Blog Archives

Alaska Anniversary

Posted on April 6, 2013

Yes, Alaska is huge, and it would stretch from Georgia to California…

It has been four years since I crossed the US – Canada border at Beaver Creek border crossing in Yukon territory. Actually, it has been 4 years and 6 days. On April 1st 2009 I arrived in tiny town of Eagle River, and got the keys for my new house. After driving 2,500 miles from Seattle, WA.

Four years on the Last Frontier has been a serious adventure with ups and downs, more ups though. Jason and I have been exploring this giant state from northern Barrow to coastal towns in Southeast Alaska. We have been road tripping along the oil pipeline, stepped over the Arctic Circle while dodging the state birds a.k.a mosquitoes. Yes, mosquitoes are huge up here. We have hiked, biked, skied and snowboarded. And most importantly, we said “I Do” at the Soldier’s Chapel in Fort Richardson Army Post. It has been quite a ride, wild one for sure.

In a few short weeks we will be on the road again. For 5,000 plus some miles. Jason has some Army training coming up at Ft Lee, VA, so I will drive with him and the dog to Old Dominion State, and then fly back to Alaska.

The pictures below from 2009 will be a small glimpse of what we will be seeing once on the Alaska Highway, or Alaska-Canadian Highway (ALCAN) if asked from Canadians.

The beginning of Alaska Highway, aka ALCAN

Dawson Creek, BC, Canada.

Buffalos roaming on and along ALCAN

Sign Post Forest. Watson Lake, Yukon, Canada.

Signs everywhere.

Caribou.

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The First Wedding Anniversary

Posted on July 11, 2012

by Nina

Hard to believe it has been already a year of wedded bliss! I truly am the luckiest girl in the whole universe: I couldn’t hope for a husband more perfect than Jason. He is the most amazing, hard-working man who truly supports me and us to reach our dreams.

“There is no feeling more comforting and consoling than knowing you are right next to the one you love.”

Monday, July 9th, marked our first anniversary. It has been such an awesome year of being married to my best friend. Since we both were working on our anniversary, we just had dinner at one of the nicer restaurants in Anchorage, and will continue celebrations this weekend at home… We still have our anniversary champagne waiting for us…

The restaurant scene for fine dining in Anchorage is pretty limited, and even at the best Alaskan fine dining equals to moderate dining experience in Lower 48. So as enthusiast amateur chefs, we probably cook our “1st Anniversary, Part II” dinner ourselves in our very own kitchen….

“We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness – and call it love – true love.” ~Robert Fulghum, True Love

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Cheers to 2011! Welcome 2012!

Posted on December 31, 2011

by Nina

Less than seven hours left of year 2011 here in Alaska. When looking back this year, I can only wonder how fast the time can fly by. 2011 has been a wonderful year with full of extraordinary events. We lived an adventurous life – skied, snowboarded, went halibut fishing… We traveled, had fun, were busier than beavers with our careers, tied the knot, … what else could one ask for one year?

Back in March we got engaged – Jason popped the question under the starry Hawaiian skies. Maui will always have a special meaning in my heart. Fast-forwarding to July, we said I Do’s at Fort Richardson chapel in Alaska.

Besides traveling to Maui in March, we were honeymooning on O’ahu in September, checked out San Francisco in May, and San Diego in September. And then in Chicago area in December. And in the middle of all this, I have been jet setting all over Alaska from Barrow to southeastern tips of this giant state – spending time on the plane nearly every week.

Work-wise … well, I don’t even know how we have been managed to juggle with all the tasks we both have. Maybe the love for our duties is what keeps us going. Jason has been busy with his new unit – being in charge of the troops and running the daily stuff make his days constantly longer, and sometimes weekends shorter. Despite all the travels, I couldn’t be happier with my daily job. I am working with the best people people ever who are motivating and supporting – always thriving the excellence. One of my life-long dreams came true just a couple of months ago when KominiakPhoto opened an online Fine Art Gallery. The gallery is one of the 2012 Projects that I am hoping to concentrate more.

It has been such a busy but awesome, wonderful 2011. The bar is set very high for 2012, and I can’t wait to see what the new adventures will be.

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day” –Edith Lovejoy Pierce

So the opportunities …. I do have some goals and plans for the New Year – stop by tomorrow, January 1, to read about Top 5 goals for 2012!

Meanwhile, here is a review of 2011 New Year’s Resolutions, last years goals worked out pretty good.

Resolution 1: Cherish every day. I think I have done pretty good job at that.

Resolution 2: Dedicate more time for the photography. Fine Art gallery is up and running – can check this one off too!

Resolution 3: Keep up with the school stuff, maintaining the existing GPA. Straight A’s the whole year of 2011!

Resolution 4: Run a full marathon in 2011. While I have been running 20+ miles runs, I didn’t do any long-distance running races in 2011. Mainly because Alaska is not the best location for running, and a couple of marathons I had on my mind were overlapping with some of our travels. So mileage done, races not. 2011 is a new year!

Resolution 5: Add a short yoga practice to be a part of my daily workouts. Got it covered – I am doing yoga practices nearly every day, and my flexibility has gotten so much better.

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MilSpouse Weekly Roundup

Posted on September 9, 2011

by Nina

It’s Friday – finally! And the best thing ever is that I was asked by Mrs K at Mrs. K and Captain J to host this week’s Milspouse Weekly Roundup. So welcome to visit Adventures of The K Family!

MilSpouse Weekly Roundup is a weekly get-together for MilSpouses, hosted by wonderful ladies stationed around the world. The current week’s host chooses next week’s host, and this way we keep the Roundup going. And if you for some reason miss a roundup posting, you can always check Weekly Roundup update by Wife on the Roller Coaster. And most importantly, MilSpouse Weekly Roundup is a great way to catch up with other spouses, so please link up your favorite blog entry from this week!

*****

I had tons of plans for this special posting of mine, and what happened….?! I got completely swamped by travels this week. Jason and I flew to sunny California for Labor Day weekend. We had such a great time — enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather in San Diego. We got back late on Monday night, and on Tuesday morning at 0800 I was back at the airport – this time heading to Ketchikan and Sitka in southeast Alaska. I got back from my business meetings late on Wednesday night, had a more or less regular working day on Thursday, and in the evening I hit the road again… This time road tripping for almost 250 miles to tiny town of Healy, just outside of Denali National Park – for another work meeting as a first thing on Friday morning. And somehow in the middle of all this I even had time to get my university classes’ homework done – before the deadlines.

Seaworld - San Diego

Sitka, AK

Southeast Alaska

*****

But I am sure at least some of you are visiting Adventures of The K Family first time ever, so brief introduction is in order, don’t you think?! My name is Nina, and I am happily married (since July 9, 2011) to Jason who is an Army Officer. We are stationed in Alaska, just outside of Anchorage, and have been here for a couple of years. He is my best friend and hero who always manages to make my day, no matter what is going on.

Mr & Mrs K

We both love traveling, wines, delicious food, are nerds, and spoil our little beagle, Tassu, way too much. We also enjoy all kinds of outdoors activities from skiing and hiking to biking although I am the health and fitness nut of the household, with a goal to qualify for Ironman race in Kona, HI, one day. In addition to all running, biking and swimming, I am also completely hooked to CrossFit as well as do some personal training and teach cycling classes.

I work full-time in the technical field, doing engineering in one of the world’s biggest corporations as well as I am working on my Psychology degree with an ultimate goal of getting PhD eventually. My professional interests are related to the trauma and military psychology, and would love to combine my technical background with psychology in the future. Ideally I’d be working with the PTSD population and developing new techology-assisted therapies such as Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy.

Lastly, I have been doing photography professionally for several years. Nowadays I mainly work through my photo agencies or do corporate/editorial assignments for the clients. For the pics, check out the Facebook, or KominiakPhoto‘s official site.

But now it is time to hear about you, so go ahead and link up your favorite blog posting from this week — I can’t wait to read about your adventures.

And also, check out the next week’s host Jane at A Few of My Favorite Things. She is an awesome Army wife blogging from sunny Hawaii.

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July 9, 2011 – In Pictures

Posted on August 13, 2011

by Nina

I have been such a slacker what comes to putting together our wedding recap. Of course it doesn’t help that we have been busy ever since saying the I Do’s. Past four, five weeks it has been simply running from one place to another. However, we just very recently got the first versions of our wedding pictures, and sharing a few pictures would be also a great opportunity for me to tell about our wedding day.

July 9, 2011 was absolutely the best, most awesome day in our life. On this beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon we promised to love each forever and a day, before our friends and relatives, God and The Army Chaplain who married us. I truly cherish every single moment of that day, just like I cherish every single moment in our life. Every day I am more and more grateful for having Jason in my life.