Update

Cody and I continue to make progress toward our relocation. Our household goods were picked up from the house last week, we're looking into apartments, and making arrangements for when we arrive. It's been a bit frustrating to get everything arranged, but hopefully it'll all fall together. We've been trying to narrow down apartments and unfortunately it's looking like we'll have to spend more on rent than we had originally wanted to.

I'm still busy with work, something between 44-48 hrs/wk. I only have 3 more weeks here, and the girls and I have a few more things we wanted to do. Below are some hiking pictures from awhile back. Cody's been busy giving lessons and preparing for the club tournament this weekend (topped off with dinner, social hours galore!). He only has 2 weeks left down in Florida so he's beginning to pack and sort his things (I hope).

Sarah, Erica and I have taken turns cooking for each other on our days off (how nice it is to come home to dinner already made!). Below is a recipe Erica made last night (straight out of the Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2011). It's very easy and has great flavor (I'd rate it about 3.25 stars).

Chicken Dinner Packets
Prep: 15 min       Bake: 25 min
1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 small red potatoes, thinly sliced
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 small sweet red pepper, julienned
1/2 small green pepper, julienned
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 green onion
salt & pepper

Divide the chicken breast strips between two pieces of heavy-duty foil (about 12 in square). In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; spoon over the chicken strips. Fold the foil around the mixture and seal tightly. Place the packets on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear and potatoes are tender. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape. Serve over rice if desired. Enjoy!

Finally finding the National Trail marker: Day 1 at South Mt trying to find Fat Man's Pass

We found Hidden Valley Trail: Day 2 trying to find Fat Man's Pass

And then the trail pretty much disappeared after that

Scenery in 'the valley'

We found Fat Man's Pass!

Our Chapel

My sponsor sent a picture of the outside of the chapel at Elmendorf. Here it is!

Travel plans & HIking

Progress has been made on my travel plans! The Traffic Management Office? (TMO) has been a constant headache for the last month or so, but I finally made headway yesterday. I was able to set up my household goods shipment, so Mom and Dad can finally have their dining room back. As my orders stand now, I can only move 1000 lbs up to Alaska. My commander is trying to straighten out my orders so they allow me to take more poundage. Otherwise Cody and I will be living off the land! I got more information on shipping my car too. I plan to drive to San Diego in April, drop my car off and fly back to Phoenix. It should only take about 28 days for it to arrive in Anchorage. And lastly, I booked my plane ticket to Anchorage. I leave the evening of April 21, to arrive in Anchorage at 2:30am on the 22nd. It makes a long night for Cody, but I'm sure he'll have no problem coming to pick me up :)

Sarah, Erica and I were able to take some time and hike yesterday too (after they were so kind as to accompany me to base for the morning, in uniform even! :) We decided on Squaw Peak since it was close and moderately strenuous. Here are some pictures:

First stop on the way... very sunny and hot

A view of the valley

And of the landscape

Celebrating at the summit!

Yep, still sunny

and no, we aren't going to apply for law school

Time to enjoy another day off! :) and get some errands done. Happy early weekend! (I'm on the OB unit all weekend, followed by another two days off! very welcome, indeed)

And the turned not-so-monthly update on ticket prices:

OMA-ANC: $591
CHI-ANC: $454
STL- ANC: $603
CMH- ANC: $602
MSP- ANC: $615

I just searched on Expedia for a week stay, cheapest roundtrip pricing.

Work, Work, Vegas, Work and More Work, all around

It's been a busy week for both of us, filled with much work and very little rest. Cody has been busy on the course with a full plate, especially with more guests and spring breakers. He's excited for his rite this Sunday at the Cathedral in Orlando. With the help of his new course in Anchorage, he's gotten set up with a parish there, and will be good to go on a place to stay and a car for the first week or so. Things are slowly falling into place.

Likewise, I have also been busy with work. Apparently they believe in working nurses 55+ hours. I'm VERY much looking forward to my next two days off. I was able to ride with my friend Sarah to Vegas this last weekend. She is stationed there (Nellis AFB) with her husband and the movers arrived with her household goods (so jealous!). The trip was about 5 hours through the desert, but it was nice to see the different scenery, complete with Joshua trees. We did take the opportunity to eat at Panera since Arizona hasn't gotten on that bandwagon yet. Below are some pictures from the trip:

View of Lake Mead on Hwy 93 (Hoover Dam)

A view of the general's house from Sarah's backyard- generals' houses are always at the back of the base, farthest away from the gate

Ceasar's Palace

Bellagio fountain... so amazing! (Every fountain show is unique and timed to a different song)

Another shot

Not as impressive as the real thing...

We found M&M World!

A view overlooking Las Vegas Blvd

Inside the Cosmopolitan

The view leaving LV, near the Hoover Dam

She agreed to stop at the Scenic Overlook... wasn't quite so scenic, unfortunately

It was a very fast trip, but I was excited to add another state to my list (I've only flown through LV). We were on the strip Sunday afternoon, so it was very tame. The Bellagio was definitely my favorite part. We're looking forward to discovering another mountain tomorrow since it's the only day in our first schedule that the three of us have off.

Have a great rest of the week!

Air Force Life & Scottsdale

 Hello from Scottsdale! Just thought I would give a little update. After a week of orientation and hospital training, I started my first shifts as an RN. For the next 3+ weeks, I'll be on a med-surg unit at the hospital about 10 minutes from our hotel. (I have a few scheduled days on the OB unit coming up as well :). So far all is good... I just need a little more time to get comfortable, but I don't think that will take long. I look forward to the challenge and I'm excited to keep learning.

Since we all had last Saturday off, we decided to climb Camelback Mt here in the valley. It was a great climb, with beautiful sites.

A view from mid-way up the mountain, or so we thought

It's a little different landscape down here...

Little did we know, we only made it about 1/2 way to the summit before turning around (Sarah came back to complete the climb, and apparently it turns to straight vertical climb where we turned around).

Next up: more shifts and looking forward to time off. I might tag along to Las Vegas with Sarah so she can meet the movers with her things. Otherwise, I still appreciate any mail :). We're looking into more mountains to hike and we started a sort of 'bucket list' for our time here in AZ. It's hard to believe we're down to almost 7 weeks!

In other news: Cody has been VERY busy at the course (and apparently will be from here on out). Lots of all-day shifts with tournaments and outings. He did purchase his plane ticket to Anchorage for April 16th. If all goes well, he'll be there just in time for a meeting his new employers would like him to be at. Well, that's if he can get a rental car and board Caillat all in time to get to the meeting. We'll have a lot to sort out once we get up there, especially since I learned today that I might beat our household goods up to AK...but hopefully not.

I best get to bed, for 5:00am comes early... wishing you all warm thoughts, for it's only about 75 here :)