Ready.Set.Go!

A lot has happened since Valentines Day! However, I am not only a slacker at not updating the blog, but at capturing our life with pictures... The few events I do get my camera out...well they must be special.

I am going to be updating a few events that captured my camera's attention....man...you guys are lucky! (; We made it to Alaska, so there will be some fun posts with wildlife and beautiful scenery!
Here are a few teasers:

Enjoy!
 **Some Photo Credit's go to MacKay's Cousin: Leslie Bodily!

Shanna

Valentines Day

I have always been the girl that hated to love valentines day! Like any other girl, I always had hope in the back of my mind, but tried to push it aside to not expect anything! Year after year I ended up disappointed! But don't you worry, since I have been married, the day has been...normal... with a side of flowers. My husband always treats me like a queen. We woke up that morning and I said "Happy Valentines Day Sweetie!! Be my valentine?" and he replied back, "You are my valentine every day, not just on valentines day!" Goodness I love him. It was a very busy day for the both of us, as MacKay wisked off to work, I showered and got ready for work myself. After work for me, I took off for Club Practice 40 miles away. Didn't come home, or see my hunny till 8:30pm!! When I got home, I was dead tired! But there was an arrangement of flowers on the table, and he was ready to go to dinner!

He took me to my favorite place to eat around here. Yup, Los Amigo's!! It was heaven! Came home and watched our favorite TV series; Prison Break, and went to bed! It was a long day. But all in all it was a wonderful day! Like it usually is with my Mr.

I bet you are asking yourself, "What did she get him?!" No, I am not a slacker. I did get him some things! I did a fun little 14 days of Valentines-which you can find here .

It includes free printables and wonderful ideas! I had a blast with this each day for the first 14 days of February, and on the last day I made the coupon book from the same site. Find it - here

Since we have a tight budget, I knew he would appreciate the lack of spending a lot of money! [I was right..]  It was a hit!! How was your valentines day?!

XOXO- Shanna

My Dear Aunt Liz

Last night, there was a horrible accident near Cheyenne, Wyoming, where all of my Mom's family lives. I was sitting peacefully on my bed at home with loved ones when I was aimlessly playing on Facebook. I saw a post from my cousin that sent chills up my spine. It was him asking for prayers for his Mother. It had no other information and I had one of those, gut hurting, feelings. I called my Mom, she was in a theater waiting to watch a movie with some friends. I asked her if she had heard anything that was going on. She hadn't and told me to call my Grandmother, as she couldn't. I texted another Aunt to see if she knew, when she didn't reply I called my Grandmother. After talking with her, she had no idea and told me she would call as soon as she found out. A few minutes later she called back in tears saying that my Aunt Liz was in a car accident and had just passed away. I couldn't believe my ears. Since I heard the news, I haven't been able to think of anything else. It makes me sick to think about what my Uncle Tony is going through right now, and their amazing 2 kids, Jared and Kara. Their spouses and the 2-almost-3 grand kids.

I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with my Aunt Liz, as we lived hours and hours away, but I adored her. I looked forward to visiting Tony's house. I know this may not make any sense to most of you, but it will to our family. Liz and Kara always reminded me of spring colors. Strange? Maybe, but those two are the happiest people I know. They are not loud and happy, but soft, kind, and always serving with a smile. Liz loved her God, and it showed. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of my God, and our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know she is in Heaven meeting her Creator, and he had open arms. She will get to spend a couple more weeks with her first granddaughter, who is due shortly. She will continue to look out for all, especially her Husband and Children and their families. I pray for the upcoming journey that will be hard, and full of tears, for my Uncle and family. Please keep them in their prayers, as they struggle to adjust to this new life.

Here is a picture of Tony and Liz (off Kara's FB): I love you both.

MacKay- O, Salmon- 1

On our first fishing trip, it was just MacKay and I, we had no boat, it was just a little bit of hikin', wadin', and fishin'! We drove a few miles up the Talkeetna Spur Road, and parked by the trees, where we followed a little trail to the large rivers. This is one of the only good fishing spots you can get to without a boat. Since we didn't have a boat, it was perfect! I wont fool ya, I was terrified to hike! Don't get me wrong, I have loved hiking most of my life, but I never hiked in Alaska, where I had heard terrifying stories from the Taylor's, Butler's and Ford's, I swear they did this on purpose to watch me squirm! Boy, did it work! MacKay never went anywhere without a gun, but I was still keyed up! I did NOT want to see any Bear's or Moose! We came to the train track, where we could climb up and over, or go through an underpass. MacKay took that time to tell me a story of him seeing 2 bears on the other side of the underpass a few years back. Thank you Mr. MacKay! ugh, So I opted for up and over. When we finally got out of the jungle-like woods, my nerves left! It was just beautiful, I was glad to see some land, water, and life! Other than just Pines. Here are some pictures of our fishing adventure!

Isn't he cute?! (:

First view of one of the three rivers.

MacKay wading through to find a good spot.

My honey fishin'! You won't see many pictures of me fishing, because I didn't have a license, they are really expensive for out of state. So I let him have all the fun! (:

I forgot to bring a book, so I resorted to picture taking. Darn.(;

Sorry, about all the pics of MacKay! I love seeing him do what he loves! I have about 1 hundred million more. (; 

Yes, that is a fallen over tree! HUGE!

We were heading back from fishing, as we didn't catch anything! Fish- 1 MacKay-0

& here is the two of us home, safe and sound, with encountering 0 bears, moose, or anything else that may threaten our lives. (sigh of relief)

Alaska Adventures 2011

When MacKay and I got settled a little bit, into the Smokehouse, and our little cabin, we dove into some little adventures. Since pictures are way more fun, enjoy!

We found this little nest in a pine tree near the Ford's Cabin! I love this picture, he is smiling at me! (;

A couple weeks later we found them like this, almost too big for the nest. We didn't see them after this, they learned how to use their little wings!

This picture cracks us up. It was taken in Anchorage. We were at a little tiny business that sold a mixture of tomatoes, and fixed up appliances. (yeah picture that) The man who took care of the tomatoes wore skinny jeans, his cut-off t-shirt tucked into his pants with belly hanging over. He loved having someone to talk to! He was very kind, and had a good heart! He was thrilled to show me his home for all of his cats. He loves cats. Yup, they live in his car. While he went to take care of some tomatoes, I snuck in a few pictures. Oh Alaska! (;

This picture was taken at about 10:30pm. Bright as noon day! This was my first glimpse of Mt. McKinley. It is so beautiful!! I wished my dad was there looking at it with  me! He would have loved it.

At sunset- 12:00am-ish? Lake behind Heidi and Keith's house.

Me trying to be a photographer as good as @Tia Chapman! (;

When it is a sunny day, and not raining, there is a look out into Talkeetna where you can see Denali, or Mt. McKinley! This was my first view, It is just beautiful!!!

Again with the picture taking. But a hammock in Alaska, overlooking a lake? Yes, please!

Tip of Mt. McKinley through the Talkeetna River!

This place is just beautiful! So much green, and so many trees.(: I was in heaven!

More to come on the first fishing trip! (:

the trip to ALASKA. . .[finally!]

 I am finally catching up on some blogging. I am going to write several posts concerning Alaska. There is just so much that happened, I want to capture it all!

Last June, MacKay and I got the opportunity to move to the beautiful state of Alaska! His uncle started, and owns a business in a tiny town called Talkeetna. His Uncle asked us if we would like to give it a try and run it for the summer. MacKay has worked there previously for the summers and he.loved.it.  He always told me stories of fishing, and hiking, and. . .well, fairytales! [at least that's what it seemed like.] I never thought I would actually move there! 

Well, as we decided if this was right for us, we thought, WHY NOT?! We have no kids, no major commitments. If we wanted an adventure, this is the time. Everything was lining up to go, vehicle, cabin, everything! (thanks to MacKay's wonderful families! The Butlers and the Fords!!) Besides, MacKay has always wanted to be a business man. It's what he is studying, and we thought this would be a great opportunity! So we packed and headed for the airport. We had both of our families to see us off. As we got through the long line and into security, we followed procedure and started stripping! I received my personal items back, and we were waiting on MacKay's. As we were watching his buckets full of jacket, watches and shoes, go down the belt, the belt stops, rewinds, and stops again on MacKay's bucket. We were both utterly confused, I asked MacKay if he took out all of his pocket knifes. He told me, that he had double checked! By this time, there were about 3 security guards looking through an X-ray of our stuff. My mom, who had not left yet, was calling my phone wondering what was going on, as I had no idea, so I told her I would let her know. So they stayed over looking from the balcony with both families waiting to hear the dilemma. Finally a guard asked who's belongings these were. As we walked over to them, I thought we were in trouble for sure! The big, thick man with a badge asked MacKay if he had a gun with him. MacKay told him that we were in fact taking a few guns that were inspected and checked in already. The man held open his hand, and in it were some small bullets. I was terrified that we would get kicked out! MacKay just simply said, "Oh! Well if it makes you feel any better, those bullets are not to any guns that I brought!" Oh gol, perfect!! I almost laughed, but then the mean scary guy with a badge said, "Sir, we are going to have to confiscate these." MacKay laughed and said, "Of course! That's fine." I quickly apologized, and the man told us if it happened again we would be fined. As we went to gather the rest of our things, My mom called again, I told her what had happened, and I heard my Mother-In-Laws laugh from across the way. My family couldn't fathom forgetting to take out bullets from a jacket pocket, but as a Taylor, it surly should have been expected! We hurried off to catch our flight.

The plane ride wasn't all roses, we had a flight from Salt Lake City, to Denver. It was the shortest flight, yet the bumpiest ride we had ever been on! MacKay doesn't do well with turbulence, and so he was sick the last part of the ride. When we landed in Denver, we had about 2 hours till our next flight straight to Anchorage. After a long wait, we got on the plane to our final destination! MacKay slept the whole time, and I got a window seat! We flew clear into the night. I was expecting to find darkness as I looked out my window seat, but it was bright, and you never would have guessed it was 10pm. We landed at about 1am and boy, were we tired! We had a motel set up for the night. The next morning, we caught a taxi to pick up our, beaten-bought-over-the-internet truck, and headed on our way!

A few hours and a walmart stop later, we were finally in the tiny town of Talkeetna! I wish I could say I was taken back from the beauty! However, all I could see was the road and the millions of pine trees that lined it.

Boy was everything GREEN! We pulled into our little cabin, that belonged to another uncle of MacKay's. Oh my goodness, it is the cutest cabin you will ever see! It is tiny, but the coziest fun place to stay ever. (: Take a look!

Cute huh?!  We walked around the tiny cabin and found that we had a back porch! I was thrilled!!!

 After we got our groceries put away and went to go see our shop, the place we would work all summer. 

Talkeetna Counrty Smokehouse.

(This is the smokehouse and our truck!)

A logo:

When we pulled in I got my first 'taken back moment' in Talkeetna. My heavens the property his Uncle Randy owned was beautiful! On it, was a pond, full of lilly pads, and a couple swans and surrounded by pine trees. Down the green road lined with trees, I saw the cabin MacKay's cousins lived in, and our Smokehouse, and beyond the cabin, the picture perfect lake! 

 

(the pond with the swans in the far back)

(The Butler's Cabin with lake behind)

(The beautiful lake behind the house!)

(and a river connecting the Lake and the Pond)

MacKay gave me a tour of the Smokehouse, and then we toured the property! My camera was going crazy. (I have about a million more pictures on my computer.(: ) We met up with MacKay's cousins and two adorable kids, and had hot dogs and hamburgers on the porch over looking the lake. I was in heaven! All I could think about was, "My Dad has got to come here!" 

(The lake and the back porch we had dinner on)

After a couple days of getting settled in, we started deep cleaning the Smokehouse. It was a huge task, but so much fun! After putting up our signs on the main road, we started getting some business. For those of you who don't know what we do, let me briefly explain;

We work with fish. Salmon to be exact. Fisherman come to us to clean and package their fish, we then ship their fish back to their homes, or they take it with them. We also make smoked salmon, and salmon jerky. Now, having never been a fan of Fish, I have to say, I never really tasted fish before until I tasted Alaskan Salmon. My goodness, it is delicious, and don't even get me started on the smoked salmon! I was sold. We also buy commercially caught salmon, (from the ocean) and sell fresh, and smoked for those who don't fish but want some to eat!

One day, it was a little slow in the shop, so I set out to take some pictures. MacKay told me to be careful, I knew he meant to watch out for wildlife. I wasn't worried. 

I had taken a lot of pictures around the property, when I decided I wanted some down by the stream that connects the lake to the pond. As I was having a blast taking pictures of different angles I looked to step closer to the edge, where I saw a chewed up fish. Holy Cow, my heart dropped to my toes! I didn't know what it was, but all I could think was BEAR! I snapped a picture of the chewed on mess, and ran as fast as I could back to the shop. MacKay sat and laughed that I was scared out of my witts, yet I had to grab a picture! He bets it wasn't a bear, because they would have eaten the fish whole. But I was more catious after that! Here is a picture of the stream before I found the fish, then the fish! Enjoy.(:

(the stream from the lake to the pond)

(chewed up fish. (;   )

Here are a couple random pics!:

(A t-shirt logo!)

(The big cabin on the same property of our little cabin, we watched over it for our family, the Fords! They also have another beautiful cabin through the woods! What a dream!)

Stay tuned for more stories of Alaska!

MacKay & Shanna.

'...and I thought I loved him then.'

I can still remember every detail about THE Day.

MY Day. OUR Day.

I can remember the pre-wedding jitters, while laying in bed, playing through all the things I needed to do in the morning. Trying to calm my mind enought to fall asleep. I just couldn't stop thinking about Him. The next thing I knew, I was waking up the next morning to a late start. Rushing all that morning until I finally got to see 'Him' I broke into a huge smile. All my worries went out the window, the butterflies came and I could not stop my heart from fluttering at his Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes and Perfect Smile.

As we headed to the Temple, I just stared at him, unable to NOT smile.

I can honestly say that 1 year later....I get those same jitters, the unbelief that He picked ME.

Here we are 1 year down the road, we are living in Alaska, in a cozy, fun, little cabin, running a business and having the time of our lives!

Can life get any better than this?

That's what I asked myself 1 year ago.....Can I even think to Hope that it can possibly get any better?

Can I love him any more than this?

That's what I asked 1 year ago....

Tomorrow is Our FIRST Anneversary.

We are spending it in Alaska! I can hardly wait for the day to come! 1 day off of work, for a whole day with my love....in ALASKA. Dream Come True. (:

...and I thought I loved him then. <3

MacKay & Shanna.