Wild Winter Whirlwind Week

Well, a lot of people have been asking me what we are doing back up in Alaska (for those of you who don't know, we are up in Alaska), where our life is going, what we are doing, etc. This is the post that will describe all of that, and more. It's going to be a long post. A post about last week. It was literally exactly what the title of the post describes: A Wild Winter Whirlwind Week.

Perhaps before I go into a deep depiction of last week, I think I will need to back up in time a little bit to give the situation some context. As most of you know, we came up to Alaska for Christmas break. We were planning almost the whole time on going back to Utah; attending our next semester at SUU, living in Cedar City, etc. That was the plan. But, life isn't really about making plans. That's what I've realized. :) It's about living. And what comes with living? Unexpected changes, adventures, new ideas, going where you need to go and doing what you need to do. Sometimes in our life, we do have to make plans. I'm not against planning, I think it is a great thing. However, life does throw unexpected curves which change our plans, and while unexpected, often times they are good curves!

Anyway- one night we were all sitting around at the Styers, when the career of "Air Traffic Control" was brought up. Long story short, our ears were perked, and Devin and I did a lot of investigating on this intriguing career the next few days. The more we learned about it, the more it fit. It honestly felt like we had been trying to solve this "career jigsaw puzzle," and when this option (one that we had never thought about before) came up, it was like we finally found that missing piece. 

Devin and I became really excited about him pursuing this. There was one problem that was a big bummer for me- there is no schooling institution in Utah for training in this field. There are other routes that don't involve school, but Devin and I thought that the best route was for him to go to school for it. This way, he felt that he would have a more solid foundation that would help him later on. 

Anyway- there wasn't one in Utah, but one of the best places to go is the University of Anchorage Alaska. That seemed to work out good, because the plan was to move up here eventually anyway. It was a little bit of a bummer because I was looking forward to having these next few years at SUU in my home state. :) Not that I don't love Alaska, because I LOVE Alaska, but it's kind of a bummer being far from your family right? That's the hardest part about it. But sometimes you gotta do hard things-they just make you stronger! Plus Devin and I both know what a good opportunity this is, and we are so excited about it.

So-once the decision was made, there were arrangements that had to be made as well. We already were flying back down to Utah anyway, so we kept those tickets so we could get back and pack up our apartment. That day of traveling was a crazy one! Devin and I flew out of Anchorage and went to Juneau. It was so beautiful! I loved flying in there. Unfortunately I had a sinus sickness of some sort, so when we were landing, instead of being able to enjoy the beautiful scenery, I was instead having a pressure explosion on the right side of my face. I won't get into detail about that...

This is probably what you would rather see:

Anyway-we then flew from Juneau to Seattle. We left a little late, so when we got to Seattle, I walked off that plane, and got right on the next plane which would take me to Vegas. Devin on the other-hand flew to Phoenix to pick up our car which we had left there at his grandma's before Christmas Break. As a result of me just getting on the plane in time, something else of mine did not get on the plane in time. Can you guess what?

This is what I looked like. Except I'm a girl, not this man.

(I never knew there were so many comics about airports)

It actually was not that bad of an experience. Surprising, I know. I was flying on Alaska Airlines, and they were very considerate and apologetic, and they even got me a voucher for 2000 free miles! My bag got to the Cedar City airport the next night, and so it worked out great. Luckily that night I was sleeping at my apartment in Cedar, and so I had clothes and things to hold me over until my bag arrived. 

Anyway-back to my travel day. I got into Vegas without my luggage, and then took a shuttle from Vegas to St. George. My mom and brother Timm then picked me up there, and we drove to Cedar City. On our way, we passed the Claridge Inn (Lauren Rule, if you are reading this, that is where we stayed when you went to St. George with my family...some interesting memories and laughs about that place, haha). That brought some smiles.

Devin arrived the next day after his 8 hr. drive from Phoenix to Cedar. Then, we began PACKING! 

It was a blessing having my mom there. It allowed the packing to get done so much more quickly and smoothly. I'm so grateful for that. I never got around to putting up pictures of our apartment, so I will do that now. I'll put up the ones of after everything was cleaned out-the other pictures make the place look like a disaster because of all the packing that was going on.

bedroom

bathroom

kitchen

spare bedroom

family room

It was a great little place! Sad to say goodbye, but the most fun part is that we get to look forward to the next place we will live! Another adventure on its way.

So-we got all packed up, and then drove the 3 hours north to Provo. This was great because we got to spend a few days with my family there. It was quite the party as always- Cafe Rio, Just Dance, movies, games, Rhett's birthday, Zach's basketball game, etc. Another highlight was that Murphy (our Newfoundland dog) knew I was home, and so he kept pushing the garage door open to come inside and be with us all. Instead of ushering him back out into the garage or backyard where he dominantly resides, we let him stay in, and kicked the little dog-Moe- out. Here is a video that I took for my cousin Rachel, because I know she would appreciate this kind gesture towards Murph.

Here are some pictures of our "bear" lounging around with us in the house.

Here are some other highlights of our visit:

Rhett turned 15- (haha we realized we didn't have candles)

Zach getting a pass on the court

After a few days in Provo, we were back to being travelers. And then began our 55 hr. drive to Alaska! Boy was it a journey.

This is a summary of how our trip was broken down, and then I will let you enjoy the documentation.

-We drove from Provo to Idaho Falls, and then stayed the night Wednesday. 

-The next day we drove from Idaho Falls to Edmonton, Canada. 

-The next morning, our car wouldn't start, due to the cold temperatures. (2 hr. delay, but due to the blessed timing of things, we were able to get some help from a nice man that came to work on the hotel's elevators). 

Back on the road...

-After that we were on our way. We drove through the snow (or rather, Devin drove) to Ft. Nelson, and spent the night in our car (because we didn't want to turn it off again...) Then we drove the rest of the way till we got back to Big Lake at 5:00 am Sunday morning. 

Now...Here is the documentation. Please give the closest attention to the temperature gauge in my car.

I saw this, and thought: "Oh 0 degrees! That's pretty cool." Just wait.

This picture (below) is when we decided to leave our hoagie buns in the car the night in Edmonton. They were frozen the next morning (obviously), and so this is my attempt to de-thaw them using the defroster of my car.

This is my window getting iced over from the inside. It got way worse than this.

Driving through Canada:

I love these next two pictures. Don't they just almost look like a black and white photo? I think it's so cool.

And we met some friends along the way:

Isn't it beautiful?

And then in Haines Junction, Canada (about 10 hrs. from our destination) we stopped to get gas:

And the car looked like this:

snow blasted

And then my temperature gauge got below -40.

But my car didn't know how to react. So instead of reading -41, -42, or -50 (which it got to in Tok, Alaska), 

it just said: ---

Then we knew that it was beyond cold. It was freezing. Actually more than that. 

And so the next chapter begins! :) Put your seat belts on!