Juneau and TEMSCO

So, yesterday was my last day at TEMSCO. I gotta say, loading my last helicopter was pretty sad (even it was a helicopter that was a pain in the butt...) I met people from all over the world and made some new life long friends. The job had it's hard moments, but what job doesn't? All in all I loved it! How many people can say 

"oh well I work with helicopters, you know, help load people in them, fuel them while the helicopter is RUNNING, and get to feel the wind in my hair when they land and take off"

(I am REALLY going to miss that).

But one day, hopefully, I can do all that again!

I met the best people from so many different places and had the best roommates that I could have asked for.

Enough about TEMSCO.. 

There's new snow on the mountains here, and there is NOTHING more beautiful than a clear sky with a sunset over the newly snow capped mountains... NOTHING. Ok maybe if you can see a glacier under those snow capped mountains :) I think what I will miss most about Juneau are the glaciers. Seriously, I went up to the glacier 4 times this year and every. single. time I was SO excited to go I was bouncing off the walls. I was more excited to go than the people who paid for it and were going for the first time.! That is REALLY excited in case you didn't know.... Hopefully today after church (YES I finally get to go back!!!!) we will go by the glacier. And I will be back, hopefully often to my beautiful Juneau and back on my Mendenhall Glacier (Yes I claim both of them!) As much as I love the desert and appreciate the beauty of it, I am going to miss all the green and the trees, and the snow, and glaciers, and fish, and water... Get it yet? :) I'm REALLY going to miss this place and the people that I am leaving behind.

Juneau won't just hold memories of work and beauty for me. It was such a growing experience personally for me, and for Colin and it helped us grow as a couple. When we got here we literally had each other to lean on and no one else but Heavenly Father. We had to depend on each other completely. We were also able to do some really neat things together, glacier exploring, helicopter rides (with him piloting of course), dog sledding, whale watching, 10 hour boat ride to Tracy arm (beautiful and SO worth it, if any of you ever come to Juneau, DO IT!). All in all it made the first 6 months of our marriage absolutely amazing. And even though we didn't always get to spend a lot of time together it made us appreciate the time we had and take advantage of every moment we had. But boy are we looking forward to sleeping on a real bed again...

I love Juneau, I love TEMSCO, and most of all, I love my Colin.

Vegas Bound!!!!!

So earlier this week I was working, you know normal day, loading people in helicopters, watching the same movie I see over and over 50 BAGILLION times a day, that is until Colin came out into the lobby and asked me to come to the with him. Confused I did and he ushered me into the hangar. He stands there in front of me and said "My training at Maverick starts in December" I was so shocked I didn't quite know what to say. We weren't expecting an answer until, oh I don't know, never... ok maybe never but it was still a lot sooner than expected! So now here is the plan!

Ready!?

We fly out of Juneau the morning of Sept. 29th, we will be in Seattle by late morning, early afternoon and will rent a car. Colin will then take me around Seattle (first stop I'm assuming will be Ivers, just like last time we flew into Washington together haha) until we can head over to some family friends of his who are kindly letting us stay with them for a few days while we explore all Seattle has to share! Then we will drive from Seattle to the Tri-Cities area and go see my AMAZING in-laws and get settled into Colin's grandma's house which we will be house-sitting until we have to leave to go to VEGAS!!! Colin will go through about 3 weeks of training (that of course Colin will not be paid for) But after the three weeks is over he will be making some good money : D!  After 90 days of working there we will get... wait for it... wait for it.... BENEFITS!!!!! Finally!

We plan on renting for a year, saving up money and buying a house (you know since prices are CHEAP and sometimes you can end up paying less on mortgage than you can on rent!) All in all we are extremely excited! This is going to be a huge step up for us!

Lizard-Happiness

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. -Mingon McLaughlin

You make me understand how wonderful it is for little lizards when they find that one special rock that's perfect for sunning themselves on. You make me lizard-happy. -Randy Milholland

These two quotes summarize how I feel about being married. Every single day I fall in love with Colin more and more and he makes me as happy as a lizard sun bathing on the perfect rock. When things are tough he is always ready with a hug and a cuddle and of course plenty of forehead kisses. Every time he looks at me I can see how much he loves me. After we argue or disagree he always reminds me that he loves me. He loves it when I fall asleep in his arms. He is my best friend. I always try to have a hug and a kiss and dinner ready when he gets home from work and I never let him forget how much I love him and how much I appreciate him.

I realize that life won't always be this easy and that we will have our rough spots, but those won't ever make me stop loving him. My goal is to become that cute old married couple that has been together for 50+ years that still hold hands, kiss, and look at each other like they are just as in love as they were when they got married those 50+ years ago. I'm sure we will be and even at 50+ years he will still make me "lizard-happy"!

Dog Sledding and Fishing in the Ocean?! Yeah, I love my life!

    

So yesterday both Colin and I had the day off and we decided to go dog sledding. Luckily for us the weather was absolutely phenomenal and there were plenty of open spots we could get on. So we get to Temsco and go through all the motions, safety briefing, life vests, boots, dividing in to helicopters, and last but not least getting IN the helicopter! Since we were going for free (although I don't consider it free... I do have to put up with a lot of crap from tourists, I earned that tour haha) we got middle seats but the view was still incredible. Thanks to the lovely cloudless day (a rare thing here in July) our pilot was able to fly us up higher than normal so we could get the most spectacular view of the Juneau Ice Field. There were mountains and snow and ice for as far as you could see. I could even see the mountain that formed the division line between Canada and the U.S!

Juneau Ice Field at it's finest!

Now you all need to remember that ever since the movie "Balto" came out in 1995 (I was 4) it has been my dream to go dog sledding! So when we rounded the bend to see the dog camp I was ecstatic! It was finally all real to me! I was in Alaska, in a helicopter taking me to a glacier where I would be dog sledding with dogs and mushers who had participated and were training for the Iditarod. Yeah, how many people my age get to do that?! (The advantage of marrying someone 8 years older than you who already has a career ;-) )

Dog Camp!

 

 

 

We landed, they unloaded us and we learned a little more about how the dog camp works (which I already knew most of it since, well you know, I work with them) So below will be a few pictures of the adventure.

Me and the Hubby on the sled!

The Howler lol. This dog howled and howled and howled because he wanted to pull the sled.

Is it just me or does this dog look a lot like a Yellow Lab?! Gotta love Alaskan Huskies the "Designer Dogs"

Getting mauled by Piper. Lead Dog Trainee and of course goofy Electra the Lead Dog Trainer makes the picture!

I should quit my day job and become a Musher. I think I could pull it off :)

 The above is a video of the dogs pulling the sled. I don't know why the color was so bad, but you get the idea!

And the not so talented but oh so sweet Goblin. He isn't really sled dog material, his build is all wrong for it. Our musher said he will keep working with him, but it's not promising. He was such a sweet boy though. I wish I could have him as a pet!

 So that was the Dog Sledding part. Now for the next one, Ocean Fishing! WOOHOO!! So when we got home our roommates were all going to go with one of the other pilots to the "beach" (a beach in AK is rocks... really, but its still fun!) and they invited us to come along so we agreed. We got into our beachy gear and Colin at the last minute decided to take his fishing rod. Smart move! So we all pile into a mini van and head on our way. We finally find a good place to stop and Colin and I started scoping out places to fish. Unfortunately the best one was on this point and there was already someone fishing there. So we settle with something just to try out the waters (hehehe). First cast, he gets a bite! And not at low tide either! Things were looking good. The fish were jumping like crazy out there, but just too far away to cast to. We moved about 5-6 times until finally the people on the point moved a little ways and we could go fish out there too. Cast after cast there was nothing until!!!!!! Oh.... Just seaweed... well that is just fantastic. But then..... a real bite! He reeled it in and it was this little dinky baby salmon... so Colin unhooks the little guy and lets him go. More casts go by and still nothing. I'm watching Colin and next thing you know the line was being tugged and I thought to myself, oh its just more seaweed until I saw this big fish jump and the line moved with it! Oh my goodness he had something! It was quite the fight, the rod was bending pretty good! But of course, my man wasn't about to let the fish have the win. And that my friends, was Colin's first salmon! After fighting to get the hook out and much deliberation we decided it was not a King Salmon and that we could keep it (Dinner is gonna be GOOD tonight!) After the big catch we sat around with our friends and made fun of each other, ate chips and took lots and lots of pictures (most of which are candid pictures by Katy...). When we got home we looked up what kind of salmon it was and we learned that it was a Pink Salmon. Now, for some Salmon knowledge. There are 5 kinds of Salmon you can catch in AK which is handy because there is a trick to remember them using the 5 fingers on your hand. You ready? I will quiz you later so pay attention.
Thumb: Chum Salmon (I don't remember the reasoning behind it, but it had something to do with the fact that it was used as bait for other salmon or something like that).
Pointer Finger: Sockeye Salmon (you can sock somebody's eye out).
Middle Finger: King Salmon (Its the biggest fish and the middle finger is the biggest finger).
Ring Finger: Silver Salmon (You wear silver rings on your ring finger).
Pinkie: Pink Salmon (if you can't figure out that one... well... I won't go there...)

There you have it! And when I said I'd quiz you. I mean it!

Yes I know, I broke my promise.

But in my defense, the old computer just flat out died on us and we had to buy a new one. We have had this one for, oh I don't know.... a week or so, but I've just been too tired to blog.

Probably the most exciting thing that has happened was our whale watching tour. We saw some humpbacks and some sea lions! First we came across 3 humpbacks together which is apparently not common. It was a mom, her baby and her "escort". The escort pretty much just helps the mom get food for herself and the baby, but isn't the father of the baby. Weird system... But whatever makes them happy! The baby was SOOO cute to watch. It was pretty close to the boat and was just playing around at the surface. Rolling around like crazy! The Sea Lions were an absolute crack up. They made the funniest noises and some of them were as interested in us as we were of them. There were these 3 big fat ones, 2 of them were beating up the little guys and one was just sitting on the rock with his head tilted back sleeping. (There is a picture of him on Facebook, I suggest you take a look because it's really funny!)

So, for the funny story of the evening (and when I say evening I mean it happened THIS evening, as I was typing!) I present!!!!!:

The Roommates Vs. The Wood Spider!

Here I am blogging and putting pictures up on facebook when I hear my roommates Katy and Jescy gasp and start shaking some sort of linen object. I look up to see whats going on and they are shaking Jescy's vest and are talking about the huge wood spider they just saw on it. Of course, us being girls start squealing and asking Colin to kill it. He gets up to get a paper towel and Jescy in her infinite wisdom decides to keep shaking the jacket. Katy tells her she will lose it if she keeps going and sure enough, when Colin comes back its missing. Of course we have to have carpet THE SAME COLOR as the flipping spider so here we are, Katy crouching on the bean bag chair, Jescy and Colin standing up and me on the couch with my feet up scanning the carpet looking for a moving brown object. No luck. Of course Colin has to throw in a joke and says "It's probably headed towards Katy" to freak her out. We start trying to figure out where it has gone and just keep freaking ourselves out. Jescy needed to move something across the room so she walks VERY slowly across the floor watching her every step and the one she doesn't she of course feels like she stepped on it so we all get excited all over again. Over what? A pine needle of some sort... Yeah.. I know. So we still can't find the spider. Spider: 1, Roommates: 0

Luckily for you all, I have 3 days off this week AND a working computer so there will be more adventures to read!

Sick Day and Internet Connections

So, I'm bored... hence the post! So are you all ready to hear about my oh so exciting day? Hold on to your hat folks because here it comes! [|:-) <-- Yes... that is a smiley face wearing a hat, don't judge me...--

So I wake up this morning feeling yucky, but since I had to be in by 7 there was no way I could call in sick. I dragged my butt out of bed and proceeded to get ready. I figured that I just needed to wake up and get some fresh air. So off on my purple mountain bike I went. (Btw, I ride with one of the girls living with us because we are good at motivating each other) By the time I got to work I wasn't feeling any better, in fact it was worse but that was only the start. I went to look at our board (the board we write the schedule on and a lot of other things you wouldn't understand.) and almost had a heart attack when I saw it. My tour was BOOKED completely... Wonderful... so now I feel like crap and will be crazy busy all day. Luckily for me, my wonderful coworker Brandi wanted hours and only had one helicopter to load all day and I wanted to go home so we were able to switch shifts and after about 2 hours I was able to leave. WOOHOO!! The fact that I knew rest was on its way made me feel a little better, well, better enough to ride my purple mountain bike to the bus stop.

My bike has requested to remain anonymous, so alas, this bike is only a paid actress... Sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment this may have caused!

When I got home I got so lucky, I was able to turn on Colin's computer. (Yes, it really is a challenge. Don't ask me to explain, because it's beyond me today to try and put the problem into coherent explanation.) As I am minding my own business, watching stuff on Netflix when all the sudden the internet stopped working. I tried everything my tired mind could think to do. I went and checked with my roommate, Katy, and she was having internet problems too. After turning off the pain in the butt computer and some phone calls I figured out the problem... The internet jack in the wireless router that connects the router to the modem doesn't hold the plug in tight. So I taped them together and tried to turn on the computer again... no luck. So I give the computer some time to cool down and use my Ipod to watch Netflix on. But since I was already having so much luck today (or lack of it..) my Ipod decides to act up. I could watch about 30 minutes of my show and then it would go back to my main screen on my Ipod, quite frustrating. So after 2 or 3 times of that happening I try to turn on the computer again and voila! It worked! But my joy was short lived.. The internet on the computer, not working. Thats right, you read it. No. Internet. Connection! BUT it was working on my Ipod so it was time to turn on my computer detective mode! I went into the network connections and somehow the internet connection had been disabled... I didn't do it! So I figure that all I had to do was re-enable it. Yeah... no... didn't work. So now what?! I had a thought, and it seemed crazy but I decided to try it anyways. I switched the Ethernet cord from jack 1 in the router to jack 4, then tried the internet again, and it worked! Technology is a pain.

And now, two videos that are bound to please!

That is all!

Well, to sum up...

It's been a month (I know, it's awful) since I've been able to post... I was honestly starting to go through blogging withdrawal! So, let me sum up what has happened....

Colin joined me in Juneau the night after I got in! We are now living in an apartment with 2 co-workers who are awesome and we only pay $700 a month for rent! We are still sleeping on an air mattress, and that probably won't change until we are in a more permanent location (aka not Juneau), though once we have started our family and are a little more stable with the finances we are DEFINITELY moving back to Alaska because lets face it, Alaska is the most awesome place EVER.

I LOVE MY JOB! I meet people from all over the world and I send them to one of the most amazing things on the planet, a glacier, by helicopter. How much better could it get! Things I've learned you ask? 1.Well, I can now hot fuel a helicopter, which is fueling a helicopter while the blades are turning, I must say I look pretty epic!
2. Women from Thailand think that the sanitary napkin box is a trash can for all of their used toilet paper and seat covers (gross I know, but hey! You never know when you may need that kind of information!)
3. Colin McDaniel is the best husband EVER!!!
4: The reason there is blue ice on the glacier is because the ice is so condensed that the blue rays can't soak into it and instead bounce back giving it the extremely blue appearance.

Now for some exciting stories!

First day off we had while living in the apartment me and my other roommate, Katy, went and explored the public transportation in Juneau. We first walked to Wells Fargo to get some quarters since we were pretty much clueless on how the bus system worked and didn't know if they took dollar bills or nickels or dimes and such. After getting a roll of quarters each we set out towards the post office. I knew where it was, but I didn't know exactly which bus stop we wanted to get off at. So here we are riding a long and we pass the turn we would need to take to get to said post office.... now what?! So we got off at the next stop possible and walked about a mile to the post office. Then we headed to safeway where we could have access to internet to look up the bus schedule and see if there was a closer bus stop that would take us back home. We didn't see anything so in frustration we decided it was time for something sweet from the bakery. After filling our tummies with yummy desserts we decided it would be best to call the bus main office and ask them. Sure enough there was much closer, but how to get there and in ten minutes... we had no clue. So as we walk out trying to figure out directions a cute little old lady stopped us and asked us where we needed directions to. We told her and she started giving us directions, but to the wrong place! She realized this and quickly started giving us directions to the right spot. We asked her if we could make it there in 10 minutes and she said "oh, you can make it there in 5!" Katy kindly pointed out that we were walking and she offered us a ride there. Since there were two of us and she seemed totally harmless we decided to accept. We felt even safer when we saw the beanie baby pugs in the back of her car and the pug seat covers. We made it to the bus stop, and were able to get home thanks to the pug lady.

In one day (the day the Thai groups were in) I got enough pictures taken of me to fill 2 or 3 photo albums! I am probably going to be famous in Thailand, well at least the facebook part of it! I also got offered a discount at a SWEET hotel right on the beach by the owner of the hotel who just happened to be in my group. He was one of the few people I encountered that morning that spoke any english. The interpreters were an absolute crack up! They thought it was the funniest thing when I tried to pronounce their names and would laugh and laugh and then give me a big hug. One even told me I sounded like an American.... no, really?! Next day I had a group come in that had been told by the vendor that sold them their tour that they would be going on the dog sledding tour, sadly this was not what he sold them. He sold them the Mendenhall Tour (which is roughly $300 less than dog sledding...) They were so disappointed! I felt so bad for them! BUT back to the main story... One of the lady's was wearing this amazing panda hat. You know a white hat with cute little black ears on it and a panda face on the front. I told her that I thought it was just adorable and this was our conversation:
Panda Hat Lady (PHL): When I get back down from the glacier I will give it to you.
Me: Oh no, I couldn't take your hat!
PHL: No, I want you to have it.
(not wanting to argue) Me: Ok
So I figured she would forget about it after being on that awesome glacier and helicopter ride and to make sure I didn't make her remember the conversation I hid in the back. My coworker, Jay, had known what I was doing and I was surprised when he walked into the hanger laughing and telling me that the panda hat lady asked to see me... my response: If you are joking with me, you are in SO much trouble. He wasn't. I go out there and meet her and she hands it to me and says "A lot of people have told me how much they love my hat, but I think you deserve to have it." She hugs me and gives me that hat. How could you say no to that?! You can't.

This isn't the EXACT hat... but you get the point :)

 Now for the best story.....
Once upon a time, there was a young lady who worked as a TEMSCO employee. One day she came into work only to be told that she wasn't assigned an aircraft for the day. She was asked to wait and double check with the manager when she came in. So after waiting for 45 minutes or so she was finally told that she was to cover someones aircraft while they went on a tour! She reluctantly said ok and proceeded to cover the shift, but of course she complained to her prince charming (who also happened to be a pilot at the same company) about how upset she was. He, being the awesome prince charming he is, went and talked to his manager and was secretly setting up a tour for her. After it was all set up he came and told her that she would be able to go up on the Mendenhall Glacier and that HE would be her pilot! Her dream come true! Once her shift was over she hurried home to change out of her capri's and relax for a little while before the tour. She took a nap and set her alarm clock for 3pm giving her enough time to change, fix her hair and be out the door to the bus by 3:32. She napped for about an hour, then woke up and decided that she should just get ready and head over there earlier. As soon as she was ready she received a phone call from her prince telling her that he was on his way to pick her up since she had been moved to an earlier flight! "Good thing I got ready earlier" she thought to herself. She watched out the window as her handsome prince pulled up in a maroon mini van to pick her up. When she got to the base she was given the full tourist treatment. Her stylish glacier boots were put on her, she was put into a group and assigned a seat by the tour attendant and last but not least loaded into the shiny helicopter and had her seat belt put on for her. She watched as her handsome prince started to take off in the helicopter and through the flight had a hard time keeping her eyes off him even though there was some amazing scenery all around her (don't worry though, she got lots of pictures and saw a lot of stuff even if she was distracted). He announced to the passengers that the woman in the back seat at the far left was his wife and that it was her first time ever flying with him so it was a special flight for both of them (everyone looked a lot more comfortable after that). After expertly landing on the glacier one of her good friends unloaded her out of the helicopter and she walked over with the others to the glacier guides. After seeing a few spots with the other tourists she was taken on a private tour of the glacier and saw an amazing ice cave. She drank the glacier water which was the purest water she ever tasted (forget the fountain of youth... it should be called the glacier river of youth!) Then she watched as her prince landed the helicopter on the ice and she was again loaded into the helicopter and she began her trip back to the heliport. After landing back at the heliport she was unloaded and greeted by her coworkers with whom she shared pictures and told them how amazing it was and how they needed to go up there too! To complete her tourist experience she even had one of the coworkers take her picture with the big stuffed bear they had in the base. She waited for her prince to finish up the day at work and then headed home on the bus to relax together. The End.

So this is all I can remember right now.... It's hard to come up with a months worth of stuff in 24 hours.... But I vow never to get this behind on my blog again!

Dissapointment Strikes Again!!

So, we thought we would be living the life. You know, housboat in Alaska, paying minimal rent, going out on our deck and catching dinner. But I should have known that with my luck it wouldn't really be THAT easy.

Our Housing problem:
 Pretty much the boat my friend was going to buy got sold the night before and he never called to tell her that so we got all excited and BAM it was no more.

Other Problems:
On TOP of all that, Colin won't be in Juneau when I get there tomorrow :( Sigh.... I was kinda hoping Heavenly Father would let me catch a break on this one, you know, since I'm moving 2017 MILES away from home for the FIRST TIME EVER... Apparently I'm not allowed to catch a break though. Oh well., somehow it will all work out. It definitely won't be comfortable for me though. We also realized we need to buy a car. Colin has to be at work at like 7 and won't be off till after 5 and the bus system runs from 8-5. Of course! I'm sure you all guessed that would happen.

As you can see, I may have the Worst. Luck. Ever. Seriously I could write a book with that title and people would read it because they would be so amazed at the things that happen. Pretty sure that a lot of the stuff has like a 1 in a million chance of happening to people (maybe I'm exaggerating a little there, but it sure feels that way!). But it happens to me.

I'm sure it will all work out, because that is what Heavenly Father seems to be telling me.... but when you are moving 2017 MILES away it feels a lot better to have a set plan. Which obviously I don't. I'm praying for a miracle today. Somehow, Some way something will come up and I will have a plan. But somehow I doubt that will happen..... I guess I just have to walk into this mess... uh.. I mean.. adventure.... with faith in God and in His plan for me and my Colin.

Housing Dilemma Pt. 2

Well, here is the update! I talked to one of the Bishops and he explained whySO the housing is the way it is right now...

Ready... ready?! Ok!

The Alaskan Legislature extended their session for another 30 days. Typically when the legislature is excused the legislators leave and rent out their places for the summer and thats we poor seasonal job people find housing. Well since they extended LOTS of people are stuck like I am!

**Poof**

I instantly didn't feel like such an idiot! It all made sense!

So after lots of prayer for a place to live, we MAY have something.

Here is how it happened....

My friend Nicole mentioned my dilemma to an old HS friend who lives in Juneau, Linsie. She added me as a friend on facebook and immediately started networking me out! She added me to a group of women that are from Juneau and posted on there what I was looking for. Not only is she helping me look for a place to live, but, she is telling me all about Juneau and how awesome it is. It has made the whole process so much easier for me. Especially since I actually KNOW someone there other than my husband and a few of the other pilots... who might I add are all men. Having a woman to talk to is going to be crucial haha. ANYWAYS got on a tangent there.......
Back to the point! Yesterday she writes me on facebook and asks "So, Miss Hannah, who's never even seen the ocean...are you interested in perhaps living ON the ocean?" my thought... Ummmm DUH! Of course I am! Dream come true if you ask me! Here is the catch... They need to buy it first and because of that it may not happen... If it did, that would be awesome, if not, well at least we have somewhere to stay for the next few weeks until legisature is out, which will also give us time to maybe find other couples to rent with and get a house.

Whatever happens, I WILL be in Juneau in 3 days and I WILL get to see my husband this week! Thank goodness!

Here is a little Easter Treat!

I figured I would share some of my favorite Easter songs. Nothing can touch your heart like music can. Enjoy!

Christ The Lord Is Risen Today: Mormon Tabernacle Choir



How Great Thou Art: Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill



Because He Lives: Sally Deford Perf. by Allyse Smith Taylor and James Loynes Acc. by Marvin Goldstein

Housing Dilemma.... Fun Fun......?

So, here is the deal. Juneau is the most difficult place ever to find housing.. seriously! No Joke! If it wasn't for the people I had doing ground work in Juneau... I would be in HUGE trouble. I still may be in trouble. I have 6 days.. count them, SIX, to find housing for me and Colin. To add on to the problem everything there is SO expensive. $1100 a month for a ONE bedroom apartment.... really? Maybe I'm so shocked by it since I worked for a property management company here in Prescott and I know the area prices well.... Oh well. I guess I will just have to bite the bullet and accept the inevitable.... On top of all that we are hoping to find a furnished apartment. Can't take the bed with me on the airplane! At least Colin gets a food allowance! That will make it easier for us to pay rent and eat well. And Costco food court food is the exact same price as it is everywhere else, well, so I hear. $1.50 for a hot dog and a drink? Yes please!! Well as unlikely as it is, if anyone hears anything about housing in AK, PLEASE let me know!!!!

Well... I wasn't going to do this...

BUT!!! Here I am!


So... the last couple weeks of my life? Well, they have been crazy! Lets start at the beginning of my time as a McDaniel shall we?

March 26th, 2011

First thing I see is the note that I set for my alarm clock....

 "WEDDING DAY!!!!!!"

 The day that I had been waiting for my whole life. The day that for a little while seemed like it would never come. After having a date, then having to cancel it due to job after job falling through for Colin and then BAM!! He got a call from TEMSCO Helicopters Inc. on March 12th, 2011 and had to be in Alaska by April 4th. Suddenly I had a date again... March 26th, 2011.

After a hectic 2 weeks of wedding planning I was exhausted. I had stayed up late the night before working on my playlist and setting up for the reception so needless to say waking up at 5 AM was the last thing I wanted to do. I had showered the night before and I put my hair in curlers and had to be in Mesa by 8 AM. Needless to say, we didn't get out of the driveway till 6:30..... So after a nice LONG car ride (longest drive of my life...) we arrived at the temple. Jenny Christensen, who was doing my hair, had found two empty parking spots and promptly stood in the one she didn't take and saved it for us (that didn't make the people before us who wanted that spot very happy... but hey! It was my wedding day right?!)

We got into the temple and quickly got my hair up all pretty like and I met Colin in the temple lobby to wait to go to verification. I had left my family in charge of getting the extra stuff (veil, flower for my hair, marriage certificate and the bouquet). They got 1 out of the 4 things into the temple (better than nothing!) So we get to verification and they ask for our marriage certificate... uh oh... we don't have it! Luckily that wasn't something I was going to forget and we had gotten it into the car. My Dad went out to get it and after what seemed like an eternity he came back with it and delivered it with pizzaz! He had it in a briefcase all by itself and opened it all fancy like, it made a tense situation a little more comfortable!

The ceremony was beautiful. I was so excited and all I could think was "In a few minutes, we will be married. I will be Mrs. Hannah McDaniel!" He said Yes, then I said Yes and then we were pronounced husband and wife and Colin kissed his wife for the first time :) As people filed out of the room they gave us hugs and kisses and went outside to wait for the monumental "walking out the door of the temple picture". I was whisked off to get changed into my beautiful wedding dress and have my hair double checked and perfected for pictures. A cute little old lady came into the bathroom and informed me that my groom was ready and waiting for me. A few more bobby pins and a spray of hairspray later I was in the arms of my Husband ready to walk out those temple doors. What a FEELING! For years I had watched (and envied) other brides do the same thing and there I WAS! Me and my best friend.

After a few hours of pictures and lunch we headed home. We stopped by Circle K (our favorite drink place.. can't beat $.87 for a 44oz soda!!) and got a Coke and a Dr. Pepper. That was something that we had been doing our entire relationship and here we are a happily newly-wedded couple doing the same thing we had been for over a year. It was grand! Our reception was beautiful thanks to some amazing friends and we escaped with only minimal car decorations. It was a long long day, but it was so worth it!

After 4 days of married bliss...

It was time for my amazing man to head off to Alaska. He would first drive from Prescott Valley to Salt Lake and then from Salt Lake to Richland and then from Richland to Seattle to catch a flight to Ketchikan. Our first month of marriage, we spend 4 days together... The emptyness I felt those first few days was unbelievable, and to an extent I still feel it now. Our little apartment, where all our memories were made, lost all of it's homey-ness. I felt utterly alone. Then when it came to turn in my keys, I didn't want to do it! I didn't want to give up that place that held all of our memories. Our relationship had blossomed there. We fell in love there, and I didn't want to give that up to someone else. Talk about an emotional roller coaster!

At the Present

Now here I am, still waiting to see my best friend again. One week from this moment I will be with him, and I cannot wait for that! As hard as it has been, I think I have fallen even more in love with him. We have never been apart this long in a year and 3 months. If this had happened while we were still engaged or dating, it may have been easier. But since we are now "one" it feels like half of me is missing. But it won't be like that for much longer.