Livin' Like The Unemployed!

Wow!! I haven't wrote in a hundred years!! Um... Lets see well I have been home like a week and a half!! It has been pretty fun! I have been doing something almost every night!! Um... I got to meet my beautiful niece Jhi! She is so fun!! She looks just like daddy! I also so my new cousin Naylor! He is a doll! I am back in the Farr West/Plain City YSA Ward! And its good as ever! Crazy cause people my little sisters age are now in the ward! I feel SUPER old! O well... this last weekend I got to go to The Geezy with Chase Jensen and Brian Lattin! It was SO much fun!! We visited my grandparents on my dad's side and went cliff jumping/swimming... four wheeling... fishing... sandpit volleyball... tried to go to the temple but it was closed... and hung out with friends there! It was a very good weekend! We also went to Tuachan and saw Aladian. It was a pretty good show!! The Genie and the bird made it! I was a little disappointed by the flying carpet! But it was a decent show.  Being back in St. Geezy kind of makes me miss it maybe a lot! I think I miss the atmosphere of a college town more than anything... and my friends there as well!!! But it makes me kind of want to move back down there...  or to somewher with a colleege town atmosphere... I guess we will see... Um... Also on the Saturday that I got home I got to go and see Brock Richins!! It was so good to see him after 2 years!! He gave his Homecoming talk on that Sunday and he did amazing!!! We also went boating on my cousin's boat that he just got! It was super fun and I got UP on the wakeboard!! Yay! That is my first time that I have ever gotten up! That week I got my nails and toes done and hung out with mom before she had to leave to New York and Denver. She is just traveling a whole lot with this company but it's good for her salon! Also that week I went to Bear Lake with a few friends! We took up Jared's kayaks and paddle boards! It was fun! And we got the jeep stuck!Whoops! Ha ha! Thank you random stranger for pulling us out! A bunch of us went to Lagoon last week as well... good thing we were only there for 3 hours... Lagoon is not what it was when I was younger! Syd, Kie, and myself all went to the Brigham City Temple open house as well!! If you haven't been I encourage you to go and see that beautiful building!! It was so amazing! I miss living right next to the Geezy's temple! The last week and a half have been a whirlwind! I feel like all I have been doing is applying for jobs and hanging out with family and friends and trying to catch up with everyone! This job searching is kicking my butt! I wish that it wasn't all online and I could go in and see them face to face. I feel like on paper I am not that awesome... but I don't know... ugh!! Well... That is really all I have been up to!! Just living my life to the fullest and trying to decide what to do and where to go next! Hard decsions are ahead for me! Wish me luck! Have a good week!

Goodbye Alaska... HELLO UTAH!!

Okay well the day has finally come!! I am moving back to Utah today!!! :) In this last week.. I have worked every day! (you prob could have guessed that!) Ha! But it has been a wonderful experience here! I have learned so much while I have been here! I have loved my job and my co-workers! And especially my residents!! I think that I will miss them the most!! Everyone is super nice here and very excepting! I am finally starting to become real good friends with people here and now I am leaving. Kind of the sad part of the deal! But they will be life long friends for sure. I have loved this adventure, don't get me wrong it hasn't all been amazing and it has had it's trials but I am choosing to learn from my trials and the bad parts of my experiences and let them help me in the future and let them help mold me into the woman that I want to become. Well... work is work right!? Well... not when you have co-workers like mine!! They threw a little goodbye party for me at work last night! One ordered pizza and one made a chocolate cake! Yummy!!! So fattening but so worth it since I have been doing good and loosing weight here in Alaska!! We took some pictures and talked... it was very sweet of them! Thanks guys!!! Your the best! One said that there has never ever been a party for another CNA before! (They must really like me! I kid!) Um.... welp... today will kind of slightly be a chill day... I just have to shower and get ready and then got back into work to get my paycheck... then over to the bank so that I can pay rent before I leave and then basically it's just a waiting game! My flight doesn't leave here until 7:37 PM! So I don't have to be to the airport until 6 PM! But anyways... I have to get kind of ready for traveling this time around because my wonderful Mother is going to take me shopping on the way home from the airport to get a new dress and shirt! She is so awesome!!! And I get to see the rest of my amazing family when I get home! I can't wait! I get to meet my brand new 3 week old niece Jhi, and my good friend Brock is back from his mish so I will get to see him!! So this will be a weekend to remember! (And yes I will be blogging about it, so don't worry! Ha!) Well... I CAN'T WAIT TO GET HOME AND SEE MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!! I HAVE MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH! See you in 23 hours!! (Not like anyone is counting or anything!) Kay, Bye!

Last Week Of Living Like An Eskimo!

Auidee!!! I can't believe I only have one week left here in Alaska!! So crazy!! I haven't done all that I would have loved to do while I was here!!! But I can always make another trip up this way! Okay well... It's been like what?.. almost two weeks ago since I posted!? Well since then... like I said I haven't done a whole lot!! Just a lot of sleeping and working! Bringing in the money honey!! I have had one day off since the last time I wrote! Kind of crazy! Um... Work has been pretty good! It has kind of had quite a bit of drama lately with the traveling CNA's and they are re-doing the schedule so you work like 3 days one week and 4 the next and have every other weekend off... But I work everyday till I come home! I am using a lot of eskimo words now days... and I feel like my english is becoming more like village english everyday! And now I am finally getting used to seeing myself and feeling comfortable with not wearing ANY make-up in public and now I get to come home. I am loving my residents and not looking forward to leaving them behind!! I just want to bring them home with me... every single one! I will also miss my cute co-workers! It has been such a fun experience to come here and to learn about the Eskimo's of Kotzebue and the surrounding villages! I am so grateful for this oppertunity to come up to Alaska! It truly has blessed my life meeting all these wonderful people! Well my co-workers now know that I might be slightly obessesed with THE OLYMPICS!!!! I LOVE them so much!! The USA is doing an amazing job representing! It has been such a fun year to watch! They basically consume my life!! When I am at work I may or may not change all of my residents tv's to the Olympics so that I won't miss anything! (Whoops! Don't tell!)  It also doesn't hurt that we have a lot of good looking athletes! :) Well... I am SO EXCITED to come home to Utah! I have so much to look forward to!! My sister had her first baby which is my first niece, Jhi baby that I get to meet for the first time ever!! I can't wait!! I am also so excited to see my family, I miss them all so much! Absence makes the heart grow fonder, that saying has never been more true in my life until this summer. I can't wait to tell you all about my summer adventure! Also I want to thank my family for supporting me in all I want to do! All of my wonderful adventures would have never been possible without their love and support! Also when I get home... one of my best friends will be home from his mission!! 2 years is WAY to long! I can't wait to have him back, and I am sure that his lovely family is so excited, and are having (like myself) the longest week EVER! Well I will see you all in ONE WEEK!! Just incase you were wondering I am flying out on the 10th but don't get into Utah until the morning of the 11th! Well... I can't wait to see you all! And I can't wait to see where my next adventure in life will take me! Bring it on... I'm ready!!

Abbee Becomes Auntie Abbee In Alaska!!!

I AM FINALLY AN AUNTIE OF A BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL!!!!! As of July 21, 2012 Jhi Jules Nishikawa was born weighing in at 8lbs 5oz and 21 inches long!! Auidee!! I can't believe that big of a baby fit in my beautiful sisters cute prego belly!!! Birth is seriously a miracle! I am very sad that I didn't get to be there for my sister Haulee at this time! I will be three weeks late! I was so excited all day yesterday cause I got a text from my Mother and she said "Baby Jhi is coming!!" And I got it right before I got off work! I got to call and talk with my Mom and Haulee before she delivered! It was so nice to hear their voices! I miss them all back home so much! I work nights so I usually sleep during the day, but yesterday I just tossed and turned and couldn't really get well rested!! I was getting updates from my Mom on what was happening... I was just so excited that my sister was going to be a Mommy!! Right before I left for work I got the text that said "8lbs 5oz and 21 inches long, all is good!" That was it!! That was it!!! I was freakin'! I want to know who she looks like and if she has lots of hair or was she a baldie, was her skin dark like Dad's or white like Mom's?!?! And how Haul was doing.. any complications with either of them or was everything okay!!?? Ha ha! I was just so happy Jhi was finally here... I asked all those questions and slowly got answers!! When I got to work I told EVERYONE that my sister just had her baby!!! (PS Haul... Everyone from work says Congrats!!!) I was just sitting at work trying to do my time sheet and  I got a text from my Mom saying that they e-mailed me some pics!! I jumped right out of my chair and literally ran to the computer and logged on to my e-mail to look!! I was so excited to see what she looked like! I opened the pictures and started to cry!! Ha! Yupp that's right I am a sap!! (I am even crying right now writing about it!... Such a cry baby!) Don't judge me!! My co-worker came over to see if I was okay and I showed him the pictures as well! (Already starting to brag about her!... It's my job right!?)  I just sat there and stared at them for at least 10 minutes before moving and having to go get some work done! I am so excited to meet her! My sister Haulee is such an amazing women! Jhi is going to have the best parents any girl could ask for (except for mine of course!) She will make a wonderful Mom! I am so excited to see her move on to this part of her life!! I am so glad that she had a baby, it will help give me my baby fix!!! I'll just steal her babe! Jhi is beautiful just like her Mom!!  Haul I am sorry I wasn't there but I will be there everyday I can when I get back when you need help... Kay!? And let's not forget her AMAZING Daddy that Jhi will have to look up to!! Shane you are going to be such an awesome father!! You are such and amazing guy and will be just fine with a baby girl of your own! You can teach her by the wonderful example you are to everyone! I look up to you both so much and I am so grateful that you two are in my life and that we are as close as we are. I know I haven't been around much the last.. what?... 3 years ish!? And we aren't as close as we should be do to that, but I do love you both and am so proud of you guys! I can't wait to see you all when I get home in three weeks!! LOVE YOU ALL!!! 19 Days!!! ( I have to stop with this wonderfully amazing topic cause I am just bawling like a baby over here!)

Okay well... Just a short update about Alaska!! Um.... The last time I wrote was my last day off almost 2 weeks ago!! Wow!! Well not much has happened!! I just sleep and work!!! Work has been awesome!! I work with wonderful people and love them all so much!!! We all get along so well! I love this job! I love all my natives that I take care of! Funny story real quick while we were getting one of my residents up for the day... My co-worker that with me was black and he was standing by the bed and we turned on the lights and then my resident said "WOW! YOU GOT BLACKER!!"  Ha ha!! It was to funny!! I love my residents!! I have plenty of stories for when I get back if you would like to hear them just hit me up... kay!!!??  Um... Oh our company/hospital had a BBQ and whoever wanted to come could come! So as a night shift we all decided to go! It was delish!!! There was hamburgers, hotdogs, smoked salmon, grilled salmon, chips, potato salad, macaroni salad, watermelon, corn on the cob, baked beans, juice, water, ice cream, and chocolate cake! It was SO yummy!! Tank coo Manillaq!!! (That is how you say thanks in Eskimo!) It was loads of fun chatting with everyone and taking pictures of course! That's really the only thing other than sleep and work that I have done! I got my first paycheck today as well!! Finally!! Yay!!! I am going shopping on Friday! Not a lot of shopping to do here but to get gifts for the fam and of course myself! Oh last week at church we had people call us from elsewhere in Alaska and talk over a speaker from their cell phones while they were at home!! Crazy eh!? It was quite the experience but wonderful talks were given!! I also talked with both sets of Grandparents and can't wait to see and talk with them again!! Um.... My time here has gone crazy fast!! Only three more weeks here and I am in Utah again! Also working nights you get your days all screwed up... all my days run together... cause you work 2 different days and get all your sleep in one day... its super weird!! Well that is basically all that has happened here.... Super sorry for the Worlds Longest Post Ever!!! But I got the BEST NEWS EVER and HAD to share!! See ya'll soon!!!

Caribou Sighting!

O MY GOSH!! Okay I know I haven't udated for awhile but that is because I haven't really been up to anything!! Viv was in Anchorage all weekend so all I did was work and sleep and repeat!! I did go to chruch this weekend!! And I didn't have to go alone!! One of my co-workers came with me!! Yay! The branch experience is amazing!! We only do one hour of church, just sacrament!! And they only have to use one slice of bread! Crazy! This week there was a total of 8 people there!! We also don't have enough people to speak in sacrament meeting to fill up the time, so therefore we watch conference talks! Kinda weird! When I get back to Utah it will be hard to go to all three hours of church again!! Well life here is getting better!!! I love it here! I am getting to know a lot more people! I love all of my co-workers! They are all so wonderful! We do breakfast or lunch dates all the time!!! I also play for Vivian's families slow pitch softball team, when I don't have to work! I usually have one day off a week!! And usually on my day off Viv has to work!! But yesterday was my day off and Viv got off early!! I stayed at work for two extra hours cause one of the day CNA's didn't show up! So I stayed there until she did! Then I got home and showered and got ready and then went back to the hospital and had lunch with Vivian! Then she got off at two (instead of six) Yay!! So when she got home she changed and we walked over to her aunts house and borrowed their four wheeler!!! Then we drove out across the airport and then out to a place on the beach called Cape Blossom!!! It was so pretty!! We also saw a small heard of Caribou!!!! Yay!! I was so freakin' excited! That was the first Caribou I have ever seen in real life!!! Holy cow!!!! It was so fun!! We drove the four wheeler right by the Caribou!! We were basically running with them! It was such an AMAZING experience!! O and as soon as we got out to the beach my freakin' camera died!!! It was so lame!!! But it was still so fun!! When we got farther down the beach this single one Caribou jumped out us and almost attacked us!! Ha ha! We both had a heart attack!! When we were there we also saw Crane! They are a freakin' HUGE bird!!! It was so fun to get out of the house and actually see some amazing animals! O we also saw a lot of dead seals! That was really sad and creepy! I wish that I could have seen a real live one!! But o well!! When we got back into town we were going to go out to eat but guess what!! The WHOLE town was having a power outage!! That is so crazy that the whole town can be out of power!! It was out for a little over an hour before I fell asleep! Well... I am back to work tonight! And my sleep schedule is totally screwed up!! Cause of yesterday I didn't sleep at all during the day like I usually do! When we got home from our adventure I was so exhausted I fell asleep at 5 PM! Whoops!! Well... I only have one more month here!! Which is bitter sweet! It ALWAYS is when I move! I feel so excited to move to where ever I am going but so sad for leaving my adventure that I am having! But I guess that is how it will always be! You always miss something! :(  But I can't wait to get home!! Cause when I get home I will be an Auntie to a beautiful baby girl, and a new cousin to a handsome baby boy, and one of my best friends will be back from his mission!! And for all of that I am SO excited to move back to Utah! But I will definately miss all of the amazing people that I have met here! I have learned so much from them! And I am greatful for Viv and her family for putting up with me while I am here! Well.. That is enough for now! I will try to update next week on my day off!! :) I would love to put some pictures up! But... The internet connection here isn't that wonderful! Sorry!!

Working In Alaska!!!

Hey y'all!!! :) Guess what!! I started work a couple days ago!! I work in the hospital here in Alaska!! It is so much fun! I work in the long term care unit and so its basically like a nursing home. But we only have 16 residents! I work nights!! They are 12 hour shifts! I like those so much better than the 8 hour shifts I was doing at The Lob in The Geezy!! :) Yay! Well... all of my residents are Native and they still use some of their Native language! It is super cool, and I have already learned quite a few words from them! They are just so darn cute! I already have my schedule for my whole time of being here and I basically work every night. So therefore the rest of my time here will be spent like so... Work from 7P-7A and then come home shower and sleep till about 5P and get up and ready and start all over again! :) Ha! Unless Viv and her family have something outrageously fun to be doing during the day then this will be my life for the next six weeks!! :) Um... Let's see... all the people I work with CNA's and Nurses included are traveling CNA's and Nurses!! I have never heard of such a thing... so therefore I will explain it to you just in case you haven't either... A traveling CNA/Nurse works 13 weeks in some place and then goes home for 1 week and then to a different place for 13 weeks! Kind of fun cause you get to travel and see other places!! But it would be hard cause just as you get attached to the residents you would have to leave again! But they do get paid bank though! Well.. it's about that time again... gotta start walking to work!! Bye!!

Adventures!!

Well... I decided to start a blog about all of my fun adventures back in 2010 when I was beginning all of the fun traveling!! And as you can see... That didn't work out so well!! Ha! So I decided to start it up again!! Yay!! Let's see if I can do better this time!!...

Okay for those of you who don't know I have made my way up North to the northern most part of Alaska! I am in Kotzebue!! It is a beautiful little island! I live with one of my old roommates and her fun family! Life here is a lot different than back home in Utah!! A lot more layed back and chill! It is very much so an easier lifestyle... not so rushed! I like it in that sense! I love getting to explore all of the places that I have been!! Here is no different!! Yesterday I went on three walks!! I am trying to learn and find my way around town!! I can find my way the church building, the store and where I go running as often as I can! Which seems to be a lot lately!! Everyone here owns a boat so that they can go up river to their camps! The family that I live with went up to camp this last Saturday!! It is beautiful up there!!! It is right on the Noatak River!! I also had to get a new phone for my stay here cause my phone doesn't work all the way up here!! Crazy huh!? They also walk, ride bikes, drive four wheelers, and few drive cars! I moved here for work... but my background check hasn't cleared yet, therefore no work for me yet!! I have been here a week and the background check started like a week and a half before I got here... Anchorage is taking forever to go over it I guess!! Now it's just the waiting game!!! So for now I am just hanging out at home until I can start work!! And I can't wait to start work!! In the last week that I have just been vegging out I have started and finished the first book of the hunger games!! :) And for those of you who know me.. know that I must be extremely bored to finish any kind of book in a week!!! :) Ha ha! O I havent' been sleeping that well either!! Because when it is supposed to be dark.... ya know like at midnight!?!? Ya... No!! It's like noon day outside!!! Haha! It is hard to get used to!! So we put a dark sheet up on the window in our room so it makes it a little easier for me to fall asleep!!! When I get home darkness is going to be so foreign to me!! Ha ha! The weather here is very chilly!! Although all the Natives think that it is warm... I believe that it is feezing!! I sleep in a hoodie, sweats, and socks!! Ha! And I normally don't sleep like that back home! But I do like when it's cold when I sleep... I just need more blankets to cover up with!! :) Well... I will try to keep this updated as best I can from now on!!

                                                      This is the church building we use!

                                                 This is the airport landing/taking off strip,
                                                        it is built on top of the water.

                                                                Pauline and I!

                                                      On the way to camp!!!

                                                             Still on the way to camp!

                                                Guess the time of day it is in this picture!!
                                                  It's midnight!!! Bet ya didn't guess that!