Fourth of July

Although fireworkless, Cody and I enjoyed a lovely Independence Day. We rang in the day with a late showing of Transformers (in 3D, of course). We emerged from the theater at midnight, only to be greeted by the sun. On the drive home, some of the streetlights weren't even on. Perhaps we will be missing all this sun come December...

Stylin' in our 3D glasses

Midnight in Anchorage, Alaska

Cody only had to work a few hours yesterday, so we headed downtown to catch the city's festivities. The parade was impressive, or at least the half we saw. We lunched there as well, trying some local fare (spicy reindeer bratwurst and a gyro). We finished up the day with a little shopping. We did find Cody a pair of black shoes for the wedding (on sale for $31, plus we had a gift card, so only ended up paying $6!). Now, it's just getting him to wait until the wedding to wear them. Our main objective was to buy a grill, which indeed we did. Cody insisted on a charcoal grill, so now we had the latest technology inside in our carport, woot! I'm very excited to enjoy a few steaks and burgers soon!

Enjoying the parade

We spotted a Nebraska family!

AF band of the Pacific... had an awesome Ray Charles/Louis Armstrong- inspired vocalist

Just a man and his new grill

Caillat didn't really like her outside time...

Our 4th of July feast, including corn on the cob (50 cents each! ekk!)

Cody and I have taken to playing board games in the evening. As it stands now, I'm winless in Sorry!, but the reigning Monopoly champion. Will keep you all updated on the tallies...

Quite the Habitat

Just a day in the life of the cat:

Hunting birds...

We discovered she is quite the car cat...

Enjoying the passing scenery when we picked Cody up from work last weekend

Then she enjoyed some sock basket time

Ever begging for running water...

The now grey-black chair: proof of her near-constant occupation

Enjoying evening cuddles on her favorite blanket

And finally, it never takes her long to position us to meet her knee cravings

Alright, and just to show we're not crazy cat people: proof of our interaction with society:

We volunteered at Habitat for Humanity this week  (Cody was able to arrange his schedule to take the day off, so we were able to accompany other St. E's members at the construction site). I am now more educated in setting foundation footings and pumping cement, not to mention arranging J-bolts before said cement sets. Whew. The project includes building seven homes (four separate buildings) and we were able to set the footings on the last house, and help pump the cement into the sides of the single-family house. We're looking to help again on another St. E's day in a couple months. (The families are set to move in at the beginning of '12).

Modeling our safety attire

Setting those J bolts!

Recovering from his cement-hose holding duty

Enjoying the sunny afternoon more than the cloudy morning

What's a Descent Without a Fall?

Cody was able to take the afternoon off yesterday and we headed out to hike Falls Creak Trail, one we'd driven past several times off the Turnagain Arm. The start of the trail was a straight climb... which turned out to be pretty slow going for us. The trail runs alongside a waterfall, so along with the lush woods, we could hear the water too.

At the trailhead

The woods were very thick and green... it was perfect hiking weather- dry and 50 degrees

A man in his element

And a goof in hers

One of the best views- the entire climb was facing north, so we had to remember to turn around to check out the view

Wildflowers

The valley

Enjoying our picnic supper we packed

 Perhaps we didn't pack quite enough

Enlarged to show detail... 3 white dots on hillside are dall sheep: there's proof!

On our way down

Perhaps running down the mountain wasn't the best idea: at least I only fell once (although I'm still working on getting the black soil stain out of my pants)

Where we can often find Caillat

It goes without saying that Cody's been very busy at the course...still. I've still been keeping busy at work, enjoying working days for the next 3 weeks before I change to nights. Cody and I are hoping to make a trip to Denali at the end of July, as long as the course can survive without him for 72 hours or so.

Wedding update: still working on centerpieces and decorations. We've decided on mason jars of varying sizes, now we just need to decide what to fill them with (which flowers, golf balls, etc). We're hoping to take our wedding bands in to be engraved soon, as well as deciding on our music. We met to decide on wedding flowers/church decorations with the woman that volunteers her time to decorate for weddings. She does a great job, so I'm hoping to relinquish that to her. Invites will be completed in the next couple weeks or so, and I'm hoping to get those all addressed/mailed by the end of July... keep a look out in your mailboxes!

Enjoying whale-less Beluga Point last weekend

Apparently dall sheep only travel in groups of three...

We didn't see any whales, just beautiful views...

Busy Alaskans

Cody and I are officially Alaskan residents. With the exception of the PFD (Permanent Dividend Fund), we're bonifide Last Frontierers.

Unfortunately, I was only given the ugly yellow plates

Kia with new plates and new bummer and back latch- finally fixed!

There's not a lot to share this past week... we've both been quite busy with work. Cody's had 4 days of 4:30am wake-ups, so he's actually still asleep as I update this at 10:45am. The course has been hosting outings and tournaments, so he's busy coordinating his staff and overseeing the flow of the outing. I, on the other hand, have been busy taking care of new moms and babies. The unit has been ridiculously busy (except for last weekend, when I was off). I'm on call tomorrow, which means I'll be working- it's that busy. It makes the days go much faster this way, so I can't complain.

Being so busy makes meal preparation interesting:

We've had cereal for dinner numerous times: and here's the weird lookin' milk jug- functionally inept

Cody was so hungry he didn't even wait to heat it up

We're still working on marriage preparations too. We met with Fr. Tom yesterday and have been getting in contact with musicians and the flower coordinator. Still much to do!

For those attending our nuptials: we would love to hear what kind of activities you'd like to do while here. Hiking, wildlife viewing, fishing trips, train rides, trails, museums, etc. We'll need to make loose plans just so we can coordinate transportation and any major trips during your stay (to Seward, etc). So please let me know! (We may be able to find some awesome deals of fishing trips or train rides, but we'll need to plan ahead a little on those).

Float Plane

Cody and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend a chamber meeting held at Lake Hood, the largest float plane lake in Alaska. Along with some free food and visitor information, we were able to take a float plane ride over Anchorage. Although short, it was quite the experience. Had it been any longer, Cody may have gotten sick...

A view west toward the inlet

Downtown/midtown Anchorage

Forest-y area, obvs

View south

I've always wanted a sink cat...

First watermelon of the season: $5 but overripe

3 Months To Go and a Fashion Show

Just three short months until our wedding day. We still have plenty of things to do, but at least we're well on the way.


As mentioned above, Cody was in a fashion show this week (just at the course, don't worry). He had short notice that he would be included as a male model of the pro shop attire. Below are the pictures: (unfortunately, I couldn't resist posting them, although that leaves no further option for blackmail later).

There was a catwalk and everything...

.We've also been on a new-recipe streak, so I thought I'd share a couple good ones:

Coconut Chip Coffee Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream

Filling/topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream.
Spoon half of the batter into a greased bundt pan. Combine the filling ingredients; sprinkle half over the batter. Repeat layers.
Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.

Pork Tenderloin Stir-fry
1/2 lb pork tenderloin, sliced
2 tsp vegetable oil
mushrooms (optional)
3 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup thinly sliced cabbage
4 ounces canned bean sprouts
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
hot cooked rice

In a large skillet, stir-fry pork in oil until no longer pink. Add the mushrooms, onions and peas; stir-fry for 1 minutes. Add the cabbage, bean sprouts, garlic, ginger and sugar; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Stir in soy sauce. Serve with rice.

(Both recipes are from a Taste of Home magazine, courtesy of Erin.)