked me, she was so cute bringing me books to look at.
This week is already 1/2 over.
Monday we ran, as I said above and the vegged. 
Tuesday we went to the gym and vegged.
 Tonight we are going out to dinner at Suite 100 (http://www.suite100restaurant.com/) with Samantha and Hans for their 4th Wedding Anniversary!  No big plans for the weekend.  Just looking forward to going to Minnesota soon!

Two Years

Two years ago today I married the man of my dreams.
After 7 years of dating and a 3 year engagement we were beyond ready.
Everything was planned, and then planned again.
The only thing up in the air was the weather, which turned out sunnier and warmer then expected, for a September day in Minnesota.
I got to the church at 9am to get my hair done by my brides maids sister. It turned out perfect.
Mike and his dad made it to the church early!
We loaded up the cars and headed down to the park for pictures.
The look on Mikes face when he saw me was perfect.
I love the way the pictures in the garden turned out.
We headed back to the church took a few family photos in side and Grandma Bjerke had a light lunch for the wedding party.
The ceremony went by so fast.
We did a sand ceremony and Callen played "We're Going to be Friends"
We had an awesome "limo" for the wedding party.
And a group of us headed to TGI Fridays for a drink and the park for some fun pictures before heading to the barn.
We had our pig roast for dinner and then danced the night away!
We grabbed 2 hours of shut eye before heading to the airport for 10 days in Maine!

Now here we are TWO YEARS later.
I have no clue where I would be with out Mike today.
He is truly my other half.
He knows when I have had a bad day by my voice or by the way I am standing.
He can make me laugh and smile any day.
We truly work better together.
I love you Mike, here is to another 50 years of wedded bliss.

Anniversary Weekend

Lake at the B&B

Loving the Sun
Bella, the B&B owners Dog
The Sewards Folly, no we did not order this

Fall Leaves at sun set

Hunter 14,500 ft, Foraker 17,100 ft , and Denali 20,320 ft

Sunshine Lake in the Fog

Mountains again

It was a little Bright out

We packed up and headed to Talkeetna, AK this weekend. We stayed at Talkeetna B&B. (http://talkeetna-bandb.com/). Alice, the woman who owns it was really nice. There were canoes to use, but we never did. She also had a sweet dog named Bella who greeted us. We headed into town and ate at the West Rib (http://www.westribpub.info/) for dinner, the hamburgers were delish. Mike wants to go back for the Seward's Folly, i.e. heart attack in a burger. After dinner we walked down the one main road in town, but all the shops were closed, so we headed to the river to watch the sun set. We could see Denali perfect. After the sun went behind the mountains we walked back to the car and headed back to the B&B for the night.

Saturday we got up and had an amazing breakfast cooked by Alice. We had halibut fillets, toast, eggs w/ avocado, fresh fruit and coffee. Yummy. We went on a walk near the B&B to Sunshine Lake, although all we could really see was fog. We packed up the car and headed back into Talkeetna we looked in some shops and then went back down to the river, walked across the river and along the railroad tracks in search of a bear. We never found one but the sun was shining. Once back in town we went the the Denali Brewing company. I had a cream soda and Mike had a couple samples of beers and then bought a Growler of beer. We looked in a couple more shops and bought some honey, some jam, and a native art piece. Then headed back into Anchorage. It was a great night away for our anniversary.

Another Sunday

Today I slept in, which was WONDERFUL! Then I finished the book my mommy sent me "Two for the Dough" By Janet Evanovich... very very good I highly recommend the series about Stephanie Plum. Ate some tator tots for breakfast (they are kinda like hash browns right?) along with some coffee and then went on a want to Mission Beach and picked up some sea glass. No idea what I am going to do with the sea glass but it is pretty. I got a great laugh at the beach. In the picture above you can see a few dogs. Well their owner would throw one tennis ball, the black dog would go after it. Then the owner would throw a 2nd one which the 3 little dogs would run after. The black dog would get the first one and the pick the 2nd one up on his way back it was so so funny. Now I am sitting on my little patio in Kodiak soaking up some rare sunshine and updating all you people. (and enjoying a glass of cheapish red wine)

So what else is new. Other than working 65-80 hours a week not much. The project is progressing nicely there have been a few hiccups along the way with some choice words from the foreman but nothings that can't be resolved fairly easy. I have just under 3 weeks left out here, I will be back in Anchorage on the 8th of July.

Mike is super busy. He is moving our stuff from condo B to E! I am so freaking excited about the move. The new place will have granite counter tops, pretty floors and a new garage door with an opener!! Mike favorite thing is that a full surround sound system, with speakers has been installed, all we have to do is hook up the TV. I still can not believe that we have been up in Alaska for nearly 2 years now, where does the time go.

I have to give a shout out to G&G I who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Friday and renewed their vows on Saturday. I am so sorry that we could not be there but I know Mike is so excited to visit with you soon.

Three Months

I cannot believe that it has been three months. One one hand it seems like it was yesterday that I got the call but it seems like forever since I was in Minnesota. I have my good and bad days. The good days are good. The bad days vary from bad to really bad with lots of tears. I miss Callen so so much. But more then that I feel that the world no longer feels quite right. In all my life I have never had anyone close to me die. And the only funeral I remember going to was my Great Grandmothers (Grandma Ruby). I hate that there is this empty place in my heart. I hate that Callen is gone...forever. And I hate that I feel removed from the situation (location wise).

Wednesday night at my Yoga class the teacher was talking about a yoga character called "the gambler" who loved games of all kinds and lives in the cemetery because you are lucky and live... until you lose. This totally made be tear up, start missing Callen but it has also made me realized that Callen had an amazing life. Callen was a Gambler of life and love. He went to Mexico, Canada, Hungary, Scotland and Spain. He had an intense love of music and had pure raw talent too. He had the amazing ability to find the good in anyone regardless of what they look like or had done. He had the confidence to do what made HIM happy with out trying to please others. Callen knew who he was and was happy with it. Now the reason that my yoga teach told the story was to allow us to have more fun with some of the poses, instead of being so serious, analyzing our poses compared to others. But it translates into life. I think Callen got it, "Be who you are and do what makes you happy"

Mike got his Tattoo today! Here is what is looks like currently.. it will take some time to heal.

MOVING

some of you may already know but we are MOVING. We are moving from Condo B to Condo E at our same address! We could not be more excited. After 2 years in our current rental we are ready for a change. (Wow I cannot believe we have been up here for 2 whole years, time flies.) The condo is the same size, same set up but 100% remodeled. I am drooling over the new Kitchen I will have granite counter tops and a tall pantry! The bar area and wall have been removed so it completely open and new recessed lighting was installed. Our new floors will be hardwood on the first floor are bamboo on the stairs and 2nd floor. The fire place was taken out to make the 1st floor even larger. The bathroom has a new vanity with granite counter top, a pretty mirror, and heated floors. The larger bedroom closet size has been slightly reduced but the room looks SO much bigger. The smaller bedrooms closet has awesome organization racks. The garage will have a new door, a garage door opener, some built in cabinets, separate heating system, and a 2nd fridge. The plumbing and heating have been redone and the walls have been re-insulated. Can you tell I am a little excited about it? We will be moving at the end of June beginning of July, or should I say I will be packing the next 2 weeks and Mike will be moving in June/July. The best part about it is rent will stay virtually the same! I plan on asking Mike to take pictures on the empty new Condo and empty old Condo to show the drastic differences.

The new Condo is still some what of a construction site but will be 95% finished midweek and we will sign a lease then, but we at 99.99% sure that we are doing this, I started packing the weekend!

In other news my Mom and Dad booked their tickets to visit us. They will be here July 22nd to the August 1st. So hopefully I will have everything organized by the time they get here.

Happy Earth Day

Happy 40th Earth Day.
Here are easy things Mike and I do to be more Green, that you can do too:

• Bring your own shopping bags to all store not just grocery store.
• Change your light bumps to the longer lasting ones.
• Have a clothes line, even though we can not have on outside, we have on at the back of our garage.
• Only run the dish washer when it is full
• Give away, swap or donate items you no longer need or want vs. tossing them.
• Use a reusable water bottle vs. one time use plastic bottles.
• Buy in bulk, it uses much less packaging.
• Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) This not only forces you to eat healthier there is not all the waste of plastic bags like at a grocery store produce area.
• Bring a Plate, Bowl, and set of silver ware to leave in our office at work, instead of using disposable plates and plastic ware.
• Use Cloth Napkins for eating and towels/rags for cleaning vs. paper products.
• Think about what is in your food before you eat it, homemade is always better for you and taste wise than boxed, packaged or eating out.
• Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
• Keep the heat at a minimum, we have ours set at 60-65 all winter
• I no longer use Tampons/Pads instead I use a Diva Cup www.divacup.com (Sorry to the Guys who are reading)

I have been thinking a lot about being greener lately here are a list of things I would like to say we are doing next year:

• Making our own cleaning supplies with vinegar, baking soda etc. vs cleaning our home with chemicals.
• start a planter garden with herbs and a few other things
• make most if not all our bread at home
• Bike to work
• buy more "new" things at 2nd hand stores (I am really bad about clothes especially, addicted to Kohl's)
• Eat more veggies and fruit and less Meat and dairy
• Eliminate most Plastic in the kitchen
• Eliminate our use of Paper Towels.
• Buy 100% organic

(now I just have to get Mike to sign off on the list...)

100th post

Yep that is right since March 29th 2009 I have made 100 posts. Crazy. I have never been one to keep a journal (or like English/writing at school) but I really like blogging. It is nice to be able to post my thoughts, what Mike and I have been up to, and my crafting/baking. (I know our Families in Minnesota like it) It is almost like a digital scrapbook! (which is nice since I am way behind on regular scrapbooking.

Not much is new with us. We have Youth group tonight. Tomorrow I am giving Mike a Hair cut. And Friday he graduates from the Academy!!

We are also getting super excited about my Grandparents coming up! It will be awesome to have family up here for Thanksgiving. Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, stuffing, gravy, salad, cranberries and Grandpa's Bread!! They are going to try to bring up some lefsa too! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

On another note it is getting dark up here. the parking lot lights are on until 10 AM and then come on again at 4 PM. sad sad sad. I hope some snow comes soon, as it will help lighten the darkness.

The Lion King

Here are a few pictures from our date night with Samantha and Hans at the Lion King!

Weekend Review

This weekend was AWESOME!! Friday Mike and I went to Kohl's and Target. My favorite stores! And then just hung out.

Saturday I had my first FLL meeting. We had 5 girls who all seem really nice and excited about the season! We expect 2-3 more to join. Then Mike and I went and worked out. I ran, he did the elliptical and then we did our sit ups for the day (we are doing this challenge http://www.twohundredsitups.com/).

Then we got dressed to go out to dinner. It was so good. We had not had steak in a long time. I had a Fillet Mignon and Mike had a Bone in Rib Eye. We also shared a Cesar Salad, some bread, and had a berry ice cream for dessert. When I made the reservations I had written a note that it was our Anniversary so we got the ice cream for free, had rose petals on the table, along with a little card saying Happy Anniversary. After dinner we went to Samantha and Hans house for a game of Life.


Yesterday we slept in then went to Church with Samantha and Jacob. Went out to lunch with them at IHOP, I had nutella Crepes with Bananas and Strawberries, really good minus some of the Strawberries being frozen. Then Mike and I went home. Mike sat on the couch and watched foot ball while I made 2 dozen rolls and hemmed his pants, (that we bought in MN in April). I had been being to do it for a while. And did it just in time for him to wear them to the LION KING!! So at 4ish we headed back for to Samantha and Hans house for an amazing dinner of Ribs, baked potatoes, salad, strawberries, and rolls. WE WERE STUFFED! Han's mom was over to watch Jacob and four of us went to the Lion King.

The Lion King was AMAZING. I have been talking about going forever and it surpassed my expectation. In first scene "the Circle of Life" they have tons of animals walk down the isle, including a life size elephant, which has one person in each leg (4 people total for you not so good at math). The music, costuming, acting, and dancing were all amazing. Mike and Hans even really enjoyed it. And Mike is not really the play going guy. I however would not pay for a 3 year old to see it, yes there were some there. The costumes/ puppets for the the Lions, Timon, Pumba, and Hyenas were amazing. If we had the money to do so I would go to it again, there was so much going on, I am sure I missed a ton.

We had a great First Anniversary. I will post some picture of us all dressed up some time!

Happy One Year Anniversary

Today is our One year Anniversary! I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by. In the past year Mike and I have:

1. Gone on our honeymoon the Bar Harbor Maine
2. Joined Planet Fitness
3. Celebrated our first season of Holidays in Alaska
4. Made some great friends in Alaska
5. Bought a brand new car
6. Have gotten on the same page financially
7. Went to MN in April
8. Traveled around Alaska with family
9. Mike started his new job at the DOC and we have adjusted to the Schedule
10. Fallen more in love with each other

New Van

Well it looks like new! So pretty! We got the Van yesterday. Total cost would have been $1,700, but thank the Lord it only cost us $100. The most ridiculous thing was that just for the Dodge name and Grand Caravan name it cost over $100.

Today I had my first meeting for FLL (First Lego League). We had 5 girsl but know of at least 3 more who will be joining us today. The girls seem nice and I know it will be a great time. Then we went and worked out. And tonight we are going dinner at Simon and Seaforts.

Tuesday

I brought the van in this morning to get an estimate. If we had to pay out of pocket it would be $1,400, ouch. Thank the Lord for insurance. And that is for a salvaged gate piece that the body shop will repaint. I just left the van there and got a ride to work from one the the guys at the shop. It "should" be done by Friday. We were a little unsure of the body shop since no one had suggested it to us but the shop has a 100% guarantee on the work for as long as we own the vehicle. And since Mike and I have decided that we will pretty much drive it until it dies we are not so worried.
We do not have to much planned for tonight. Homemade wild rice soup is for dinner with some left over corn bread muffins that I made last night. And the Biggest Loser Starts tonight, I am a dork but I love this show.
I am also excited for this weekend! Mike and I are celebrating our 1 year anniversary! We are going out to dinner on Saturday to Simon and Seafort's. And on Sunday we are having dinner at Samantha and Hans place and then going to the LION KING!! I am sooo pumped! To bad it is only Tuesday.

Eight Years...Holy Cow

As of yesterday Mike and I have been together for EIGHT YEARS! That is a long long time, over 1/3 of our lives! We did not do anything exciting, Mike actually said that he no longer has to remember the date since we have a new anniversary! But the date August 11th, 2001 will be a special date in my heart. Here is how I remember the it:

After meeting at Pine Ridge Indian reservation on our Mission trip we said our good byes and promised to keep in contact. (The picture above is a picture of us a couple hours before we left the school on the reservations.) A day later our church van was stuck in road work and my dad (who was driving) says "I think on of the other Church's van is 3 cars behind us", so 2 of the guys from my church (Jason and Dan I believe) jump out of our van and run to the other one. Of course it is the van that Mike is in. I jump out of the van and give Mike a huge hug almost knocking him over! Then we have to say a quick good bye because the traffic started moving again.

My mom and brother met my dad and I in South Dakota and we went on a 2 week family vacation. Driving through Montana and Wyoming I kept thinking of Mike, wearing a beaded bracelet that he gave me. On August 11th we finally pulled into Minnesota.

That night Mike and his brother Jory, who also had been on the mission trip, call me up. We talked through the entire pre-season game of the Minnesota Vikings, I do not remember if we won or not. At the end of the game I am talking to Mike and he says "Jory wants to ask you something" Jory gets on the phone "Mike wants to know if you will go out with him?" And the rest is history!