Pictures from MN

These picture are from 2 weekends ago when we went to Minnesota.  We had a great time eating,visiting and spending quality time with our families.

Preston being a goofy

Brittany and Wyatt

Wyatt and Megan

Wyatt and Preston, I love this picture with them both in flannel

Dennis and Mike

Java Kitty, how I miss you...

Willow and Cora waiting for a treat.

On the way home we saw a train that actually had a caboose 

Yeah we had to drive through some water on the road home... Here is a semi blazing though.

Thankful

Last Tuesdays night class has gotten me a Little down on life, see my previous post.  So I decided to make a list of things I am thankful for:
- For a husband that loves me
- For amazing parents that support me
- For my expended family and in-laws who love us
- That Grandma O is allowing us to live with her
- That we have family so close
- That we both have good jobs, in the fields we have always dreamed of
- For Cora and Java.
- For more than enough food to eat every day and not having to worry about going hungry
- For Marja, Nicole, and Samantha who I can call at any time to laugh or vent with
- For my faith in God, know that all will work out
- For Callens life and all he has taught me
- For health, dental and vision insurance we have through my job
- For our Adorable 2 nephews (Preston-4 and Wyatt-1), for the 1 nephew on the way and the other niece/nephew on the way
- For my health
- For the wonderful nature that you can find almost anywhere if you are looking for it
- The knowledge I have about saving money
- For Spring!

Hope every one had a Happy Easter.
 ( I promise to post some pictures soon...)

Welcome to North Dakota

Well we made it to ND, a while ago actually.  I started work this past Monday (yesterday) and Mike started 2 weeks ago. We are both liking our jobs so far.  It has been an adjustment but I had a great trip down the Al-Can and in Minnesota.  The pets did great for the car ride.  We are currently bunking in Grandmas basement with Mikes Uncle Mike.  Cora is with us in ND and Java is at my parents house (thanks mom and dad) keeping Willow company.  We have called a few places about rent.... but they are not taking more people on the waiting list or want $1,000 for a efficiency apartment... I do not think so.  We will be saving our pennies and looking at houses in a couple of months.  Currently we are in the middle of a March Blizzard... welcome spring haha.
I will post some picture later.

My new work schedule in Monday though Thursday, 10 hour days. Then I have Fridays off for a 3 day weekend!  So I am thinking about doing weekly posts on Fridays.  We will see how that works...  Ta Ta for now.

P.S. New blog title coming soon, maybe Friday...

Settling in

Life in Alaska has gotten kinda crazy, sorry I have not posted in a while.

Cora is settling in with us quite well.  She has been with us for almost a week now.  She is getting much better at walking and not pulling on the leash.  She gets walks at least 3 times a day!  We left her alone on Saturday night, when we went to a church dinner.  She tore up her blanket in the kennel so when left alone she no longer gets a blanket.  Cora leaves the blanket alone at night when we are sleeping, so she has something comfy to sleep on.  We also left her alone for a few hours on Monday... she decided to chew on the crate... so we are going to have to do some work there.  Java and Cora are doing better with each other. Java some times tolerates Cora, even rubs on her to see if she can feed her, haha.  We has some problems with getting Cora to eat on Friday and Saturday, but she has eaten most of her food since so we were excited.  She is an amazing dog, as long as she gets her walks she is totally relaxed! 

I am in Love...

With Cora.  She is the so sweet.Yesterday I took her on a walk she did great passing other people, bikes and skiers.  She did OK passing other dogs.  Her and Java met for a while Java is a little leery and Cora just wants to play.  Cora did great listening to us.  Best of all she did amazing with Jacob around.  He is 21 months old and was running back and forth across our 1st floor, Cora just laid down and watched him!  Awesome!!  Samantha took some pictures of me, Cora and Jacob.  How cute!

After Mike went to work and Samantha and Jacob left  I had some work to do.  I sat on the floor and spread my papers out and Cora laid down and fell asleep.  She is AMAZING!! I can't wait until Thursday.

We are Adopting

After a long time thinking about it Mike and I have decide to a Adopt a Dog.  We went to an Adoption Fair at Petco on Saturday and saw a bunch of dogs.  Mike we were kinda focused on the puppies but after talking we decided a dog would be better.  We looked at an adoption web page and Cora came up.  I remembered seeing her at the event Saturday.  Mike contacted the agency and we went to meet her last night.  She is an absolute Doll.  High energy yes, but very sweet.  We hung out at her Fosters house and then took her on a short walk.  She actually was listening to me, better then Mike. We are filing the paper work today and seeing her tonight.  Then I plan on picking her up on Sunday after church, walking her and introducing her to Java and our home... ( I am not sure what Java is going to think.)  If all goes well we will adopt her full time when Mike gets off of work on the 20th.  We already have a vet appointment set up on the 21st to get her checked out.... we are already in love...

Here is what the webpage said about her:
Meet Cora! She is a 1.5 year old Husky mix. This girl only stops moving when she lays down! She took a couple of days to warm up (she was shy and a bit nervous at first), but is very sweet now that she is getting more comfortable. She is very high energy, loves a lot of play and to go for a long daily walk or two. She is doing very well with the cat, and excellent with the neighbors three female dogs. She likes playing with her rope and ball, and knows all of her basic commands. She walks very well on a leash if not allowed to charge ahead. She is submissive and very well behaved but still an independent thinker. She's sleeping in a crate at night and rides well in the car around town. This girl is a gem!

Summer

Summer has gone by WAY TOO FAST. I can not believe it is already the end of August. We had an awesome time with Grandpa and Grandma I and Mike Sr. It went by a little fast but we did a lot of stuff. About the time they left both Java and I got sick. Java with her continuing Bladder problems but they have been diagnosed as Feline Interstitial Cystitis (FIC). And is feeling much better after some pain meds to "calm" her bladder. I started getting a sore throat on Tuesday, came home from work on Wednesday at noon. Slept and took my temp... it was 101.4 YIKES! I took so Tylenol, brought Java to her vet appointment, came home temp was down to 100 so I took a nap. Hung out with our visitor and took them to the airport. Mike and I stopped for McDonald's ice cream on the way home and I went to be EARLY. I woke up at 5 and still had a way sore throat and a temp of 99 so I reset the alarm for 8 to call the doctor. Mike was sweet enough to call the doctor for me and drive me there. It turns out I had strep so we got my meds at Target and head home for a day of crappy TV, apple juice and Kraft mac and cheese.

Today, Saturday, I am feeling 100% better. I even went back to the gym and ran week 3 for the 2nd day on my "running" plan, which I was supposed to do on Wednesday. Mike and I have pictures at church tonight for our church directory. I will try to post them later.

Update of Life

Well Mike and I have so much new stuff in our life I do not know where to start.

First I am back from Kodiak, and Mike in back from Minnesota.

Mike got all our stuff moved into the new condo and we are about 90% done unpacking, but I still have a ton of organizing to do. I love the new cabinets, counter tops, and floors. The bathroom is really nice to. Mike bought me some rugs for the living room and guest room for my Birthday. Java is adjusting slowly, she has jumped out the kitchen window once, and tried to more. But she enjoys a new perch in the living room, by the stairs, and has fun sliding around the hardwood floors. She has gotten into some trouble cruising the counter tops.

Mike and I bought a new SUV yesterday. A 2010 Hyundai Veracruz, color driftwood or Mocha. It is pretty. We have not seen a ton of them on the road but they are Hyundai's largest SUV and has All Wheel Drive. It has enough seating for 7 but the back 2 seats fold down completely when not in use. It is WAY more fancy then the Versa, even though it is the "base model." It has heated seat in the front, a ipod jack, blue tooth built in for cell phones, xm radio (although we do not have xm in Alaska), and a factory roof rack. It can also tow up to 3,500 lb, but currently does not have a hitch. We upgraded and got the weatherizing package so I have to take it into the dealer on Saturday to have the cloth all sealed, the bottom of the car sprayed with tar stuff, and the paint sealed to help with rust. Mike also bought the all weather mats for the first and second rows, which will be really nice with the Alaskan Winters.

Tonight we are going out to dinner for my Birthday with Samantha and Hans. We are going to Crush, a local wine bar downtown that I have always wanted to go to.

I will try to post some pictures soon...

Java ... Purse

I knit and felted a purse, started it with the help of mom when I was home in February.

Java Loves the Purse
Do not know why but she must love the smell