Hey Everyone! I know its been a long time, mostly because I am a terrible blogger, but also due to the fact that the internet up here sucks and all I want to do is show you all my photos!
This blog post is to let all of you who do read it know that we are moving home! We have told some people, and not others, don't feel bad if you are finding out via blog, because I honestly don't remember who I have told and who i haven't told.
Jess and I have had a wonderful time living in Alaska, and have had a great adventure! but the one thing we both agree on is that FAMILY is very important. Living here i have had the opportunity to work with many people, and most of them are native to this area. It is easy to see that they live here and love it here not only because of how beautiful it is but because they are close to their families. We have chosen to move back to Sioux Falls so we can be closer to our families.
We are leaving Alaska on April 30, 2012. we arrive in Minneapolis, MN on May 1 and will be spending a few days with family and friends there. We will return to Sioux Falls the evening of May 4th and begin rebuilding our life.
Many of you will question this decision, but at this point in the decision process we have determined that it is best for us to do what is right for the two of us, and have made our decision.
See you all when we get home!
Love,
Sam and Jess
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Week... um, i lost track of time :) Merry Christmas
Hey All! So i know i started this blog to keep everyone updated, and i know i haven updated it since September, but I have graduated college and will have more time to pay attention to this wonderful blog :)
Christmas is coming up soon! only 5 more day's until our First Christmas together, and i am very excited! Jesse and I have gotten a few presents for each other, and the rest of the presents are from my mom and Dad! arent they sweet! We don't have big plans for the Holiday, but we are sleeping in for sure!
How are things in Alaska you say? Well things are going pretty great here. We have gotten about 4 feet of snow so far, but much of it has melted! We still have over a foot on the ground most places, but the rain has caused most of our streets etc to be covered with a thick layer of ice! Jesse fell the other day, and hurt his shoulder, hopefully it will go back to normal soon. We miss you all like crazy! i cant believe it has already been almost 2 months since we were home! We were hoping to get back sometime this spring, but now it looks as though we wont be back until August, but we will hopefully be back then because we have a wedding to go to!
Graduating college has been a wonderful gift! i have so much more time to spend not worrying about homework! Thanks to this extra time, i am going to start working out every day. My coworker and friend Geneva and I have been walking a few times a week over our lunch break, but i think it is time to take it to the next level, it is time to get fit! I have gained some weight since we moved, and everyone tells me it is natural because the body puts on weight in preparation for a cold long winter, but i keep telling them that i am not a bear! haha. I don't plan on losing weight, but if i do that will be great, i just want to get fit and be able to hike the mountains when the snow melts! Jesse is so supportive!
The pictures below were ones that we took testing out our new tripod, and getting pictures of our new tree. I hope you enjoy. I will likely be updating more often now that I have some extra time on my hands! Hope you all have a fantastic holiday! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Jesse and Samantha
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Week One Complete!!
Well last week sure was eventful! Couldn't have asked for a better first week in Alaska. We arrived on Friday, and had a good first weekend, all of which i described in our last blog update. But the rest of the week was just as fun! On Tuesday we used the Dental van to run around and do all of our errands, and we even got internet! thank goodness, we are connected to the rest of the world! Tuesday afternoon i got some names and numbers for people selling vehicles. The first one i called about they were asking 23,000! i decided against that and bought a manual 1995 Isuzu Trooper! its going to be a challenge to learn to drive it, but i think Jesse is up to teaching me!
(this is my new baby!!)
We had a nice walk Tuesday night, walking down to the harbor, it was absolutely breathtaking! Jesse and I just cannot get over how beautiful it is everywhere we go up here!
Lucky for Jesse he has become my new subject in most of my photos. And lucky for me, he has a pretty smile and i get lots of good pictures of him. I'm sure he will get sick of it, but thats what he gets for living with a photographer :) in the background of the photo below is PeterPan one of the canneries in Dillingham. During the summer Dillingham has 3 running canneries that support its local economy during the summer, and yes, they can fish.
It was quite cold for our walk, we were both in hats, and sweatshirts, and jackets! but it was still beautiful. Until it started to rain of course. So we trekked back home, and took some pictures of some beautiful flowers on the way! The main flower in Dillingham Alaska is called Fireweed, and it is BEAUTIFUL!
Wednesday was my first day of work! It was a long day of paperwork in HR, and the afternoon was supposed to be filled with orientation! but lucky for me we had a patient flown in from another villiage who needed some hygiene work done before he left the next morning, so i spent my first afternoon doing 2 quads of SRP! woot. It was fantastic.
My good friend Karen picks me up for work almost every morning and takes me home, this included my first day of work! I got home and supper was on the table, i was very excited, i could even smell it from outside. Jesse knows me so well, pancakes and bacon :) It was very good. After our supper Jesse decided to take me on a walk down to the pier, where he had gone while i was at work. It was beautiful, even though it was cloudy. We saw lots of birds, and they even had caught themselves some fish!
It was a bit cold that night! haha. 54* is a little cold for us South Dakotan's not quite used to the chillier weather during the summer!
Thursday was another nice day at work, even got some orientation in! Thursday night we spent the evening buying a car (see first photo), baking beef biscuits, and making cookies and cream truffles for Friday. It was raining as we got home from buying our car, so of course we had to have the most beautiful rainbow :)
Friday we headed out the door at 7:45am! we drove the 26 miles with Karen and her boyfriend Dean to Aleknagik Lake! We spent the first 45 minutes taking a boat ride across the pristine and clear lake to Camp Polaris. We rented the camp area for our dental retreat. Everyone in the family was invited, so there were kids, and dogs and spouses, it was super fun! The pictures i got from the lake are absolutely stunning. We spent the day there, and came back late in the afternoon. We then spent the evening making dinner and bumming around (something we have gotten too good at).
We had a nice walk Tuesday night, walking down to the harbor, it was absolutely breathtaking! Jesse and I just cannot get over how beautiful it is everywhere we go up here!
Lucky for Jesse he has become my new subject in most of my photos. And lucky for me, he has a pretty smile and i get lots of good pictures of him. I'm sure he will get sick of it, but thats what he gets for living with a photographer :) in the background of the photo below is PeterPan one of the canneries in Dillingham. During the summer Dillingham has 3 running canneries that support its local economy during the summer, and yes, they can fish.
It was quite cold for our walk, we were both in hats, and sweatshirts, and jackets! but it was still beautiful. Until it started to rain of course. So we trekked back home, and took some pictures of some beautiful flowers on the way! The main flower in Dillingham Alaska is called Fireweed, and it is BEAUTIFUL!
Wednesday was my first day of work! It was a long day of paperwork in HR, and the afternoon was supposed to be filled with orientation! but lucky for me we had a patient flown in from another villiage who needed some hygiene work done before he left the next morning, so i spent my first afternoon doing 2 quads of SRP! woot. It was fantastic.
My good friend Karen picks me up for work almost every morning and takes me home, this included my first day of work! I got home and supper was on the table, i was very excited, i could even smell it from outside. Jesse knows me so well, pancakes and bacon :) It was very good. After our supper Jesse decided to take me on a walk down to the pier, where he had gone while i was at work. It was beautiful, even though it was cloudy. We saw lots of birds, and they even had caught themselves some fish!
It was a bit cold that night! haha. 54* is a little cold for us South Dakotan's not quite used to the chillier weather during the summer!
Thursday was another nice day at work, even got some orientation in! Thursday night we spent the evening buying a car (see first photo), baking beef biscuits, and making cookies and cream truffles for Friday. It was raining as we got home from buying our car, so of course we had to have the most beautiful rainbow :)
Friday we headed out the door at 7:45am! we drove the 26 miles with Karen and her boyfriend Dean to Aleknagik Lake! We spent the first 45 minutes taking a boat ride across the pristine and clear lake to Camp Polaris. We rented the camp area for our dental retreat. Everyone in the family was invited, so there were kids, and dogs and spouses, it was super fun! The pictures i got from the lake are absolutely stunning. We spent the day there, and came back late in the afternoon. We then spent the evening making dinner and bumming around (something we have gotten too good at).
This is our friend Liz's dog Keno. He is my favorite!
This is a photo from the lake! it was beautiful!
Another photo from Camp Polaris! :)
This is the group photo taken by the timer set on my camera! we all had so much fun!!
And then there is Jess and I. :)
Then Saturday we slept in! neither of us set an alarm! what a glorious feeling!!! Then Jess was looking out our front door and found Heather and Adrianne, some new friends of ours. Heather is a dental assistant at work, and Adrianne is her daughter. We then joined them on a trek to the library, it was super fun! although my aversion to library books is still there, we found out that there are free movie rentals at the library! that got me to buy a TV! i figured that i had to get us something to do during the winter :) It is currently being shipped to us from amazon.com.
This is week one! :) Wait patiently for the next update... as week 2 is almost over!
We miss you all, and wish you were here with us, which poses the question... who is coming to visit first?
Sunday, August 21, 2011
WE MADE IT!!
Hey Y'all! we are in ALASKA!! it is absolutely beautiful!
We flew out Friday morning at around 6:50am! we arrived in Minneapolis at around 8:15am, we then RAN to our next flight, but were able to stop for Burger King of course! we got on our next plane and flew for 7.5 hours to Anchorage, it was a looooong flight, and Jess got a migraine, so that was not so much fun. We then got off the plane and were picked up by a friend of mine a Mrs. Nicki Bennet, she then took us to the Mooses Tooth (we had amazing pizza!) and then to the most amazing 4 story mall in Anchorage. After that we got back on another plane and took off for Dillingham. We were then picked up at the airport by Dr. Yvonne T, unfortunately they lost one of our luggage, we had to pick it up the next day, she then took us out to dinner and to our new apartment! It is an amazing little place for our first little apartment (i will post pictures when we get internet!)
We decided not to unpack anything, we were EXHUASTED that night. unfortunately that is when we realized that the luggage they lost and the boxes that had not arrived yet were the ones with our bedding in it! we ended up borrowing some blankets from our good friend Dr. T. We then went to bed, it was still light out!! (at 10:30 at night!!)
We were then woken up Saturday morning at 8:00 thanks to my wonderful mom!! But we got up and got going, and Dr. T came and picked us up and took us to the post office! we now have an ALASKAN ADDRESS!! be excited, be very excited!
Po Box 725
Dillingham Alaska 99576
Please feel free to send us a letter or two! We will be checking the mail as often as possible! and i LOVE getting mail.
When we were at the post office we picked up a couple of boxes that had been shipped to Dr. T that had our bedding and bathroom stuff in it. We then returned to the apartment to unpack. Soon after that we got ahold of another friend of mine named Karen, she took us to the airport to check on our missing luggage, it was there! luckily, and then she took us on a small tour of town, and back to our apartment. We then were able to fully finish unpacking! it was great!
Soon after we finished unpacking we decided to go get groceries, we spent 280$ for about 3 days worth of food! milk was 7.99 a gallon, and it was the cheap stuff! then we made some goulash and it was pretty darn good! We then went to bed at around 10:30 again (we still have yet to see darkness).
This morning we got up at around 8:30 again and got ready for church. Our new friend Karen then picked us up and took us to her church, and it was very nice meeting people in the community. Everyone keeps telling Jess to apply for the mechanic job at city hall, so tomorrow morning we are going to go to city hall. Then we made lunch, which was the leftover goulash, and some frozen corn. So no worries, we are eating well :)
Then we played a fun game of phase ten to pass some time before a walk. Dr. T ended up calling as we were finishing our game, and came to pick us up. She took us up to another friend's whose name is Liz, she sold us a microwave for only 50$!!! it was fantastic, especially since the new ones in town go for 299$! also some hangers, because we sure did not bring enough! then thankfully she gave us a box of "essentials" full of cooking supplies and other household items!
Then came supper! Dr. T invited us over for supper, and made us brown rice, green beans, and fresh caught silver salmon, it was YUMMY! i'm not really a fish person, but i think i might be able to get used to this!
We hope you are all doing well, and having fun. We miss you all very much! We LOVE YOU! and cannot wait to hear from you all! if you want our new cell phone numbers please send me a message on facebook, and i will give it to you!
Love Always,
Sam and Jess
We flew out Friday morning at around 6:50am! we arrived in Minneapolis at around 8:15am, we then RAN to our next flight, but were able to stop for Burger King of course! we got on our next plane and flew for 7.5 hours to Anchorage, it was a looooong flight, and Jess got a migraine, so that was not so much fun. We then got off the plane and were picked up by a friend of mine a Mrs. Nicki Bennet, she then took us to the Mooses Tooth (we had amazing pizza!) and then to the most amazing 4 story mall in Anchorage. After that we got back on another plane and took off for Dillingham. We were then picked up at the airport by Dr. Yvonne T, unfortunately they lost one of our luggage, we had to pick it up the next day, she then took us out to dinner and to our new apartment! It is an amazing little place for our first little apartment (i will post pictures when we get internet!)
We decided not to unpack anything, we were EXHUASTED that night. unfortunately that is when we realized that the luggage they lost and the boxes that had not arrived yet were the ones with our bedding in it! we ended up borrowing some blankets from our good friend Dr. T. We then went to bed, it was still light out!! (at 10:30 at night!!)
We were then woken up Saturday morning at 8:00 thanks to my wonderful mom!! But we got up and got going, and Dr. T came and picked us up and took us to the post office! we now have an ALASKAN ADDRESS!! be excited, be very excited!
Po Box 725
Dillingham Alaska 99576
Please feel free to send us a letter or two! We will be checking the mail as often as possible! and i LOVE getting mail.
When we were at the post office we picked up a couple of boxes that had been shipped to Dr. T that had our bedding and bathroom stuff in it. We then returned to the apartment to unpack. Soon after that we got ahold of another friend of mine named Karen, she took us to the airport to check on our missing luggage, it was there! luckily, and then she took us on a small tour of town, and back to our apartment. We then were able to fully finish unpacking! it was great!
Soon after we finished unpacking we decided to go get groceries, we spent 280$ for about 3 days worth of food! milk was 7.99 a gallon, and it was the cheap stuff! then we made some goulash and it was pretty darn good! We then went to bed at around 10:30 again (we still have yet to see darkness).
This morning we got up at around 8:30 again and got ready for church. Our new friend Karen then picked us up and took us to her church, and it was very nice meeting people in the community. Everyone keeps telling Jess to apply for the mechanic job at city hall, so tomorrow morning we are going to go to city hall. Then we made lunch, which was the leftover goulash, and some frozen corn. So no worries, we are eating well :)
Then we played a fun game of phase ten to pass some time before a walk. Dr. T ended up calling as we were finishing our game, and came to pick us up. She took us up to another friend's whose name is Liz, she sold us a microwave for only 50$!!! it was fantastic, especially since the new ones in town go for 299$! also some hangers, because we sure did not bring enough! then thankfully she gave us a box of "essentials" full of cooking supplies and other household items!
Then came supper! Dr. T invited us over for supper, and made us brown rice, green beans, and fresh caught silver salmon, it was YUMMY! i'm not really a fish person, but i think i might be able to get used to this!
We hope you are all doing well, and having fun. We miss you all very much! We LOVE YOU! and cannot wait to hear from you all! if you want our new cell phone numbers please send me a message on facebook, and i will give it to you!
Love Always,
Sam and Jess
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
T- 2 Days!!
Alaska here we come!! I cannot believe how close it is! The goodbyes are getting really tough, and I wish i could say goodbye to everyone, but there is just so little time left. Tomorrow we are taking everything out of the apartment and packing it into a storage unit (a very small storage unit).
We are only taking two suitcases a piece! its so hard deciding what to take and what to leave behind. But most of all its really hard for me to leave behind all of you. My friends and family have been my biggest support system over the years, especially my Mom and Dad. It is very hard leaving them, because i feel like i'm leaving them behind, but yet again they are the most supporting of parents and are so excited for me to go! I love them for that, and at least i know they will come visit!
This is everything we are taking!! can you believe that I was able to pack down to that!? I sure cant :)
This has been quite the move, packing up my room at home, and now packing up the apartment. I guess i cant take any credit for the apartment, it was all Jesse. just walking into it gave me anxiety attacks! but luckily i am dating the most amazing man ever, and he packed up basically the whole apartment with some help from a few friends.
Well this is all for tonight, I will keep you posted on how cleaning and everything goes! and Friday we roll out!! :)
We are only taking two suitcases a piece! its so hard deciding what to take and what to leave behind. But most of all its really hard for me to leave behind all of you. My friends and family have been my biggest support system over the years, especially my Mom and Dad. It is very hard leaving them, because i feel like i'm leaving them behind, but yet again they are the most supporting of parents and are so excited for me to go! I love them for that, and at least i know they will come visit!
This has been quite the move, packing up my room at home, and now packing up the apartment. I guess i cant take any credit for the apartment, it was all Jesse. just walking into it gave me anxiety attacks! but luckily i am dating the most amazing man ever, and he packed up basically the whole apartment with some help from a few friends.
Well this is all for tonight, I will keep you posted on how cleaning and everything goes! and Friday we roll out!! :)
Thursday, August 11, 2011
T- 7 days!
Many of you have been telling me I have to keep you updated on everything about Alaska! So I've decided to start a blog about it! We are still in Sioux Falls right now, trying to pack up all of our things, and say goodbye to all of you! We will miss you a ton, but we are very excited for our new lives!
It seems really crazy to me that all of this started in January! Jesse and I met at our dear friends Meriah, and Jesse VW's New Years Eve game night. Neither of us had planned on going, but both ended up at the same fun board game party. Now we are moving to Alaska together, and are very excited to start fresh, in a place we know very little about.
We will be leaving next Friday, the 19th of August. Our plane leaves at 6:45 that morning! Luckily we were able to get all of the same flights! even if we aren't sitting next to each other!
We hope this will be a good way to keep everyone updated on our new life, and new adventure up in Alaska! We miss you all already!
It seems really crazy to me that all of this started in January! Jesse and I met at our dear friends Meriah, and Jesse VW's New Years Eve game night. Neither of us had planned on going, but both ended up at the same fun board game party. Now we are moving to Alaska together, and are very excited to start fresh, in a place we know very little about.
We will be leaving next Friday, the 19th of August. Our plane leaves at 6:45 that morning! Luckily we were able to get all of the same flights! even if we aren't sitting next to each other!
We hope this will be a good way to keep everyone updated on our new life, and new adventure up in Alaska! We miss you all already!
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