"Landslide"

Hello family and friends!

I know its been a very, very long time since I last posted and I'm SORRY! I miss everyone so much, I still can't believe I'm living in Alaska. Well, maybe I can believe it a little bit.... :) Life has been so crazy since I last posted, so much can change in such a short amount of time..... Since June, I've gotten married, moved across country from family, friends and the only reality that I've ever known. I have had to learn how to be "married", which is no easy task and I am still learning something new everyday;) but I know I chose the right person. When Bubba is gone, I have learned how to be independent and realized that if the car (or anything else) is broken it wont fix itself! I have gotten some wonderful recipes from some of my church family and from allrecipes.com, magazines, mom, Zini and April, and I "think" I'm finally getting the hang of this whole cooking thing. I have done a few flower arrangements and I LOVE IT! I am starting to wonder if this job was sent to me for a bigger purpose that just giving me something to do for a few hours a day. I have met some wonderful people here that I have truly enjoyed getting to know. It is almost transfer season and I am sad to see some go but I am looking forward to meeting new coastie families! I have made snow angels and snow men, I have fell on the ice to many times to admit and have had a couple of mean snowball fights with Bubba :) Oh and I have finally mastered the art of  driving in the snow, well I don't know about "mastered", but I can get to work and back home in one piece. Recently, we went out on the boat and I got the opportunity to pull crabs from the bottom of the ocean, 300 ft below us. We pulled up to a beach, on a island, about 45 minutes away from Sitka and I ran around and just soaked in the sun and the absolutel beauty of this place. I got see some deer that were grazing on the tree line and flock of huge beautiful white swans. We also got see a whale about 50 yds away and got to watch a pack of sea lions playing nearby. I wish you could all see this place, it is so BEAUTIFUL! Another big change was losing one of the greatest men I've ever known, my PawPaw, it has been a big adjustment not being able to call him or to think when I go home he wont be there, I keep waiting for it to hit me but it still hasn't yet....  I know he enjoyed watching me pull those crabs out of the ocean the other day and playing on the beach.... I couldn't see him smiling but I felt it.


I love you and miss you all..... until next time... XOXOXOXOXOXO

Oh and a special hello to Mr. Wood, Mom has told me that you have been asking about the blog, I hope that you enjoyed this post and the pics below :)

These pics are from our recent boat trip.

"I'll find you in the morning sun and when the night is new, I'll be looking at the moon but I'll be seeing YOU" 12-19-10

Hello everyone :) Haven't been on in a bit so I thought I should update everyone on whats been going on. WHERE TO START??? Last I left you, I had gone to Fortress of the Bears with a couple of gals in town and had an awesome time! Bubba had been gone for about 3 weeks and I was feeling confident about living in ALASKA! and being on my own! Frank and I had gotten into a nice routine and we were settling in just fine.... than one Saturday morning I get a text from Mom saying that her and Dad were off to the movies-ok sounds good- I went about my business, Texas was playing that Saturday so I had settled in on the couch and started watching the game. Three hours pass and I hadn't heard from Mom who had told me she would call me when she got out.... WELLLLL no phone call. I call her and it went straight to voicemail, I call Dad-straight to voicemail, I do this a few more times with each of their phones, still no answer. So I started to get a little worried, I called Amber and she said "oh, I'm sure their fine, Shane and I are on our way to meet them for dinner" ....at this point I was pretty worked up, I don't know if it was because Bubba had been gone for a few weeks and I was missing home or because I felt helpless in the situation because I couldn't just go and find them without hopping on a plane for half the day..... ANYWAYS after about 20 minutes of freaking out to Amber, I finally get a phone call from Mom, she was fine, she told me she had been in the movies and I didn't need to worry so much(sigh of relief)! I call Amber back to let her know that Mom got a hold of me and all was good in the neighborhood-fast forward 5 minutes and Amber is calling me back saying that she had sent me something and FedEx was looking for my house so I needed to go outside-out I go and low and behold I see MOM AND DAD walking up to my front porch. After all that had been going on for the past couple of hours and because I was so overwhelmed with happiness/confusion/etc, I completely lost it and cried my eyes out, while trying to comprehend how in the WORLD were they WALKING up to my house......... it was the ULTIMATE surprise!!!!!!!! It took me a little bit to figure out that they had actually flown here and not walked all the way from Texas, lol. It was the best surprise and for those of you who knew, which from what I hear is quite a few people, yall did a GREAT job keeping it a secret. For the next couple of hours I kept staring at them thinking I was about to wake up from some dream-it was so surreal. After the shock settled, we had the best week together, I took them all around town, they got to see whales, bears, salmon, sea lions  and a couple of eagles while they were here, we went out to eat, Mom cooked for me! Dad played with Frank and completely got him out of his routine, lol, (I don't think Frank minded one bit!) Overall, it was the best, best, best surprise ever! And just such a great week, it felt so nice to have them here and to talk to them face to face-I am so thankful to have such great parents! And Frank loves his Pappy and Gammie!

A couple of days after my parents left Bubba FINALLY got home :) So we have just been enjoying each others company ever since! He liked the house, it wasn't "to girly" lol. Frank has loved having him home and gives him ten million kisses a day, which if you know Frank that is rare, he hardly ever gives kisses! It is just really nice to have him home and it actually feels like our "home" now.

We've been in Sitka 2 months now! WOAH! We have settled in quite nicely-it is starting to get COLD here! It is 52 degrees here today but it feels colder! I have been told that we should be getting our first "mountain dusting" by October 15th, basically it just when all of the tops of the mountains get covered in snow! School is going good and I decided to get a part time job at a local flower shop in town! I start sometime this week so I'll letcha know how it turns out! It feels like just yesterday we were leaving Texas..... Let's see what do I miss about Texas- scenery-HORSES, there are no horses in Sitka! :( ummmm FOOD! Sonic-Whataburger-Chickfila-Quiznos-Wendys-Taco Bell-CASA OLE-any mexican food restruant for that matter-Olive Garden-Jodys-GREENS-HOUSE OF LEE-KFC-Bushes-Wings n More-Freebirds.... the list never ends, food, food, food! I can't say that I have found a restaurant here that I like-McDonalds and Subway are the best places to eat here.... so you can imagine why I miss all of the above places. So since there is a lack of eating places here it has forced me to become a "master chef" lol, ok not quite, but I did make chicken fried steak the other day and mmm, mmm, mmm, NOT BAD if I do say so myself :) Anyone else that wants to come and surprise me will be treated to a 4 course meal cooked by Chef Jenna-1st course-green beans, 2nd course-mashed potatoes, 3rd course-rolls, and for the main course, the "4th course"-chicken fried steak a la plate!! With a special drink called "CHERIECULEAIDE" ;) But what I miss the MOST about Texas is all of YOU! love and miss yall :)

until next time...................................................... xoxoxo

Here are some pictures from Mom and Dad's trip: They brought the sunshine from Texas with them and it actually stayed for 12 DAYS which is alot for Sitka!!

Frank LOVED having Dad here, I'm to boring for him!

Stargaven

One of my favorite places in Sitka



Another picture of one of my favorite places in Sitka



HELLO ALL! Sorry for the hiatus, we just got the internet up and running! Alot has changed since the last time I blogged. We finally got out of a hotel and moved into our new house just a few days before Bubba left to get underway. Since he has left they delivered all of our household goods (furniture, tv, cookware, etc.) and I unpacked/moved/arranged/decorated everything so I am really excited for him to see it! Like I said before, Bubba is underway right now and because of OPSEC I cant post where he is, how long he will be away, etc... but I can say he is doing fine and defintely learning lots of new things. We are both learning new things...... I am learning how to be self-reliant, how to cook without making a huge mess. I am learning how to work dvr, handle bills and navigate a truck that is just a "little" to big for me. But the main thing is, I am doing ok! I miss everyone at home so, so much but I am "OK" at being by myself, and I guess Im not really by myself because I have Frank who is ALWAYS into something..... he keeps me busy! I start classes this Thursday, hopefully I can finish up my degree while Im here. I cant wait to be a teacher, just wish I didnt have to go to school.... lol, sounds like an oxymoron huh? I am thankful to being able to go to school, some people never get the oppurtunity to go to college and choose what job they have for the rest of their lives and so I am thankful that I can do that, I have great parents that help me out and Bubba supports me 100% so I should be thankful ... and I am! Anyways, school is gonna keep me busy and so is Frank, Im thinking about working into a part time job if I can find one that works with my schedule... we'll see! I tell you one thing though, you should all appreciate the prices at HEB!!!!!! You never know what you have until you dont have it and let me tell you it is PRICEY up here! Whoo-whee! Luckily, the military helps us with the cost of living here but still it is a sad day when a can of green beans cost 2.19... or a bag of frozen chicken breast cost 30 DOLLARS!! Its a big, big difference............ but it is BEAUTIFUL here! Oh and I saw bears, they were not in the wild but in a refuge that they have in Sitka. It is made from the old water tanks and the bears are contained inside of two of them. It wasnt like a zoo because they try and keep it very much like their natural habitat and the bears looked very happy. In one water tank they had two old bears, about 3-4 years old and in the other water tank they had 3 cubs, about a year old. The cubs were resting when we got there but the older two were out and about and it was just amazing to see them! They are HUGE! We were under the impression that Sitka only had black bears and than we got to Sitka and learned that they only have brown bears, also known as, grizzly bears! The town is very big on living in harmony with the bears. They have some issues with bears getting into the garbage and I even heard a story of  a bear breaking into a car... lol but they are potentionally very dangerous animals, so they say the key is just to show them the respect they deserve and to just be smart, whether your hiking/fishing, etc. It is just so cool to me though, to look at the mountains and think of all the wildlife that is living in there. Before Bubba left they had what was considered a "heat streak" at a whopping 70 degrees lol, I thought yall might get a kick out of that considering the 100+ degree weather yall have been experiencing. You should have seen this place, everyone was out at the beach swimming, soaking in rays..... you couldnt pay me to get into that cold water! That day Bubba and I went to the shooting range and I shot a pistol for the very first time! And I was pretty dang good at it, if I do say so myself ;) We also saw salmon -which by the way, is pronounced "sam-men" here, anways we saw what seemed like hundreds of them swimming in this huge swarm and they were probably as long as my arm, it was the coolest thing! I brought my camera that day but as I went to take a picture I realized that I left my media card at home so..... no pictures :( SORRY! I have learned my lesson though and next time I will take my camera WITH my media card inserted, promise :) .............it is truly a beatufil place here, just wish I saw the sun more! I sure do miss it but not as much as I miss everyone at home, I hope you are all doing good and know that I think about you all everyday, love, love, love.... until next time xoxoxoxox

P.S. I have now mastered the art of biscuits and gravy, rice puff balls (which are like honey, peanutbutter and rice krispes clusters) and sloppy joes! tonight... enchiladas, wish me luck :)



Here are a few of my favorite pics of the bears...........

Climbing up the tree to see what everyone was looking at...

Checking us out...

This bear is HUGE!

Chomping on a fish

Just yawning...

                                           AND THE SCARIEST BEAR OF THEM ALL...

As of yesterday we have been living here for a week! WOW! I can't believe I am LIVING in Alaska! It is absoltuely breathtaking. The ocean is gorgeous, the trees are gorgeous, the mountains, are gorgeous (some even have snow on top-which is so cool to me!) Some mornings I wake up and the sun is out and the moutains are picture perfect and HUGE and some mornings I wake up and the fog is so thick that the mountains seem to have completely disappeared... it is amazing! It defintely is everything they say. I have met some very nice ladies here, that have been very sweet and helpful and it makes me feel a little better to know some people here. Sitka has a very small town feel, similar to Troy, so that makes me feel better too, thats what I'm use to afterall. Bubba is underway for his first time on a cutter and my first time by myself in Alaska-and it has not been so bad, the week is almost half way done and he'll be home before I know it! I tell you what though, this weather has me a little "thrown off" because it feels like it does in Texas around Thanksgiving time and anyday now my body is expecting to be eating some of Zini and Aprils good cooking! Man, am I gonna miss that. But considering I will have alot of time on my hands I plan on being an expert cook when I leave this place ...haha, well Im going to try anyways. If I can master boiling eggs by the time we leave, than Ill be good -right April? ;) No seriously, I really am going to try to expand my horizons as far as cooking goeswhile Im here (lucky Bubba is gonna be my guinea pig-or poor Bubba depending on how you look at it ;) ) I miss home but Im really enjoying this experience so far. Well Im sure after reading this you'll have a good taste of how my mind jumps from one subject to the other BUT, Im not to worried because luckily those of you that are reading this probably already knew that! xoxoxo... until next time



I dont have any pictures of Sitka yet, but here are a few of Alaska from the ferry ride....

Wait for it...

A whale! Me and Bubba were so excited to see this!

Canadian Coast Guard in Canadian waters

Looked like a ghost town

Petersburg, Alaska; one of our ports on the ferry

Wouldnt want to be that guy... I've seen whales do belly flops on to

guys like him before on youtube and that guys looks like he's about two

 paddles away from 2,816,840 views-if ya know what I mean

Seals sunbathing on a bouy!

Woke up to see this... even better in person!