Sam's Year of Service Adventure

 This morning, we had our cleaning inspection from the support committee.  We passed with flying colors.  Then Michael and I went to the thrift store because we were bored.  Then I went over to Jenni's house for a little bit to say one last goodbye.  Then we went over to a lady's house from church, and she ordered us some pizza for lunch.  It was some really good pizza.  Then we headed back to the house where my family met me, and we loaded all my stuff.  Then I relaxed the rest of the afternoon.  For supper, my family took us out to Rudy's Hideaway.  After supper, I relaxed the rest of the evening.

 Today was our big cleaning day.  Since I had been cleaning a little bit over the last month, I did not have much to do.  I spent the morning cleaning up the sticks in the yard from the hail storm that happened while we were gone.  I also had to clean up a huge leaf pile that I had made months ago.  Then I did some trimming and some leaf blowing in other parts of the yard.  Next, I got started washing all the windows.  This job was terrible because taking out screens was a pain, and some of the windows had trees in the way.  I got about 1/3 of the way done, and then we went to The Drive-In Tasty Freeze for some lunch with our extra grocery budget.  After lunch, I finished washing the windows and inspected all the bikes for summer repairs.  Then I blew out the garage and put all the bikes inside.  When I was done with the work, I showered off, and then a lady from church brought us a rice casserole for supper and a fancy dessert....

 This morning, Michael and I hiked Flat Top Mountain.  On the way there, a moose was walking down the middle of the freeway, making sure to assert dominance.  The hike itself was really hard for me because my legs were still hurting from the hike yesterday.  There were 2 ways to go up, and we didn't know we took the old flat top trail, which was pretty much straight up the mountain and much harder than the other way.  We did go down the easier way.  The view from the top was amazing.  We could see all of Anchorage, the ocean, and lots of mountains.  We also found the sticker on the flagpole that the Alaska unit left up there.  After the hike, we decided to go visit Adrianas work.  She gave us a tour of the whole place, and it was really cool what goes on there.  We also got a tour of the art gallery, which was all stuff her clients had made and were for sale.  The stuffed animal I bought for Janessa was drawn by a client and th...

 Today we went on a long hike to a couple of lakes that were right next to each other.  First, we made some eggs for breakfast and then headed off on our hike.  It was a pretty easy walk in, and the landscape was lovely.  When we got to the lakes, we took in the view and then decided to climb the nearby mountain because there was a trail.  It was a really tough hike because the trail went straight up the mountain.  It took about 45 minutes to climb and about 10 to get down.  We even got to slide down some snow on the way down.  The view of the lakes from the top was stunning, so we took lots of pictures and ate our lunch up there.  Then we headed back down to the lakes.  Michael wanted to swim in the lake, but while we were trying to get down to the water, the seagulls started dive bombing us and almost hit our heads.  It was fun to watch and scary to have it happen to you.  After Michael was done swimming, we did the rock scra...

 Today we started with a hike to Thunderbird Falls.  It was quite rainy, but it was still a very pretty hike and waterfall.  When we were done with the hike, we headed into Eagle River to eat lunch in the park.  After lunch, we headed to another hike.  We couldn't find the one we wanted to do, so we just did what we found.  We ended up getting a parking pass from somebody, and they even offered us a night in the cabin they had booked since they were leaving early.  First, we hiked a salmon viewing trail, but we saw no salmon.  Then we hiked the 3-mile trail back to the cabin to check it out.  It was very bare bones, but it was in an amazing location.  We decided we did not want to hike our stuff back there.  The cabin was built only a few years ago in memory of a lady who was killed.  Then we hiked back to the car using a different trail that we accessed near the cabin.  When we got back to the car, we headed back to the c...

 This morning, we started by setting up some tents to make sure they worked.  Then we got together all the other stuff we needed for camping, which was quite a lot of stuff.  After some lunch, we hit the road to go see the Byron Glacier.  On the way, we stopped at Boluga Point to try to see some wildlife, but we had no luck.  It was still a beautiful spot to stop.  Then we continued on to the hike.  It was about a mile and a half to the glacier.  When we made it to the glacier, we decided to climb all the way to the top because there was a pretty waterfall at the top.  It was a very tough climb, but it was awesome at the top.  When we were done taking in the view, getting down was really fun. There was a long stretch where we were able to sit down and slide.  When we made it down the glacier, we hiked back out to the car, where we realized we had left the lights on and had to use our jump pack.  Then we continued on to Whittier...

 This morning, we joined the Alaska unit at their church.  It is a really small church with only a few people.  It was a pretty unique service with plenty of singing.  After the church service, we were introduced to everyone, and then we headed back to the house for lunch.  After lunch, we went on another hike, this time, we hiked the Rendezvous Peak trail, which took us up a mountain where we had amazing views of other mountains.  On our way to this hike, we saw another bear crossing the road.  We also got into the snow a little bit on this hike.  After the hike, we went back to the house and had pizza for supper.  After supper, we went to Wild Scoops for ice cream, and I was recommended to get the baked Alaska cone, which basically adds a smore on top of the ice cream.  I also got Rubbarb crumble ice cream.  After we had our ice cream, we went and picked up the car we would be using for our camping trip.  Then we went to the ...

 Today I slept in a long time, and then we went downtown to watch Ean and Ruben finish their marathon.  Once they had finished, we went back to the house for some lunch, and then we went on the Turnagain Trail hike.  We saw some beautiful mountains and the ocean.  On our way down from our hike, we saw a mama bear and 2 cubs.  When we were done with our hike, we headed back to town to do some thrifting and then some grocery shopping.  I got some good Alaska shirts.  When we got back from the store, we made some burritos for supper and then ended the evening playing some Scrabble.

 Today I started the morning by cleaning, then went to the store to get travel toothpaste and some snacks for the flight.  When I got back, I played with Naomi for a while, then made some veggie pasta for lunch to use up stuff.  After lunch, I made some grilled pizzas for us to take to the airport, and then I finished packing for the trip.  Around 2:45, we loaded up and headed for the airport.  We hit a lot of traffic, but we were able to get parked at a decent time and took the bus to the airport from the parking lot.  We made it through security really fast and then found our gate. We did not have to wait long before we could start boarding.  Once we were on the plane, it was a smooth flight to Seattle, where we had a 4-hour layover before boarding our flight to Alaska.  It was another good flight that we slept through, and then Mir picked us up at the airport.  It was only about a 10-minute drive to the house, and then we went right to bed...

 Today was my last day of work.  I was leading volunteers today since that was the one thing Doug wanted me to do this year.  We were doing more painting over at East Hills.  I was leading a group of high schoolers.  I had them paint some garden beds, railroad ties, and some railing touch-up.  They were ok at painting, and they did work fast, but I had to tell them to go back over spots a lot.  Around lunch time, Doug and Jenni came and picked me up and took me out to lunch at 503 West since it was my last day.  I had a really good burger.  After lunch, I went back to East Hills and helped the painters finish up, and then I dismissed them.  Then I took all the materials over to Santa Fe and dropped them off.  After that, I headed back to the office.  From the office, Jenni and I decided to do a few last libraries, and when we were done with libraries, we went back to the office and set up for the finance class.  Once the c...

 Today was my last pantry day.  I started with the pickups, and then we got everything put away.  When we were done putting stuff away, Kary gave me a card and the very last alfredo that Sprouts had because they were changing the recipe.  Then I gave her a goodbye hug before having lunch.  After lunch, we got started.  We were joined by a new maintenance tech today.  It was pretty busy all day, and we gave away a lot of food.  At the end of the day, we packed up and headed back to the office, where we unloaded everything.  Then I loaded up my pig from yesterday and the food and headed to Josh and John's for my last one-on-one.  We had to eat outside because it was full inside, and since it was 95 degrees, our ice cream melted very fast.  After our one-on-one, I headed back to the house.  I had to do some laundry, and then I played with Naomi and Josiah for a while.  Then we ate some supper.  After supper, we had our l...

 Today we started with a morning meeting, which I had not been to in a long time.  After the meeting, Alden and I headed to Home Depot and bought a whole bunch of stuff for Bentley.  Then we headed to Bentley.  First, we did some organizing, and then I went to install a drawer with the new parts we bought, but it still did not fit.  After that, we spent the rest of the morning doing some touch-up painting in a make-ready and fixing a few other broken things.  Then it was time for lunch at the office for my going-away party.  When I walked in, everyone was standing there, and a lot of people were wearing ears with my face on them.  They made sure that all my favorite foods were there for lunch.  There was pulled pork, a bunch of mac and cheese, cookie sandwiches, Dr Pepper, and Jody even made 4 ice cream pies. It was a great lunch.  As lunch continued, I was surprised with a huge metal pig, which was an amazing gift.  I was also give...

 This morning I started by labeling some tools for our volunteer group today.  Then Jenni and I did the Sprouts pickup.  When we had put all the food away, I went back to the office to get Doug, and then he and I went to East Hills to get the volunteers started.  They were doing some tree trimming and some painting.  After we had them started, I went back to the pantry where I bleached the wagon we had gotten back, and then Jenni and I went to Westside to deliver the bread.  When we got back from Westside, I went back to get Doug.  We ended up going to Sherwin-Williams to get them more paint and going hunting for saws, which we were unsuccessful at.  Then we headed back to the office for lunch.  After lunch, Jenni and I got to work on the libraries.  We got a few done, and then we went to pick up all the tools from the volunteers because they were done for the day.  After we got everything, we had to go over to Plaza and wash the pa...

Today we had church.  During church, Naomi and Josiah had their baby dedication.  After church, we went home and had some lunch.  After lunch, I relaxed for the afternoon.  For supper, I grilled some shrimp and tried making grilled cheese in the air fryer.  After supper, I relaxed for the rest of the evening before going to bed.

 This morning I woke up early and went to try a local donut shop.  I ended up getting a cinnamon roll and a coffee cake donut.  Then I didn't do much in the morning, and then I made some breakfast burritos for the upcoming week.  When I was done making burritos, Jane and Elliot came over, and they took the bus to church with Leigha to learn how it works.  They ended up stuck at church, so I took the van and picked them up.  When we got back, I took Christian downtown so he could pick up the bike they left there.  It took forever to get back to the house because apparently a bus hit a firetruck, and it was a huge mess.  When I got back to the house, we played a board game with Jane and Elliot.  After the game, I grilled a steak for supper, which was really good.  After I ate my steak, I went to bed.

 Today we had the vet clinic.  First thing in the morning, I got a tent and table set up for check-in, and then we got started.  I was inside helping hold the pets.  There was a really cute puppy and a really spicy cat.  Every animal was very hairy, and it did not help my allergies.  After work, my dad picked me up, and we went out to eat at The White Pie.  It was some really good pizza.  After lunch, we went back to the house, and I sent some stuff home.  Then I relaxed for the rest of the afternoon until it was time to make supper.  I made a pasta salad and grilled some sausage.  After supper, I relaxed for the rest of the evening.

 This morning we started with an eviction at Woodbine.  It took a long time because they were still there and there was a lot of stuff.  We even found the wagon that was stolen from the pantry in the apartment.  When we were done with the eviction, I went with a few people over to KittyHawk, and we did inspections.  None of the apartments were too bad, so it went pretty well.  When we were done with inspections, I rode around with Albert for the rest of the day.  We started by going to Enfield to check out a leaky washer, which we called a plumber to come fix.  Then we went to The Ridge and helped Vern do some work orders.  When we were done at The Ridge, we went out to eat at Mod Pizza.  It was really good.  After lunch, we headed over to Bentley and helped Alden do some work orders.  When we were done at Bentley, Albert took me back to Woodbine, where I had parked this morning.  Then I headed home.  When I got home,...

 Today was pantry day.  I started by doing the pickups and delivering the food to the pantry.  We got everything put away, and then we had lunch.  After lunch, we got started, and it was a quick day.  We did not have very many people.  We did, however, have someone come for a tour that was part of Michael Bennett's campaign.  They were checking out low-income housing in the state.  At the end of the day, we got packed up and headed back to the office.  We unloaded everything at the office, and then I was on to the best part of the day.  I got to drive my coworker's Shelby GT350.  It was the most fun car I have ever driven, and it was so awesome.  After I was done with my test drive, I headed home.  When I got home, I went to get gas for the mower and then mowed the lawn.  When I was done mowing, I shredded the pork roast that I had put in the crock pot this morning.  We had pulled pork for supper.  After sup...

 Today I was with maintenance down at Bentley.  I started by showing a resident how to use their thermostat.  Then I had to go reattach a light to the ceiling and find out why a sink was making a funny noise; it wasn't making a funny noise.  Next, I went to check out a leaky AC, and it was very leaky.  We decided it was for warranty work.  Then we headed over to a make ready, and I got the first coat of paint on a door before we had to go to Moreno for an eviction.  They did not have any stuff, and they were not there, so it was pretty easy.  When we were done with the eviction, we went and grabbed lunch at La Casita; it was really good.  Then we went to Colorado West to pick up a few parts.  Then we headed back to Bentley.  When we got back to Bentley, I finished painting the door, fixed a couple of drawers, and got the TP holder put on.  When I was done with that, we wasted the rest of the afternoon trying to put a bathroom t...

 This morning we started with the Sprouts pickup.  It was not very big, so it did not take us too long to put everything away.  When we were done at the pantry, we went to Woodbine and picked up some books.  Then we went back to the office to pick up the bread for Westside.  After we dropped off the bread, we went back to the office and took an early lunch so we could get started on the libraries.  Since we had not done them in a long time, we tried to hit all of them, and we got all but 2.  This required going back to Woodbine for more books multiple times.  When we were finished doing libraries, we headed back to the office, and then I headed home.  When I got home, I had some supper, and then we watched another sermon for worship night.  This time it was by John Piper.  After worship night, I relaxed for a while and then made a quick trip to Walgreens to pick up a picture before going to bed.

 This morning we started with breakfast and a business meeting.  Then we had church.  At church today, we had our "Mugging," which is where we share a little bit about our time here, and the church gives us a Colorado coffee mug.  After church, we stopped for ice cream on the way home.  When we got home, we ate some lunch, and I played with Josiah for a while.  After lunch, I relaxed all afternoon and then went over to Jenni's house for a steak dinner, and then we roasted s'mores.  When I was done there, I came home and went to bed.

 Today I slept in till almost noon because I stayed up so late last night.  Then Jerry from church came to look at the house for making summer repair plans.  After he left, I headed over to Jenni's house for lunch.  She also got me a medal pig for my going-away gift, which is super cool.  After lunch, we went for a swim until there were too many people.  We sat around for most of the afternoon and then went to Popeyes to get some supper.  The service was really bad, but the food was good.  After supper, we sat around and visited all evening, and then I headed home and went to bed.

 Today I was helping maintenance out at Bentley.  Most of the work orders I tried to do were a waste of time because people did not answer, or we did not have the right parts.  We were able to make a bunch of service calls and get a leaking sink fixed.  At the end of the day, I headed home.  When I got home, I had some lunch and then relaxed during the afternoon.  When it was time to make supper, I made grilled pizza.  We made them a little different than at home, but they still turned out really good, and we ate supper on the patio.  After supper, I hung out with Josiah for a while and then relaxed for the rest of the evening.  Around 10, I started babysitting duty while Leigha went to get Christian from the airport.

 Today I spent the whole morning putting things away from the party on Tuesday.  I did a lot of organizing in the office area and made sure everything that belonged in the closet was put away.  Then I made a trip over to the pantry to drop some stuff off there, and then also went to Woodbine to drop some stuff off there.  When I was done running around, I went back to the office and had lunch.  I had a nice mac and cheese platter.  After lunch, we headed up to the Attrium for the mobile market.  This was my last mobile market, so it made me kind of sad.  After the mobile market, we headed back to the office, and then I headed home to make up for working extra hours on Tuesday.  When I got home, we headed to a playground for a while and then headed to supper at a drive-in burger restaurant.  We were going there because someone from church was doing live music there.  The food was amazing, and I had the best cookie dough flurry I have...

 Today was pantry day.  We started by loading up a bunch of stuff at the office to take over to give out at the pantry, and just other stuff that needed to go back.  This included loading a wagon full of bottled water.  When we got to the pantry, we got everything unloaded, and then I went to Trader Joe's for the pickup.  When I got back from Trader Joe's, I went and picked up Doug, and we did Sprouts.  When we were done with that, we got everything put away and then had lunch.  After lunch, we got started, and it was busy as usual, but it went smoothly.  After we were done, we packed up and headed back to the office.  At the office, we put stuff away, and then I went with Russ to take the grills back from yesterday.  When I was done with that, I headed home.  When I got home, I relaxed for a while, and then I led a learning component where we watched a documentary about Alaska fishing.  After learning component, I made some su...

 Today was the summer kickoff party.  I took lots of pictures, so make sure to check out the album.  I started the day by getting things ready around the office, and then I went to Sam's Club to pick up more burgers for the party.  After I was done with that, I went back to the office to help some more before going to Goodwill to pick up our book donation.  Then I went back to the office to help with more stuff, and then I had lunch.  After lunch, I went with Cristal's husband, Russ, to pick up grills for the party.  We picked up one from Jenni's house and then took the one from my house.  When we were back with the grills, I helped with some last-minute stuff before I went to Bentley to try and pick someone up from our summer classes, and they did not show up.  Then I went to Walmart and got some ice for the party.  When I got back to the office, we were full speed, setting up with about 35 volunteers.  I helped get the grills goin...

 Today was a busy day.  I started by taking Doug over to UT to get some volunteers started on work.  After I dropped him off, I went to Sprouts for the pickup.  Then I went to the pantry and got everything put away.  When I was done at the pantry, I went back to UT to pick up Doug.  Then I took him back to the office, picked up the bread, and went to Westside.  When I got back to the office, I ate lunch and then put our new wagon together.  When I had it together, I did a bunch of organizing of stuff to get ready for tomorrow.  Then Jenni and I went to Walmart to get some burger toppings for tomorrow.  When we got back, I went back to the pantry to pick up water and some tables.  When I was done with that, I did some more organizing and then went to Woodbine to get some crates to organize stuff in.  Then we went on a hunt for some traffic cones and did not find any.  At the end of the day, I headed home.  When I got h...