Some pretty pictures and a funny story!

Here are some pictures from my recent travels! The one above and below are from the Portage Lake trip we went on. It was a really great day and I liked the iceberg cause if you look at it long enough it looks like a bird sitting on the ice--just proves how artistic mother nature truly is!

This is Curtis--we have been paralleling for awhile now--that means that we are on the same tour with two groups and just follow each other around. We are on our second 10 day tour and think we will be doing the next tour together as well--we are acting like an old married couple--it's been fun though. Just friends for those of you who may be wondering.

We are on the Yukon Queen boat coming from Dawson City to Eagle, Ak and saw a bear which doesn't normally happen so of course I took pictures of this cute and cuddly bear. He was swimming across the river (the Yukon) and when he went of the side a bit he stopped then pulled a fish out of a hole or something then carried it up the rest of the way.
This is 5 Finger rapids which is on the way from Whitehorse to Dawson City. It's a pretty great day so I decided to do my group pic there so meet one of my favorite groups.
Ok now for the FUNNY story...the first thing I thought was you know whats funnier then seeing someone fall is watching a fat person fall!!--so we got into the hotel in Fairbanks and I run inside to drop off my bags to get ready to hand out the key packets. I start to walk away from my bags and don't realize the that my bags strap is still wrapped around my ankle and I go down HARD!! I went down on my one knee then cont. to fall on my face. Luckily my guests didn't see me except for two of them and unfortunately everyone else in the lobby saw me including some of Curtis's group who all of course ran over to me asking how I was and I just said I was find and didn't want to talk about it!! LOL it was pretty funny not to mention so humiliating but hey what can you do. Anyway this is my knee--I iced it last night cause it was pretty swollen. Oh well there's my funny story of the day!
Alright well thats it for now--have a glorious day!

What a slacker I am

So it's August 1 and I thought I would greet the new month with my monthly post. LOL Well thats what it appears I have been doing. I just don't ever have anything exciting to say--plus I'm on facebook too so anyway enough about that. Ok whats new....

Miles and Becky are having a BOY!!!! I am so excited for them--it was pretty funny when they found out they were expecting Brayden said don't worry about having it if it's not a boy! Or something like that and well he got his wish. They are in SLC right now and hope they are having a great time.

Nothing new with me--just working a ton and enjoying it most of the time. My tours have been going really well so far and I will be busy for the rest of the summer so thats good. I am still working on what I will be doing this winter and will give an update if I ever make up my mind. Right now the options are...Alaska (yikes--upside being there when the baby is born and being able to see family more often), NYC (applying for a job where I would be able to use my Russian and possilbly travel over there), SLC (don't want Sadie to feel left out, but it's not likely :), and California (cause - well I have always thought it would be nice to live somewhere warm), and last but not least Texas-- anyway I need to go where there's work!

Well I have a few more hours of sitting here at the Westmark hotel in Fairbanks unless the rest of my group miraculously shows up then I can go home. There are so many fires going on right now I smell like I've been sitting around a campfire. I am hoping it goes away soon cause my guests want to be able to see the sights! But hey what can you do. Thats it for now!

Good Life!

Well I thought I would get on here and let y'all know what I'm up to. I'm sorry to say it's not all too exciting, but I figure somethin' is better than nothin'. So I am sitting here at midnight in Fairbanks after dropping off my third tour. It went really well as did the last two so I can't complain there. I have been really lucky with my groups and am just waiting for the challanges to start cause I know they are coming--or should I call them the special people. A lot of the same td's (tour directors) are back this year so it's been like a reunion for the past couple of weeks and I still haven't seen everyone. The numbers are pretty good considering the economy--I guess everyone is dropping their int'l tours and coming to AK! Anyway I was just going through some pics and thought I would share.

I was able to spend some time with Becky, Miles and the kids which was a lot of fun. I let Taegs take some pictures and I got a lot of her, can't say I'm surprised cause it's what I would do!! Anyway this one turned out really good--she is getting so grown up and so pretty!

Addi looks up to her sister so much and tries to copy things she does--as you will notice in the following pictures. This first one is actually after the following ones on the trampaline, but oh well it's one of my favorites. Taegan would do something and Addi would try and do it too.

Couldn't tell if this was yogo or just stretching.

They came to hang out at the homestead and I was able to grab the girls, but Brayden was to busy doing his thing so at least we were able to get him in the picture.
Lisa decided to get in on the fun and well as you can see fun was had by all!
Ok well this is my humble abode in Denali. We get to stay in these quaint little cabins--usually with a roommate. They are actually pretty comfy and it's like our own little community where we can get away from our sheep who tend to flock us if we are in their sights. So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm glad we don't stay in the hotel cause then we wouldn't have any time away!
Just hanging out with some old and new friends. Meet Jenna and Emily (old) and shoot I can't remember his name--it was his birthday so we bought him dinner--he's a little sad cause he's missing his wife-who didn't get to come up here with him. Anyway it was fun.
I am going to try and take more pictures this year so I have something to write about on this blog. I am glad to be working and still trying to figure out where I am going. Right now I am thinking of staying in Anchorage where I would be closer to the kids and the new baby come Oct. which is a major plus--but the other part of me would really like to give NYC another chance. I really loved it over there!

Anyway things are going well with me--until next time---

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Just a shout out to all the Mom's out there with a special place in my heart...
My Mom of course is #1
Sadie
Grandma
Becky
Carrie
Amy
Melinda
Anna

Ok I am going over in my head all the Mom's I know and it's just too long to list at 1:50 am so I am gonna shorten this up a bit.

If your a part of my life and your a mom/future mom then this shout out is for you. You all have such precious gifts (even if you wonder sometimes if there is a return policy) so remember all the happy memories and keep them in your heart to treasure. This is your day so celebrate YOU and don't forget how special you are to those in your lives.

I know I know I know!

So I am still here--I just didn't really have anything too exciting to share, but I think people just stop checking my blog cause I never update--I will try my bestest to get better! I will just give a quick update right now cause I am cleaning and can't stop too long or will loose my groove!

I just moved back up to Anchorage to start with Holland America again. I start on the 8th for some refresher training then hoping I will get to go into touring. I am sharing an apt. with 9 other TD's (tour directors) in a one bd and it's gonna be tight, but we are never home at the same time so it should work. I am only abt 6 blks from the office and hotels so it's a really great location. It sure beats paying for taxi's wherever I go. I know most of the td's and they are all really nice--girls and guy's alike so it should be fun!

Anyway the girl rented out to someone right before us and they left the apt. a mess so needless to say I am cleaning, but it's a great little apt. It's in the Knik Arms building which is been in Anchorage for a really long time--it's practically a landmark. It looks a little run down, but they have made some nice renovations so it's not a dump which makes living here nice. I will send pics when I get done making it pretty. Well I gotta get back to it before I think of something else I can distract myself with! Ciao!

Guess it's time for an update!

I know it's been forever, but honestly I just haven't had anything too exciting to say or figured out so I guess that's my excuse for being such a slacker on this blog. Lately though I have been able to capture a few pics that I feel are worth sharing. Also I have some really great news...BECKY'S PREGNANT!!! It's official and we are all very excited. I can't believe I didn't catch on earlier cause she has been sick, but so has her kids and almost every other kid and/or person around here so I figured she was just catching some of that. Anyway I was really surprised to hear the good news not to mention pretty excited. Becky did catch a bad cold and that mixed with her pregnancy sickness and it just flamed up into a monster and she has been really sick. So for the last week I have been helping out watching the kids so she could rest and get better. It's been a lot of fun spending time with them and thankfully Becky has, I think, gotten over the worst of her cold--it really sucks getting sick. I am just waiting for it to hit me, but thankfully so far nothing has happened. I have been drinking airborne and I think that has been keeping it at bay. Anyway time will tell.

I house sat for some friends of mine while they vacationed in Hawaii and brought the kids over to play with their dog Bruno. The Hansen's are really good friends with the Swanson's so they were familiar with the house and the dog knew them. Anyway this first one is of them watching Spongebob Squarepants which is their most favorite show ever. In fact they want to watch it so much that they have been grounded for a month--mostly cause Mom & Dad are so sick of it--like I can blame them--the show can really drive you crazy after so much. Anyway this picture was pretty cute--Taegs and Brayden were sitting there and then Addi just climbed up in the middle of them. She did have her arms around both Taegan and Brayden but I missed it. I really need to have that camera closer cause I miss a lot of good shots. Anyway, they are just too cute!

Addi and I were waiting to get Taegan from school and Addi came up to the front to keep me company. She is getting so big and is really starting to talk. She can say quite a few words and aside from that just makes lots of sounds that will soon become words.
Ok--a little scary! Addi has figured out how to open the doors and tries to escape on a regular basis. Anyway when she finds a door thats not deadbolted then she goes and doesn't stop till she's discovered. This is one of those times we found her outside. The pic is pretty easy to tell whats going on--as you can see she took the first shoes she could find--didn't bother to put her pants back on cause she likes to strip whenever she gets a chance and mad a run for it. However, she did mangage to get another shirt--you know--to stay warm. I'm telling you what this kid is so funny!
Here's another time we were at the Swanson's and she came into the room like this I thought it was so cute and thankfully had my camera with me.

Anyway--there you go! I have been subbing for the schools around here and that has kept me somewhat busy. I am going to be a tour director this summer again for Holland America unless something else presents itself. I have also been looking into a company called Lynden Transport--it's a pretty big company here in AK and elsewhere. They do a lot of work over in Russia and I am thinking of getting a certificate in Logistics at UAA to help me get into the company. Anyway that is what is happening right now with me! Hope all is well with you!!!

I'm 31 -- AHHHHH!!

So I wasn't planning on doing anything for my birthday cause to be honest I really wasn't too excited about turning 31. Anyway my roommate found out and so we all decided to do something. It turned out to be a really good day and it was fun too. First Julie (my roommate) made me breakfast then we just hung out at home for a while then some friends and I went out to walk around the Financial district and Battery Park where you can see Lady Liberty, Staten Island, and some pretty parts of the city.

Then we went to find the "Bull" (the first pic) you see it in Hitch and quite a few other movies and acted the tourist and took pic's of ourselves acting crazy. Then they bought me dinner at this cool restaurant called Big Daddy's and then caught a Stake FHE activity and mingled with the people there. Then we caught a late movie and after that we decided to catch the 1:30 ferry to Staten Island which was only a half hour one-way. Its a great chance to see the city all lit up as well as Lady Liberty. Anyway I couldn't get my camera to take good pics so you will just have to take my word for it as it was beautiful. Then we finally got home around 3:30 (just trying to stay as young as possible). Overall it was a really great day!

Here are some pics that I took today... this first one is pretty cool. It's an actual piece that fell off one of the twin towers.

I live with a girl who loves broadway and she has other broadway friends-- so this is me trying to be creative. It was so cold with the wind--I couldn't feel my face or fingers. It's a good thing I was from AK cause my friends from Cali thought they were dying. Well ok just Cyndi thought she was but it was really cold.
I would imagine that you know who this is. The sun was going down and it was really pretty outside.
This is right outside or part of Battery Park. On the left side you can see these concrete slabs those have names of soldiers on them.
This one is the same park and it was really cool cause you can see the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.
Ok well there you go!

Little Russia

Saturday I went to Brighton Beach with a girl from my ward. I had heard that this area of Brooklyn was filled with so many Russians that it was like a "Little Russia." So we decided to go there and see if I could find some Russians to talk to. So we left around 3 pm and had no idea how to get there and were not certain of the route, but there are maps in all the stations and we were pretty sure we could figure it out. As it turns out, there was construction on almost every train line in the city this weekend (as is frequently the case on weekends). This construction means lots of re-routing and the occasional shuttle bus instead of a train. It also means that trains are sometimes stopped, started, or have their routes changed while you are on the train or while you are waiting for the train. Anyway, we finally got to Brighton Beach sometime after 5 pm--it took us forever, but we got to walk around China Town and Canal Street (where all the illegal purse selling goes on) in the process of transferring trains.

As we got off the final train in Brighton Beach I knew we were in the right place because all the signs I could see were in Russian--It was great! We walked around and looked at different shops. Almost everyone I saw looked Russian it was like I was back in St. Petersberg--we almost anyway. We looked around at some restaurants but all were pretty spendy and then we found this bazaar--store and they had a lot of prepared food there so we just got some things to go. It was amazing to see all these foods that I had been missing and so I loaded up. Most of the brands there were Russian brands--almost everything in the store was Russian. It was a lot of fun and I think Cindi even had fun.

Well we returned to my place and heated up some of our food and shared dinner. There was so much food that I have had a couple more meals from it. It was a great day. It definitly brought back some memories. I even got to speak with one of the ladies working at the store and we had a small conversation in Russian. I hate how much of the lang. I have lost but am happy to know I can still carry a conversation with someone and they still understand me. I am putting a picture on here that shows you how far I went to get there. On a regular day when the trains are running like normal it would have only taken an hour to get there but it's still far away. And I should tell you that I was a spacecadet and forgot my camera so--I just have this one that my friend took for me. She didn't have that much space on her camera or else I would have more. So thats that!

We really did have a great day and had quite the time getting there. Later!

No Place Like NYC!

So I have been getting requests for more pics so here you go...

Well I can't say I like this format but I don't want to do it over again. The one of the apt. is mine and the statue guy is REAL! It was pretty creep when I walked past and he turned towards me and smiled. Anyway I couldn't help but take a picture once I walked past. I put a pic of the park in there so you can see that we do have greenery here and it's even better in the summer time.

Anyway just thought I would post these pics and hope you enjoy!

Hey All

So just thought I would say hi to one and all...ok I'm in a weird mood. Anyway I am just hanging out waiting for the Office to come on--for those of you who don't appreciate the Office for it's hilariousness then I don't expect you to understand, but for those of us who do are way excited!!

Things are going pretty well. I don't have anything really to say and I wish I did, but I don't. Church today was really good and a really good testimony in a singles ward is pretty hard to come by. Anyway everyone's testimony was really great except for this one guy's who really shouldn't have gotten up. So he gets up there and it starts out pretty good then he started telling us about how he has been using the internet to find a wife--thats right thats what I said--looking for a wife. So he goes on to tell us that he has found one from Russia of all places and that we should try facebook to find someone to love--I am being serious!!! Someone should really tell him that most likely she's just looking for a green card--but hey I suppose he will find out soon enough. I could not believe he was actually saying these things anyway he finally sat down and then several others saved the meeting from loosing the spirit all together and bore their testimonies. I really like my ward--the members are really nice and welcoming. Anyway thats my funny story for today. Ciao!

Happy Birthday Becky

Becky another year has come and gone!!! Man how do we stop them from coming? I just wanted to wish you a very Happy Birthday--I hope it was a great day of surprises and breakfast in bed! Love you guys!

Life in the Big City!!

Well here's an update for all of you out there wondering how I am! Today I went to this free concert of "New Music" by Joel New who wrote all the songs and composed most of them. It was at the Lincoln Center so that was pretty neat. It was our FHE activity. The songs were very well written--they weren't necessarily song but a song cycle--a story made into a song. I wish I could have recorded a couple of them they were hilarious. Everytime I get off the subway I see something new--this time we walked up onto the street and there was the temple in all it's glory. I want to go again and get a closer look sometime. After that we jumped onto the subway again--and had a pretty funny experience and yet a little scary at the same time. There was a man a very tall--big man who was clearly homeless and stood up in the middle and just started punching the air. He was angry about something, but not saying anything just punching the air--turning around in circles. Luckily no one was too close. Anyway there was a moment when the train stopped and he stuck his head out and I was so tempted to just give him a little push, but I didn't since I didn't have the guts for one thing and another if the doors had stayed open then he could have gotten back on and well... It was funny, but a sad funny because who knows what his situation was and you wish you could do something for him. Anyway enough about that.

Things have been going well aside from the fact that I haven't found work yet. I have had two companies call for an interview in the last two days, which would have been great but apparently they are a ways out of the city and since I am without a car it would be impossible. It's quite frustrating because on their ad online it said they were close-by. When I asked them about that they said they are hiring from all over--anyway I am still optimistic. I am going in for a 2nd interview on Saturday and will hopefully knock their socks off so they hire me on the spot. This would be at a Lane Bryant store and they are looking for managers and so that could be a possibility. I am going to hit the streets again tomorrow and will see what happens. That's it on the job front.

This is just a picture I took the other day while I was walking around!
So I was looking at my pictures and found this video of Cailyn that I had forgotten about. It's sooo cute--she was trying to stick out her tongue and trying to mimik Sadie. I am just so blest to have these little children in my life--Thank you Becky, Miles, Sadie, and Corey!!!

Pictures!!!

Alright--These first three are of Times square during the day then at night. It really lights up and well it was great. It's been pretty cold especially when you are walking around. People all over have scarves wrapped completely around their faces it's pretty funny. I guess it's been in the 20-30's maybe a little colder with the wind chill. Anyway I still love it.



These are of my apt. I think you can get a pretty good idea of what it looks like. It's pretty comfortable except that it's kept cold--lower 60's. I'm even chilled, but they are working on it.


OK well I just wanted to get these online--I gotta get back to my job search. Talk to you later!

First day in New York City!!

Alright guys--first of all I would just like to say that I already love living here. I'm not just saying this either--even though coming here by the end, as broke as I am, was to just spite everyone who says it's not gonna work out. But I have a really great roommate who has a friend also from the ward and we spent the whole day wandering around--it was great. We did a little shopping at this little grocery store a half a block down from my building. Then we met up with Megan--my roommates friend and went to the MET. After being there for about 2 hours we grabbed some lunch and went to a free screening for an upcoming movie. This was held in the Paramount Studios--also where MTV is shot among other things. After that we just walked around and got some dinner at a great Irish pub/restaurant then went home. However during our wandering and for your comic relief I was looking at something instead of the road and I stepped into a little pothole and lets just say the fat girl biffed it big time. I mean I feel like I just hit it and went straight down. I twisted my ankle just a little and hurt my other leg somehow. I didn't feel it as much at the time, but now I am really feeling it. I still can't believe I did that--ok who am I kidding I can believe it. But despite my clumsiness I still had a great time. Times Square was so amazing all lit up and everything. The best thing is that I wasn't mugged--sorry Todd I know you were counting on that. Now I just have to see some famous people!!! Ok well I do have some pictures for you from Julies and Megans cameras since I pulled a Tessa and didn't take my camera, but will get them on here as soon as I can. Ok thats enough for me! Cross your fingers that I find a job ok!!!

Just too ADORABLE!

Hello all-- So I have been hanging out in Mona and it's been a lot of fun. Cailyn is getting so big so of course I have been taking lots of pictures. Sadie has stolen some of mine-aka-all the ones on her latest blog, but what can I say she beat me to the punch. Here are some pics for right now. This one was fun--everytime I would start to raise the camera she started looking like this. So funny!
This one is us just hanging out and she just sat (which is has been doing a lot of) there on the floor and just tipped herself over onto Sadies lap. She laid there for a little while just chillin out.

What can I say I get the pics when I can especially when she's happy, which is pretty much most of the time, so lets just say I have a lot more then I put on here. I will post more later. She and I were just playing here and got laughing--man alive she's cute. I swear I have the cutest nieces and nephews!

Here are a couple video's for your viewing pleasure the first one is of Cailyn being as cute as ever and the second I just couldn't help myself. I mean what would an oldest sister be if she didn't bug her younger sister every once in a while.

Well that's good for right now. I still have Christmas to do and will get that up soon. I just wanted to get these on here before Sadie stole them from me. Also to let you all know that I am still blogging I just am pretty much a slacker when it comes down to it. But things are going well-just getting everything ready to go to the Big Apple.

See ya'll later!