Welcome to Alaska!

I know we are jumping past the wedding here, but I needed to post some pictures of Alaska! I was so happy to be able to arrange my finals so I could travel with Matt. We left this last Thursday(29th?)to spend our summer in Alaska where Matt got a job doing what he loves most.. besides me, of course :) We left from Salt Lake that morning- stopped in Seattle, Ketchikan, Sitka, then finally arrived in Juneau about 7pm. Here are a few pictures of our first glimpse of Alaska:


It was rainy and cold when we arrived. But really, how else would it be so green and beautiful? Matt's company picked us up and led us to our apartment, which is right downtown. Here are a couple pics of what we walked in to. I'll have to take some more after we get more settled.




Yesterday morning we took a walk downtown to try and familiarize ourselves with the streets. After a few wrong turns, I think we can at least make it back to our place as long as we find Main Street :)



Here is the governor's mansion, just down the street from us. My grandma has a picture close to this one(she lived across the street when she was young). I now know what she is talking about when she said there were tons of stairs to get home. Times haven't changed much Grandma! We definitely got our exercise here. Here are a few more pics around the mansion and across the street:


What a handsome fella

What a lucky girl.




And here is the reason for being here! Matt turns into a 9 year old boy when he sees helicopters.. its kinda cute :)


This is how we get back home at the end of the day. Jealous? Yes, there were times Matt had to physically push me up these stairs.


And this is practically in our back yard. There supposedly is an awesome trail just minutes away from us that goes around this waterfall. I can't wait to go(now that I'm in shape from all those stairs of course).

Here is our main way of transportation... okay, maybe just in our dreams. Another pilot drove this all the way from Pennsylvania.

And for all those who have been waiting patiently for our address to send us letters, gifts, money, etc... Here is our address: 700 Gold Street, Juneau, AK 99801 :)

Holi Festivities

I have so much I want to blog about- it's hard to decide what next. Since the Holi Festivals is right around the corner, I thought I would pay a tribute to it. Last year was so much fun. Ashlee, Shannon, Matt, and I rode down to the Hindu Temple in Spanish Fork- and it was one windy ride in the back of that convertible(compliments of Ashlee's sister), but oh were we lookin' good! Darn, wish I had a picture of that. Here are the pictures I do have anyway...


whoops, sorry shannon's head.


I didn't know we were trying to be so weird. I'll know for next time.



Fun times! For those of you who don't know what the heck we are doing- well, we all got bags of colored powder and met up on the hill behind(or maybe it was the front) of the Hindu temple. They sang and danced and when the time was right we all threw our colors in the air making a big cloud of colorfulness!! People, do NOT breathe this stuff in if you can at all help it. Try practicing holding your breath for at least three minutes before you come. Seriously, you will be spitting this stuff up for days.

What's the meaning behind all this you ask?? I have no idea. All I know is it comes once a year and it's awesome. Thanks Shannon, for instilling a new tradition! See you all Saturday! :)

It's just meant to be!

To many people this picture may appear to be just another blurry picture. To me- it was one of the most exciting nights of my life! Just six days after being engaged I had heard about the bridal fair at La Caille. So for fun, I convinced Teri(Matt's sister)to come with me. The first half hour was bearable. We had a list of vendors we were had to get signatures of in order to put my name in the grand prize drawing. Along the way you also could enter in small drawings at each booth. I know Teri and I both were spent by the time we accomplished this task, only to find out we had to come back 4 hours later for the drawing. In the meantime we got some lunch and shopped for dresses. Intentions were window shopping, but soon turned into putting money down on the "last dress of that kind in the store". Do they just tell all the girls this? They know most of us aren't willing to risk the chance of another bride snatching it up.

Four hours later, we headed back up to a pool full of crazy brides. Matt was in Louisiana at the time and I was talking with him on the phone when I said "Hey, I'll call you in bit after I win us a honeymoon..."

And that is just what I did. I won the GRAND PRIZE!! Shaking and screaming, I made my way through to claim my winnings. Teri took this pic on her phone, but was evidently just as shaky as I. Here I am holding my prize- 4 nights all-inclusive stay at the El Dorado resort in the Mayan Riviera :) Oh how I love the sounds of that.

Crazy thing is I was talking all day to Teri about WHEN I win the honeymoon and AFTER I win this honeymoon. Not once did I doubt it(okay, maybe five seconds before they called my name i did). I told Matt my plans. I told my work friends my only intention of going was for the grand prize- of which I planned on winning. Oh the power of positive thinking. What a great day! Thanks Teri- for sharing it with me!

Here goes my first post!

After pressure from friends and family, along with MANY changes in my life- I have decided to start a blog in hopes that one day i will look back on it all and be able to make sense of it all. That's just to say that life is crazy. The good kind of crazy that will all be worth it once it's over- right?

Some of these changes include getting married in the next few weeks(April 6th to be exact). This change is what is going to make all of the others so worth it- I try to keep this in mind while adjusting. I put my notice in at work and now only have 7 more work days left. I have so many mixed emotions about this one. While everyone at work is jealous that I get to leave that place, I can't deny that I will miss them like crazy. I've worked with most of them for almost four years and it will be hard not to see them everyday. They are my family in a way and I've been so blessed to work with them! Not to mention all the cute patients I will also miss like crazy. Change is good, right? I try not to tell anyone I'm leaving- I HATE saying goodbye and I refuse to do it. So instead, I'll just leave. Because I don't know what else to do.

The next change is the reason I had to quit work. Matt got a job flying in Juneau, Alaska- so we will be moving there after we get married. He will have to leave mid-April and I will stay to finish my semester of school and then will meet him up there end of April.

This all has just been something to say to people- my plan for my life for the next while- but it is soon becoming a reality and I am getting a little nervous about it all. But so excited at the same time.