Jed & Sarah's Day at the Beach

After a long (Very long) Day of planning and discussing future/wedding plans, Jed and I went on a walk through Kincaid Park and took a small path that led to the beach. It was amazing. It was almost nine o'clock and the sun was at that perfect level to make everything glow! It was so amazing.



I was really enjoying the serenity of the moment. I could've stayed there all night waiting for the sun to set...but then Jed panicked because he remembered they lock the park at 10pm. We hurried to the parking lot hoping they didn't really lock the gates until eleven. Well, we arrived at the gates at 10:10pm and they were locked! We were trapped and there are no roads to get out. We followed the few other cars that were also locked in, onto the small paved bike path and out through the rock/cement barriers...to keep cars from getting onto the path. A few other guys and Jed helped guide each other through with only inches on each side. After we got through we over heard that some one had called the police to open the gate...that or report us for driving on the path. We were the last of about ten cars to make it through and a few miles down the road we passed the cop. We were glad we didn't get caught! It added just a little adventure/4-wheeling to the night.

My Long Weekend: Day One!

Jed and I had a lot of fun plans that kind of didn't work out so well. I took a day off of work so we could go somewhere out of town but rather than going out of town we stayed around in town. We went on a hike up Girdwood (where all the hippies live). The hike was a lot of fun and very beautiful and the weather was actually warm! (Jed just said the trail was called Winner Creek...Not winter, and that is his contribution to the blog ;) )
The water was beautiful it is really blue because of the glacier silt. I was worried the camera wouldn't capture the color but it did a great job!
While we were hiking Jed noticed a duck...or something...we started watching it when all of her babies started to come out and follow her. We watched them for a long time trying to follow each other on the slick rock. I felt bad for one of them when it slipped and fell into the water...then the longer we watched the more they kept fall/jumping into the water, then getting out again. It was very entertaining. Finally they jumped in and were carried away by they current...through the rapids...pretty sure they're dead.

Afterward we headed downtown to Anchorage...first to pick up my ring that was being sized, then to get a Reindeer dog from Tia's a street vendor. Reindeer dogs ROCK! I think the camera adds ten pounds! But I guess I have put on some weight...early preparation for winter!

I Love You Romeo!

(I'm second from the right in the red pants, Jed is in the middle...Who would've guessed that all of this would happen?)

I first met Jed about six years ago in a UVSC spring mountain biking class. The first time I saw him he was with his friend Wade. Our class met in the entry of the PE building they stood in the very back, I don't think I would have even turned around but Wade kept making loud sarcastic remarks and laughing, I couldn't help but notice them. I really never talked to either of them in the class... Jed was so fast he was always one of the first down the trail, I was inevitably the last to mosey down the trail. After one of our class rides Wade was inviting people to get food, I accepted thinking a big group of us were going...it turned out to be just Jed, Wade and me. I sat right next to Jed at Arby's and it was then...six years ago I developed a little crush on him. I started writing about Jed in my journal in the spring of 2003. I had the biggest crush on him! We went on dates off and on over the years but mostly during that time we became good friends. I always considered Jed one of my best friends. He wrote to me (a few times) while I was on my mission. That is when I started calling him Romeo since he was writing about all the girls he was dating. Jed met most of my ex-boyfriends and was always there when I broke up with them! We would sit in the driveway until all hours in the morning just talking (I was always hoping he would kiss me ;) For a long time Jed called me every Sunday just to talk. He was was always there whenever I needed someone to talk to.

Over the years many of our friends and family questioned why we were not together. Maybe all the persistence paid off! Well....It was well worth the wait!

Jed, I never imagined that I could be so completely in love with my best friend! I don't think I could've imagined anything like this for myself...and I still can't believe how lucky I am! Thank you for being so patient with me!! I love you so much!

My Journal is full of stories of Jed. I was always confessing my love and frustration of Jed "not picking up on my signals" Below are just a few one-liners directly out of my journal!! There are so many I couldn't get them all!
May 6, 2003 " I can't get Jed out of my mind." July 27, 2003 "Jed called me tonight!" August 5, 2003 "I miss Jed! He called me Sunday night and we ended up talking for almost two hours!"
February 1, 2004 " I am in love with Jed, but that doesn't mean I have to start planning our wedding"
February 27, 2004 " Jed broke my heart tonight." (Yep...like five years ago Jed told me he didn't want to date me ;))
March 20, 2004 "I went snowboarding with Jed. I love that we are still friends he is a way cool guy but I still love him to death!"
March 30, 2004 "I still love Jed!"
May 1, 2004 "I went to Moab with Jed!"
October 27, 2004 "Trying to get over Jed has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

Oh That's Why

I decided late Thursday night to visit Jed this weekend. I planned to leave right after work Friday and tried to get off early but it seems like something always comes up at the last minute to delay my travels. I was of course anxious to get to Fairbanks and it was beautiful drive, with only a few people on the road. I was driving way too fast and just past the Igloo I came around a corner and a cop was coming the other direction. I obviously slammed on my brakes and had pulled over even before he had turned around.
I had my registration and license out before he got to my window. His first question was what part of Utah are you from? I hesitated, taken off guard by his question I stammered "I'm from Spanish Fork area" he quickly said "Oh Spanish F-aRK" in the voice that people use to make fun of our accent. I just looked at him like how did you know that? He said he was from Salt Lake. We started talking and talked for almost twenty minutes about the area. He talked about buying hogs from the Shepherd's. He knew a few people from that area. Then He asked what brought me up to Alaska so I told him the story of Jed and I and explained how he was in Fairbanks. So then he asked what Ward Jed was in and we tried to figure out where he lived and which ward Jed would be in. The officer was from Healy and his Branch included the town Nenana. So I told him my mission companion lived in Nenana, and told him Sister Verhagan. He got excited and said "Kristi?! Well I just had dinner with her last night!" We talked about her and our mission, how I also was in Sam's (Kristi's brother) MTC district. Well, by this time he handed back my registration and license and said "wow, you were going really fast, but tell Kristi I said Hi when you talk to her." I jokingly replied that I would slow down now that I knew someone would be reporting back to my bishop!" He said "Yeah, I know them all it's a small world up here"

Officer Ryan let me go with out giving me a ticket, even though I was going like twenty miles per hour over the speed limit. After he let me go I was driving away laughing to myself about how lucky I was and thinking that could've been a very expensive ticket...when I had a very strong impression that said that is why you pay your tithing. I felt very grateful. I have been trying to catch up financially since the move and now trying to save as much money as possible to pay for all the upcoming expenses, a ticket would have been very stressful! It was a humbling experience and I felt very humbled that even though I was in the wrong the Lord still blessed me!

Chasing Bore Tides

My roommate and I went out on the Turnagain Arm to chase the Tide. The Bore Tide is the wave that comes in with the tide. The tide comes in so quickly it creates a wave sometime six feet tall. It is a really amazing sight to see...so we ventured out to catch this natural wonder. A few days prior to this I was out there riding the whale statues and I was freezing so this trip I brought my winter coat. It turns out it is a perfect summer jacket here! It was chilly! When we got to our view point we figured we missed it. We stopped to take pictures of the wild flowers that are just blooming, we went up to Girdwood and got some icecream then on our drive back we spotted a small wave. We quickly pulled over with a few other cars to see our first Bore Tide. It wasn't very big but it was like a big wave of water was slowly creeping into the inlet. I have video below I hope it works but it was too hard to capture how amazing it is.







This is my roommate Brook Wyatt. She was awesome and came chasing the tide with me. She is born and raised here in Anchorage but had not seen to Bore Tide until today with me. We were very excited!!

Below is a video of the Bore tide it was absolutely amazing it is so hard to capture in film though. Maybe you should try seeing it on YouTube There are a few good views of the tide!

Baluga!

Well everything is starting...the wedding madness! It is hard not to get caught up in all the craziness and I have only been engaged for less than a week. I am not sure how people stay sane through it all.
I was very happy to have my roommate and her friend ( who has been visiting from Washington) invite along to go on a long drive, they were going out to a restaurant that served really good Clam Chowder. It was way out in Girdwood which is almost an hour drive along the Turn Againarm, where I usually ride my bike. I of course had already eaten but began to get really excited to try this amazing chowder they were talking about. When we finally got there they had just served their last bowl for the evening. We were all disappointed, and instead went next door to get some really delicious ice cream.
Afterwards, we stopped at one of the view points were beluga whales are most often seen. It is not the season to see them but we were able to snap some photos of their replicas. This below is, as Jed would put it, my redneck shining through. I stayed on for 8 seconds....It was so SOOO cold there. the wind was blowing and it was in the mid-fifties. Not your typical June (well not my typical June). I am going back either tomorrow or Thursday to this point to see the tide come in it's called the Bore Tide. In this part of the tide comes in so quickly that it creates a wave sometimes up to six feet high. According to their little chart the most likely chance of seeing it will be in the next two days around 6:30pm. I think I will grab a beanie, gloves, a heavier coat and hot chocolate to sit and wait for the tide. Things are great here and I am keeping myself entertained, by riding statues of whales ;) I miss you all too much!

"FINALLY"

Hey Everyone! I'M ENGAGED!!
"FINALLY" ~ Jim Gaffigan

I am sure you are all anxious to know how he asked me! It was a total surprise...maybe not that he asked me... but the way he did really surprised me! This is the week that Jed and I were not planning on seeing each other. Since he just came up last weekend and I am house sitting until Sunday. So today, I was texting Jed a lot through out the day, since I knew he was off work and not sleeping like usual. I kept asking him what he was doing. At one point he said "Stalking you" I laughed and didn't think twice about it. More texts were exchanged throughout the day, and he asked where I was, where I was going and what my plans were for the evening. I told him I was going to the gym, but then ended up stopping at Fred Meyers. I kept getting texts from him teasing me and questioning what I was doing, and I remained clueless the entire time. Apparently, I drove right by him at one point on my way to the gym but did not recognize his truck. I wasn't even looking for it and was already in my own little world listening to radio. I left the gym early because I wanted to get home and take Champ (the dog) for a walk. I got several texts afterwards, at the time I did not think anything of it but looking back I should have been suspicious. Jed asked if I was walking the dog, and I told him I was fixing dinner first. The funny thing is I really didn't feel like walking Champ and I hesitated, I slowly ate my dinner before getting up and getting ready to go out for a walk. Finally, I started to walk Champ, I had my headphones on and completely oblivious to my surroundings; I was just enjoying listening to my Ipod. When I heard something behind me and before I even knew what happened Jed, on a red beach cruiser, had snuck up behind me. He stopped directly in front of me, got off the bike and got down on one knee right there. It was so unreal and confusing, I asked "what are you doing here?" I am not even sure what he said after that I was so confused I had to take off my sunglasses to make sure I was seeing everything correctly....I just remember "will you marry me?" I couldn't answer...I was so shocked and surprised. I did notice the bicycle though because I had been saying I wanted one for months even before I moved to Alaska I told him I wanted a red cruiser. Well ofcourse I finally said "Yes" it was a total surprise!!! He finished walking Champ while I rode my new cruiser next to them. I am equally excited about the bicycle as I am the ring. The ring is beautiful and when Jed first opened the box I thought it was really "Shiney and sparkly ;)" It is perfect. Jed picked it out himself, he did a great job since I didn't give him very many ideas of what I wanted. Yeah so we are engaged!! We don't have a date set but we are thinking October-ish, we will keep you all posted!