Summer 2010 Recap

Okay, I know this blog has pretty much been dead for almost a year, but now that we're heading into fall and basketball season hasn't picked up yet, I have some dead time to update this thing.

First, a quick recap of the summer...
Barrus Family Reunion, Los Angeles California

In June, Jake and I flew to southern California for a Barrus reunion.

We had an amazing time with everybody, but especially with our two nieces, Kylie and Maura, and loved hanging out with Brody, our sole nephew on my side of the family.
<---This is Brody and Kylie at Magic Mountain. They did this game at the beginning, and since all participants get a prize, they both got to rock superman capes around the park that day. I really wish I would have gotten a picture because they looked fabulous.

Erin's Wedding in McCall, ID
Mid-July I had the chance to fly down to Boise and be the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding. Unfortunately, Jake chose to use his time off to go on a caribou hunting trip later on in the summer, and I went by myself. But, being there by myself gave me the opportunity to have a week long girl power party! The week before wedding weekend, I was able to run around with Janny and her best friend Lori. Seems like there's not much we can't find something to laugh about. Then, it was time to drive to McCall for the big day. The wedding was gorgeous, and I was finally able to hang out with Erin's new husband AJ and see for myself what a perfect couple they are. If you need evidence, just observe the picture to the left. SO ADORABLE and yes, I know typing in all caps means I'm technically yelling that but I mean it...SO ADORABLE

These are all the bridesmaids with the blushing bride right before we walked to the pavilion for the ceremony. That was my first time visiting the Shore Lodge but it was a fantastic venue and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Unfortunately I didn't get any good outside photos of the fabulous view of the lake from the ceremony or the reception hall, but take my word for it...it was amazing.





Girl's Camp, LaDaSa Camp Willow, Alaska

I am glad Mary Ann doesn't read my blog because I'm pretty sure she would murder me if she saw I put this picture of her on here. In any case, four days after I got back from my week in Boise I left for girl's camp as I was the ward camp director this year. It was rainy, cold, and gloomy most of the week. Luckily Jake outfit me with all his waterproof camo gear and I found the cutest pink polka dot rain boots, so I was dressed appropriately. And since this year we almost completely certified the girls before they even got there, we had little responsibility and got to party most of the week. Perhaps it's a bad sign when girls come out of their cabins in the middle of the night to scold noisy leaders, but it sure was fun for us! I also swam outside for the first time since moving to Alaska during an excursion to swim across the lake with Mary Ann. Had I known she was planning on doing a full on sprint freestyle, I might have reconsidered, but it was a fun way to end the week.

I literally walked into my front door from girl's camp and met up with Jake's parents who had flown in that morning from Boise. They took a much needed three week vacation, and it was a riot having them here! Our trip was packed full of fishing, hiking, drives, good food, card games, and movie nights. I didn't take too many pictures, but I hijacked this one from my mother-in-law's facebook. The cute couple on the far right is Jake's cousin, Lael and her boyfriend Dan. They came to visit from Portland the week I was at girl's camp. Luckily, they stayed through the weekend so Dennis and Laraine could hang out with them before they returned home.

Throw in a couple basketball camps, trying to find an investment property to buy and continuing to finish the never-ending trim and outside work needed on our own house, we had kind of a crazy summer! And somehow we figured out how to enjoy it even with it being the gloomiest, rainiest summer on record for Anchorage. My poor in-laws suffered through all the rain Alaska had to offer, only for it to clear up the day after they flew out. It's been nothing but sunny skies since then, so I guess we'll settle for a beautiful fall.

And So It's Begun

Basketball season that is. Not that I was posting more than monthly before, but now it's been all too consuming. Our games started last week, and after four we are 2-2. I am so excited with the girls I have this year, most are young but have incredible potential to be rockstars in the next two years. This week our schedule is four games straight on the road, two being in Kenai where I get to re-live my high school travel team days of sleeping in a gym. Good thing Jake insisted I buy a mini-blow up mattress for our backpacking trips!

Happy Birthday Jake!!!

I have been super light on the posting these days, and don't anticipate I'll have enough time for the next few months to really get consistent with it, but I did want to post a quick 'Happy B-day' to my honey. Today Jake turns 27, and so far it's been a pretty pleasant, yet uneventful day. It's been the year of home gifts-- dishes, towels, and deep fryers...I feel like we're getting wedding presents all over again.

We don't have any huge plans for birthdays this year, which is kind of abnormal for this house; I make it a point to set aside a full 'Birthday Week' celebration for each of us to keep with the traditions from my family, and usually Jake's begging me to STOP GIVING HIM STUFF FOR HIS BIRTHDAY by the time its all said and done. This year, we're playing it pretty low key...for our joint birthday gifts to each other we went to the Lion King two weeks ago, and that was fantastic, but unfortunately that left us with no excitement for the actual birthdays...

So I'm off to take a birthday nap with my sweetie and we'll see where the night takes us. I'd love to post a mushy heartfelt post about him and how wonderful he is, but he wouldn't know how to get to my blog even if he wanted to, and I'm not thinking the rest of you really want to hear about this amazing husband I happen to have...so we'll just leave it at Happy Birthday JAKEY! :)

More Ice Cream Please

So...what to say about today? (I must apologize in advance to my mother-in-law who despises the following phrase) IT SUCKS. I won't go into detail and list all the events that have led to me wanting to kick an unsuspecting stranger in the kneecap, but trust me...that's the point I've reached, and it's hardly 1 in the afternoon. So instead, I'm still in my pajamas and am catching up on the last week's worth of my soap that I have to DVR. Yes...those of you that think daytime soaps are 'below them'...I watch One life to Live every weekend marathon style while I fold a week's worth of laundry and do homework. Judge if you feel it necessary, but I've been hooked since I was a wee pre-teen and would watch everyday with my Mom (who would change the channel with the 'smut' scenes would play).

Outside we are finally getting our driveway excavated today and there is large machinery tearing up the entire yard. I can't get my car out of the garage to go anywhere and I'm stuck...STUCK I TELL YOU in my house until it gets leveled out.

I'm off to drown my sorrows in another hot fudge sundae!

Finally! First Visitors this Summer

Since we moved to Anchorage four years ago (Wow...it still is unbelievable that we've been here for FOUR YEARS...we planned on staying for a year to prove to our nay-saying family that we could handle all Alaska could bring...and now we'll be here forever...) Where was I? Right. Talking about the number of visitors we get. Until this summer, our routine was to drop off one bunch at the airport and pick up another group until the end of August when the smart ones retreat to much more sensible places to spend the winter.

But this year?? I'm not sure whether we should blame it on the economy or take it personally, but we are one day away from August beginning and we are only getting our first visitors to the great state of Alaska this season. What have we done with the summer since the usual tour guide trips haven't taken place? (Last summer I swore off Flattop, Saturday's Market, Whittier, and church in Girdwood after making weekly trips with new people). I'm not really sure...but Jake and I are back in the loop with all our fav TV shows and have gotten through five seasons of 24 in a month, so I'm actually really excited for the company and excuses to visit all those places I grew sick of. So, we get two weeks to hang out with Jake's little sis Jessica and her new husband Alex. It will be a blast; and we'll finally get to spend time with Alex, who we only met two days before their wedding last January.

Also, to give them a plug to whole four of you that read this: They are here for two weeks and will be bringing up their supplies for window washing---they have a side business to pay for school down in Pocatello. SO...if your windows look half as bad as mine, give me a call...They do a great job and are the cheapest you'll get around. *Win Win*

Okay maybe it wasn't this bad...

This morning, while attempting to appear busy at the office, Jake was telling my father and me about the outing he had with his friend Clint. They drove down to the Russian River, infamous for being one of the most red salmon populated rivers, and hiked to the falls where you can see salmon jumping through rapids and over rocks to continue on their journey of death. Jake continued to rant about what a wonderful time he had until we decided working wasn't all it was cracked up to be...isn't that the main reason people become self-employed? To slack off on a whim? We packed the car up and took of towards the Kenai Peninsula for a day on the river. Fast forward three and a half hours later, we were experiencing all the success we had dreamt about...meaning Jake and Dad had limited (aka caught 3 salmon), and I only had one left to catch before we were done for the day. As I ventured out mid-river, the boys began to clean the fish and pack them for the hike back out. And, keeping with the trend we'd enjoyed all afternoon, the first cast resulted in a huge salmon hooked. Because I tend to get overly excited when I catch fish, I was making a lot of noise cheering myself on while Jake and Dad continued to coach me to the shore to beach my prize. Suddenly, I heard Jake, in a low cautioned voice, say a dirty word.

As I turned around to follow Jake's eyes behind me, I came face to face with a brown bear, 20 feet upriver from me, entering the water. As I continued to inch towards the shore, both Jake and Dad stepped in between me and my new furry friend. Making an effort to scare it off, they both were waving all their extremities and yelling at the top of their lungs. And because I am obscenely ignorant in situations like this, I continued to fight with the salmon to get it on shore and bring our tally to 12.

Oh yes...and did I mention that this sow had two cubs? And that she was inching closer every second while keeping her eye on what she saw as a delicious free meal? (The meal being my fish and us being her only obstacle)... I just needed to make sure the tension was building appropriately.

Jake quickly realized that her goal was the fighting fish on my line, and instructed me to immediately cut it loose...and so I immediately began tripping over myself in my over sized waders in search of a sharp object as to avoid a sudden and excruciating death. As I cut the line, the bear must have continued coming towards us because it entered Jake's comfort zone, and he made the appropriate decision to shoot a round in the air with his .45.

As the smoke cleared, I saw the sow change directions, step back, and continue giving Jake one hell of a stink eye until she found her cubs and ran off up the hill.

Fearing that we were still in danger, I was trying to rid ourselves of the cursed fish that was still flipping around on the beach by kicking it back into the river. My Dad, an avid salmon eater, saw me trying to free a perfectly good salmon, and knowing we were bear free, started raving like a mad man to keep the fish on the beach. After all, one fish is worth two fillets, and two fillets is good for two salmon dinners. To ensure I wasn't going to continue attempts to free the little fella, Dad grabbed the knife I used to cut the line, picked up the fish, and cut its head off. At least he had his priorities straight.

Happy ending: We limited on salmon and hiked back to the car safely. Also, in light of the recent events, Dad decided it was a good time to learn how to use the bear mace he had been carrying around for protection for the last year. Nothing like a brush with death to make one realize the importance of being prepared.

Blah

Jake just ran into the house in a panic because evidently my shouts at the television can be heard twenty yards down the road. What can I say? Presidential News Conferences bring out my True Texan side...

Couric's Getting Funky

So its 2:30am, and I'm still up, unable to sleep thanks to my four hour nap this evening after an all nighter including the midnight Harry Potter premiere and a semi-successful attempt to dipnet for our annual sustinence salmon fishing on the Kenai.

I was watching CNN and Anderson Cooper had a blip from the website, www.autotunethenews.com. Can I just say HILARIOUS?!?! I was laughing as hard as I could without waking up Jake who's asleep on the couch across from me, but its worth visiting and browsing the site. One of these days I'll figure out how to put in the video directly on here but I just don't have the energy tonight.

Just like I said after the 'Musical Scrubs' episode, everything sounds better when sung.

Its Not That Bad

Yesterday brought the first bit of warm weather and sunshine we've had in weeks. Jake and I couldn't help ourselves, we got off the couch, out the door, and went on a hike. I know, from the picture this trail looks more like a walk on a gravel road...but Sitka did get hot and thirsty so we bushwacked it down to a creek. My shins have the scrapes to prove it.

As we were walking, I realized the background for Jake and Sitka made quite a Kodak moment. Look at me being all artsy. Days like that make me realize that even though life really blows sometimes, when I can leave my house, and in ten minutes be enjoying this kind of natural beauty and serenity, life really can't be that hard.

We'll see how I'm feeling the next time it rains.

May We Have Gratitude During Our Trials

Last Sunday the woman offering the closing prayer in church asked for the ability to show gratitude in the trials we face. In light of what Jake and I have been going through the last two weeks, this struck my attention and pierced my heart. Two weeks ago today, I miscarried our little boy at 16 weeks. Honestly, talking about it with anybody but Jake has been really hard for me. I know that when I am trying to offer support to somebody I love when they are dealing with a tragedy, well, frankly its awkward. I never know what to say, and offering advise or the cliche encouraging words never seem genuine enough.

With that said, there have been so many wonderful friends and family members that have said something that offered comfort. They've dropped by dinner when I realized I hadn't eaten more than a granola bar all day. Flowers were left on the doorstep almost every day for the last two weeks, and being the first home decor items placed in the kitchen, it made my house start feeling 'homey'. Some friends texted me a one line message of love and support that brightened my day more than I'm sure they ever thought it would. And, in a successful effort to cheer me up, my best friend, Erin, asked me to be her Maid of Honor in her wedding next summer.

But, even with the incredible people we have in our lives, it still hurts. A lot. And about the time I think that I am feeling better and moving forward, I have a day where it seems like everything happened five minutes ago. I guess that's the nature of grief...and it's excruciating.

I was not really sure how to post about this, or if I even wanted to. It seemed too personal, but at the same time this is the only record I keep of my life, and I felt it was important to do something. Then, that line from the prayer I heard came to mind and gave me an idea. I am going to post today about the gratitude I have for the blessings that have been given to me throughout this experience. Hopefully it will be uplifting for those who read and it will be something I can reflect on when I wake up and feel its going to be one of those days that knocks me back to square one in dealing with this.

First and most importantly, I'm grateful for Jake. I wish I was a better writer so I could adequately express how incredibly amazing he is. After five years of being married to this man, this experience has made me realize that I really can love him more than I thought I already could. To list the many, many ways he has been there for me would take weeks. But the last two weeks we reached a level in our relationship we didn't know was there. One that handed us a whole new perspective on what it truly meant to be an eternal family. He is my rock, and I truly could not imagine myself ever being without him. I love him, and am certain I will never doubt the strength of our relationship or ability to survive anything we face as long as it is together.

I'm grateful for the doubts that have been erased as to whether or not I'm ready to be a mother. After the positive pregnancy test, there were many fears, and even reservations on my ability to take on parenthood. I know now that I can care and love a child. I am ready for the challenges and blessings motherhood promises.

I'm grateful to have my testimony in my Heavenly Father and his plan for me tested. I know that sounds strange, but it has always been unusually easy for me to question how much I really believed in God, the plan of salvation, and my purpose here on Earth. I have lived a charmed life, with minimal challenges and very few tragedies. This miscarriage was easily the most traumatic and tragic event in my life, yet almost immediately after it happened I knew, without a doubt, that it was always supposed to work out that way. I had the knowledge that my baby was not to be born on this Earth and had already returned to my Heavenly Father. Never before in my life have I been so sure of my faith.

I'm grateful for the family and friends that I have grown closer to throughout this experience. My mother-in-law and I had an incredible conversation that made me start recognizing these blessings I've written about. My Dad shared an experience he had shortly after the miscarriage that increased my faith and gave me the comfort I was so desperately needing. We truly have amazing people that love and care for us.

I am certain that there are so many more ways I am growing. I know that the Lord truly refines us through these trials and tribulations, and only through pain can we experience the joy. I have faith that the time will come that we will view this as a hurdle we had to jump to reach our end goal. In the meantime, we will hold fast to our knowledge of eternal families and the plan of salvation.

So, to sum it up for our friends and family, thank you for the phone calls, e-mails, and text messages; they truly encouraged us. Thank you for the meals, flowers, cards, and treats; they went a long way into making our house feel like a home. Thank you for the prayers; we've felt ever one of them.

I'm Baaaack

This is my reaction to our first waterfall hike off the Hana Highway. The tourist book claimed it was a 'short jaunt'...but this 'jaunt' quickly turned into a horrifyingly small cliff side trail that offered no guardrail, rope, or anything else to stop me from plummeting to my death 1000 feet below. Jake thought my squatting down into a crawl position was humorous...but that's because he didn't realize I was sitting like this because I about peed my pants.

Holy cow, we leave for one week and it seems like the whole world fell apart while we were living in Paradise. North Korea blew up a Nuclear bomb; Priests are getting arrested at college graduations; and oh yes newest results show that Boston and New York are falling into the ocean within the century due to the melting Greenland glacier...and I got all this from ten minutes of Foxnews.

In any case, we are back and catching up on the numerous things you always seem to fall behind on while you're gone. What's confusing is that it seems like there's even more work than there was before we left...like there is an even higher abundance of dirty clothes in my laundry room, the spoiled food in my refrigerator has grown exponentially in only a week of not being opened, and my desk has three times the amount of papers stacked on it. It's like the little vacation elves visited my laundry room while I was gone and threw all our clothing in the hamper just to screw with me.

But, there is always a bright side to every dark cloud, and mine is that I'm still in the 'Hang Loose' attitude from our trip and I could really care less. So, I will be living in my own filth until I snap out of it...or Jake gets more motivated than I am to clean. Either way, we're heading home for a '24' marathon so Jake and I can catch up to the current season. Since we're only starting Season 3, we'll be camped out on our couch for a while. But how else are we supposed to celebrate buying our first big screen??

9 Days and Counting....

No...nothing baby related. A week from Saturday Jake and I hop on a direct flight to Maui for seven glorious days of bliss. Living in Alaska for four years (I cannot believe it's been that long) and never vacationing in Hawaii is practically a sin against the state.

Since last May, we have been working ourselves day and night on the house, and now that we have closed on our refinance and all pressure is off we are ready to party hardy...which for us means a Coke with possibly a shot of cherry flavoring...we'll see how crazy we feel.

In any case, this will be our first vacation we have taken that requires flying, not visiting family or attending family functions, and where Jake doesn't spend the majority of it in appraisal continuing education classes. There's sure to be lots of pictures when we get back~ but for now I'm just looking forward to a week where the biggest decision I will have to make is what swimsuit to wear and where to eat.

Coming to a Hospital Near Us This November

Our exciting news was posted on Facebook yesterday, but just in case there are few of you that don't use Facebook, we are pregnant! The due date is 11-23-09, and we just couldn't be happier that it all timed itself perfectly for us to finish the house just in time for me to be exhausted every day at 2pm. I have to say though, at 10 weeks, the pregnancy Gods have been very very nice to me. No morning sickness, no upset stomach, not even horrible fatigue (for the most part). I'm knocking on wood as I type this for fear of belated symptoms, but this whole thing seemed so abstract...until my ultrasound yesterday that showed a real baby with arms and legs. After our first ultrasound, I had a picture of a dot, but now I have a true blue picture and it's sort of freaking me out.

Its amazing that after years of trying to get to this point, we could be so shocked and awed, but we are and as it sinks in expect lots of anxious posts filled with questions I would love answers to.

Hello again

I'm not sure if anybody even reads this anymore---hopefully it will make it worth my while if I start posting a little more regularly---like more than once in the last 6 months!

This one will be a short entry as I am, just like the last year, pressed for time. Business is crazier than ever thanks to the incredibly low interest rates. Word to the wise: If you are a homeowner and can refinance, CHECK INTO IT! Even if you think you have a great rate when you bought a couple years ago, chances are if you've purchased in the last four years or so there's a good possibility you could save quite a bit in your monthly payment because rates are as low as 4.5% for a 30 year fixed rate. And I'm not even in the mortgage business anymore; considered me an informed third party. :)

In any case, the house is coming down home stretch, and for those that want pictures you will just have to wait until I chisel off the layer of sawdust, mud, paint, etc. that accumulats on EVERYTHING in the house daily since we are still finishing up the two bedrooms in the existing part of the house. But, I can tell you it looks better than Jake and I ever imagined it would and absolutely can't wait to move in full time and quit working on the house!

In a couple weeks I will post pictures and update y'all on what has been happening in our lives for the last 6 months. Eating McDonalds, working on the house and doing appraisals is the short story so let's see if more thinking won't give me more exciting news...

Rain Rain Go Away

AGH! This last summer has appropriately been named "A Bummer of a Summer", but this is getting ridiculous. I can count on one hand how many times the temperatures flirted with the 70s, but that's not even what's gotten my undies in a twirl. I CANNOT STAND THE RAIN ANY LONGER!
If you could choose the worst possible summer to try to build a house, I would nominate this one. It has been a never ending game of waiting until the rain stops for a few hours, running home from the office, changing into grungy clothes and rushing through the siding, roofing, or painting on the outside until the rain begins again. The other night I was so desperate when we finally had a clear day that lasted into the night I used my Dad's incredibly bright utility lamp and painted half the trim on my house well into the dark hours just because it wasn't raining. Nothing like painting by flashlight to brighten your spirits.
In any case, for a status report on the house, the siding is on with the exception of the cedar shake accents we are using on the top of the cables (you can tell where the accent siding will be in the picture where plywood remains), the exterior paint has been finished (even though the picture below is pre-paint) and the front door has been trimmed out. The front door is my favorite part of the outside of this house, and it looks fantastic with base color and trim painted on it. Once I finish painting the actual door, I'll post more pictures next week. For now, here is a before and somewhat recent picture on the progress. If any of you know where I can match the original purple siding with the pink accent trim, I would greatly appreciate it. I think that will be the most missed feature from the original house.
So, it's on to the roof to finish the outside and then we'll be done with our fight with mother nature (this year). In the meantime, be sure to do any anti-rain dances you might know of and send the clear skies up our way...

BEFORE

AS OF LAST WEEK

Can't Stop 'Till I Get Enough

Lately I have been quite the political junkie. What very little time I do have is spent tuning into Foxnews and CNN. I know what you are thinking, "Bonnie, why in the world would you watch CNN, who is very apparently left-wing liberal, and watch Foxnews, a channel that all but runs pro-McCain ads through their oh-so-Republican shows and news reports?

The answer is simple. I love drama... and this election fills that vice for me daily. I don't know what else you can say about it. Between the surprise VP pick (who happens to be my govenor), the outrage it's gotten from so many democrats, particularly the self-proclaimed feminists, the attack ads (coming from both parties), the whining about the opponent's attack ads, the VMA award controversy with that weird dude with the weird hair that they allowed to host, The View with Whoopie and Barbara in all of their glory vs. Cindy McCain, I COULD GO ON FOR HOURS!!! Who needs Grey's Anatomy or The Hills when you have the 2008 Presidential Election?

It's not enough for me to see one side of this fight, either. I have to see the latest accusation, and after watching hours and hours of the breaking news story that is surely going to bury the candidate, I tune to the other channel and watch hours of closely reported arguments against the accusation.

I hated my political science class in college, but the recent events that keep my glued to the boob tube have got me rethinking my major. I can't imagine where I could get this much excitement in accounting!!

Anniversary? Who has the Time?

Long time no talk, Internet! I am making this brief and isolated post because today is my 4 year anniversary. Unfortunately, for the first time in a couple weeks, Jake actually has work to do at the business (It's slowed considerably). So even though we were going to take a day off and have a fun day to ourselves, we're working instead.

I also flaked on Sunday and when asked if I would hold a basketball practice for our upcoming young women's basketball season instead of mutual, I agreed not realizing that Thursday was the 14th...as in August 14th...as in my anniversary. So much for that romantic evening we've both been waiting for! (And by we both I mean me because Jake is still realizing that I'm cootie free)

In any case, I wish I could provide a very cute picture from our wedding or even a nice snapshot of Jake and I lately to post with this, but I can't. My wedding pictures didn't turn out that cute and I don't have any digital pictures anyway...plus my scanner is broken. As for recent pictures, unless you want to see a great shot of me complete with a caulking or nail gun and Jake carrying siding or shingles, we haven't done anything remotely Kodak-moment-worthy in a while. So, all you get is my dedicatory post to my spectacularly wonderful husband.

In four years of spending almost every day together, I have learned just a few things about Jake. He loves to learn how to do or make just about anything he's never done before. Things I have never even thought to notice, Jake pays close attention to, and then proudly points out what he's discovered. For instance, conversations that begin with 'Do you know what that extra piece of metal on that tractor does?' or 'Could you find your way out of the woods without a
compass on a cloudy day?' are all too common in our house. In Jake's mind, life is a puzzle. And to solve it you must pay close attention to everything around you at all times. Always ask why or how and you'll never stop learning. Though sometimes this gets exhausting and confusing for me, I appreciate all the knowledge I've gained--now if I could only remember it!

Jake is a perfect gentleman: if I'm carrying something heavy and he has an extra finger he might be able to balance my load with, he insists I let him carry it. If I'm too cold wearing two sweatshirts, he'll give me his jacket, even it if means he's left with a t-shirt. In my dating years, I found it annoying when a guy would make me wait to let him open doors, or never allowed me to get dirty by walking in the mud. Jake's found the happy medium between chivalry and smothering me with good manners, and I love him all the more for it. I knew he was a keeper when we were first dating and a friend noticed him wipe off a dirty seat on the train with his hand before I sat down. He doesn't do it because he wants all to see his generous and selfless nature, he simply thinks there are ways to act and doesn't think twice about it. His mama raised him right!

Since the beginning of the year, Jake and I have tackled the challenge of beginning a new business together. At first it was incredibly hard to let him take the reigns in the business and allow him to run it the way he wanted to. My control-freak tendencies caused their fair share of arguments, and it was stressful. However, I realized that the reason it was so hard to step back is because in our marriage, we are equal companions. From day one, we've always looked to each other for support, advice, and help with life's trials. As the world throws all variations of obstacles at us, we hurdle them together, hand in hand. Cliche? Yes. But it's this equality between us that has allowed us to grow together, work together, and enjoy life together.

Jake is a wonderful husband, a kind and generous man, and I am grateful every day that I was lucky enough at 19 (yes, 19) to realize I needed him in my life.

Four years down, and all eternity to go.

Belated Happy Birthday

Just wanted to say a quick Happy Birthday to my Mom (last Friday). I really meant to write this when it was actually on her birthday...and then I was tempted to cheat and just change the post date to make it look like I was on time...but I'm trying this new honesty-in-everything life strategy. I hear it's important.

In any case, Mom, I know you only get on this blog because it's the easiest way to navigate to Jonathan and Leah's blog where you can see pictures of your favorite grand baby, but just in case you stop to read this I LOVE YOU and want you to know that you are (and always have been) a huge example to me. I want to grow up and be the woman you are, minus the constant chatting on your cell phone. But without that cell phone ringing at the most inopportune times you wouldn't be who you are. Even though I acted horrified I was secretly proud that I had the loudest cheering mother in the stands at all my basketball games, and was even happy to show off your sweet dance moves at all the high school dances you chaperoned.

I know you hate Alaska but after living so far away from you guys for two years it's been a blast to have you right down the road. Hope you get acclimatized to the cold weather soon and quit wearing sweatshirts in 70 degree weather. This is the best it's going to get.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Think You Have it Bad?

The other night Jake and I, along with my father decided to take an all night 'suicide' fishing trip down to the Russian River for the Red Salmon run. Why an all night fishing trip, you ask? Because there are too many damn tourists on the Russian in daylight that claim to be serious experienced anglers but who in actuality just spent way too much money at Cabela's to complete their "Alaskan Outdoors man Outfit" and drive me to the point of insanity that many a time I've had to talk myself out of whipping my pole just so as to catch the guy's ear next to me for his failed attempts to squeeze me out of the fishing hole by standing thisclose when there's a whole 100 yards of empty shoreline.

How's that for a vent?

In any case, we prefer to fish at night to avoid the appropriately named 'combat fishing'.

Now that I've justified that point, I'll move on with my story. It was about midnight and we were geared up ready for the mile hike along the trail of the river that brings us to our favorite fishing hot spot. As we were descending down the stairway to the trail I was thinking aloud how I enjoy running across the occasional brown bear, but only if they are across the river and not paying any attention to many numbered anglers around them (or at the very least paying attention to me...as previously mentioned they are free to lick their chops at John Smith visiting from Florida who's standing too close to the guy next to him and snagging his line every cast).
After a couple minutes of expressing my fears of one day of rounding a corner and finding a bear in my path, I concluded that it would be one of the scariest encounters I've ever had and left it there for the boys to ponder.

No sooner had we cleared our first corner did I stop dead in my tracks, as there was a brown bear standing twenty yards up the trail. I pointed this little obstacle out to Dad and Jake, and we stood there for a minute deciding how to proceed. Within a couple seconds of us noticing the brown bear (for the rest of the story to avoid the over use of the words "brown bear" I've named him Snoopy), his head turned our direction and he proceeded to start moseying his bear paws down the trail towards us. This was enough for me to fish my bear mace out of my holster, and all three of us start searching off the trail to make sure we weren't going to run into a blazing mad mama bear pissed that we were yelling at Snoopy to get out of our way.

As Snoopy continued in our direction, we were trying to look out for a bigger sow, arm ourselves with mace (and in Jake's case his 44 Mag...I know, I have a hardcore honey...) and back off the trail without losing eye contact with Snoopy. It's funny, living in Alaska you always get all sorts of advice from random places on how to avoid bears and how to react to any encounters with them. It also adds to the complicaty of things because different kinds of bears deserve different reactions i.e. black bears vs. brown bears. What I managed to remember with brown bears is that you're not supposed to run away, but at the same time it's advised that you 'stand your ground' while making your way back off the trail and out of sight. Hearing that when you're not actually in the situation makes perfect sense. But tell me, when you're standing in front of a friggin' brown bear that is obviously not intimidated by your cries and whoops to go away, HOW IN THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BACK OFF SLOWLY WHILE STANDING YOUR GROUND??? The short answer? You can't. And trying so only confuses and scares you even more.

After coming to this conclusion I finally just turned and walked slowing behind my Dad, while Jake was keeping his eye on the bear behind me. As I was in the middle of my 'please God don't let a small brown bear eat my face off' prayer, I caught something in the corner of my eye, and once I turned my head I realized Snoopy had picked up speed and was now running right at us. I let out a hair-raising scream and then started yelling, and as Jake aimed his pistol and I fidgeted with my mace (all the while yelling at the top of my lungs) Snoopy finally stopped. Standing no more than 10 ft. in front of us, suddenly realizing we were armed with weapons that would at the very least send him whaling back into the woods, he turned and started walking away from us, still on the trail.

All three of us let out a huge sigh of relief as we nervously giggled at how close Snoopy had gotten to us. In the meantime of us standing there in disbelief that we had gotten chased by a brown bear, four more anglers met us on the trail trying to pass us by and continue towards the river. We warned them about our encounter and after talking to them for a minute we decided safety in numbers was our policy for the evening.

Aside from following Snoopy back down the trail for another 100 yards or so (giving him a lot of room), and the once instance in which my incredibly near-sighted father mistook Snoopy for a man in waders, the rest of the trip was uneventful.

Moral of the story? No matter how prepared you think you might be for a situation to arise, when it finally does you will come to the realization that no amount of preparation compensates for the fact a five hundred pound bear is standing in your trail. Hopefully you have the luck I did and get to retain all of your limbs.

Goodbye Gurneys

Jake, Jeremy & Sheina with their catch off the Russian River
Sheina was a little excited to be fishing
Another one of Jake's catches---What a cute angler he makes!
One of my halibut of the day---though Jake did all the dirty work

Top 12 fish off the charter, the Gurneys had 4 make it on the rack!!
Poor sea-sick Jake taking a nap...and trying not to vomit again
The Gurney Gals
The gang at the look-out point in Homer, AK
Posing for a picture on the beach right below our campsite

Last night we dropped off the in-laws (Jake's parents, brother, and sister-in-law) at the airport. Dennis and Jeremy had been here since May 9th, Laraine had been here since May 17th and Sheina flew up for the last week of their trip. They came when our little house was standing ready to be remodeled and left a brand new framed addition in the footstep of the old garage. Much work still needs to be done but it's amazing how much progress they made in just 6 weeks up here...we will forever be grateful for their time and effort.

All day we've been walking around in sort of a daze, because already we're noticing that it's a little lonely when we don't have a big party going round the clock. We were especially busy these last couple weeks when the work was coming to a close and it was time to play in the beautiful weather we've gotten these last couple weeks. Enjoy the pictures; I just wanted to share a few of the many we took.