like it or not

Since we have been back from our trip to UT and WY and since it is has been a perfect 70 degrees and sunny for about 2 weeks, I have been so happy to be here! So here are the pros and cons of living in Alaska.

Pros:
- the land is amazing. I love to drive around and just look out the window. There are trees everywhere and rivers and mountains. The wildflowers are amazing and even the scrubby yards look good with wild daisies and yarrow and purple fireweed.

- the wildlife. Even though I have only seen one bear and I can't find any more moose this summer, I love that they are here.

- the people are while quirky at times, very nice. We have great friends who have immediately taken us in as one of their own. Without them this would be so much harder

- My house. It has been a great place to have people over. Despite it being smaller square footage than our home in UT it is laid out very well and we have a bigger kitchen and dining room. We can spontaneously have 3 families for a total of 11 children and 6 adults in our house without a problem.

- the opportunities to enjoy something different. JaDee's mom is coming on July 22 for Carter's birthday and so I have been looking at day cruises out of Seward. I am so excited to get out on the water and hopefully see a whale. A whale!! I am trying to figure out if Olivia can handle 9 hours on one of the longer rides or if we should go for a half day cruise instead. A longer ride means a better chance to see more wildlife and glaciers so I have to think this one through.

- The diversity. Seasons, people, scenery, everything. We have become quite the fan of Japanese food and sushi. Even the kids love it!

- No sales tax. while it is expensive to live here, not having to pay an extra 6-8% on everything is nice.

-JaDee's job. We are so blessed to have one!! and the opportunities here are endless for him while in UT there was no room for advancement at his office. He is having a great time with everyone he works with and that too, makes all the difference.

THE CONS

- Being far away from all of YOU!!! We will miss having a big ole family get together for Carter's birthday and for all the other fun things we do. We wish you could all just come here with us and then we can all move back together.

- The radio stations suck. I miss my X96!!!

- I am trying not to think about winter. While once we got in our house and had a garage to make getting into car at -20 a lot more bearable, it is still, well, -20. And very very white outside.

- While I love my house, I hate my yard. It is tiny and not fenced and close to a major residential thoroughfare. It is not a highway, but a main artery for our neighborhood in my backyard and I hate the road noise. There is no real room for a garden or raspberries and I miss that.

- Food is expensive. I have been shopping the adds to the local stores and then buying coupons off of e-bay to cut my food costs. For example, Ball Park hot dogs were 1.49 last week. I bought 20 coupons for like $1.79 that saved me another $1 off of 2 packages and I bought 20 coupons for $1 off Digiorno frozen pizzas that were $6.49. Deals like this and several others have saved me over $300 in groceries this month... but you better like hot dogs and pizza and Special K, because that is what I stocked up on. There are no deals on produce and I regularly pay $2 a pound for apples. And the tomatoes and corn on the cob suck no matter how much you pay. They do not grow well here and have to be shipped. Bleh.

- The time difference... being 2 hours behind UT and WY is hard, but then you figure all my family and friends on the Central and Eastern time zones and by the time we are up and moving, you guys are done with lunch and thinking about heading home for dinner soon. Weird. Sometimes I feel like I am on a different planet.

So there you have it.

Carter is off to Scout Camp this week with JaDee spending every night up there with him since he is still only 11 for another 10 days. Ethan has Cub Scout Day Camp everyday this week so Olivia and I are on our own for a good part of the day. I told her we are going shopping and she wants to find princess jammies with pants to go with the princess nightgowns Grandma bought.

I want these:

But since they are only found in the Sundance Catalog I will have to order them anyway.

Maybe they have princess jammies in my size?