Living the Dream... Dreaming of Home

Living the Dream... Dreaming of Home

 Todd and I are really starting to feel the homesickness.

We're counting down the days until we get to be near our friends, 

and especially our family. 

It seems like every day we mention something
about how much we can't wait to be home.

Until then, however, we just have to keep trying to distract ourselves

 with work and the great outdoors.

Friday was a beautiful day, it was sunny and 70 degrees.
Todd and I both got off work early, so naturally it was
adventure time.
We rode our little scooter out to the hatchery,
and walked down to a creek right outside of it. 
In this creek, there are thousands of salmon swimming for their lives!
And these salmon aren't just your average sized salmon,
these salmon were all at least 3 feet long,
and super FAT!
So Todd and I hop in the creek to catch ourselves some salmon
with our bare hands!
The water was FREEZING, but it was worth the pain.
Since there were so many of these fish,
and they were weak and dying,
they were pretty easy to catch.
We just caught enough to each get
quite a few pictures and video.
There were also tons of Eagles and other sorts of birds
out there feeding on the fishies.
I tried for a while to get pictures of the eagles,
but they were still really far away.

Look how many there are!!

Wooo!

I hope you all have seen the Little Caesar's commercial,
 because that's what this (above) reminds me of.

Birds are doing some fishing too. Also, there are eagles in the background.

This one was struggling for life.

 A few videos that are my favorite...




The first fish that I caught, I freaked out and screamed long enough for Todd to take one picture. But this one wasn't squirming so much. I was pretty proud of how well I held my composure.



This last video is my favorite.
This is the fishy (the one of the pictures above)
that was struggling for life.
Todd picked him up to try to get him to deeper water,
 and ends up just throwing him on the ground.
He says the fish just slipped,
but if you watch closely,
 he clearly just let go of him and let him fall on his head.
 SUPER funny.







So, yesterday was my birthday and it was GREAT!
We started off the day with zip lining,
I don't know how else to describe it except by saying
it was a BLAST!!
Todd and I agree that it was our favorite tour that we've done up here,
even better than the helicopter tours!
Helicopters come in second place though.

After zip lining we went home, cleaned up,
just relaxed for a bit, and then went to the
 new batman movie which was amazing!
Totally dark and creepy just like people said,
but it was pretty epic, especially at the end of it.

After the movie, I was craving teriyaki,
so we went here for dinner:

 

And it is officially our new favorite place to eat in Juneau.

Going out to eat here is crazy expensive, 

but this place was surprisingly affordable,

and surprisingly delicious!

Then, after dinner, we quickly got changed 

and went rock climbing at the Rock Dump!

It's Juneau's only rock climbing gym, 

but it is a ton of fun.

The only unfortunate part of the evening 

was that the people working at the Rock Dump 

were playing icky rap music that swore every other word.

Todd asked them if they had any other music, 

so they graciously played classical music for the rest of the time we were there.

We still preferred it to the filth they had been playing.

Also, Todd spoiled me with the most amazing presents.

He was so cute with the first one, 

because he was so embarrassed and worried I wouldn't like it.

He almost wouldn't give it to me, 

but reluctantly handed me the most beautiful pair of earrings.

He kept telling me I could exchange them if I didn't like them,

but I love them. He did very well :)

The best part is, how he went out,

on the day he was deathly ill,

and tried so hard to find something I would like.

He is so adorable.

On top of that, he got me a pair of tennis shoes!

And not just any old pair of shoes,

a pair of Nike Free Runner shoes :)

My other tennies got all muddy from camping,

and are ripping and smelly,

so Todd knew that I was wanting some new ones.

These are the shoes :)

To top it all off, Toddy Boy made me a delicious chocolate cake.

He made it, and decorated it himself,

and might I say,

he did a mighty fine job :)

 

It was even more delicious than it looks,

and I'm pretty sure I'm going to gain a few pounds

 by eating all of it.

So basically, it was the best birthday ever,

and that's because I had an amazing husband to spend it with.

He makes me feel like a queen,

and not just on my birthday,

but every single day.

It was also so great to hear from

 all of our friends and family yesterday, 

and made us even more homesick.

As much as we keep trying to keep busy,

we can't help but feel a little empty 

because none of you are here with us.

Almost about 6 weeks though, and we're outta here!

Bear Encounter

So here is the bear story, in it's truth.

Wednesday night, Todd and I got home from playing ultimate and it was starting to get dark. LoriLee came home just after us and told us that she had just seen a bear a couple blocks away from our apartment. Todd and I look at each other and both know that we couldn't pass up this opportunity for some bear hunting. So we hopped on the scooter, and rode towards where LoriLee said she saw it. It wasn't long before we found it crossing the street right in front of us! It walked into an alley that connected two streets, so we went around the block and rode by it as it was coming out of the alley. It just kind of cocked it's head and looked at us as we drove past. 

They say the bears here are very adapted to people, so I thought it just didn't think much of us. So then, we realized the gopro memory card was full, so we hadn't gotten footage. We stopped for a minute and deleted everything on it. Then, we spotted the bear walking down the sidewalk and into a gated area of a church right across the street from our apartment. Now that the gopro was ready to go, we had to get some footage of it. So, we slowly started riding the scooter by the entrance to the church, and this time he didn't just cock his head at us... He BOLTED out of the fence and started chasing us!!! We booked it through a stop sign and turned at the next block, and it ran after us almost until we turned. So then we came around the block, and found what we thought was a safe place and camped out until we knew it was safe to go back inside. We saw it go in an alley behind our apartment complex, and it wasn't coming out, so we figured we would be alright. 

Now, here comes the worst part of the story. Our gopro died RIGHT before the bear started running after us!! Talk about bad luck!! I've been joking that it's Heavenly Father telling us that we need to go bear hunting again. But really, I think we've had a close enough encounter to last us quite a while :)

So that's the story! Todd posted a picture on facebook of the bear... if you didn't know, that's a complete lie. It was a black bear and it didn't growl at us. But is WAS a really big black bear... probably at least 4 feet tall, and FAT! 

Daddy's Visit

So, a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks!
I don't want to do just one loooong boring post, so I'm doing several :)

The first major update is that my dad came to visit!
He had never seen Juneau before, and he loves the outdoors,
so he decided he'd fly up here to check it out.
He got in Tuesday afternoon while I was working,
so I got him up in a helicopter for an icefield excursion tour.
The next day, he and I both went into my work
and got on a helicopter dog sled tour!
So, within a two hour period, 

my daddy got to go on two helicopter tours.

It's pretty cool all the perks we get up here. 

Wednesday afternoon, Todd, Dad and I 

drove way out the road to go camping.

Luckily, I had a coworker with extra camping gear for my Dad.

We had a great night, making a campfire,

chatting, cooking dinner, and fishing. 

Todd caught his first fish in Alaska!

It was 3 inches long... haha!

But then he caught a much bigger one, about a foot long.

He also caught a fish called a "Big Mouth Ugly,"

and boy, was it UGLY!

The next night, Daddy stayed at a nice bed and breakfast

that is just down the street from us.

Sadly, Todd had to work, but I was able to join 

my dad for breakfast and then explore Juneau a little

bit until his flight left at 2. 

It was so great to have him here,

and also for Todd and him to get to spend 

some more time together.

Here are some pics from his visit :)

On his icefield tour

In the chopper

Dogsled puppies

Dogsledding

First fish!

Big fish!

Big Mouth Ugly!

We went to the famous Tracy's Crabshack for dinner, it was AMAZING

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 :)