Epic Plans That Fail, Camping, and a Very Sick Hubby

Last weekend, Todd and I got to go camping together for the first time! We had such an epic plan for this adventure, but as we all know epic plans usually fail. 

We were going to borrow one of the church's canoes, put it in Auke Bay, canoe to an island about a mile or two away, and camp on that island. The island is also right in the middle of where people go whale watching, so we were planning on getting up close and personal to some Orcas. Sadly, our plan failed right from the get-go. 

A girl I work with, Drea, has a truck that we were going to throw the canoe into, but we didn't quite realize just how massive canoes are. We didn't have very good tie downs, and this canoe was just way to big for us to safely transport it to Auke Bay. We grudgingly ditched the idea, and decided to go camping out the road about 30 miles.

 Luckily Drea was super gracious about taking us there and picking us up the next day, it wouldn't have been possible without her. So we picked out a nice spot right off the beach, thinking it would be nice a private. Of course that didn't happen either, because about an hour after we got there a big group of high schoolers set up camp about 30 yards away... Losers. 

We didn't do anything particularly exciting when we were out there, but this is what out evening consisted of:

• Set up camp
• Made a friend, Raul!
• He's a squirrel
• Tried to build a fire
• Christine wasn't very good at chopping wood
• The wood was wet
• The fire failed... 
• Fishing!
• Did not catch a fish, but we found a dead one
• We cut off the dead fish's head and used it as bait
• That still didn't work..
• Used the rest of the fish's body as eagle bait
• That didn't work either...
• Rock skipping competition
• Let's just say it was a tie...
• Parkour
• Hilarious!
• Dinner
• CHUNKY canned soup over a little gas stove
• Hot Cocoa
• A little game of war
• My first time playing... That game never ends!
• Bed time
• Listened to the high schooler's fireworks while trying to sleep

After camping we were going to try to get on a tour, but, SURPRISE! That plan failed as well. We didn't get back early enough to get on the tours that we wanted, so we just had a relaxing evening at home... which was grand :) 

Here are some pics from the trip.

This is Raúl :)

So cute

Don't mess with the Gator

Gross haha

Oh, also! We found out this week that we got the apartment that we wanted! It finally feels real that we're going to have a place of our own, and we CANNOT WAIT! We've spent a lot of time this week looking online at furniture. I am particularly excited to start decorating. There are a ton of DIY ideas on Pinterest that I want to start so badly. Anyway, we will be living at The Village Apartments in Rexburg, and the layout of our apartment is called "Oxford." It has one bedroom, one bath, a den, and a deck! We will be in building 12 and on the second floor! Yay! Here's a pic of the layout.

So this week started out very uninteresting, just working as usual. However, on Friday, Todd started feeling pretty crummy. He made it through a day of work, came straight home and tried to sleep for like four hours. He threw up the next morning, which was luckily enough to convince him that he couldn't go to work. Today he's not much better; he still has a bad cough and a fever. I could have gone to church, but after leaving him all of yesterday, I couldn't bear to leave him again today. Hopefully Heavenly Father will forgive me for that :/. It breaks my heart to see him feeling so miserable, and I feel so helpless as to how to make him better. I'm just hoping lots of back rubbing and cheek kisses will magically make him better.

As far as good news goes... We found out this week that my dad is going to come up to visit! I've been telling him how amazing it is here (maaaaybe over exaggerating a little), and he's decided he'd like to check out Juneau! He's going to fly in next Tuesday and leave Friday. So far we're planning on getting him up on a helicopter tour (either dog sledding, or walking on the glacier... or both), going on a hike, and going camping! Todd and I both have to work on Tuesday, and rather than going on one of Todd's tours, my dad would rather just explore on his own until we get off. So that's the plan, and we're super excited! 

Those are all of the updates for now. We miss you all and love you to death! We're starting to get a little home sick because we miss everyone so much. Can't wait until September when we get to see you all face to face (not on skype)! 

Much love from the most triumphant Brooks


PS Sorry for the annoying highlight. I can't make it go away.

C'est La Vie

So, ever since Todd and I got here, we haven't had many days off together, and the days we do get off together are usually Sundays. So, in some serious need of some time together, we both asked for the 9th off, and we got it!


And it was wonderful!


We started the day off with the Best of Juneau tour which took us to the glacier, and then whale watching. We weren't so keen on going to the glacier yet again, but it was the only way we'd be able to go whale watching and do all of the other things we had planned.


C'est la vie.


So we woke up bright and early (we basically never sleep in), and hopped on one of the coaches to go to the glacier. Instead of looking at, or taking pictures of the glacier, we went bear hunting! To no avail... It seems like Todd and I are the only ones who haven't seen any bears this summer, and we go looking for them all the time! Maybe not the smartest, but I think they run away from us anyway :(. Yet again, c'est la vie...


On the whale watching tour, we saw quite a few whales. We didn't really get any good pictures or video, but it was still great. Then, the boat took us to a little lodge at a point only accessible by boat. They fed us a lovely lunch, and then we rode back into Juneau.

Right after lunch at Orca Point Lodge

Once we got home, we quickly changed our clothes and hopped on our little scooter to drive way out to the West Glacier trailhead. Yes, we went BACK to the glacier that we're so sick of. But, it is way more exciting when you get to hike to the glacier, and crawl around in ice caves! It was a pretty relaxed hike that was uphill and downhill pretty much the whole way. We didn't know where the cave exactly was, and almost turned around, but luckily some kind hikers kindly pointed us in the right direction. The cave was SO pretty! And SO blue! 

This is our awesome scooter! It reaches a max speed of 35mph, and barely fits two of us :)

Todd and his very nice wind-blown hair

On the hike to the glacier

In the caves!

By the time we got home from our hike, it was getting late. Good news is, it stays light here until about 11 at night! We were left with plenty of time to head down to the tram. Since we had hiked up there before, it wasn't all that exciting at the top, but we basically wanted to ride it just to be able to say that we did it :) So we rode to the top, took a few pics, and rode back down. 

To finish the day off, we came home and feasted on some chicken burritos.

The day ended up being a success. The best part was... the only thing we had to pay for was our meal at the lodge! If you're jealous, just come up here, and we can hook you up with fun and free things too!! We are so blessed that we get to live in such a beautiful place, and experience all of these things without spending an arm and a leg. It amazes me how much these tourists spend on some of these tours. Hopefully we'll get a few more days off together to do some more fun and free things. 

That's all for now. We love and miss you all and wish you were here with us!

With love from the Most Triumphant Brooks-ies

The fun continues

So last Wednesday was great! 

It was my day off during the week, 

so I tried to take the time to relax. 

Apparently that's super hard for me though. 

I woke up early because the Alaska sun

doesn't like me to sleep in :-p

I hate not being productive,

so I went on a run

 (and died), 

then I walked to the grocery store

 (and died going up the stairs). 

Around noon I came to the realization that

I had nothing else to do for the rest of the day.

I sent Todd a text hoping he'd let me go see him at work and 

ride along for one of his tours. 

Luckily he had one starting at 3:30, 

and got permission for me come along.

So then I went down to the dock and hopped 

on Todd's coach for his most excellent

Hatchery/Glacier/Glacier gardens tour. 

His commentary was basically the same

as last time, but it doesn't get old for me :)

At the glacier this time we went exploring a bit

and found this awesome swimming hole!

One of Todd's co-workers told him about it. 

We can't wait for a warm (ish) summer day 

to go there and go cliff jumping! 

And it doesn't have to be SUPER warm, 

because we know that will never happen,

 but maybe just sunny. High 60's would be nice :). 

So after the tour,

 none of the tourists wanted to get dropped off downtown,

so I just went back with Todd to his work 

to walk home with him.

Before that, though, he had to park his coach 

and do his post trip inspection. 

However, his coach had to be parked

 in one of the most difficult spots to get into. 

Then, once Todd masterfully maneuvered his way in,

we found that the spot was basically a lake...

There was seemingly no way to get out 

without getting our shoes sopping wet.

Todd got creative.

See video:

And photo:

Todd got out, got the stool out of the side compartment for me,

then I climbed out and onto the stool, 

and then got out dry. 

Todders finished off the job by putting the chalks out, 

and shutting off the battery without getting wet.

Well, aside from the first time.

Anyway, it was a pretty funny little dilemma.

Made it out alive!

Success.

Believe it or not, we do have some sunny days.

It just doesn't happen as often as we'd like. 

Today, for instance, it's super nice out.

Yet I'm sitting indoors, waiting for the hubby to come home.

 A little over a week ago it was actually super nice out

and I found out that my work has

Tram passes that we can check out. 

Todd and I tried to go on the tram that day,

but we got there about 15 min after it closed :(

It was alright though because we got to have

a nice meal at Pelmeni's right before.

Pelmeni's is a Ukranian restaurant, 

and Todd said it tasted authentic!

Too bad they only serve one thing ;)

After dinner we walked down on one of the docks 

and took a few pictures.

More to come soon! 

We just got our scooter, and it is super little. 

We went on a joy ride last night.

Let's just say we got a lot of looks,

because the scooter is much too little

for two tall-ish people.

I'm hoping to get some pics soon.

Love and miss you all!

~The Most Triumphant Brooks-ies

A Little Taste

So today has been a pretty great day. It's been so great because Todd and I got to spend more time than usual together!!! SCORE! 

I had the day off and Todd invited me to go on his tour today, which I've been dying to do by the way.

 I went with him the other day when he just took a group to go whale watching, but he didn't get to give the tour, he only drove. He gave a safety briefing that day, and that alone was so good! So it was such a treat to get to come along and hear him give a full on tour today. 

I've heard bits and pieces of his tour material from him, but it was cool hearing it all together in tour form. He tied everything together so perfectly, without one awkward pause! He is so charming. He probably wouldn't want me disclosing how much he makes in tips, but it's not surprising that he makes as much as he does :).

Anyway, I just had to get some video to share with you part of his tour.

He's so funny :) At least I thought so... the people on his tour were kind of a tough crowd, but at least I loved his jokes :)
Today also made me realize that I'm so lucky to NOT be doing the same thing as Todd. While it would be amaaaazing to work together, at the same time... I just know I would be awful at the whole tour giving part... like talking. I'm just not as sociable as Todd, it's just a fact. And it is also part of why I love him so much. So anyway, Todd would be coming home with bookoo tips, and I'd be coming home with... a frown. Then I would feel like a loser. Haha. Anyway, I feel very fortunate to have ended up with the job that I did. And very fortunate to have such an amazing, outgoing, bread winning, charismatic husband :).

So the tour we went on today was the Glacier Explorer, which is just a ride out to the Mendenhall Glacier, and two hours at the glacier, then a ride back. This is the glacier Todd and I had already gone to together, but it was cool to get to go inside the visitor's center (for free!) and check out everything in there... we got to touch glacier ice! Wahoo

Just a little tid bit I learned on the tour today ;)... The intense pressure of all the snow forms this kind of crystalized ice. The crystals form in such a way that they absorb all colors of the spectrum except for blue, which is reflected back. That's why glacial ice is so blue. It doesn't look that blue in the picture above because it's such a close up, but the pic below is a good example of how it looks so blue.

 We also found this little pond with a gorgeous view.

 It's sooo green everywhere... LOVE it!

And of course had to get a pic with the amazing husband!

 Pictures of him and with him are probably my favorite thing evarrrr :)

Alaskaaa PREVIEW

So I don't know if any of you have ever seen the proposal, but it's a pretty hilarious movie, not to mention, very quotable. After deciding to move to Alaska, a particular part of the movie became a favorite for Todd and I to quote. Now that we're far away, a lot of the time we'll just type it like this, "Alaskaaaa." Anyway, we thought it would be appropriate to share with all of you a small clip from this excellent movie :)





So that's the video :) Sorry it's kind of chopped off, I don't know how to fix that. 
Updates on Alaska will come soon!

Side Note

Hello one and all! So some of my new family (mom and sister in law, Stacy and Summer) recently started blogs, and have inspired me to start up this blogging thing again. I started this blog last summer, and then got busy. I actually stopped posting around the time that Toddy and I started dating. I guess I found a better way to spend my time :)


I was looking at my last post, which was ironically exactly one month before Todd and I started dating! I just wanted to add a funny little side note to my description of that weekend. So Todd and I had been hanging out as friends a lot during that summer, and I had the HUGEST crush on him. We were both planning on going to this tournament for a while, and I was super excited to say the least. I so badly just wanted something magical to all of the sudden happen that weekend.... Like he would out of the blue confess his love for me and make me his girlfriend. Then we got there, and nothing of the sort ensued. I specifically remember all of us going in the hot tub at our hotel and being so disappointed he didn't sit next to me... so I just talked to Debi and Sam the whole time (haha). And then, I saw a glimpse of magic! During the duck game, I sat on the bed (pull out bed, was a couch) next to him, and he put his arm on the headboard ALMOST like his arm was around ME. I was giddy inside. 

Then of course, nothing followed. So anyway, this is the pic of us watching the duck game that I mention in the other post. Also something funny about the last post, it's mostly about the pictures. So if you scroll through the pictures, you'll see that I took a bunch of pictures with everyone, and then I took one with Todd last. That's basically the order it went down too... You see, I desperately wanted a picture with him, but I didn't have the guts just to go over there and take a pic with him, so I devised a plan. I went around and took pictures with everyone else, and then he would just think I wanted pictures with everyone on the team. I thought it was genius. I told Todd about it later, and he told me while I was doing that he was thinking, "Aw :( Why doesn't she want a picture with me?" Hahaha! Makes me laugh...

It's crazy to look back and think about the times when I thought he would never like me. I never even fathomed the idea that one day he could be in love with me :). It blows my mind, and makes me soooo happy that dreams do actually come true. Sometimes it feels like I'm in a fairytale.

Well, that ended up being an über long "little" side-note. That's just what happens when my prince works until 9 :/. More posts to come about Alaskaaaaa. I'll try to get the hubs to write here every once in a while too. 

Ultimate Frisbee!

So I had a blast this weekend!! On Friday we left to go to Boise for a tournament called Scorcher. The first night we just relaxed, did some swimming/hottubbing, explored a bit... Then Debi showed Sam and I some Zumba! It was fun, it made me want to go do zumba now! Debi showed us a part of the zumba routine to "Survivor" and Sam and I figured it would be awesome to do that as a warm up dance thing, and then we put a chant to it and it became our before-game cheer!
 So Saturday we played four games, and lost every single one of them. We actually played pretty well though, as more of a team with structure and all that good stuff. If we had played a little bit better, we probably could have won one or two games. Especially the last two games, we didn't play well. I especially played horribly, I couldn't aim my throws at all for some reason!
Then, after our Saturday game play, we went to the dinner to get our free barbecue pulled pork. It was pretty good, but there were HUGE pieces of fat in it, lol. Dallin enjoyed the fatty pieces though. Then we had to hurry back to the hotel to watch the duck game. It was depressing having the ducks lose, but it was nice to relax and just watch. There are some funny pictures of us watching. We all look disgusting, it's hilarious. Okie dokie, here are some pictures.

Bidding sequence :) 1

2. The disc was thrown from behind me so it's flying away pretty quickly

3. Point

Todd's bidding sequence

Hahaha what a goober. Boys have to land differently than girls otherwise they'd be in a lot of pain

Dallin's bid

1. Samantha's sequence

2

3.

Backflip

It's almost like we planned this pose

Male and Female MVP's!

Photoshoot during our team's time-out

Not staged. This is for real. Hahaha

Always such interesting outfits at tournaments

Wilbur with the amazing legs. Hahaha this picture is money

 

 

Primitive Disc Monkeys looking good in jerseys for once.

Oh, also! This is from one of our Rec games last spring. Just randomly a guy on my team was filming and got it on vid, and then he put it on youtube and in slow-mo for me! I was excited :)