Home is Where the Air Force Sends You...a new adventure

Forgive my lack of updating for my blog.  I haven't forgotten!  Honestly, I just haven't had the patience or the time! Plus, nothing too much has changed (until now).  I am still in nursing school (finally an S4) and Andrew has been doing amazing the Air Force.

With as busy as I feel I have been it would take something like this to finally post...right?

Anyways....ANDREW GOT AN ASSIGNMENT!

<------if you would rather not read my rambling, skip down below to find out where--->

 

Honestly, prior to about a week ago I was not as excited as I am now.  For me it took a lot of prayer and going to the temple in order to receive my answer and comfort.  Since about January we had kind of, well...not lost hope, but accepted that we would be in Minot, ND for a while longer.  I had actually been looking into trying to apply for the nurse transition program through the Air Force, but that is a whole other story:)

We had originally thought I might still be able to apply (I had already started the process with a recruiter), but found out it would mean separation for 3-4 years if Andrew got an assignment.  

So of course he ended up getting one:)  Just my luck isn't it?  

Nursing is something I want to do more than anything, but it turns out it may be harder to do right away as soon as I graduate.  I won't give up but I know that right now the Lord has other plans for us.  Because....We are being sent somewhere a little harder to find nursing jobs...

<-----About here should do it ;)----> 

Ok, ok.  Enough about me.  Most of my family and friends are really just wanting to know where we are going:)

 

Andrew and I are headed to....Spangdahlem, Germany!

 We are seriously so excited to fulfill our dreams of traveling the world!  The assignment will be 3-4 years and Andrew's report no later than date is this October.  He has already gotten his RIP so he has already started the process of leaving Minot, ND!

I will be updating as more happens:)

Love Always,

The Andersons

 

 

Valentine's Day Death Trap

First off, please excuse the dramatics.  I was trying to think of a post title which captured all that happened Valentine's Day weekend.  Celebrating Valentine's Day and of course the potential death trap (aka our accident).

To start off on a positive note, we finally got a mini vacation!  School has been definitely taken its toll on me.  The weekend of the 15th we drove up to Grand Forks, ND and stayed the night before driving the last hour to Fargo where we stayed through till Monday.  I was very lucky and didn't have clinical prep like I did the last holiday so this is why we decided it would be a good time to make trip out of it.  Interesting turn of events....but I will get to that later.

Andrew and I have this weird habit of celebrating holidays the day after they occur.  Not necessarily weird, just practical.  I mean everything is 50% off the day after so why not celebrate it the day after?  So this love holiday fell on a wonderful weekend.  In a way I guess our Valentine's Day turned into a Valentine's Weekend.  We spent most of our time in Fargo, ND the largest city in North Dakota and only 4hrs from where we live.  We love feeling like we are in a "big" city again.  It actually is pretty decent size.  Of course most of my gifts including shopping at Forever 21 which of course I loved.  We both love any excuse to get each other gifts.  We celebrate pretty much every holiday:)

My hubby almost peed his pants with excitement when he finally got his gift... The Lord of the Ring trilogy on blu-ray.  Over Christmas my parents got us a blu-ray player since my dad believes it to be superior to a DVD player and really make you feel "like you are there" in the movie.  Well, if he is right, Andrew will really feel like he is also with the fellowship to destroy the ring of power....in all its extended version glory.  That's right, the extended version.  Yikes!

Doesn't he look happy?:)  Hopefully this picture breaks up the story a bit!

We had a great weekend and decided to start our journey back on Monday since I was doing IV starts and didn't have preclinical.  Well, we woke up early so we would make it back in plenty of time.  Big Mistake!  What we didn't realize was a horrible blizzard had hit this area extending from Fargo all the way to Minot.  Wind conditions were 30-40 mph!  With the windchill, it literally felt like it was -35F. Not to mention the roads said " No Travel Advised".  We should have listened, but we didn't have a choice!  Andrew had to get back to work and I had to be back for school.  You do not miss school during the nursing program...you really just cannot miss.

  We slowly made the first 60miles behind a semi, since his lights were the only thing visible on the road. When we got to Valley City they had already closed down highway I-94.  For the next 3hrs we semi-patiently waited for them to open back up the highway while they cleaned up all the accidents.  Around 1pm we tried again to get home.  We made it about 3miles out of Valley City when it happened.

On top of the crazy wind, snow, and zero visibility, the roads were also covered completely in ice.  Andrew was driving in the left hand lane going around a huge semi.  In attempts to get into the right hand side we got the tail wind of the semi.  You fight against the wind the whole trip but suddenly when you are on the other side of a truck there is none.  Next thing we know, Andrew has lost control of the car which is sliding across the right hand lane down into the ditch.  There is nothing as scary as realizing the driver doesn't have control of the car and still being able to see the on coming traffic potentially able to T-bone your car as you fish tale into their lane.  It all happened so fast, yet the result could have been much, much worse.  Luckily, Andrew had passed the semi in the right lane with enough space that it was able to slow down enough and not hit us as we slid into their lane. 

Andrew handled it like a boss.  He didn't try to fight the car when it was trying to correct itself (if he had, we easily could have flipped).  I know if it had been me I would have panicked doing who knows what.  We ended up going down a ditch into several feet of snow.  Our car was going no where. But, again, how lucky we were that we didn't hit the mile marker only a couple feet away, the oncoming traffic, or the fence down about 10 feet away from us.  Instead, we got stuck in the snow.  Unable to get out even with 4 wheel drive.  Andrew couldn't even open his door since we were so deep in the snow and at an angle.  We felt even more blessed that someone stopped (even in the horrible conditions) to make sure we were all right.  They couldn't pull us out but at least they were able to check to make sure the exhaust wasn't covered in the snow.  They even waited with us while we called to get a tow truck. 

In the end, the tow people weren't allowed to tow the car yet.  The conditions were too hazardous that they were only told to get the people and bring them back safely.  They dropped us off back in Valley City at a Super 8.  We were so worried about leaving our car in that kind of weather but we didn't have a choice.  We stayed the night and got our car.  In the midst of all this I was freaking out about school but I was so lucky my teacher understood so I made up clinical on wed instead. 

I feel so grateful it wasn't our time to go yet.  I guess we still have a purpose to fulfill in this life. Everything could have been worse in these conditions.  The weather was better Tuesday (only about 10-15mph winds) so it was bearable to get home.  Our car was completely fine.  No damage because we landed in a snow drift.  I have such a testimony knowing someone was keeping their eye on us that day.   The tow people came within 20 minutes to get us and we had those amazing people who stopped to help us.  Sometimes I can't get over the crazy weather in North Dakota but I can honestly say we have had so many opportunities and blessings just by being here.  It was a crazy, unforgettable experience but we are safe with not even a scratch as proof it happened:)

Love,

The Andersons

P.S:  Next post should be a more positive update! 
P.S.S: Sorry for the long, drawn out story;)

A month in photos

A month.  You read correctly, one month since I have last posted!  Shame on me.  I always get on others about "updating their blog" ,but look at me.  I am always wanting more people to read my blog and see what is going on with our little family.  Looks like I really need to get back on the horse in this whole blogosphere.  

I do have an excuse though.  When we were in Moab (during our stay with my parents) our camera got wet during our river rafting trip-go figure.  That was awesome by the way.  Anyways, the touch screen got broken so we sent it back to get a new camera. Which we are still waiting for. I definitely want to show you all some of the pictures I took during my month stay with family in Utah.  So for now here are a couple highlights from this past month:

First off, the end of May I went alone to go visit my parents in Utah.  That sweet little girl you are seeing is my little sister( now as a big 6 year old)!  She grows every time I see her.  Sami is the only picture I have of my family but she is just a taste of how big my siblings have gotten.  I got to see my little sister Juli graduate high school.  Sent Paul off to the MTC to start his mission in Guatemala.  John towers over me in height.  Little Mark is not so little either as he has almost caught me in height at 12 years.  

As I also mentioned Andrew and I got to visit Moab.  We have never been but it was beautiful and we got to experience the best of it by river rafting.  We also stayed in a one room cabin (how sweet is that?) I will probably save this trip for its own separate post.  

Next up was a trip to Rexburg on our way home.  What a cutie, right?!?  Yes of course I was talking about my beautiful niece, but that guy is something else too hehe.  Seriously though we had the awesome chance to visit my brother and sister in law with their new baby, Chloe.  We got a couple days with them playing games, meeting Chloe, seeing the King Tut exhibit in Idaho Falls (I loved it of course), and even went on a tour of Destinations Inn.  

We do have some sad news in the bunch.  After much prayer and contemplation we have decided to put an application in to try to move down town.  Really there is no housing in downtown minot but the university does offer some teeny apartments for married students.  Its a deal that financially makes sense.  With Andrew's BAH he gets, it is worth some sacrifice to save money towards a future down payment on a house or adoption.  These are things we have considered in what is best for our family.  Sadly the only real downside is having to rehome our precious pups.  We did find a home for Maia already on base and I know she will be taken good care of!  No news yet when will get in housing, but even if it isn't till next year it would be worth it!

The next pic you see is of me at a petting zoo at the state fair!  The North Dakota State Fair happened these past two weeks and we loved it.  I had never been before and had been dying to go.  Who would of thought the prices would be comparable to Disneyland? Luckily we went last Tuesday during military appreciation day and rode all the rides we wanted for free from 1-3.  Since a ride is usually about 5-6 tickets per person and each ticket is $1 you can see that we enjoyed it even more.  We went to a petting zoo, saw pig racing, saw a HUGE pig, went on rides, got a giant pickle for me, and even went through model homes.  It was a blast.  

Looking back I guess the hubby and I are super lucky to have all these adventures together:) Until I update again, which I promise will be soon.

Love Always,

The Andersons

A day of love

That's right.I am finally getting around to Valentine's Day! 

It was pretty silly this year since it landed on a Tuesday.  So we had a little celebration that day but saved our trip for that Friday.  Andrew had the day off, I skipped school that day and we headed to Fargo, ND.  Who would have ever thought I would be spending a vacation there?  Anywho, it was so fun!  Fargo is a little bigger than where we live and the mall is much more so!  That little incentive was a bonus for me.  

But before I get a head of myself let me share a few pictures from Tuesday,

The table set up.  The husband also got me flowers!

Us (mostly:))

So we decided to go to Fargo, about 4 hrs from where we live just to get a way.  We even did one of our "checks" on our bucket list!  I have always wanted to use hotwire.com to book a hotel because 1) it cheaper and 2) they don't tell you where you are staying until after you book!  It is like Russian roulette for a hotel stay!  We ended up with the Comfort Inn.  It wasn't too bad, although the hot tub wasn't working...

Well we arrived and the first thing we did was unpack our stuff and head to the movies.  A theater there was having the last showing I could find for Beauty and the Beast 3D.  That movie cost us $24 dollars!  I thought the seats had better be lined with gold...It was still fun.  I don't think this couple will be seeing anymore 3D movies anytime soon( it was a little painful!) but it was still fun.  

While we were there I won a mini-pillow pet in a crane game.  I tell ya I have a gift!

The next day was really fun for us (ok mostly me).  We spent most of the time at the mall.  I guess I should clarify this mall has a Forever 21 store (can you say the "mothership"?) where we spend most of time.  But the food during our trip was awesome!  Even after waiting for a while we still got our food at a Korean and Japanese food place called Yuki & Hana.  Yes, they only give you chopsticks to eat so it was really fun!

Overall it was a relaxing and fun vacation being together. We love holidays and try to make it a little above and beyond a typical day.  

Love,

The Anderson's

Makin Our House A Home

Today was a pretty crazy awesome day.  We were told last night that we were speaking Sunday (today).  So with barely anytime to prepare we gave pretty amazing talks if I do say so myself. But what made it even crazier were our roles today in church!  One of Andrew's calling in church is over the CTR 4 class.  He has about 8 kids and the other teacher has only shown up once to help teach.   Meaning he is in there all by himself.  But, last night I was also asked to help out in nursery for today.  No big deal only 15 kids under the age of 3.  haha Yeah it was crazy fun.  Who would have known all the things you can learn from little kiddos?  

Anyways, for this blog post I wanted to share some of the little treasures in our house.  We moved into the house the middle of July but I still feel like we are setting up.  But first things first...

We have grass!

When we first moved in everything was under construction still.  It was all dirt and looked very uneven.  So they just put down seed and ta-da!  Grass over night (ok it took a little longer than that).  They have a contract for about a year where they do everything to make our yard look nice.  They even added planters and our very own tree.

Obviously no real growth yet:)

The other pictures I am going to show you are merely little add ins that I have found overtime to make our house more of a home.  As you can see it is a bit of a tropical theme, perhaps to create our very own sanctuary when we hit the true North Dakota weather!

Our couch we bought and brought from Utah:)

The little side table 

Just an accessory for the dinning room I bought at a base garage sale!  25cents for the new Chinese lanterns not too shabby

Our little set up in our ikea furniture!  I made the picture frame display!

A new painting just given to us from someone moving out

The best new furniture of all is a TV!  We do have an old TV my parents gave us, which we were very thankful for, but we did plan on getting a new one during Black Friday.  But Andrew works with someone recently going through a divorce and is getting rid of all his stuff.  So....drum roll please....we just got a 2009 flat screen 42 in TV for $100.  That painting was thrown in as well.  Got to love living on base you get awesome deals!

Andrew very happy with his new television!

That's all for now for now folks. Although,we are officially going to Iowa for Thanksgiving and Utah for Christmas and couldn't be more excited!  Where better to spend such major holidays than with family.  We feel we have been truly blessed lately and just know things are finally falling into place.

Love, 

The Andersons

Our First Duty Station

Oh my gosh!!  Sorry everybody, it has taken forever to update our blog.  For many reasons I will get to soon...  So first of all, for all of you who don't know, Andrew and I are finally in our first duty station for the Air Force up in Minot, ND.  Where do I even start?  Well, it was quite the process moving here, all of our stuff was stored at my parents house in Utah so we started our journey there...

 Here is a picture of our 20ft truck we had to get to move all our stuff and pull a trailer with our car on it.  

 

Some pics for Andrew having fun loading our stuff

We were given 4 travel days just move up there so we decided to take all 4 of them.  Our next stop was staying with my brother and sister-in-law in Rexburg.  We even chose to stay an extra day just because we could!  It was pretty fun just being with family, and we got to see the Bodies exhibit in Idaho Falls.  After we left Rexburg we traveled the 8 hour trip to Miles City, Montana.  It was a place we had never been too but since it was a pretty good stopping point with a choice of 4 hotels to stay in, it seemed like our best bet.  It ended up being really great!  The guy at the front desk was really accommodating and helped fixed the mistake I made in booking the wrong day online.  Athena was even well-behaved.  Our final day was the final 5 hours to Minot.  The whole trip up there was just crazy.  We encountered heavy winds, snows, and increasing gas prices.  We were a little nervous when we hit the really ugly part in Montana heading toward North Dakota.  Luckily for us, we arrived to the Air Force Base, completely bypassing the city ( it is about 15 minutes drive from the base). 

When we got there it was around 5pm with the hour time change.  As soon as we got there, our sponsor met us and showed us around his flight.  So we met his fellow airmen and his Msgt.  We weren't sure where we were staying but we told we got one night on base at lodging-they even bought us pizza that night!

After that first day things kind of went down hill.  We stayed at a different place for the first 5 nights since there were no accommodations anywhere!  Even all the hotels in the city were booked.  Coming here was so crazy- aside from all the flooding, this city has no housing.  At all.  We went to the housing office the next morning (since we got 10 days of paid lodging to find a place to live).  we were told that we were # 162 on the waiting list with an estimated 6-8 months of waiting time.  Crazy!

We want to live on base in a house but at that point we just wanted a place to live.  But, since we have a dog there was nothing.  Even without the dog the earliest opening in new apartments was July or August.  This place, with the boom of the added wing to the base and all of the oil miners there is a big shortage of housing.  Camping seemed to be our only option.  Luckily, we realized Andrew's parents had a trailer they might be willing to bring up to us.  Literally, it was our only option.  So they came and went-but now we at least have a place to live!  Better than nothing, right?   And with our the flooding and even more rain sleeping in a tent was not an option.

Here are just some examples of the flooding:

A little hard to see but out there looks like a lake, we don't have any natural lakes in Minot:)

This is the road to get from the AFB to the actual city.  Yes, it is flooded

This poor car obviously went off the road into the middle between the going side and coming back side of the road.

Things obviously were a little crazy...In fact, as an update, more flooding has caused problems in the area.  Many people were evacuated from the city and most others had trouble with water coming into their basement.  It was a scary time with the river at its peak.  We were blessed to be up at the base which is on higher ground than the city. 

At first we didn't even have a water hookup for the trailer.  Even now we don't turn it on since the trailer leaks, but it works out since the fitness center has shower facilities:)

 There are so many other adventures I can't even go into!  We were sent to a place with no where to live, but i think we will still like it here.  Right now, it is getting warmer and despite the a ton of mosquitoes (more than any place I have ever lived), it isn't so bad.  We LOVE our ward here!  It really does just feel right being here.  Andrew can update his "dream sheet" as of August but we don't want to move again till I finish school. But right now we are just going to try to enjoy the best of an interesting situation.  

Update as of now: We are now #100 on the waiting list for housing, Andrew went under a big IG inspection and I have finally started school (it was delayed a week due to the school becoming a shelter for the evacuees). 

So we will keep trying to stay strong to what life is throwing our way and keep smiling!  And I will try to take more pictures of Minot soon!

Love,

The Andersons

Home is Where the Air Force Sends You

When Andrew was in Basic Training he was able to create something called a "Dream Sheet" of the top 10 places we would like to be stationed.  Of course, as it is well known, no one gets the option of choosing their first location.  They are randomly assigned to that group and Andrew's group was assigned to either Georgia or North Dakota. Our assignment has us leaving the end of April. Not that I would want to go to either place, we of course got the worst of both....Minot. 

We are coming from this...

...going to this...

I am ALWAYS cold so hopefully I survive while I am there.  When we were told we were going to Minot, Andrew blamed his bad luck.  Honestly, I was definitely not excited about going as North Dakota is probably the last place I would ever choose to go.  But one thing I can choose, is to have a positive attitude about going.  Obviously the Lord has a plan for us and is sending us there for a reason.  So instead of constantly complaining about my circumstances I need to start looking for the good in us going there.

But first, a little information from the Welcome to Minot AFB fact sheet:

• the climate is mostly cold, dry and windy (gusts getting up to 50mph!)
• the average annual snow fall is 40 inches
• the record snow fall in 24 hours is 17 inches
• the coldest temperature ever recorded is -35 degrees
• the hottest temperature has been 107
• Minot is called "the magic city"
• occasionally "northern lights" can be seen

Just because I am going to try to be happy doesn't mean you can't feel a little sorry for my drastic change in scenery.  Just kidding, but seriously...

One positive thing I have heard many times told to me is based from our relationship.  For the first time since we have been together we are actually going to have lots of time to spend together.  We are going to be VERY far from our families and with it snowing most of time that leaves us getting snowed in together! While the next 4 years seem very daunting at least we will be there together. 

So as they say in the military...

"Why Not Minot?!"

~The Andersons

 



Life As We Know It

Our first official blog post!  I have been wanting for a while to create a blog to keep our family and friends up on our life.  We have been married for a while but we feel as though we are just getting started with our life together!  This past little while has been insane to keep up to date as to where we have been and what we have been doing.  So let me fill you in on the last 8 months...

To start off, the 1st of September I went on an AMAZING adventure on a service-learning internship to Romania where I worked with children with disabilities (with no moms) at an orphanage and hospital...

...meanwhile on October 4th, Andrew started one of his own



We were so lucky to accomplish these experiences at the same time when I was able to attend Andrew's Basic Training Graduation for the Air Force in December!

...this included his family coming and spending the weekend in San Antonio!  So time together at Sea World was of course expected!



But, the weekend soon ended...and the rest of our time apart began as Andrew went immediately to Tech School in Missouri.  It was then that I went and stayed with my grandparents in Mountain Home, AR and with with my aunts in Iowa.  I was so fortunate to be able to see Andrew once a month for the weekend.  That's right- ONCE A MONTH! 

It was once said...

“True love doesn't have a happy ending, because true love never ends. Letting go is one way of saying I love you.”

We said goodbye but knew if we could just get through these next few months our lives would be better because of this sacrifice!

In the meantime...last Tuesday I came and stayed with my parents in Utah to wait for Andrew to finish and graduate from tech school April 2! 

Love Always,

The Andersons