Goodbye UTAH, Hello ALASKA!!

It has been exactly one month since we moved into our apartment here in Alaska. That is so hard for me to believe! I've been working at my new job for 2 1/2 weeks and we've already seen so many cool, amazing, unbelievable things/places here in AK. While there are moments when I definitely miss home and family and friends and everything I've known for the last 25 years, I am so excited to be here with Mac on this adventure (and it is DEFINITELY an adventure!)

It all started with saying goodbye and packing up the trailer. Have you ever moved across the country and tried to pack all of your belongings into a 6x10 trailer? I never had before and it was sad to realize a number of our things would not be making the journey with us. We packed that dumb old trailer and used almost every square inch! Once we got packed up and said our goodbyes, we were on the road, and there was no turning back! Here is an email I sent out while we were on the road in Canada:

I just wanted to update all of you and let you know that we are alive and well!! The trip so far has been interesting. Surprisingly it hasn't been that bad just riding in the truck. I thought I'd get really antsy to get out of the car but I haven't. We've been listening to books on CD which helps pass the time and doing crossword puzzles. I've been impressed by how NICE all the Canadians have been. They have the cutest little accents and we've passed time by pretending to talk like them in the car. We haven't had much luck with our hotels, and that has been stressful!! The first night we got to Helena, MT and all the hotels were booked. I guess it was opening weekend of the hunt so there were tons of people. Then last night we stopped in Banff, Alberta (which was BEA-utiful by the way, but super rainy. I was bummed because I wanted to walk around but it was pouring rain). We paid almost $200 for a crappy hotel, but that was all there was. :(. Then today we drove to Dawson Creek, AB. Apparently there is some huge rodeo so ALL the hotels were totally booked! The sweet lady at the counter said that there was someone who didn't leave a credit card number and hadn't checked in yet, so she gave us their room. So grateful we have a nice place to stay for a reasonable price, but I hope the other people aren't too put out. Tomorrow we hit the Alaska Highway and are staying at some little lodge in Toad River. There literally are no hotels along this stretch and the reviews for the lodge say that it smells like rotten eggs and is dirty. HA! Can't wait for that, right? After that we should be in more populated areas when we stop. We've had lots of adventures and tons of little blessings and answered prayers, from the time we accidentally didn't pay for an entrance ticket into Banff National Forest and then got caught on our way out (the Ranger lady was sooo nice and just told us to make sure we get a pass next time) to the time the check engine light that came on and was fixed by a $6 cleaner at Auto Zone for the Air Flow something or other, to the ONE room left that we were able to get into tonight. I still have pangs of sadness that we really are gone for real, but I'm so excited to finally reach Anchorage!! The Brady boys have been nice to me and surprisingly they aren't too smelly. :)

So Enjoy all these pictures...more to come of our adventures here in AK!

My Birthday Dinner with the Fam at Rodizios Grill!

Taking a break from our drive at Yellowstone Bear World! We love this place....

No Explanation Needed

MONTANA......

....was boring.....

We stopped and drove through the town of BRADY

BEAUTIFUL Banff. It was freezing (as you can see from the frost on the trees) but when the sun came out it was just breathtaking!

One of many Glaciers to come.

The lake behind our cabin in Toad River! This place was awesome. The water smelled like rotten eggs but it just may have been our favorite place that we stayed!

Toad River Lodge!

First black bear sighting

Second black bear sighting

Sign Post Forest! This place was sooo cool, and HUGE!! We are going to save our Utah license plate and put it up in the sign post forest when we drive back across the Alaska Highway when we leave Alaska.

Bangerter Highway Utah, Provo Ut, Highland Drive...LOVE IT! Utah post.

Guess who is in the U.S. and who is still in Canada? And of course Eli Planking the country divide!

3 weeks to go!

WARNING: I just watched a sad movie and now I'm feeling nostalgic and Mac is on a fly fishing trip so I miss him and well....you've been warned. :)

I really need to stop neglecting this blog! I love getting on and looking at everyone else's blog, so I'm going to try REALLY hard to return the favor. I'm sure I'll be blogging more once we get to Alaska so that we can keep a good record of our time there. Speaking of Alaska....we are moving in less than a month! We are pretty close to ready (well except for the whole packing up thing). It has been a real eye opening experience to go through the emotions of this move....excitement (for the first 8 months we knew we were going) and then recently it has really started to hit that we are leaving our families and friends and our "HOME". I've felt nervous, scared, happy, optimistic, sad, and a million other emotions. I've started to appreciate everyone just a little bit more every day. I'm trying to remember the nieces and nephews smiles, laughs, and their fun little quirks. I'm spending more time talking with my mom and dad, and making the time I have so close to them count. It has really made me realize how much I just take things for granted. Utah has been an amazing place to grow up and maybe one day we will end up back here with our own little family, but for now Alaska will be our new home!

My last day of work is August 2nd! This too has hit me all of a sudden. For the longest time I've thought how nice it will be to change jobs and get benefits (FINALLY). But now I'm a little nervous. Will I like my new job? Will I find "friends" in my new co-workers? Will I fit in? My job right now has its moments of sheer craziness but my co-workers are some of the most amazing people and we have so much fun together! Sometimes it is more like we play at work, instead of working at work! I will truly miss them all. I was also surprised how hard it was to tell my clients that I am leaving. I have a few who are really close to graduation but I am not going to be able to be there when they graduate. I've been lucky enough to travel a part of their journey with them and I'm so proud of what they have each accomplished. It really is amazing to see how much someone can change in 8 months and so rewarding!

More than ever I am learning to trust in the Lord. We have had so many experiences that just reaffirm that we cannot do this alone and I am so grateful that I know that my Savior died for me! We are not given challenges that we do not have the ability to overcome, even though sometimes it seems like there could be nothing worse. I have felt my Savior's comforting love over the past few months and it has given me so much peace and faith that He has a plan for me. I can't wait to find out what the next few years will hold for us. I am so excited to make new friends in Alaska and for that moment when it feels like "HOME" to us just like Centerville.

Mentoring Giveaway with CRAVE PHOTOGRAPHY!!

Here is a pic from Clari's senior session just for fun. :)

Okay, so remember back when my photography went from being "okay" to actually looking professional and unique? Well that was because I did a full day mentoring session with Andee Tate from CRAVE PHOTOGRAPHY. Andee sat down with me and taught me photoshop (with me having basically no knowledge of the thing). I learned business, lighting, posing, everything! It was A-mazing.

So now she is doing a world wide giveaway, all expenses paid by CRAVE, 2-day mentoring session! Check out her blog to learn about the mentoring session and all the other amazing giveaways by other vendors. Come on....you know you are dying to learn how to make your pictures even better!!

CRAVE PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG LINK

HELP! High School Senior Models Needed

I'm realizing I don't know that many high school seniors! I did a photo shoot for my cousin Clari this week and had such a blast that I'm thinking about delving into "seniors" a little more. So I need your help. I am looking for 2 male and 1 female high school seniors to be models. The cost is $75 for a 1 hour session and 25 high resolution custom edited images with copyright release. If you have any questions head on over to my facebook photography page and leave me a comment, or leave a comment on here, or message me at jaime.c.brady@gmail.com.

Thanks for your help! Oh and while your over at my facebook page, make sure to click "like" so you can get updates for deals and giveaways! There are sure to be some spring deals coming up!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.150053095062181.33276.147318735335617&saved#!/pages/Jaime-Brady-Photography/147318735335617

Clari

Head on over to my photography blog and check out Clari's senior pictures. How beautiful is this girl!?

http://jaimebradyphotography.blogspot.com/

Spring Senior Sessions

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jaime-Brady-Photography/147318735335617

It is that time of year!! I've got some specials going on right now for our awesome Utah High School Seniors! Click on the link above to see my facebook photography page and some deals listed there. Here is what I'm offering:

~~~HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR SPECIAL~~~ Book your senior photo shoot now through May 7th and get a 1 hour session with 25 custom edited images for only $100. The first 2 to contact me will get a $25 discount!

What's in it for you, you ask? (since most of you reading this blog are not high school seniors) Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you and the power of referrals! So here is what I have to offer all you readers out there:

If you refer a high school senior who books a session you get $25 off any 1 hour session of your choice! If you refer 2 seniors who book a session, you get $50 off. Get the idea? Spread the word!

Goodbye to the orange shag carpet!

Can you believe it? I sure can't. We are down to less than 6 months until we move to Alaska! I am trying to appreciate each little moment while we are here and especially being so close to our families. We have taken that for granted for the longest time.

We got a really special surprise this Valentines day...Our bathroom/room flooded! A pipe burst right above our bathroom and when my dad turned on the water outside...well, you can put 2 and 2 together. My dad and Joe said that there was water just flowing out of the vent in the ceiling in the bathroom. Man I'm glad I wasn't there! I probably would have been freaking out. Anyway, we have had an exciting week since then....we got kicked out of our room since there were like 20 high power fans down there drying everything out. Mac and I slept in the extra bedroom....in a twin bed. YIKES! It actually wasn't too bad and we slept surprisingly well for THREE nights in that tiny little bed. Forced cuddling. Check. :) Today we are getting new carpet in our bedroom so hopefully tonight we can finally move all of our stuff back in so that we can return to life as normal. I'm a little sad to see the 30 year old orange shag carpet go, but it had a good run.