Fall semester , done!

Cory & I, at his work Xmas potluck, in front of an F-22

Wow, this last week has felt like a blur. Last week, I studied for my finals everyday. It was like I was literally glued to my notes. Time flew and before I knew it, I was taking two finals last Friday, back to back. Although I did get free pizza from the math department because there was a potluck. Yummy. Today, I took my last final for the semester. I did it. Now, I will wait for my final grades and hope I did good.

This semester was so busy with coaching volleyball, my photogtaphy business, and classes. All my classes were all math and that's all I'll be doing until the day I graduate. I've met a handful of awesome math majors and now I will be taking the same classes as them in the future. I've met only two that are expected to graduate the same time as I, which will be next December. Now I have more motivation because we will keep supporting each other to graduate then. The mathematics major is a very challenging and difficult degree and I'm proud to go for it. I hope this is all worth it :)

For now, I will be taking a month off awaiting next semester, which I will be taking 2 math and 2 stat classes. Yep, I declared my minor in statistics. Go me! Tomorrow, Cory and I will be hopping on a plan to Oregon to visit his family and spend the holidays there. Should be a blast! Taking our finals early was so worth it, even though I had to push myself to study hard.

Cory and I celebrated christmas early with my family. We also exchanged gifts early since we are leaving. Cory got me some awesome gifts! He got me a new GHD straightener, an xbox360 with kinect, and just dance 3. That game is so fun and I had fun playing it with my family. My new straightener is top notch. I got Cory new cologne and a new snowboarding outfit, which he likes them very much. We both got what we wanted, it seems :)

We only bought presents for the "kids".  Here they are about to open their presents just from us.  

Mommy!

Until then, I hope I have time to blog while we are in OR.  Have a great holiday!

Mini-break from classes

Well an important birthday just passed.  My Grandma Dominga, moms side, just turned 85 on the 13th.  She really helped my parents when raising me, because they work a lot.  In September 2010, last year, Grandma decided she wanted to move back to the Philippines.  She wanted to just stay at her house there instead of visiting the Philippines twice a year.  I understand, but it was sad to see her go.  She has been here all my life, but now I get to visit her in the Philippines.  We plan on seeing her next winter and I can't wait to show Cory the Philippines and the culture there.  Anyways, Grandma is an amazing woman raising 11 of her own children and watching their children also, she is the most patient person I know.  Grandma is very humble, patient and absolutely the kindest.  She is also a fantastic cook.  She has a great heart and I hope she is around to meet my future children too.  Thanks to Facebook, I was able to see a photo of her that my cousin posted and she looks great!!  Go Grandma, it's your birthday ;)  I just love seeing her so happy.  I love you Grandma <3 and we miss you so much!

Anyways, I am so ready for our super extended weekend due to Thanksgiving.  I don't know what we plan on doing exactly yet, but snowboarding would be really fun.  For Thanksgiving, we plan on going to my parents place for an assortment of awesome filipino food and turkey.  Cory and I also plan on taking a handful holiday portraits and an engagement shoot for a number of clients [I'm booked until Sunday except Turkey Day!].  My brother, Justin, who is in middle school, is going to do his first photo shoot with us as his models!  Cory and I want updated holiday portraits together, being that Justin is getting into photography, we asked him to do it.  He was delighted and it will be great practice for him.  I will even let him use my big camera.  Pretty excited for that!

We have already signed up for our classes for next semester, so we are good to go for that.  It is looking like this spring semester is going to a pretty tough one for both of us because of the classes we are taking.  Cory will be taking 15 credits and I with 12.  It is getting down to the nitty gritty with school.

This last weekend was pretty eventful for us.  We got to hang out with some friends, we watched my brother play his basketball game, watched the UFC fights, had a date to Sea Galley, I got a hair cut and we played volleyball.  Here are some photos of our weekend!

My Haircut!  I was very nervous to cut it this short, but Cory really wanted me to.  I have been attached to my long hair for years, but I wanted to do something different.  Well I did it and I am happy Cory likes it!

Here we are at Sea Galley.  It is definitely one of our favorite restaurants in town.  Their food is amazing and it never lets us down.  We also love the feel of that place and the decorations.  It feels like you are in an old ship.

Tes, Wayne and their daughter Kahlia, came over.   It was nice to see and hang out with them :)  They finally got a place together and I can't wait to see their apartment.  

Here is Cory jamming to his guitar in front of us.  Wayne really wants to learn to play.  

Here is my brother, Nor, playing his basketball game.  It's a league sponsored by Kendall and games are at the Spenard Rec.  It is called the Fil-Am League.  I was very impressed with the organization of this.  I also found out one of my cousins is playing too, but on a different team.  I can't wait to watch the game where they play each other.  

Another sweet shot of his skills :)

Amanda and her husband invited us over to watch the UFC fights.  It was really fun and the fights were awesome!

Another Successful Season & SNOW!

So, looks like Cory isn't getting the full time reservist job on base that we had planned for him to get.  We are coming to accept the fact that he may never get it here.  It could be a sign that God has a better plan for him and us.  If we wanted, he could apply out of state, but that is not what we want right now, especially with us trying to finish school.  Until then, Cory will be working hard in the books to obtain his Bachelor's in Accounting.  We estimate that he will finish spring of 2013 and for me, hopefully I finish fall of 2012.  I am so proud of him and his determination to obtain his bachelors.

Last weekend was our last tournament of the year for my volleyball girls.  This year the tournament was at East again.  My girls played very well. It was a double elimination tournament with games best 2 out of 3.  There was some challenging times for them, but we got to Championships against South(the undefeated team).  My girls put it all out on the court and I was very proud that they, at least, played their hardest.  In conclusion, we took 2nd.  Second the best right? At the start of season, I started with 11 girls and ended with 9.  One moved out of state and one was ineligible due to grades. I'm going to miss those girls and I am happy this season was a success!  They all showed great improvement :)  It is the positive results that comes out of these girls that make coaching so worth it.  Which is why I love it so much.  Which is another reason why, I want to teach.

2nd Place at our last Tournament 

Cory and I after coaching our last home game

Last Sunday, we had our first snow fall!  Good thing Cory bought sand bags to place in our truck bed the day before the snow fell.  Great timing.  We had a scheduled engagement shoot out in Girdwood at Winner Creek.  I was so happy it snowed because the trees were so dead and the snow would of boosted the engagement pictures.  We all wanted snow and it was awesome that it happened to fall.  The pictures turned out great and I cannot wait to finish editing them.  They are Crystal & Brandon and we clicked with them very comfortably.  They also brought their son out to the hike, who is 3.  He was the cutest!!  I will follow up with their pictures at the photography blog.  Until then here is a sneak peak.

Cory and I on the Hand Tram :)  A winter first

Crystal & Brandon

Since volleyball is coming to a close, I am slowly getting more time back in my life.  More of my time now has transitioned to time studying.  I am now also tutoring a former student of mine, John Davidson, in his college trigonometry class.  He personally requested me to be his tutor.  So, the state pays me to tutor him, great stuff!  John has cerebral palsy and I was his teacher assistant for a year when I was working at Dimond High.  Since we worked so well together, he thought he would ask me to tutor him again, instead of a stranger. 

While I was on campus for classes and studying, November 1st, Cory texted me with a picture of our Christmas tree up in our living room.  I was pretty excited to see this.  He put the tree up all by himself and took all the holiday stuff out of closet.  Since we are going to Oregon for Christmas break, we agreed we wouldn't put the tree up, but he could not resist :)  He is starting a new tradition in our family and now we put the tree up the day after Halloween.  We did it last year too.  I mean, if the stores have Christmas stuff up, why can't we in our place too?  Cory says, this way, Christmas lasts longer and Thanksgiving is still Thanksgiving, just with a nice, lighted tree up.  We still need to put the ornaments up, but maybe we won't because we won't be here for Christmas.  The lights suffice :)

<3

This has to be it

After losing hope and getting frustrated over and over again, Cory got a call from his reservist supervisor and told him some key words to put in his resume.  This way his chances of landing the job will increase.  Cory has been trying to get his job back on base when he was active duty for more than a year now.  We are still in transition.  I think it is a good thing his supervisor called but at the same time, it was like not again!  Hopefully get in this time around!  He applied for the flight crew job which is connected to the back shop, where he was working during his active duty time.  The job closed end of September.  I am hoping so much that this time around works.  I hope the next phone call we get is one where he was accepted the job.  It has been too long being put on "hold".  We want him to get this job so bad!  Praying for this to happen...

Other than that, we have been doing same old stuff.  School, photographing and coaching.  I only have 2 weeks left of coaching volleyball season.  I can't believe it is almost over.  This season really tested my coaching abilities.  I am so proud of how much they improved.  We are 12 - 1 now with 3 games left and the last tournament to go.  Yesterday, I invited the girls out to the UAA vs UAF volleyball game.  A good handful of them showed up and I am glad they did.  They were super amazed with the college level.  I hope they learned something.  The girls continuously asked me questions about what was going on.  It was awesome seeing them so into it.  I just remember my high school coach had us watch a UAA game for team bonding and now I am just keeping the cycle going.  The volleyball community here is amazing in AK.

Heidi & Lauren [Breast Cancer Awareness Night]

The volleyball program [Breast Cancer Awareness Night]

At the UAA vs UAF volleyball game

Keeping it short and sweet <3

Visiting long time friends, movies, more volley and tattoo idea

Kaden showing us his "boobies"

What a nice week it has been.  I had taken 3 days off of coaching volleyball this week.  1 of which was just a cancellation of practice just because I said so and the other two days were because Coach Rachel, the other cTeam coach, let me take two days off.  Well, she persistently asked me to take two days off where she gets to coach my girls on top of her girls because the week before, she went down to California with the varsity team.  That meant I had her girls alone to myself for 2 days.  So it was a fair deal =]  And I am so glad I agreed to take 2 days off.  I was able to visit my good friend, Heather who is visiting with her husband, Kyle and their son Kayden.  It was so great to see her.  I wish I got a picture of all of us, but there wasn't a good moment to capture a picture.  We all hung out at her Aunt Eva's, where they are staying for the week.  Heather and Kyle used to live here in Alaska.  But after they had a son, they moved to Washington, where Kyle was raised.  At the time of living in AK, Kyle was active duty Army, but now he is out with a honorable discharge.  Heather and I used to hang out a lot, especially when Kyle would be gone because he had duties overseas.  Visiting AK was something Heather wanted for a long time and it was so great to see them all.  She has missed AK so much and now she is here reminiscing her past life.  We plan on seeing them again this Tuesday, for probably the last time :(  Here is a picture on the left of their son, being a silly!  He told and showed me where his boobies are.  How funny and I got it on camera!!

Anyways, Cory and I finished watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  His mission was for me to watch all 3 since I have never gotten into those movies.  Now I see why it is so popular because it is an epic story!  Cory owns the first one, so we were able to watch that right away, but we had to Netflix the other two so there was time from watching in between.  I am hooked and cannot wait for the Hobbit to come out in theaters next year.  Which, I am now reading The Hobbit on my new NOOK!  Yes, I finally purchased one.  I have been wanting a nook since the summer.  It is a great buy!  I love it.  It is touchscreen, so lightweight, and I can carry as many books as I want on it.  I can download and purchase books directly from it too.  Plus if I don't know a word, I can highlight it and it will look up the definition right away.  I have to admit, I have been watching too much television and it is time I get back to reading again.  My nook motivates me to read again :)  Thanks Cory love for letting me buy one <3

Yesterday, my cTeam girls had a tournament out in Chugiak.  We won all our games in pool play which lead us to the gold division.  We played Chugiak in the semifinals and South in the Championship match.  My girls played superb and I am very proud of them.  All was well except for our last match when my outside hitter rolled her ankle.  I had to take her out and she begged for me to go back in.  I wasn't going to risk it especially since tears of pain came out of her eyes once she got hurt.  I loved her determination though.  Gosh my girls are getting hurt too much, dropping like flies :(  3 of them have ankle injuries, 2 have thumb injuries and 1 has finger injuries.  Yes yes, I do a lot of taping before games and practices.  We only have 13 more practices, 7 games and 1 more tournament and the season ends.  Can't believe season is almost over but I am liking the progress the girls have made.  It was also Coach Rachel's birthday on the 1st, so I took this photo of the girls during the tournament and posted it on her Facebook wall!  Win!

Other than that, I have been contemplating what tattoo to get next.  I was thinking maybe a hummingbird, because they are my favorite bird.  They are small, energetic, fast, and elegant.  I feel like if I were reincarnated in the past, I would of been a hummingbird.  But then... I thought, no.  Then I thought of getting a sampaguita, which is the Philippines national flower.  But then... I didn't see any designs I liked that were beautiful.  Now I am thinking of getting the symbol of the Sun from the Philippines Flag on my shoulder.  I photoshopped one on my shoulder to see what it would look like.  I am really diggin' it.  I will have to contemplate more.  I mean it definitely represents my birth nation and my nationality.  Plus it is in a perfect spot because it would be covered all the time, unless I wear a tank top, which wearing one isn't allowed in a professional job anyways.  I just need to find an artist that can do straight lines really well :)


 











Well that closes my entry for the night.  Time to get to bed.  I was supposed to have a senior photo shoot today out in Kincaid Park, but I had to cancel due to rain.  We are planning on tomorrow evening :)  I also have a test tomorrow in linear algebra, bright and early, and I hope to do well!

Volley, Tie Dye and Photo Shoots

I don't know where to begin, but let's just say not much has changed.  I am still busy as always.  Lots of volleyball, school and photo shoots.  My CTeam girls now have a record of 8 - 1.  Not too shabby at all and in our last tournament we placed 3rd below Service and South.  The other weekend, the girls had a sleepover at one of the captain's house.  I decided I would come over and we would tie dye pink shirts for the upcoming Breast Cancer Awareness night, October 11.  I checked out a tutorial on YouTube on how to tie dye the awareness ribbon onto the shirt, like the photo on the left.

Let's just say the guy on YouTube made it look so easy and then when we attempted it, it was frustrating.  I called it a mental patience test, haha.  Most of the shirts looked pretty good, but not perfect.  I decided we use puff paint to outline the ribbon and they can write sayings like "Set for the Cure, Dig for the Cure, Spike for the Cure" depending on their positions.  After tie dye, I introduced the girls a game called CatchPhrase.  We had a lot of fun yelling and screaming at each other. It was pretty intense.   I left around 11pm and said good bye to the girls.  I had fun getting to know Oakley's mom, Katie.  She is an amazing person and mother.  I am glad she let the girls sleepover and bond.  It was just so nice to see all my girls bonding together and having fun with each other.

My CTeam girls and I <3

Other than volleyball, school is going pretty well.  I had my first exams in Mathematical Proofs and  Ordinary Differential Equations(AKA ODE), which is pretty much Calculus II extended.  2.5 more months to go for the semester.  I already can't wait for it to be over.  Just one more year if all goes well.  Can't believe how close, yet so far I am from obtaining that degree.

Cory and I also purchased tickets to Oregon to see his family December 13 - January 11.  We are taking our finals early so we can leave ASAP.  Awesome!  We made this decision because it has been more than a year since Cory has seen his family.  It is like we either go in winter or we go in summer.  We didn't think next summer would work because we would probably be in summer school, which is why we didn't go this last summer.  Winter wins.

So, we are celebrating Christmas, New Years and my 24th birthday down there.  I am excited to see Oregon in the winter for some reason.  The summers impressed me, so let's see how winter goes.  It is a bummer we won't be spending the holidays this time around with my family.  Now that I think about it, this will be the first time I won't be spending the holidays with them.  It is like one families gain is another's loss.  If only we all lived in the same state.  Hopefully, while we are down there, we can also catch some concerts or something awesome too :)

To close, here are the recent photo shoots I have done.  Two couples and one senior.  My next one is a family shoot with a 7 month old with her mom and dad.  Now that I realize, Cory and I need some updated photos too.  I have been so focused on taking other people's photos, but not ours.  I need to get back on that and capture photos of my life.  Photos are forever, a snapshot of a memory.

Back to classes

1 week down of classes and 15 to go for the fall semester.  I am now booked with classes beyond Calculus III and it just gets more arduous for this math major.  First week of classes went pretty good.  I have one professor with a strong Indian accent who teaches intro to proofs.  He said, "this class is about sets, sets and sets"  It sounded like "sex, sex and sex".  I couldn't help but laugh in my brain. He wrote down the word, set theory, on the board to clarify.  Every year his speech about set theory gets confusing for students because it sounds like he said sex, which the class has nothing entertaining like that.

Now to complain:  I already have one professor to complain about and that is my linear algebra professor.  He is horrible!  I don't care if he has a doctorate, he needs to treat us students with respect.  He is the most arrogant human being I have ever met.  If I could, I would of switched out, but this class is needed now for it is a prerequisite for another math course.  He barely teaches and doesn't even let us use the text book for reference.  He puts us in groups like we are back in high school to work on homework.  This is how it went last wednesday morning when we got in our "groups" for homework.

*Gly searches in book to figure out how to do the first problem, because classmates are clueless.*
*Professor comes up to Gly's desk and says "You don't need to look in the book, just do the work"
Gly "But I don't know how to do the first problem"
Professor "We just learned about it.  Know your definitions"  *Professor walks away*

My group looked at me with a 'oh no he didn't' attitude.  We were all in the same crappy boat of confusion.  Anyways, what a jerk!  How can he expect us to understand fresh material right away?  He pretty much told me to close my book that I paid $150 for!  Maybe I will start a blog on how he makes me angry everyday I meet him in class.

Enough about school.  Well, my volleyball team is doing really good.  We are 3 - 0 right now.  We have 2 games this week and a tournament for the upcoming weekend.  I have a good group of girls.  My goal is to inspire them to be a better player and a better person.  I found a pair of my old volleyball shoes.  Well, only 3 years old.  They are in good condition and I only used them in the gym. I bought new ones that are lighter to replace them last year.  I decided to give my old pair away, so it doesn't sit in my closet.  There are 3 girls on my team with that same shoe size.  So to be fair for competition, I am having them write an essay on their favorite motivational quote due Tuesday.  The essay will entail, what the quote means to them, how they use it in life and how they use it in volleyball.  The winner will receive the nice Mizuno volleyball shoes.

Just a few other things that have happened:
-I won a $500 scholarship from UAA by writing an essay.  I am now waiting for it to be in our bank account.  I plan on paying off one of our credit cards with it.  Well we used our credit card for text books anyways, so that pretty much cancels it.
-We watched Gabriel Iglesias perform at the State Fair with Banan & Crystal.  It was a grand time!  It was hilarious!!
-Cory applied for another job on base.  He is so persistant, I love it.  I really hope he gets it THIS TIME because, it would be great for us.  Although, you never know in the military.
-Check out my updated photo shoots that I have done Here

Upcoming events:
-Engagement photo shoot on the 11th.
-Little brother, Justin, turns 13 on the 13th (Golden Birthday!).
-Senior photo shoot and Mom turns 49 on the 17th.
-Adult league volleyball starts the 18th.

Well now we plan on going outside to take a little hike or something.  We have been doing homework all day and now it is time to give ourselves a nice brain break!

<3 Gly

Season #2

My second season coaching C-Team volleyball at Dimond started last week.  I must say that I am a lot more impressed with this years picks and turnouts.  Having more knowledge in coaching, I feel super excited for this season.  I feel that the girls are hard workers as a whole.  I hope they don't get too comfortable because right now, I love the respect they give to the coaches and to each other.  We have team pictures next week and once I get a team picture, I will surely put one up.  Cory is volunteering his time again to help out at practices.  It is a real big help because then he can do drills and I can actually watch my players.  He is also excited to get them in weight room.  We are going to develop these girls into strong, fast athletes.  C-Team is always the "development" team and thats what I do.  As coaches, we give them all the tools they need for years later.

Since I was in the Dimond building, I got to visit my former co-workers.  It was so nice to see my special education staff and it made me miss my job as a teacher assistant a lot.  They seem to miss me too :)  I am glad I still get to visit everyone every now and then.  It is so nice to know they all support me in getting my degree.

Well Cory and I have until the 29th and then fall semester starts.  I am taking 3 math courses, in which two are upper division.  I had to take 3 this semester because all of those math courses are pretty arduous.  Then I have coaching on top of that.  I am also hoping to get more business for my photography.  I just got a family and a senior shoot done not too long ago.  The business is definitely helping bring money in on my part, which is great.  When I get finished editing photos, I get an itch to want to do more.

I am going to have to put this blog entry to a close.  Short, I know.  I hope I can have pictures next time!  Tonight we are going to drive down to Girdwood to hit up the Double Musky for some dinner with another couple.  Should be fun :)

Dip Netting Rookies

Today is the last day of July.  Our 2nd year anniversary of marriage is just around the corner, yippy!  So sorry I have ignored the blog for pretty much the whole month of July.  Today it is raining and this is the perfect time for me to catch this thing up.  Although, this has to be one of the best summers Alaska has had with the sun shining almost everyday.  Made it tough to study indoors for summer classes.  As of last Friday, Cory and I are done with our summer session for college.  We are kicking butt in college, by the way.  Another semester down!  We have a month off until the fall semester starts.  Now Cory and I get to play more.

Well, I have had a handful of photo shoots this month, which I am grateful for.  Had some engagements, some baby and two weddings this month.  I've already booked a family shoot and two senior shoots ahead.  I hope to book more.  This business is definitely helping us get by.  I am always learning how to get better after every shoot.  The more I do photography, the more I am loving it.  It is a sweet escape.  Here is the photography blog EPICPHOTOGRAPHYAK BLOG

On Friday, we went down to Homer to shoot a wedding.  The wedding was on the Homer spit on the rocky beach.  Cory and I booked a hotel to stay the night after the wedding. Homer is 4 hours south and we would rather stay the night, than drive back up to Anchorage after photographing.  Although, last minute, our friends asked us to go dip netting with them the next day.  We woke up the next day and drove to Kenai, which was only 1.5 hours north of Homer.  It was perfect because it was on the way home anyways.

So, we met up with, Andy and Brianna, also a married couple.  They never been dip netting either and this was a great opportunity to do this.  I was pretty excited for this!  Unfortunately, we came when the dip netting season on the Kenai was about to end.  I only caught 1 salmon in the 3 hours.  The numbers were low for everyone on the coast.  If only we came a week early, then we would of caught a lot more.  Bri and Andy had been dip netting the night before, the morning, and then in the afternoon with us. They caught 8 total in all those times.  In the end, they were nice enough to give us one of their salmon.  We will definitely do it again next year.  I can't believe how much I missed out on not dip netting my whole life.  It is so fun!  It is only for Alaskan Residents and basically you put your chest waiters on, grab your dip net, your cooler, and a fish club.  It is so easy to catch a fish!  You just walk into the water, put your net in the water and wait until you feel a punch in the net.  Then you bring the net & fish in.  What an awesome opportunity for Alaskans to catch fish.  Sometimes I would feel a fish hit my butt or slide against my leg.  Can't wait for next year to go when the fish are hot in the pot.

The group!

Tomorrow Cory will go into work for a week to complete his "2 weeks out of the year" rotation for the Reserves.  While he is at work, I will be coaching volleyball camp and editing pictures of the wedding we did.  Next week volleyball season starts and we are on board for coaching this year.  Cory will volunteer again, which I am thankful for.  It is great working together while we coach the girls.  Now he is personally trainer certified, so he can def get those girls in the weight room.  I can't wait to see the turn out.

Until next time!

4th of July weekend

Well lets just say our weekend started off really slow.  We have been planning for this trip a month in advance with our friends, the Sipes' family, to go to Denali National Park & Chena Lake.  The camping group consisted of Brandon, Brittany(Brandon's wife), Anthony(9), Kaden(7), Cory and I.  We invited other friends, but this was the group that made it out.  Either way, Cory and I were going.  We did this trip 2 years ago and this time it will mark our 3 years of being together, yay!

On July 1st, Cory and I were so excited and had everything packed up.  After getting last minute stuff at Wal Mart, we drove up to Palmer where the Sipes family lives.  On our way to Palmer, we get a text from Brittany telling us that something is wrong with their transmission on their truck.  They need to bring that truck because it hauls their trailer.  We decided to just go to their house and check it out.  When we got there, Brandon was on the phone and computer searching for a transmission for his Ford.  He said that he would do the labor himself if he can find a tranny, but no matter what, they were still going.  Brittany kept telling us we should just go and they would just meet us there once Brandon fixed the truck.  So we agreed.  Cory and I left to Subway for lunch and while we were sitting down, Cory said "Do you think I should help Brandon?" and I said he should because we were all in the trip together.  There was no way Brandon can install a new transmission by himself.  So Cory texted Brandon and told him he would help.  Brandon was in relief!  We drove back to their house and the men had to pick up the new transmission in Anchorage and they worked on it all day at the auto shop on base.

Because the men didn't finish fixing the transmission, Cory and I slept in their spare bedroom that night because we really didn't want to drive all the way back to Anchorage.  Brittany told everyone she would wash all our clothes that way we can all wear it again the next day, like a reset, haha.  I told Cory to get his clothes in the wash when he stepped out of the shower.  Being super tired and forgetful, he dropped his phone in the wash.  He didn't realize it until I asked him where his phone was before bed.  We looked in the washer and there it was soaked.  It was doomed.  Bye Bye Iphone.  It was time for us to upgrade anyways.  We have had the Iphone first generation for the last 3 years.

On Saturday, I dropped Brandon and Cory off at the auto body shop on base then I had to get Cory and I new Iphones.  We upgraded to the 49 dollar Iphone 3GS.  I will take it!  It works and it is so much faster than our old ones.  It was exciting to get a text from Brandon saying the truck will be ready in 15 mins.  I zoomed back to base to check it out.  With the new transmission and $2300 of Branon's money, the truck worked and we were off to Denali State Part Saturday at about 3pm.

We got to Riley Creek Campgrounds, which we reserved for two nights.  Our camping in Denali was cut short down to one night because we missed a night due to truck problems.  We weren't able to add another day because it was so packed!  So when we got to camp, we unloaded and made a fire.  Had hotdogs for late dinner and chilled out with the pouring rain.  We were bummed it had to rain on us on top of everything, but we had to keep on trucking.  While Cory and I were trying to get our sleeping mattress into our tent, one of the poles broke.  It was time for us to get a new tent anyways.  We tied it up to keep it sturdy, but we knew we would buy a new one the next day.

Camp Site 1 at Riley Creek Campgrounds in Denali

Sipes Family 

The Larsons

The cute grizzly we saw!

After dinner, Brittany and I made lunch bags for our 8 hour round trip shuttle bus ride the next day.  We packed everyone a sandwich, chips, fruit snacks, pickles, and whatever else we can find.  Plus tons of water.

The next morning we got on one of the shuttle buses at 9:30AM.  We chose the 8 hour shuttle bus that would take us into the Eilson Center and back.  Public vehicles aren't aloud to get into the park, unless you win the lottery to do that.  Otherwise, you can only go 13 miles into the park with a public vehicle.  It kept sprinkling rain through out the bus ride and poor Anthony got motion sickness.  We didn't see as much wildlife as we had hoped.  They probably weren't out because of the rain.  We did see a bull moose, mama moose, caribou herd, dal sheep, ground squirrels, and best of all a great view of a grizzly bear!  After that long ride, I knew I wouldn't do that again.  Plus it was too cloudy to see Denali in the park, which was a major bummer.

Our trip ended at about 6PM and we decided that we head out to Chena Lake.  We were only 2.5 hours away plus we needed a campsite ASAP.  Cory and I headed out first to race to the WalMart in Fairbanks for a new tent, one that would fit our mattress through the door and one that we can actually stand in.  Our last text was short but big enough for the two of us.  The Sipes headed to Chena to get us a camp spot.  Luckily there were a ton available.  It seems that no one wants to be camping when its wet so getting a camp spot was easy.  Two years ago when Cory & I went to Chena Lake, it was packed because of the sun and hotness.  We weren't able to get a spot then, but this year was totally different and eerie from no one being there.  We camped here for the remaining days.  We decided to shift our camping by one day because we lost our first day.

Chena Lake was fun.  We rode our bikes around, took the raft out on the lake on the hot day, hung out at the "beach" they had, tried to go fishing in the stocked Chena Lake and checked out Santa Claus House in North Pole.  It got way sunny towards the end of our camping, which we were grateful for.  Made for a nice drive home too.

Camp site 2 in Chena Lake Campgrounds

Cool Rainbow

Sitting in Santa's Chair in the Santa Claus House (North Pole, AK)

It is so good to be back home after all of that we have been through.  Blown up transmission, killed the Iphone in water, rain, Anthony got motion sickness, tent pole broke, etc etc.  Our poor list of negatives.  On top of it all, I have now developed a cough, sore throat, and runny nose after the trip.  I blame it on the rain!  It was still a good time all in all and I am so glad we got to get out of Anchorage for a bit :)  We are thinking of going out to Kenai Lake next, but don't know exactly when.  

I said NBC

My body has been recuperating from NBC volleyball camp.  After coaching at the week long volleyball camp for 4 summers, I thought it was time for me to step it up and become the master teacher for the younger league (ages 11-14).  Master teacher means you are the head coach with 3 or 4 coaches under your wing with 40 girls in your league.  Before camp started, I was nervous and scared that I wouldn't do a good job.  Now that I reevaluate how I did, I must give myself a pat on the back, for doing awesome!  Coaching 40 girls in a gym is not easy, but I did it, and I had a lot of fun.  I can now plan a 3 hour practice in less than 15 minutes, instead of all day.  Every year, NBC camp has been a hit and success.  The highlight of my summer to share my passion with other volleyball girls.  Not only that, but I get to be as crazy and loud as I want to be while getting paid.

I definitely lost my voice and my throat is still trying to heal.  I did a speech on a topic on humility and knocked it out of the park.  I was nervous, but I typed my speech up to help me.  Speaking in front of teenagers, isn't what worries me, it is speaking in front of adults in the room is what makes me nervous.  I was proud of myself, especially when the girls/ fellow coaches told me I did a good job.  Boosted my confidence, that is for sure.  It made me feel like I can do a lot more than I think I can.  I was just happy to hear that the girls learned about humility and thinking of others instead of themselves.  Rock on.

I got to work with amazing coaches, just like every year.  NBC is always blessed with the best line up of coaches.  I never worked with the coaches before, but we seemed to cooperate like we have known each other before.  I am proud of my coaches for being considerate and always down to do whatever I plan.  I hope I was a good leader to the coaches in my group too, on top of the girls I coached.  I had a lot of great times laughing with them.  I seriously think I got some extra ab muscles just from laughing alone.  The 6:45am - 10:30pm shifts are over, but it sure feels like forever when you are running camp.  The minimal sleep is so worth all the experiences you get out of NBC camp.  I will never forget the girls, the coaches, the skits, the speeches, and all the fun that came with it!

The bomb staff on Intensity Night

After the week of camp which ran from Monday to Friday, Cory took us out to sushi.  All I wanted to do was stay home and be a couch potato.  I was mentally and physically exhausted.  Just burned out.  We watched the Mechanic with popcorn and fire hot cheetos..and called it a night.

On Saturday, we had a photoshoot to do with married couple, Jen & Jeff.  Check out Epic Photography AK for the photos!  I am happy that the photos turned out great at botanical gardens.  There was a wedding going on there, but we waited patiently to use one of the gardens there.

I am going to close this entry now because I have a dentist appointment :)  Love getting my teeth cleaned.  We are heading out to Denali this Friday for the 4th of July weekend.  Going to be fun camping hardcore!

♥ Gly

EDIT:
My dental hygienist told me that she admired my flossing and brushing skills and in her thanks, she gave me a free SONICARE toothbrush!! I am so grateful for I have wanted one for a while..but never got around to it.  Thank you Tudor Medical/Dental for hooking me up :)
 

Well equipped

What a week it has been, and starting tomorrow I will be head coaching at NBC volleyball camp.  It will be my 5th year coaching at this wonderful camp.  I am very excited and nervous to take the challenge of being the head coach for the younger teenage group.  I just hope that the week is all positive, but expecting minor glitches, as working with teenagers.  This is one week I look forward to every summer, because it is just packed full of fun and volleyball.  I usually lose my voice by the end of the camp, but it so worth it!

My Canon Line Up

Well this is going to be an entry more full of pictures.  Cory and I got rid of some camera equipment in exchange for upgrades that we are very pleased with.  We moved up from a Canon 40D to a Canon 7D within 6 months.  Technology moves fast.  After using the 7D, I just didn't want to look at my 40D anymore.  Sorry 40D, but we had great times.  We sold both of our 40D cameras in exchange for two new lenses, an external flash and a 7D.  We are saving money now to get another 7D for Cory before our two wedding shoots in July.  Exciting!



Here are some pictures from sand volleyball that Cory took(practice, practice, practice!):

On Wednesday I went to the doctor for a "girly" check up.  I have been told that I now have high blood pressure.  Surprised me, because I am a pretty active, healthy lady.  They told me that it is probably the stress, which must be it.  Must be the build up from my final tomorrow in probability, NBC camp, and what not.  I am going to check my blood pressure again after NBC camp and see if it goes down.  They just told me to watch it.  

Anyways, I am getting my ring resized.  It feels weird not having my wedding rock on.  Feels.. naked.  I took it in last Friday and I won't get it back until the end of this week.  I asked for them to solder the two together and make it smaller.  I went from a ring size of 4.25 to a 3.75 due to weight loss.  I did have an occurrence where I lost it in the truck and we FREAKED out big time.  It happened because, when I was loading groceries, it slipped.  I was so thankful it was in the truck, but after that happened, I made myself go to the jewelry story to get it resized.  There was another instance when it fell off during volleyball practice as I was passing.  NO good!  I should of took it in then,  but I was a bit ignorant and busy.  

This Saturday, Cory and I went garage sale-ing.  It is actually kind of fun!  We got up, made some coffee, bought a Mcgriddle for each and went on our way cruising the town for garage sale signs.  We only spent $7 and got 2 large picture frames, an outdoor volleyball and men bike gloves.  Total win!

Today, Father's Day, we went to the Botanical Gardens.  I have a couples shoot next Saturday and they wanted their pictures taken there.  Neither of us have ever been, but Cory and I decided it would be a good idea if we check it out before the shoot.  It was so beautiful.  My mom would def like this place.  There are many great spots to take pictures.  The flowers don't bloom until July, but that is alright.  Although, the mosquitos were horrible.  Next time, we will surely pack bug spray.  Nasty blood suckers!  But we did get some pictures:

Cory is getting better at taking photos and editing.  He rocks my world :)  I am so proud of him.  He is the perfect MAN for me.  Ok enough of that.

We then ordered pizza for lunch and went to my parents place to visit.  My parents are super busy people and yes, I wish we can spend more time doing other things with them.  It is always a pleasure to see them though.  Gave Dad a card with a Starbucks coffee card in it.  Just a easy pick me up through out his busy life.  I know nothing crazy, but we did just drop money on expensive camera equipment.  He is very impressed with my camera stuff and skills.  Which made me happy.  Well, looks like we are all planning on going to the Philippines December/January of 2012.  My dad says, "For my golden birthday, I would like to celebrate in the Philippines."  Let's make it happen.  Then he mentioned, I will also have a birthday too during that time of the year.  So my dad will turn 50 and I will turn 25.  I call it my "silver birthday".  Originally, we planned on going this year, but it is so expensive and looks like we all need another year to save.  Maybe this winter, Cory and I will pay a visit to Hawaii..been talking and dreaming of it :)

Well that concludes this blog entry.  Off to bed.  HUGE final tomorrow and NBC camp will start shortly after.  Going to be AWESOME!!

Magnificently Yours,
Gly